Killing Mechanism?

Chapter 41: A Killing Mechanism?

"This skill..."

Tang Luo's words caused Sun Ang's surging rage to suddenly stall.

A skill? Did the Tang Luo before him perceive his skill?

How could that be!

Not to mention that his skill activation was silent and incredibly stealthy.

He wasn't even using a skill right now!

What was this Tang Luo talking about?

"Could it be the legendary impotent rage?" Tang Luo continued, "I have interpreted anger from your expression."

Mockery!

Naked, blatant mockery!

Adding fuel to the fire, his fury soared to the heavens.

Sun Ang felt a fishy sweetness in his mouth, though he couldn't tell if it was from biting his gums until they bled or the aftermath of that palm strike earlier.

He widened his eyes with force, attempting to see the scene before him clearly.

As long as he could see clearly, he would have the power to counterattack.

Sun Ang possessed a skill—Third-Person Vision.

It could provide near-perfect surveillance and reconnaissance effects; it was precisely through this skill that he had become aware of Tang Luo's existence.

Of course, the target of the skill was not Tang Luo, but Zhang Yuchou.

What the Merit Jade Lotus had dispelled was the "invisible eye" formed by Third-Person Vision.

Additionally, Sun Ang had another skill called Object Manipulation.

Taken alone, it could hardly be considered a divine skill.

But when used in conjunction with Third-Person Vision, it formed a terrifying invisible assassination technique.

To cast Object Manipulation, one must personally see the object being manipulated.

Once the manipulated object left one's line of sight, it would immediately lose control.

Furthermore, during the casting process, one's entire body was rendered almost immobile.

Mental concentration had to be at its peak, equivalent to driving at high speeds or engaging in an intense competitive game; not a shred of distraction was permitted.

Using Object Manipulation alone meant the enemy was a moving target.

He himself would also be a sitting duck—a stationary one at that—which was tantamount to gambling with his life against the opponent.

If he could see the target, the target could naturally see him—surveillance cameras and the like could not achieve the effect of "personally seeing."

However, Third-Person Vision could perfectly achieve the effect of "personally seeing."

It was enough for Sun Ang to kill invisibly from a thousand miles away.

The truth behind the Plate Spirit incident was, in fact, this.

Of course, due to certain limitations of the skills, Sun Ang could not perform a perfect assassination without leaving any flaws.

But with the main elements gathered, it was enough for him to frame the cases as "paranormal events."

At the very least, the police would certainly find no evidence against him.

They would be completely unable to determine his true modus operandi.

At most, they would think that Sun Ang had contact with the deceased before they died, leaving only slight suspicions.

But as fellow participants, wasn't interacting with one another the most normal thing in the world?

Third-Person Vision had been broken by the Merit Jade Lotus.

Because the power of merit had the characteristic of almost never harming people, it had not caused any damage to Sun Ang.

However, it had forced his skill into a cooldown period.

It could not be activated.

But Object Manipulation was something Sun Ang could still cast.

In any case, his limbs were currently in so much pain that even lifting them was difficult.

They were likely all fractured.

Even with recovery abilities that exceeded those of an ordinary person, it was impossible for him to get up in a short amount of time.

Object Manipulation did not require Sun Ang to stand up.

As long as his vision recovered, he could turn his head, find a suitable perspective, and select a suitable object.

He would then be able to launch a sneak attack and kill Tang Luo.

Let the other party also taste the flavor of "capsizing in the gutter."

That flavor—would be the taste of Tang Luo's blood and life.

"How did you fake the Plate Spirit killing people?" Tang Luo asked.

The black spots before Sun Ang's eyes began to diminish, and his vision started to recover.

"You think I'd tell you?" he said intermittently, his voice slurred.

Not for any other reason, but simply to stall for time.

"Fine, let's change the question." Tang Luo was very Zen; if he wouldn't speak, he wouldn't force it. "Zhang Yuchou, he won't be in danger in the future, right?"

"Ha!"

Sun Ang let out a loud laugh. "I already did something to him; if I die, he won't live either!"

To think there was such a kind-hearted God and Demon Walker.

Caring about the safety of mere mortals.

"Hmm, understood."

Tang Luo nodded. "Your acting is even worse than Big Baby's."

The master of acting issued a critique.

The forced smile on Sun Ang's face vanished, and the flickering black spots before his eyes had just completely disappeared.

However, replacing them was a black shadow; upon closer inspection, it was shockingly the sole of a shoe.

He couldn't care about anything else.

Sun Ang immediately used Object Manipulation, locking onto the shoe as the object to be controlled.

His consciousness surged wildly, transforming into an invisible force, about to control the shoe...

For a moment, Sun Ang didn't have time to think about how to use the shoe to counterattack; his most instinctive thought was very simple.

It was just to stop the shoe from landing.

Tang Luo was a little surprised; an unknown force was supporting his foot.

It was resisting, preventing him from landing the kick.

"Pfft!"

A palm strike from the air, an invisible attack, turned Sun Ang directly into a headless corpse.

If he couldn't stomp him, then he wouldn't.

Master Xuanzang was proficient in various forms of physical salvation; changing methods was very simple.

It was also a good chance to test Empty Palm, a skill used to impersonate the "Tathagata Palm."

The effect was quite satisfying to Tang Luo.

How should he put it?

Level one had a maximum range of ten meters, with a 50% reduction in power.

In the future, he could keep his distance and not worry about being splattered by the opponent's blood.

Having to use the Merit Jade Lotus to clean himself after every fight was a bit extravagant.

Moreover, being covered in blood didn't fit the "enlightened high monk" persona Tang Luo was building.

