"Looks like Big Brother Liu gave his baby quite a few upgrades," Bai Zhou muttered to himself, feeling a surge of relief.
Fortunately, both the chassis and the windows had undergone special reinforcements. Otherwise, the car body would have crumpled long ago under those ferocious impacts. Instead, it served as a secure fortress plowing through the monstrous tide, riding the wind and cleaving the waves so the two people sitting inside remained as steady as Mount Tai.
"The Major's Type-3 Black Warriors, huh..." Bai Zhou glanced out the window at the giant, hunchbacked monstrosities sprinting across the long distance.
To run at such speeds on a slick elevated expressway was something Bai Zhou frankly couldn't match on foot.
If he channeled spirituality into a short burst, he could produce that kind of speed, but only for an attack, not a long-distance sprint... There was a fundamental difference between the two; otherwise, he wouldn't need a vehicle in the first place.
The physical endurance of these monsters was patently superhuman. Completely devoid of intellect, they entirely disregarded exhaustion and energy expenditure, pursuing like hyenas latched onto prey. He just didn't know what level their combat capability reached.
"Let's test what they're made of."
With that in mind, Bai Zhou rolled down the window and locked eyes with the monster outside.
Wrapped tightly in black cloth strips, the Black Warrior's head had two scarlet eyes that blinked twice.
It sprinted at top speed, straining with everything it had to keep pace with the Maserati. Seeing the window suddenly roll down, it immediately braced to pounce. But Bai Zhou was faster—he gave the massive revolver in his hand a light shake.
He even curled his lips into a smile, nodding at the Black Warrior outside as if saying, *Tough shift, bro, want a smoke?* At the same time, the cavernous black muzzle of the massive gun appeared squarely in front of the hunched monster's face.
"This packs quite a punch," Bai Zhou remarked.
The next instant—
*"Do!"*
A tremendous roar detonated out of thin air. The air rippled with visible shockwaves, resembling the crash of gunpowder but far more like the blossoming chord of a piano—the "do" of *do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti*.
Fang Xiaoxia was dumbfounded. She had assumed Bai Zhou was some mysterious thug, but who would have thought he was a... musician?
Yet this music was extraordinarily lethal. The moment the piano note sounded, the monster's head burst like a watermelon. Blackish-red fluid sprayed in all directions, only to be forced back by the shimmering ripples in the air.
When the droplets splashed onto the asphalt, they sizzled and hissed with corrosive fury, chilling anyone who beheld it to the bone.
"His head... his head!"
Fang Xiaoxia's eyes widened. A "person's" head had just been blasted to pieces right in front of her. The sheer fragility of life made her finally grasp what kind of existence was seated beside her with such an unruffled expression.
"Y-Y-You just killed someone?!"
"He's not human." Bai Zhou shook his head, as calm as if he had merely sliced open a watermelon. "Besides, if people can kill me, I can naturally kill them too... This is a fight to the death, girl. Even if it takes the most despicable, cruel methods, we must win. The slightest hesitation leads to fatal defeat!"
Even as his voice fell, the massive revolver in his hand roared again, like thunder piercing this deep, rainy night.
The black-and-white alternating frame of the gun mirrored piano keys, the contradiction and harmony of light and shadow blending seamlessly upon it. It was like a miniature piano held in the hands of a trench-coated thug, playing out a lethal score.
The rain grew heavier, the drumming of splashing water serving as accompaniment to the movement.
Bai Zhou floored the accelerator while simultaneously wrenching the steering wheel with one hand. The tires ground against the slick pavement, kicking up sparks. A shrill, piercing shriek of scorched rubber dragged across the road, and as the smell of burning rubber wafted in, the interior of the car spun wildly.
*"Do~ re~ mi~ fa~ sol~ ti~"*
The melody echoed as the vehicle spun. Amidst the dizzying rainy-night waltz, Bai Zhou held the gun in a reverse grip, flicking his wrist toward the window as the revolver clicked and spun.
Each time the spinning cylinder settled, a new note chimed, and a black figure toppled. Then the black-and-white piano revolver clicked into another spin in his hand—crisp, neat motions that left Fang Xiaoxia dazzled.
The man spinning across the elevated expressway with the window down looked like an elegant yet mad pianist in this moment. But he accompanied only death, dancing alone amid the slaughter.
Fang Xiaoxia had never seen anyone like this. Clutching her head, she trembled inside the car, yet between the cracks of the fingers covering her face, she kept watching Bai Zhou's composed demeanor, momentarily transfixed. It was as though she could draw a sliver of calming solace from him.
