Chapter 243 | The One Who Devours All

Outside the hotel, Yue Shi remained in the same spot, never having left.

Boom!

A violent explosion echoed from the distance.

After the blast, faint sounds of short, startled cries and angry curses could be heard.

After a while, a stray dog with clever-looking eyes trotted over, a blood-stained stake clenched in its teeth, and dropped it at Yue Shi’s feet.

Yue Shi picked up the stake, a wave of icy coldness washing over his fingertips.

His Insight vision swept over it.

At that moment, the stray dog looked up and spoke in a human voice, emitting the sound of Ghost. "While they weren't paying attention, I found an opportunity to trigger an explosion, create chaos, and pull out one of the nails."

"After I pulled this one, the people guarding the other nails immediately became alert, and I couldn't get another chance."

Yue Shi casually put the Life-Stake Nail away and said, "It doesn't matter. Pulling one is enough. The lockdown is broken, and a gap has been opened. I'll handle the rest."

Ghost's direct combat capability wasn't strong, but his value in reconnaissance and infiltration was irreplaceable.

Instead of having him face the enemy head-on, it was better to keep him on the periphery to do something more useful.

And hadn't he just proven his worth?

Yue Shi asked Ghost, "Headquarters only sent one captain and a few dozen people to hunt me down? No other reinforcements lying in ambush outside?"

Ghost, possessing the stray dog, shook his head. "I've carefully scouted the surrounding area and didn't find any other members from headquarters. Of course, I can't rule out the possibility of an expert capable of evading my detection."

He paused, looking a bit puzzled. "Headquarters sent a captain plus dozens of elites to take you down. That’s a fairly luxurious lineup. Why do you sound so dissatisfied?"

Yue Shi reached out and tugged at his messy long hair, curling his lip. "I feel like I'm being underestimated."

Ghost was left speechless. He knew Yue Shi’s double standards all too well and couldn't help but retort, "If headquarters actually sent several captains and laid out an inescapable net, you'd definitely be even unhappier!"

Yue Shi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Obviously. If that actually happened, I wouldn't be stupid enough to go head-to-head with them. I would've slipped away long ago."

His principles had always been flexible; he was never one to be stubborn.

When he could win, he would play around and cause as much chaos as possible.

If he couldn't win, he would run.

...

Meanwhile, deep within the labyrinth.

The Executioner was wandering around like a headless fly.

The scene before him was bizarre and surreal.

A wall might suddenly become a ceiling,

And at the end of a path, he might see his own back.

He had tried using brute force, but his attacks either hit empty air or were led into the unknown by the distorted space.

His heart grew increasingly irritable. It was a stifling feeling of having immense power but nowhere to use it, coupled with a wariness of the strange environment.

"Damn it, how could the data provided by those old fogies be so far off!"

The intelligence had only mentioned that Yue Shi likely possessed spatial movement abilities and could create small-scale spatial rifts.

It had completely failed to discover that he could perform such large-scale spatial transformation!

The Executioner cursed under his breath. This severe intelligence failure was a major reason for their current passive situation.

He had been circling around here for who knows how long, and his sense of direction was completely scrambled.

Space seemed to be infinitely stretched, yet also folded into a Mobius strip. No matter which direction he walked, he would eventually return to his starting point in a bizarre fashion.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in his field of vision ahead.

The figure was withered and small, wrapped entirely in pitch-black bandages and emitting a thick, ominous aura.

It was the Curse Master!

When enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred.

The Executioner didn't hesitate for a second, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

【Beheading: Execution】!

A thin red line slashed toward the Curse Master’s neck at extreme speed.

The Curse Master sensed the danger and dodged toward the rear side, while several chains wove together into a shield in front of him.

Clang!

The red line collided with the chains, producing a piercing grinding sound.

Several chains were severed, but they ultimately blocked the strike.

The Curse Master felt a lingering fear. He knew this spatial distortion was definitely Yue Shi’s doing.

Yue Shi had used this move before to lock down Lab 0, trapping everyone inside.

Now, Yue Shi was clearly doing this on purpose, matching him up with this captain from headquarters.

Slacking off was no longer an option; he had to show some real skill.

...

Yue Shi was the master of this spatial labyrinth. He constantly adjusted it, dispersing and isolating the remaining personnel from headquarters one by one, driving them into different slaughterhouses.

In one part of the labyrinth.

Slap!

A crisp sound rang out.

