Volume Two: Life-and-Death Race in the Northern Realm - Mold, Third Hand, and the Strongest Debuff (5)

The seventh level of the underground city, which is also the lowest level.

As the lowest level, this place can only be described as pitch black. You can't see any buildings here at all, and you can only hear the rushing sound of the underground river below. The sound of the water surges back and forth between the stone walls, eventually turning into a torrent of sound that surrounds us, as if countless spectators are applauding my defeat.

Hiss— "Oh no—"

The Flame Wings on my back swayed a few times, growing thinner and thinner, on the verge of disappearing! As the Flame Wings diminished, the propulsion behind me also weakened greatly, and the original accelerated descent returned to free fall.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear~~ Looks like you're at your last gasp! Do you think you can escape now?"

Sensing my powerlessness, Payne burst out of the rift with a loud laugh, waving his Third Hand gleefully, and an arc-shaped spatial rift descended from the sky, cleaving head-on towards me!

Flame Step!

Blood Flame erupted beneath my feet, and I swayed, using the Blood Flame to propel myself forward, desperately dodging the rift's pursuit.

Click!

A sound like shattering glass suddenly rang out beside me, and the excruciating pain of my flesh being torn apart almost made me scream! Turning my head, I saw a thin crack spreading to my left arm, which twisted and shattered along with the space around it. From my shoulder to my wrist, several large chunks of flesh had been gouged out, and my bones were broken and twisted. Only a thin strip of skin and flesh remained connecting my elbow to my forearm!

I stumbled and plummeted straight down from the sky! The chilling air and the spreading pain disoriented me; all I could hear was the incessant sound of water, and I seemed to sense a wisp of dampness ahead—

Thump!!!!

A tremendous splash resounded, sending water flying at least ten meters high. The bone-chilling cold and the sharp pain of the impact simultaneously coursed through my body! Falling from that height onto the surface of the underground river was almost no different from falling directly onto concrete!

Hiss hiss hiss----

The rushing water was mixed with the hissing sound of steam. When I landed, my body was still wreathed in Blood Flame and a lot of scalding blood. Under such high heat, pure water would evaporate in an instant.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

I desperately protected my mangled left arm, struggling wildly in the river water that was boiling with my blood. After groping around for a while, my feet finally managed to touch the bottom. I immediately stood up as if I had found a savior, raised my head to the surface, and gasped for air filled with scorching steam.

It was just a few steps away from me--

Boom!!

A loud bang shook the riverbed. Through the misty water, I saw a deformed figure with three arms, staring intently at me.

"I'm really disappointed..."

The murky madness vanished in those harsh words, replaced by a chilling anger.

"I thought your words would allow me to enjoy a good, satisfying battle, but not only have you been running away the whole time, you've also ended up in this pathetic state, soaking in the water... It's disgusting!"

This guy...

Whoosh! A red light streaked across the sky, heading straight for Payne's head!

"Idiot!"

The Third Hand trembled violently and slammed into the void. A small ball of Blood Flame flickered for a moment before scattering into the air.

So it really couldn't hurt him? If the Third Hand's defensive mechanism is still working...

"Foolish, foolish, foolish! The defensive capabilities of my Third Hand far surpass yours! No matter what attack comes, it can react at lightning speed! And you dare to try to ambush me? But... so be it."

Payne grinned, his large, crooked mouth revealing a cruel smile.

"Since you can't be a worthy opponent to my liking, then please me with your mournful cries..."

Third Hand suddenly clenched and struck me fiercely. There was no terrifying Killing Intent or dangerous spatial rift; it was just a straightforward, unadorned punch. I immediately conjured a crystal shield to defend myself.

A muffled thud, and excruciating pain pierced my body. Suddenly, the scenery in my vision accelerated forward. My back slammed into the water, bounced up, slammed into it again, and bounced up again—only then did I realize that his simple punch had easily shattered the crystal shield and struck my body directly. I was sent flying like a stone that had been thrown, skipping across the water backward!

The hard rock against my back told me I had fallen into shallower water. I struggled to stand up, but my battered left arm wouldn't obey me.

"Shout!"

Boom! The demonic arm swept across, and I, unable to defend myself, was sent flying again, crashing hard into the cold stone wall, and falling back into the river like a tattered rag.

"Scream!"

With a flick of its clawed fingers, a spatial rift shot towards me at lightning speed. I hurriedly rolled away to dodge, barely avoiding the fate of having my limbs severed—though, even so, I now had a shocking wound on my leg, deep enough to expose the bone.

"Scream! Scream! I told you to please me with your mournful cries!!!"

Third Hand swung out again, and I curled up, bracing myself for being knocked away once more.

However, snap!

"----!!!"

What's this...?

It feels like being pierced through, but it's not quite the same...

"Ooh, ooh... ah..."

I let out a groan that was hard to understand, and slowly lowered my head to look down.

Side abdomen.

The unusual sensation originated from the side of the abdomen.

Something has appeared on her once fair, smooth, and fat-free abdomen.

Something tore through the skin and flesh and reached inside.

He was Payne's Third Hand.

"Ah, ah..."

The deformed hand was completely submerged in my side abdomen.

"Aaaaaah..."

Stir it gently inside.

"Cough... Ooh cough ahh..."

The instant I became aware of it, an unprecedented, excruciating pain shot straight to my brain. The overwhelming agony, as if searching for an outlet, burst forth as a scream! A scream, a scream, a scream! Because all I could do now was scream!

