Witnesses

His voice was clearly different from that kid's just now—his tone, pitch, and voice were completely different.

It sounded utterly crazed and twisted.

The skinny middle-aged man wanted to speak, but the chopstick had pierced right through his tongue, leaving him able to make only incoherent noises from his throat.

Fu Junlin abruptly pulled out a chopstick and thrust it forward.

Squelch!

The chopstick punched straight through the skinny middle-aged man's neck. Blood squeezed out around it and dripped onto the ground.

The scene fell utterly silent.

"You're dead!!"

The plumper middle-aged man immediately charged forward in fury, a broadsword appearing in his hand as he brought it down at Fu Junlin's head.

Fu Junlin dodged aside and drove a fist at his chest.

But blue light flashed, and a pale blue shield rose around the plump middle-aged man.

It was the energy shield unique to Superior Humans.

Fu Junlin's fist slammed into the shield, sending violent ripples through it. Though he did not break it, the blow still knocked the man back three or four meters.

He staggered and nearly fell.

The plump middle-aged man was about to rush in for another fight when he realized Fu Junlin had already charged before him.

Boom! Boom boom boom!!

"Aah! Aah ah ah ah!!"

Fu Junlin screamed like a madman as his fists hammered the Superior Human's shield in a frenzied barrage.

It lasted only four seconds!

A Superior Human's shield was naturally a full tier stronger than a Subspecies's physique.

With their shields up, Superior Humans were almost never defeated by Subspecies.

But a physique did not require energy. Professions like Subspecies Fistmasters and Blade-and-Sword Enchanters often used a combination of physical strength and energy.

Thus, their endurance far exceeded shields sustained solely by energy.

If a Superior Human failed to win while their shield was still active—

Then once that shield was gone, the outcome was already decided!

Crack.

Before the stunned plump middle-aged man could even process it, Fu Junlin's fist had already smashed into his face.

Bang!

The plump middle-aged man slammed sideways onto the ground, landing headfirst and bursting into a bloody mess.

By then, the two Subspecies women had long since hidden in the grass, trembling, while the shop owner and his wife cowered inside their stall, too afraid to come out.

After punching the plump middle-aged man to death, Fu Junlin did not even have time to strip the belts from the two men before fleeing into the night.

Only this spot on the dim street was lit.

Fu Junlin did not notice that in the darkness, a timid blond youth was trembling as he held up his phone and recorded everything.

Only after running very, very far did Fu Junlin stop. Instead of going home immediately, he crouched at a street corner shrouded in darkness.

Slowly removing his mask, Fu Junlin's face was filled with horror.

"Do you know what you did!?"

Fu Junlin asked.

Yet there was not much dissatisfaction in his voice. More than anything, there was a trace of confusion as he faced the fear and anxiety that would come next.

"Hmph, don't think I don't know. Deep down, you wanted to kill them too, didn't you!

"You're just plain scared, but more than anyone else, you wanted those two dead. When I took control of the body just now, I unleashed the dark side we both share!

"I almost couldn't keep my reason under control. You're even more messed up than I am!"

Big Black shot back disdainfully.

Indeed, the normal Big Black was not as insane as he had been just now. As his fusion with Fu Junlin grew deeper and deeper, their thoughts, bodies, and abilities had begun to overlap in some ways.

When he took control of the body, he felt as though his dark side and Fu Junlin's dark side had completely taken over his thoughts. It was a very subtle feeling.

Fu Junlin remained silent. Recalling what had just happened, he felt lingering fear as well.

Because Big Black was right.

"What do we do now? There didn't seem to be any cameras nearby, but those four people all saw me!"

Fu Junlin slumped against the corner of the wall, warily scanning his surroundings. Even the slightest movement in the wind made him feel as though the police had arrived.

He did not dare go home either, afraid of dragging his mother and younger brother into it.

"Not to say anything, but you should've killed those four witnesses too..."

Big Black said lightly.

"..."

Fu Junlin frowned and could not be bothered to respond.

Just as he was at his wits' end, his mother called and asked why he had not come home so late.

Fu Junlin could only tell her he would be home soon.

No matter what, he needed to go back and prepare first. If the truth came out tomorrow, he could turn himself in—as long as he did not harm his mother and younger brother.

But the guilt of having committed a crime left Fu Junlin dazed, like a walking corpse.

Fu Junlin tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep properly.

He considered every possible outcome, every possibility, and analyzed the circumstances of the incident countless times.

He had avoided surveillance cameras along every stretch of road he took. At the scene, there had only been four witnesses: the two women and the shop owner couple.

He even calculated roughly how many years in prison he might receive.

Big Black had clearly used up a great deal of energy and soon fell asleep, leaving Fu Junlin to suffer alone.

At last, the next day arrived, but the police knocking at his door as Fu Junlin had imagined never came.

Fu Junlin went to school as usual.

It was not until ten in the morning that Fu Junlin finally saw the latest report on yesterday's murder case through his phone!

"Last night, two men were killed in the Red Carpet District. Both were Superior Humans, aged forty-one and thirty-nine respectively.

"According to the four witnesses at the scene, the suspect wore a pure black spider mask and had a white spider tattoo on his face. The suspect's target was clear. The conflict occurred on the spot and is suspected to have been an act of revenge.

"Our station hereby advises all citizens to avoid moving about in the Red Carpet District after nine in the evening whenever possible.

"Now, let us turn to a report on an air traffic accident..."