Night Exploration of the Beast's Lair

The night was black as ink, thick enough to stir, pressing down with the stench of rust and decay. At the edge of the city, the Zhang family villa compound resembled a gargoyle crouched atop a massive burial mound. Only a few scattered streetlamps remained, like its pus-filled, bleeding lone eye, barely outlining its enormous, sinister shape. Dark vines crawled over the high walls, twisted and knotted like dried veins. Shards of glass along the wall tops glinted beneath the thin moonlight with the cold sheen of dead men's bones. Invisible infrared beams wove an unseen web through the air, coldly denying all living things entry. Any fragrance from expensive flowers and plants had long vanished from the air, leaving only metal, dust, and a faintly sweet, bloody odor that made breathing difficult.

A shadow darker and less substantial than the night clung to the cold wall beside the Zhang family's main residence, like a dark patch where the plaster had peeled away. Lanling King.

Every breath tugged at the old wound deep beneath his shoulder blade, like a red-hot branding iron, but he forced the surging pain beneath his frozen will. His body was pressed against the rough, icy wall, his temperature lowered until it was as cold as stone, his heartbeat so faint it seemed about to stop. Every muscle was taut and ready to strike, yet relaxed as though weightless. His ears twitched almost imperceptibly, catching the sounds within the villa: the hum of electricity, the low wheeze of the air conditioning, the stiff footsteps of patrolling bodyguards... Farther underground came faint, dull impacts, like heads striking stone slabs, mixed with a low-frequency buzzing that made the heart restless, as though some evil thing beneath the earth were breathing.

His target lay deep within this cold, luxurious fortress—the dealings between the Zhang family and The Hand, the truth behind that "Beast" totem, and the list marked "East Sea Cargo Ship, Hold No. 7."

Lanling King moved.

There was no sound of wind, no distortion of light. His entire body seemed to become a stream of black water sliding down the wall. With the tip of his foot touching the most inconspicuous bump in the plaster, he floated upward. His movements were as smooth as though he had practiced them thousands of times. Every point of leverage was accurate to the finest degree, perfectly avoiding any vibration sensors that might have been hidden in the wall. After several silent rises and falls, he was clinging beside a tightly shut frosted-glass window on the third floor.

A trace of nearly imperceptible black energy gathered at his fingertips, like the most dexterous probe, silently piercing the complex electronic lock within the gap in the window frame. The black energy burrowed through the metal and circuitry, dismantling and imitating. Click. A tiny sound, lighter than dust settling, and the alloy bolt silently retracted.

Lanling King's body slipped through the window gap like black oil and landed without a sound. Beneath his feet was icy black marble polished enough to reflect him.

The study was frighteningly large, empty like an altar. Dark bookcases filled an entire wall, crammed with hardbound books that looked more like displays of power. A massive mahogany desk stood in the center, its lines hard as a coffin. The air was thick with the smell of cigars, strong liquor, and genuine leather—Zhang Tiankui's scent.

Lanling King's gaze swept across the room before finally fixing on the dark wooden wall paneling behind the desk, which appeared seamless. The grain of the wood in one small section ran in a subtly different direction from the rest. When air passed over it, it carried a faint, sluggish sensation of insulation.

Black energy gathered again at his fingertips, like invisible tendrils lightly brushing over the suspicious area. It probed through the seams in the wood, sensing the structure inside. Soon, a fingerprint scanner hidden deep within the wood grain and an equally concealed retinal scanner came into view through the black energy's "vision."

Forcing it would trigger the alarm. Lanling King did not hesitate and slid behind the desk, beside the broad leather executive chair. The black energy at his fingertips condensed into threads thinner than hairs. From the top of the chair back—where Zhang Tiankui habitually rested his head when leaning back—he carefully scraped off several tiny fingerprint traces stained with oil, sweat, and dead skin. At the same time, another even finer strand of black energy, like an invisible straw, gathered several nearly dispersed fragments of Zhang Tiankui's retinal biometric data from the air above the chair back.

With what he needed in hand, Lanling King returned to the hidden door. The black energy at his fingertips precisely replicated the fingerprint data he had just stolen and pressed it against the scanner. At the same time, a faint black gleam shot from his eyes, perfectly copying Zhang Tiankui's retinal pattern.

Buzz...

A faint mechanical turning sound, nearly swallowed by the air conditioner. That section of wall paneling silently slid inward, revealing a pitch-black staircase just wide enough for one person, descending below. A murkier, colder, damp smell rushed out, heavy with blood and cheap incense, mixed with an evil pressure that made the scalp tingle.

Lanling King did not pause for even an instant. His figure flashed into the darkness. The secret door silently closed behind him.

