Mocking the Pull

The lightbulb hanging from the iron wall cast a dim glow, illuminating the boiling crucible and the scattered metal fragments on the table.

Besides the thunder outside the door and the pouring rain, the only sound in the enclosed space was a labored breathing, like that of a bellows.

The Red Glove, bare-chested, gritted his teeth as he bandaged his bloody, mangled torso. As he peeled away the gauze stuck to his flesh, scarlet blood seeped from beneath the torn scabs.

It was as if countless blades had been jammed inside him; the fine cuts gaped open like small pink mouths, spitting out crimson saliva.

"FUCK! That monster middle schooler from Dongxia..."

The Red Glove cursed under his breath, picked up a spray can, and pressed the nozzle against his wound. A stream of green mist landed on him, hissing like sulfuric acid on a base.

Amidst suppressed roars of pain, the pale green mist seemed to come alive, wriggling into his wounds thread by thread. Immediately, his entire torso began to writhe, like a nest of snakes.

He collapsed onto the ground, convulsing in agony, unable to hold back his pained screams.

Something was fighting a battle within his body, and soon, bruises and internal organ fragments flowed out of his wounds, tinged with a deep green and wisps of ash-like black.

That was the lingering poison of Chang Geng, squeezed from his very lungs...

Anyone else would have surely died by now. If not for his Holy Mark, Taksin, which could temporarily zombify his body, he wouldn't have been able to withstand this kind of counterattack using poison to fight poison.

In mere seconds, he was drenched in sweat, which mixed with the putrid blood flowing from his wounds.

He looked like a living corpse dragged out of a coffin by a grave robber.

But no matter what, he was still alive.

In fact, this brush with death had given him more confidence in advancing to Nightmare and stepping into the fourth stage.

When the alarm clock rang, he finally had the strength to get up from the ground, pick up the tongs, and pour the silver liquid from the boiling crucible into an iron cup.

It hissed.

That was no delicious drink, but a pool of boiling metallic solution!

Even in his semi-zombified state, the Red Glove hesitated for a long time after picking up the cup. It was a pity that this hastily prepared silver blood potion only worked while in liquid form.

He steeled himself and drank it down in one gulp.

A wave of intense, scorching pain washed over him, almost convincing him that his esophagus and mouth had been carbonized. But it was a necessary price.

This liquid, lethal to ordinary people, was actually a miniature, unranked Holy Mark—a temporary miracle carried in a liquid metal container, capable of repairing damaged Holy Marks and bodies for a short period, like superglue.

The technology to keep it in liquid form at room temperature was a secret of various alchemy workshops, impossible to leak. In his haste, he could only prepare this version with severe side effects to save himself.

Soon, his mangled torso began to mend, a glint of iron showing through the wounds. The solidified metal seemed to fuse with his flesh and blood, re-bonding his near-shattered body.

The intense pain, however, consumed his remaining energy, making him increasingly drowsy, almost to the point of fainting.

His trembling hand fumbled in his pocket, found a packet, opened it, and took out the incense, igniting it with his own origin essence fire.

Wisps of smoke entered his nostrils.

His pale complexion gradually regained color, and his depleted energy slowly recovered a little under the stimulation of the incense, but it was less than a tenth of his normal state.

Convenient items like red and blue potions in online games were simply unrealistic; even if they existed, they would be prohibitively expensive, with each one costing millions. After all, they were life-saving items for critical moments.

Metal to repair the body, incense to sustain the soul—this was the daily reality for every border Ascendant.

Finally, he freed his hand and brought the phone, which had been vibrating for a long time, to his ear and answered.

"It's me, I'm still in Xinhai."

"How's the situation?" the person on the phone asked.

"I'm a bit injured and still losing blood. Luckily, I had the Spade 4 you gave me, otherwise I would have been caught."

He struggled to put on his jacket with one hand. "Xinhai is now completely riddled with Astronomical Society tripwires, and the backup safe house has also been discovered... Don't worry, I'll leave at midnight. I've prepared my own escape route and won't leave any traces."

"Be careful with everything, don't stay in the current realm anymore, come back as soon as possible."

The person on the phone gave a final instruction: "Although the wedges in Xinhai haven't been removed, it doesn't affect the overall situation—your mission is complete, and we'll be able to open the passage to Modu soon... If the situation becomes critical, make your own judgment, prioritize your own safety."

The Red Glove indifferently hung up the phone and began to destroy everything he couldn't take with him. Soon, he was finished packing.

The time was 11:15.

It was time to leave this city of living corpses...

BANG!

Suddenly, a deafening crash echoed from a distance.

The Red Glove froze, looking at the surveillance screen in the corner.

—Someone was coming.

He spread his palm, summoned the fish tank, and peered down into the water.

Just outside the door, a crimson sports car had crashed headfirst into a mountain of shipping containers, emitting black smoke.

A car accident?

"Cough, cough, cough, cough..."

From within the thick smoke, Huai Shi stumbled out of the car, feeling dizzy. The cold, heavy rain poured down, waking him up.

