Chapter 91: Mutual Destruction, The Death of Boss Zhang

In truth, Bian Changxi hadn’t been trying to provoke him—she was just telling the truth. She genuinely wanted Shadow to leave, and her sarcasm toward A-Gang was partly because, facing what seemed like certain death, she wanted to mock this man one last time. She really couldn’t stand him.

But things took an unexpected turn.

Shadow had actually been waiting for A-Gang to slip up. He could feel the skin and flesh on his back melting, the toxins seeping in, making his body stiff and heavy. That shot A-Gang fired earlier hadn’t hit him; he’d shifted his position just in time and pretended to be wounded, all to lower his opponent’s guard.

He had to take out these three while he still had strength left.

Lowering his head slightly, Shadow gathered his power in both hands, preparing for a decisive blow.

A-Gang was also ex-military, a special forces soldier, but even among special forces, there were levels. To Shadow, this guy was riddled with weaknesses. Even though he was now unarmed and the odds had shifted, he still had a chance.

One step, two steps—he drew closer. As A-Gang reached out, the moment his hand touched Shadow’s hair, Shadow exploded into action. He twisted A-Gang’s arm, sprang up, and drove his knee hard into A-Gang’s abdomen.

Crack—

A-Gang’s shoulder was instantly shattered, his abdomen caved in, and he couldn’t even cry out. Shadow slammed his head forward and up, dislocating A-Gang’s jaw. Blood gushed from A-Gang’s mouth like a blooming flower.

Shadow released his grip, ready to snap A-Gang’s neck, but just then, the elite man opened fire on him.

Shadow staggered back.

All of this happened in an instant. Bian Changxi was stunned for a split second, then blurted out without thinking, “Condense the mist—make a blade! *Cough, cough...*”

A-Gang wasn’t just a paper tiger; those two blows hadn’t been fatal. He immediately recovered and lunged at Shadow, grappling with him. Shadow, distracted by Bian Changxi’s shout, hesitated for a split second. In that moment, a thick layer of ice swept down from above, covering him completely.

He froze in place, caught in a bizarre pose—literally turned into an ice statue.

A-Gang roared wildly, “Ha! Who’s looking down on who now? Thought you could sneak up on me—”

His words were cut short.

A flash of white light swept across his throat, glinting in the air before embedding itself in a tree stump—a thin, curved white blade that quickly dissolved into mist and vanished.

A thin red line appeared on A-Gang’s neck.

A moment later, that line split open with a wet sound. Blood spurted out, and his head was nearly severed, hanging by a strip of flesh as it lolled backward.

His upside-down head wobbled for a moment, his wide eyes still trembling with disbelief.

Boss Zhang and the elite man stared, eyes bulging as if they might fall out. They couldn’t even process what had just happened.

Wasn’t Shadow supposed to be losing? How did the tables turn so suddenly?

A chill ran through the elite man’s heart as he glanced at Shadow’s outstretched hands—his fingers were poised, not frozen.

Before he could react, he felt a cold, then hot sensation at his throat. He instinctively touched it, saw blood on his hand, and collapsed backward in terror.

At least his death wasn’t as gruesome as A-Gang’s.

The mist blade had cut A-Gang first; by the time it reached him, its power was spent.

Boss Zhang screamed, unable to keep up with this terrifying fight. He drew his pistol, wildly aiming in all directions.

Bian Changxi was still in a daze, staring at Boss Zhang. Suddenly, she shouted, “Watch your back!”

Strangely, she didn’t even know why she warned him.

It made no sense, but Boss Zhang didn’t think twice—he spun around in panic, and the next second, a bullet struck him in the back and he collapsed.

Bian Changxi, left hand gripping a regular pistol, right hand bracing the left, both hands shaking uncontrollably, had somehow managed to hit him.

She kept the gun trained on him, making sure he was down for good, then slowly crawled toward the frozen Shadow. He was up on a slope, and she struggled to reach him. After much effort, she managed to grab hold of him, only to slip and fall back down.

The slick ice statue slid down after her, thankfully not crushing her.

She quickly pulled out her small hatchet and carefully chipped away at the ice around his head.

Luckily, the ice wasn’t too thick, and some of A-Gang’s hot blood had already started to melt it. She soon broke the ice off Shadow’s face, revealing his unconscious, bruised features.

“Shadow?” She slapped his face, frantically checking his breathing—he was still alive.

Thank goodness. She tried to channel some energy into him, but with a pop, the tier-three crystal core in her hand crumbled to dust. She hurriedly switched to her last tier-two core, only to find she couldn’t absorb even a sliver of energy from it.

No matter how hard she tried, her powers wouldn’t respond. The last bit of energy in her body was completely stagnant.

She froze, her hand sliding off the ice, mouth open, head drooping, her whole body overwhelmed by exhaustion.

A feeling of utter hopelessness.