Retracting his foot, just as Tang Luo intended to leave.

Above Sun Ang's headless corpse, a strange aura appeared—invisible, intangible, yet something that could be truly felt.

"A skill?"

To Tang Luo, it felt just like a skill.

However, before Tang Luo could reach out to probe it, the aura swirled for a moment and then dissipated into nothingness.

...Could it be that killing a God and Demon Walker allows one to obtain the opponent's skills, and it's a random acquisition of one of them?

Tang Luo thought to himself.

This didn't count as good news.

According to the current intelligence, the God and Demon Game did not have teams.

But, it also didn't encourage God and Demon Walkers to kill each other.

For the same mission objective, to a certain extent, it actually encouraged God and Demon Walkers to cooperate.

However, if Tang Luo's guess was true.

Then conflicts would arise between God and Demon Walkers over skills.

And this kind of conflict, born from coveting another's skills, would be fatal.

Even with equipment, there was the possibility of discarding it to save one's life.

But skills—they couldn't be discarded.

What is yours, is yours.

If I want it, you must die.

"Interesting." Tang Luo gained a new understanding of the ecology of the God and Demon Game.

Zhou Zhenguo had never mentioned this matter to him.

Either he had concealed it.

Or, he simply did not know.

Tang Luo leaned toward the latter; one must remember, Zhou Zhenguo had even told Tang Luo about the skills he had acquired himself.

If he were worried that Tang Luo would develop murderous intent upon learning of the "kill to steal skills" mechanism.

He would have had no reason to tell Tang Luo about his newly acquired Tide of Recovery while inside the carriage.

Zhou Zhenguo most likely did not know.

Tang Luo believed that under normal circumstances.

Not many people would proactively share this discovery with other God and Demon Walkers.

This mechanism would only circulate among relatively powerful God and Demon Walkers.

Newcomers would certainly not know.

It was perfectly normal for a pseudo-veteran like Zhou Zhenguo, who had just passed the novice period, to be unaware.

To proactively tell others was equivalent to saying to them: "I possess a secret treasure; there is a certain probability of obtaining it if you kill me."

Isn't that the same as giving people your address and asking them to send you razor blades?

"Such a subtle sense of déjà vu..."

Tang Luo shook his head, once again manifesting the Merit Jade Lotus above his head, and entered an invisible state.

Killing Sun Ang had also granted him some power of merit.

It was enough to cover all the consumption from this matter, with a surplus to spare.

Equivalent to Merit -333.

Obtained Merit from Sun Ang +666.

This wave of punishing evil and promoting good was not a loss at all.

However, to be honest.

Even Tang Luo himself had not figured out how the "boundary between good and evil" for punishing evil and promoting good was defined.

One could only say "analyze specific problems specifically."

But Sun Ang, who had killed several people in a row, undoubtedly belonged to the category of "evil."

That killing him would grant merit was something Tang Luo was absolutely certain of.

If he could have guided him toward goodness and atonement, successfully making him "lay down his butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot," perhaps he could have obtained even more merit.

Of course, Tang Luo had no interest in that whatsoever.

His consistent style was "physical salvation."

Spiritual salvation?

That does not exist.

Tang Luo only believes in fighting violence with violence.

Returning to the hotel, he instantly entered the "untouchable" state, "floated" into his room, and immediately dispelled it.

The duration must absolutely not be long.

If it were long, this trip would be a loss.

After a quick shower, Tang Luo drifted off into dreamland.

Early the next morning, Tang Luo was awakened by his phone ringing.

It was the police, hoping to understand the situation from Tang Luo.

"He came in to chat with me about the case, and then he left." Tang Luo stated that if he were lying, he would be struck by lightning.

It wouldn't kill him anyway, and what he said was, in fact, the truth.

Had the two of them not been chatting about the case?

As a key protected individual, Sun Ang's death or disappearance would certainly attract attention.

And the hotel front desk, lobby, hallways, and stairwells were all under surveillance.

There was also the testimony of the young lady at the front desk.

The fact that he had met Tang Luo could not be hidden at all.

If everything remained peaceful, the matter would be forgotten as time passed.

The Plate Spirit incident would also become a cold case.

However, if something were to happen, the fact that Sun Ang inexplicably came to the hotel to meet Tang Luo would inevitably become a major point of suspicion.

Tang Luo did not bother to dispose of Sun Ang's body.

As long as no clues were left behind, it would be fine.

Furthermore, he had a perfect alibi; the surveillance footage could confirm that Tang Luo had not left the hotel for the entire night.

His room was on the fifth floor.

Moreover, the windows in the vast majority of hotels could only be opened a tiny crack—let alone an adult, even a child could not crawl through them.

This was to prevent safety hazards.

There was no second route that would allow one to bypass the surveillance, avoid notice, and leave without anyone knowing.

At most, Tang Luo would attract the attention of the police.

And that bit of attention was not enough to make Tang Luo let Sun Ang off the hook.

To be honest, Tang Luo himself truly did not care.

If the Victorious Fighting Buddha were to act timidly and be overly cautious, would he still be the Victorious Fighting Buddha?

Being prudent and being timid are two different things.

Acting according to one's heart and acting recklessly are also two different things.

However, thanks to Tang Luo, the original plan to just wander around had turned into a solo trip for Tang Luo.

As the last survivor, Zhang Yuchou had shifted from protecting him from the shadows to "tailing" him in plain sight.

This was to ensure that no further incidents would occur.

By the time Tang Luo returned home, Zhang Yuchou had still not been relieved of her duty.

It was estimated that she would have to wait until the day the lease expired.

On the day he returned home, Tang Luo also happened to receive the custom-made God and Demon Suit.