At the end of the stairs stood a heavy black iron door, slightly ajar. Flickering dark-red firelight seeped through the gap, staining a patch of floor outside it like congealed blood.

Lanling King pressed himself against the cold iron door and peered through the gap.

The hidden chamber was not large, but its evil aura was thick enough to choke on. Its walls were jet-black, as though they absorbed light. At the center of the room stood a crude altar piled from black stone, taking up nearly half the space. There was no gold, silver, treasure, or documents upon it.

There was only a statue.

A half-human-height monster cast entirely from some strange metal as dark and dull as clotted blood!

The monster was so grotesque it made the stomach turn. Its twisted body was covered in countless writhing lumps that seemed to be formed from anguished human faces. Saber-like fangs crossed and protruded from its mouth. A huge vertical eye, taking up nearly half its head, was set with a single piece of dark-purple crystal! The light in that eye was not reflected candlelight—it was glowing on its own! Like a living creature breathing! Simply staring at it made even Lanling King's frozen consciousness feel pricked by needles, seized by inexplicable irritation! The monster's claws tightly gripped a twisted emblem formed from complex distorted Japanese characters—the complete version of the tattoo on Zhang Hao's arm! The entire statue was coated with a thick layer of greasy, dark-red blood crust. It had not dried; it was still writhing extremely slowly, seeping into the metal and releasing a foul stench of rust, rotting organs, and cheap incense!

The Beast! The evil god worshipped by The Hand!

Before the altar knelt a figure in black Japanese martial arts attire. The man was broad-built, with graying hair—Zhang Tiankui! He was kowtowing to the grotesque Beast statue in a posture of extreme devotion and madness. Every time his forehead struck the floor, the dull thud shook blood crust from the altar. Japanese prayers poured from his mouth, sometimes shrill as a night cat's cry, sometimes low as a wild beast's howl, filled with the insanity of sacrifice.

In the deepest shadow at one side of the altar stood a figure in black ninja garb, wearing a vicious demon mask, motionless as a statue. Two strangely curved short ninja blades were slanted at his waist, their sheaths black enough to swallow light. The exposed eyes were hollow and dead, reflecting the blood-red glow without a ripple. The dangerous aura radiating from him was stronger than that of all the guards outside combined—cold, restrained, like venomous snake fangs hidden in a sheath.

Lanling King's gaze swept across the hidden chamber and found a metal safe quietly standing in the deepest shadow behind the altar, embedded in the wall. Its door was shut tight, but the same twisted emblem beneath the monster's claws was clearly engraved upon its surface!

The list! It had to be inside!

The chance was fleeting! Zhang Tiankui had just finished kowtowing and was about to rise, while the statue-like ninja captain seemed to move as well.

Lanling King moved!

Without the slightest hesitation! His body became a true black arrow, shooting through the gap in the door in an instant! He lunged straight for the safe behind the altar!

"Baka! Who are you?!" Zhang Tiankui, still kneeling, abruptly raised his head. The devout fervor on his face instantly turned into shocked fury!

"Enemy attack!" The ninja captain reacted even faster! His dead-water eyes suddenly burst with a venomous, snake-like glint! His right hand flashed across his waist, and three streams of black, lightless steel with strange blue gleams along their edges tore through the air! They made no shriek, only a teeth-grinding hiss, like snakes flicking their tongues! They flew in a triangular formation toward Lanling King's back, neck, and the bend of his right knee! The angles were vicious and precise, sealing off every avenue of retreat!

It was a critical moment!

Lanling King seemed to have eyes on his back! His forward momentum did not slow, yet his body twisted and folded sharply at an impossible angle! He became like a boneless creature!

Ssh! Ssh!

Two poisoned darts grazed his clothes and hair before embedding themselves ahead of him! Sparks flew! But the third dart viciously caught the path of his right shoulder, slowed by half a beat due to his old injury!

Pfft!

A dull impact! The black diamond-shaped poisoned dart, fitted with barbs and a blood groove, viciously plunged beneath Lanling King's right shoulder blade—into the site of last night's injury! Excruciating pain surged through his body like high-voltage electricity! Worse still, a cold, slick toxin erupted instantly! The muscles in his right arm stiffened and went numb as though flooded with liquid nitrogen. Twisted purple-black veins instantly crept across the edges of his vision, and his heart felt as though an icy ghost claw had seized it tightly!

Poison!

Lanling King let out a muffled groan. His body faltered slightly from the shock of pain and poison, but his forward rush did not stop! Enduring the tearing agony and rapidly spreading numbness, he shot out his left hand. Black energy condensed at his fingertips into a black needle as fine as ox hair and thrust into the keyhole within the twisted emblem on the safe with a hiss!

