Slaying the Scorpion

The second-floor corridor was filled with the stale smell of smoke, cheap perfume, and sweat. The thick scarlet carpet absorbed the sound of footsteps but couldn't muffle the frenzied roars, the crisp clinking of chips, and the coy, affected laughter of women emanating from the private rooms on either side.

Lin Xiao moved like a shark lurking at the bottom of a polluted river, his presence concealed to the extreme. Every movement was precisely calculated to avoid the drunken patrons and servers who occasionally stumbled out of the rooms. The azure light screen in his mind, flickering like a candle in the wind, brought with it the sense of his soul on the verge of collapse. The cold numbness in his right leg had spread to his hip, making each step feel like dragging a thousand-pound iron shackle.

Yet, his gaze was terrifyingly cold and sharp, all pain and exhaustion compressed into a single, burning, mad glint deep within his pupils.

The southeast corner. The most heavily reinforced private room door, adorned with gaudy golden patterns. Two guards stood outside, their auras significantly more formidable than the riff-raff downstairs. Their eyes were fierce, their temples bulging – at least Martial Disciple peak, perhaps even with one foot in the realm of martial artists.

Scorpion was inside. Based on Ye Qingyan's intel and the suppressed roars of fury faintly heard from within, there was no doubt.

A frontal assault? In his current state, it would be suicide.

Lin Xiao's gaze swept over the slowly rotating surveillance camera in the corner of the ceiling, its red light blinking. He then glanced at the bulging holsters on the guards' waists, finally settling on his own leg, which had almost lost all sensation.

He needed a greater chaos, a chaos that could instantly draw all attention, even force Scorpion to reveal a weakness!

His consciousness once again struggled to sink into the nearly collapsing azure light screen. This time, the target was no longer simple circuits or door locks.

[Command confirmed! Targets: Second-floor core power supply lines (overload), fire sprinkler system (false trigger), all surveillance camera data streams (interference)... Synchronized interference execution: Overload burn, water deluge, static screen! Source Energy Points consumed: 0.8!]

[Source Energy Points: -2.010 - 0.8 = -2.810!]

[Modification initiated!]

"Pfft—!"

This time, Lin Xiao could no longer suppress it. A mouthful of scorching blood erupted violently from his mouth, splashing onto the scarlet carpet and instantly spreading into a dark brown stain! His vision was completely consumed by darkness and blood, his ears filled only with the roar of rushing blood and the mad, mocking pulse of Scorpion's core! He almost collapsed to the ground, only managing to steady himself by desperately digging his left hand into the wall.

[Warning! Core is on the verge of collapse! Consciousness about to be lost! Viper's Kiss contamination nearing critical! Erosion rate: 0.1%!]

The response from the real world was a complete, hellish chaos!

Boom! Crackle—!

The lights in the entire second-floor corridor, and all the private rooms, suddenly blazed to an extreme before exploding like fireworks! Short-circuiting wires erupted with massive sparks, igniting the luxurious wallpaper and carpet! Smoke instantly filled the air!

Woooo—Woooo—Woooo—!

An ear-splitting fire alarm was forcibly triggered, making one's scalp tingle! The fire sprinklers on the ceiling spun wildly and sprayed water without warning, like lunatics! Icy, murky torrents poured down, instantly turning the opulent corridor into a watery hell!

All the surveillance camera screens were instantly filled with violent static and garbled code!

"Fire! Damn it! What's going on?!"

"The circuit blew! Run!"

"Help! Someone stepped on me!"

"My chips!"

The entire second floor erupted in pandemonium! Screams of terror, roars of anger, sounds of panicked running, and the crashing of falling objects blended into a cacophony! People poured out of the private rooms like headless flies, shoving and trampling each other in a frenzy amidst the smoke, fire, and cold water!

Outside the private room door, the two guards were stunned by the sudden disaster! One instinctively reached for his gun, while the other frantically tried to push open the door to check on Scorpion!

Now!

Lin Xiao used the last shred of his willpower, forcing his almost paralyzed body to move. Like a phantom, he surged against the tide of panicked escapees, heading towards the golden door!

The instant the guard's hand was about to touch the doorknob, Lin Xiao's dagger, like a viper striking from its hole, precisely sliced open his wrist! Blood spurted! The other guard had just drawn his gun when he was violently knocked to the ground by the chaotic crowd, instantly trampled by countless feet, letting out a piercing wail!

Lin Xiao didn't even look. He kicked the heavy private room door, which had lost its electronic lock function and was merely ajar, with all his might!

Bang!

The door was violently kicked open!

The scene inside the room came into view: ostentatiously luxurious yet utterly tacky, the air thick with the decadent scent of cigars and expensive liquor. The room was a mess, bottles and glasses shattered on the floor, several scantily clad women huddled in a corner, screaming. In the center of the room, a middle-aged man with a sinister expression, a hideous scar on his temple, wearing a dark purple silk shirt – Scorpion – stood up abruptly from behind a massive gambling table, his face filled with shock, anger, and brutality! He exuded a powerful energy fluctuation far exceeding that of a One-Star Martial Artist – he was a Two-Star! He was indeed a Two-Star Martial Artist!

"Who?!" Scorpion's roar was like thunder, drowning out the chaos outside! He clearly thought an enemy had taken advantage of the confusion to attack!

But when he saw the boy at the doorway, drenched, his face as pale as a ghost, bloodstains lingering at the corner of his mouth, his aura so weak he seemed liable to die at any moment, yet gripping a dagger emanating an ominous, faint glow, his shocked anger instantly turned into extreme bewilderment and... enraged humiliation!