He looked around blankly, seeing layers of stacked containers piled high in the dock area, and the cold, iron-like sea surface far away under the gloomy sky.

"We're here?"

"Mhm, we are."

The Crow, having narrowly escaped death, flew out of the car and looked around. "Couldn't you have found a parking lot? Even if I said we should be reckless, you didn't have to be so stubborn and just drive straight through, did you?"

"Did you forget what you did!" Huai Shi glared at him. "Even if I had parked, I wouldn't have had the money to pay the fare!"

"Then why didn't you just leave the car and let Liu Dongli pay for it himself after he gets out of the hospital!"

Huai Shi froze for a moment, realizing that in terms of heartlessness, this broken bird was even more formidable. In terms of black-heartedness, he, Huai Shi, would yield to it as the strongest.

He stood in the pouring rain, looking around, trying to make sense of the terrain, but found himself completely bewildered. Every place looked the same, just crossroads formed by colorful stacked containers.

He couldn't tell where he was at all.

Not to mention finding the Red Gloves hidden somewhere within.

They had agreed to go out and fight monsters.

The place had arrived.

Where were the monsters?

The Crow pondered for a moment and offered a terrible idea: "Why don't you try shouting a couple of times?"

Huai Shi was taken aback, then nodded in agreement. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Hello? Anyone there? Is anyone home? Fellow villager, open the door, we're bringing warmth... Red Gloves, brother, where are you hiding?"

There was no response.

In the darkness, the Red Gloves watched the reflection on the water's surface with a cold, expressionless face.

"What is this? Are they here to be funny?"

Instantly, the water in the fish tank rippled slightly.

That distant perspective scanned the surroundings. After confirming there were no ambushes, it seemed to put down a telescope and pick up something else.

Then, a neat and detailed crosshair appeared in the reflection.

As it slowly drifted, it aimed at Huai Shi's hood.

At the very top of the towering crane, the figure covered with a dust cloth, crouching on the boom, slowly stood up. The torrential rain washed over its pale skin, its vacant eyes devoid of any spirit, with only a goldfish slowly swimming within.

The heavy sniper rifle was leveled in its hands.

Holding its breath.

Suffocating in pain, the deep gun barrel pointed forward from the leveled hands, the dark muzzle reflecting the endless downpour in the sky.

At that moment, through hundreds of meters of driving rain and gusting wind, the scope had locked onto the blurry, defenseless figure in the rain.

The thumb tightened slightly.

And at that very instant, the scene in the scope suddenly changed. A massive, scarlet eye appeared within it, as if looking directly at the Red Gloves' face through the reflection in the fish tank.

The sudden impact made the Red Gloves' hand tremble, nearly knocking over the fish tank.

What the hell!

"What are you doing, little brother?"

The Crow, which had landed on the gun and was sneakily peeking into the sniper scope, suddenly spoke. "Standing so high up when it's raining, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

"Here..."

Saying that, it lifted its claws and placed what it was holding into the dazed puppet's hand.

"Here's something good for you."

Under the Red Gloves' control, the puppet subconsciously lowered its head to look, and saw a slender... wire in its hand?

At that moment, a faint azure light seemed to flicker from the wire.

The next second, amidst the roaring thunder, it could see nothing.

Bang!

"What the fuxk!"

The Red Gloves staggered back as if struck by lightning, instinctively covering its forehead, feeling the split origin essence turn into charred pain by the thunder.

What made it even more uneasy was that the bizarre Crow, which couldn't help but remind people of the now famous crowned White Emperor Child of Dongxia, the girl who always ran around with a pigeon...

It suddenly felt a chill: how many monsters of the same batch had those lunatics at Jixia created?

If that was the case, then evasion and hiding were meaningless.

Only a desperate struggle offered a glimmer of hope.

Its expression turned grim, and it clenched its fist tightly. Hearing the sharp sound of breaking steel from afar, it slowly pushed open the door and walked out of the container it was hiding in.

Facing the downpour, at the crossroads between the layers of stacked steel, the sound of the boy calling out everywhere abruptly stopped.

"It actually came out?"

Huai Shi was also surprised, as if when you shout for no one to save you, someone truly appears out of nowhere.

"There's only you?"

The Red Glove tilted his head, looking around. He didn't see any sign of anyone else, his expression growing colder. "The people of Dongxia are getting worse with every generation, aren't they?"

"Ah, no, you might have misunderstood."

Huai Shi waved his hands awkwardly, sighing in resignation. "Although it's not our first meeting, I suppose I should introduce myself. But I'm not a fan of formalities, so if you really need a title for me, you can call me..."

As he spoke, he pulled down his hood, revealing his face and the pink mask covering it:

"—Little Peiqi of Huaihai Road."

"..."

The Red Glove froze.

What the hell was that?

Are you kidding me?

What was this Huaihai Road Little Peiqi thing?

It was understandable. No matter who saw that mask, they were bound to be taken aback, right?

And in that instant of hesitation, Huai Shi, who had prepared for this moment for a long time, drew Liu Dongli's gun from his back and cleanly aimed it at the man's face, pulling the trigger.

—Bang!