In the dead-end alley, several overturned trash cans lay scattered, their contents strewn across the ground.
The wall at the very end of the alley was covered in patches of peeling paint.
The sunlight was exceptionally stingy, with only a tiny sliver managing to reach into the alley.
A stray cat was startled away by the sudden intrusion of humans.
Zhang Songyun leaned his back against the wall at the end of the alley, panting heavily.
Blood seeped from the wound on his left arm, his clothes were torn in multiple places, and his face was covered in dust. He looked utterly miserable.
He saw a figure gradually becoming clear at the entrance of the alley.
As the hidden state faded, Bai Wanyang's form manifested in the air.
He held a blade in his hand, his face pale yet carrying a hint of ferocity and satisfaction.
Zhang Songyun forced a strained, ugly smile.
“Bai Wanyang, it really is you.”
“How did you... forget it, it doesn't matter.”
“Listen, we can talk. I can explain what happened before, and I can compensate you.”
“After all, I really didn't finish you off. I left you a way out.”
Bai Wanyang was fuming with rage, but he was slow-tongued and knew he couldn't win an argument with Zhang Songyun, so he chose to ignore him.
He moved immediately, his speed startling as he charged forward like an arrow leaving a bowstring.
The blade cut through the air with a low hum, aimed straight for Zhang Songyun's throat in a bid for a one-hit kill.
Puchi.
The tip of the blade accurately pierced his neck, slicing through flesh and severing the carotid artery.
Blood erupted in a spray, and Zhang Songyun let out a muffled groan.
His good luck had actually failed!
He hadn't managed to dodge this strike.
Something was interfering from the shadows, helping Bai Wanyang lock onto him.
The sensation of impending death made Zhang Songyun's vision go dark.
But he didn't fall.
Soon, a surge of eerie vitality welled up from deep within his body.
The rate of bleeding from the hideous wound on his neck slowed rapidly, and the muscle tissue began to squirm and heal.
Though it couldn't mend instantly, it had immediately stabilized the injury.
Zhang Songyun's face turned a deathly gray, but he remained standing and was still capable of movement.
Bai Wanyang frowned, staring at the wound on Zhang Songyun's neck with a dazed expression.
That was a power he once possessed.
Aside from the active ability of the Energy Cannon, he had always been somewhat ignorant of his other powers, only knowing that his body would automatically recover after reaching a certain level of injury—a passive effect.
As it turned out, it wasn't just fast recovery. Even if he suffered a fatal injury, it would forcibly lock in his life force, maintaining an undying state!
He had been injured many times before, sometimes quite severely, but he had never truly stepped through death's door, so he naturally didn't know the limits of this ability.
He had never thought to test just how much damage he could take; after all, he wasn't a masochist.
Now he finally knew just how high the limit of this passive ability was.
Instantly, a fury even greater than before surged from his heart.
Such a powerful and precious life-saving ability had been stolen by a despicable wretch like Zhang Songyun?
He had once possessed such a trump card without even knowing it, squandering his talent and time like a fool!
“Cough, heh heh...”
“See that? Little Bai, you can't kill me.”
“This ability used to be yours, but now it's mine!”
“Leaving such a good thing on you was truly a waste of talent.”
Zhang Songyun clutched his neck, blood seeping through his fingers, yet his voice held a trace of ruthlessness.
Today was also the first time he realized just how formidable the ability he had taken from Bai Wanyang was.
He hadn't died even after taking a blade to the carotid artery!
He spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, his eyes flashing with shock and joy before turning harsh.
“I already secretly called the police and sent my location. People from the Investigation Bureau will be here any minute.”
“You're finished!”
“I don't know where you got these strange abilities, but you've clearly colluded with outsiders and dared to attack a colleague.”
“A traitor like you... just wait to be dealt with.”
Zhang Songyun grew more agitated as he spoke, seemingly trying to use his words to overwhelm Bai Wanyang and reclaim the upper hand.
“You're a goddamn idiot!”
“You were stupid then, and you're stupid now. Did you think you could turn the tables just by relying on external items?”
“Stop dreaming your pipe dreams!”
“Even when you were at your strongest, I could play you like a toy. To me, you're no different from a dead dog now.”
These harsh words pierced Bai Wanyang's eardrums like needles.
Infuriated, he swung his blade again, dealing another fatal blow to Zhang Songyun.
But clearly, Zhang Songyun still didn't die, and the mocking expression on his face only intensified.
“Hahahaha, you idiot!”
Idiot.
Bai Wanyang's mind went momentarily dazed.
It was true; he had made many foolish mistakes.
He had trusted others too easily, remained blind to obvious crises, and only realized his power had been stolen after the fact.
