Zhou Zhi hadn't expected this.
Although the so-called Seven Shining Stars had been described as brutal and terrifying, Zhou Zhi still hadn't expected one of them to kill people so casually.
Based on his initial assessment of this world, there should have been some kind of order governing the eradication of the plague.
At the very least, people absolutely shouldn't be killed at random.
But now, Chen Chaosheng had attacked without hesitation.
More importantly...
He was in danger now.
"Pah."
Chen Yao walked over, kicked Wu Ji's headless body twice, then put on an ingratiating smile. "Brother, you're here."
Chen Chaosheng's expression was icy. His emotions felt like a field of darkness. "Do you know how much time your mess has wasted?"
"I was hunting down someone important. If it weren't for you, I'd have already killed her."
Chen Yao scratched her head, her voice sharp. "What could I do? Father told you to protect me."
Chen Chaosheng found her unbearably irritating.
But not everything in this world went the way he wanted.
At least he couldn't bring himself to hurt this illegitimate daughter, even though he felt nothing for her.
"Let's go. I'll notify the Epidemic War Corps in Changdu about what happened here."
Chen Yao knew better than to push her brother too far. She nodded lightly, but then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Brother."
"Oh, right!"
"Help me!"
"Help me kill this person!"
The woman pointed into the distance.
At Zhou Zhi.
The girl's eyes brimmed with venom, her narrow gaze like a pair of poisonous snakes.
Zhou Zhi stood where he was.
As expected.
That vicious woman really did want him dead.
People like her sometimes needed no reason at all to want someone dead.
Zhou Zhi could guess that his earlier attitude had angered the woman, but no matter what, it wasn't enough to justify killing him.
And Chen Chaosheng...
Moved.
His killing intent spread like mist.
Beneath the moonlit ceiling of the hall,
this Seven Shining Star didn't even ask Chen Yao why she wanted the man killed.
"When we get back, go see Father."
Chen Chaosheng said coldly, not even looking at Zhou Zhi. "He's been missing you."
"Of course,"
Chen Yao stuck out her tongue. "You're the best brother. Hurry up and kill him so we can go home."
Zhou Zhi rarely heard words like that.
They made his blood run cold.
Zhou Zhi's eyes flickered.
Ahead of him, Chen Chaosheng approached.
His opponent was someone who could easily kill Qiu Ti, far stronger than me.
I need to survive and get out of this predicament.
Zhou Zhi's expression was calm.
"I'm about to die."
The man spoke softly.
"Are you still not coming out?"
"If you don't come out, I really will die."
Chen Chaosheng said nothing and kept walking.
Maybe he was crazy.
Ordinary people, as insignificant as ants, always put on one ugly performance or another when faced with the terror of death.
There was no need to use [Black Kite] to kill someone like him.
Chen Yao wore a smile. She loved seeing that kind of expression.
At that moment.
In the hall.
A voice rang out.
A woman's voice.
Melodious, captivating, laced with a hint of seduction.
"How interesting."
"Really interesting."
"To find someone like you in a place like this."
Chen Chaosheng's pupils widened slightly. In an instant, he drew the scalpel in his hand.
His black clothes whipped in the wind. He was on high alert!!
His heart pounded with dread.
Zhou Zhi raised his hand.
From the shadows behind him,
came the sound of footsteps.
A flawless face.
"Miss Xia Yu."
Zhou Zhi's voice held no emotion. "I think it's very interesting too."
Dressed in a beige coat, the girl seemed less lively now and more alluring.
"Brother, let's kill them both."
Behind him, Chen Yao waved a hand.
Chen Chaosheng's expression had already darkened.
That strange sense of danger...
Zhou Zhi's gaze fell on the girl's back.
"How did you figure it out?"
Xia Yu asked with a beaming smile, radiating an extraordinary charm.
"As a do-gooder, you should at least understand that leaving the Clinic to explore the Pestilence Zone is a good way to get yourself killed."
"No matter how righteous and noble your actions are... the result is... everyone dies."
"I find that interesting."
Zhou Zhi said, "That's the first reason."
"Second."
"Qiu Ti once mentioned a woman—the [Messenger of God]—who gave him the idea for this Plague Ritual... Murderers generally have a habit of returning to the scene of the crime. If I had to pick someone from the people here, you seemed like the most likely candidate."
Xia Yu listened with great interest.
A smile spread across her flawless face. "You were taking a gamble too."
Zhou Zhi neither confirmed nor denied it.
He hadn't mentioned the most important reason.
That was...
Xia Yu's degree of disease corruption hadn't risen even once, from beginning to end.
It had remained in the single digits the whole time. That was information only he could obtain.
Xia Yu tilted her head slightly, her crescent-moon brows lifting. "This wasn't part of the plan, but I like you."
"Like that one little point in a perfect curve, where the hyaluronic acid goes into the chin..."
Not far away,
Chen Chaosheng's expression darkened.
"You... who are you, exactly?"
It seemed only now that Xia Yu noticed Chen Chaosheng.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself."
Xia Yu gave a slight bow, her movements supremely graceful.
"[Xia Yu]."
A Plague-Slaying Blade slowly emerged from the woman's sleeve.
What a Plague-Slaying Blade it was.
It was a rich jade green, engraved with a [snake] and a [scorpion]. Its hilt was shaped like an elegant spiral, rather like the Western swords from Zhou Zhi's Past Life.
Exquisite, opulent, beautiful, yet laced with poison.
The moment Chen Chaosheng saw the Plague-Slaying Blade, he seemed to realize something.
"Last month, the Capital National Museum in [Ultimate Bliss] was robbed... It shocked all of [Ultimate Bliss]."
"One of the exhibits was stolen, and they still haven't found it."
"That was..."
Xia Yu narrowed her eyes. "The Named Blade [Snake and Scorpion]."
BOOM!!!
A burst of explosive sound came crashing down from above.
At the same time,
a viscous red substance spread across Xia Yu's face, hardening into a bizarre half-mask.
At the center of the mask was a mouthpart, and its right side bore a decorative relief of a distinctive dark-red rose.
Her body was drenched in a long, crimson robe that flowed like tassels.
A voice that seemed illusory rang out as if it were real.
[I fell from grace for beauty, gladly inviting Myriad Blades Upon the Body.]
"Seven Xuanyuan Stars, Mr. Chen Chaosheng."
"This humble lady greets you."
Chen Chaosheng's expression changed completely.
"Chief... Chief Surgeon Grade..."
"Why..."
He turned and ran, no longer caring about his so-called little sister.
Run!
Run!!!
Then pain spread throughout his body.
In Xia Yu's hand, she held an entire sheet of human skin.
Zhou Zhi's body grew colder and colder.
That sheet of human skin...
It belonged to Chen Chaosheng.
In a single instant, the Seven Shining Star's skin had been completely peeled off.
Such a cruel, brutal method, and...
The blood-covered figure running in the distance.
And Chen Yao, utterly terrified.
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