Fight for His Life

From the corner of his eye, Lin Xiaoyang spotted a pile of scrap metal frames by the wall. They had probably been left behind during renovations.

He charged over, seized a rusty angle iron with both hands, and yanked it up with all his strength. Crash!

The thunderous sound of the metal frame collapsing exploded across the empty rooftop.

The German shepherd was startled as well, and its pounce froze for a second or two.

Clearly, it retained some impression of how threatening these "upright animals" could become once they acquired tools.

And in those one or two seconds—

Lin Xiaoyang snatched up the angle iron, more than a meter long. Rather than smashing it at the dog, he viciously swept it across the ground beside its front paws!

Clang—!

Metal struck concrete, and even faint sparks flew.

He had missed. The target was simply too small, but the crystal still bounced up from the force of the blow.

That was exactly what Lin Xiaoyang wanted!

Realizing something was wrong, the German shepherd instinctively let out an enraged roar and opened its jaws to bite the "little thing" in the air. But Lin Xiaoyang was faster. He flung the angle iron from his hand, and it slammed straight into the dog's terrifying, blood-soaked snout.

His years of experience working alongside rebar and scaffolding at construction sites had given the young man extremely precise control.

The blow was nowhere near lethal, but striking such a vital spot was enough to make the dog pause.

He himself dove forward with the momentum, crashing heavily to the ground. Stretching his arm as far as he could, his fingertips barely reached the falling crystal—

The instant the unremarkable crystal touched his hand, a gust of bloody stench was already at his back.

Without a