Seeing Injustice, Grandpa KFC Lends a Hand

"Still chasing me?" The masked girl known as the Gem Witch clenched her teeth against the tearing agony wracking every inch of her body, her heart leaping into her throat. Even the swings of her broom-shaped grappling hook had lost their usual precision and elegance. Several times the hook had nearly missed entirely, only barely latching onto the opposite skyscraper in the nick of time. Injuries were routine for an unaffiliated wild Extraordinary with no one to rely on, but a hair-raising escape like tonight's was rare even with all her battle-hardened experience. Glancing back out of the corner of her eye, more than a dozen pitch-black shadows clung to her like maggots on bone, haunting her heels through the deep night like relentless specters. Tireless and fearless of death, they scour heaven and earth for gems, wholly bent on slaying the witch. Their crimson eyes stayed locked onto the masked figure whose cape fluttered ahead. Data streams flickered within them, capturing the visual feeds in real time and transmitting them back somewhere. Every one of them was comparable to a weaker Level 3 Extraordinary, and working together, they operated like a single killing machine assembled from precision parts. They reminded the Gem Witch of the Special Control Bureau's signature unit, the Swordbearers, or Zijing Group's Iron Thorn squad—yet several times more terrifying. They didn't act like humans, resembling robots instead. Yet they weren't machines, as they were genuinely living flesh and blood. More precisely— Living dead! *Tinghai City has things like this? What wicked organization bred them?* The Gem Witch was filled with doubt. *Whoosh!* The dark silhouettes leaped and sprinted along the walls of the high-rises. Between skyscrapers, they spread their arms like bats, black fabric wing extensions unfurling beneath them to glide through the air as they bore down on her. The phenomenal mobility that had made the Gem Witch famous across Tinghai with her broom-grapple offered not the slightest advantage before them! "Chase, chase, chase—will you ever give it a rest?!" The Gem Witch grew exasperated. Seeing that she had put enough distance between herself and Yuanmeng Middle School, she spun around and halted, warily scanning her surroundings. "Didn't you realize you've already been rejected for being too ugly? I know I'm exceptionally charming, but forced melons aren't sweet. Don't you even understand that?" The dark figures made no reply, merely closing in slowly to encircle her. "Did you really think it was you lot I was afraid of?" The Gem Witch withdrew her gaze after inspecting the vicinity, letting out a breath of relief for some reason before scoffing. "Even if I'm injured and weakened... "That doesn't mean you Level 3 small fry have gotten any stronger." The moment the words left her mouth, a ruby gleamed as she tossed it high into the air. Its natural luster was slightly cloudy, yet beneath the moon it shimmered with breathtaking splendor. Then, with a *click*, the ruby slotted into the buckle at the center of her belt. *Hum!* The belt vibrated, and an awe-inspiring roar boomed from it: "Rejoice! "Magician! Our Lord has arrived!" Under the moon's witness, a crimson domain bloomed like an epiphyllum. The ornate patterned dress on the masked witch transformed into a noble scarlet gown, making her appear like a queen looking down upon all creation. "The moon is beautiful tonight. Commit this bright moonlight to memory," the Gem Witch muttered under her breath. "—Because you will never see it again!" Before her voice even faded, *boom!*— The crimson domain engulfed the dozen or so figures in black, and towering flames erupted into a raging blaze. Flames surged into the sky! Fire rolled like a tidal wave! *Gem Trick, Third Trick—* Muttering silently to herself without speaking aloud, the Gem Witch thought: *Ruby, Ignition Art!* The fiery red inferno incinerated everything. The figures in black struggled and growled within, unable to take even a single step, for the flames seemed almost solid, coiling around their legs in the blink of an eye like living vines writhing and constricting. "Roar—" Low roars sounded without end. A moment later, nothing remained on the spot but a dozen silent heaps of ash. Such was the domineering power of the Ignition Art! Yet this still surprised the Gem Witch. *They actually lasted this long?