Yet Fang Xiaoxia's expression quickly morphed into sheer terror once more.
From the corner of her eye, she distinctly saw the headless figures in black—the ones whose heads had been blown apart by the revolver—struggling to climb back to their feet under the streetlights on both sides of the bridge.
These headless figures swayed and stumbled, giving chase to the Maserati once again.
"They can move even without heads?" Fang Xiaoxia felt as if she were seeing vengeful specters coming to claim her soul.
Right then, the car interior whipped into another dizzying spin, and Fang Xiaoxia, strapped into her seatbelt, jolted up and down.
Bai Zhou had slammed hard on the brakes. The gauge needle plummeted rapidly, tires scraping the ground as the car hovered on the brink of losing control.
A screeching shriek of noise dragged on.
In the blink of an eye, the front and rear swapped places. The drifting rear swept around violently, carrying heavy momentum as it swung down, sending the headless Black Warriors flying.
*Crash!*
The headless figures were smashed against the side railing; several tumbled straight over the edge, plunging off the expressway like dumplings dropping into boiling water. With a screech, the car shot forward again, leaving a cluster of Black Warriors lunging into empty exhaust fumes.
Bai Zhou pressed the pedal to the floor. The eight tailpipes spouted flames, and the Maserati surged ahead like an unbroken wild horse.
"No wonder they're upgraded Black Warriors..." Bai Zhou muttered under his breath. "Now decapitation doesn't even kill them."
Not long ago, he had warned the Gem Witch that crushing the hearts of these "Old Blacks" was useless and that she should go straight for decapitation next time... Who would have guessed that this new breed of Old Blacks had overcome even that weakness?
Stronger, and far more troublesome!
By now, Bai Zhou had a fairly solid grasp of their capabilities.
Once caught by these Black Warriors and hemmed in by their encirclement, even a Level 5 Extraordinary could only sit and await death.
...And worse, these monsters excelled most at tracking. There were virtually no enemies they couldn't catch or encircle!
Bai Zhou was relying entirely on this specially modified Maserati as an armored turret, firing Light-Shadow Harmony at close range to carve out a sliver of hope for escape. Otherwise...
Bai Zhou preferred not to dwell on that picture.
Yet throughout this process, Bai Zhou had also reaped a welcome surprise.
*Hummm...*
Light-Shadow Harmony thrummed with a continuous low buzz, the scalding barrel primed to loose another salvo. Every time it fired to play a chord, a monster's head detonated. The black-and-white revolver felt almost like an extension of Bai Zhou's own body, moving with his thoughts and intimately connected with his will.
Bai Zhou could clearly sense that Light-Shadow Harmony's power today was significantly greater than before.
At such close quarters, even Bai Zhou himself would meet only one end if struck by Light-Shadow Harmony: having his head blown apart.
Concealed within Bai Zhou's body, the Intent Seed that had advanced to Stage Three was channeling something indescribable along his flesh into Light-Shadow Harmony. It seemed to bring the firearm to life, vastly enhancing its power to the point where it could deal lethal damage to Level 4 or even Level 5 Extraordinaries.
"No wonder every Extraordinary weapon is priceless!" Bai Zhou felt invigorated. He had known anything Crow once used wouldn't be simple.
This reminded Bai Zhou of the words Crow had impressed upon him when handing over Light-Shadow Harmony:
*"Light-Shadow Harmony—an Extraordinary weapon that chooses its master."*
*"Every time you strike a 'key,' it is a mastery over the balance of light and shadow."*
*"Be mindful, however: it continuously draws upon your will to reload its ammunition... Only one whose will is steadfast enough can play its movements!"*
"Will..." Bai Zhou blinked twice.
Battle intent was naturally a form of will.
So only a Level 5 Extraordinary who had touched the power of will could truly unleash the full might of this revolver?
Bai Zhou tightened his grip on the revolver. The muzzle flare flared even brighter. Rather than showing fatigue from having his will drained, Bai Zhou felt his battle intent boiling hotter and hotter.
A thought flickered across Bai Zhou's mind.
Had he... truly earned the full acknowledgment of Light-Shadow Harmony now?
*"La~ do~ re~ mi~ sol~"*
Like a pianist striding toward a symphonic death march, the Maserati spun and danced among the Black Warriors, lunging left and breaking right, sending headless figures flying every so often.
The car interior whirled dizzily. Dazed, Fang Xiaoxia stared blankly at the windows; both the windshield and side windows were spattered with foul black blood, creating a truly horrifying scene.
It was like Hell itself.
