A Formidable Enemy Was Inevitable!

As Li Yèlái drew the Chilong Ji from the Large Black Umbrella, his entire presence changed dramatically.

To outsiders, aside from his handsome looks, there was nothing particularly special about Li Yèlái's bearing. In a crowd, he could be called utterly unremarkable.

But now, the moment he drew the Chilong Ji, the faces of many Scavengers who had seen blood changed abruptly.

They were all bloodthirsty thugs. Their sheer viciousness was enough to make ordinary people shudder.

Yet now, they seemed to glimpse a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, as if the pungent stench of blood were flooding their nostrils!

That was only natural. They were facing a psychic who was more dangerous than they were—and a fierce, valiant general who had single-handedly pierced through a cavalry formation, slain more than two hundred riders, and killed the enemy commander!

When faced with Li Yèlái's palpable hostility, they were bound to feel that incredible pressure!

Li Yèlái was indeed furious.

Ever since the Black Prison incident, he had been extremely wary of Forbidden Items going out of control.

Far too many of his comrades had died in the Black Prison incident.

They had given their lives to suppress the Forbidden Item and prevent even greater casualties.

And yet now, even after learning that he was an official Handler,

someone still intended to take the Forbidden Item away, completely disregarding the possibility of it going out of control and the lives that might be lost.

That had infuriated Li Yèlái.

So he revealed his weapon, giving them a full taste of the pressure he could bring to bear.

"You know I'm an official Handler, and you're still going to stop me?" Li Yèlái said coldly, holding the halberd in one hand and pointing it at the Male Bodyguard. "You don't know how dangerous Forbidden Items are? Hand it over, and we can compensate you for all your losses—and leave you with a tidy surplus. Don't bring this on yourselves. Put down your weapons, and the Red Dart Merchant Association can still flourish."

He was certain that the Male Bodyguard behind Xu Shi was the one really calling the shots.

Xu Shi seemed more like a puppet he had pushed into the limelight.

The Male Bodyguard seemed to sense Li Yèlái's hostility. Though somewhat surprised, he kept his composure.

"What compensation could make up for the benefits it brings? Besides, your officials have contained so many Forbidden Items. Don't you use their strange effects, too?" The Male Bodyguard shook his head, a smile in his voice. "I think we can make good use of it as well."

That was the common failing of clever people: they always thought they could do what others couldn't, and that others had failed only because they weren't clever enough.

"Looks like I'll have to use force and take it from you, whether you like it or not." Li Yèlái sounded regretful, but the Chilong Ji in his hand gleamed with a cold light.

He kicked the gambling table in front of him flying, swung the Chilong Ji one-handed, and charged straight at the chest.

In truth, Li Yèlái didn't know whether reinforcements were coming. The hulking man with the vicious face had kept him pinned down earlier, and he hadn't gotten a chance to contact the authorities directly.

But he was certain the authorities had received his message.

So all he had to do was get the Forbidden Item and hold out until reinforcements arrived!

On the other side, the moment the old butler saw Li Yèlái raise the Chilong Ji, he immediately turned and ran with his people, grabbing the still-dazed boss as he went.

His task was done. He wouldn't dare stick around in a place like this.

The others were slow to react, but soon followed close behind.

The Scavengers who should have stopped them were now so shaken by Li Yèlái's actions that not one of them gave chase.

As Li Yèlái charged, Xu Shi's face had yet to show any shock. He still hadn't recovered from hearing the words "the authorities."

The authorities? Did he mean the giant city's government?

Had the thing he'd found actually drawn the giant city's attention?

Xu Shi was astonished. At once, he opened his mouth.

"Wait! No—"

He didn't want to oppose the giant city. No matter how large the Red Dart Merchant Association was, in the eyes of the giant city, it was still just a small merchant association.

All he wanted was to quietly reclaim the gold coins that could make him rich, and develop the association without drawing attention. He would recruit more wild psychics and build the association into something bigger and stronger.

The coins had an incredibly powerful luck-bringing effect, and they had helped his association reap a fortune on one scavenging trip. If he could recover all of them, the association would rise to yet another level!

He wouldn't dare do something that would directly offend the giant city.

But before he could finish, the Male Bodyguard grabbed his arm.

"Stop him!" the Male Bodyguard bellowed. He seized Xu Shi with one hand, grabbed the chest with the other, and darted away, disappearing through the back door.

Clearly, he had no intention of risking a fight with Li Yèlái. Then again, wild psychics generally didn't want to fight official Handlers.

The Female Bodyguard, however, drew two hunting knives without a moment's hesitation and charged at Li Yèlái.

Clearly, she intended to buy Xu Shi and the Male Bodyguard time to escape.

