SWNOVELXO Chapter 296: Immortal's Grasp
A chuckle tugged at his lips as Zhu Haomiao softly consoled.
"I told you we're fated to meet, why struggle?"
In the terrified and twisted gaze of the burly man with a black face, the young man raised his arm. A sinister, serpent-like Qi Force materialized palpably in the palm of his hand, undulating and writhing like a living creature.
"Don't be afraid, becoming my sustenance is your supreme honor."
Seeing the young man slowly approaching, the burly man instinctively struggled to retreat, his back hitting the wall.
"No! Don't come over, ahhhhhh!"
...
Outside the prison, the ground beneath Yan Yunsheng and his comrades shook violently, and faintly, they could hear a ghastly, chilling scream emanating from deep underground.
Swallowing hard, the group exchanged anxious glances, urging Yan Yunsheng to go down and take a look.
"The opponent is a Sixth-Rank master; Inspector Li is so young, what if he suffers a loss?"
"That's right, go down and give him a hand. We'll be here guarding; if the enemy rushes out, we'll risk our lives to hold him back!"
...
Hearing his subordinates' mixed opinions, Yan Yunsheng hesitated for a moment, then cautiously gripped his long knife and stepped into the prison.
Although he knew the chances of Li Lin suffering a loss were small, the life-and-death battles were extremely perilous, and anything could happen. With him helping from the side, he could act as a human shield at a critical moment...
Clutching his chest, his internal organs still faintly ached from the shock of the earlier fight, but with a firm expression, Yan Yunsheng gripped his weapon and cautiously walked toward the stairs leading underground.
But at that moment, light footsteps echoed from the stairwell, and a slender, graceful silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.
Seeing the unharmed young man stepping out of the shadows with a satisfied look, Yan Yunsheng breathed a long sigh of relief, sheathing his long knife and cupping his fists in salute.
"My lord."
"Hm."
Smiling, Zhu Haomiao nodded to Yan Yunsheng and calmly instructed.
"Everyone who participated in this operation should be credited."
Then, the young man's expression changed, looking up at the sky with sorrow and compassion.
"Additionally, submit a tragic report to the General Office: a deranged Sixth-Rank murderer charged into our bureau's prison, killing anyone he saw, resulting in all the serious criminals in the underground cells meeting an untimely end. I hope the General Office will promptly send someone to verify identities and close the case."
Yan Yunsheng: "..."
Hearing the young man's words, Yan Yunsheng, now calm from the earlier adrenaline rush, suddenly realized Li Lin's strange behavior.
So he let the enemy into the prison on purpose!
The purpose was to... balance the accounts?!
Hiss~
Taking a sharp breath, Yan Yunsheng looked at Zhu Haomiao with an indescribable expression, wanting to speak but stopping short.
In such a tense and dangerous situation just now, as a veteran officer, I never thought of such a cunning move. How did you think of it so quickly?
How are you so skilled at this?!
Overcoming his surprise, Yan Yunsheng quickly composed himself and began to check for any oversight and omissions.
"I understand, my lord, that Sixth-Rank murderer..."
Yan Yunsheng slid his palm across his neck like a knife, seeing which Zhu Haomiao sighed with lament.
"No need to bother, the madman was a killing machine; in my fear, I accidentally killed him."
Hearing this, Yan Yunsheng breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Good... dead with no witness...
No, wait!
Covering up murders, my lord, how are you so professional at this?!
Once again, casting an indescribable glance at the young man, Yan Yunsheng shook his head, frowning in deep thought.
However, since it was death by attack, those corpses with no external injuries before seemed to have "suddenly fallen ill" and wouldn't be appropriate...
Thinking of this, Yan Yunsheng promptly cupped his fists.
"My lord, although those executed criminals deserved their fate, the dead should be respected after all. I think we should arrange them properly, so when the forensic doctors from above come to verify the identities, they'll look a bit better..."
Understanding the implication, Zhu Haomiao nodded appreciatively.
"You do think thoroughly, I'll leave it to you then."
"As you command!"
Cupping his fists in salute, Yan Yunsheng hurried into the staircase, preparing to drag out the murderer's body and tidy it up together with the "victims'" bodies, ensuring no flaws were revealed.
On the other side, Zhu Haomiao consoled the injured constables, confirming there were no life-threatening injuries, and then took out a bowl of [Qilin Soup] and dissolved it for them to ingest, instantly gaining another wave of grateful tears.
Such simple folk... treat them well, and they'd go through fire and water for you...
With a lamenting shake of his head, Zhu Haomiao strolled away, his mind gradually sinking into his body.
[Book of Black]: Devour Source Quality, [Body] +1
The taste of a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist is truly wonderful...
Beef flavor, crispy, nutrition is five times that of small fry!
Unable to help smacking his lips, the young man quickly realized this was due to his ruthless action.
If he had been gentler, using a slow extraction method, certainly, he wouldn't have been able to extract so much Source Quality at once…
After all, it was like killing the hen for eggs. If not for balancing the accounts, he really wanted to spare the opponent's life, keeping him in the dungeon, extracting bits every so often.
Sigh... I've been through starvation; I can't stand wasting food...
Thinking of this, Zhu Haomiao's Divine Thought stirred, seeing the following information, his furrowed brow relaxed again.
[Gluttony] +289
[Gluttony]: LV.1→LV.3 (30/300)
[Body] +3
[Qi] +1
[Essence] +1
[Greed Coin] +27
Raising his hand, a visible snake-shaped phantom materialized in Zhu Haomiao's palm. Staring at this vivid sinister illusion, Zhu Haomiao rubbed his chin with interest.
With [Gluttony] upgrading to LV.3, the energy level increasing to silver, both the power and frequency of this move seemed considerably enhanced...
Thinking of this, the young man was suddenly struck with an idea.
Gotta give this move a name!
Right!
It must sound imposing, so when shouting out the move later, it'll look cool... no, it'll intimidate the enemy!
Controlling the snake-shaped phantom with undulating motions, Zhu Haomiao propped his chin, thoughts swirling.
Serpent Bite?
No, too simple and crude.
Heart-Gouging Hand?
Emmmm... seems to reveal something...
Pondering for a while, a spirit light suddenly flickered in the young man's mind, recalling a talent from a game in a past life.
[Immortal's Grasp]!
"Very well, you'll be called Immortal's Grasp from now on!"
With a hint of wicked humor, Zhu Haomiao's lips curled, and as his five fingers clenched abruptly, the eerie serpent phantom's eyes gleamed with ghostly green malevolence, jaws opening to a 180-degree grotesque bite, as if invisibly crushing something.
Disperse the Qi Force; the young man hands clasped behind his back, strolling leisurely out of the Anti-theft Bureau.
Meanwhile, in a high-floor private room of a nearby tavern, a luxuriously dressed lady leaned by the window, gazing pensively in the direction of the Anti-theft Bureau.
Although the view was obscured by trees and walls, she couldn't see what was happening inside, but the shouts of chaos had ceased, and the previously chaotic, unsettling aura gradually returned to calm...