Blood-Boiling Worm

"You—"

Kun's right hand trembled as he pointed at Wu Heng. Before he could finish speaking, he crumpled to the ground.

"Such good cloth armor. I should be the one wearing it!"

Wu Heng stepped forward and used Siphon, collecting the remains into his Life Box. He'd gained seven throwing knives, two sets of skins, two phones, and a set of cloth armor.

Bullets had riddled the walls of the prefab building. A layer of fine dust had settled on the ground, and slivers of sunlight filtered inside.

Braving the dust, Wu Heng entered and changed his appearance back to Kun's. Raghav's appearance stood out too much in the Red Moon Federation.

He followed the rocky grassland past the abandoned buildings, searching for traces of Cai Xueli.

Kun's phone used fingerprint recognition, and Wu Heng unlocked it with his index finger.

He opened a red chat app called Qianxun, the Red Moon Federation's most popular messaging app.

The first item was a news article pushed by a public account. The second was a cute pink cartoon cat holding a lollipop, with the contact name "Lili."

[September 12, 2:25 p.m.]

Lili: "Was it worth it, Second Senior Brother? You turned against Dad over the chance to become someone's dog!"

A-Kun: "Worth it!"

A-Kun: "Where's the thing? Give it to me."

[September 23, 7:41 a.m.]

Lili: "Are you going to kill me, Second Senior Brother?"

A-Kun: "That dart could've hit your thigh, or it could've pierced your heart. Lili, give me the thing, or I'll kill Zhao Xu and the old man!"

Lili: "You hurt me!"

A-Kun: "Give me the thing. I'll let you stab me twice. The old man and I have both reached the human body's limits now. He can't beat me."

Lili: "Are you really so heartless? Dad's getting old, and I can't bear to see him become a scapegoat. Since you want to go so badly, then promise me this: after you get the thing, make peace with Dad and apologize to him. You owe him that."

A-Kun: "All right. I promise."

Lili: "Fine, then. Tomorrow at 3 p.m., I'll wait for you at Building 4 in West Suburb Green Lianfang Abandoned Park."

That was where the chat history ended. Wu Heng glanced at the building numbers nearby, then headed toward an abandoned building ahead.

He felt relieved. Lili wasn't a Tower Guardian, but he was curious what kind of thing could make two people who were merely at the limits of an ordinary human fight so fiercely over it.

He desperately wanted to learn the truth about this world: what powerful people there were, what abilities existed, and what dangers lay ahead.

He knew nothing at all, and that left him uneasy.

Cai Xueli was crouched in the ruined lobby on the first floor of Building 4, staring blankly into space. She hadn't even checked her surroundings.

She only turned in alarm when Wu Heng approached and she heard his footsteps.

"Second Senior Brother, you're here!"

Cai Xueli looked conflicted and dejected.

"Whether I should've come or not, I'm here now. Let's not waste time. Where is it, Lili?"

Wu Heng tried to imitate Kun's way of speaking.

"You can't go back on what you promised me. Swear you'll keep your word, and I'll give it to you."

Cai Xueli looked distrustful, but more than anything, she seemed helpless.

She couldn't understand how the martial arts hall, which had always been harmonious, could have come to this. The five of them had grown up together as senior and junior disciples.

The First Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother had both died on the path to becoming someone's dog.

Her Second Senior Brother and father had both reached the highest level of kung fu—the limits of the human body—yet they were fighting each other over a chance to die.

Remembering the happy days when her father had led the five of them in their training, all she wanted was for their family to live together in peace and harmony.

"Go back on what? I, A-Kun, never break my word."

Wu Heng was simply curious what kind of thing could make a master and his disciples fight over it.

"Here. The Blood-Boiling Worm is inside."

Cai Xueli took out a palm-sized, silver metal box with several ventilation holes.

"Is it really a Blood-Boiling Worm? How can I be sure?"

