Give Him Some Dignity

Blood-red spheres grew in clusters along the branches formed by those blood vessels.

The two Awakened quickly turned pale, their bodies withering away.

Only then did they realize something was wrong with their bodies. But they didn't even have time to scream before they had become two corpses covered in blood-red spheres.

Their bodies were completely pale, without a trace of color.

From beginning to end, they hadn't even had a chance to show what their psychic abilities were.

The blood-red spheres that had grown from their bodies instead became even more eerily vivid, hanging there like ripe fruit about to burst.

The bizarre sight drew everyone's gaze, plunging the entire room into silence.

Auntie Zhang, wearing a smiling mask, reached out and plucked a blood-red sphere about the size of a kumquat. She lifted one corner of her mask, bit through the sphere's coagulated skin, and grinned.

"It may look ugly, but it tastes pretty good."

Her teeth had turned completely blood-red.

Only then did Song Zhonghai finally react. He asked in a trembling voice:

"Y-you're... You're Lord Blood Pearl?"

His face was deathly pale, as though he had seen something terrifying.

Auntie Zhang covered her mouth and chuckled. "You know who I am?"

At the name, some of those present who knew about the abnormal world—especially the world of the Awakened—felt a chill crawl down their spines.

That included Lv Feng, Lv Yalian's father.

Lv Yalian didn't know who Blood Pearl was, but the sight of those two wretched corpses chilled her to the bone.

Yet she also felt a trace of excitement.

Was this the being she and her father had hoped to ingratiate themselves with?

This power was already beyond the ordinary!

But Feng Shihao wasn't afraid in the slightest. Instead, he roared at his subordinates:

"Shoot! Shoot! Kill that monster!"

Veins bulged across his face, nearly bursting, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with madness. He grabbed two of his men and pulled them in front of him as shields.

At Feng Shihao's command, the seven or eight armed men immediately raised their guns.

But before they could pull the triggers, blood vessels sprouted from their hands and, in the blink of an eye, became covered with blood-red spheres!

They watched in horror as more and more blood vessels pushed out of their arms and began spreading across their bodies. They couldn't help screaming in terror.

Soon, they would become fruit trees laden with blood-red spheres!

Feng Shihao still hid behind his two subordinates. There was no fear on his face; instead, he roared in fury:

"Coward! If you've got the guts, stop using your demon tricks and fight me one-on-one!"

Auntie Zhang, still wearing the smiling mask, gave a slight nod, preparing to grant his request.

Today was supposed to be the day Lord Collector took up the post of Shepherd. She hadn't expected an idiot like this to show up at the welcoming ceremony.

She had to make these people die as miserably as possible. That was the only way she could begin to make amends for the mistakes of her subordinates.

She only hoped that Lord Collector would feel a little better when he saw these beautiful Blood Fruits.

In an instant, Auntie Zhang darted forward and appeared in front of Feng Shihao, raising her hand to deliver the final blow!

The two men Feng Shihao had pulled in front of him now had their arms covered in Blood Fruits. They looked quite beautiful.

"Stop." A hoarse, low voice came from behind her.

Auntie Zhang immediately halted mid-motion, then swiftly retreated to her original position.

It was Lord Collector's command.

Only now did the people who had come to pay their respects to the Shepherd truly grasp how powerful he was.

Even that terrifying woman, who had just drained the blood from someone with a casual gesture, was merely the Shepherd's attendant, obeying his every command.

With a soft click, a lighter appeared in the hand of the Shepherd, who wore a featureless white mask. He flicked it on.

The blood-red flame lit up the dim room, making it seem even more eerie.

But to Li Fan, everything looked entirely different.

In the red light, black mold representing abnormal psychic infection covered everyone present except his family.

Feng Shihao and his men were almost entirely enveloped in black mold.

At the same time, Li Fan could see an abnormal psychic entity rising from Feng Shihao. It seemed strangely familiar, much like what he had sensed from the Tiger Pillar God, though far weaker.