* Last time, that Old Toad, a Level 5 Extraordinary, had been reduced to ash in these flames almost instantly. In comparison, these men in black had struggled inside for three to four times as long! "They... seem to possess resistance against extraordinary power?" The realization sent a shock through the Gem Witch's heart. She had never heard of such existences before. To deal with creatures like this, one could only rely on sheer raw stats and brute-force overwhelming power; the more esoteric and bizarre the technique, the more its effectiveness diminished! If a Level 4 Extraordinary, or even a weaker Level 5 Extraordinary of that rank, specialized not in direct combat but in tricky, unpredictable methods... Wouldn't all their techniques fail upon encountering these groups of men in black, leaving them highly likely to be swarmed and killed on the spot? What if there were even more of them? If there were enough men in black, even if she encountered them, she might... Then, the Gem Witch recalled that their raspy roars sounded hardly human at all, as if their vocal cords had been severed long ago. They were killing machines created specifically to combat Extraordinaries! They faintly felt like apex predators sitting above Extraordinaries in the food chain, a chilling prospect. *Just what faction is behind this? How did they manage to do something like this?* Behind her mask, the Gem Witch furrowed her brows, looking thoughtfully at the piles of ash on the ground. Tinghai City... Rumor had it that a major incident had rocked Tinghai last night, causing tremors in the Reflected Ruin Realm and alerting various official organizations. And now, she had stumbled upon these "things." The Gem Witch felt a heavy weight in her heart. She couldn't shake the feeling that this city was growing more and more unfamiliar. Dark undercurrents surged within the mystical world hidden behind the urban facade, leaving even someone like her unable to remain aloof and unscathed. She still needed to get stronger. And the key to her becoming stronger lay with that... The Gem Witch blinked and couldn't help letting out a soft sigh. Just where had that magic rune master who repaired her wand gone? If only she could find him. Find him, knock him out, and carry him home! That way, her future path to growing stronger would be secure. Just as the Gem Witch was thinking this, suddenly— A chill shot straight down her spine. *The cicada senses the autumn wind before it stirs.* The unique intuition belonging to the Destined warned her—danger was descending! *More of them?* *Where? When—* In the fleeting instant the thoughts flashed through her mind, the Gem Witch instinctively forced her wounded body to leap clear. *Whoosh!* Wind whipped sharply as the witch vaulted away with several rapid bounds. *Swish, swish, swish!* Throwing knives pierced the air and shattered the paving stones where she had stood just moments before, then followed the path of her leaps in rapid succession, thudding into the ground in a tight row. Black hunters slowly revealed themselves in the darkness, crouching on all fours along the surrounding eaves and walls like silent spiders eyeing the Gem Witch. From every direction, there were nearly thirty of them. On this long night's street, murderous intent laid bare! "There are still this many..." The Gem Witch seemed to realize. "No wonder that person was confident enough to send just you lot after me..." Killing weapons possessing extraordinary resistance, skilled at coordinated teamwork, growing stronger in greater numbers—when beings like these reached such a count, no Extraordinary who suddenly crossed paths with them could take it lightly. Even at her peak, the Gem Witch wouldn't necessarily have had an easy time dealing with them, let alone now. In this instant, she felt the suffocating pressure of a life-and-death crisis. The earlier Ignition Art had already drained a large amount of her spirituality, leaving her virtually zero margin for error. With things having come to this, she had only one choice—the Gem Witch steeled her resolve, a pang of agonizing reluctance flickering across her face. In the next second, *Snap!* A pitch-black gemstone was flicked upward by the Gem Witch. The gem was dark and rounded, encircled in the center by a yellowish-white band that resembled a cat's eye under the moonlight. This was obsidian—more precisely, cat's-eye obsidian. Even among genuine gemstones, obsidian was relatively cheap, but cat's-eye obsidian was much rarer—and therefore far more expensive. Immediately after, the obsidian glinting in the moonlight was snatched out of the air by the Gem Witch and jammed with a *click* into the buckle at the center of her belt. *Hum!