Wu Heng took the box, completely baffled. What was a Blood-Boiling Worm? Were the three of them really fighting to the death over a bug?

He didn't want to reveal who he was, so he asked in a roundabout way.

At his question, Cai Xueli grew anxious. Was Second Senior Brother trying to go back on his word? She hurriedly said,

"Second Senior Brother, you promised you'd come see Dad with me. Once swallowed, the Blood-Boiling Worm attaches itself to your stomach. It increases your muscle efficiency by 20% and continuously repairs hidden injuries. You'll know when you swallow it."

So it only increased muscle efficiency and repaired hidden injuries?

Wu Heng listened, then looked at the Blood-Boiling Worm in his hand, speechless. What a useless thing.

When he'd first transformed into a Cursed Disciple, he'd been able to break through the brain's restrictions by force, bringing his muscle efficiency infinitely close to 100%.

He just didn't need to remove his body's limits on muscle damage every time and throw a punch so powerful it shattered his own body.

The Blood-Boiling Worm was completely useless to him. He didn't have any hidden injuries.

They'd turned against each other over something like this? Wu Heng even felt the cloth armor was far more useful.

He thought it over. In her chats with Kun, the girl had kept talking about becoming someone's dog.

What did it mean to become a dog, and whose dog were they supposed to be?

It seemed that whoever used the Blood-Boiling Worm—Kun or his master—would have to become a dog.

It definitely wasn't an ordinary person they'd serve. They'd already reached the limits of an ordinary human, and with the Blood-Boiling Worm, they could exceed those limits by ten percent.

Could it be some Tower Guardian organization, the forces of a Tower Master, or some other faction?

Wu Heng admitted he wasn't willing to take the risk.

Who knew whether someone in that organization or faction might have the ability to see through his disguise?

Skin Graft only changed his appearance through a fusion ability. It couldn't alter what was on the inside.

Wu Heng considered it and decided the best course was to let A-Kun's master become the so-called "dog."

Then he could use either A-Kun's identity or that of the young man from earlier to question their master about the organization behind all this. Making contact through an intermediary would be safer.

It was also a chance to learn about the world. Once he'd made up his mind, Wu Heng tossed the box toward Cai Xueli.

"Huh?"

Cai Xueli caught it reflexively, letting out a confused exclamation. She was completely dumbfounded.

"I've had a change of heart. It's the old man's lifelong dream. I'm still young, so I'll let him have the chance."

Wu Heng made up an excuse on the spot.

"Really, Second Senior Brother? You..."

Cai Xueli could hardly believe it. Just a moment ago, they'd been ready to fight to the death, and now he was suddenly giving up. Was this some kind of epiphany? Had the prodigal finally turned over a new leaf?

"Then will you come back to the Red Pine Martial Arts Hall with me? You promised to make peace with Dad. Anyway, I gave you the Blood-Boiling Worm, and you're the one who didn't want it."

Wu Heng had left Cai Xueli at a loss.

"I have something to take care of. Take the Blood-Boiling Worm back to your father for now. Once I'm done over the next couple of days, I'll contact you on Qianxun about coming back to the martial arts hall."

As he spoke, Wu Heng turned and left. There was nothing useful here anymore.

Even if he was only going to make initial contact with the deeper factions in this world through the martial arts hall, Wu Heng planned to finish this instance first and grow stronger before he did.

On the way home, he got a Qianxun message from his mother saying she'd gone shopping with Aunt Zhang.

Sitting in his bedroom, he felt the inconvenience more keenly now. What if he entered an instance one day, his mother knocked while he was gone, and then he suddenly appeared afterward? It would be hard to explain.

So he decided that once this story world was over, he'd find a secure, secret base specifically for entering the Lighthouse.

He locked his bedroom door and contacted the Lighthouse Mark. Space twisted and shifted, and he arrived at Lighthouse Plaza.

Could I get some advance reservations for next Tuesday's read-through?