Chapter 116
But it was as if time had been frozen; not a single drop of blood seeped out.
"... First, tie the tourniquet, and tie it a little higher up."
The leader's face turned cold, and he then raised his knife again.
He wanted to cut off another small section of the arm; the strange sight before him made him uneasy.
Upon receiving the order, the subordinates nodded hastily, then knelt between the two thugs with severed arms and began tearing off their clothes to make makeshift tourniquets.
As for the two thugs lying on the ground, they appeared to be unconscious.
As he tore off the cloth and prepared to continue bandaging, the henchman suddenly froze. He seemed to see something rising and falling in the chest of the thug lying on the ground.
After hesitating for a moment, he quickly unbuttoned the shirt of the thug in front of him, then looked at the exposed chest...
There's no problem; is he overthinking it?
Just as he lowered his head and breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to continue bandaging, a sudden "plop" sound came from the chest area in front of him!
A scarlet, slender, and twisted arm, completely unlike a human's, burst forth from the person's body!
He lunged directly at his shoulder!!!
"Aaaaaah!! What, what is this thing?!?"
The sudden turn of events startled his subordinate, who immediately shouted.
However, all he got in return was a second bloody arm bursting out of his body and lunging at his other shoulder.
"Ahhh, boss! Help me! Help me! Ahhhhhh--"
Upon seeing the scene before him, the gang leader instinctively wanted to step forward, but a new turn of events caused him to stop in his tracks.
Behind the entangled man, another thug's body began to tremble and twitch strangely, making a slapping sound. Then, his body flipped over, back up, while making a terrifying tearing sound.
The second thug's back was torn apart, his entire spine, dripping with blood, ripped through the flesh's restraints, and his complete ribcage stood upright. At the same time, several ribs, like the tentacles of an insect, began to consciously open and close.
It turned around and pounced directly on the unfortunate man who was bound!
"Aaaaaah! What, what is that?!"
The chest opened up, as if it were a vest "putting on" the other person's body, and then the sharp ribs closed violently, piercing directly into his body, bringing out scream after scream!
"What... what kind of monster is this?!"
The leader and the others stared in disbelief at the bizarre life form before them, completely unaware that behind them, a crack had appeared on the surface of the charred, blackened tumor!
Then, as if emerging from a cocoon, a slender figure tore through the black, charcoal-like outer shell and landed lightly on the ground.
Its entire body was extremely dry, covered with scarlet skin, making it look like skin and bones.
Its two hind legs had an unusually curved structure that didn't resemble a human's, while its two front arms were unusually long, allowing it to lie directly on the ground and walk on all fours.
The chest cavity also extends two forelegs similar to those of a praying mantis, with sharp bony blades standing side by side in front.
A tail with multiple blades continued to grow from the spine.
The area that should have been the head was instead a long neck, with several tiny, scarlet tentacles at the top crawling out of the severed trachea with numerous eyeballs, staring at the surrounding "new world" from almost every angle.
What was that sound?
A gang member sensed something was wrong, and when he turned his head, all he could see was a straight red afterimage!
Clatter
Before he could even show any fear, a line of blood began to run straight down from his head.
The person was cut in half.
"Damn it, there's still some left!!"
The leader stared at the two monsters, one in front and one behind, almost as if they had surrounded everyone.
This time, he finally broke out in a cold sweat.
No, there's still a chance.
Those guys who went to check the emergency exits... probably opened the doors too.
If only...
Clatter
Clatter
Empty footsteps echoed throughout the basement.
The leader suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction of the emergency exit.
Sometime during the night, the place had become littered with corpses.
They were just sent out... How could that be... in an instant?
Snap... Snap.
The sound of footsteps still echoed.
From the darkness, a figure dressed in a nun's habit with several pupil-like pupils slowly emerged.
The lanterns, each adorned with a human face, emitted a faint, eerie glow.
She slowly walked to the center of the corpse, picked up the lantern, and began to speak.
"Stand up."
Almost instantly, the fallen corpses, without any support, stood still in a posture that was extremely contrary to the human joints.
"It's slower than expected, whether it's because that body isn't in good condition."
The majority of the flesh and blood is still on Laurentina's body... Anyway, it doesn't matter, and it won't take up too much time.
"Before... the Doctor and the others see me like this."
The nun raised her hand, as if giving a command, and the resurrected corpses and the two monsters simultaneously pounced on the remaining gang members!
