Chapter 10: The Straight Blade Under the Moon

The sharp, broken cane pierced through the monster's brain, extinguishing its life force. Yet, its momentum remained.

Its massive body fell like a cannonball, crashing into Lin Qiye, who had been holding the broken cane, and knocked him to the ground.

In the end, Lin Qiye had only been able to kill this monster thanks to his abnormal dynamic vision and the angelic power he had used. His own physical strength had not increased. This monster easily weighed over two hundred kilograms, and with his current strength, he wouldn't have been able to shake it off in such a short time.

Moreover, after using the angelic power, it felt as if all his strength had been drained. His entire body was exhausted, and he even felt dizzy.

At that moment, the second monster, which had been hiding at a distance, made its move.

This lurking hunter finally revealed its ferocious fangs!

Its four limbs raced across the dark, flickering streetlights, casting eerie, swaying shadows. A long, crimson tongue twisted unnaturally.

Lin Qiye could see its movements, but now, he had no strength to avoid it. All he could do was watch as the monster's teeth grew larger before his eyes!

When the monster was just two meters away, Lin Qiye's pupils suddenly contracted!

Within his sensory range, something faster than the monster was rapidly approaching!

It seemed… to be a person?

A real person.

*Whoosh—!*

Lin Qiye saw a blur before his eyes, and a figure descended from the night sky. Landing firmly on the ground, a violent wind from his descent billowed his dark red cloak, revealing the side of a middle-aged man's face.

He wasn't handsome, nor ugly—just an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, like one you might casually encounter on the street, someone easily overlooked.

But the murderous intent in his eyes was as glaring as a sharpened blade!

The man crouched, eyes locked on the monster that was less than a meter away, his right hand firmly gripping the hilt of a blade on his back.

*Cling—!*

A crisp sound rang out as the blade was drawn from its sheath. The pale blue edge reflected the faint moonlight as it sliced through the heavy air, cutting silently toward the monster!

It was a simple, unadorned straight blade!

The blade clashed with the monster's claws, sending sparks flying.

Zhao Kongcheng growled, his muscles tensing, and he took a forceful step forward!

The monster, which was nearly the size of a bear, was actually pushed back several steps!

Lin Qiye watched in disbelief. Having fought the monster himself, he knew just how terrifying its strength was. Yet this man in front of him had actually forced it back?

Who exactly was he?

After pushing the monster back, Zhao Kongcheng moved in a peculiar, fluid manner, his movements almost like a parasite clinging to the monster. With every swing of his straight blade, deep gashes were left on the monster's body!

The monster howled in pain, its hateful eyes glaring at Zhao Kongcheng. Its long, spear-like limbs raised, attempting to kill this annoying human.

However, two flashes of blade light appeared, and the monster's forelimbs were severed!

Before the monster could scream, Zhao Kongcheng's eyes erupted with a cold gleam, and his straight blade slashed toward the monster's neck!

The pale blue blade easily sliced through the monster's flesh, and in the next moment, its head was tossed into the air...

Rolling to the ground.

*Crack—!*

The straight blade slid back into its sheath, and the dark red cloak was splattered with the monster's blood. But the color of the cloak was so similar to the blood that it was barely noticeable.

Zhao Kongcheng didn't even glance at the monster's body. Unhurriedly, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a long drag, and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"The two Ghost-faced ones are taken care of. Let the logistics team handle the cleanup."

After speaking, he pocketed the walkie-talkie and walked over to where Lin Qiye had just scrambled to his feet.

Lin Qiye simply stared at him, and he, in turn, stared back at Lin Qiye.

Under the moonlight, amidst the bloodstains, the two men silently gazed at each other…

After a long pause, Zhao Kongcheng couldn't hold back anymore and spoke first.

"Was I cool just now?"

Lin Qiye:…

Lin Qiye stared into his eyes for a moment, realizing that the man was serious. He could only reply in a deadpan tone, "Cool."

