Crows made of shadow circled and fluttered in the cramped room, constantly harassing the monsters formed from bluish-black tentacles.
Whenever a suitable opportunity arose, Yue Shi would launch a surprise attack with his Decaying Talons. Although this ability was limited by range and required close combat, it seemed particularly effective against his opponents. Once a hit landed, a decaying curse would continuously spread along the tentacles.
To save themselves, the monsters had to immediately and forcibly sever the tentacles contaminated by the scratches. If they hesitated for even a moment and it spread to the heart, there would be no cure.
These monsters looked intimidating, but their actual abilities were mediocre—more for show than anything else. They could only charge blindly with their bodies or wave their tentacles around in a chaotic attempt to pierce Yue Shi and Zhong Mo.
Whenever a tentacle drew near Zhong Mo, it would be repelled by an invisible barrier. New cards condensed in his palm at a steady frequency, continuously reaping the monsters' lives.
The monsters fell one after another until only five remained. Suddenly, they gathered together, merging into one massive monster.
The large monster's strength and size were significantly enhanced, and it became much more agile, no longer acting purely on instinct like before.
The tentacles all over its body extended like hair, swaying like dancing seaweed. It briefly dispersed the crows and took the opportunity to dodge Yue Shi, who posed a greater threat, lunging its entire body toward Zhong Mo.
Seeing that he was about to be pinned down by the massive monster, Zhong Mo didn't panic. He calmly played a card, and an invisible force blocked the creature.
Then, he grabbed half of the coffee table and slammed it violently into the monster.
Zhong Mo's strength was truly immense. This strike sent the monster stumbling backward until it hit the wall with a heavy thud, making the entire room tremble slightly.
At that moment, Yue Shi keenly noticed several black tentacles on top of Mr. Niu's head as he lay motionless on the floor. These tentacles were thinner and hidden among the surrounding mess; one wouldn't notice them without looking closely.
A second later, a shadow crow landed and picked up one of the tentacles in its beak before flying back to Yue Shi's side. Yue Shi decisively sliced it off.
Simultaneously, the large monster attempting a counterattack suddenly lost control for an instant, as if the internal wiring of an electronic device had malfunctioned.
Seeing this, Zhong Mo immediately realized something and turned to look toward Yue Shi.
Yue Shi had already lunged toward Mr. Niu, his Decaying Talons stabbing straight for the man's skull.
At that moment, a sudden change occurred!
Mr. Niu's eyes snapped open, and his upper body sat bolt upright.
The monster on the other side seemed to hear a summons. It leaped with all its might and disintegrated in mid-air. Five hearts and countless black tentacles surged toward Mr. Niu as if returning to their source.
Zhong Mo quickly played a 【Kill】 card, slicing one of the hearts in half.
Yue Shi didn't stop his movements either. A claw pierced through Mr. Niu's head, and he crushed another heart that was in the middle of returning.
Ultimately, only three hearts remained. Slits tore open in Mr. Niu's clothes and skin, and in the blink of an eye, the hearts and black tentacles all burrowed inside.
He then stood up, plucked off his mangled head, and tossed it aside.
However, the decaying damage caused by Yue Shi persisted. Mr. Niu's skin swelled and turned purple before finally ulcerating across his entire body.
Just as Yue Shi thought Mr. Niu would soon turn into a headless, rotting corpse, the other party made an unexpected move—
He reached out with both hands and peeled off his own skin!
It was a horrific scene, like a painted-skin ghost shedding its beautiful skin. Yet beneath the hide was no hideous demon, but a delicate young girl.
——It was Niu Xiaohui!
Whether it was the massive mass of monsters burrowing into Mr. Niu or a petite girl hiding beneath his skin, everything defied common sense.
This wasn't scientific!
But it was very supernatural.
The supernatural, by its very nature, was something that could not be explained by common logic.
At this moment, only the discarded skin of Mr. Niu was rotting, seemingly absorbing all the damage.
Niu Xiaohui was completely unharmed. She stood silently in place, and the atmosphere suddenly grew quiet.
“Your ability really is complex. Should I call you Niu Xiaohui, or the Heart Thief?” Zhong Mo asked coldly.
Niu Xiaohui's mouth didn't move, yet a voice rang out: “‘Heart Thief’ is the codename humans assigned to me. I don't like that name.”
“Then what is your real name?” Yue Shi asked.
Niu Xiaohui didn't answer, appearing unwilling to communicate with Yue Shi. She simply stared expressionlessly at Zhong Mo.
“I'm curious. How exactly did you confirm my identity and decide that I was the so-called Heart Thief? My disguise wasn't perfect, but there were no obvious flaws, right?”
Zhong Mo tilted his chin up slightly, his eyebrows arching. “I naturally have my own unique methods, so don't you worry about that. Besides, your behavior was strange enough to arouse suspicion.”
Niu Xiaohui seemed somewhat surprised. “You dared to act based on mere suspicion? Even the Investigation Bureau was holding back. Weren't you afraid of killing an innocent person by mistake?”
“If I killed the wrong person, then I killed the wrong person...” Zhong Mo blurted out, only realizing mid-sentence that it wasn't quite appropriate, and he pressed his lips together, falling silent.
“Anyway, it's someone else being wrongly killed, not us,” Yue Shi added, finishing the half-sentence Zhong Mo had left unsaid.
At this moment, the two of them seemed more like villains from an evil faction.
While the “frail and pitiful” Niu Xiaohui's eyes were full of confusion. “I really still can't fathom the human heart.”
As soon as she finished speaking, countless tentacles burst from the surface of her body. However, these tentacles were no longer bluish-black but faint, dark red, as if they had transformed from veins into arteries. At the same time, they emitted a thick, fishy stench.
Zhong Mo reacted with extreme speed, playing a 【Kill】 card. With a flash of cold light, Niu Xiaohui was cut in two at the waist.
However, in less than a second, a large number of tiny tentacles gushed from her wound. They intertwined like surgical sutures, sewing her back together.
Then, three even thicker tentacles erupted from her right arm, coiling together like pythons as they shot toward Zhong Mo with extreme speed.
Zhong Mo seemed to have run out of 【Flash】 cards. He could only dodge frantically, sliding to the back right of Yue Shi and saying hurriedly, “You hid behind me earlier; now it's your turn to take the front!”
Yue Shi looked at the thick tentacles extending from Niu Xiaohui's right arm. He twisted his body and raised his hand. His sharp fingertips swept across them, producing a series of raspy cutting sounds.
Niu Xiaohui's movements stiffened. The tentacles on the front of her right arm that had been slashed quickly began to rot and stink. With wet plopping sounds, chunks of decayed flesh fell to the floor.
Rate on N.U.
