Scarlet Fever

In a cramped room where a fight could break out at any moment, a man suddenly ripped off his shirt.

Shadow Nightmare's move was undeniably horrifying. Fu Qian frowned.

Even more horrifying was the body revealed beneath the torn shirt.

Dark red lines, like a spiderweb, covered his entire upper body, etched deep into every inch of flesh.

With each breath, the lines writhed faintly, as if they might come alive at any moment and take flight.

"Scarlet Fever!"

From behind, Tan Mingxue cried out in alarm.

"As expected of Team Leader Tan. You recognized it at a glance."

Shadow Nightmare looked smug as he flashed Fu Qian a provocative smile.

"This should help you calm down, right, mysterious expert from beyond the pale?"

"No."

Fu Qian mercilessly rolled his wrists.

"If you have nothing else to say, those can be your last words."

"Wait!"

This time, Shadow Nightmare and Tan Mingxue shouted together.

The moment Fu Qian looked ready to kill, their reactions were astonishingly alike.

The smile on Shadow Nightmare's face had frozen.

"Are you crazy? You'd rather take us all down with you just to kill me?"

"Are you trying to get us all killed?"

Tan Mingxue was both shocked and furious.

"If you kill him, Scarlet Fever will spread. We'll all die!"

"Is it really that dangerous?"

Fu Qian frowned.

"You don't even recognize Scarlet Fever?"

Tan Mingxue gaped at Fu Qian in disbelief.

"I don't. I thought he was taking off his shirt to show me his wounds and tell me he was fighting injured, all while staying strong despite his disability."

Strong despite his disability? Give me a break!

Tan Mingxue and Shadow Nightmare nearly spat blood in unison.

"Scarlet Fever. You can think of it as both a poison and a curse."

After finally calming herself down, Tan Mingxue spoke quickly.

"Once infected, your blood gradually heats up until it boils.

"As the flesh throughout your body decays, your blood vessels gradually migrate to the surface, forming this red web. They say that if the host is strong enough, these veins will detach intact after he dies, becoming an independent entity—and may even possess the qualities of a truly living thing."

"It's highly contagious. If you kill him here, it'll spread through the entire space in an instant. None of us will get away."

"Still, it does have some benefits. After infection, your speed, strength, and overall combat ability all increase significantly. To a certain extent, it works like a stimulant."

Tan Mingxue took a deep breath and looked at Shadow Nightmare.

"As expected of the notorious Annihilation Shadow. You actually managed to get your hands on something like this!"

"This stuff is expensive. It took a lot of effort to get, and I hadn't planned to use it here."

At last, Tan Mingxue's words had helped Shadow Nightmare regain a little confidence. He snorted.

"But something unexpected happened, so I had to use it as a precaution."

"Did you even think about the consequences?"

Tan Mingxue gritted her teeth.

"Relax. If I dared to use it, I must have a foolproof plan. Once I send her off, I'll have plenty of time to deal with this little problem."

Shadow Nightmare pointed at Wen Li, but kept his eyes on Fu Qian.

"Annihilation Shadow. Sounds like a group?"

Fu Qian ignored him and looked at Tan Mingxue.

"That's right. They're a famous trio of assassins, all three of them Transcendents. They've been behind countless massacres and have long been on the Night Watchers' wanted list."

"Let me guess: one's a rock golem who can grow to enormous size, and another's a professional who specializes in hypnosis and poison?"

"That's right. The three of them always operate together, with Shadow Nightmare as the undisputed core."

"I see. That explains everything."

Fu Qian nodded in satisfaction.

You three brothers owe me way too much Sanity Value.

"Though I don't know where you came from... there's no doubt you're strong. I don't think I'm a match for you, even with Scarlet Fever."

Shadow Nightmare looked at Fu Qian.

"But now, I'm the one in control."

"I should even thank you for bringing everyone here. It lets Scarlet Fever do its worst."

"You have two choices now: step aside and let me kill Wen Li, or kill me and die with the rest of them. Wen Li will die either way."

"I think even a child could answer that question."

"Of course, we could keep this stalemate going. In an hour at most, the Scarlet Fever in my body will erupt, and the result will be the same."

"Did you hear that?"

After Shadow Nightmare finished his long speech, Fu Qian turned around and called to Wen Li instead.

"You're going to die. How does that feel?"

Wen Li shuddered again and had to brace herself against the wall to stay upright.

She certainly didn't feel good.

Far too much had happened today.

Since a moment ago, one change after another had taken place in the blink of an eye, and her emotions had been on a roller coaster.

First she'd been poisoned, then rescued, then taken hostage by the person who'd saved her, and then told she had only one day left to live.

Fortunately, the Night Watchers had arrived in time to save her. But her captor was simply too strong. Just when reinforcements had finally arrived and she'd begun to hope, it turned out that one of the Night Watchers was actually an assassin in disguise.

Now she was trapped in a surefire death situation. For a moment, she felt utterly hopeless and exhausted.

"What does it feel like to wait for death? Tell me."

"Fear, and maybe a little relief."

Wen Li took a breath, her voice trembling.

"You can mock me for being weak, but I'm not a powerful person like you, someone who's used to seeing people die. Please forgive me for not being able to take it calmly."

"Good. You're honest."

Instead of mocking her as she'd expected, Fu Qian praised her.

"Now, watch closely."

In the next instant, Fu Qian vanished from where he stood.

You...

A powerful sense of danger hit Shadow Nightmare. He didn't even have time to dodge before an iron-clamp-like hand seized him by the throat and slammed him against the wall behind him.

"Fu Qian, don't be rash."

The sight drained the color from Tan Mingxue's face. She took several steps back almost instinctively.

"Qi Xue will be here with reinforcements soon."

"Stop deluding yourself."

"No one outside can hear anything said in here. Are you sure they'll still send for the Night Watchers after 'Qi Xue' gets there?"

"Now, would you like to hear what I think?"

Fu Qian held Shadow Nightmare by the throat and slowly lifted him into the air, smiling.

"Using mutual destruction as leverage to complete your mission makes you look awfully brave. But your fearlessness is based on the belief that you absolutely won't die."

"That's completely different from being truly unafraid of death."

"Look at you. Even in my hands, you don't dare fight back. You're afraid the stuff in your body might explode. Has that helped you understand what you really are?"

Fu Qian tightened his grip. The red veins on Shadow Nightmare's body twitched repeatedly, as though they might burst at any moment.

"We... can talk..."

Summoning the last of his strength, Shadow Nightmare managed to force out a few words.

"...There's no need... for us to die together..."

"You still don't understand."

"There's every need. A great deal of it."

Fu Qian shook his head as he looked at Wen Li.

"Do you understand now?"

"I..."

Fear of death, which could come at any second, surged through Wen Li.

Yet seeing Shadow Nightmare, who had been so arrogant moments before, held like a dog in someone's grasp filled her with a strange sense of relief.

As she felt her emotions shift violently,

Wen Li suddenly fell into a strange calm.

"I... think I understand."