ALL NOVEL Chapter 76 - Oddity
Tang Ruo vaguely guessed what Bai Qi was about to do. She had also heard the speed ability user in front of her say, “That girl is really something.” Given Bai Qi’s petty and vengeful nature, he wouldn’t pretend not to have heard it.
Looking up at him, she noticed that beneath his naturally regal demeanor was a face so vivid that it almost made her covetous to the point of sickness.
This man, with just a glance, could make her willing to shed her armor and rush into fire for him.
Tang Ruo closed her eyes and buried her face in Bai Qi’s embrace.
She believed Bai Qi wouldn’t kill for this.
However, she also knew that petty people could be difficult to deal with.
Even if…
No matter what Bai Qi did, even if it meant going to the gallows or descending into hell, she would follow him.
The moment Tang Ruo closed her eyes, Six Brother saw the black-clad man draw an ice knife from his hand.
The ice knife was crystal clear; even in the alley without sunlight to reflect off it, the sharp blade was still visible.
The man didn’t hesitate for a moment; his movements were swift and decisive, without even a slight furrow of his brow or any unnecessary flourishes, as he plunged the knife directly into the inner thigh of Shunzi.
The knife was buried deep and high, likely wounding Shunzi’s masculinity.
With his right leg incapacitated, his speed ability was nearly useless.
Bai Qi’s movements were incredibly fluid; he thrust the knife in but had no intention of pulling it out. Instead, he let go of the ice knife and flipped it over, sending something toward Six Brother in the alley…
What was that?
Six Brother widened his eyes just in time to see a white lotus flying toward him, which then disintegrated into multiple ice knives shooting in his direction.
He was a speed user!
Yet he felt there was no way to dodge all those ice knives.
These knives came at him like shooting stars, and in the blink of an eye, several had embedded themselves in the wall beside him, their tips piercing the surface just half an inch away from him!
Eight ice knives surrounded him precisely, pinning him to the wall like a circus act of flying knives.
Though he was unscathed, he felt weak all over, cold sweat pouring down.
It was terrifying—capable of killing without a trace!
Yet, by sparing his life, it only confirmed his fearsome nature.
It was like a declaration, proving through action that he wasn’t even qualified to be his opponent!
“If there’s a next time, come prepared to die,” Bai Qi said, standing tall and straight as he carried Tang Ruo away.
Only after they exited the alley did Shunzi begin to feel the pain in his leg.
“Ah—” Shunzi cried out, his voice trembling and filled with agony.
The biggest mistake of his life was provoking this man.
Walking on the street outside, Tang Ruo turned her head to look at Bai Qi.
Sensing her gaze, Bai Qi reached out with his other hand and ruffled her hair. “Xiao Ruo, we’ll inevitably face situations like this in the future, so we need to adapt.”
Tang Ruo’s heart skipped a beat, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
This country was already in ruins, while those people continued to vie for power and kill each other.
Bai Qi seemed to sense her thoughts, tightening their clasped hands and letting out a soft sigh. “Greed is humanity’s greatest enemy.”
Everyone has the right to make their own choices, but each person must bear the consequences of those choices.
Those in power are often blinded; Bai Qi, having lived a second life, saw things more clearly as an observer.
Tang Ruo understood what Bai Qi was saying.
Though she didn’t feel overwhelmed, she also couldn’t be a savior to everyone.
Turning her face toward him, she said slowly, “Everyone knows their own hardships; I can’t choose for others. But for you, even in death, I won’t let go.”
Her voice was soft, yet every word reached Bai Qi’s ears. He stopped in the bustling street and embraced her.
Meanwhile, inside a nearby wall, Tian Hai finally found Pan Dawei and Liu Bing.
Pan Dawei was sitting on the ground, while Liu Bing leaned against a tree trunk.
Looking up, they saw a large net woven from vines, with two people trapped inside, appearing quite distressed.
Tian Hai hurried over. “Brother Liu, Uncle Pan…”
Pan Dawei turned to him and waved. “Xiao Tian, come here. Where are Xiao Bai and Xiao Tang?”
“They’re at Second Street.”
After the military converted this area into a base, they renamed all the streets in the planning zone, from First Street to Thirteenth Street, using simple numerical designations.
Tian Hai stood next to Liu Bing. “I was just about to warn you that someone was following you, but it seems you’ve already noticed.” He looked up, confused. “What did you do to them? They look really distressed.”
Liu Bing pointed at Pan Dawei. “Old Pan is giving them a little education…” He then made a knowing expression.
Tian Hai understood all too well the kind of “education” Pan Dawei was administering, having experienced it himself. He silently returned a look to Liu Bing that said, “You’ve worked hard.”
In his heart, he lit a candle for the two trapped in the tree.
Tian Hai’s arrival seemed to have liberated the two hanging in the net.
“Please, we’ll tell you anything! We promise we won’t do this again. Just let us go…”
“Have mercy on us! Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda…”
Pan Dawei stood up. “Young man, how can you be so gullible at such a young age, believing in superstitions and legends? In fact, it’s still early in the day; we have plenty of time. Why don’t we discuss life a bit more?”
One of the men spat out blood and pleaded, “Uncle, I swear I won’t dare to do this again! I promise I’ll become a law-abiding citizen.”
They were power users, not military personnel, and belonged to a team within the base. Some members had connections with the Zhou family, secretly helping them handle matters that the military couldn’t directly intervene in.
Previously, at the West District base, they had done a lot of such work, and once completed successfully, the Zhou family would provide them with the blue crystals they needed for their abilities.
But today, they had encountered two peculiar individuals!
It was just supposed to be a simple task of following someone, but just moments after they started, the old man in the lead quickly discovered them.
Then, without realizing they had fallen into their trap, someone appeared beside them. They had no time to react before that person ensnared them with a vine…
The vine sprouted more slender tendrils, weaving into a net, and the two of them found themselves hanging upside down from the treetops.
And after that…
The two hours of painful memories were something he wanted to forget entirely!
Tian Hai glanced at the expressions of the two hanging in the tree and felt a twinge of sympathy. Uncle Pan’s “education” could easily rank among the top ten tortures.
“Uncle Pan, why don’t we take them back to the villa and let Captain Hu interrogate them?”
So, the three of them escorted the two trapped in the net back to the villa.
After Bai Qi and Tang Ruo dealt with the stalkers, they headed straight for Building 2 in the high-rise area.
With no electricity, the elevators were out of service, so they had to climb the stairs to the eighth floor.
Having kept up with their fitness routines since the apocalypse, walking up to the eighth floor was no big deal for them.
Their fingers interlocked, they climbed the stairs together, level by level.
The floors were occupied by ability users, while ordinary people were placed in another community on the outskirts. There weren’t many ability users, and as they ascended from the first floor, they encountered fewer and fewer people in the stairwell.
When they reached the seventh floor, they heard a delicate, playful voice coming from around the corner: “Yun, Brother Yunjiang, it’s so crowded here, don’t do that…”
The voice was sweet and endearing, utterly captivating.
But it was also very familiar.
Sure enough, as they went further up, they clearly saw the woman being pinned against the wall by a man, her shoulder exposed halfway—she was the same woman they had seen in the alley before.