A Lingering Worry

The walls were smooth, and Xia Qiang had nowhere to brace himself. Before long, "Yuan Xiaotian" dragged him down.

"Xiaotian!" Xia Qiang was pinned to the floor, but he still shouted at him. "How did you become like this? Wake up! It's me, Xia Qiang!"

"Wake up, Xiaotian!"

"Yuan Xiaotian's" one remaining eye was filled with guilt and reluctance, along with deep self-reproach, but the strength in his hands didn't diminish at all.

Just as Xia Qiang had suspected, "Yuan Xiaotian" still had his own consciousness. But he couldn't control this body; it was as if his consciousness had been sealed inside the corpse.

That meant "Yuan Xiaotian" could sense everything happening around him, but he couldn't make any choices—or decisions—for this body.

All he could do was watch helplessly as his captain was about to die because of him.

The feeling showed plainly in "Yuan Xiaotian's" eyes, driving him nearly mad.

When the moment was right, the murderer lurking nearby finally made his move.

Pinned to the floor with his face pressed against it, Xia Qiang could clearly feel the ground trembling.

Something very heavy was drawing closer, moving with a strange, stiff rhythm.

He didn't have much time left.

Xia Qiang stopped struggling and used the last of his strength to shout, "The murderer can bring the dead back to life and make them serve it! I saw Xiaotian—he came back to life."

"The murderer attacks from behind and targets people's shadows. Once it takes control of your shadow, your whole body becomes stiff."

"I tried pressing my back against the wall, but that only let me avoid its attacks for a short time. Xiaotian—Xiaotian's corpse dragged me down from the wall. This wasn't Xiaotian's doing. He's being controlled!" Xia Qiang roared. "He's still alive. His consciousness is