* "Rejoice!" The belt roared once more. The Gem Witch changed outfits again. Her crimson gown shifted into a provocative black lace mini-dress paired with sheer, knee-high black stockings, her leather shoes tapping against the ground with the cadence of a throbbing heartbeat. The Gem Witch disliked this look, but the secret technique corresponding to it was unimaginably powerful. *Hum!* A pitch-black domain unfurled immediately, enveloping the men in black. And that wasn't all—the Gem Witch followed by pulling out a handful of artificial gems that looked like glass marbles, flicking them into the air one after another. These synthetic gems were multicolored. Once tossed aloft, they seemed bound by some force, spinning rapidly in midair with no sign of falling. An expression of sheer heartache appeared on the Gem Witch's face. Even fake artificial gems cost money! First real gems, then fake gems—blowing so much money in one go felt worse to the Gem Witch than being killed. She was truly on the verge of bankruptcy! Yet the power bought with that bankruptcy was equally formidable. *Thump... thump...* The artificial gems seemed to come alive, pulsating like hearts—not just one, but many. For as many men in black as there were, there was an artificial gem to match. Nearly thirty synthetic gemstones hovered in the air, pulsing and beating, each with its own rhythm—just like nearly thirty hearts of the men in black. This was the Gem Witch's most expensive and potent offensive trick— "Gem Trick, Fifth Trick: "Obsidian, Heart Strike!" As the name implied, any effect inflicted upon the artificial gemstones would be transmitted directly to the target's heart. So long as the Gem Witch's sequence level was higher than her opponents', they could not resist this power; even Destined of the same level would be severely affected! It was practically a guaranteed kill! Completely foolproof! Then, the Gem Witch raised her right hand, back of her hand facing outward, and abruptly clenched her palm with force. *Crack! Snap!* Nearly thirty pulsating synthetic gems shattered simultaneously, as if crushed by an invisible giant hand. *Thud!* The men in black grabbed their chests over their hearts, freezing in place. Yet they still seemed to struggle, as if some barrier were resisting the Gem Witch's invasive power. *They even have resistance to this?* The Gem Witch was dumbfounded, unease creeping in. Having cast Heart Strike, the Gem Witch turned deathly pale, clearly at the end of her rope. If even a surefire Gem Trick like this failed, she would be completely out of options... Fortunately, the resistance present in the men in black seemed to have its limits. *Crack! Crack-crack-crack!* The sound of a barrier shattering rang out, and the power of the Gem Trick took effect on the men in black. What followed was a breathtaking spectacle. *Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!* Burst after burst of blood mist exploded from the chests of the men in black in rapid succession, as if miniature bombs were concealed inside. Their hearts were violently crushed to pieces; some even had their entire chests blown open, taking "open-hearted" to a literal extreme. "It's done!" The Gem Witch finally let out a long breath, her vision swimming slightly. "—Wait, no!" Immediately after, she shuddered, her mind snapping clear as if she had swallowed pounds of peppermint. Because right in front of her, the men in black whose chests had blown wide open—even without hearts—swayed unsteadily yet did not collapse. Their crimson eyes still stared wide as they marched forward to encircle the Gem Witch, their savage walking-corpse appearance sending chills down her spine. "Blatantly cheating, are we?!" The Gem Witch couldn't help cursing. *They don't die even when their hearts explode? Are they even human? Are they cockroaches?* *Can a person live without a heart? If Bigan had half your ability, Ji Fa wouldn't even have had a chance!* Quickly steadying her thoughts, the Gem Witch checked her spirituality, only to discover it was practically depleted; she could hardly muster even a single Gem Trick. In contrast, after a brief readjustment, the men in black whose hearts had been crushed could move freely again, glaring at her with predatory eyes. With her special ability to discern the intensity of spirituality, she saw that although the spirituality on these men in black had withered considerably, each still maintained the strength of a Level 2 Extraordinary. *This time I'm really done for...