Chapter 34: Chapter 33: The Ferocious Heavy Hammer! (Part 2)
The man with the ear stud was actually quite exasperated, because the mysterious X was just some rogue super, not a member of any official department.
For a moment, the atmosphere inside the abandoned factory grew somewhat awkward.
He Xiaotian frowned as he looked at the giant ball of ice.
’I hammered all the kappas to death, so what are you still doing cowering in there?’
’You aren’t afraid of a dozen or so White Wraiths.’
’And I’m handling the shadow figure.’
’Do modern people really love slacking off this much?’
’Ice Man, search your conscience. Are you really earning the rank of Third-Class Police Superintendent and the ten thousand yuan the country pays you?’
"Ice Man, come out and finish him! Otherwise, I’ll kill your teammate first, and then I’ll kill these ordinary people."
’Well, what do you know! The big boss is a surprisingly quick thinker.’
’He actually thought to use the Ice Man against me.’
"Hey, come on out! I’ve got a big surprise to show you," He Xiaotian yelled toward the ice ball, hefting the Big Hammer in his hand.
The Ice Man: "..."
’To hell with you!’
’A big surprise? Like hell I’d believe you! You freakishly strong bastard, you’re bad news.’
’I just saw with my own two eyes how you sent that other superhuman, the shadow, tumbling with a casual throw.’
’With my frail body, one hit from that hammer would be a final farewell to this world. My colleagues would be holding my memorial service.’
"BOOM!"
He Xiaotian moved, his entire body shooting like a bolt of lightning toward the shadow’s position.
At the same time, he leaped high into the air, hammer held in both hands.
He brought it down with the force of a landslide.
’Son of a bitch!’
The shadow cursed inwardly. ’Weren’t we just talking things over?’
’Why’d you just attack without a word? You’ve got a bit of a temper, don’t you!’
An attack from He Xiaotian, who had flown into a full-blown rage, was not something one could easily block.
Because he was so fast, the shadow had no chance to escape.
He had no choice but to grip his blade with both hands and try to withstand the blow.
"CRASH!"
And the shadow... well, it was a tragedy.
Through the moonlight, the man with the ear stud could clearly see that the anomalous katana shattered on impact.
That’s right, shattered, not broken.
The long, elegant blade must have broken into more than a hundred pieces.
’Holy crap!’
’What a waste!’
’If we could have recovered that, the academy could have produced another superhuman from it.’
’But this mysterious X... isn’t he a bit too ferocious?’
’Every anomalous item is supposed to be unbelievably tough.’
’But you just smashed it to bits by swinging a big iron hammer? Seriously, just how strong are you?’
The shadow was completely dumbfounded. His source of power was just... gone?
A sharp pain in his chest reminded him—yep, it was really gone!
"BOOM!"
A spray of blood arced through the air and splattered on the ground.
The shadow, the mastermind behind it all, was now embedded in the concrete wall—the kind you couldn’t even pry out.
If the katana hadn’t absorbed ninety percent of the force for him, he would have been history by now.
[Ding! You have destroyed the heavily damaged Blade of Resentment. Gained 5000 Experience Points.]
"What?"
’A broken blade is worth five thousand Experience Points?’
He Xiaotian was stunned. ’That’s even more powerful than the Pig Grudge!’
’If this were my old self, I’d probably be on my knees, admitting my complete defeat to the shadow right about now.’
The very instant the blade shattered, a dozen white, ghostly figures shot out, lunging straight for He Xiaotian.
As a brave and Unrivaled hammer-man, how could he possibly fear such phantoms and ghouls?
Without a second thought, he swung his Big Hammer and brought it crashing down.
’I don’t give a damn what you are.’
’I’ll just hammer you!’
The flaming heavy hammer instantly clashed with them.
"HISS!" "HISS!"
Puffs of black smoke rose from the White Wraiths, and the flames on the hammer flickered as if doused by cold water, nearly going out.
The Inner Strength in He Xiaotian’s Dantian was consumed at a tremendous rate.
Of course, compared to his vast reserves of Inner Strength, this small amount was nothing.
[Ding! Killed White Wraith. Gained 100 Experience Points.]
