Chapter 103 – When the Roses Bloom (21)
◎ You are not worthy of being human ◎
In the Reunification Palace, within the underground passage, the southwest direction on the projection screen suddenly displayed scrambled snowflakes. The real-time footage flickered twice and vanished.
“There’s a hyper-frequency band in this area,” Lu Xiaoyu said, “the behavior pattern of the mechanical spiders is being disrupted, and data cannot be transmitted back.”
“Heh, it seems the security here isn’t so hopeless after all,” he sarcastically remarked.
“The scrambled area is the core of the Reunification Palace,” Zhuang Qingyan inferred, “Nai Kang and his son should be inside.”
Zhang Ci furrowed his brows at the statement. “But this place is not small. If we search it one by one, it’ll take too much time and pose a risk of exposure.”
Lu Xiaoyu cracked her knuckles confidently. “Need me to crack it? I’ll get it done within five minutes, no, within three.”
“What about Scar and the others?” Zhuang Qingyan asked without answering.
“They’ve entered the reception hall, engaging with Nai Kang. They can last at most another ten minutes,” Zhang Ci responded calmly.
“Ten minutes…” Zhuang Qingyan narrowed his eyes.
“Now, what do we do?” Song Ke asked softly.
Zhuang Qingyan pondered for a moment, then turned to Lu Xiaoyu. “You crack that, we’ll figure out a way to lure Nai Wen out.”
“No need,” Lu Xiaoyu enlarged a certain area of the footage, “this kid is coming out on his own.”
In the clear projection, Nai Wen held a particle gun, forcing the guards of the security team to slowly retreat.
“Young Master, what you’re doing is too dangerous. Please put the gun down.”
“Please return to your room, Young Master.”
“It’s not that we won’t let you out, it’s the General’s orders…”
Under the bright light, the brown patches on Nai Wen’s face became more pronounced. His limbs of varying lengths gave an unsettling sense of discordance. His thin body seemed like a bizarre creature draped in human skin, taking step by step toward the reception hall.
Lu Xiaoyu swiftly locked Nai Wen’s position, and Kansu activated his abilities, tunneling frantically toward that spot.
“Considering the time for reinforcements after the alarm is triggered, we have nine minutes left,” Lu Xiaoyu said.
“Enough,” Song Ke nodded.
Zhang Ci donned a hood, his entire face disappearing into the shadows, leaving only a faintly visible prominent nose. He turned back, fingers clasped together, gesturing an attack signal behind him.
Including Fan Yiwen and Samuel, the Shaye awakeners lowered their body centers, poised and ready.
Nine minutes to take down Nai Wen, more than enough.
A faint blue light emerged as Song Ke manifested a triangular military dagger. This weapon was known as the “Reaper’s Blade,” capable of instantly destroying human tissues; one stab, blood sprayed, causing fatal wounds that led to the enemy’s demise.
As she made her move, she unexpectedly noticed the trembling in Fang Zhixu’s hands. This tremor wasn’t due to fear or dread but rather the manifestation of an uncontrollable shiver when someone’s conviction to do something reached its peak.
Song Ke quietly observed him for two seconds, then swiftly walked over, handing the triangular military dagger to Fang Zhixu. “We will succeed.”
Fang Zhixu looked down at her.
In the refuge of the Luo Jia Shelter, he had once been desolate, seeking only death. It was Song Ke who forcibly pulled him back from the edge of the cliff, firmly promising him with unwavering eyes, “I can do it.”
Perhaps it was the lingering resentment and intense hatred within him, or perhaps it was because of the resemblance between her and Tiantian’s dimples. At that moment, Fang Zhixu chose to take a gamble, to trust this stranger, Song Ke.
Initially, he observed as an outsider, watching the team called V587 strive tirelessly for his revenge. Gradually, he found himself unknowingly involved, following them into the desert, enduring hardships, and trials, all the way to Mu City.
Fang Zhixu gradually understood how fortunate he was to have encountered a group of companions he could entrust his back to.
In just a few months, they had indeed overcome all difficulties and reached the final step.
‘Nai Kang, Nai Wen, today would surely be your death sentence.’
Fang Zhixu took a deep breath, the tremors slowly fading away, taking the spiritual weapon from Song Ke’s hand.
“Let’s go.”
…
The dome of the reception hall could be seen in the distance. Nai Wen had an excited smile on his face. He was just about to speak when suddenly, a large hole cracked open in the ground ahead, and one after another, people with supernatural abilities leaped out.
“Enemy attack!” exclaimed the nearest member of the guard, immediately triggering the alarm.
