Remedial Measures

Captain Mao stood anxiously outside the study, calling out several times but receiving no response from inside.

Considering the urgency of the situation, he gritted his teeth, turned the doorknob, and opened the study door.

"Master Lu, please forgive me, it's really..."

Captain Mao swallowed the rest of his words before he could finish speaking.

After all, the study was only so big, not to mention the three Yellow Talisman that were wrapped around it and Twist and Turn.

The terrifying scarecrow, nearly four meters tall, near the window alone was enough to fill the entire field of vision.

The anxious expression on Captain Mao's face hadn't faded before an uncontrollable look of terror surfaced next.

The complex emotions displayed on his face brought a powerful emotional impact that no acting could ever achieve.

"Captain Mao, you've come at a bad time. As you can see, I have other matters to attend to."

Lu Bai glanced at Captain Mao, then turned his gaze back to the terrifying scarecrow, though his tone was quite casual.

Perhaps reassured by Lu Bai's calm demeanor, Captain Mao managed to regain his composure.

He took the pistol from his waist, gripped it tightly, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Master Lu, what do you need me to do?"

"Just take care of yourself."

Without turning his head, Lu Bai waved his hand and then took the initiative to step towards the terrifying scarecrow. "Just a little incident, alright, let's continue."

He raised his hand, pulled out a Yellow Talisman, and held it between his fingers. The other end of the Yellow Talisman burst into flames out of thin air.

"I refuse to join. What are you going to do about it? Kill me?"

Upon hearing Lu Bai's words, the terrifying scarecrow, which had already raised its branch-like arm, emitted a piercing crackling sound, similar to a viper rubbing its scales, from its deformed, humanoid face.

Without further delay, the two-meter-long branch arm swung straight down towards Lu Bai.

It's worth mentioning that although it appears to be decayed and dry on the surface, the swinging of the branch arm produces a sound like metal cutting through the air.

Furthermore, careful observation reveals that the areas where the branches and arms swept across are left with mottled shadows, as if oil had been spilled onto a transparent glass surface.

"Careful!"

Upon seeing this, Captain Mao instinctively cried out in alarm.

However, Captain Mao didn't need to issue a warning; Lu Bai was already on guard against the unfamiliar and eerie situation.

Moreover, these mottled shadows are obviously suspicious; even a casual observer would know there's something wrong with them.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Bai casually tossed down the Yellow Talisman between his fingers and simultaneously activated [Flash Time] and [Bursting Qi]. With everything frozen in time, he used the temporary physical enhancement provided by [Bursting Qi] to quickly escape the terrifying scarecrow's attack range and retreated towards the door.

During this time, he even had the energy to help Captain Mao at the door.

After 0.5 seconds of [Flash Time], as time resumed its flow, Lu Bai had already led Captain Mao to retreat to the center of the courtyard.

To be honest, even considering the eeriness itself, this scene still looked quite bizarre.

Even though the scarecrow's face was covered by its hood and its expression was obscured, its frozen posture clearly showed that it was quite frightened.

After a moment of silence, the eerie voice unique to the Scarecrow finally came from the room. "No wonder those guys wanted to recruit you."

Before Lu Bai could reply, a slightly rough voice sounded from the eaves, indicating agreement.

"It's obvious he's not human."

Lu Bai looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the speaker was also a strange creature.

The opponent had a raven-like pointed beak and a pair of jet-black wings, but otherwise it was a very ordinary humanoid figure, dressed in tattered mountain shinobi attire, with a katana at its waist.

It didn't flap its wings; it just hovered steadily above the house, observing Lu Bai with a very interested look.

Sequence 59 -- Karasu Tengu.

"Master Lu..."

Captain Mao's voice was dazed, almost like a delirium.

Faced with these successive strange occurrences, his panicked heart finally died completely.

The bizarre and extraordinary actions of these strange beings make it seem as if humanity in this world has no future.

Lu Bai released his grip on Captain Mao's arm and looked at Karasu Tengu, asking, "I'm rather curious, how many of them did you bring?"

After leaving the room and entering the courtyard, he could more or less sense just how chaotic the containment center was.

Screams and cries of terror came from all directions. In the short span of time, two violent explosions had occurred, sending flames soaring into the sky.

"Unfortunately, I don't know either."

The Karasu Tengu in mid-air spread its hands, seemingly somewhat helpless. "In the original distribution plan, these people were supposed to become nourishment for hatred, but I didn't expect you to be such a variable."

The original allocation plan?

Lu Bai wasn't particularly dissatisfied with the strange attitude of treating the entire city's inhabitants as mere expendable resources.

He nodded somewhat belatedly. "So, the Plague Doctor who appeared later was actually your remedial measure?"

During the eerie conversation between the two people, the Twist and Turn and turning scarecrow also emerged from the room.

The terrifying scarecrow interjected sinisterly, "If you hadn't managed to kill that Crow's Mouth, we wouldn't have been able to enjoy such a feast."

Karasu Tengu glanced at the terrifying scarecrow, then slowly drew his katana from his waist.

"You can consider this our second remedy."

Before it finished speaking, its wings flapped behind it, and its entire body seemed to transform into a black lightning bolt, shooting towards Lu Bai.

Although Lu Bai wanted to say that Karasu Tengu lacked martial ethics, his exaggerated attack speed forced him to use [Flash Time] to avoid the attack.

However, after catching his breath, 0.5 seconds passed in the blink of an eye, and another blade of light slashed across.

Clearly, Karasu Tengu noticed Lu Bai's Lu Bai dodging method and gave him no chance to catch his breath.

Lu Bai had to admit that the only weakness of [Flash Time], which couldn't be used continuously, was such a fast-attacking opponent.

Fortunately, he now possesses more than just the ability of [Flash Time].

Before the blade arrived, his figure vanished abruptly, while clanging sounds echoed around the Karasu Tengu.

[Alpha Strike (Gold): Consumes stamina; the user will traverse the battlefield at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, launching four attacks in total. The user is untargetable during this time. Cooldown is 30 seconds.]

To be on the safe side, the Karasu Tengu flapped its wings and retreated a short distance.

Lu Bai reappeared in the same spot. He didn't pause or glance at Karasu Tengu again, but quickly took out a Yellow Talisman and began chanting a spell.