I Know Your Secrets, Yet I Still Love You

"Be obedient."

He paused, then added, "Na'er. If you are truly in danger, call for him. He will not ignore you."

Hearing this, Na'er was stunned. A dark premonition had already taken root in her heart, but she suppressed her panic and feigned confusion.

"Call? Call who?"

"Call the person who is about to take you away. His strength should be formidable enough to protect you."

During this time, Lin Qingzhou had also realized that the source of that killing intent must be one of the Great Beasts of the Soul Beast clan, most likely Di Tian.

But whoever it was, they would not allow Na'er to be in danger.

Judging by Na'er's reaction, it was clear that Lin Qingzhou's guess was correct, so he no longer needed to worry too much about her situation.

"Big brother understands that you have reasons you cannot speak of. Rest assured, big brother will always love you."

Lin Qingzhou comforted Na'er in a soft voice, yet his slightly trembling tone betrayed the fear currently gripping his heart.

Having lived two lives, this was the first time Lin Qingzhou had truly faced the threat of death in any meaningful sense.

After all, in his previous life, to be honest, he hadn't had much of a reaction when he was struck and killed; it had been so sudden that he hadn't felt any fear.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, then Na'er gave a soft "Mm."

Her voice sounded calm, but Lin Qingzhou could hear the fear suppressed beneath that calmness. His heart tightened, but he had no choice but to end the call.

"Stay here and don't move." Lin Qingzhou turned back to the injured middle-aged man. "Lock the door from the inside and find a corner to hide in."

The middle-aged man had lost too much blood and his consciousness was already fading, so he could only nod weakly.

Lin Qingzhou did not hesitate further; he pulled open the glass door and rushed out.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw the sky to the southeast stained a bizarre, dark red. It was not a sunset glow, nor was it smoke or dust.

It was a blood-colored mist, reeking of iron, writhing and undulating as if it were a living creature.

Several plumes of black smoke rose from the east side of the city, accompanied by faint, audible screams and the sound of explosions.

Pedestrians on the street were in total chaos; some were screaming as they ran west, others were dragging their families into hovercars to flee, while some sat paralyzed on the roadside, scared out of their wits.

Lin Qingzhou gripped his warhammer and ran against the flow of the crowd toward his home.

He had barely run past two streets when a black shadow lunged at him from the side.

It was an Evil Soul Master wearing a black cloak. Beneath the hood, a face as pale as a corpse was revealed, with deep-set eye sockets and a crazed smile hanging at the corners of his mouth.

He held a short blade in each hand, the edges wreathed in dark red soul power; clearly, this was no ordinary thug.

"Heh heh... alone? And just a kid?"

The Evil Soul Master licked his lips, a bloodthirsty glint flashing in his eyes. "Lucky me, I'll kill one to warm up first."

Lin Qingzhou did not waste words with him. The moment the Evil Soul Master lunged, he ducked low, dodging the horizontal slash, and simultaneously swung his warhammer upward with all his might, smashing it into the opponent's wrist.

"Crack!"

The sound of shattering bone was clear and piercing. The Evil Soul Master's wrist was smashed to pieces, his short blade flying from his hand. He let out a shrill scream and stumbled back several steps, staring in disbelief at his hand, which was now twisted at a grotesque angle.

Lin Qingzhou did not give him a chance to catch his breath. He stepped forward and swung the warhammer horizontally, channeling his innate, monstrous strength, and slammed it directly into the Evil Soul Master's chest.

"Bang!"

The Evil Soul Master flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a vending machine on the side of the road, shattering the glass panel into pieces.

His chest was deeply caved in, a mouthful of dark red blood surged from his throat, and after a few twitches, he went still.

Lin Qingzhou stood stunned for a moment.

This was his first real combat experience, and the first time he had used this warhammer against a person—not an iron billet, not a steel rod, but a living human being.

His hands were trembling, and a wave of nausea churned in his stomach, but he bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to stay calm.

Now was not the time for sentimentality.

He stepped forward quickly and searched the Evil Soul Master, unexpectedly finding a palm-sized leather magazine pouch.

Opening it, he saw six Fixed Soul Missiles inside, the caliber perfectly matching his launcher.

One explosive type, two freezing types, and three tracking types.

Tracking-type ammunition was extremely expensive, costing over five hundred Federation Currency apiece on the market; it seemed these Evil Soul Masters were indeed well-prepared, bringing such a full supply of ammo.

In truth, being able to kill this Evil Soul Master was a matter of luck; after all, if he had activated his Martial Soul from the start, Lin Qingzhou's chances of dying would have been much higher.

He stuffed the magazine pouch into his jacket and picked up the short blade the Evil Soul Master had dropped, but after one look, he tossed it aside.

It was too light and didn't feel right. For him, the warhammer was easier to use. However, he hesitated for a moment, then picked the blade back up and tucked it into his belt as a backup.

Before he could catch his breath, two more figures flashed out from the alleyway. They were also Evil Soul Masters in black cloaks, one tall and one short. Seeing their companion's corpse, their eyes turned icy cold.

"Old Third was killed by him!" the short one's voice was sharp and grating. "This brat isn't a Soul Master—there's no soul power fluctuation on him!"

"Then he's just a commoner with natural-born strength."

The tall one narrowed his eyes, a ball of dark purple soul power condensing in his palm. "A commoner killing one of us? What a joke."

The two flanked him from left and right. The tall one pushed his hands forward, and the dark purple orb smashed straight toward Lin Qingzhou's face. Lin Qingzhou had no time to dodge and could only brace his warhammer in front of him, taking the blow head-on.

The sphere of light detonated against the surface of the hammer, the immense impact shoving him back three or four meters and leaving two black streaks where his soles ground against the concrete floor.

The webs of his hands were numbed by the shock, and the muscles in his arms burned with searing pain, but fortunately, his innate supernatural strength allowed him to keep a steady grip on the warhammer, preventing it from being blown away. The Bracer was still in his toolbox, and he was currently regretting not having put it on.

Before he could even steady his footing, the short man closed in from the side, a slender rapier now in his hand with a tip that shimmered with a faint green glow—clearly coated in poison.

Lin Qingzhou dodged to the side, the rapier grazing his ribs and slicing through his coarse cloth tunic, revealing the skin beneath as it began to seep blood.

Lin Qingzhou's eyes sharpened; he could clearly feel the threat of death closing in on him.

He lowered his head to gaze briefly at the wound, where purple toxins were steadily infecting his body, gnawing at his flesh like a cold, venomous serpent.

It was devouring, it was screaming, and it was launching an assault toward even more delicious flesh.