Chapter 2 Face
Li Yelai's actions stirred something inside "Doctor Wang", or rather, the Skin Stripper.
Ever since he had acquired this ability, he had hunted many humans, replacing and assuming their identities, freely indulging in their disparate lives.
He particularly reveled in committing heinous acts under the guise of others, under the incredulous stares of the victims who couldn't believe what they were seeing.
There were resistors, of course, but none who, after seeing his true face, would dare to approach and intent on attacking him. This was the first!
The normal reaction of prey is to flee in terror, yet this one chose to go against the current, facing him head-on?
Such courage is commendable, but futile nonetheless!
He was a chosen one, striding toward a higher echelon of life, with the prospect of being divine!
How could mere mortals compare? What is resistance? What is a struggle for life?
In the face of absolute power, there was only one outcome!
He thought this, swiftly leaning forward, his muscles tensed in preparation to strike.
He had targeted Li Yelai because, in Doctor Wang's patient records, he had found him to be a particularly suitable candidate.
Abandoned by his father, mother deceased, only a sister confined to the home due to a psychological disorder depended on him.
For the Skin Stripper, seeking to hide, it couldn't be more perfect. Nobody would notice Li Yelai being replaced.
However, just as the Skin Stripper prepared to launch forward, Li Yelai gathered all his strength not to retreat but to advance, charging forward as well. With his left hand, he reached into his backpack, threw it with all his might at the Skin Stripper, and pulled something out.
The Skin Stripper was unfazed, dismissing the backpack flying toward his face without a moment's hesitation.
However, as the backpack was knocked away, Li Yelai swung his left hand again, a white powder shooting quickly towards the Skin Stripper's face.
Caught off guard, the powder plastered the Skin Stripper's face, the powder clinging to the flesh where the face should be, naturally also covering his lidless eyes, and in an instant, he was blind. Forced to stop his charge.
It was quicklime!
One of Li Yelai's tactics against the Black Shadow.
He had long made the worst-case preparations for the existence of the Black Shadow and had done much to ready himself.
He had even sought advice from a Scavenger who sold goods at the antique store.
While the Skin Stripper was blinded by the quicklime, Li Yelai burst forward, swinging an axe aimed at the Skin Stripper's neck with a chopping strike!
Against such a monster, he couldn't consider himself safe until its head was severed.
Yet, the Skin Stripper's left arm shot out, incredibly catching the blade of the axe, even clamping down on it.
To catch a blade barehanded with precision, even while blinded by quicklime?
Li Yelai was astonished but dared not pause, as by now, there was no turning back!
He decisively let go of the axe.
With a Burst Step forward, he clenched his fists, his middle fingers protruding, and crashed both hands down on the Skin Stripper's temples.
Then, grabbing the Skin Stripper's neck with one smooth motion, he pulled violently towards himself, while his right knee swiftly struck the Skin Stripper's forehead.
Having his head hit by the knee, the Skin Stripper's body staggered backward.
Li Yelai then took a bow-step and heavily elbowed the Skin Stripper's chest,
Directly forcing the Skin Stripper to stagger several steps back!
Double Peak Piercing Ears! Neck-Wrapping Knee Top! Bow-Step Top Elbow!
This was a set of dangerously sinister fighting techniques, especially the first move, Double Ear Piercing, which was meant to strike the ears but instead landed squarely on the temples—a move that could easily kill with a single blow.
If one had to pay for medical expenses, this set of moves could saddle Li Yelai with debt for decades.
Yet, after the sequence, Li Yelai quickly clutched his neck, feeling blood gushing out between his fingers as he helplessly knelt on one knee.
As he endured the combination of moves, Li Yelai, too, was attacked. A concealed blade had swiftly opened his neck.
"If I were still mortal, I'd probably be dead by now, wouldn't I? You're a bit more dangerous than I imagined..." Skin Stripping looked up at Li Yelai with a terrifying smile, "Too bad..."
His right arm hung limply, the skin shattered without bleeding, revealing raw red muscle beneath. The muscle writhed and extended, eventually allowing a sharp blade to emerge from the depths of the arm's flesh. This was the weapon Skin Stripping had hidden under his skin.
It was precisely this bizarre blade that sliced open Li Yelai's neck in an instant.
And it was at this moment that Li Yelai noticed the air around Skin Stripping visibly congealing.
The gelatinous air was like an invisible barrier.
The prior quicklime attack, along with the ax strike containing Li Yelai's full power and the subsequent combo, were all blocked by this sphere of air, unable to pierce through even a sliver!
The disparity between them was too great.
Even with all his tricks, Li Yelai hadn't managed to harm him in the slightest.
Instead, his own neck had been slashed.
Li Yelai knelt on one knee, eyes darkening, the immense fear of life and death seizing his body, stiffening him as he futilely clutched the wound on his neck.
As the threat of death loomed, his mind reeled with defiance and horror.
In an instant, numerous images flashed before him.
He saw his sister, reminding him to be careful on his way out at the front door.
He saw his mother's tender gaze before she passed away and her comforting sign language.
He saw the silhouette of his father, who had left to earn a fortune in the wasteland, never to return.
At the same time, he caught a glimpse of that dark figure in the endless gloomy nightmares, turning back in an instant!
Was this... my life flashing before my eyes?
No, I don't want this life review!
If I die, my sister will be truly helpless. What will happen to her illness? I haven't earned the money for her treatment!