Among the Scavengers, some hesitated, but a considerable number of them stared blankly for a moment before raising their weapons and charging at Li Yèlái.

Some even drew pistols from their waists and fired at him, ignoring the Scavengers in front of them!

Gunshots rang out, and several Scavengers fell to the ground. But even more swarmed toward Li Yèlái.

Are their actions being controlled? Is it Whispers? Or Divine Command?

Li Yèlái's gaze turned cold. He activated the Psychic Barrier to its fullest, blocking every bullet to prevent further casualties.

At the same time, he sprang forward and brought the Chilong Ji crashing down.

Single-Handed Eighteen Thrusts, Elephant Trample!

One strike was enough to send the Female Bodyguard flying several meters back. Her face turned pale, and blood seeped from her nose and mouth.

Trying to match his strength? Li Yèlái's strength now rivaled that of a third-awakening True Martial!

How could a psychic who hadn't even mastered the Psychic Barrier technique possibly stand against him?

But Li Yèlái had no time to feel pleased with his strength. He quickly swung his halberd, sweeping down all the Scavengers closing in around him.

He darted forward in pursuit, charging toward the back door.

But then he heard a sharp whoosh overhead. His heart jolted; instinct told him the ambusher was very strong.

He raised his halberd to block, but felt a shadow slip past his defense and swing toward his head.

Li Yèlái immediately tilted his head aside, narrowly dodging the blow. He could even feel the sharp tip skimming past his hair.

That was close—he had almost been killed with a blow to the head!

Li Yèlái immediately took a step back. "A flail? I didn't expect there to be another expert!"

Only then did the ambusher's figure appear.

It was the Scarred Woman who had earlier said Li Yèlái should be left to her. Now, she swung her flail as she suddenly appeared in front of the back door.

It was unclear whether she was interfering with his vision using the Spirit Eye Path or turning invisible through the Nether Path.

"Thank goodness, I didn't smash your head in." The Scarred Woman sounded relieved, though she had shown no mercy with her attack just now.

No wonder he hadn't been able to block her. A flail wasn't something you could block; you had to dodge. Otherwise, just like what had happened moments ago, the spiked ball would swing around your defense and slam into you.

Two Scavengers appeared behind her, weapons in hand.

The light around them wavered.

They were clearly psychics, but not much stronger than the Female Bodyguard. They were probably newly awakened. The Scarred Woman, however, had some real skill.

"Have you thought about the consequences?" Li Yèlái frowned. Counting the Scarred Woman and the two behind her,

the Red Dart Merchant Association already had five psychics.

Were these wild psychics who had emerged because of the earlier incident?

"We weren't planning to reveal ourselves, but you took her down in one move. We couldn't just let you chase after them." The Scarred Woman smiled. "But what about you? Why not do us a favor and let us leave safely? Once we use those lucky coins to rebuild, we won't forget you."

"You're pretty confident. You think you can escape the giant city just because you can dodge me?" Li Yèlái raised the Chilong Ji again. "Starting today, the Red Dart Merchant Association will cease to exist!"

The giant city would never again allow the Red Dart Merchant Association to remain after it had openly attacked a Handler.

But the Scarred Woman didn't care. "That's a shame. It took us a lot of work to get them. Still, we'll soon build an even stronger force in the wilderness."

As she spoke, the two wild psychics behind her charged Li Yèlái together.

Behind Li Yèlái, the Scavengers controlled by some unknown force also rushed toward him, weapons in hand.

Li Yèlái sighed and said into his communicator, "Branch, send me a few more ambulances."

Then he swept a hand across his face.

The Champion Marquis Facial Mask!

"Thunder!"

The Shadow Army appeared at his sides, transforming into Heavy Cavalry!

If he could pierce through a military formation, he could certainly smash through the enemies in front of him!

Meanwhile, the moment Li Yèlái drew the Chilong Ji, the Handler teams from the West City Branch and more than a dozen military armored vehicles had already poured into the merchant association's factory grounds.

The association's Scavengers were stunned, but they didn't dare resist. They obediently surrendered.

Yet quite a few Scavengers suddenly raised their weapons right under everyone's noses, attacking the special forces and Handlers.

This also exposed many wild psychics. Mixed in among the resisting Scavengers, they hurriedly fought back against the Handlers.

The West City Branch had expected wild psychics to appear. So when they learned that Night General had found one psychic,

the West City Branch said it was within expectations.

When a second appeared, they said it was still within acceptable bounds.

But when nearly ten wild psychics showed up,

the West City Branch said, "What the hell?!"

Fortunately, those psychics had been thrown out like expendable pawns and hadn't managed to cause any real damage. Still, they drew most of the Handlers' attention.

