Supernatural Blood

A growing Extraordinary Monster, created by Tang Qi himself.

When Tang Qi had ruthlessly killed the man, he clearly had not expected to create a monster.

Now, that monster had turned on Tang Qi.

At this point, how could he not understand? The watchful gaze he had sensed beneath Sally's apartment building had most likely belonged to this Dog-Faced Human. At the time, it might still have been busy devouring the corpse, while the Drug Addict Ghost's vengeful soul had only just entered the dog's body.

Because it had become a monster through resentment and hatred, it would not stop until it killed its enemies.

Its first enemy was Tang Qi.

The second was Sally.

It was easy to imagine that after dealing with Tang Qi, its next target would be Sally.

Tang Qi's priority now was to save his own life.

"The diary said that Holy Thorns had a power that restrained evil. Though I haven't found the source of that power yet, it should be enough to deal with an Extraordinary Monster that was only just born."

With that thought, Tang Qi dashed into the campus like the wind.

He did not enter through the main gate. Enduring the pain in one foot, he vaulted over the weathered brick wall with agile, swift movements that made him look nothing like an ordinary high school student.

Yet the moment he heard a "bang" behind him, Tang Qi knew that monster dog had caught up.

Though it was dangerous, Tang Qi still turned and cast a quick glance back.

Crack!

Tang Qi saw the monster vault over the wall and land in an instant. The wild dog had long since lost its original appearance. Its muscles had swollen into grotesque distortions, even forming huge lumps of flesh, yet it bore a human face.

Drool streamed from its mouth. It was ugly, terrifying, and bizarre beyond measure.

Yet after seeing it, Tang Qi's eyes lit up. He could tell that the monster had slowed down.

Not only its speed—its aura of madness and bloodlust had also suddenly diminished considerably.

"It's working."

Tang Qi rejoiced, but his feet did not stop. Nimble as an ape, he used the various obstacles lining the tree-shaded path to evade the monster's claws and gaping jaws.

But because of his injury, he was still slower than the monster, and the distance between them was steadily shrinking.

What left Tang Qi even more helpless was that the route he had chosen led through the most remote part of the campus. Aside from himself and a monster, there was not even a single soul in sight.

Tang Qi fled deeper into the campus with all his strength, but his stamina was not limitless, and he was slowing more and more.

In contrast, the monster behind him had no such thing as exhaustion.

The distance between them closed once again. Tang Qi could even hear the foul breathing coming from behind his neck.

"No, if this continues, I'll die."

"What should I do? What should I do?"

"Buzz."

A flash of inspiration suddenly passed through Tang Qi's mind, and he seized it instantly.

His gaze fell directly on the box clutched against his chest.

It was the most unexpected and delightful gain from this trip, and even while fleeing for his life, he held it tightly.

The vague thought he had once had in the gun shop became incomparably real at this moment.

His body was still exhausted to the extreme. The agility and speed granted by the Chaga Combat Technique had come at the cost of draining his stamina. His body had long been covered in crimson, and sweat had soaked through all his clothes.

Even so, he could not widen the gap between himself and the monster behind him by even the slightest bit.

"Huff... huff, huff."

Tang Qi could even feel the fangs nearly touching the back of his head.

In a few seconds—perhaps only one—Tang Qi would be caught by the monster, and then it would bite down, severing his head from his neck.

The next day, an explosive piece of news would appear at Holy Thorns: a new student had been killed by a wild dog, his corpse eaten clean.

"No, I won't let that happen."

"I was fortunate enough to be reborn. How could I possibly die in the jaws of a monster?"

"Huff."

Tang Qi roared inwardly. His body trembled, yet streams of warmth began to flow through his mind at that moment, calming every disturbance within him. It was as though he had entered a wondrous state where he could control his body perfectly.

Though he could feel the monster's jaws behind him, his hands were steadier than those of the greatest sculptor. He swiftly opened the box, and his hands became blurs as he loaded brass bullets into the extravagantly shaped Blood Python No. 1.

Then, with one hand gripping the gun, he brought the other to his mouth and bit down hard. He nearly tore off a small piece of flesh from his index finger, and blood immediately began to pour out.

Not a single drop was wasted. Tang Qi smeared every drop of the spurting blood over the Blood Python No. 1 in his other hand.

Then, something strange happened.

As the dark gun body was stained with blood, it gained an eerie beauty. Specks of golden light emerged from the blood smeared across it, joining into strands of gold that eventually enveloped the entire weapon.

As hazy golden light wrapped around Blood Python No. 1, Tang Qi clearly saw the Special Interface before his eyes begin to change slowly.

But Tang Qi had no time to examine the details of those changes. He only felt something strange arise within him.

The gun in his hand seemed to come alive at that moment. Held in his hands, an intense impulse surged like a tide, crashing against Tang Qi's mind.

Tang Qi suddenly stopped.

He turned around, and a foul-smelling monster's mouth, stretched to its absolute limit, appeared before him.

It was right in front of him. If Tang Qi did nothing, the next moment his head would be swallowed whole by those monstrous jaws, followed by a crunch, and it would all be over.

In truth, Tang Qi could not do much. Once he stopped, he had lost his chance to evade it.

So he made an utterly insane move.

He thrust one arm forward, shoving it sideways into the monster's mouth. With a crunch, Tang Qi heard fangs sink into his flesh. They would soon reach bone.

"Unfortunately, you won't get that chance."

Before the whisper had truly left his lips, the cold muzzle was already pressed against the side of the monster's head.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The unceasing gunshots rang through this deserted corner like the roar of some beast.

Tang Qi instinctively emptied all six bullets from the pistol. Even when it began to click, he did not stop.

He never noticed that the moment he fired, the brass bullets became dazzling streaks of golden light and burrowed into the monster's skull.

The monster, which had possessed seemingly endless strength, instantly looked as though it had been hit by a train. Its head snapped to one side, its body shuddered, and it tried to let out a mournful cry, but its mouth was packed tightly shut by Tang Qi's arm.

Then came the second bullet, the third, the fourth... After the final bullet left the chamber, the dazzling golden light reached its peak, and the monster's head, like a watermelon struck with tremendous force, exploded in Tang Qi's arms with a boom.

After losing its support, Tang Qi instinctively kept pulling the trigger. Only after several clicks did he finally collapse to the ground in exhaustion.

His chest and abdomen heaved violently like a broken bellows.