No wonder Feng Shihao and his buddies were so brazen. They were members of the Cleaning Association, yet they'd dared to openly provoke the Shepherd.

So that was it.

Flower Civet Cat swiped its paw and snuffed out the flame. Li Fan spoke in a low, hoarse voice:

"It's an abnormal infection."

The moment he finished speaking, Feng Shihao and the two men he had grabbed screamed in unison, their eyes bulging and veins standing out across their faces.

His arms and legs had already fused with the two men!

Their faces had also changed drastically. Their jaws jutted forward, making them look like wolves.

The creature formed from the three of them crawled on all eight limbs. Feng Shihao's tongue stretched more than a meter, covered in sharp backward-pointing barbs, while his face twisted into a mad grin.

At the same time, the gunmen whose hands were covered in Blood Fruits, along with the two corpses covered in Blood Fruits, made strange noises in their throats, as if their throats had fused together. Their bodies began convulsing wildly.

Their bodies, too, were sticking together and fusing!

Under his mask, Li Fan couldn't help making a disgusted face.

How undignified.

Auntie Zhang finally understood what had happened. If she'd gone over there just now, she might have been caught up in the other party's bizarre infection.

"Give him some dignity," Li Fan said slowly.

Auntie Zhang nodded, her expression turning completely solemn. She repeatedly clapped her hands through the air, and clusters of blood vessels sprouted all over Feng Shihao and his men, producing translucent Blood Fruits.

Even as their bodies fused into a single monster, they couldn't stop the Blood Fruits from growing.

Li Fan was on the verge of developing trypophobia.

Wasn't this even more undignified?!

"Hahaha! It's no use! I've gained enough power to punish you heretical sinners!" roared the monster formed from Feng Shihao and the others.

Though its body was covered in Blood Fruits, they didn't seem to affect it at all.

The Amalgam didn't need blood.

Even though their bodies had already been covered in Blood Fruits.

Auntie Zhang shook her head slightly and snapped her fingers.

The Blood Fruits on Feng Shihao and the others who were fusing instantly burst, splashing their contents over the Amalgam.

A sizzling sound rang out as the Amalgam's flesh began to melt rapidly, sending up wisps of green smoke!

The blood inside the Blood Fruits had turned into acid that could corrode flesh with incredible force!

The Amalgam didn't even have time to react before most of its body had been eaten away, leaving a heap of flesh slumped in a puddle of acid.

After a while, their flesh had been completely corroded. Only a few bone fragments remained, still dissolving.

Only then did Auntie Zhang come before Li Fan. She bowed her head and spoke in trepidation:

"Your subordinate failed to notice they'd already been infected, and let them offend your eyes. Please forgive me!"

Her voice trembled. Tears of fear mingled with sweat and ran from the edge of her mask, dripping to the floor.

Mother with the Clown Mask and Old Chen with the Bear Mask also lowered their heads, not daring to breathe too loudly.

They had ruined the Shepherd's inauguration ceremony. That alone was enough to anger Lord Collector.

They were a useless bunch...

Song Zhonghai, Lv Feng, and the others were equally shaken by the bizarre events. What shocked them even more was that the powerful Blood Pearl was now so afraid of the Shepherd.

Just how powerful was he!?

Lv Yalian was so stunned that she felt as if her entire body had gone numb. She couldn't move at all.

Was this the mysterious abnormal world?

Those monsters were straight out of a nightmare!

And the woman in the smiling mask had dealt with every one of them with ease.

What kind of being was the man sitting motionless on the sofa, who had said only a few words—ten in all?

He inspired fear and longing, and left people unable to control themselves.

Lv Yalian felt that the space between her thighs had grown a little damp.

From fear, and from the exhilaration of worshipping the strong.

Li Fan shook his head slightly, raised a finger, and pointed at Lv Yalian and the others before him. In a hoarse voice, he said:

"It's not over yet."