Wu Xin had left, but the wineglass, still marked with red stains, remained on the table.
"A fight to the death..."
Chen Xi suddenly thought of the Evil Flower organization again and let out a long sigh.
Organizations like that were usually responsible for summoning some kind of world-ending demon in stories.
"I should've gone over the character profiles beforehand."
Otherwise, she wouldn't be completely in the dark like this, knowing nothing.
Never mind. She should deal with Wu Xin first, then worry about the rest. There was no point fretting over things she couldn't control.
And...
Chen Xi walked over to the stove and turned on the gas.
She put her palm right over the hottest part of the flame.
There was no stinging or burning sensation at all.
Chen Xi gradually turned up the gas. The flames leaped higher. Before, she would probably have been burned by now. She certainly wouldn't have been so calm—not to mention feeling a faint warmth.
With Flame Rite's blessing, she could basically ignore ordinary flames.
As for how resistant she was to a Transcendent's fire, that would depend on how she held up in an actual fight.
After a quick wash, Chen Xi lay down in bed. She soon drifted off to sleep.
In a private room at a coffee shop, three beautiful young women with different-colored hair sat together, chatting merrily.
"This is my first time having coffee in a private room," Lin Yue said, looking around at their surroundings with a sigh.
"We can't exactly discuss everything in public."
Chen Xi turned to Zhu Li, who was holding her phone and replying to a message. "Zhu Li, has Captain Qiu Ye arrived?"
Everyone knew that mastering the Butcher required killing ten people.
Where could they find the most death-row inmates?
After thinking it over for a few seconds, Lin Yue came up with an answer: the Countermeasure Bureau.
So, determined to see the whole thing through, Lin Yue shamelessly messaged Zhu Li again.
Of course, she wasn't going to ask Zhu Li for help without repaying her. Zhu Li's name was already written in Lin Yue's mental notebook of people she had to save.
It was a small comfort to her conscience, so she wouldn't feel too guilty.
Seeing them both looking at her, Zhu Li smoothly started playing the voice message. "She's here."
As soon as she finished speaking, someone pushed open the door to the private room.
"Sorry I'm late."
Qiu Ye's cool voice came from the doorway.
Today, she wasn't wearing the stark, austere black shirt she'd worn before. Instead, she had on a gray T-shirt and black pants, giving her a different kind of beauty.
"Good to see you both again." She sat in the empty seat beside Zhu Li.
"Hello!" Lin Yue was a little uneasy. After all, secretly taking the Pupil of Rain Lord hadn't exactly been ethical.
Chen Xi smiled faintly. "Captain Qiu Ye, we're troubling you this time. If you ever need our help, just let us know."
"It's nothing." Qiu Ye didn't think much of it. "Besides, this is the first time Zhu Li's ever messaged me to ask for help."
Hearing that, Zhu Li gave Qiu Ye an embarrassed, indignant shove.
"Hahaha, I'm just kidding." Qiu Ye quickly raised her hands in surrender.
Seeing that the two were much closer than they let on, Lin Yue asked curiously, "What's your relationship with Zhu Li, Captain Qiu Ye?"
"Hmm..." Qiu Ye hesitated before answering, "We're comrades, I guess."
"When I first joined the Countermeasure Bureau, I'd often run into Zhu Li at places like Legend domains."
"Over time, we got to know each other."
Zhu Li, sitting beside her, nodded in agreement.
The four of them chatted for a while, but Qiu Ye was the first to steer the conversation back on track. "All right, if we keep chatting, it'll be dark before we know it. Let's talk business."
She dropped her playful expression. "Lin Yue, are you sure you can get rid of the Butcher's negative curse?"
"This isn't a joke. If you fail, the Tianhai City Countermeasure Bureau will eliminate you."
"Have you really thought this through?" Qiu Ye stared intently at Lin Yue. Out of habit, she reached for a cigarette, but remembering they were indoors, she stopped before feeling around for her lighter.
"I'm sure."
Without looking away, Lin Yue met her gaze.
"Please! Let me go! I'm still young. I don't want to die!!!"
A young woman in prison clothes knelt on the floor, her face full of terror. The bodies around her had all been cut in two.
Blood flowed freely, staining the prison cell's moldy floor a brilliant red.
Lin Yue stood in front of her, expressionless. The Chainsaw Cleaver swinging in her hand was covered in blood. At that moment, the blonde girl looked every bit the executioner.
Afraid that the two of them might interfere when it came time to deal with Lin Yue, Zhu Li and Chen Xi hadn't been allowed to enter the prison.
Qiu Ye stood some distance away, silently reading from the file in her hand.
"Lin Yan, an unranked Transcendent. She mastered the Legend Voodoo Gu. Jealous of a nearby breakfast shop's booming business, she used her ability to poison the food, causing nearly a hundred deaths..."
Lin Yan hurriedly interrupted Qiu Ye. "That's not true! I never thought the poison would be so strong. I only wanted to give them diarrhea..."
Tears and snot streamed down her face as she tried to convince the blonde girl to spare her.
Luo Li sentenced her with disgust in her voice. "She's lying. She's still secretly hoping she might get away with it."
Without hesitation, Lin Yue swung the Chainsaw Cleaver.
The cleaver swept across, cutting Lin Yan in half at the waist.
"It's over," she sighed.
The conditions were met. In the next second, the Chainsaw Cleaver seemed to come alive. It trembled, absorbing every drop of blood on its blade.
A faint red glow spread through Lin Yue's eyes, and she squeezed them shut.
In the distance, Qiu Ye stood ready to use the Countermeasure Bureau's shared ability to execute her at any moment. The teammates around her watched the motionless blonde girl as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
After all, the Evil Flower's reputation was terrifying. Any one of its core members might be able to wipe out all the supernatural fighters in Tianhai City.
While they were lost in anxious speculation, Lin Yue slowly opened her eyes.
Just as she'd expected, the moment the Butcher's consciousness entered her mind, the Hourglass's power destroyed it.
If that was the case, could she master any Legend with a consciousness-corruption side effect without a hitch?
Lin Yue held back her excitement and waited for Luo Li to examine her.
The blue-haired girl gave her a quick check, then murmured in disbelief, "You really did get rid of the curse."
According to her ability, the Butcher hadn't affected Lin Yue's mind at all.
"Congratulations." Qiu Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
"How did you even manage to do that?" Luo Li was still puzzling over it when the others had already walked out of the prison.
"Hey, wait for me!" She hurried after them.
Before you continue