Volume 1, Chapter 21: Addressing the Root Cause

Zhang Xiaoyan collapsed onto the wooden table, her fate uncertain. Seeing this, the supervisor, who had been cowering in the corner by the table, let out a shriek. He then seemed to remember something, scurrying along the wall to flick the room's light switch. The entire room plunged into darkness. I could only make out through the moonlight that Ma Fei, standing near my window, had yet to join the fray, perhaps stunned by Zhang Xiaoyan's gruesome state. He clutched his machete in one hand, his back slightly hunched, while his other hand—I knew not from where—had pulled out a switchblade, which he kept hidden behind his back. In the blink of an eye, a series of strange, wailing cries erupted from the scuffle, then...

Night fell once again. For Yuan Shuai and his group, this was a critical night. The four of them hid in a mahjong parlor next to the living room, where Yuan Shuai could clearly observe the scene through the glass door. Seeing the opportunity, Yao Lao flew in with a swoosh, and Li Fu promptly triggered the mechanism at the entrance, sealing it shut.

Henziger’s body shuddered, his previously straight posture slumping instantly. For any Frenchman, the collapse of the Maginot Line was hardly a surprise, but the news arriving right before the negotiations was ill-timed indeed.

"...... Master Li specifically set this aside, fearing Master Li Jun might be hungry if he arrived unexpectedly." Even during the renovations, Li Jun had visited 'Yipin Tianxia' frequently, offering many suggestions and overseeing Master Ma’s work personally. Because of this, everyone at Yipin Tianxia knew that the relationship between Li Jun and their employer was extraordinary.

But this six-second casting time was just ridiculous. Never mind six seconds; he could close the distance in two and beat her to death. Such a skill was only useful as a stationary turret when someone else was holding the frontline.

Zhao Lei disagreed. While killing adventurers yielded badge fragments and seemed the most cost-effective method, anyone with a brain knew that targeting adventurers was no simple task.

With that, Mulgin abruptly pulled the trigger of his pistol. A crisp "bang" echoed, accompanied by a thick cloud of acrid gunpowder smoke that dissipated into the surroundings.

Li Tianyu didn't mind; he only wanted to study this manual to see if he could truly cultivate.

***

After hearing everyone’s account in the room, Yuan Shuai glared at the sheepish Old Luo. After all, it was Yuan Shuai who had personally healed Old Luo’s ankle injury, and faced with the man he had misunderstood, Old Luo wore a rare look of embarrassment.

They hadn't bought sleeper tickets, only seats, but for Hai Kui, this was comfortable enough.

Roman had watched Olga Marie grow up; he could easily guess her thoughts just by observing her expressions.

Was it already this late? The nurse hurried to get out of bed, not even bothering to wash, and rushed to Feng Rou’s room next door.

But this defied logic. His father had told him that cultivating a divine body required forty-nine days of sleep, yet he had used only one.

Despite his injuries and the overwhelming disadvantage, the boy did not give up.

His dual blades had a special property: once released from the wielder's hands, they would be mutually attracted, automatically locking together. The "Crane Wing Triple" was a technique developed precisely to exploit this, delivering a strike that was impossible for the enemy to dodge or fully defend against.

Then, in the sky and on the ground, the two Elizabeths—one in her growth stage and one in her mature stage—charged at each other, instantly stirring up a thick scent of blood and gunpowder.

"I heard your house was burned down..." Feng Cheng lifted his defiant chin, watching her with a playful gaze.

Bao'er gasped. This trip to Yunzhou had truly opened his eyes; every slight and look of contempt he had ever faced in his life had been realized here.

Fortunately, just as she was feeling uneasy and letting her imagination run wild, Su Yun came to her rescue and led her away.

Behind her, a burly man with the build of a tiger, wielding a thick, thorny club, was in hot pursuit. The commotion was so great that the neighbors all rushed out, craning their necks to watch this rare spectacle of a spouse being caught in the act.

Saying this, Si Zhu took a handful of fish food from her sleeve and scattered it. Immediately, the goldfish swarmed to snatch the feed.

If he truly chased them every time they traveled, how could he still be extorting money from a hotpot restaurant?

Ryan rubbed his chilly head, thankful that he had added hair-growth tonic to his study list earlier.

"You're hurting me!" Yang Aowu said, though her face was smeared with charcoal, it could not hide her arrogant temperament.

***

Echizen frowned almost imperceptibly. Although that ball had dozens of afterimages, there had always been only one shadow on the ground. How could Edogawa not know this? If he just focused on the shadow on the ground, he could definitely return the shot. Why was Edogawa throwing away three games for nothing?

She was strong, with no shortcomings in any aspect. She was cute and well-behaved, and although she talked a bit much, her words were always pleasant, leading to her high popularity with the audience.

With the moon high in the sky, Yagyu walked home, with Fujiwara following closely behind. Although she knew Yagyu was skilled, she couldn't rest easy letting her return to Kanagawa alone, especially so late at night.

The rustling footsteps vanished, and armed police officers emerged from the shadows. Hearing the sirens outside the villa, what else was there to understand?

I don't know which scout let out a roar, but the entire scout team, as if racing to be reincarnated, sped back to the main force, abandoning their armor and weapons in a wretched state.

"Husband, it is getting late. Let us drink this wedding wine and rest early." Shangguan Qingxue held up a wine cup, approached Master Yijie, and whispered softly.

Xu Chen did not realize that his imprudent action only confirmed his guilt of colluding with monsters. Seeing him try to flee, Su Liu Nian flickered, intercepting Xu Chen on the deck.

Li Chao wanted to tell Bai Shan at that moment, but for some reason, the words stuck in his throat. He could only offer a perfunctory remark before turning and diving into the cockpit.

"My lord, I've found something! There are no traces of smoke inhalation in the tracheae of these two corpses," the coroner shouted.

Big Brother Dalong felt as if the sky were falling. Being caught red-handed in such a scheme, it would be a miracle if he were let off lightly.

Before anyone could react, a pitch-black figure rushed out of the forest, soaring into the clouds. Bathed in the sunlight, the flying object finally revealed its true colors.

Liu Qingqing did not decline; she took the battle armor from Luo Hao, scanned it with her divine sense, and activated it instantly.

The locations of the other two seemed to be constantly changing. Last time, this one was near New York; now it was in New Mexico, home to the U.S. Scientific Research Center's weapons laboratory. The other was on the West Coast, near San Francisco.

Because merchants were continuously moving into Lingnan, inns, restaurants, shops, and all sorts of businesses were beginning to spring up.