“Prepare for battle—”
Before the word was fully spoken, a dark blue triangular army dagger sliced through his throat. The guard fell wide-eyed, and as he hit the ground, a torrent of blood gushed from his neck.
Song Ke withdrew the dagger, swiftly producing a multitude of shurikens between her fingers, launching them accurately towards the guards who were trying to block the hole. The shurikens, gleaming with a cold light, found their marks.
Zhang Ci held a sword in one hand and swiftly formed seals with the other, unleashing the devastating Five Thunder Gods’ Decree, clearing out interceptors from another direction.
The underground passages created by Kansu were like that of moles, a new hole for each escape route. Within seconds, a dozen or so openings appeared on the ground, continuously allowing high-level awakeners to emerge. In this urgent moment, he even thoughtfully created a ramp for Zhuang Qingyan and Lu Xiaoyu’s wheelchairs for easy access.
The scene descended into intense combat. Song Ke made a sudden dash towards Nai Wen and unexpectedly collided with a resilient water shield, sinking into it entirely.
This was… a water-based defensive ability? Yet, there were no individuals with abilities within five meters of Nai Wen.
Emerging from the water shield, Song Ke stared coldly at him. “Six months ago, in Tongwan, you killed an eight-year-old girl.”
When Song Ke attacked, a trace of panic flashed across Nai Wen’s grotesque face. After she was blocked by the water shield, he quickly regained his composure.
Facing her accusation, Nai Wen seemed indifferent, even smirking arrogantly. “Who? I’ve killed too many people to remember.”
Song Ke forcefully thrust the triangular army dagger into the water shield, which dissolved the flowing liquid, dispersing it like a clump of cotton in the air.
“Her name was Tiantian. Her father was a doctor. He tried his best to save you, but you killed his daughter.”
“Tiantian? Oh… I vaguely remember, there was someone like that,” Nai Wen said casually, “But it was quite boring. She didn’t know anything. Even when I undressed her, she only knew how to scream, giving me a headache.”
“Afterward, when I made her bleed, she stopped screaming, just like a doll. If you put it that way, she was quite sweet.” Nai Wen licked his lips, and his underdeveloped, deformed body twisted involuntarily.
There was a moment of bewilderment in Song Ke’s eyes at Nai Wen’s words. She didn’t fully understand what Nai Wen meant, but in the next moment, she suddenly saw Fang Zhixu’s eyes—those eyes were crimson, almost the color of blood.
‘Made her bleed… Undressed her… made her bleed…’ Song Ke’s mind was violently shaken. Her grip tightened on the triangular army dagger. How could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old person be so evil?
“Boom!”
A deafening explosion echoed from the direction of the reception hall. The Guard Unit, alerted by the alarm, joined the battlefield. Song Ke agilely dodged an attack, taking down two guards swiftly.
She needed to find the water-based awakener first, break the shield protecting Nai Wen. But with the overwhelming number of guards at present, she needed to think of a way…
Suddenly, Song Ke turned back and locked eyes with Zhuang Qingyan. They understood each other without a word in this critical moment. Their thoughts connected in an instant, sparking understanding between them.
Zhuang Qingyan closed his eyes, his powerful mental ability quickly analyzing all the types of abilities present on the scene. Then, he abruptly opened his eyes, targeting a specific direction, raising the rapid-fire crossbow in his hand and shooting several arrows in that direction.
Song Ke abandoned the attack on Nai Wen and sprinted toward the target alongside the flying arrows.
The water-based awakener, seeing the approaching Song Ke like a grim reaper, frantically conjured a water shield around himself.
“Clang!”
Sharp edges pierced the surface of the water shield, creating a deep dent, the cross-shaped puncture inches from the person’s forehead.
Breathing a sigh of relief for narrowly escaping, the person’s expression changed drastically once again.
Song Ke tightened her grip on the dagger handle, the blue light becoming increasingly dazzling. Her powerful awakened energy erupted to the extreme, inching forward, exerting pressure. No matter how strong the defensive ability, no shield could withstand the knife in her hands!
“Splish, splish—” The entire water shield shook violently. The water-based awakener realized his imminent peril, his face drained of color. Panicked, he turned and ran.
Song Ke, determined, shattered the water shield, and the triangular army dagger pierced through the person’s spine!
A high arc of crimson blood sprayed out in a straight line, and the person slowly collapsed, his supernatural ability dissipating.
Song Ke turned around, her shoulder-length hair tousled by the wind. From a distance, she shouted at a retreating figure, “Fang Zhixu!”
Nai Wen frantically raised his particle gun, wildly firing shots. “Crack!” A mechanical arm viciously swung in, mercilessly knocking him down, snatching away his weapon, and disassembling it into pieces.
