Li Weiyi's ears caught the faintest sounds. He heard three slow, light footsteps approaching step by step from the Graveyard Forest. But enormous burial mounds seven or eight meters high blocked the view, leaving both sides unable to see one another.
The three were extremely cautious; their footsteps were completely unlike those of ordinary walking.
Thus, Li Weiyi could not identify them by their footsteps. If he judged wrong and failed to kill Chen Hong immediately, the rifle in Chen Hong's hands would pose a deadly threat to him.
The coming clash required not only speed, but the utmost caution.
From where Xie Jin stood, he happened to be able to see Chen Hong and the other two slowly moving through the Graveyard Forest to the right. His gaze unconsciously shifted in that direction. He sighed inwardly that Li Weiyi had been too cautious to pursue them.
If he had caught up, he would already be dead beneath Chen Hong's gun.
Chen Hong shook his head at Xie Jin and gestured for him to lure Li Weiyi over.
Xie Jin immediately understood. He put on an arrogant, overbearing act. "Li Weiyi, you win today. I admit defeat, but Dr. Cai is in my hands. Let's go. With a hostage, he won't dare do anything to us."
Xie Jin and the security team member carrying the Stun Gun fled toward where Chen Hong and the others were, thinking they could lure Li Weiyi into the line of fire.
Chen Hong gripped his rifle tightly.
The stock pressed against his shoulder as he aimed ahead.
Naturally, Li Weiyi did not fall for it. Instead, he seized this rare opportunity and charged up the seven- or eight-meter-high burial mound at top speed. At once, the five people behind it were laid bare before his eyes.
Hearing the noise, Chen Hong hurriedly swung his gun around and looked toward the top of the mound.
The Yellow Dragon Sword had already been thrown first.
The sword tore through the wind with a piercing metallic shriek.
Bang!
The sword tip struck Chen Hong in the chest.
It was like being viciously stabbed by an iron rod. Pain tore through Chen Hong's chest, and he crashed backward, nearly losing his grip on the rifle.
Because he wore the Corpse Cloth Soft Armor, the Yellow Dragon Sword did not pierce his chest, and his injuries were not severe.
After throwing the sword, Li Weiyi leaped from the top of the burial mound onto a gravestone over three meters high. Then he sprang down from the gravestone, descending with his foot aimed squarely at Chen Hong's face.
Chen Hong hurriedly rolled away.
Li Weiyi pursued him, his palm like a horizontal blade, his sleeve wind sharp and fierce as he chopped directly at Chen Hong's neck.
He was too fast. Chen Hong had no time to aim at Li Weiyi and could only raise the rifle to block.
Bang!
Li Weiyi's palm struck the rifle barrel with the weight of a heavy hammer, forcing it back against Chen Hong's neck and nearly crushing his throat.
Chen Hong's throat throbbed with pain and a bloody sweetness. His eyes bulged as he tried to counterattack...
But a dry, hoarse scream escaped his mouth first.
Li Weiyi had already twisted off the arm holding the gun, then flung him away. His head crashed against a gravestone with a bang.
Chop, seize, twist, throw...
The entire sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water.
Li Weiyi picked up the rifle and strode over with steady steps. Using the stock, he smashed both of Chen Hong's knees to pieces, making it impossible for him to stand again.
Clang, clang!
From deep within the Graveyard Forest came the faint sound of something like camel bells.
A blood-red gleam flickered in Li Weiyi's eyes. It was as if countless voices were stirring and urging him to smash Chen Hong into a pulp. The rifle stock hovered over Chen Hong's terrified eyes, but in the end, he restrained himself. Reason overcame emotion.
He had to master slaughter to protect himself, not be mastered by slaughter and destroy himself.
Even if Chen Hong was to die, he would leave him for his senior brother.
Amid Chen Hong's repeated screams, the other four were so frightened that their souls nearly fled their bodies, and they scattered in escape.
This college student was too brutal. He struck with vicious cruelty; he was practically a demon.
Li Weiyi fired directly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three remaining bullets in the rifle killed the slowest runner, the security team member carrying the Stun Gun.
Throwing aside the rifle, Li Weiyi did not chase the three who had already vanished into the Nether Mist. The deck area of the Bronze Ship was only so large. Where could they run?
Without guns, they could not threaten him at all.
The situation here, by contrast, was far more complicated. If someone circled back while Li Weiyi was in pursuit, the consequences would be unthinkable.
With a blood-dripping sword gleaming coldly in one hand and Chen Hong dragged by the leg in the other, Li Weiyi emerged from behind the burial mound.
At the sight of this, everyone on the deck breathed a sigh of relief. Their suspended hearts finally settled. They all felt that Li Weiyi was like a heavenly god descending to earth; no matter how many petty villains stood before him, they would be utterly powerless.
The earlier gunshots had truly left them deeply worried for Li Weiyi.
Xie Tianshu was still lying in a pool of blood. Gao Huan had returned and was kicking him again and again, making him writhe on the ground in agony.
Xiao Lin must have been truly terrified. He felt that Li Weiyi was no longer an ordinary person, that he was invincible. Sitting against the railing, he did not dare move even a finger, like a quail.
At the end of the day, they were all merely ordinary people.
When bullying others, each of them was as fierce as a beast. But when death drew near, they became timid as mice.
"If you want to vent, do it later. Go untie everyone first!"
After saying this, Li Weiyi walked toward Zhao Meng, intending to check his senior brother's injuries first.
Suddenly.
From the distant Nether Mist came the sound of a round being chambered.
It was very faint, but it could not escape Li Weiyi's ears.
Without a moment's thought, Li Weiyi nearly instinctively ducked and rolled, then fled toward the distant Medical Tent.
Bang!
The gunshot exploded like thunder.