"Good, I knew I was cool." Zhao Kongcheng grinned. "You want to be as cool as me?"

"No."

"…" Zhao Kongcheng's mouth twitched. "Why?"

"Because it's easy to die."

Lin Qiye's expression was utterly serious.

Zhao Kongcheng was momentarily speechless. "But you saw it yourself just now—you have the supernatural power that ordinary people dream of. Don't you want to be a superhero like in the movies?"

"No."

"…Because it's easy to die?"

"Yes."

Zhao Kongcheng rubbed his temple. This kid didn't seem like an easy person to deal with, yet he was caught up in all this mess. And to top it off, he had such powerful abilities…

"Well, let's talk somewhere else. This place isn't ideal for a conversation," Zhao Kongcheng suggested. "By the way, my name's Zhao Kongcheng. I'm not a bad guy."

"Lin Qiye," Lin Qiye blinked and nodded obediently. "I trust you. You wait here. I'll go grab my backpack. My study materials are still inside."

"…Go ahead, go ahead." Zhao Kongcheng waved him off, sitting down on the curb, feeling a bit frustrated.

If an ordinary person had gone through this, they'd be trembling in fear. Yet this kid was still thinking about getting his study materials…

The most frustrating part was… he'd been rejected outright.

Damn it, I pulled out all the stops! Those few slashes earlier were practically flawless!

Even when sparring with the captain, I hadn't tried that hard!

Speaking of which, I still don't know how the captain's doing. The Ghost-faced King isn't easy to deal with…

Zhao Kongcheng sat there, smoking, lost in thought.

Lost in thought…

Hmm?

Something didn't feel right.

Zhao Kongcheng suddenly snapped out of it, took half a second to react, and then jumped up, quickly scanning the area…

Where did that kid go?!

Zhao Kongcheng stood frozen for several seconds, mouth agape, unable to believe what had just happened.

"Damn it, this kid ran off?!" 

…

"Brother, why are you so late today?" Yang Jin asked, looking at the exhausted Lin Qiye with confusion. "Where's your cane?"

Lin Qiye slipped on his slippers and forced a smile. "Had a little incident on the way. I accidentally lost it."

To avoid Yang Jin seeing the bruise on his temple, Lin Qiye quickly wrapped the half-broken black cloth back around it. The cane was definitely broken, but rather than bringing it home and worrying his family, he chose to dispose of it.

"It's fine. We can just get another one… Is everything resolved?"

"Mm, resolved."

Xiao Hei rushed over from the balcony, nudging Lin Qiye's leg with its head before rolling onto its back, exposing its belly.

Lin Qiye sighed, crouching down to rub its belly while asking, "Has Auntie come back yet?"

"Mom's working the night shift. She'll be home in the morning."

"Alright. Did you finish your homework?"

"Just a little bit left."

"So much homework in middle school... It's insane." Lin Qiye stood up, complaining as he spoke to Yang Jin. "It's fine, if you're tired, don't do it. If the teacher scolds you, tell him to come talk to me, I'll sort it out with him."

Yang Jin's mouth curled into a smile as he nodded, "I'll be done soon."

Lin Qiye nodded. "I'm a bit tired, so I'll go sleep now. You should sleep early too once you're done."

"Alright."

Exhausted, Lin Qiye dragged himself into his room, just about to close the door when Yang Jin's voice came again.

"Brother... is everything really okay?"

"It's fine, go to bed early... Oh, the milk's in the fridge. If you wake up early tomorrow, heat it up yourself."

"Got it, brother."

"Good night."

"Good night."

The door softly closed, and Yang Jin, holding Xiao Hei, stood silently outside, staring at Lin Qiye's room.

He gently rubbed Xiao Hei's head. "You feel it too, don't you?"

"Woof!"

He looked up at the dim moonlight outside, murmuring to himself:

"There's the smell of blood on him…"