* The Gem Witch felt as though she could see her grandmother, hailing back to her carefree, long-gone childhood in the rural countryside. Her grandmother was looking at her with a benevolent expression, telling her: "—You should have cut off their heads directly!" Gem Witch: "?" She jolted, snapping back to reality. That abrupt shout hadn't come from her grandmother after all, but from reality—from deep within the distant darkness of the night. *Shing!* It was the sound of vibrating metal ripping through the air. At the same time, or perhaps even before the sound arrived, a speck of purple-gold light spiraled out. It was the gleam of a blade—a purple-gold light. How could one describe this slash? The moonlight in the sky could not match its beauty; the gems at the witch's waist could not match its brilliance. Hand raised, blade fell; blood flashed, heads dropped. Like a bolt of thunder, the blade-light spun back and forth in an instant, sweeping around the Gem Witch in a circle with lightning speed. *Thud! Thud, thud, thud, thud...* Like a lawnmower shearing grass, the whirling blade-light danced madly under the moon, reaping lives. Blood spouted like geysers as the headless men in black collapsed one after another, forming a complete circle around the Gem Witch, who stood frozen in place. Tinged by the red of blood, the moonlight took on an eerie hue. The gorgeous witch's mask was stained with flecks of crimson, and a few drops of blood clung to the black stockings on her legs. The scene was horrifying, yet possessed a scarlet, bewitching beauty. The corpses carpeting the ground around the black-dressed witch resembled blooming bloody petals, looking at first glance like the site of some grand, sinister sacrificial rite. *Hummm—* The magnificent purple-gold blade-light spun away and was caught firmly from afar with a crisp *clap*. Then came the sound of slightly staggering footsteps. *Tap, tap, tap...* Elongated by the dim yellow streetlights, a figure gradually emerged from the edge of the pitch-black night. Every few steps, he gasped for breath; even the Gem Witch found it bizarre, discerning how frail and exhausted the newcomer was. It was hard to imagine that such a person had delivered that stunning slash, wiping out all these troublesome men in black in the blink of an eye. Clean and decisive, a single strike buried nearly thirty Extraordinaries like chopping vegetables, and every cut fell precisely across the neck without the slightest error! What a fast blade! What a formidable person! In Tinghai, the witch had never heard of an organization of men in black who could survive without hearts, but even less had she heard of such a powerful swordsman. *Who is he...?* With extreme vigilance and curiosity, the Gem Witch looked up, wanting to scrutinize him— Yet her expression froze instantly, and behind her mask, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Not out of familiarity or horror, but because the newcomer's getup was far too bizarre— Over his head was inverted an empty KFC mega family bucket. The white-bearded Colonel grinned benevolently at the witch, but upside down, the smiling face looked to the witch like the eerie gaze of an evil god. *Where on earth did this KFC weirdo come from?!* The Gem Witch's mind was in utter disarray. "Don't be nervous, I'm here to help!" Stopping not far away, the newcomer waved his hand with a muffled voice, gesturing for the Gem Witch not to panic. "I'm not some shady villain, it's— "—it's your Grandpa KFC to the rescue!" Resting the purple-gold saber on his shoulder, he laughed heartily and started to speak, but the laugh caught in his throat. Clutching his stomach, he broke into a violent coughing fit that lasted quite a while. *Cough! Cough, cough, cough, cough!* The coughing was so severe it sounded like he might hack up a lung. The comical display made it impossible to connect him to the master of that breathtaking purple-gold blade-light... Gem Witch: "..." After a while, this head-concealing "Grandpa KFC" finally caught his breath. Then he looked up again, his expression behind the bucket turning solemn as he offered the witch a very friendly, earnest reminder: "Grandpa KFC's warm reminder once again: "Next time, remember to cut off their heads directly!"