Had Li Weiyi not reacted quickly enough, this shot would likely have left a bloody hole as wide as a bowl in his waist and abdomen.
Xiao Lin, sitting on the ground, suffered a disaster from nowhere. His exploded head became a mass of bloody pulp splattered across the railing.
Chaotic screams instantly erupted across the deck.
Gao Huan, who had been untying the expedition members, was so frightened by the gunshot that he crouched on the ground without daring to move, staring into the Nether Mist.
Tap, tap!
A mass of footsteps approached from far away.
Within the Nether Mist, the six people from Laboratory 705 gradually came into view.
Han Qin, a burly man nearly two meters tall, walked at the front. He chambered another round and aimed toward the Medical Tent. The moment Li Weiyi showed himself, he would shoot him dead.
Everyone gradually recovered from their terror.
One expedition member asked in confusion, "Director Yang, what are you doing? Brother Li was the one who saved us!"
Director Yang wore a Zhongshan suit, his tone calm. "Why do you think he is so powerful? He can lift a gun weighing hundreds of pounds with one hand. He is so fast that he is utterly unlike a human. He must have swallowed the Buddha's Sarira. It is the Buddha's Sarira's power that made his fleshly body transcend into sainthood."
The bound expedition members immediately showed expressions of realization.
The bespectacled middle-aged woman from Laboratory 705 said, "He has been deceiving everyone, claiming the Buddha's Sarira was not on him. Can someone like that be trusted?"
Director Yang continued, "Only by retrieving the Buddha's Sarira might we be able to turn the Bronze Ship around and return to Earth. Don't you want to go back?"
Li Weiyi's voice came from behind the Medical Tent. "That's right, the Buddha's Sarira is in my hands, but it cannot control the Bronze Ship at all. Director, don't you simply want to swallow the sarira yourself and gain Transcendent power? Let me tell you all, my strength does not come from it at all."
Director Yang had no desire to argue with Li Weiyi. "I will count to three. If you voluntarily hand over the Buddha's Sarira, this old man guarantees on his honor that we will treat everything that happened before as though it never happened. We will find a way together to survive in this unfamiliar Ghost Wasteland World."
"If you insist on going your own way, then you can only bear the consequences yourself."
Qi Shanshan worried that Li Weiyi was too young and might be tricked by Director Yang, so she smiled. "If he doesn't show himself, Director, I fear there is little you can do to him."
Director Yang glanced at Qi Shanshan, who stood alone by the railing not far away. He truly could not understand where this Doctor Qi found the courage to oppose them in such a perilous situation.
Director Yang stared at Qi Shanshan and said coldly, "They are senior and junior brothers, after all, bound by deep affection. He may not show himself, but his senior brother is lying right there."
Han Qin aimed his gun at Zhao Meng, who lay on the ground.
"One!"
"Two!"
Director Yang did not give Li Weiyi much time to think. He called the numbers rapidly. "Three..."
The instant he called out "three."
Qi Shanshan's eyes narrowed. Decisively, she tore the Cross Pendant from around her neck and hurled it out.
This was an Immortal Object taken from a Bone Human!
With a ding, the Cross Pendant struck the ground at Han Qin's feet. Some secret energy within it seemed to awaken. The pendant erupted with dazzling white radiance, sweeping the surrounding Nether Mist clean away.
Qi Shanshan had determined that, given Li Weiyi's character, once Director Yang counted to three, he would either strike or reveal himself and surrender.
She would never allow Li Weiyi to lose to the six people from Laboratory 705 just like that. That was why she had taken the risk to help him.
It was also because Qi Shanshan had witnessed Li Weiyi's strength earlier—not merely his martial strength, but also his keen insight and judgment in seizing opportunities.
He would definitely seize this chance!
Just as Qi Shanshan had expected, at the same time Director Yang called out "three," Li Weiyi's voice rang out. "You want the Buddha's Sarira? I'll give it to you."
Like a ghost, Li Weiyi leaped onto the roof of the Medical Tent. Scorching currents within his body surged toward his arm.
As though throwing a flying dagger, he flung out the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish. It sliced through the air toward Han Qin thirty meters away.
Han Qin was about to fire when white radiance erupted beneath his feet, leaving him unable to open his eyes. In that fleeting instant, the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish struck him in the head.
Li Weiyi's strength was immense. Even if he merely threw a stone, it could kill someone.
The bone in Han Qin's forehead shattered. Darkness clouded his vision, and dizzy and unsteady, he fell.
Whoosh!
Li Weiyi leaped down from the Medical Tent, his feet swift as galloping horses as he rushed to kill before the people from Laboratory 705 could pick up their guns again.
Other than the bespectacled middle-aged woman, the remaining four were all advanced in years, yet their reactions were extremely fast. One of them swiftly picked up the Shotgun.
At this moment, Li Weiyi was still ten meters away.
Pfft!
Li Weiyi had already anticipated it. The Yellow Dragon Sword flew from his hand, piercing through the man's chest and passing straight through his heart.
His scream and the sound of the Shotgun falling to the ground rang out at the same time.
"I'll stop him!"
Director Yang remained composed. His aged face darkened slightly as he raised his arm, revealing the Three-headed Snake Bracelet around his wrist.
It was a metal snake with three heads coiled around a bracelet like blood jade.
Another Immortal Object!
Director Yang used a small knife to cut open his wrist.
When blood flowed out, it did not drip to the ground. Instead, it seeped into the blood-jade-like bracelet. As the bracelet burst with a blood-red glow, the metal snake actually "came alive."
Meanwhile, due to the heavy loss of blood, Director Yang's body gradually withered, as though he had aged ten years in an instant.
"Does it need this much blood?"
During his previous attempts, the bracelet had reacted to only a small amount of blood.
It was too late for regrets now.
Before you continue