Chapter 248: Xiaohongshu

Watching Tang Xingxiong about to walk out of the marketplace, Zhang Wenda knew he could wait no longer.

The strength of the three was a mystery. Once they stepped out of the marketplace, they would be in the open expanse of cyberspace, where people were few and far between. He would completely lose the element of surprise, with no chance for a sneak attack.

Watching their backs as they murmured to each other and drew farther away, Zhang Wenda slowly closed in.

When he was just three or four meters from Tang Xingxiong, she seemed to sense something and glanced back over her shoulder.

But in that same instant, Zhang Wenda was already on her like a phantom. Before anyone could react, the ten sickles in his hands had plunged brutally into her chest.

Zhang Wenda and Tang Xingxiong’s eyes met. It was the first time he had seen her human form clearly, and he saw the utter shock in her eyes.

The next second, Zhang Wenda wrenched his hands apart with all his might. With a sickening sound of tearing flesh, Tang Xingxiong’s body was ripped clean in two, the halves falling to either side.

With a POOF, the corpse instantly dissolved into a cloud of crows that shot toward the sky.

Zhang Wenda had known Tang Xingxiong wouldn’t be that easy to kill. He was prepared.

"Now!"

He roared without a moment’s hesitation.

Song Jianguo, who had been waiting nearby, immediately blew a whistle. Instantly, a massive black net flew out from the crowd. It was a net woven from Black Cats, their claws extended and their meows echoing as they snagged the crows’ feathers, ensnaring every last one that tried to escape.

Seeing this, Tang Xingxiong’s three companions leaped to her aid, each pulling a bizarrely shaped weapon from their clothes.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Wenda pulled the Sacrificial Knife from his chest and slashed his wrist.

The instant blood welled up, all psionic rules and their disguises crumbled away. Even the weapons in their hands became useless.

Before anyone could react, Zhang Wenda became a blur, lunging toward the crows on the ground.

To ensure Tang Xingxiong was dead for good, he didn’t even bother with his sickles. He raised the Sacrificial Knife and plunged it again and again into the chests of the black crows.

With every strike, a crow stabbed by the Sacrificial Knife would go rigid and collapse.

Just as he was about to bring the situation completely under his control, someone slammed into him from the side!

No Spectral Technique, no psionic rules—just pure, raw physical strength.

The bald man charged with the force of a locomotive, sending Zhang Wen flying five or six meters.

Zhang Wenda was shocked. Since becoming a monster, he wielded hundreds of pounds of force. This was the first time anyone had matched him in pure physical strength.

Hu Maomao and Song Jianguo wanted to help, but the Copan Sacrificial Knife had a fatal flaw: its power didn’t distinguish between friend and foe. Both Hu Maomao’s Mind Control Ability and the Black Cats under Song Jianguo’s control were severely suppressed by its influence.

Seeing the other two women trying to free the remaining crows, Zhang Wenda started to panic.

’If I let Tang Xingxiong escape, I’ll lose the advantage I fought so hard to gain.’

As the bald man charged at him again with a raised fist, Zhang Wenda extended his right hand. The vibrant red glow within the man’s body swiftly dimmed, and his power waned along with it.

Zhang Wenda kicked off, using the man’s body as a springboard to launch himself backward, and without hesitation, he plunged the Sacrificial Knife into one of the women’s chests.

The soul of the woman with the tattooed face was reaped by Kopan before she could even use an ability.

Seizing the opportunity, the other woman tore open the net of Black Cats, allowing Tang Xingxiong to escape.

It couldn’t be helped; Kopan’s power was affecting the Black Cats’ strength as well.

The black crows once again filled the sky in their attempt to escape, but Zhang Wenda wasn’t the least bit panicked.

Because by now, Hu Maomao had blocked the marketplace exit.

Zhang Wenda gripped the Sacrificial Knife, his digitigrade legs kicking off the ground to launch him high into the air, where he began a frenzied assault on the crows on the ceiling.

Suppressed by Kopan’s power, Tang Xingxiong was utterly defenseless and could only dodge for her life.

But against Zhang Wenda, who excelled in speed, her efforts were destined to be futile.

Zhang Wenda wasn’t sure which crow was Tang Xingxiong’s true body, or if they were all parts of her. But it didn’t matter. He only had one thing to do: kill every single crow. If he killed them all, Tang Xingxiong would be dead for sure.

10... 8... 6...

Just as the crows were about to be wiped out, a triumphant light growing in Zhang Wenda’s eyes, the effect of Kopan’s Gaze suddenly vanished.

’How is that possible? The time isn’t up yet!’ Zhang Wenda thought, raising the Sacrificial Knife and slashing his wrist again. This time, however, the Gaze effect disappeared even faster, gone in less than ten seconds.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed from the Sacrificial Knife. "Xiaozhang, I am one of the Kofar People. I’m afraid this is as far as I can help you. Yichamuna and Kukulkan are looking for me everywhere. Someone must have reported me."

"I tried to explain to them that this was a private matter, a corporate partnership, but they called me an idiot and wouldn’t even align on granularity with me. Such a bunch of stubborn, barbaric gods."

"From now on, just borrow my power once a day. Any more would be too obvious and they’ll find out. The soul quality was excellent, I’m very satisfied. Pleasure doing business with you."

’Damn, this idiot really is unreliable.’ Zhang Wen lowered the Sacrificial Knife and looked up at Tang Xingxiong, who he’d just been chasing all over the place. It was obvious she wasn’t the one who reported Kopan.

’Then there was only one other possibility: Qianxi had made her move.’

Qianxi, who was obviously watching, didn’t want to see her right-hand woman killed so easily, so she had begun to interfere.

’Looks like Old Tan’s plan is proceeding smoothly,’ he thought. ’Since Qianxi is watching, that means it must be Big Circle Leopard’s turn to act.’

But Zhang Wenda had no time for such thoughts. His enemy was right in front of him. The remaining crows in the sky rapidly fused, coalescing back into Tang Xingxiong’s broken body.

Perhaps because there weren’t enough crows, half of her body was missing, but her voice was still brimming with confidence when she spoke.

"Zhang Wenda... To think you could push me this far. I never expected you to grow so powerful in such a short time," Tang Xingxiong said, panting.

As Kopan’s Gaze faded, the bald man and the woman with the phone recovered as well.

But Zhang Wenda was unfazed. Their powers had returned, but so had Hu Maomao’s and Song Jianguo’s. It was finally a three-on-three standoff.

Zhang Wenda, flanked by his two allies, faced off against the other three. "Aunt-in-law, I’m afraid you have to die here today."

Yet, despite her wretched state, Tang Xingxiong was completely unfazed. "It seems you still don’t understand this place... especially the Internet World. I can’t die. You’re the one who’s going to die." As she spoke, she slowly descended to the ground.

"Hey, Haozi, look at those people. Something’s not right," Song Jianguo said with a frown, tapping the empty cavity in Zhang Wenda’s torso.

At Song Jianguo’s warning, Zhang Wenda finally noticed the beautiful women in the marketplace who had, until now, just been part of the scenery.

Without him noticing, they had gathered around, and they were all glaring at him with hatred.

The surrounding crowd, which had only been taking pictures, began to press in. They lifted the body of the woman Zhang Wenda had killed, holding her aloft like a banner.

It was unclear who started it, but a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. "How dare you kill a woman!"