The Only Way (Please Read On!!!)

After a brief exchange, the two brothers-in-arms had barely managed to figure out the situation and accept each other's brand-new identities.

The lazy big brother who spent every day picking at his toes, slacking off, and scrolling short videos had really crawled out of the mud pits of Central Earth—a crack airborne elite, a special forces king who killed without blinking. Meanwhile, the little brother who dreamed every day about grinding for certifications had quietly, suddenly Become a superpower user who could talk to telephones. Looking at it that way, for the tiny Continent Auto Repair Shop to gather these two crouching dragons and fledgling phoenixes was truly a stroke of geomantic luck.

"Is it her?"

Lu Feng made his final adjustments to the ammunition and confirmed it.

"Yes, at least she's one of the leaders." Ji Jue nodded. "Be careful. These people aren't human anymore."

"I know."

Lu Feng nodded, loading shells into the Shotgun at an unhurried pace.

Even if he hadn't known From the beginning, after killing a few, he knew.

"I've seen plenty of this kind of ghastly stuff in Central Earth. No matter what chaotic Things they are, one shot from a coastal-defense cannon and they die just as cleanly."

Lu Feng racked the bolt one last time, then suddenly asked:

"Are you scared?"

"Of course I am."

Ji Jue nodded Without hesitation, then asked back, "Would being scared help?"

"If you're scared, go out first and wait in the car. If I Missed shot, you'll still have a chance to run."

Lu Feng Looked back at him. "These ghastly Things have power and influence. If we don't get rid of them, I'm afraid we'll never have a moment's peace in Yacheng for the rest of our lives. You understand, right?"

Ji Jue did not answer.

He suddenly felt that his life might have already been completely changed this morning—no, yesterday afternoon, when that Old thing that had turned into a monster rode its tricycle straight at him.

Only now had he suddenly realized it.

Red eyes, hunger, mutation, Beasts, blood, internal organs, and those Things he didn't know were human or ghost... Once they had their eyes on them, there would be no peace ever again!

If he did not move these Stumbling blocks aside, he would have no future!

But if there was a chance...

In that brief daze, Ji Jue looked up at Lu Feng. Through their masks, what surfaced in their eyes was the same calm understanding, as though they were looking into a Mirror:

—They had to kill them all!

But that wasn't right...

Ji Jue's lips moved slightly as he hesitated.

For one fleeting moment, a voice that had always lingered in his heart kept Sounded. He did not know whether it was "conscience" or "weakness." It egged him on, telling him: You can't do this, Ji Jue. Don't be impulsive. Calm down. Killing people alone can't solve the problem...

You should at least set another fire!

Machines could speak and tell him the truth. Then corpses might have something to say to others too. What about souls? Did they really exist? Would they turn into ghosts? Would they linger like restless spirits?

To be safe, he had to kill them all, drain their Spiritual Substance with the watch, burn the bodies into charcoal, grind their bones to ash and flush them into the sewers. Then he had to set a fire, burn away the scene, disperse the crowd, and use gas to blow this damned Nightclub sky-high. Finally, he had to wipe every surveillance recording along the way. He and Feng Ge would find somewhere to have a drink and stir up some trouble, preferably changing the time beneath the cameras outside a police station or some gang's headquarters to leave themselves an alibi. Only then could they go home and sleep At ease. Only then could they even talk about having a tomorrow.

But no matter which path they chose, there was only one prerequisite.

Those ghastly Things all had to die!

"There are fourteen people inside, and four in the small room next door. One at the entrance, one in the car, and another in the truck bed."

Ji Jue said, "The woman on the left at the entrance, the one beside her, and the one in the car are all monsters. Shooting their hearts won't work. Even if their heads explode, they may still struggle. Can you handle it?"

"A little troublesome, but I can give it a try."

Under his mask, Lu Feng grinned. Like a wild beast reduced to a pet display, sharpening its Claws and Fangs anew, he reached into his bag and sorted through the equipment. "When the time comes, help me pull the switch."

"When?"

Ji Jue reached out and pressed his hand against the socket below beside him.

Lu Feng fastened an old pair of Night Vision Goggles over his face, carefully adjusted the straps, put them on properly, and began to count down. "Five, four, three, two..."

In the silence, the soft numbers echoed through the dark stairwell and Corridor, carried away into the distance by the wind reeking of blood.

A crimson light Lit up on the indicator, like a waking beast.

Just like that, the final countdown came to an end.

"—One!"

Crack!

In that instant, blinding electric sparks burst from the socket.

It was as though every soul had been cast into flame and ignited in an instant!

With a force he had never exerted before, Ji Jue's Spiritual Substance surged forth through his fingertips, gone never to return. Yet his consciousness seemed to leave his body, following the circuitry into an unprecedentedly enormous body that filled everything.

As though he had instantaneously expanded into a Giant that controlled all things, Ji Jue could feel the current racing through countless cables, coursing through the vast building like blood through Blood Vessels.

The speakers roared, neon lights flickered, massive ventilation fans spun silently in the darkness, countless cables in the equipment room lay Intertwined, and data flowed like an ocean.

