The Oriole Lurked Behind

Gaoyang could keenly sense that the unusual atmosphere came from the alley behind him. He really didn't want to keep playing games. If it's a blessing, it won't hurt me; if it's trouble, I can't dodge it anyway. Time to go for it! Still... I should keep something in reserve.

He glanced at Wang Zikai. "You're coming with me."

"No problem!" Wang Zikai was raring to go.

Gaoyang entered the alley. It was old and run-down, its houses slated for demolition and long since abandoned. Only one or two streetlights remained, flickering from faulty connections and lending the place a thoroughly sinister air.

Gaoyang and Wang Zikai slowly ventured deeper into the narrow, dark alley. Wang Zikai had been brimming with excitement at first, but the farther they went, the more his nerve faltered. He swallowed, picked up a brick from the ground, and clutched it in his hand.

Suddenly, Gaoyang stretched out an arm to stop Wang Zikai and shouted into the darkness ahead, "Who's there? Come out!"

A few seconds later, a figure appeared, swaying unsteadily. It was a man, short and very fat. He slowly entered a patch of light beneath a streetlamp, and Gaoyang finally saw who it was.

"Pang Jun?"

Pang Jun wore a dingy gray T-shirt. His face was pale, his expression dazed, and his steps unsteady. Hearing Gaoyang call his name, he answered, "Yeah."

"What are you doing here?" Gaoyang asked.

"Right... what am I doing here...?" Pang Jun rubbed his head. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and snapped out of his daze with a shout. "Ah!"

Pang Jun scrambled over and grabbed Gaoyang. "Yang! Save me! Help!!"

"What's wrong? Take your time."

"I, I don't know... something's wrong with me... I got bitten..." Pang Jun's thoughts were in chaos.

"Bitten by what? Where? Be clear." Gaoyang was getting anxious.

"My hand... my hand..." Pang Jun held out his right hand. "Something's really wrong..."

Gaoyang took a look. The hand was perfectly intact. Nothing was wrong with it.

"Looks fine to me." Wang Zikai leaned over to inspect it too, eager to get involved. He gave a scornful chuckle. "You've probably been jerking off too much. Now you're hallucinating..."

As he spoke, a faint gurgle came from Pang Jun's fleshy palm. Suddenly, a blood-red eye sprouted in its center.

"Aaargh-" Wang Zikai jumped far away in fright. "What the hell is that!"

Pang Jun trembled all over, his emotions slowly unraveling. "I don't know... save me, please save me..."

Gaoyang immediately sensed danger. Just as he was about to step back, Pang Jun's right hand shot out and clamped around his neck with unnatural strength. Then the hand began to swell like rapidly rising dough, turning into a huge, semiliquid mass of tumorous flesh within seconds.

The mass seemed alive. It churned and squirmed with gurgling sounds, gradually engulfing Gaoyang's head. It didn't hurt, but he felt stifled and suffocated, as though a lump of rotten, slippery meat jelly had wrapped tightly around him.

Gaoyang pulled the small dagger hidden in his pocket and plunged it into the mass of flesh-useless. The mass swallowed the dagger, then spat it out with a wet squelch.

Terrified, Wang Zikai turned and ran. "H-help!"

Gaoyang was hauled off the ground. The terror he had felt when Li Weiwei nearly crushed his head came flooding back. He flailed his arms, trying to struggle, but it was futile.

Pang Jun remained rooted to the spot. The grotesque, bloated hand of tumorous flesh was completely beyond his control. He sobbed and screamed, "Help! Someone save me... what's happening to me..."

Just as Gaoyang was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, a familiar voice returned. "Stop!"

It was Wang Zikai!

During his brief flight, he had gradually overcome his instinctive terror and turned back. He charged at Pang Jun and launched a flying kick. "Let him go!"

Wang Zikai's foot struck Pang Jun in the face, sending him flying backward. The enormous tumorous hand was forced to release Gaoyang and flew back with Pang Jun's body. Just before Pang Jun hit the ground, the hand swiftly braced against it, supporting his entire body.

Once Pang Jun was steady on his feet, the tumorous hand lunged at Gaoyang again.

Gaoyang was on his knees, coughing violently. He had no time to run.

"You motherfucker-" Wang Zikai stepped in front of Gaoyang. "Just try touching my brother again!"