The notification in the upper-left corner of his vision flashed eleven times in a row.
"They’re this weak?"
’The Blade of Resentment?’
’So his ability to control the White Wraiths was granted by that katana?’
"You bastard!"
Seeing the White Wraiths he had painstakingly raised get hammered to death by He Xiaotian, the shadow was so enraged he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
’Why would a person like this show up in a remote place like Z County?’
’This freakishly strong man in a mask could probably arm-wrestle a legendary monster, couldn’t he?’
"Alright, the appetizer was delicious. Now it’s your turn."
He Xiaotian gave the shadow embedded in the wall what he thought was an amiable smile.
Unfortunately, he was wearing a mask with a pig’s nose drawn on it, so the other man couldn’t see it at all.
"CLANG!" "CLANG!"
He dragged the iron hammer with one hand, walking toward the shadow step by step.
In the silent factory, the sounds of his footsteps and the dragging hammer were undoubtedly the summons of the Death God, inspiring boundless fear.
"I-I-I... I surrender!!"
"???"
’Well, aren’t you a clever little bastard.’
He Xiaotian hadn’t expected the shadow to have so little integrity.
But you couldn’t really blame him for raising the white flag. After the Blade of Resentment was shattered,
aside from having a physique about three times stronger than an ordinary person, he truly had nothing left.
Faced with the savage He Xiaotian, it would be stranger if the shadow *didn’t* surrender.
Besides, what kind of principles could you expect from a villain?
If he had any principles, he wouldn’t have done all these wicked things in the first place.
However, He Xiaotian had no intention of letting him go. Although the katana and the kappas were the main sources of Experience Points, this guy would surely provide a decent amount himself.
Even if it was just a few hundred points, every little bit helps!
"CRACK!"
The sound of something shattering came from behind. He Xiaotian didn’t even need to turn around to know that the man with the ear stud had emerged from the ice ball.
"X, don’t kill him yet. I need to ask him some things."
His tone wasn’t demanding, but rather carried a hint of a request.
’X? Is he talking about me?’
He Xiaotian glanced down at the gilded "X" on his chest.
"Ask."
’He’s with an official department, after all. Better not to make enemies if I can avoid it.’
’Besides, the shadow is already in the bag. With the Blade of Resentment shattered, what could he possibly do to fight me?’
"Were you behind the incident at the Zhongcheng Slaughterhouse? What is your purpose in Z County? And the disappearances—your previous work was flawless, so why did you command the kappas to leave so many obvious clues? And what about the organization behind you?"
The man with the ear stud’s interrogation made the shadow breathe a sigh of relief.
’As long as I have value, I don’t have to worry about that freakishly strong guy turning me into a pancake with his hammer.’
’You’re just some rogue who awoke powers on his own. How could you possibly go up against an official department?’
So, for the sake of his own life, he cooperated fully.
"The Zhongcheng Slaughterhouse was part of the plan. I used the Blade of Resentment to open a fissure to the netherworld, about the length of a pinky finger. The netherworld’s aura seeped out, causing the years of accumulated baleful energy in the slaughterhouse to mutate.
This led to one of the butchers being corrupted and turning into a怨体. Because of the 怨体’s appearance, a lot of the meat became tainted with a wisp of that aura. Once the 怨体 evolved into a怪, it could have instantly taken control of Z County’s population of over three hundred thousand people.
Unfortunately, there were problems during the evolution process, causing some of the people who ate the resentful meat from the slaughterhouse to erupt prematurely. If the Pig Grudge had just a few more days, he would have succeeded.
As for why I left so many clues, it was simply because I didn’t have enough White Wraiths. Even with the Blade of Resentment, it takes a lot of energy to control them. And the descent of the Gluttonous King could not be delayed any longer.
As for the organization behind me, you must guarantee my safety and pardon my crimes. After I’m safe, and you agree not to pursue my actions in Z County, I will give the government a full account of the organization behind me."
The words had barely left his mouth when, before he could even sigh in relief, a spiked iron hammer came flying toward him.
Under the shadow’s astonished gaze, it smashed viciously into his head.
"BANG!"
Blood and bone fragments flew everywhere.
The man with the ear stud stared, completely flabbergasted.
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