Looks Like I Can't Beat It

The brightly lit hotel plunged into darkness in an instant.

"Why did the power go out?"

"What was that just now?"

"Holy shit, I can't see a thing..."

"Help me! Call the police! Somebody help!"

Exclamations rang out around them, mixed with Liu Dalong's cries for help.

Everyone hurriedly turned on their phone flashlights and aimed them at the ceiling. The strange many-legged creature had Liu Dalong in its grasp and had already crawled more than ten meters away.

The monster looked as if several different creatures had been stitched together, and strange patterns covered its body.

It suddenly turned its head. A ghastly pale human face grinned at them.

Li Fan immediately tensed.

The Unity Society!

If this kept up, Liu Dalong was as good as dead.

"Quick, go save Dalong!" Zhang Hongbing shouted from the floor. "We'd just come back from the bathroom and were chatting when Dalong was suddenly yanked up. The two of us tried to pull him down, but that thing injured us too!"

"Call headquarters right away! Call the police! Li Fan, Hu Zhengqi, Sun Da, come with me! The rest of you, protect the injured!"

Wu Qian shouted as he grabbed a copper vase and ran after Liu Dalong.

Li Fan had already rushed off before Wu Qian could finish assigning everyone their tasks.

Whatever else, Liu Dalong was a good guy. He couldn't let him die.

There was no need to ask what that bizarre thing was.

An anomaly.

The entire Xidelong Hotel was now plunged into darkness, and people were stumbling around everywhere.

Although many had turned on their phone flashlights, the beams barely illuminated anything.

Li Fan and the others gave chase, but the tables and chairs ahead slowed them down.

The thing on the ceiling, on the other hand, was getting faster and faster. Seeing that they were about to lose it, everyone ran with all their might.

Xidelong Hotel was enormous. The creature dragged Liu Dalong around the dark hall a few times before turning into a long corridor and weaving through a series of turns.

"Pant... pant... pant..."

Wu Qian and the other two were gasping like bellows, their lungs on fire.

They were used to sitting in the office and rarely exercised. Sprinting several hundred meters at full speed had nearly finished them off.

Li Fan, on the other hand, realized that he seemed to have more stamina than before. He'd been running for a long time, yet he wasn't even out of breath.

At first, Liu Dalong had screamed a couple of times after the monster grabbed him, but now he'd gone quiet.

He had completely passed out.

Bang! The monster on the ceiling smashed through a door and rushed inside.

The others followed right after, and a wave of damp air hit them in the face.

Then they heard shouts all around them:

"Who's there?"

"Who came in?"

"Hey, when's the power coming back on? I've been in here so long I'm all pruney!"

It was the men's bathhouse.

Li Fan and the others had no time to worry about anything else. They shone their phones at the ceiling and followed the monster, taking care not to slip.

As they passed the scrubbing area, they saw that the bathhouse attendants were dedicated to their work, still scrubbing people in the dark.

After they rushed out of the damp bathhouse, Wu Qian and the other two finally ran out of steam.

Wu Qian leaned against the wall and stumbled forward, panting as he said, "Fan, if you've still got the strength, keep... keep chasing it. We need to... rest for a bit... Be careful... Should've brought... brought a gun..."

"If you're too tired, we can rest together... We'll have to... wait for backup..." Sun Da leaned against the wall too, panting like a tractor.

Hu Zhengqi had already thrown up all over the floor.

Clearly, they were all done for.

Li Fan glanced at the monster still speeding away across the ceiling and nodded. "Chief Wu, you all rest here. I'll keep chasing it. I'll call if anything happens."

With that, he turned and continued after it.

"Fan, be careful! Call for help if you run into trouble!"

Wu Qian angrily punched the wall.

It was good to be young. He'd have to start exercising more. Hopefully, Dalong would be all right...

At the same time, he immediately called headquarters to request more support.

Li Fan kept chasing. Darkness still surrounded him.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, he immediately reached into the air and grabbed Tiger Pillar God's chain. With a sharp tug, he pulled Tiger Pillar God's blue spirit body out of the Prison of Suppression and drew it into himself.

Tiger Pillar God, possess me!

Power surged through his body without end!

Li Fan took a deep breath, sprang up, and slammed both feet against the wall. Then he leaped into the air, his spirit body's hands and feet gripping the ceiling firmly. Like the monster, he began crawling rapidly along it upside down.

That way, there would be no obstacles in front of him.

Since capturing Tiger Pillar God, this was the first time he'd used its power so freely.

The power was out, the surroundings were pitch-black, and Liu Dalong was unconscious. No one could see him, so he could let loose.

Li Fan felt that he had reached an unprecedented level of control over his body. He could precisely control every muscle and bone, while his spiritual energy felt immensely full, almost like an extension of his physical form.

The power was so overwhelming that he felt an urge to tear into his enemy with his teeth.

He knew that instinct came from Tiger Pillar God.

This anomalous spirit body from the Gutuo Kingdom likely originated in the ancient Dian Kingdom people's reverence and worship of the fierce beasts of the mountains and forests. That was why it had eventually evolved into a composite of ferocious beasts.

Moreover, in the minds of the ancient Dian people, Tiger Pillar God possessed other "divine powers" as well.

Hanging upside down from the ceiling, Li Fan felt every muscle in his body spring to life. His eyes began to glow as he stared at the monster ahead.

He was much faster than the creature. In the blink of an eye, he had caught up, leaving less than ten meters between them.

The monster hadn't expected Li Fan to be so fast. A face hidden among its tentacles poked out and looked back at him.

Its mocking grin finally faded, replaced by a hint of surprise.

Then it turned and crawled up the underside of the stairs to the second floor.

Li Fan immediately followed. With a single leap, he was behind the monster. He grabbed one of its tentacles, and the claws formed by his spirit body sliced it clean off.

The monster cried out in pain, but it still clung to Liu Dalong. Then it smashed through a second-floor window and plunged outside.

Li Fan's legs sprang forward. The explosive force sent him shooting out like a cannonball, straight after the monster and Liu Dalong as they were still in midair.

In the instant he spun and tumbled through the air, Li Fan struck four times with his "claws," wrenching the unconscious Liu Dalong free from the monster's tentacles. He kicked the monster in the face at the same time, using the force to roll away.

Li Fan rolled several times on the ground and came to a steady stop. As he did, he kicked Liu Dalong repeatedly, keeping him from crashing straight onto the ground.

He set Liu Dalong down, leaving footprints all over him, and reached out to check his breathing.

He was still alive.

But he'd been scared unconscious and wouldn't wake up for a while.

Several nearby blocks had lost power. Under the cloudy sky, the plaza outside was pitch-black.

Yet Li Fan's eyes could see through the darkness, clearly making out the monster ahead.

The monster had already circled him several times.

After kicking Liu Dalong aside, Li Fan took out a lighter and flicked it on.

Everything around them changed at once. The ground was cracked and desolate, covered with weeds, dried blood, and layers of dust.

The monster in front of him had become a strange, battered face. Beneath it writhed a mass of black water snakes—what people called tentacles.

Below those were long spider legs covered in barbs.

At some point, it had already filled the area with long, web-like traps.

The Spider-Legged Monster let out a roar and charged at Li Fan, its face contorted with rage.

This Spider-Legged Monster looked powerful. It was even uglier than Tiger Pillar God. Looks like I can't beat it.

I'll hold it off first, then lure it over to the side!

Li Fan thought it over, then opened his mouth and let out a tiger's roar. Dropping to all fours, he charged straight at it.