Chapter 41: Come
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the sewer, a 12.67mm caliber bullet leaving the barrel.
Over a dozen meters away, Twisted had just stepped onto the ground, charging toward Su Xiao again, when a stinging sensation came from its chest.
With a crackling sound, the advancing Twisted was knocked back, flying backward. Was this a good thing? Not at all. Being sent flying by a bullet meant that even the epic-grade sniper rifle [Devouring Annihilation]’s rounds couldn’t pierce through Twisted’s body.
With a splash, sewage sprayed. The moment Twisted landed, a bullet struck its head, causing its body to stiffen and blood to flow from the wound.
In continuous fire mode, [Devouring Annihilation] could unleash the rate of fire of a standard automatic rifle, and coupled with the active ability [Grim Laughter], which increased bullet flight speed by 800%, what did that mean? Over a distance of mere tens of meters, the moment Su Xiao pulled the trigger, the bullet would hit Twisted the next instant—there was basically no chance of dodging.
Bang, bang, bang...
Su Xiao pulled the trigger repeatedly, turning Twisted in the sewage into a rolling gourd. Though it roared in fury, it couldn’t get up, only venting its impotent rage.
Click, click, click.
[Devouring Annihilation]’s magazine emptied in an instant. Without needing to signal each other, Su Xiao and Bubu Wang turned and retreated. Unlike last time, this wasn’t fleeing—it was a strategic withdrawal.
In the sewage, Twisted, its face covered in blood and grime, stood up. Finger-thick bullet holes could be seen all over its body, blood gushing out. All ten shots had hit. Even with Twisted’s defenses, it couldn’t ignore such injuries.
But Su Xiao and Bubu Wang had already withdrawn. Once they reloaded, they’d come back for the next round. This wasn’t a turn-based battle—it was Twisted unilaterally taking a beating in turn-based fashion.
A hundred meters past the corner, Su Xiao ejected the magazine from [Devouring Annihilation]. The empty magazine vanished, stored in his inventory, and a new one appeared in his hand. He wouldn’t stylishly toss away the empty magazine—each one cost 170,000 Paradise Coins and could only be bought through the Mechanical Sister in the Void.
A rumbling sound came from around the corner. Twisted skidded to a halt and charged past it, its heavy body giving an unstoppable impression.
But Su Xiao, already waiting, raised the muzzle and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Sewage splashed. The first shot missed. After all, Twisted was a secondary overlord creature; having taken ten hits, it couldn’t be caught off guard.
With a crack, a spray of blood burst from Twisted’s shoulder. But that couldn’t stop it; it lowered its head and charged at Su Xiao.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three shots drove Twisted back. Su Xiao turned and continued his strategic retreat.
The smell of blood, the burning wounds on its body, and the gnawing sensation in its stomach from rapidly depleting energy all kept stimulating Twisted. It wasn’t a naturally born creature but a monster bred artificially. Its creator had been devoured alive by it, its first owner’s entire family eaten, and its second owner had lost an arm when bitten during feeding, eventually selling it at a high price to Sin.
But even Sin couldn’t fully control Twisted, at most giving it simple commands. When not severely provoked, Twisted was relatively obedient, because Sin often fed it “little people,” which were clearly tastier than adults.
Now, Twisted had gone berserk. It no longer cared about the Eye Chamber; it just wanted to tear Su Xiao to shreds.
During his forward charge, Su Xiao put away [Devouring Annihilation]. His goal had been achieved. As for the battleground, there was a good spot nearby.
Twisted was strong, but not without weaknesses. Its speed was inferior to Su Xiao’s—that was the advantage of Su Xiao’s well-rounded development. Su Xiao’s strength and durability couldn’t match Twisted’s, so he fought using his speed advantage. He didn’t need to land heavy blows with every strike, but he had to stay agile, never letting Twisted grab hold of him—otherwise, he’d be crippled or dead.
With a splash, a foot stomped up a large spray of sewage. An instant later, the underground river seemed crushed by a tank. The sewer tunnel Twisted passed through collapsed in large sections. As for Bubu Wang, that guy had already blended into the environment, running right behind Twisted. It wasn’t that he couldn’t outrun Twisted, but he was afraid of being trampled. When it came to running, Bubu Wang was more professional than Su Xiao, since Su Xiao rarely fled in battle.
The chase began, lasting nearly ten minutes. At the end of the sewer ahead, Su Xiao saw light.
He dashed to the sewer’s end and leaped. The sunlight was a bit dazzling, and the air was much fresher. Twisted jumped out almost right behind him.
Several dozen meters below Su Xiao and Twisted was a swift river, where a third of Zul City’s sewage was discharged. Midair, Twisted’s over-ten-centimeter-long hooked claws reached for Su Xiao.
Zzzz~
The Realm Severing Thread shot out, wrapping around a broken wall on the sewer side, pulling Su Xiao toward it.
Twisted began to freefall. A bone spur grew from its shoulder. Its basin-sized hand grabbed the spur, snapped it off with a crack, and its thick, muscular arm bulged as it hurled the spur with full force.
Just as Su Xiao clung to the broken wall, a foul wind came from behind. His Instinct ability sensed a sharp bone spur hurtling toward him.
Dodging was impossible now. A crystal layer formed on Su Xiao’s back.
Bang!
Su Xiao was slammed into the broken wall. The nearly half-meter-long bone spur pierced the crystal layer, but fortunately, it only penetrated the muscle before being stopped by the crystal layer.
The crystal layer shattered. Su Xiao pulled the bone spur from his back. Though it looked terrifying, he wasn’t seriously injured—over 80% of the kinetic energy was absorbed by the crystal layer, and the remaining impact was dissipated as he was driven into the wall.
Checking the wound area, Su Xiao determined the bone spur was non-toxic.
Plop.
Twisted fell into the river below. This was already outside Zul City. On the other side of the river was a large wasteland, farther off were farmlands, and beyond that, a small forest.
At that moment, a hundred meters away in the farmland stood four civilians: a young couple and two girls under ten, a family working in the fields.
The four stared blankly at Su Xiao. His hands were embedded in the rock wall, legs bent, feet braced against the stone.
With a bang, Su Xiao leaped out, clearing the wide river and landing on the wasteland opposite.
The wasteland was overgrown with weeds, ankle-high, with relatively soft soil—decent terrain.
The moment Su Xiao landed, Twisted crawled out of the turbulent river. Bullets were being pushed out of its body by its muscles, and the bullet holes showed signs of healing.
Clang.
Su Xiao drew his blade. He rolled his neck and shoulders, then beckoned to Twisted with a finger.
The cold river water had calmed Twisted down considerably. Its deep yellow eyes held a hint of confusion—why wasn’t Su Xiao running anymore?
“Come.”
Su Xiao held the blade in his right hand, not activating the Azure Steel Shadow ability. Twisted had too little “soul power” in its body; one slash would burn it all dry, so activating Azure Steel Shadow was pointless. No ability was perfect, and Azure Steel Shadow was no exception.
Twisted flexed its ten sharp hooked claws, then stepped forward and charged at Su Xiao. This time, Su Xiao raised his blade and met it head-on.