"It's... it's you, you little bastard?!" Scorpion could hardly believe his eyes! This rat, whom he thought should have been crushed to death in some stinking gutter long ago, not only wasn't dead but dared to show up at his door?! And at a time like this?!

"Die!" Scorpion was utterly enraged, too furious to even consider whether the chaos outside had anything to do with this brat! The formidable aura of a Two-Star Martial Artist erupted, purple poison-attribute True Qi pouring out of him like tangible mist, carrying a corrosive stench! He unleashed a punch at Lin Xiao from a distance! The punch was fierce, and where it passed, the air hissed and sizzled as if being corroded by poison!

Cannot take it head-on! Even brushing against it means death!

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted to pinpricks! His survival instinct squeezed out the last of his strength! He lunged sideways, narrowly dodging the fatal poisoned fist! The wind of the punch grazed his back, leaving a charred pit in the wall behind him!

Scorpion, missing his target, became even more enraged. With a movement like a ghost, he lunged at the fallen Lin Xiao, his hand claws covered in purple poison mist reaching directly for Lin Xiao's heart! The speed was too fast! The angle too tricky!

Unavoidable!

A desperate madness flashed in Lin Xiao's eyes! Now!

[Command confirmed! Target: Reinforced dagger (dark green)... Temporarily attach "High-Frequency Particle Oscillation" armor-piercing attribute! Duration: 1.5 seconds! Source Energy Points consumed: 0.8!]

[Source Energy Points: -2.810 - 0.8 = -3.610!]

[Modification initiated!]

The azure light screen in his mind let out a pained wail, like shattering glass, unable to bear the load! It completely dimmed! Lin Xiao felt as if his soul had been completely drained and crushed! His consciousness blurred instantly, leaving only a final sliver of obsession to support him!

The dark green dagger in his hand suddenly erupted with a blinding, faint blue light along its blade! The sharp hum of high-frequency oscillation, exceeding the limits of human hearing, caused all the glass items in the room to shatter instantly! The air around the blade warped!

[Final command confirmed! Target: Scorpion... Body-protecting True Qi (poison-corrosion attribute)... Operating node 'Danzhong Acupoint'... Create 0.05 seconds of energy turbulence and vacuum collapse! Source Energy Points consumed: 0.6!]

[Source Energy Points: -3.610 - 0.6 = -4.210!]

[Ultimate Modification Activated! Core Overload!!!]

Boom!!!

Blood gushed from all seven orifices of Lin Xiao's head! His vision was completely consumed by a bloody red and darkness! He felt as if he were already dead! Only the dark green Viper's Kiss core deep within his right leg seemed to sense the host's complete breakdown, emitting an unprecedented, cold pulse of greed and madness, as if it were about to burst from his body!

In the real world, at the very instant the Scorpion's death-dealing claw, imbued with potent True Qi and aimed for Lin Xiao's heart, was about to strike—

The endlessly flowing, incredibly condensed purple protective True Qi at the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest, without any warning, in an extremely bizarre manner... violently fluctuated! It was as if a massive boulder had been dropped into a calm lake, or a precision engine had suddenly seized for a moment! An extremely tiny yet undeniably real... defensive vacuum point, abruptly appeared!

0.05 seconds! Or even less!

But for Lin Xiao's final strike, which burned his soul and poured in all his will, it was enough!

"Die!!!"

Lin Xiao let out a silent, beast-like roar! Gripping the dagger, which vibrated at high frequency and emanated a destructive, ethereal glow, he used his last ounce of strength to fiercely stab towards that fleeting True Qi vacuum point!

Swoosh—!!!

It met no resistance whatsoever!

The dagger, covered in the ethereal glow of high-frequency particle vibration, sliced through the poisoned True Qi that had lost its momentary stability like a searing hot iron cutting through cold butter, piercing the Scorpion's chest with unparalleled precision! It had pierced its heart!

The Scorpion's forward momentum froze abruptly! The enraged and ferocious expression on its face instantly solidified, transforming into extreme disbelief and confusion! It looked down, staring at the dagger that was almost entirely embedded in its chest, at the rapidly fading azure light on the blade, seemingly unable to comprehend what had happened.

"How... how is this possible..." it choked out, a leaky sound from its throat, its purple True Qi instantly scattering.

Lin Xiao had no strength left whatsoever. The phản lực from the dagger's thrust sent him flying, and he collapsed to the ground, his consciousness plunging into endless darkness.

[Target "Scorpion" confirmed dead... Energy imprint dissipating...]

[Source Energy Points settlement: +2.5 (Over-level kill of a strong enemy)]

[Source Energy Points: -4.210 + 2.5 = -1.710]

[Confirmed primary threat of "Blood Wolf Gang stronghold (Obsidian)" cleared... Influence settlement: +0.9]

[Source Energy Points: -1.710 + 0.9 = -0.810]

[Detected ambient free energy (residual True Qi, fear emotions, killing intent)... Core instinctually absorbing...]

[Source Energy Points: -0.810 + 0.810 = 0.000!]

In his mind, the completely dimmed azure light screen's core suddenly pulsed! It was like a dry riverbed receiving a trickle of spring water! Though weak, it was incredibly real!

[Source Energy Points: 0.000!]

Zeroed out!

That cold number, representing absolute depletion and death... had vanished!

In its place was a return to zero, like a newborn sun...

Lin Xiao lay on the cold, slippery ground, fallen beside the Scorpion's rapidly cooling corpse. Around him were burning smoke, splashing cold water, women's screams, and distant police sirens.

He had completely lost consciousness.

But a faint, nurturing glow, representing new life, was slowly igniting from the depths of his core, which resembled ruins in his mind.