Nai Wen fell in a sorry heap at someone’s feet.
Fang Zhixu squatted down, gazing down at this demon. “Do you remember me?”
Nai Wen met his bloodshot eyes. These eyes, he had seen them before, amidst a haze of consciousness on the operating table. Back then, he felt he was about to die, but the masked doctor nodded at him, saying, “You will survive.” And miraculously, Nai Wen did survive.
He remembered, of course; it was Dr. Fang who saved him.
Nai Wen sighed regretfully, “Dr. Fang, it’s your bad luck, I didn’t even know she was your daughter…”
He paused, his speech gradually picking up pace, “If you really care about this, then have another one. Next time, I promise I definitely won’t…”
“Poof—” Before he could finish, Fang Zhixu’s military dagger pierced his chest.
The aim was precise. Nai Wen’s face contorted, in immense pain, yet he did not die on the spot.
“You’re actually quite afraid of death, aren’t you?” Fang Zhixu rotated the triangular military dagger expressionlessly, the blood groove harvesting within him, forming a clot.
Fang Zhixu had seen countless patients’ expressions on the operating table. Nai Wen might have kept saying, “If I die, I die,” but his eyes spoke differently; he wanted to live more than anyone else.
“Tiantian is the best daughter in the world. She rarely cries, hardly ever throws tantrums. Even if I don’t have time for her, she never blames me; she just sulks on her own. Every time she says ‘I love daddy the most,’ I feel like I can give her everything.”
“That day, when Tiantian finally forgave me, I bought her favorite strawberry ice cream. I bought two, the first time I ever did, so she could secretly eat one without telling her mom. It was our little secret between father and daughter.”
“I had made plans with her, but I will never see her again.”
“Because I saved you. Because I overslept for those forty minutes.”
Fang Zhixu meticulously removed Nai Wen’s kidneys, spleen, stomach, lungs, intestines, liver… His hands were remarkably steady, devoid of any tremor. Despite his organs emptying, Nai Wen felt remarkably conscious; he couldn’t die.
“Someone like you will never understand what Tiantian meant to me.”
“You don’t deserve to live, let alone be called human.”
The person before Nai Wen was no longer the image of a doctor saving lives; he resembled a ruthless butcher dissecting a corpse.
Fear enveloped Nai Wen, escalating rapidly as his life drained away. Finally, like a child, he whimpered in tears, “Don’t… Don’t! Father, father, save me!”
Nai Wen’s plea of “Father, save me,” pierced Fang Zhixu’s deepest wound.
When Tiantian died, she must have wanted him to save her, too.
Fang Zhixu sliced open Nai Wen’s ventricle, plunging a blade into his pulsating heart.
Nai Wen’s cries abruptly ceased as he watched his heart being extracted, his body shattered, and his soul fragmented.
Nai Wen ceased breathing.
Fang Zhixu’s hands were soaked in fresh blood, tears streaming down his face.
In a hazy vision, Tiantian with her soft braids nestled in his arms like a mischievous little mouse. Happily, she held a strawberry ice cream, cream smeared on her dimples. “Daddy, don’t tell mom, okay? I like you the most~”
“Nai Wen!!!” A desperate and agonized roar echoed.
Nai Kang, covered in ash, appeared outside. Those two damned bombs had killed all the awakeners in the living room. Only Nai Kang, protected by his causality-based ability, survived. He urgently dispatched reinforcements, but it was too late once again.
Under the fierce attacks from Zhang Ci, Lu Xiaoyu, Samuel, and others, the scene became a battlefield with incessant gunfire, swiftly eliminating the guards.
An opportunity!
Song Ke headed straight for Nai Kang, leaping high and bringing down a triangular military dagger.
Awakeners protecting Nai Kang retaliated together. Song Ke faced various attacks, refusing to retreat. Just as she was about to make contact, a misdirected shell exploded mid-air, sending her flying. After rolling several times, Song Ke barely managed to stop her retreat.
The causality on Nai Kang remained!
Song Ke slammed a fist onto the ground.
The piercing alarm echoed throughout the Reunification Palace, drawing more and more awakeners to the scene, surrounding them.
Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair stopped beside Song Ke. He reached out a hand, helping her stand, and spoke calmly.
“The energy around him has weakened. Nai Wen is indeed his puppet.”
“But I can’t kill him,” Song Ke said resentfully.
“Because there’s one final layer of causality on Nai Kang,” Zhuang Qingyan remarked.
The last layer of causality.
The final puppet.
‘Who could it be?’ Song Ke lifted her gaze, looking at the multitude of faces within the battleground.
Triangular Dagger –