Today, in his haste for revenge, he had only thought about cornering and killing his target, forgetting to evaluate just how troublesome the target was.
Zhang Songyun had gained his own survival ability, yet Bai Wanyang had been so blinded by revenge that he hadn't considered it at all.
He had also deactivated his invisibility too early, exposing his identity, and now he might have to face a manhunt by the Investigation Bureau.
Was he really a massive idiot?
Had he once again taken a hand of cards that looked like a winning chance and played it into a total disaster?
At this thought, a wave of intense exhaustion swept over him.
Bai Wanyang suddenly became dejected, and his grip on the blade loosened slightly.
The drive that had supported him as he crawled out of his hospital bed for this all-or-nothing revenge suddenly began to deflate like a punctured balloon.
Maybe Zhang Songyun was right. I am essentially just a stupid person.
This thought of self-abandonment and self-doubt sprouted in his heart, growing out of control.
In the next second, the black feather he kept close to his person suddenly stabbed him hard.
An incredibly sharp pain surged through his entire body.
“Ugh.” Bai Wanyang's body jerked, and he nearly cried out.
It hurt way too much.
The pain struck his very soul.
But there was a benefit.
The feeling of dejection that had welled up from his heart was instantly dispelled.
Bai Wanyang snapped awake, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Something was wrong. That was extremely wrong!
He had clearly been burning with rage and a firm killing intent, determined to kill Zhang Songyun to avenge himself.
How could he have fallen into such self-pity and despair just because Zhang Songyun called him an idiot a few times?
Bai Wanyang immediately realized it was Zhang Songyun again; that strange ability of his was exerting an influence invisibly.
When in contact with Zhang Songyun, one might suffer from intelligence reduction or become sluggish.
Sometimes it wasn't necessarily intelligence reduction; one might even become smarter.
In short, when Zhang Songyun was present, the thoughts of others would unconsciously align with his own.
If Zhang Songyun felt a certain person should behave a certain way in a given scenario, that person would gravitate toward that behavior.
The final result would always be beneficial to Zhang Songyun.
Having realized this, Bai Wanyang secretly heightened his vigilance. His gaze refocused, becoming even more determined than before.
I am not stupid.
Bai Wanyang kept chanting this in his mind.
His previous decision to deactivate his invisibility and actively expose his identity was likely due to being influenced by Zhang Songyun's intelligence reduction.
As long as he didn't reveal his identity, the Investigation Bureau wouldn't be able to find evidence and couldn't do anything to him on the surface.
But it was too late for that now.
The current situation was truly a pity.
However, even if he couldn't kill Zhang Songyun today, Bai Wanyang was determined not to let him off easy!
He would slash him a few more times and make him suffer!
Bai Wanyang changed his strategy, no longer pursuing a one-hit kill.
The blade no longer aimed for the throat, heart, or other vital spots. Instead, he struck from tricky angles, specifically targeting non-vital areas like the arms and thighs.
He cut tendons to inflict agonizing pain and physical impairment, draining the other man's stamina while trying his best not to trigger the recovery ability.
Zhang Songyun dodged and parried clumsily, using his unpracticed Energy Cannon to provide meager interference.
New wounds continued to appear on his body. Though they weren't fatal, the pain was agonizing.
The smugness on his face gradually vanished, replaced by growing uncertainty and alarm.
The feeling of the situation spiraling out of control made his heart race with panic.
It wasn't supposed to be like this!
In the past, no matter what he did, he felt as if he had divine assistance, with the heavens on his side and everything going smoothly.
Now, Bai Wanyang had completely jumped out of his expectations!
Bai Wanyang slashed the inner thigh of Zhang Songyun, nearly performing a free surgery on him.
Just then, a cold whisper sounded in Bai Wanyang's ear.
“Put him in the extra-dimensional space.”
It was Yue Shi's voice, devoid of emotion—it was simply a command.
Bai Wanyang's heart skipped a beat from the fright.
But his expression didn't change, and his movements didn't falter for a second. He thrust his blade toward Zhang Songyun's face again, forcing him to tilt his head to dodge.
Yue Shi had been watching Bai Wanyang's actions all along. He hadn't originally intended to interfere.
But after witnessing Bai Wanyang's mindset inexplicably crumble, followed by various nonsensical, brain-dead maneuvers and a frantic waste of time, Yue Shi decided to intervene personally and issue an order.
This Zhang Songyun was quite unusual, and he had indeed piqued Yue Shi's interest.
Bai Wanyang finally managed to be smart for once. His expression remained unchanged, and he showed no emotional weakness, maintaining his original attack frequency so Zhang Songyun wouldn't notice anything amiss.