Just then, she remembered what Bai Zhou had told her a moment ago:
*"Charmander, welcome to the real world."*
So entering the real world meant stepping into this maddening hell with damning lucidity?
Were all you people lurking behind the world's curtain... actual demons?
Under Fang Xiaoxia's horrified gaze, even the piano-like revolver seemed like the mourning staff or soul-snaring chain held by an underworld emissary. The youth used it to blow monsters' heads off with the casual ease of a child playing Whac-A-Mole at an arcade... and he even seemed a bit thrilled?
Yet the Black Warriors appeared endless. The black tide threatened to drown the tiny Maserati, and though Bai Zhou broke through multiple times, they were plunged into fresh encirclements again and again.
The trident cleaved through the waves but could not reach the edge of the dark sea; the proud swan beat its wings but could not fly clear of the specters' dragnet.
Sitting inside the car felt safe, like resting within an impregnable fortress. Yet even an empire upon which the sun never set eventually met its twilight—where on earth could there be a truly unbreakable fortress? Watching the monsters scrambling outside and the black blood being washed away by the torrential rain, Fang Xiaoxia unconsciously pulled her legs in and hugged her arms.
"Are we... am I going to die?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"I don't know." Bai Zhou shook his head. "But I think not."
"Why?"
Fang Xiaoxia wanted to say that she didn't care what he thought or what she thought; she wanted an objective answer. Or perhaps she merely wanted some comfort—solace that both of them would survive.
Because amid the siege of countless two- to three-meter-tall monsters, only this boy was driving the Maserati, speeding along with her like a tiny boat rocking atop a stormy sea with room for only two.
They were as helpless as two young monsters lost in the Land of Light, two people on the verge of freezing huddled together for warmth on a blizzard-swept, rainy night. Yet no one knew when the flame before them would gutter out, or whether they could survive this long winter night.
She just wanted both of them to live.
"Because if you die, it means I can't survive either... Barring any accidents, if the pursuers catch up, I'll die before you." Bai Zhou's response was as crisp and direct as always. His gaze aligned with the muzzle of the revolver, fixed intently outside the window. "So when I say I think you won't die, it's actually that I hope you won't die. Do you get it now?"
"Right now, it's not a question of whether *you* will die—it's *us*," Bai Zhou said. "We're already grasshoppers tied to the same string. If even I don't have confidence, we might as well just put our hands up and surrender. Maybe they'll spare my life seeing as I know how to play music."
"U-Us?" Fang Xiaoxia was stunned.
Bai Zhou's words didn't truly persuade Fang Xiaoxia, after all; what he said sounded purely like subjective blindness without any objective analysis.
Yet strangely, Fang Xiaoxia believed him.
Just as Bai Zhou believed he could fight his way out, Fang Xiaoxia came to believe in Bai Zhou.
Because he had said *us*...
He didn't say "me," he said "us." This was the first time Fang Xiaoxia had experienced such a peculiar feeling. If someone was willing to shoulder your life, what right did you have not to trust him?
She could only trust him. She had to trust him.
Even if he was a "stranger" shrouded in mystery.
As it turned out, Bai Zhou was indeed worthy of that trust.
*Whoosh!*
Streaked with rainwater and flecks of gore, the car shot out from the cluster of monsters like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, tearing away into the distance.
After breaking through the Black Warriors' encirclement for the fifth time, the Maserati's modified body was battered and dented, its front bumper torn away. The wreckage bore witness to the harrowing battle it had just endured.
Yet in the space illuminated by the headlights ahead, not a single Black Warrior was in sight. Only the remaining stretch of the elevated expressway lay straight before them, reaching into the deep darkness. The inclined steel suspension cables on the bridge seemed to lead toward the sky. Dim yellow streetlights retreated rapidly on either side. A dozen or so Black Warriors pursued relentlessly from behind, and beyond them, even more headless giant monsters converged into a terrifying tide.
Yet the Maserati remained out in front, holding a commanding lead!
"We're... out?" Still trembling with shock, Fang Xiaoxia asked, "Are we safe for now?"
Her question cut off abruptly. She stared blankly at Bai Zhou's face.
She watched Bai Zhou tuck the massive revolver back into his coat. The man's coat seemed to house a four-dimensional pocket that could swallow anything without leaving the slightest bulge from the gun.
And then—
Bai Zhou pulled out a blade over a meter long from inside his coat.
Yes, over a meter long, and gleaming, making Fang Xiaoxia's eyes nearly pop out of her head.
The blade bore rippling, water-like patterns, its edge suffused with a purple-gold luminescence as if alive and breathing. Mounted at the hilt was an enormous, ostentatious gemstone that practically screamed showmanship.