"Hahahaha, that's it! That's it! Scream! Cry! Struggle! Despair! Suffer! Regret! Just be well--"

The sharp claws that reached into my abdomen grabbed something, and then—

"Please me!!!"

-- Pull him out!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

The first experience of having part of my internal organs removed nearly drove me mad; screams escaped my gaping mouth uncontrollably! In the flickering light, Payne's laughing face appeared, his Third Hand clutching something wet and slippery—it was my kidney.

With a slight exertion of force from the Third Hand, a cracking sound rang out, and the chunks of flesh that were originally my internal organs exploded into a gooey mess of minced meat, which slid through the gaps in the monster's fingers and landed on my face.

"How does it feel? The sensation of your own internal organs being crushed right before your eyes? Which one should you choose next? Stomach? Large intestine? Uterus? Liver? Gallbladder? How is it? How is it? It's painful, isn't it? Tell me! Why are you silent again? Keep screaming! Scream even louder!!!"

"..."

"Huh? What did you say? I can't hear you!"

"... I said..."

"Hmm?"

"... You have already lost."

"... ha?"

Payne's sinister smile vanished, replaced by incomprehension and dissatisfaction.

"I lost? Hey, there's a limit to how much you can show off! Anyone who sees you is the loser, covered in rags and with your kidneys crushed!"

"... Do you think that I was forced to be beaten and abused by you?"

I forced back the stomach acid and blood gushing up my esophagus, and focused all my energy as I stared at him.

"... I don't understand what you mean. Are you saying you did this on purpose?"

"Probably half of it was intentional, and the other half was... cough cough... I never expected you to have such a twisted sense of humor, you've really tormented me..."

"What exactly are you...?"

"If you ask why... of course it's... to buy time."

With all my might, I managed a slight upturn of my lips.

"Delay... time?"

"Look, because of my heat evaporating it, this seventh floor... is full of steaming hot water vapor, right..." I rolled my eyes and scanned the room.

"While you were engrossed in tormenting me, how much 'water vapor' did you actually inhale?"

Then.

Before Payne, who seemed to have grasped something, I tremblingly raised my right hand.

With a snap, he slapped his fingers.

As if in response to me--

Boom!!!!!

Unlike the usual loud popping sound, it was a low, muffled thud.

Its source is not external.

Instead--

"Huh?"

Payne's body convulsed violently, his eyes instantly went blank, he loosened his grip on my hand, staggered back a few steps, and looked down at his body with an incredulous expression.

Then,

"Cough! Ugh..."

He coughed up a mouthful of blood with a loud "whoosh," and upon closer inspection, one could see that besides the blood, wisps of blue smoke were also rising from his mouth and nose.

"Huh... huh? How could this be...? The Third Hand's defense mechanism clearly didn't react..."

His legs gave way and he collapsed onto the damp ground, his body still trembling slightly.

That's understandable.

No matter how strong he is, he could never withstand an explosion from within his own body.

"That's strange, isn't it?"

My stance has shifted; I coldly observe him, observing his pathetic state.

"I've been thinking about how to break through that Third Hand's absolute defense, and then I figured out a way."

I looked around at the water, which was still emitting mist.

"Your Third Hand is indeed powerful, able to automatically identify and eliminate anything dangerous to its owner, but—can it really perfectly identify every harmful factor? If we're being honest, there are countless substances harmful to your body in tobacco, junk food, and even the air. If it could really identify everything, wouldn't you be unable to smoke, eat junk food, or even breathe?"

So—I've come to a conclusion.

"Even 'unfavorable factors' can be categorized into trace amounts and large amounts. As long as the amount is small enough, it's not impossible for it to fool you."

"Could it be...?"

"That's right. I use my own high heat to evaporate the water in the underground river, creating a large amount of water vapor and mist. Although my blood is extremely hot, it is still a liquid. Inevitably, the tiny water droplets in the water vapor I create will contain trace amounts of 'my blood'—meaning, in this space filled with water vapor, my blood is everywhere!"

"... Because there was so little 'your blood' in the tiny droplet that even my hand couldn't recognize it, you deliberately stalled for time so that I could inhale more 'your blood' through my breath!"

"That's right!"

The blood droplets scattered around my body become uncontrollable once the individual amount drops to a certain level. Therefore, to detonate the blood he has absorbed, I must wait for my blood to accumulate to a certain amount in his body. This is why I have to desperately stall for time.

"You—you bastard!!!"

Payne struggled to his feet, his face contorted with rage, his ferocious Third Hand stretching out, tearing open spatial rifts—

"Oh, I just remembered, since this ugly Third Hand is part of your body, it must be connected to your circulatory system, right?"

So,

The blood that has accumulated in your body will surely flow into your proud Third Hand.

"Explode!"

The purplish-red demonic arm twisted in agony, its base instantly swelling several times larger. With a loud bang, the connection between the demonic arm and the chest was violently blasted apart!

Even an invincible Third Hand capable of tearing through space cannot resist an attack from within.

"This is... really exhausting..."

I struggled to grab the Third Hand that had been blasted to my side and was still twitching slightly. I used my long-unused blood-sucking ability and watched as the Third Hand quickly withered away. My severe injuries also began to heal rapidly.

"... But, it's good that we won."

In the cold, dark seventh underground level, only I, relieved, and Payne's charred corpse remained.

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Writing this chapter really took me a lot of effort, haha! You guys thought the protagonist was going to get tortured to the limit like in the first volume and then turn into a demon? You're too naive! Ye Jiang does use her brain too!