Just as Zhang Songyun's entire focus was on dodging the attacks.
Bai Wanyang activated the black feather.
Instead of using it to store or retrieve items, he used it as a spatial entrance, aiming it at the nearby Zhang Songyun.
Zhang Songyun only felt his vision go dark. The surrounding scene suddenly twisted and elongated, turning into a rapidly spinning gray void.
He opened his mouth in horror but couldn't make a sound. His body was seized by an irresistible force.
In the next second, he vanished from the alley.
Only a large amount of his blood remained on the ground.
Bai Wanyang maintained his slashing posture for a second before slowly retracting his blade and standing straight.
His chest was heaving, and his breathing was heavy.
He took out the black feather and held it in his palm.
There were no living things in the space, nor was there any sign of Zhang Songyun.
Yue Shi had taken him away.
“I guess this counts as revenge...”
Ending up in Yue Shi's hands likely wouldn't lead to a good end.
Bai Wanyang murmured to himself, his expression somewhat dazed.
He still remembered that Yue Shi had been quite kind to him in the past.
He really couldn't connect that gentle older brother figure with the city-slaughtering fugitive.
The distant sound of sirens drew closer.
Bai Wanyang glanced at the empty dead-end alley and reactivated his hidden state.
There was a high probability he wouldn't be getting his abilities back.
Now that his revenge was complete, it was time to fulfill his promise and continue working for Yue Shi.
...
Bai Wanyang hid in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city.
He sat down against a mottled brick wall and closed his eyes to plan.
Create chaos and frame the headquarters.
Which places in Amber City were the most sensitive?
He needed intelligence now.
At this moment, a pang of regret once again surfaced in Bai Wanyang's heart.
Back when he was an investigator, he basically hadn't cared about anything.
Now, he was completely in the dark.
With a sigh, he stood up and patted the dust off his clothes.
Shrouded in his hidden state, he walked out of the dilapidated factory, ready to take action.
Since he had no intelligence, should he just start by causing some destruction?
There were scumbags in Amber City too; he could start by taking them out.
Bai Wanyang had just taken a step.
In the next second, without any warning, the ground beneath his feet vanished, and a sense of weightlessness hit him.
His vision went black, and then his back slammed hard against something.
He found himself lying on the ground, the soil beneath him cold.
He stood up and looked around. The abandoned factory was gone, replaced by a vast, dilapidated wilderness.
The outline of the city could be seen in the distance.
This was definitely not Amber City.
He seemed to have been thrown out of the city into the wilderness beyond.
What was going on?
Bai Wanyang brushed the dirt off his clothes, his expression filled with uncertainty.
After a quick check, he found no wounds, and the black feather was still in his pocket.
Who did this? How did they do it?
He hadn't felt a thing, yet he had been transferred here in an instant.
Could it be that someone had made a move after he attacked Zhang Songyun?
But then why not just kill him? Why dump him outside the city?
Bai Wanyang couldn't figure it out. He looked toward Amber City and began walking back.
At first, everything was normal, though the dirt road was difficult to walk on.
But as the distance closed, strange changes began to occur.
The first to disappear was sound.
The sound of the wind, his footsteps, and his breathing all vanished. The world fell into an absolute silence.
He opened his mouth, but he couldn't even hear the sounds coming from his own throat.
Then went his vision.
His vision darkened bit by bit until he could no longer see the road beneath his feet, losing even the slightest sensation of light.
Taste and smell failed simultaneously. He could no longer smell the scent of the earth, and the taste in his mouth was gone.
The wind blowing against his face felt as if it were separated by a layer of rubber, and the sensation from the soles of his feet became blurred.
The closer he got to Amber City, the faster his five senses were stripped away.
Bai Wanyang was terrified and didn't dare proceed any further.
Relying on the last traces of his sense of direction, he turned around and retreated the way he came.
As he moved away from Amber City, sound and vision rapidly returned, and his five senses came back to his body.
He quickened his pace until the feeling of sensory deprivation completely vanished. His legs felt weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground, still shaken.
He couldn't go back.
Within a certain range of Amber City, his senses would vanish.
Who was it?
Who on earth had done such a thing?
Was it targeted only at him, or at everyone who tried to enter Amber City?
Just like that, he had been thrown out of the city. Bai Wanyang had brought nothing but the clothes on his back.
Fortunately, Yue Shi's black feather was still with him.
Otherwise, an unarmed ordinary person wandering the wilderness outside the city would surely meet a miserable end.
He had to contact Yue Shi immediately. What was happening now was beyond Bai Wanyang's understanding and ability to handle.
He found a leeward slope and sat down, taking out his phone from the black feather's space.
Rate on N.U.