Yet the moment Fang Xiaoxia looked at it, a sharp ache stabbed her eyes, as though pricked by some unseen edge.
She hastily averted her gaze. The sleek, elegant contour lingering in her memory told her it was a... saber.
A purple-gold cavalry saber?
*What in the world... Where did he pull that thing from?*
*Where on earth was he hiding a sword that long?*
Yet what drew Fang Xiaoxia's attention most was the expression on Bai Zhou's face.
Having maintained an effortless composure even when surrounded by the monsters, Bai Zhou had now turned uncharacteristically grave. The sharpness in his eyes mirrored the edge of the blade in his hand. His entire aura seemed to undergo a total metamorphosis.
Outside, the rain was clearly pouring harder, yet the world seemed to fall dead silent in an instant.
Ahead on the bridge toward which the Maserati sped, at the edge of the dark expanse where the headlights could not penetrate, a warped, terrifying sense of foreboding seemed to lurk.
"W-What's wrong?" Fang Xiaoxia's heart skipped a beat, and she ventured a quiet question.
"One wave settles, another rises. What we just saw was merely an appetizer, just like that glass you drank at the restaurant... well, the one that helped you spit fire."
Bai Zhou uttered words that made Fang Xiaoxia want nothing more than to jump out of the car and leap off the bridge.
"Where I come from, there's a saying: out of the wolf's den, straight into the tiger's lair."
Then Bai Zhou added something that turned Fang Xiaoxia's face pale with fright:
"Back home, there's a little tale about that saying..."
"The gist of it is: the reason you get wolves ahead and tigers behind is that the wolves were always the tiger's underlings."
Finally, Bai Zhou said:
"Something big is coming."
"This might be the most treacherous roadblock before I can get you into the safehouse."
Glancing at the pursuing silhouettes in the rearview mirror, Bai Zhou steered with one hand and held the saber in a reverse grip with the other, resting more than half the blade outside the window. The purple-gold edge sliced diagonally through the wind and rain, parting the air itself.
"So... what's waiting for us up ahead?" Fang Xiaoxia's eyes went wide.
She truly could not fathom how those colossal monsters chasing behind the Maserati could be mere appetizers.
What on earth did she possess to attract such mind-boggling, bizarre horrors?
The ordinary life she had led for eighteen years felt in this moment like a dream that had never happened. If she hadn't clenched her fists to find that she still lacked the strength to truss a chicken and was even borderline unhealthy, Fang Xiaoxia might have actually believed she was the protagonist of some story...
"Well, waiting ahead might be a Painter, or perhaps a Deformed Child," Bai Zhou said with a nod. "Or maybe both."
"A Painter? A Deformed Child?" Fang Xiaoxia could not comprehend how those two terms could sound so jarringly out of place at such a tense moment.
"In our world, there's usually a title used to describe people like them..."
Bai Zhou curled his lip.
"—Titled Extraordinaries!"
Fearing Fang Xiaoxia wouldn't understand, Bai Zhou added an explanation:
"Roughly equivalent to gods in the eyes of ordinary people. They've come out in person to block your bridge."
*Gods? Blocking the bridge?*
Fang Xiaoxia understood this time, but understanding only terrified her silly. She would have preferred it if Bai Zhou had been teasing her with a bad joke.
"Then what do we do?"
"Nothing we can do. Looks like we were surrounded from the start."
Bai Zhou shook his head. "We just do what we did before. Only back then, I used a gun."
"Now, I'm using this."
The youth gave the ornate purple-gold saber in his hand a light flourish.
Fang Xiaoxia had wanted to ask for a while now: setting aside where the blade had come from, why switch to a sword when he had a perfectly good gun—and a cavalry saber at that? *Bro, are you some spiritual heir to a cavalry regiment?*
Even if the Maserati was faster than any steed, this wasn't the golden age of cavalry anymore. Times have changed, sir...
*Are you going to launch a knight's charge against actual gods?*
Yet Fang Xiaoxia keenly noticed that the tighter the youth gripped the hilt, the calmer his expression became.
The grim visage from a moment ago was gradually relaxing, as though the weapon imparted some mystical power to him.
"Things have come to this, so I can only rely on this old partner once more."
Ignoring the headless shadowy pursuers in the rearview mirror, Bai Zhou floored the accelerator. The elegant yellow swan seemed to blaze with light, charging straight toward the deep darkness at the end of the expressway.
"...With this blade, I'll cut down every last one who stands in our way!"
Chapter 181