As he spoke, the muscles of Wang Zikai's entire right arm suddenly bulged explosively, tearing through his sleeve. The skin on his arm also turned rough, hard, and grayish blue, looking like bronze beneath the orange-yellow streetlight.

Smack! Wang Zikai's bronze hand caught Pang Jun's "tumorous hand" firmly.

The two enormous, inhuman arms pressed against each other, locked in a contest of strength.

"Aaaaah-" Veins bulged on Wang Zikai's forehead, and his eyes unknowingly turned dark green. His arm exerted more and more force, reaching an astonishing grip strength of 1,000 kilograms in just five seconds.

The tumorous hand was hopelessly outmatched. It seemed to have a life of its own, making faint, panicked noises. It thrashed wildly, trying to pull free, but it was too late.

Squelch! At last, Wang Zikai's beast-transformed bronze arm crushed the tumorous hand, bursting it into a spray of pale purple blood.

By the time Gaoyang stood up, Pang Jun had passed out on the ground, and his arm had returned to normal.

Wang Zikai panted, his chest heaving. The right arm that had burst through his sleeve gradually returned to normal as well.

Watching Wang Zikai's silent, stern figure from behind, Gaoyang felt fear rise from the soles of his feet. Is he really just a Lost One? Why does the potential inside him seem so much greater than Li Weiwei's or Aunt He's?

Gaoyang wasn't sure whether to call Wang Zikai's name or simply run.

Just then, Wang Zikai slowly turned around. His eyes were brimming with tears, and he looked ready to weep with joy. "Gaoyang! You weren't lying! I really have gotten stronger!"

"Huh?" Gaoyang's expression must have looked ridiculous.

Wang Zikai rushed over, hugged Gaoyang, and bounced up and down. "Did you see that? My qilin arm! That cultivation method you gave me is fucking amazing!"

"Oh, not at all. It was mostly your own hard work..." Gaoyang forced a smile. Fortunately, this guy wasn't very bright. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Oh, right!" Wang Zikai had been so busy celebrating that he only now remembered Pang Jun. "Who'd have thought Pang Jun was a traitor? How about I kill him?"

"Don't." Gaoyang stopped him. After thinking for a moment, he asked Wang Zikai, "Your place is nearby, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"I remember your parents are divorced. You live alone?" Gaoyang asked.

"That's right. Why?"

"Come on, let's go to your place." Gaoyang pointed at Pang Jun on the ground. "Bring him too."

Pang Jun weighed over ninety kilograms, yet Wang Zikai carried him all the way home on his back, light on his feet and without getting winded.

Gaoyang was secretly shocked. Once a Beast's abilities were triggered, they were truly terrifying. He was practically a lamb living among wolves.

Wang Zikai's family was absurdly rich. His father was in real estate, and his mother was a celebrity who often appeared on television. He lived in a riverside villa district where every inch of land cost a fortune.

Wang Zikai's three-story villa had not only its own parking area and swimming pool, but also an entrance garden and a small landscaped garden. Its price was far beyond that of an ordinary villa.

In the underground garage, Wang Zikai had tied Pang Jun securely to a chair.

Gaoyang had wanted to contact Qingling, but calling her at this hour would leave a record, and approaching her too often could arouse suspicion. Besides, with Wang Zikai's current fighting strength, protecting him would be more than easy enough.

Gaoyang told Wang Zikai to fetch a basin of water, and Wang Zikai obeyed without question. Taking advantage of the opening, Gaoyang checked the system. Sure enough, his Fortune point earnings had doubled again. It had happened when Pang Jun had "attacked" him.

He closed the system and left it running in the background.

Soon, Wang Zikai returned with the water. Without waiting for Gaoyang's instructions, he dumped it over Pang Jun's head. Pang Jun woke with a cry.

"Wh-where... is this?" Pang Jun was still a little dazed. "Yang... why did you tie me up... what happened to me...?"

"Are you a human or a Beast?" Gaoyang asked.

"I'm human! I'm an Awakened!" Pang Jun shouted. "You already knew that!"

Gaoyang said nothing and began to think. Pang Jun had a Talent and had treated him before, so he should be human. But that enormous tumorous hand hadn't looked like a human Talent. It had probably been some kind of Beast form. No, I still need to check, just to be safe.

Gaoyang looked at Wang Zikai. "Do you have any videos at home?"

Wang Zikai froze. "What kind of videos?"

"You know. Those videos."