"Not good, was I bitten by a monster? This strength is immense..." Tao Bingjun realized something was wrong when he suddenly felt two powerful forces clamp down on his ghost claw arms. With a sharp yank, both ghost claw arms were torn off at the roots, severed completely.
"No... it can't be..." Suddenly losing his pair of ghost claw arms, Tao Bingjun panicked completely.
These ghost claw arms were his special ability. Every time he performed "borrowing a corpse to resurrect," he could grow a new pair, but once destroyed, they couldn't regenerate until he switched to a new body.
At this moment, the baseball bat Tao Bingjun was寄生 in had sunk to the bottom of the water, motionless. Above the bat, two pitch-black creatures were swimming slowly.
They resembled some kind of fish, entirely black, with a faint blue light along their spines that flickered and glowed intermittently.
The pair of ghost claws that had extended from the baseball bat were waving in the water, catching their attention and making them see it as prey. The two black fish pounced, biting down on the ghost claw arms. With immense strength and razor-sharp teeth, they tore the arms clean off the bat with a single tug, then swallowed them and began chewing.
As for the baseball bat itself, they saw it as a lifeless object, showing no interest, and let it sink quietly to the bottom.
Without his ghost claw arms, he couldn't move or break free from the bat. He would truly be trapped here forever.
He never expected to run into such bad luck.
Tao Bingjun was truly desperate.
"Heavens, stop messing with me. I know I was wrong..."
"Hey... is anyone there? Save me..."
"Save me, I'll turn over a new leaf, reform myself, I'll be a good person... Someone, please save me..."
"It's too dark here... I don't want to be alone..."
"Wah... save... me..."
"...Or... kill me... that works too..."
"Let me... die..."
Finally, Tao Bingjun thought of death.
Complete death.
...
The night was deep.
On the rooftop of Zifeng Tower.
Su Li had slain Zhang Ying and absorbed three spirit sources. His injured left arm was healing at an astonishing speed.
Ding Longyun had thrown the baseball bat trapping Tao Bingjun far away. Everyone watched as it sank into the water and disappeared, then couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Only then did they feel the taut string finally relax, sensing aches and an indescribable exhaustion throughout their bodies.
Among them, Su Li was the most physically drained.
Ignoring the bloodstains on the ground, he sat down directly.
Ding Longyun sat down beside him.
"What a long night. Finally, it's all over." Ding Longyun looked up, took a deep breath, and said, "Too bad I don't smoke. This would be the perfect time for a cigarette."
Xu Haishui slowly walked over, head bowed, his face full of sorrow. Suddenly, he spoke, "I... beg you all for one thing."
Ding Longyun looked up at him. "What is it? Speak."
Xu Haishui's voice was low and choked, struggling to get the words out: "Help me... give Zhang Ying's body a water burial. Leaving it like this... isn't right..."
Ding Longyun said curiously, "Why not just throw it into the water yourself? It'll probably be devoured by monsters in no time, leaving nothing behind. That's as good as returning to nature."
Su Li glanced at Ding Longyun, thinking the guy was too blunt, not considering Xu Haishui's feelings at the moment.
"I'll help you." Su Li stood up, knowing Xu Haishui couldn't face Zhang Ying's body.
"Thanks." Xu Haishui took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and sat down as if drained.
His chest was badly injured, but his body's recovery ability was remarkable. The wound had already contracted and stopped bleeding. Though he hadn't absorbed any souls, the injury wasn't fatal. A few days of rest would let it heal naturally, and if he could get a spirit source, he'd recover instantly.
Su Li walked over to Zhang Ying's naked body. Her eyes were wide open, as if she died with regret.
Su Li frowned slightly, took off his coat, covered her body, then picked her up and walked toward the edge of the building.
"Miss Zhang, we were on opposite sides. Don't blame me. If you hadn't suddenly tried to kill Xu Haishui, maybe I could have spared you in the end. Too bad..."
Su Li shook his head slightly, thinking that if he hadn't acted quickly, Xu Haishui wouldn't just have been stabbed once—he'd have been killed by Zhang Ying. It was a pity, given Xu Haishui's deep feelings for her.
Since such a person had become an enemy, Su Li naturally had to eliminate the root of the trouble. He couldn't let her live, leaving such a huge隐患. Otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he'd die next time.
Ding Longyun also stood up. Seeing Su Li carrying Zhang Ying's body to the rooftop edge, he sighed and said, "She was pitiful in a way. Captured by Chen Xiangyu and the others, then taken by Tao Bingjun, she became devoted to him. If not for this sudden flood, she'd still be an innocent girl, right? How could she have gone through all this?"
Su Li reached the rooftop edge and stopped. Looking down at Zhang Ying's body in his arms—his left arm not fully healed, relying mainly on his right arm to bear the weight—he released his grip, and her body fell.
They all watched as her body hit the water, quickly sank into a blurry shadow, and then disappeared, becoming just another corpse among countless in the water.
Gong Xiao, hearing Ding Longyun's sigh, her phoenix eyes flickering, said, "Her misfortune is certainly sad, but it's also tied to her character. Even if falling for Tao Bingjun isn't her fault, Xu Haishui came to save her. They were neighbors and classmates, knowing each other for years. Even without love, there was friendship. Yet she struck without hesitation. I can't agree with that."
Su Li said, "Let's not discuss her anymore. Right now, I just want to find a soft, comfortable bed, forget everything, and sleep until I naturally wake up."
Ding Longyun chuckled. "Wouldn't it be better with a girl in your arms, like that one..." He winked at Gong Xiao.
Gong Xiao caught it and glared at him. "Brother Ding, what's with that expression? Since Su Li's short on girls, why don't you pretend to be one and let him cuddle you?"
Ding Longyun was speechless, and Su Li's face darkened. Cuddling Ding Longyun to sleep? Thinking of his snoring and hairy body, he shuddered.
"Judging by Brother Ding's expression, I think he wants me to cuddle you," Su Li joked, seeing Gong Xiao tease him and Ding Longyun.
Gong Xiao didn't expect Su Li to be so direct, suddenly saying that. Her face reddened, and she shot him a sharp glare. "You men are all no good. We've barely settled down, and your lecherous minds are already showing."
Su Li laughed heartily.
Ding Longyun saw Xu Haishui sitting silently on the ground, head down, not saying a word. He walked over, gently patted his shoulder, and said, "Kid, cheer up. Why the long face? Lose a tree, and there's still a whole forest. Besides, you brought us here. Now that those guys are dealt with, what's next? You need to share your thoughts."
Su Li and Gong Xiao stopped teasing each other and looked over.
Gong Xiao nodded. "Right, now that Tao Bingjun and his crew are handled, we need to figure out what to do next. Have we taken over Zifeng Tower?"
Su Li nodded slightly. "We have, but the six who escaped from the 30th floor are a problem. Xu Haishui said they were Tao Bingjun's trusted men, with one at level 5. I'm worried they might cause trouble. We need to deal with them."
Xu Haishui, sitting with his head down, slowly looked up, a bit of energy returning to his face. "Don't worry about those six. They're just bullies. They were scared out of their wits by your sword strike and knew the tide had turned. If I'm right, they fled on a raft right then. They knew that after following Tao Bingjun and doing so many bad things, once someone came for revenge and killed them, they'd be next. They wouldn't dare stay."
Su Li nodded slightly. "If that's the case, it saves us a lot of trouble."
Gong Xiao said, "But we should still be cautious. If any of them want to come back for revenge, we need to be prepared."
Xu Haishui said, "I'll keep an eye out for that and make sure everyone watches for them. Honestly, we all hate them. If we spot them, we won't let them off. Before, we were afraid of Tao Bingjun and his crew, but now that they're dead, there's no need to fear them."
Ding Longyun said, "So, are we all moving into Zifeng Tower next?"
He'd gotten used to his own place over the past few days, and the idea of moving to this unfamiliar Zifeng Tower felt a bit strange.
Su Li said, "Yes. From now on, Zifeng Tower is our territory."
Gong Xiao smiled slightly. "Finally, a somewhat decent place to settle."
Su Li looked at Xu Haishui. "Take us downstairs and gather everyone still in Zifeng Tower. Let's get to know them and make sure they understand the current situation."
"Alright." Xu Haishui gently touched his chest, frowned slightly, then picked up the short spear from the ground.
Su Li said, "How's the injury? Want to find a monster?"
Xu Haishui said, "It's fine now. Unless I'm fighting, normal walking is no problem. Let me take you all down first. We'll deal with the rest later. I can hold on."