The Scorpion's Trap

The dying embers of the sunset cast an ominous, bloody hue over the city. Lin Xiao dragged his increasingly cold and heavy right leg, each step feeling like treading on blades soaked in ice water. The throb of the dark green "Viper's Kiss" core deep within his bone marrow, accompanied by the every flicker of the [-0.8] azure light in his mind, brought needle-like pain and a dizzying sense of depletion. The clamor of the Su family's training grounds was long gone, replaced by the silence unique to the old city, a silence mixed with the stench of rotting garbage and rust.

He moved along the shadows by the wall, his hat brim pulled low, his pale face hidden in the darkness. The brocade box hidden against his body emitted a gentle energy fluctuation, like the only spark in the darkness, tempting him to absorb the three Energy Stones immediately. But reason firmly suppressed the impulse—not now! Su Zhenshan's final, viper-like glance hung over his head like a solid ice pick. On Su family territory, any abnormal energy fluctuation could attract the old fox's scrutiny!

He had to leave this area as soon as possible and find a completely safe place!

He turned into an even narrower back alley, piled high with discarded oil drums and construction debris. This was a shortcut back to the cheap inn where he was hiding, and also one of the most inconspicuous veins in the labyrinthine arteries of the old city. The sunset was completely blocked by the tall, dilapidated brick walls on either side. The alley was dimly lit, with only a faint glimmer of daylight filtering in from the distant alley entrance.

The air was stuffy, carrying a mixed scent of heavy rust and rancid oil. Deathly silence. Even the rustling sound of rats gnawing on garbage was gone.

Too quiet!

Lin Xiao's steps suddenly halted! His bloodshot eyes narrowed instantly, like a lone wolf catching the scent of danger! The wound on his back ached under the intense tension, and cold sweat instantly soaked his undershirt.

Something was wrong!

This was his usual route. Although it was secluded, it was never this deathly silent! Not even the sounds of stray cats and dogs!

Buzz!

The azure light screen in his mind, in its depleted state, managed to emit a faint glow!

[Passive environmental scan activated... Warning! Multiple weak energy reactions detected (hostile)! Locations: behind oil drum to the left front (1)... under the chassis of the abandoned van to the right (1)... behind the damaged window frame on the third floor overhead (1)... in the shadows at the end of the alley (2)... Threat assessment: High!]

[Warning! Multiple unnatural structural stress points detected (traps)! Locations: ground three meters ahead (tripwire)... connection point of the oil drum to the right (explosives?)... rain shelter support structure overhead (suspended heavy object)...]

[Warning! Source Energy Points severely insufficient! Unable to perform deep scan and evasion deduction! Danger level: Lethal!]

The cold warning sounds were like death knells, instantly shattering Lin Xiao's last shred of luck!

Traps! A death trap meticulously prepared for him!

Scorpion! It could only be Scorpion! Only this viper would grasp his route and timing leaving the Su family so precisely, and set up such a sinister, calculated kill zone! Revenge for Scorpion? Or for the World-Erosion Seed fragment on him? Or both?

In the blink of an eye, Lin Xiao's body reacted like a taut bowstring! He didn't hesitate, nor did he have any intention of negotiating or retreating! Facing such a deadly situation, the only path to survival was forward! To tear open a gap before the encirclement was complete!

Target—the end of the alley! There were only two energy reactions there, appearing to be the weakest point of the encirclement! But Lin Xiao knew that was likely a deliberate... fatal bait left by the enemy!

He pushed off the ground abruptly, enduring the icy pain deep in his right leg's bone marrow and the dizziness from depletion. His body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, rushing desperately towards the end of the alley! His left hand darted into his embrace like lightning, gripping the cold, hard, and incomparably sharp reinforced dagger!

"Attack!" a hoarse, sinister roar, like the hiss of a viper emerging from its den, exploded from the broken window on the third floor overhead!

The deathly silence was instantly shattered!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three piercing sounds of air being torn ripped through the dimness! They came from behind the oil drum to the left front, from under the chassis of the van to the right, and from overhead! Not bullets, but three crossbow bolts, flashing with an azure cold light, clearly coated with potent poison! Arranged in a triangular formation, carrying bone-chilling killing intent, they instantly sealed off Lin Xiao's forward, left, and right spaces! The angles were cunning and vicious, unavoidable!

At the same time!

Chila—!

Just three meters ahead of Lin Xiao's feet, a near-transparent alloy wire suddenly tensed from the shadows of the walls on both sides! Its height was perfectly positioned at ankle level! If he tripped on it, he would instantly lose his balance and become a lamb to the slaughter!

Even more terrifyingly, the seemingly casually stacked oil drum on the right suddenly erupted with a burst of dazzling electric sparks at its connection point! A strong, pungent smell of gasoline mixed with sulfur instantly permeated the air!

Boom—!

A deafening explosion accompanied by a wave of scorching heat erupted! The oil drum, like a lit dynamite barrel, instantly burst into pieces! Burning gasoline mixed with sharp metal fragments, like a storm of hellfire, swept towards Lin Xiao! The flames instantly illuminated the dim alley, and also reflected the ferocious faces of the killers hidden in the shadows!

Overhead, the rusted rain shelter support structure, which had already been tampered with, groaned under the impact of the explosion! A rusty I-beam, as thick as a waist and as thick as a waist, like the blade of a guillotine, descended towards Lin Xiao's head with a terrifying shriek that tore through the air!

Arrows blocking the path above, a tripwire to claim his life below, a sea of fire to his right, and a steel beam falling from above!

A kill box!

The traps set by Scorpion, interlocked, vicious, and deadly! They instantly pushed Lin Xiao into a desperate situation with no chance of survival!

"Die! You little bastard!" Scorpion's roar, filled with malice and glee, could be vaguely heard amidst the roar of the explosion!

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted to pinpricks! The icy touch of death instantly seized his heart! The [-0.8] azure light in his mind flickered wildly, his depleted soul crying out in anguish! The Viper's Kiss core deep in his right leg throbbed frantically, a cold numbness spreading upwards like a tide!

Unavoidable! Undodgeable!

Then... he wouldn't avoid it!

A fierce and resolute glint, like that of a lone wolf, instantly erupted in Lin Xiao's eyes! All fear, hesitation, and depletion were ignited and burned away by the instinct for survival at this moment!

His forward momentum did not slow down; instead, at the last possible moment, it surged again! He pressed his body lower, almost skimming the ground!

The reinforced dagger clutched in his left hand, under the dim light and the reflection of the explosion's flames, its dark green blade seemed to come alive, the almost transparent extreme sharpness at the edge emitting a chilling glow!

"Open for me—!"

Facing the three poison arrows sealing his space in a triangular formation, facing the deadly tripwire beneath his feet, facing the sea of fire sweeping in from the right and the steel beam crashing down from above, Lin Xiao's choice was—to charge!

Charge forward! Charge towards the seemingly weakest, but actually most fatal, end of the alley!