Kaleidoscope

As Luo Li took Castorice's hand and stepped out of the detention center, the outside light made him squint slightly.

There was no expected layer of encirclement, nor a law enforcement team on high alert.

Only the quiet streets at night, and the still-shining neon lights of the city in the distance.

But Luo Li knew that everything was different now.

He turned his head to look at the girl beside him. She had her head slightly lowered, and her silver-purple hair was gently blowing in the night breeze. She looked as obedient as if she had just finished a normal shopping trip.

Only the faint, lingering chill of the River of Souls at her fingertips, a chill that seemed capable of freezing the soul, revealed the truth of what had just happened.

"Castorice..."

Luo Li stopped and gently squeezed her hand.

"The Murong Family..."

"They won't bother us anymore."

Castorice raised her head, her purple eyes clear, her tone calm as if stating a given fact.

Looking at her, Luo Li felt a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her.

"Um."

He simply nodded in the end, without asking for further details. He trusted her, just as she trusted him without reservation.

Just then, a gentle voice rang out from the shadows not far away.

"It seems I'm a step too late."

Luo Li and Castorice turned their heads at the same time.

Lu Jingheng, sitting in a wheelchair, slowly emerged from the shadows at the street corner.

His face still wore that signature gentle smile, but in the dim light, that smile seemed somewhat elusive.

"Mr. Lu?" Luo Li was somewhat surprised.

How did you get here?

"I heard that Mr. Luo Li has encountered some trouble, and I was hoping to see if I could offer any small assistance, but unexpectedly..."

Lu Jingheng's gaze seemed to casually sweep over Castorice before finally settling back on Luo Li, his smile unchanged, "Miss Castorice has already resolved it—truly astonishing efficiency."

His words were natural, but Luo Li keenly noticed that the moment Lu Jingheng looked at Castorice, a very faint, almost scrutinizing, inquiry flashed deep in his eyes.

That was definitely not the look an ordinary researcher should have when looking at a frail "cousin".

Castorice frowned slightly, subconsciously leaning closer to Luo Li without saying a word.

"It was a small misunderstanding, but it's been resolved. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Lao Lu."

Luo Li stood half a step in front of Castorice without making a sound, his tone carrying a distant politeness.

"That's good."

Lu Jingheng seemed oblivious to Luo Li's wariness, maneuvering his wheelchair closer and speaking with just the right amount of concern.

"However, the Murong Family has been entrenched here for many years and has deep roots; they probably won't give up easily. Mr. Luo Li and Miss Castorice will need to be extra careful in the future."

"No need for you to trouble yourself," Luo Li said calmly.

Just then, several dark figures darted out from the surrounding alleys like ghosts, moving with incredible speed and carrying obvious killing intent, rushing straight towards Luo Li and Castorice.

These people exuded a chilling aura and moved with perfect coordination; they were clearly not ordinary thugs, but well-trained assassins.

Is it retaliation from the Murong Family? Or... some other force?

Luo Li's eyes narrowed, and he instantly Castorice Die behind him. Although the Bloodblade Enma was not yet drawn, its chilling aura already permeated the air.

Just as he was preparing to meet the enemy—

Lu Jingheng, who had been sitting upright in his wheelchair, suddenly sighed softly.

"Really... blind as a bat."

He looked up, and his eyes, which always held a gentle smile, seemed to have changed.

The originally gentle brown pupils, the moment they were raised, refracted countless fine and beautiful spots of light like shattered glass, as if thousands of stars were flowing, being born and dying within them—they were a pair of eyes as dazzling and eerie as Kaleidoscope.

He didn't get up, or even make any other movement.

He merely glanced indifferently at the charging assassins with his Kaleidoscope- like eyes.

The next moment, something unbelievable happened.

The three assassins at the forefront seemed to be instantly sliced and twisted by an invisible spatial force!

One of the men's arms mysteriously disappeared mid-strike, the cut smooth as a mirror, yet no blood flowed, as if that part of the limb had never existed.

The ground beneath the other person's feet suddenly collapsed into an irregular black hole, swallowing half of his body. He struggled in terror but could not make a sound, and could only watch helplessly as his body was silently erased by the invisible space.

The third person was even more bizarre. He maintained his forward-rushing posture, but his entire body seemed to be pixelated, with different parts of his body misaligned and flickering in different spatial dimensions. Finally, in a silent twist, he completely disintegrated into a fine piece of spatial dust and vanished without a trace.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no roaring sound of colliding energy.

Only deathly silence.

A deathly silence based on spatial rules, an absolute and overwhelming stillness.

The remaining assassins abruptly stopped, watching in horror as their companion vanished in such a bizarre manner. They then looked at the gentle young man who remained quietly seated in his wheelchair, as if he had merely blinked, as if they had seen the most terrifying monster in the world.

"Monster!"

They screamed, no longer caring about their mission, and turned to run away.