Li Hua took a heavy slap to the face.

He clutched his rapidly swelling cheek, his eyes filled with anger and humiliation. "Why did you hit me?"

The one who hit him was a harsh-looking investigator.

The man pointed at Li Hua’s nose, spit flying everywhere as he roared, "Why did I hit you? You really have no self-awareness, do you!"

"It's all because of a useless, trouble-making idiot like you!"

"If you hadn't reported him so recklessly, why would headquarters have sent us to surround this monster?"

"If it weren't for you, why would so many people have sacrificed themselves today?"

"Everything is your fault! My brothers and colleagues died miserably here, and they couldn't even leave a whole corpse behind!"

Several other investigators trapped there saw Li Hua being beaten, but no one spoke up to stop it. Their faces held no sympathy, only cold indifference.

Weren't the words the harsh investigator shouted exactly what they were thinking?

They didn't dare criticize headquarters' decision or Su Qingqian’s push for the operation.

But as for Li Hua, the fuse that started it all—they could hit him whenever they wanted; did they really need to pick a special day?

Li Hua looked on in disbelief and subconsciously said, "I clearly made an anonymous report."

"Anonymous? Hahaha!" The harsh investigator laughed loudly.

"You idiot, did you actually believe in that 'anonymous report' crap? That's just to fool the commoners!"

"With the means headquarters has, if you dare to report someone, they can dig up eighteen generations of your ancestors in minutes!"

Li Hua’s heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy fist, thumping wildly.

A sense of terror welled up, nearly suffocating him.

He endured the hateful gazes of everyone around him, looking at those faces filled with resentment.

At this moment, he regretted it.

He finally understood why the leaders of the Fluorite Valley Investigation Bureau had chosen to endure and were unwilling to easily provoke Yue Shi.

He also finally understood why, in the entire Fluorite Valley Investigation Bureau, he was the only one "entrusted with a heavy responsibility" and assigned by the leadership to assist headquarters in the operation.

He clenched his fists tightly.

The words his leader had once spoken—helpless yet filled with deep meaning—echoed in his ears again.

Every word had been heartfelt.

Was Li Hua really just a hot-headed novice who didn't understand anything?

No, actually, he could understand.

He understood the leader's reasoning for not wanting to provoke the strong.

He also understood what his report would mean.

It was just that at the time, he blindly believed in headquarters' power, naively thinking that an S-rank fugitive was nothing but a joke before headquarters.

He thought he could use this opportunity to achieve great merit and prove himself...

Unfortunately, Yue Shi’s strength was far beyond imagination.

And there is no medicine for regret in this world.

"How can you blame me for this? The real culprit is Yue Shi! He’s the one who’s lawless and killing the innocent!"

Since the situation was already this bad, Li Hua simply threw caution to the wind.

"You don't dare to criticize the strong, so you point all your guns at a weak grassroots investigator like me?"

"A bunch of cowards who bully the weak but fear the strong. The way headquarters operates is truly an eye-opener!"

"You can't even deal with a single fugitive, yet you have the face to blame me?"

Slap! Without hesitation, the harsh investigator gave Li Hua another resounding slap, cutting off his impassioned speech.

"Don't give me your grand theories, I'm not listening to your shit!" the harsh investigator snarled, his face twisted.

"You think everyone else is a fool? You think we can't see through your little scheme? You're just a lowlife who wanted to step on others to climb the ladder, so stop pretending to be a damn champion of justice!"

Another investigator said sarcastically, "If you're brave enough to do it, be brave enough to face it. If this operation had succeeded, you, Li Hua, would naturally have had a share of the credit. Since it failed, you naturally have to bear the consequences."

Everyone knew what the consequences were.

This operation was a total failure, and it had blown up too much, with too many deaths.

Even if The Executioner eventually turned the tide and killed Yue Shi, those of them caught in the spatial distortion might not last until then.

In their despair, someone had to bear the brunt of their fear and resentment.

...

On another battlefield of the labyrinth, the fight between the Curse Master and The Executioner had reached a fever pitch.

The Curse Master had finally witnessed the terrifying strength of a Bureau captain firsthand!

Every one of The Executioner’s attacks was incredibly violent and ruthless.

Squelch.

Several pitch-black chains were melted away by Burning Pillar.

The bandages around the Curse Master were also torn apart by various execution attacks.

What was revealed beneath the bandages wasn't flesh, but a body of rolling black mist.