She looked at her battered body, at the pile of crystal core dust, at her trembling limbs—overdrawn from using her powers—and thought of the people who’d caused all this. Her cold, hateful gaze slowly turned toward Boss Zhang as she staggered to her feet.

Boss Zhang had managed to roll onto his side, struggling to get up. Oddly, the bullet didn’t seem to hurt or bleed, but he’d lost all control of his limbs.

Bian Changxi walked over and looked down at him, letting out a cold laugh. “So you’re tougher than I thought. Should’ve killed you earlier.”

Boss Zhang’s lips trembled as he glared at her, unwilling to accept defeat. “Even if I failed, someone else will finish the job. Just you wait… No, you’re almost done for too. Ha! See you in hell.”

Bian Changxi smirked, and a syringe appeared in her hand out of nowhere.

Boss Zhang’s eyes widened. “Spatial ability? You—”

She glanced at him, her voice tinged with pity. “Looks like your boss didn’t tell you everything. *Cough, cough…* This isn’t spatial ability. It’s…” She paused, “a special power.”

“Is it related to the jade bracelet?”

“Tell me—who sent you?”

Boss Zhang clammed up.

Bian Changxi twirled the syringe between her fingers, her voice hoarse and strained. “Know what this is? I’m guessing it’s some kind of truth serum. Never used it before. You can be my test subject.”

She’d gotten this syringe from the 4S shop. At first, she hadn’t known what it was—just that Gu Xu seemed to have something similar. Later, after reading the English on the box, she’d guessed it was for interrogation.

Boss Zhang was clearly panicking. “Don’t try to fool me. If you had something like that, you’d have used it already.”

Without another word, Bian Changxi jabbed the needle into him.

Boss Zhang’s body went rigid, then he started thrashing, convulsing, screaming in agony.

“Okay, okay! I’ll talk! It was Sun Buqun! Sun Buqun sent me! Please, help me!”

Sun Buqun? Not Zhu Yunhua?

“Who is he? Isn’t Zhu Yunhua your boss?”

“Zhu Yunhua? Who’s that?” Boss Zhang cried, banging his head on the ground in pain, snot, tears, and urine all coming out. “Oh, wait, I remember—he’s the rival of our employer. Our boss hired us to ruin his company… Ahh! It hurts! I swear, I don’t know what else is going on! Sun told me to do it! Let me go, it’s not my fault!”

Suddenly, he started foaming at the mouth, convulsed violently, then went stiff, eyes wide open—dead.

Bian Changxi stared blankly for a long while, then her body gave out and she slumped to the ground, finally lying flat on her back.

She sprawled out, staring dazedly at the night sky above the forest.

Sun Buqun. Sun Buqun.

She vaguely remembered the name—he really was Zhu Yunhua’s rival before the apocalypse. But why him? Why this random person?

Then she laughed at herself. Who knew if she’d even survive—what was the point of thinking about this?

Right, she needed to call for help!

She finally remembered, fumbling for her earpiece. But her left hand wouldn’t even close properly—the earpiece sat in her palm, but she couldn’t bring it to her ear.

Heh, she really was out of strength.

Even if she called for help, Gu Xu was probably still in Longyue Town.

She closed her eyes in exhaustion.

“Hiss—hiss—” A strange, raspy sound echoed, accompanied by the slow dragging of something long across the ground. That peculiar, fishy stench filled the air again. Bian Changxi’s heart skipped a beat. She opened her eyes and looked up.

A pair of huge, blood-red eyes peered through the trees.

Shadow’s mist had dispersed, and though her vision was blurry, she recognized the mutant snake.

Why wasn’t this thing dead yet?

She gave a bitter laugh. Was this the end for her?

Her smile froze. No, she couldn’t die in a snake’s belly—nothing could be more disgusting.

She could still enter her storage, but what about Shadow…?

Gritting her teeth, she tried to roll over, but she really had no strength left. She was still several meters from Shadow, and tears welled up in her eyes.

The snake’s head appeared at the top of the slope.

That massive head, the thick, foul saliva, the heavy, raspy breathing—Bian Changxi was paralyzed with despair.

The snake’s body stretched and contracted; in a blink, it could swallow Shadow. She even wondered if, after Shadow was eaten, she should hide in her storage.

It felt so cowardly, but being eaten by a snake… ugh.

Her mind was a muddle of random thoughts. Through the snake’s gaping jaws, she vaguely saw a dark lump—was that a human head?

And those bulges in the snake’s belly—what were those?

Her stomach churned, goosebumps rising.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the woods.

“No one move!”

“Search the area!”

“They—they ran into the woods!” That sounded like Wei Xiaodong’s voice.

Then a crowd burst in.

“Shadow!”

“Miss Bian—!”

Bian Changxi’s spirits lifted. Rescue had arrived. She bared her teeth at the mutant snake. “Go on! Get lost!”

Thanks to Longshao ll1 for the safety charm."