50. Saving Someone

Li Xiaoxiao stood on the balcony, looking outside.

Beyond a single wall lay the shantytown: row upon row of crude shelters assembled from colored steel sheets. They could hardly even be called houses, and drafts leaked in from every direction.

Inside the shanties were communal sleeping quarters. At least thirty people lived in each one, men and women together.

The stench of urine, sweat, and excrement mingled into a foul reek that hung over the entire shantytown.

The smell spread into the villa district. The one Li Xiaoxiao had chosen was the villa nearest to the shantytown—

At first, I found it strange too. I was worried that although eating meat carrying the X virus would not cause me to mutate, I might become a carrier and infect others. But after some time, I learned that I possessed an extremely strong ability to assimilate the X virus. That concern had simply been needless.

He could not reprimand the Demon King, Ao Li, but disciplining Ao Li’s arrogant Vice King was perfectly reasonable.

Horror appeared on Li Zhichen’s face. “This is bad! He’s detonating his own soul!”

He seized Jiao Tong and hurriedly retreated. A wave of energy erupted from Chu Yun and surged outward, swallowing heaven and earth as sand and dust billowed, trees toppled, and the ground split apart. Everyone else’s expressions changed drastically as well. Their primordial energy burst forth, and they fled into the distance.

She only wanted a little more time to sort through her tangled thoughts. But she did not know that she had no time at all, for fate had never been so kind as to indulge her.

Jin Feng’s face was filled with hatred. In an instant, thousands of martial artists landed one after another and began battling the army of the Zhulan Kingdom.

“Damn it, you’re playing dirty with me!” Dragon Jianfei had been pushed to the brink. He stepped forward and raised his foot to kick.

Among sorcerers was a vile art for refining puppets. It could strip away a person’s consciousness without harming the body. The victim’s abilities remained intact, but their actions could be controlled by another, turning them into that person’s tool. That was what made sorcerers so terrifying.

Just then, a young man in the corner caught sight of Qiu Shaoze and vigorously rubbed his eyes, clearly unable to believe what he was seeing.

“Lei Li has already reached the War God Realm!” Cang Ye was astonished. After all, Lei Li had been his student, and Cang Ye knew perfectly well what realm he had been in before.

Later, Sheng Mimi went to pay her respects and offer her condolences to Sheng Hanlin and Madam Sheng. Clearly, however, neither of them was in the mood to deal with her.

“What? Has that fellow lost his mind? No one inside knows how dangerous it is. Damn fool. You stay here and keep watch. I’m going in to take a look.”

Brother Ying was greatly alarmed when he heard this.

Although Xu Tian had previously used a scheme against the Holy Victory Arhat of the Western Heaven, causing his status to rise sharply, it was not absolute.

This time, the opponent still had the first move with the white pieces. Qing had clearly learned from the previous game’s mistakes and now adopted the utterly classic Spanish Opening. It was conventional, yet revealed no obvious weaknesses.

“As long as you put on this ring, I will remain by your side. No one will dare bully you.”

The instant the Tathagata cast out the Buddhist beads, they seemed to split apart, transforming into countless beads that instantly coiled around Hu Ao in ring after ring.

His chest heaved violently, and a biting aura suddenly spread through the air, as though it meant to freeze everything solid.

Just as she hesitated, torn and afraid to approach, she suddenly heard him calling her name in broken, halting murmurs.

“Cough, cough. I only said you wouldn’t fall apart, damn it… You still have to die!” Master Sanxiao coughed lightly before speaking in a deep voice.

Sometimes Gan Jing even wondered whether he ought to approach the Hilton brand and ask to become its spokesperson. At the very least, it would save him the cost of a room every time he stayed there.

Perhaps William’s sincerity had moved him, or perhaps Rodrigo, after years of wandering, longed for a settled life. The tension in Rodrigo’s expression eased somewhat, and he seemed tempted by William’s promise.

“Understood.”

The two men asked no further questions. There was nothing wrong with simply following the tavern master’s instructions.