If not for his unique form, which granted him immunity to curse damage and most physical attacks, he would likely have been hacked into pieces by now.

In truth, the Curse Master wasn't suited for head-on combat; he was better at hiding in a place where no one could find him and casting curses from a distance.

But this was his first job for Party A, so he had to put in some effort no matter what.

The Executioner wasn't having an easy time either.

The Curse Master’s attacks were equally sharp, with various vicious curses constantly eroding his body.

Aging, weakness, intense pain, confusion, dizziness...

Although The Executioner possessed strong physical resistance and could resist some of the curses, and could even use his ability to Sale off the negative states, the process itself was a continuous drain.

Some deep-seated curses were like maggots in his bones, difficult to root out completely, causing his movements to stiffen from time to time.

The Executioner swung his branding knife, parrying a curse spear, his expression icy. "Who exactly are you? Why are you mixing with an anti-human fugitive like Yue Shi?"

"What benefits did Yue Shi give you? With your strength, why waste your talent on a bad cause by siding with a fugitive?"

Hearing this, the Curse Master chuckled. "What? Are those words an attempt to get me to defect?"

"It's useless, don't waste your energy. Even a villain will have a few shady associates."

"Besides, I just killed so many of your people from headquarters. Even if I wanted to surrender now, would you let me go? Don't take me for a fool."

"If you refuse to listen to reason, then please go die!" The Executioner stopped talking, killing intent boiling in his eyes.

Countless Lingchi blades appeared around him, attacking the Curse Master like a torrential storm.

Countless black chains surged from beneath the Curse Master’s bandages, weaving into a net that forcefully blocked the sky-filling blades.

Chains collided with blades; curses and tortures neutralized each other.

"Let's see how long you can last!" The phantom of the execution tools on The Executioner’s lower body exploded with blood-red light, and his speed suddenly increased.

The Curse Master also went all out, more pitch-black chains surging out, carrying thick filth and ominous energy as they coiled and pierced toward The Executioner!

The wind kicked up by the chains seemed to be laced with a heavy amount of negative factors, disturbing the mind.

The Executioner had to dodge, his face becoming extremely grim.

This ugly mummy was just as difficult to deal with as Yue Shi!

The various curses were impossible to fully guard against, and the main body was immune to many attacks.

'I must resolve this quickly!' The Executioner felt anxious.

The longer it was delayed, the lower the survival rate of the others from headquarters would be.

...

Su Qingqian saw the others arguing with Li Hua, but she didn't speak up to stop them.

Because she was also filled with resentment.

If it hadn't been for Li Hua’s report, she wouldn't have been blinded by hatred and, for the sake of family glory, pushed for this operation so prematurely, leading to the current disastrous situation.

Trapped in this desperate situation with heavy casualties, Su Qingqian didn't know what to do.

She knew in her heart that the real culprit she should hate was Yue Shi.

But Yue Shi was too powerful, making her feel that he was too far out of her reach.

But Li Hua was right there.

Suddenly, the surrounding arguments and footsteps all vanished.

Su Qingqian snapped back to her senses and looked around, her expression terrified.

She had just been walking forward normally along this path; how had the scene around her changed without any warning?

Everyone else had vanished, leaving her all alone.

A sense of terror struck her skull cap from the soles of her feet. Cold sweat slid down from her forehead to the corner of her eye, bringing a stinging sensation, which finally made her react and blink hurriedly.

Before the operation, she never imagined that even with a captain personally taking action and leading so many people, they would fail to quickly take down Yue Shi and instead be toyed with in the palm of his hand.

With Yue Shi’s vile personality, he definitely wouldn't let anyone go.

"I can't die here, I must survive!"

"I want to prove to them that I'm more worth nurturing than that useless brother of mine, and that I'm more suitable to be the heir."

"With something this big happening, headquarters will definitely send emergency support. Those old fogies won't just abandon a captain!"

Su Qingqian desperately comforted herself in her mind, trying to grasp at the final straw.

"Even if headquarters doesn't come, the family definitely won't abandon me. I am the eldest miss of the Su family!"

She clenched her fists, using her status and background to bolster her courage.

But her incredibly pale face betrayed the unease deep within her.

How much was the Su family willing to pay for an unfavored daughter?

Would headquarters really send a rescue?

They had deliberately thrown all the members with family labels in the organization here; the intent was already very clear.

Why is headquarters suddenly making a move against the transcendent families?