Chapter 72, A Long-Awaited Reunion
Sometimes, I often think about it.
Do I have the right to accept with ease all the positive and kind praise that others bestow upon me?
Many times, I feel like I'm just an extremely selfish person.
His repeated actions and various behaviors were simply to prevent suffering from appearing before his eyes.
But when it comes to the origin of everything, he always avoids one question after another by saying that he is just an ordinary person who learned to paint and gained power.
Perhaps this behavior could indeed be considered self-awareness, but to refuse to even try, to simply cower in a corner, unwilling to make any changes... isn't that more fatal than those self-righteous individuals?
Despite possessing the power to continuously evolve, his mind remained stagnant, unwilling to take any further steps.
They even tried to use their "lack of ability" as an excuse...
You're just a selfish person. You show kindness to those around you only to satisfy your own desires.
That's why you always use lack of ability as an excuse.
You know perfectly well that this world is far darker than you imagine, with countless sufferings taking root in places beyond your sight, absorbing the nutrients of evil and blossoming into branches of despair.
And all you did was say you were incapable.
Is it a lack of ability, or a lack of motivation? A lack of motivation to change those places beyond one's reach, only thinking about protecting what's in front of them?
Call...
"Zuo Jian, you really are a pushover."
"Zuo Jian, just how excessive is your kindness—"
"Alright, at worst I'll go with you to travel around this land..."
"Zuo Jian... family..."
Laurentina's voice echoed in my ears, and my flesh and blood were once again filled with life.
However, some people see themselves as family, while others feel that they are simply that kind of existence and will dispel suffering.
She felt that this was who she was, and considered herself family.
Are we going to continue ignoring this? Or are we preparing to take a step forward and make a change?
In the basement, darkness and silence filled the entire space, with only the occasional dripping sound echoing like an ethereal whisper.
At this moment, crimson filled every corner, and in it, the white-haired figure stood quietly, raising his hand to look at the blank head he held in his palm.
That's the head of a gang leader.
"Name."
Zuo Jian slowly opened his mouth and asked.
"Gh... gh..."
"Never mind, I can do it myself."
Zuo Jian glanced at the leader's head, then placed it aside among the fleshy tumors that had turned into small mountains.
Soon, a body was reconstructed and attached to the leader's head.
The nun's body, with her eyes closed, rested quietly against a corner of the tumor.
A moment later, the "leader" opened its blue pupils.
"They have quite a few businesses; it's hard to imagine an ordinary gang achieving this level of success... So, they do have some connections with those dukes after all."
"With the throne of Victoria vacant and the situation turbulent, it's only natural that the Duke, unable to travel to Londinium in person, would seek to cultivate and support some local power brokers."
"No wonder, given the various illegal transactions involved... it's simply a form of 'reward' for them."
Zuo Jian looked at his torso, where the black suit was slowly being built up by flesh and blood. Soon, from the outside, it would be almost impossible to tell the difference between him and the former gang leader.
He was still slowly absorbing the memories in his brain, and at the same time, he snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the flesh and blood began to wriggle and gradually form individual bodies.
In the end, within just a few breaths, all the blood and organs on the ground were swept away and absorbed, then transformed into the bodies of the already deceased gang members.
From their appearance, they are also completely undetectable to others.
After the battle, Zuo Jian had absorbed all the souls, or rather, consciousnesses, and after removing the unnecessary parts, he evenly distributed them into each body.
This transformed them all into branches capable of executing his commands, and he could manipulate any of their bodies at any time.
The premise is that Laurentina doesn't lock herself away by her side.
As for memories...
And the original name of this body.
Ha, he doesn't need it, and he doesn't care.
Anyway, this is just the beginning.
He was also worried about what kind of trouble those who knew the gang leader's original name might cause.
Rather, let them worry about themselves first.
This is just the beginning.
Having decided to get involved completely, there will be no hesitation.
"However, we need to consider how to deal with the two guests who slipped in first."
Zuo Jian stroked his chin, feeling the two people still crawling inside the pipe.
"Phew, finally found an exit that wasn't blocked."
Aiden let out a long sigh, then stepped onto the ground, enjoying the long-lost feeling of walking upright.
"... That's a bit strange."
The Doctor stood to one side, looking at the surrounding environment.
This place seems to be quite far from the underground parking garage.
Judging from its appearance, it seems more like an underground storage room for storing unnecessary miscellaneous items.
The traffic jams along the way seemed to be deliberately designed to lure them here.