Chapter 23 - 21: Superpower Awakening, First Team-Up

Chapter 23: Chapter 21: Superpower Awakening, First Team-Up

Xie Shaokun felt his body, in that instant, receive an unprecedented...

Enhancement!

BAM.

Before he could even process it, he pushed off with his feet. His speed surged, but the powerful rebound was disorienting. Caught completely off guard, he slammed headfirst into the person in front of him.

"Ah."

A pained cry rang out.

The person in front of Xie Shaokun was sent flying, knocking over the person behind them. Suddenly, the space before him was clear.

’What’s going on?’

’Am I this strong?’

’I hit him that hard, but I don’t seem to feel any pain?’

He touched his head, feeling it was all a bit strange. ’Could it be that after years of martial arts practice, my hard work has finally paid off? Did I have a breakthrough and reach the level of Inner Strength my master always talked about?’

Recalling the wondrous power that had just spread through his body, Xie Shaokun was overcome with a pleasant surprise. "It must be! Heaven truly doesn’t forsake a person of great determination. Hard work really does pay off."

"And I guess this makes me a martial arts genius, right?"

CREAK.

The door opened.

The blinding light of a flashlight shone from the doorway.

Xie Shaokun shielded his eyes. The next moment, he felt a strong force pulling him. He was about to resist when Xia Yu’s voice sounded by his ear. "Come with me."

The light went out.

The figures dispersed.

In Brother Li’s office, the screams continued.

The scene became even more chaotic, especially after one of them became a Mutant.

Such chaos.

Was happening in every corner of the White Building right now.

[The surveillance room.]

When Manager Ma learned that the boss had his eyes on Xia Yu and Ye Zilan, he seemed to deflate. "Well, there goes our chance to have some fun."

"Once the boss and those bigshots get tired of them, our turn will come," Ma Song said with a pained look, nodding. "It’s just that for high-class goods like them, we’ll have to pay."

"You don’t know shit. These premium goods aren’t just for playing with, even if you have money. They have other uses." Manager Ma glanced at the camera and didn’t elaborate. This was something only a few of Brother Li’s most trusted confidants knew, and it was strictly forbidden to leak.

If anyone was found to have leaked it, the consequences would be severe.

After all, those bigshots didn’t just like playing with women; the rooms on the third basement level had their share of men as well.

"Bro, what do you mean?"

Ma Song asked curiously.

SLAP.

Manager Ma slapped him across the face and said in a low voice, "Don’t ask what you’re not supposed to ask. How many times have I told you? Just watch the monitors."

The next instant, the monitor screens went blank.

The lights went out.

"What’s going on?"

Manager Ma jumped in fright. He glanced at his laptop and, not seeing the charging light, realized the power was out. He immediately kicked Ma Song in the shin and urged, "Go, start the backup generator."

Ma Song hurried off to do it.

The door closed and locked automatically.

Manager Ma quickly pulled out his phone to report to Brother Li.

He couldn’t get through.

Soon.

The monitors came back on.

Then, Manager Ma noticed something was wrong. On many of the monitor feeds, familiar people had drastically changed. They looked withered and their movements were bizarre.

Manager Ma thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed them, only to see an extremely bloody scene: a living person was being eaten by several others!

"What the fuck!"

His eyes widened into saucers.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Who is it?"

Startled, Manager Ma’s voice couldn’t help but rise several octaves. He stared intently at the door.

There was no response.

He was about to get up and open it, but then he remembered the gruesome scene he had just witnessed. He couldn’t help but lick his dry lips. How could he possibly dare to open the door now?

Manager Ma was quite sharp. He quickly pulled up the camera feed for the doorway.

He saw Ma Song standing there.

That tasteless outfit was one of a kind in the entire White Building. It was him, no doubt.

"Phew."

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Manager Ma got up to open the door, unable to stop himself from cursing, "Ma Song, are you fucking mute? Couldn’t you say something?"

But at that very moment, he failed to notice the fleeting look of struggle in Ma Song’s eyes. Ma Song tilted his head up, stared at the camera, and revealed a face that was just skin and bones, and eyes that were completely dead.

CLICK.

The door opened.

"Where is he?"

Manager Ma leaned out. There was no one in the hallway.

Because the surveillance room was so important, it was in a remote location, and Brother Li had strictly forbidden anyone from approaching it. Thus, it was exceptionally quiet here.

But he had just seen Ma Song on the monitor, and now he was nowhere to be found. A chill shot up from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, making his whole body break out in goosebumps.

DRIP.

A drop of red liquid fell before his eyes.

Manager Ma shuddered and slowly tilted his head up.