The twisted emblem on the safe door instantly flared with blinding red light and emitted a shrill alarm! But Lanling King's black energy had already corroded its core like a deadly poison! The red light flashed only once before going out with a pop. The emblem blackened and cracked apart! The safe door sprang open by a narrow gap!

"Stop him! Kill him!" Zhang Tiankui's hysterical roar exploded through the hidden chamber!

The instant the first wave of poisoned darts missed, the ninja captain had already pounced like a disease clinging to the bone! He moved as fast as a ghost! Two poisoned ninja blades silently left their sheaths. Before the blades arrived, a sweetly bloody poison mist that made the head spin had already rushed at Lanling King's face! The blade light was like the fangs of venomous snakes, carrying the stench of death as it struck for Lanling King's exposed throat and lower abdomen! It sealed off every route by which he could reach the contents of the safe!

At that very instant!

A cold gleam exploded in Lanling King's eyes! He had not activated it himself. The "line" connecting his consciousness to Guiguzi suddenly tightened, burning hot! A mysterious force from the distant Xiang family residence tore through the air! Centered around him, thick rolling black mist instantly erupted! This black mist differed from his own shadows; it was laced with countless faint, fragmented pale-gold sparks of light (Xuan Weizi)!

[Guiguzi · Lanling King Bond Skill: Shadow Mist]!

The black mist rolled like a living thing. It not only swallowed light and sound, but also distorted one's sense of space! The ninja captain's fierce blade light slashed into the black fog, and his sense of direction instantly fell into chaos. His twin blades nearly cut into the terrified Zhang Tiankui beside him! The bloody candlelight was crushed into red dots the size of needlepoints, like dying eyeballs!

"What?!" The ninja captain's furious, startled roar rang out from the black mist, carrying unbelievable panic.

Taking advantage of that momentary delay, Lanling King had already pulled his hand from the safe! A thin stack of names and a cold metal USB drive were pinched between his fingers! Riding the momentum of his charge, he slammed his poisoned, numb right shoulder into a tightly shut small alloy louvered window on the other side of the chamber, used for ventilation!

"Boom—!"

Black energy wrapped around his body as he became a human battering ram! The sturdy alloy louvers twisted and burst apart under the impact! The jagged metal edges tore open an even larger gash across the old wound on his shoulder! Black poisoned blood mixed with fresh blood sprayed wildly outward!

"Shoot! Shoot him!" Zhang Tiankui's terrified howl and the click of a pistol being chambered sounded behind the black mist!

Lanling King's figure was already like a wounded night owl, shooting from the hole amid a spray of metal fragments and streaks of blood, instantly melting into the boundless darkness outside the villa!

"Bakayarou—!!!" The ninja captain's furious roar pursued him through the shattered window. He rushed to the opening, but saw only a few fallen leaves being swept up by the wind in the courtyard below. Several ghostly figures darted out from shadows throughout the villa. Like hyenas smelling blood, they charged in the direction where Lanling King had vanished! Sharp whistling arrows shrieked through the night sky!

The cold night wind poured into the hidden chamber, dispersing the rolling black mist. It also made the blood-red candlelight atop the altar sway frantically, casting the Beast statue's huge purple vertical eye in an even more evil, ferocious light. Zhang Tiankui's hand holding the gun was still trembling, and his face was white as paper.

"Pursue him! He was hit by Demon Cutter's poison! He can't get far!" The ninja captain's cold voice was like a knife scraping bone as he growled into the communicator. "Seal off every route! Notify Hold No. 7 at the port. Something has happened!"

The night was black as ink, cold enough to pierce the bone. Within the shadows at the edge of the city, a staggering black figure ran wildly. Every landing sent tearing pain through the huge gash in his right shoulder. Purple-black veins spread through his vision like living snakes. Half his body was cold and numb, and every breath felt like inhaling red-hot cinders. His heartbeat had become heavy and sticky, ready to stop at any moment. Black and scarlet blood continuously seeped out, congealing in the cold wind and giving off a sweetly bloody rust smell.

The toxin corroded him, and his consciousness floated between an icy sea and molten lava. Yet the thought of The lord needs this was like an undying star nailed at the center of his nearly collapsing mind! His left hand gripped the list and USB drive tightly, his knuckles white from the force, as though clutching his only lifeline. Deep within those bloodshot eyes, clouded by poison and blood loss, his frozen loyalty did not waver in the slightest.

He raised his head toward the Xiang family villa in the city center. Staggering, he accelerated once more, dragging behind him an intermittent trail of black blood carrying a sweetly bloody stench. Like a night hawk with broken wings yet determined to return to its nest, he plunged headlong into the bottomless darkness of the alley.

Behind him, from the direction of the Zhang family villa, an inhuman beastly roar filled with fury and cruelty suddenly erupted, tearing through the night sky, as though the evil thing upon the altar had been completely enraged...