The Kaleidoscope light spots in Lu Jingheng's eyes flickered slightly.

Buzz--

The air around the assassins seemed to turn into viscous amber, and their movements instantly slowed down, like a slow-motion scene in a movie.

It's not that time has been slowed down, but rather that the space they inhabit has been highly compressed and confined!

He raised a finger and gently drew a line in the air.

Like cutting paper.

The assassins imprisoned in that space, along with the compressed space around them, were neatly "cut out" from the real world, forming a constantly twisting and shrinking transparent cube, which eventually collapsed into an almost invisible point of light and disappeared completely.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Lu Jingheng remained quietly seated in his wheelchair. Apart from his eyes, which had become both beautiful and terrifying, he did not even change his posture.

The streets returned to silence, as if the assassins had never been there.

Only the faint, lingering, chaotic spatial fluctuations in the air testified to what had just happened.

The Kaleidoscope light spots in Lu Jingheng's eyes slowly subsided, returning to their warm brown hue.

He gently rubbed his temples, a perfectly measured weariness on his face, as if the divine and demonic techniques he had just performed had taken a toll.

He turned to Luo Li and Castorice, giving them a gentle, apologetic smile, "Did I scare you? It was just some low-class trick; please excuse my poor attempt."

Luo Li's pupils contracted slightly, and a storm raged in her heart.

This is by no means a "trick"! It demonstrates an extremely high level of control over the rules of space.

This Lu Jingheng, his hidden strength is unfathomable! S-rank? Or even... higher! The "Kaleidoscope" he mentioned is probably the name of his superpower!

What alarmed Luo Li even more was whether Lu Jingheng's display of power at this moment was a coincidence, or... a deliberate warning or demonstration?

Castorice frowned slightly, a hint of seriousness flashing in her purple eyes.

She could sense that the power Lu Jingheng was using was at an extremely high level. Although its nature was completely different from her power of death, the oppressive feeling that touched the bottom rules of the world was undeniable.

This seemingly gentle man is extremely dangerous.

"Mr. Lu... you really are a man of great talent."

Luo Li suppressed the shock in her heart, her tone tentative.

Lu Jingheng smiled modestly, adjusted his glasses, and resumed his harmless researcher demeanor. "Just a little trick to save my life, nothing compared to Mr. Luo Li's practical skills."

After all, working at the Star Rail Research Institute occasionally involves encountering some... less-than-friendly 'samples'.

He casually changed the subject, then looked at Luo Li, his tone becoming more serious. "Mr. Luo Li, after this incident, you must have realized that the waters of Jiangcheng are deeper than you imagined."

The Murong Family is merely one of the pawns on the surface.

Some hidden forces always pay extra attention to anything 'abnormal'.

His gaze seemed to casually sweep over Castorice again, with a hidden meaning.

Luo Li felt a chill run down her spine.

Was he implying that Castorice's origins might have attracted the attention of certain forces? Or was he referring more generally to the attention drawn to his own rapid increase in strength?

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Lu. I will pay attention."

Luo Li remained unmoved.

"Yes, better safe than sorry."

Lu Jingheng nodded and steered the wheelchair around.

"Since you two are both well, I shall take my leave now."

There's still some data that needs processing at the research institute.

He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, then turned back and gave Luo Li a meaningful smile.

"By the way, Mr. Luo Li, if you ever encounter any 'big trouble' that even the guild finds difficult to handle, perhaps you could try contacting my good-for-nothing younger brother— Lu Xiao."

Although he's a bit impulsive, he's somewhat useful when it comes to handling certain 'physical' problems.

After saying that, without waiting for Luo Li's response, he maneuvered his wheelchair and slowly disappeared at the end of the street, as if he had never been there.

Lu Xiao?

Luo Li felt the name sounded familiar, and after a moment's thought, she was suddenly struck by a realization.

Lu Xiao... the "God of War" hailed as one of the strongest young fighters in Longxia, who has been active on the front lines of the war against vampires for many years?

He's Lu Jingheng's younger brother?!

A hidden S+ level space manipulation expert in a research institute, a world-renowned frontline war god... Just who are these brothers?

Luo Li stared at the direction where Lu Jingheng had disappeared, her brows furrowed.

Today's experience was overwhelming.

The threat from the Murong Family may seem to have been eliminated, but the underlying crisis appears to be just beginning to surface. The true purpose of Lu Jingheng, this enigmatic "ally," remains shrouded in mystery.

"Luo Li?" Castorice gently tugged at his sleeve, her purple eyes asking.

Luo Li snapped out of her daze and looked into the girl's pure yet worried eyes beside her. All the turmoil and pressure in her heart instantly subsided.

He gripped Castorice's slightly cool hand tightly, and his face once again revealed that carefree, confident smile.

"It's alright, Castorice."

"Let's go home."

"Tonight, I want your Amphoreus stew, double the portion!"