Ma Song was perched above the doorframe, his hands embedded in the wall like nails. He opened his cavernous mouth, his sharp gums stained red with blood. Because he was so close, one could clearly see the shredded meat stuck between his teeth.

It was fine and tender.

Their eyes met.

"AHHH!!!"

Fear exploded in his heart, and Manager Ma screamed.

ROAR.

Ma Song bit down on his thick lips.

A passionate kiss.

Blood gushed from the corners of their mouths.

Manager Ma struggled frantically, trying to push and claw at Ma Song, but Ma Song was like the most devoted lover in the world. His mouth was welded to his, impossible to shake off.

Pain, terror, and disgust flooded his mind all at once, and Manager Ma completely broke down.

His vision grew blurry, his strength faded, and he was on the verge of death.

THWIP.

A strange sound rang out by his ear.

The pressure on his mouth suddenly vanished.

Ma Song’s corpse fell, knocking Manager Ma to the ground with it.

"Hmm?"

Xia Yu tried to cut open Ma Song’s skull with her Butterfly Knife to look for a Crystal Core, but found that the knife no longer had its previous ’sharpness’ and ’toughness’.

In other words, it no longer had the Enhancement Effect.

She turned her head to the completely dumbfounded and trembling Xie Shaokun beside her. Her delicate brows furrowed as she said, "What are you spacing out for? Do as I say. Keep applying the Enhancement Effect."

"You don’t need to enhance the entire Butterfly Knife. You have to learn to precisely control your superpower and enhance just the blade. It’ll conserve energy."

"Everyone’s superpower has a limited daily ’amount’."

’Huh?’

Xie Shaokun stiffly turned his head to look at Xia Yu.

’Did you just... you just killed someone, and now you’re lecturing me about superpowers?’

’And superpowers are real?’

For a moment, the shock of it all was too intense. His mind was a chaotic mess, a complete blur.

"Do as I say!"

Xia Yu barked.

Based on her experience from her past life, the Long-tongued Monster had already appeared. She had to deal with the trouble here as quickly as possible and pinpoint the monster’s location, which was the main reason she’d come to the surveillance room.

Subconsciously, Xie Shaokun did as Xia Yu said.

This time, the Butterfly Knife in Xia Yu’s hand sliced through Ma Song’s skull with extreme speed.

"A Crystal Core!"

"Lucky."

Her delicate brows rose slightly, a look of surprise on her face.

ROAR.

Just then, a Mutant appeared at the other end of the hallway.

’Is that the boss’s wife?’

Xie Shaokun stared at the charging figure, both familiar and foreign. It was Brother Li’s wife—wasp-waisted, with full hips, a large chest, and long legs. He’d heard she was the ’tool’ Brother Li had used to make his fortune and had been kept imprisoned in the basement.

He had just seen her a few days ago.

But now, the boss’s wife looked exactly like a thousand-year-old desiccated corpse from a movie, her mouth full of blood and shredded flesh. If you looked closely, you could even see an eyeball that hadn’t been fully chewed yet.

RETCH.

Xie Shaokun couldn’t hold it in any longer and began to retch violently. But he hadn’t eaten anything all morning, and with an empty stomach, nothing came up.

"Enhance."

Xia Yu gave a low shout and decisively charged forward.

Since she’d encountered a lone Mutant, she had to eliminate it as quickly as possible. This would let her check if it had a Crystal Core and also prevent it from making a commotion and attracting more Mutants, or even the Long-tongued Monster.

The only hidden danger...

...was whether Xie Shaokun, in his current state, could cooperate perfectly.

If the Butterfly Knife wasn’t enhanced, even if Xia Yu stabbed with all her might, she wouldn’t be able to kill the Mutant in one blow.

In just a second.

The two figures met in the ten-meter-long hallway.

Xia Yu executed a sudden slide tackle, sending the Mutant sprawling face-first. Her right hand instantly caught its ankle. Using the momentum, her body sprang up with incredible speed. The Butterfly Knife danced through the air once more, plunging deep between the Mutant’s eyebrows as it was turning around.

CRACK CRACK CRACK.

With a twist of her wrist, the sound of steel scraping against bone rang out.

The enhanced Butterfly Knife was incredibly tough; Xia Yu had no fear of it breaking.

She glanced at the opened skull cavity. No Crystal Core.

She wasn’t surprised. Calmly, she pulled out the Butterfly Knife and wiped the filth from the blade on the Mutant’s clothes. Her fingers flipped it subconsciously, making the knife dance like a real butterfly before she put it away with a clean, sharp motion.

Rising slowly, Xia Yu hadn’t even broken a sweat. Her expression was as placid as an ancient well. As if nothing had happened, she straightened the slightly wrinkled sleeves of her shirt.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water.

Utterly cool and stylish.