Overwhelmed by regret and fear, Li Yelai struggled to stand, but his vision was blurring, and his pupils were dilating.
He was dying....
"I will take your place and look after your sister well. Don't worry, she will be happy..." Skin Stripping, unscathed, approached step by step. He intended to meticulously strip off Li Yelai's skin and become the new Li Yelai.
He didn't know that it was those very last words that caused Li Yelai's eyes to widen.
A surge of rage made his already dilating pupils focus once again.
This bastard, he even wants to harm my little sister?
I can't... I absolutely can't let this monster live!
He still had one last card to play!
The final, most dangerous trump card!
In that instant, the approaching Skin Stripper suddenly felt a tremendous danger.
Every organ in its body trembled, and the previously vague inspirations were now clearer than ever before.
Confusion flashed in the Skin Stripper's eyes, but it accelerated toward Li Yelai.
It didn't understand why a dying prey could evoke such a sense of crisis.
But it had a feeling that it must kill Li Yelai immediately!
Otherwise, something very terrible would happen!
But... it was too late!
Li Yelai, clutching his bleeding neck, managed to say.
"I'm right... here!"
Li Yelai had to kill this monster, this threat to his sister, at all costs!
Even... if it meant attracting even bigger monsters!
Yes, he... deliberately called upon the Black Shadow that had entangled him for years!
And as Li Yelai actively summoned it, it was as if Pandora's box had been opened.
Everything around was frozen, the scattering quicklime, the flowing blood, all came to a standstill in that moment. Even the Skin Stripper was immobilized.
A force Li Yelai could not comprehend froze everything in an instant.
And at the same time, Li Yelai saw that dark figure once more.
Its twisted body dragged four thick chains, walking through this frozen space. Passing by the Skin Stripper, it came before Li Yelai, looking down at him.
It seemed to mock Li Yelai's misery.
"I've finally found you."
Black Shadow's words were enigmatic and profound, its voice neither male nor female, yet Li Yelai understood the meaning.
Even now, with less than a meter separating them, Li Yelai couldn't see its face, only vaguely perceiving it to be a monster with countless tendrils and tusks, clad in a black robe.
It slowly extended its arm, seemingly inviting something. It was like making a deal.
In the back of his mind, multiple voices warned Li Yelai to reject it! Even in death, he must reject it!
Otherwise, the world would face a terrifying end!
A terrifying end?
Ha, what could be more terrifying than dying himself, leaving his family to face danger and suffering?
Ignoring those faint voices, Li Yelai didn't hesitate and reached out to grasp Black Shadow's arm.
In that moment, the world seemed to change something, or perhaps nothing changed at all.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Black Shadow chuckled lowly, its laughter growing louder and finally becoming a declaration that shook the world.
At the same time, one of the chains that bound it shattered loudly. It seemed that the deal with Li Yelai brought it closer to breaking free from its constraints, and who knows what disaster would unfold if all the chains were to break?
And while it laughed, it extended its finger to touch Li Yelai's forehead, piercing his brain.
Li Yelai's brain throbbed in an instant, his soul felt as if it were being torn apart.
A power was forcibly unlocked. His soul seemed to break free from his dying body, seeing a wider world, a wider universe!
"Go witness the heroes, imitate them, become one! Make your choice, move in the direction you desire! Even if you must travel against the current from this Netherworld!" Black Shadow dissipated into Li Yelai's shadow, its words echoing in Li Yelai's mind.
And before him, visions of a bloody ancient battlefield flickered.
On the bloody battlefield, a peerless fierce general silently embraced the woman in red who drew her sword and took her own life before him.
Then, the general, wielding a long spear, led twenty-eight riders, charging toward thousands of Iron Cavalry!
'The heavens forsake me, and it's not the fault of war!'
'Follow me to slay the generals, shatter the enemy, and defeat the army again!'
With unstoppable might, he slew hundreds of War Soldiers, leaving broken men and horses in his wake!
The number of knights following him dwindled, but his momentum only grew stronger.
Alone on his horse, yet he had the might of a thousand troops!
Unmatched upon the Battlefield!
When his Warhorse finally neighed and collapsed.
The general cast aside his long spear and drew his treasure sword.
The awe-inspiring Heavy Pupil overlooked thousands of the Iron Cavalry, bursting into fearless laughter.
Not a single one of the thousand Iron Cavalry dared to attack first.
In that moment, Li Yelai felt as if he was living the experience, as though he himself was that unparalleled warrior!
'The valour of the Feather, unmatched throughout the ages!'
...
On the other side, the Skin Stripper, sprinting forward, changed its expression as an immense sense of danger prompted it to react in an instant.
That is, to immediately retreat!
But the next instant, a silhouette had already appeared in front of it.
The Skin Stripper saw the other's face; the handsome features showed no sign of fright but instead revealed a Face.
A face black and white in contrast.
Those eyes held terrifying Heavy Pupils!
Li Yelai? No, absolutely not!
"What exactly are you..." The Skin Stripper was immensely shocked, then saw Li Yelai raise his right hand, transforming it into a hand blade, cutting down fiercely!
In the blink of an eye, it faintly saw a long weapon emerge from thin air!
The Heavy Pupil Overlord, clad in Heavy Armor, dancing with a single-handed maneuver, a long spear cutting down!
Overlord's dance, Single-handed Eighteen Strokes!
"Overlord of Western Chu!"