Watching the fierce fighting outside, Xu Shi felt cold all over. Those were all his subordinates, and now they were being controlled and made to attack the authorities.

"What have you done? Didn't you say you could help the Red Dart Merchant Association grow even stronger?" Xu Shi looked at the Male Bodyguard in horror. "That's why I took the risk of recruiting those psychics, but you brought them into the giant city and made them fight the authorities. If you want to die, don't drag me down with you! Why not just sell it to the authorities? We could even get on their good side—maybe they'd recognize us as an official merchant association!"

The Male Bodyguard handed Xu Shi the chest and said, "They're all expendable. The Red Dart Merchant Association can disappear for all I care. With this, you'll soon build up your wealth and create an even bigger association."

"Now take the chest, get in the car, and flee! Use our connections to get out of the giant city!"

"What about you?" Xu Shi asked in bewilderment.

"Me? I'll hold them off for you, of course." The Male Bodyguard smiled lightly. "Go!"

A strange magic seemed to blossom in Xu Shi's mind. He obediently climbed into the driver's seat and set the chest on the passenger seat.

Then he stepped on the gas, and an off-road vehicle shot out of the factory.

A Handler spotted him and called out in a low voice, "That's Xu Shi! He has the Greed Treasure Chest!"

"Cut him off!"

Two Handlers immediately chased after Xu Shi.

Meanwhile, the Male Bodyguard smiled, picked up another chest, and safely placed it in the back seat of a vehicle.

Then he got into an armored vehicle and drove toward the secret exit he had prepared long ago.

Who was a pawn, really?

The Scavengers were. The wild psychics were. Even Xu Shi himself was.

He was the only one who could laugh last.

With this chest in his hands, who would care about the Red Dart Merchant Association?

As he sped past the factory, a high window suddenly shattered—

On the other side, the Scarred Woman was shaken to her core. She quickly retreated, as if she'd seen a monster.

Because in the middle of the crowd, after Li Yèlái changed into a certain mask, the shadows of cavalry appeared beside him. He then slammed into the approaching Scavengers with his bare body.

His speed wasn't especially fast, yet he sent every Scavenger surrounding him flying.

When he finally stopped charging, he swung his halberd like a whip. One sweep sent every Scavenger closing in on him flying. Blood sprayed from their mouths, and none of them got back up.

Then his halberd shot out like a snake from its hole, piercing the shoulder of a wild psychic.

The next moment, Li Yèlái lifted his halberd one-handed and actually hoisted the psychic into the air before slamming him down behind himself.

The psychic hit the ground headfirst, losing several teeth and falling straight into a deep coma.

The next second, Li Yèlái pulled out the Chilong Ji, grabbed one end with his free left hand, and strained with both arms. The two-meter-long halberd bent in his hands like a bow before springing back into shape.

The halberd shot out, striking another wild psychic who had approached with an axe. It sent him flying several meters into a wall. He twitched twice, then passed out.

In almost no time, Li Yèlái had broken through the encirclement. In less than ten seconds, he had knocked out more than thirty people, including two psychics.

How could the Scarred Woman not be terrified? When she saw Li Yèlái turn his gaze toward her,

her fear grew even stronger. She was a second-awakening psychic, yet she couldn't summon the courage to face him.

So she immediately used Sky Stepping to flee toward the factory's third floor, hoping to escape through a window there.

But she was too slow!

"Wind!" Li Yèlái roared, and his speed suddenly surged.

He used Sky Stepping too. With a single step, he appeared right in front of the Scarred Woman.

The Scarred Woman was horrified. She swung her flail at him and used her ability to conceal herself, hoping to create some distance and shake him off.

But Li Yèlái still held the halberd in one hand. Its tip flickered rapidly as he thrust again and again, seeming to strike dozens of times at once.

Single-Handed Eighteen Thrusts, Swarm of Bees!

The Scarred Woman's concealed figure was forced into view. She could only swing her flail rapidly to defend herself, but it never once touched the Chilong Ji.

Then came a sharp click.

The ear of the Chilong Ji caught the flail's chain.

Li Yèlái yanked hard, and the flail flew out of the Scarred Woman's hand.

Then came Single-Handed Eighteen Thrusts, Snake from the Hole!

The strike pierced the Scarred Woman's shoulder and the window behind her.

Seeing the Scarred Woman lose consciousness and fall toward the ground,

Li Yèlái used Sky Stepping to move through the air, grabbed her by the arm, and landed.

The moment he touched down, he saw an armored vehicle racing toward him.

He looked at the shocked Male Bodyguard inside and understood.

A formidable enemy was inevitable, was it?

Well, this one was a good find!