Zuo Lin'an sighed quietly to himself. It seemed Xu Youyou just couldn't resist running his mouth.
An Wen, however, didn't mind. It was normal for young people to be a bit lively, so he simply nodded. But in the next instant, his tone shifted.
“However!”
Xu Youyou's expression instantly turned serious. “However what?”
An Wen said solemnly, “Your strength is indeed impressive, but your execution just now was a bit sluggish. The prisoner was already dead before you twisted his head off.”
“Fortunately, we're still in the trial and experimentation stage, so it doesn't matter too much right now. But going forward, you must speed up. You have to ensure you twist his head off while the target is still alive. Do you understand?”
Xu Youyou looked completely receptive. “Understood, Instructor. I'll keep that in mind.”
An Wen nodded. “Alright, now it's Zuo Lin'an's turn.”
As the three of them walked toward another cell, Zuo Lin'an kept his eyes on Xu Youyou.
He noticed that Xu Youyou's state of mind was incredibly stable.
Was this the benefit of having a Specter Master in the family?
Was he already so accustomed to all kinds of bizarre, grotesque, and bloody scenes?
Or had he experienced things no outsider knew about during those twelve years in the abandoned dungeon?
Xu Youyou had never mentioned what he had actually gone through in that dungeon.
How could a baby, only a few months old, survive in an abandoned dungeon for twelve years?
It certainly couldn't have been as simple as he imagined.
Soon, Zuo Lin'an had no time to let his mind wander.
Because it was his turn.
Zuo Lin'an gripped the knife tightly. Once again, under Instructor An's guidance, he methodically carried out his method of execution.
For the next ten days, Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou underwent intense special training.
However, starting five days ago, An Wen stopped accompanying them to the cells.
After all, everything that needed to be taught had already been taught. The rest was up to them to figure out on their own.
At this moment, Zuo Lin'an walked with steady steps behind the suspended death row inmate. The hand holding the knife was no longer as tense and strained as it had been in the beginning.
By now, he had learned how to control his strength.
With a calm expression, he raised his hand and made swift, clean cuts. His movements were incredibly smooth, completely devoid of his initial clumsiness.
In the end, he successfully completed all his execution steps before the man drew his last breath.
“Whew...”
Not bad.
Zuo Lin'an glanced at the blood-spattered cell.
A sheet of human skin lay discarded in the corner, the bones he had extracted were scattered across the floor, and chunks of crimson flesh were strewn about.
A thick, metallic stench of blood filled the entire cell, but Zuo Lin'an merely cast a calm glance at the blood staining his own body, then walked out with complete indifference.
His current detachment was something even he found hard to believe.
He had to admit... habit was a terrifying thing.
In just ten days, he had become completely desensitized to such gruesome scenes.
He even had the peace of mind to wonder when he should ask Instructor An for another red coin.
He had a feeling that if he could just do this a few more times—perhaps only once or twice—he would completely master his chosen method of execution.
Just then, Xu Youyou walked out of the adjacent cell.
He casually shook the blood off his hands.
“Brother An, you done on your end too?”
Zuo Lin'an nodded. “Let's go. Back to the dorms to wash up.”
Xu Youyou jogged a few steps to catch up. “Instructor An mentioned earlier that in a little while, we can apply early to enter Sin Hunter City.”
Zuo Lin'an was aware of this too.
After ten days of training, their strength had already met the criteria to enter Sin Hunter City.
However, because their methods of execution were still a bit unpolished, they needed to refine them a little more.
“I know. I'm already prepared. Once I've used up all the red coins in Instructor An's possession, I'll submit my application.”
Xu Youyou grinned. “Great!”
At that moment, Zuo Lin'an thought of the Death Rules they had established.
“Your Death Rule is: 【Anyone who responds to you in any way dies】, right?”
Xu Youyou replied, “Yeah, why?”
Zuo Lin'an explained, “Logically speaking, after we enter Sin Hunter City, we can hunt each other. That means if I respond to you, I'll trigger your rule.”
“If you don't attack me then, you'll fail and die.”
“But if you do attack me...”
To be honest, Zuo Lin'an felt that if he went up against Xu Youyou, he would stand almost no chance of winning.
Xu Youyou froze in his tracks, his expression turning to one of sheer panic.
“Oh, right!”
“How could I forget about that!”
“What do we do then?”
“I'm fine on my own, but I'm worried about you! You're so weak. If I'm not there to help you, how are you going to...”
Zuo Lin'an rolled his eyes. “Shut up!”
Indeed, he shouldn't have expected anything useful from this guy.
Besides, his strength wasn't actually weak; it was just that Xu Youyou was a complete freak of nature.
“I have a plan, I'm just letting you know in advance.”
“Considering how much of a chatterbox you are, expecting you to keep your mouth shut and never talk to me is completely unrealistic.”
“So, once we enter Sin Hunter City, I will treat you as if you don't exist. No matter what you say or do, I won't respond to you in any way.”
Xu Youyou nodded eagerly. “No problem!”
Zuo Lin'an's face turned serious. “I'm not joking. This is a matter of life and death for both of us. So once we're in the city, remember to keep your words as brief as possible when speaking to me.”
“Don't try to strike up random conversations like you usually do. Sin Hunter City is dangerous, and I need to stay focused. If you try to chat with me while I'm distracted, I might respond out of habit.”
“Of course, the best way would be for us to split up.”
Xu Youyou's eyes instantly widened. “No, no, no! We're not splitting up. We're going together.”
“We already agreed on this, you can't back out now!”
“Don't worry, I know how serious this is. I'll be careful and make sure nothing goes wrong.”
Seeing how earnest he was, Zuo Lin'an felt slightly reassured.
Although Xu Youyou was incredibly cheeky and usually bounced around like a hyperactive rabbit, he could actually be relied upon when it came to serious matters.
Then, Xu Youyou added, “Actually, there's one more thing I'm worried about...”
Zuo Lin'an was slightly surprised. “What is it?”
Xu Youyou asked, “Do you remember what the instructor said before? What is the final step to becoming a Human-Specter Symbiont?”
Zuo Lin'an thought back for a moment before it clicked.
“You mean... after we manifest our phantom specter bodies, they will try to kill us using our own methods of execution?”
“Yes,” Xu Youyou said.
“Which means when the time comes, Brother An, your specter body will skin you, bone you, and mince your flesh!”
“And you must successfully merge with your specter body before you are completely killed.”
“Of course, it's the same for me.”
“My specter body will snap my limbs one by one and rip them off. If I can't merge with it in time, it will twist my head off.”
Rate on N.U.