But in an instant, it all vanished.

Because as Ji Jue clenched his five fingers, the Giant's heartbeat abruptly stopped!

Boom!!!

The electrical equipment towering on the roof erupted with a roar, Thick Smoke billowed upward, and every backup power supply went down. All music and dancing abruptly ceased; in that instant of silence, the light vanished.

Darkness surged like a tide, swallowing everything!

In the silence, Ji Jue collapsed onto the ground, gasping violently.

Thick nosebleed spread beneath his mask.

He could not see anything.

He could only sense that, in the breeze, the figure beside him had vanished without a trace. Then, amid the commotion gradually spreading through the garage, a piercing scream suddenly Sounded.

"What the hell is going on?!" Zhu Hong flew into a rage and instinctively Looked towards the man beside her, who wore an awkward smile. Yet in the gloom, she discovered that he too had frozen in place, his face blank with confusion.

Someone tried to pull out a phone and turn on the flashlight, but the instant it was raised, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground Sounded.

The only thing Lit up was the figure that had been standing beside them holding a box... Now, as the box fell, he had already collapsed to the ground, scarlet blood spraying continuously from his neck.

The dying man convulsed violently.

He reached out, trying to grab at his companion's trouser leg.

But all he could see was a figure slowly emerging behind the light, like a real monster. A dagger swept across the phone owner's neck.

In an instant, the pale light was dyed crimson with blood.

The phone fell and was swallowed by the spreading pool of blood.

"Careful, something's wrong."

The quick-witted ones began to retreat rapidly. Someone shouted and screamed, "Turn on the lights! Turn on the lights!!"

But those fumbling around in the dark followed the Walls and could not find the switch. The only thing they found was a face beneath Night Vision Goggles.

Then came a crack.

A head twisted around.

In the sudden chaos, the entire underground garage Became a boiling pot of oil. The pungent stench of blood mixed with sewage, then blended with the rotting smell of the gutter, Making people nauseous.

It was so clear.

Ji Jue could smell it—the scent of death.

Now, he finally understood how Lu Feng had slaughtered so many people all by himself before. He had never talked about his specific experiences in the military. He only occasionally said while drinking or chatting, "I did things without a conscience, filthy work that gave me nightmares."

This was what that nameless Airborne Camp had taught him. This was the role he had played while walking through Central Earth.

His job was slaughter.

Even a few seconds of darkness, a fleeting moment of chaos, were enough for him to kill all six people along his route. He had not even stopped walking. He had not even fired a shot.

That was fucking awesome!

Ji Jue could not help nodding. Feng Ge and I, the two of us, are killing them left and right!

"The car!! The car!!!"

Amid the uproar, someone screamed shrilly, "Turn on the headlights!!!"

The stunned driver seemed to finally come to his senses. He fumbled frantically to start the engine, and dazzling light finally burst from the headlights.

Then it illuminated that blood-soaked figure.

Standing right in front of the headlights, he turned around. The insect-like Night Vision Goggles looked towards the pale face behind the car window. He raised his pistol and pulled the trigger.

A cloud of blood burst behind the shattered car window.

Then he swung the muzzle around and pulled the trigger one by one at those fleeing madly toward the entrance.

"Go get the guns and kill him!!!"

The man guarding Zhu Hong roared. From the blind spot beside the truck, someone immediately lunged out.

Lu Feng casually turned his gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew out and instantly buried itself in the enemy's chest. But the opponent's body began to swell madly.

Like an inflated balloon, mutated flesh grew frantically over the bones, returning to normal in the blink of an eye. Even more, his speed accelerated again.

And what aimed at him next was the dark muzzle of a Shotgun.

Under the mask, Lu Feng remained expressionless as he pulled the trigger.

The man flew backward, his chest exploding open to reveal shattered bones and internal organs. The stench spread, yet he actually began to Rapidly restored again. He opened his mouth and vomited.

Strange Tentacles extended from his mouth and Entwined around the Gun Barrel, pulling it tight. Lu Feng pulled the trigger repeatedly until he blasted the man on the ground into a heap of mangled flesh.

Only then did he sense the chill at his back.

Behind him, in the shadow of the truck bed, someone had actually Crawled out on all fours like a rabid dog. His speed was unbelievable. He ricocheted between the Walls and ceiling, seized the crucial moment, opened sharp canine teeth, and bit down toward Lu Feng's neck.

Bang!

A muffled blast erupted. A spray of blood burst across that twisted face, and the left eye suddenly exploded as the bullet achieved Penetration. Then, in that fleeting instant, his right eye also suddenly burst apart.

In less than the time it took to snap one's fingers, three bullets had Rush towards him almost simultaneously. What they finally Stirred up was the monster's skullcap, blood splashing everywhere!

The misshapen corpse fell from the air.

A sniper? No...

In that instant of icy dread, Lu Feng suppressed the urge to roll away and find cover. He abruptly looked up toward where the bullets had come from—and saw a figure he had not expected.

Ji Jue!

At the stairwell exit, the youth hidden in the darkness around the corner had raised his weapon at some unknown moment.

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger!