Kill Her

Silence, stillness, suffocation. In the sweltering, foul underground garage, it had rarely been so crowded since the day it was built—an awkwardness so thick it nearly congealed into solid form piled up, becoming a towering peak standing between the two sides. It was like sitting down for an eighteen-hour long-haul flight, only to realize the person in the seat to your left was the ex-girlfriend you had a massive, messy breakup with, and the one to your right was her current boyfriend. Suffocation, pure and inescapable. Ji Jue struggled to maintain a smile, staring at that rapidly healing face while darting occasional glances at Lu Feng, who looked like he was about to pass out for good. His expression twitched. "It's you? Ha, what a coincidence. So that's how it is." Zhu Hong's frozen expression shifted slowly. Between the torn halves of her face, a long tongue writhed like a serpent. "I was wondering where else such a familiar scent could come from. So it was you..." *Damn straight it's me!* Ji Jue badly wanted to puff out his chest and introduce himself like that, but Brother Feng's neck was still clutched in this damn thing's hand. Ji Jue's dangling palm twitched slightly, flashing a hand sign. Lu Feng, struggling midair, paused for a fraction of a second and refrained from reaching for the weapon in the holster behind his back. "What a pleasant surprise." Zhu Hong giggled. Her razor-sharp limbs stripped away Lu Feng's night-vision goggles and mask. The sharp claws of her right hand slowly sank into his neck; blood seeped out, only to vanish beneath the lapping of her long tongue. A mesmerizing blush actually crept across her pale face, her eyes brimming with alluring radiance. "What a pity, Master Ji. I was originally thinking of inviting you along... But you smell sweeter and sweeter. Won't you consider doing something fun with Big Sis? Who knows, you might even turn out more successful than me." She scrutinized the boy's face, savoring the panic and dread he struggled to conceal in his eyes. In no rush, she toyed with him just as a beast played with dying prey trapped in a snare. "What kind of fun thing are you in such a hurry to do together?" Ji Jue forced a smile, talking nonsense off the cuff. "Queue up for some games? Sure, sure, I'm a killer jungler!" Yet his gaze couldn't help drifting downward... skimming past the three white conical shapes trembling with her giggles, moving past without lingering, and coming to rest on the right hand that had crushed the gun barrel. Her wrist. He zoned out for a split second. Beneath the flickering lights, an ornate watch encrusted with pavé diamonds glinted with faint, sparkling brilliance, exquisite and imposing. The Navigator logo. Crown series. Red Wing. Those who placed superstitious faith in the inherent value of luxury goods loved to say that putting on a watch like this was like donning a real crown—enough to put any wealthy tai-tai or noble lady's jewelry to shame. As a top luxury brand from the Empire of the Southern Continent, a commemorative model like the Red Wing retailed at a staggering 3.24 million in boutiques, but in reality, secondhand transactions routinely exceeded five million. The prerequisite just to hold it in your hands for a look from a boutique sales associate was achieving high-tier VIP status by purchasing at least ten entry-level models. Just seeing it worn made a pauper like Ji Jue smell the fragrance of money. Unattainable. That was not something a mortal crawling through the mud like him could ever touch. "Do you truly not understand, little brother?" Zhu Hong licked her fingertips, her smile growing even more radiant. "It takes a little getting used to at first, but later on, you'll discover what real pleasure is." Her long tongue licked away the blood that had splattered across her face, enchanting and grotesque, like a flower blooming from blood. "Must be nice," Ji Jue murmured softly, almost involuntarily. "Hm?" Zhu Hong blinked, looking at his sudden distraction, bewildered by whatever game he was playing. "I said, being rich must feel pretty damn good, right?" Ji Jue sighed softly, lifting his head to meet her gaze, his expression earnest and focused. "You must be rich. Filthy rich. Even richer than I could ever imagine." Precisely because of this, he was bewildered, lost, and... Unable to fucking understand it at all! She could casually wear something on her wrist that countless people couldn't touch in an entire lifetime, reducing the wealth Ji Jue dreamed of to an offhand string of digits... Wasn't that enough? What was the point? Did you have some grand ideal, some magnificent ambition that could only be achieved by chewing on the bones of your own kind? Going so far as to create hell on earth, going so far as to turn yourself into this monstrosity? He couldn't comprehend it at all. Nor did he want to. Ji Jue let out a breath. "Forget it." "...What did you say?" Zhu Hong was nonplussed. "I said, dream the fuck on!" Ji Jue raised his voice, unable to suppress his fury any longer. "All my life I've fought tooth and nail, clawed and scraped, competed with everyone just to survive—not so I could turn into a freak like you!" "—I'd rather die!" In the sudden dead silence, Ji Jue jerked his hand up, aiming straight at her face. Abandoning pretense and stall tactics. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger! The only reply was a contemptuous sneer. Slow. Far too slow! Surviving the giant snake's constriction had left Ji Jue on his last legs. First entangled by the python, then blasted by high-voltage current, draining almost all his spiritus—by now, he barely had the strength left to stand, let alone steady a trembling, spasming arm to aim properly. Even with the muzzle pointed at her, Zhu Hong couldn't care less. Instead, she mockingly raised her arm, shoving Lu Feng in front of the barrel. She looked forward with relish to savoring the look on Lu Feng's face as he was killed by his own brother. Stunned, baffled, blank. Yet not a trace of despair! On the contrary, in an instant of realization, a grin broke out across that bloodstained face. Because there was no gunshot at all. Only a crisp click as the firing pin struck empty air—the Hunter pistol had a magazine capacity of only twelve rounds, and Ji Jue had emptied it long ago while providing covering fire and wrestling with the python! *Damn good one, Xiao Ji!* In that pivotal fraction of a second, a flash of steel slid from the cuff of Lu Feng's limp arm into his closing fingers. Without hesitation, the dagger stabbed toward Zhu Hong! "You're dead!" Zhu Hong roared, her fingers clamping down hard on Lu Feng's neck. But before they could, an ear-splitting roar detonated first! Right in their faces! It was the shotgun Lu Feng's other hand was still clutching with a death grip. Even though the barrel had been bent and crushed, the shell in the chamber still roared and blasted out, triggering a catastrophic... bore burst! Blood sprayed. In Lu Feng's gun hand, white bone was laid bare. Fragments of the shattered receiver and shell engulfed both of them like a hailstorm. A scream of agony finally tore through the air. From Zhu Hong. Lu Feng crashed to the ground, a grotesque, mutated claw still locked around his neck, severed clean at the wrist! Right where she stood, Zhu Hong was drenched in blood on one side, roaring and shrieking through the sudden, agonizing pain. Rising alongside it was a wail like a dying gasp. It came from beneath Ji Jue's hand. His watch-bearing left hand was already pressed against the giant serpent's remains. [Active external aberrant spiritus detected. Absorb?] Yes! Yes! Yes! Fucking yes!!! Within the matrix's shimmering light, crimson hues erupted from the charred flesh, screeching like writhing insects as they plunged into Ji Jue's hand, drained dry in an instant by the watch. The number that had dropped to 0 began to skyrocket, climbing once more. Who knew how much human blood it had drunk, how many lives it had devoured—just a fraction was enough to push the reading all the way to its limit of 99. "You think you're the only one who can transform?!" Ji Jue roared, raising the watch on his wrist. "So can I, goddammit!" Pouring out every last shred of his remaining strength, he lunged forward, grabbed the awl from his pocket, and shoved it into another nearby... electrical socket! Practically suicide! No, it was suicide. When the current surged unimpeded once more from the outlet, flooding into Ji Jue's body, countless error boxes materialized before his eyes. [Error] [Error] [Error] [Error] [Life-threatening danger to temporary worker detected... Calling nearby stations, no signal. Calling Headquarters Support Center, no signal...] And finally, the appearance of a lifeline: —[Temporary Worker Emergency Survival Protocol activated.] *Click!* The numbers on the watch abruptly reversed. This time, Ji Jue finally experienced what the protocol's activation was truly like. The matrix that had been enough to drain a monster's soul dry now erupted from the watch, flowing across Ji Jue's body and blanketing everything. It even plunged inward, enveloping his soul, penetrating, grafting, merging into one with him! As if it had been that way from the very beginning... Enveloped in the matrix, Ji Jue's previously elusive and distant ability surged rapidly, manifesting and solidifying into substance—like a star ignited within his soul, blazing with blinding light. The world seemed to grind to a halt; everything fell into dead silence. From within the freeze, Ji Jue's consciousness seemed to detach from time itself, freely looking down upon it all: the flying spray of blood, the falling Lu Feng, the furious Zhu Hong, and even more. More things that had been here all along, yet completely ignored by everyone! Fluorescent lights, sockets, power cables, ventilation fans, mobile phones, and even a true, bona fide behemoth— —That massive truck, its cargo bed already more than half full of equipment! Ji Jue looked toward the truck. The truck's headlights flared, casting brilliant beams as if gazing back at him—a humble stare, a reverent waiting, a pious prayer, anticipation, supplication, devotion. A silent kowtow. Ji Jue issued his command: [Kill her.] And so, the truck rejoiced. The engine roared, fuel lines trembled, the drive shaft shrieked, the radiator sang, the wheels offered praise, and the frame played a hymn in its trembling—cheering, shouting, howling with ecstasy. As if a dormant soul had finally learned the foremost purpose of its existence, its greatest significance, the unshakeable truth and eternal justice of the world. It replied: [As you command.] In that instant, a ferocious howl tore out from the vibration of countless churning mechanisms. Driven by the world's sole truth and command, sparks flared, pistons pumped, and the engine ran wildly as if reckless of its own destruction. Sparks flew from the drive shaft. A deafening horn blast sounded from mere steps away, yet could not drown out the shrill shriek of tires tearing against concrete. The blinding headlights illuminated the crimson gore on Zhu Hong's face, flooding those burning red eyes with blistering glare. And then, launching from zero, accelerating to two hundred and ten kilometers per hour in the span of just two meters, the Nanfeng truck—fully loaded and weighing twenty-six tons—spread its invisible wings and opened an intangible embrace. Pulling Zhu Hong into its arms! —BOOM!!!!