Chapter 1142: Inside the Body
"Tenth Brother... you seem a lot lighter..."
Luo Shiyi held Jiang Shi with some concern, her tone slightly anxious.
"I'm fine... Shiyi." Jiang Shi coughed dryly a few times. "I probably won't die, just in some pain."
"It won't hurt anymore." Luo Shiyi said. "I'm here, Tenth Brother... the pain will stop..."
This time, Jiang Shi didn't refuse. It seemed the pain had indeed cost him most of his rationality.
Luo Shiyi stirred her faith, and in no time, Jiang Shi's tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.
"Ah..." Jiang Shi seemed a bit more lucid. "Shiyi... stop worrying about me. You need to preserve your faith... we still have Vermilion Bird after this..."
"Is Vermilion Bird harder to kill than Black Tortoise?" Luo Shiyi said. "How could everyone have such a domineering 'Undying' skill?"
"Precisely because Vermilion Bird is easy to kill..." Jiang Shi coughed twice again. "That's why he's more likely to counterattack..."
"What do you mean..."
"Regarding 'killing Black Tortoise'..." Jiang Shi said, "Either we're completely wiped out, or Black Tortoise is killed by our combined tactics... but Vermilion Bird is different..."
"Don't worry about that now." Luo Shiyi interrupted. "I'll find a place for you to rest. Wait for Fifth Brother to show up."
"Fifth Brother... should be thinking of a way to summon Vermilion Bird..." Jiang Shi said. "Don't distract him. I can manage on my own..."
"Do you even hear what you're saying?" Luo Shiyi said. "You've lost half your body weight. What do you mean 'manage'? Are you planning to reattach your own heart?"
"Sigh... let it go." Jiang Shi said. "My mission is basically complete..."
Bai Jiu stood beside them, equally worried. Under normal circumstances, they would have sent Jiang Shi directly to Qian Wu's side, but this time was different. They couldn't spare anyone to escort Jiang Shi alone, nor could they bring Qian Wu over.
As things stood, how long Jiang Shi could live depended on how long his 'Undying' could last.
Jiang Shi seemed to read their concerns. From Luo Shiyi's shoulder, he said weakly, "Don't worry... as long as I recount all the storytelling I know from memory, I can buy plenty of time... enough for you to defeat Black Tortoise."
Upon hearing this, neither dared to respond. After all, no one knew whether Black Tortoise would actually die.
They found a corner of a building to lay Jiang Shi down, ensuring that minor explosions and splash damage wouldn't reach him. Bai Jiu decided to stay with Jiang Shi, while Luo Shiyi returned to Black Tortoise's side.
Qiu Shiliu had already arrived before Black Tortoise, seemingly piquing the latter's interest.
**"What do you want to discuss with me?"** Black Tortoise asked.
"I might have a way to kill you." Qiu Shiliu said, veins bulging on her forehead. "But I'll have to be a bit rude."
Su Shan stood in the distance, watching Qiu Shiliu with her palms sweating.
She had just asked Qiu Shiliu in detail about her abilities, only to discover she was the most awkwardly positioned member of the entire 'Cat' squad—not particularly close to the others either.
Because every mission she undertook could potentially end in her own death, she couldn't form deep bonds of battlefield camaraderie with the others. Worse, she risked injuring her teammates when activating her abilities, which always made her want to find a chance to prove herself.
This time was the perfect opportunity. The situation was already hopeless anyway. Instead of sending someone else, it was better for her to lay down her life here, making it worthwhile.
Now she kept her anger at a critical threshold, feeling her whole body burning. One more surge of anger, and her entire being would ignite with crimson flames.
**"How could you possibly kill me?"** Black Tortoise stared at the Qiu Shiliu before her and asked again.
"I have a very powerful impact move." Qiu Shiliu said. "But it only works if I strike the chest. Will you let me try?"
**"Impact..."**
Black Tortoise's tone was clearly puzzled. It wasn't just a person's impact—even a whole building crashing into her wouldn't necessarily take her life.
"Don't doubt me." Qiu Shiliu said with a grim smile. "This impact will leave you crispy on the outside and tender inside. It's up to you whether you dare."
**"Fine..."** Black Tortoise nodded. **"Excellent. Impact is good. Come, hit me."**
With that, Black Tortoise spread her remaining left arm wide in an embracing gesture, fully exposing the vastness within her chest to Qiu Shiliu.
Qiu Shiliu looked closely. Black Tortoise's body was essentially pitch black on the inside, but there were many tiny, glowing specks within. Those specks weren't on the skin's surface—they lay deep inside Black Tortoise's body.
"So Sister Shan was right..." Qiu Shiliu murmured. "That body is a 'hole.'"
She took two steps back, then mustered all her strength and charged at Black Tortoise. To Black Tortoise, the girl's posture didn't look like an 'impact' at all—more like a bullet meant to shatter her.
But before she could change her mind, Qiu Shiliu had already leaped from the ground, diving toward Black Tortoise's body almost like she was plunging into water.
In an instant, her upper body vanished into Black Tortoise's form, leaving only her legs outside.
Black Tortoise felt something was wrong. Although she didn't know what the other party intended, this unknown situation triggered an instinctive reaction.
She reached out with her left hand to grab Qiu Shiliu's legs, but a series of 'flash bursts' erupted, followed by a few small stones flying toward her hand. Consecutive 'explosions' blocked her movements.
Seizing this final opportunity, Qiu Shiliu swam her way into the pitch-black 'door.'
Everyone could even see faint flames on her feet, as if she was about to unleash all her fury.
The next second, Qiu Shiliu completely disappeared inside Black Tortoise's body.
Black Tortoise stared down blankly at her own chest, as if trying to process what had just happened.
The members of 'Cat' were also stunned. They only knew that Song Qi had given Qiu Shiliu an order, but they had no idea the task was this absurd.
They approached Black Tortoise step by step, as if all wanting to get a closer look.
Qiu Shiliu had drilled into Black Tortoise's body and vanished. What exactly was inside Black Tortoise?
If it was a space, was Qiu Shiliu falling... or floating?
If it was a space, what was Black Tortoise's body from Qiu Shiliu's perspective? A window?
Countless abstract questions began swirling in everyone's minds.
But less than half a minute later, they noticed another problem.
Qiu Shiliu had already been burning with flames before entering Black Tortoise's body, yet now there was no fire inside Black Tortoise at all.
"What's going on...?" Luo Shiyi slowly stepped forward.