Chapter 1163: Liberation
When Jiang Shi said the word "heart," everyone in the low building instantly formed a tightly organized "production line."
Ma Twelve used "Teleportation" to slightly move Luo Fifteen's corpse into Officer Li's field of vision. Officer Li immediately activated "Pocket Reach," pulling a fresh, bloody heart from his own pocket, then turned to hand it to Song Seven. Song Seven briefly touched it before passing it to Cui Fourteen, who could perform "Teleportation."
Cui Fourteen tossed the heart into the circle in front of him, which directly connected to the circle in front of Jiang Shi.
Through the power of "Teleportation," the heart jumped to Jiang Shi's side, fell out of the ring, and landed in his hands.
All of this happened within three seconds — Xuanwu hadn't even noticed anything wrong.
But Su Shan, standing high up on the building, widened her eyes. In that split second, far too many "ripples" had surged. The precision of the coordination, the practiced skill — it left her utterly dazzled.
"Xuanwu..." Jiang Shi said, "I am like you — I can also take organs from another's body. But I am different from you."
"What...?"
"Since you've already taken the heart out of the other person's body, why must you personally crush it...?" Jiang Shi asked again.
"And what would you propose instead?"
"Thorns, come." Jiang Shi lifted the heart in his hand into the air.
The command "Thorns, come" left the people in the low building momentarily bewildered — this plan had clearly not been discussed in advance.
"What the hell does 'thorns, come' mean...?" Luo Eleven asked. "Did we ever agree on this?"
"Little Jiang Shi seems to be getting carried away..." Bai Jiu said. "Quick, find something thorny..."
They all exchanged glances. In this rundown old building, they couldn't even be sure they'd find scrap metal, let alone something with thorns.
"Let me try...!" Liu Twenty-One, who possessed "Wood Growth," quickly took a step forward. He turned and gave Ning Eighteen, who had "Rapid Growth," a look. The two stood by the window immediately.
"Wood Growth" closed his eyes. One second later, a cluster of small sisal plants sprouted from the ground behind Jiang Shi.
The leaves of the sisal pointed straight upward, looking razor-sharp.
"Rapid Growth" followed up by activating his belief, making the sisal leaves enormous. Then Ma Twelve, with "Teleportation," hurriedly acted to control several leaves, sending them flying, and they precisely pierced the heart in Jiang Shi's hand.
Jiang Shi's single sentence had kept everyone behind him busy, but he was calm as he examined his hand.
"Right, the leaves," he added.
Xuanwu was stunned upon seeing this. After all, in terms of "manipulating objects out of thin air," this short man before him was indeed more powerful.
"How does that saying go..." Jiang Shi thought for a moment, weighed the heart now bristling with sisal leaves in his hand, then nodded. "Right, Xuanwu — look at this heart."
Before Xuanwu could grasp the meaning of the words, Jiang Shi directly tossed the thorn-studded heart at him.
The heart twisted and heated up mid-air, emitting faint sparks. Xuanwu instinctively raised his remaining left hand to block it.
*Boom*!!
A massive explosion rang out. The heart shattered into pieces in the air.
Xuanwu slowly raised his head, staring at the smoke and fragments above him. He remained silent for a long time.
"Xuanwu, even after this, you still don't believe... that I can replace you?" Jiang Shi asked.
Xuanwu did not speak. He just stood there, stunned.
"Very well... since you're still insisting..." Jiang Shi extended both hands again. "Wind, come!!"
"Ah... my turn..." Qiu Twenty, who possessed "Gale Force," quickly stepped forward. He conjured a moderate tornado around Jiang Shi, scattering the fragments in the air into thin threads.
"Rain, come!!" Jiang Shi spread his arms and called out again.
Bai Jiu was taken aback. She turned and asked, "Wait, is 'Rain, come' my cue?"
"You're 'Liquefaction,' Ninth Sister..." Luo Eleven said. "Who else would it be?"
"But there's nothing here to liquefy..." Bai Jiu said. "How can I make it rain out of thin air...?"
Ma Twelve, with "Teleportation," sighed after hearing this. "Uh, I have an idea, but it might require making use of Little Fifteen's corpse again..."
"This..." Bai Jiu paused as she understood Ma Twelve's meaning. "Alright... fine. But I can't guarantee how terrifying the scene will be."
"Never mind that. We'll apologize to Little Fifteen later!"
As the words were spoken, Jiang Shi saw Luo Fifteen's corpse slowly rise into the air. He didn't understand what was happening until he saw the corpse begin to melt mid-air.
Then, a rain of bloody flesh fell sparsely between the two of them. The scene fell into dead silence.
Qiu Twenty from "Gale Force" quickly added a gust to spread the bloody rain more evenly.
Xuanwu gazed at this rain of blood and fell into another long silence, as if his thoughts had drifted far away.
"Xuanwu..." Jiang Shi took a step closer. "Do you believe me now?"
"I..."
"You don't have to struggle like this anymore," Jiang Shi said. "Let me take over. All the pain — I will bear it. All the rules — I will guard them. You can leave in peace."
"You..."
Xuanwu's body, though it appeared like the boundless starry sky, was now trembling slightly.
"Give me your eyes," Jiang Shi said. "Only you can 'reach' them."
"I... I can't..." Xuanwu hesitated, shaking, as if enduring a tremendous inner struggle.
Yun Nineteen, watching from the high building, frowned as he stared at the distant street and immediately blew his whistle.
All the "Cats" lifted their heads upon hearing the whistle, their expressions turning serious.
It was the whistle for "enemy entering the formation."
But here... who else could possibly "enter the formation"?
"The White Tiger is coming..." Song Seven frowned and turned. "A few of you come with me to block the White Tiger with our lives. The rest keep responding to Jiang Shi!"
"Are you insane..." Bai Jiu grabbed Song Seven. "Seventh Brother, 'block the White Tiger' — do you think we have enough people?!"
"There's no other way!" Song Seven said. "Little Jiang Shi is about to convince Xuanwu. We can't let something go wrong at this critical moment!"
With that, he flipped over the window with several others. But what they had not expected was that as soon as the White Tiger spotted Xuanwu from a distance, he planted his feet and shot forward in an explosive sprint, landing directly between Xuanwu and Jiang Shi in an instant.
Song Seven shouted in alarm and hurriedly ran over with his team to shield Jiang Shi.
Xuanwu seemed not to notice the sudden change around him. He merely reached out, catching the rain of blood.
The White Tiger, surveying the raging scene before him, remained silent for a moment. His gaze was fixed entirely on Jiang Shi.
Xuanwu caught a few drops of blood with his hand and murmured, "He says he has come to take my place... Is that true?"
The White Tiger was visibly startled. He turned to look at Xuanwu, then back at Jiang Shi. The anger in his murky eyes slowly faded, replaced by a profoundly complex emotion.
"He says I can rest assured and die... Is that true?" Xuanwu asked again.
The White Tiger's cracked lips quivered slightly. It seemed all his words were stuck in his throat.
After a long time, he spoke in a hoarse voice: "Wu Xuan, it's true. You are liberated."