Chapter 319: Chapter 275: Granny Hong
Holding the blood-soaked mask, Wu Zhengwu’s face was exceptionally unsightly, What was even more chilling was that the other half of the corpse’s face had also turned plastic, much like the mannequins they had seen previously, with a gray eyeball set in the shattered eye socket, filled with a sinister aura of death.
Looking at the strange mask in Wu Zhengwu’s hand, everyone felt varying degrees of dizziness. The peculiar patterns on it seemed like a vortex, ready to suck in anyone who got close, when suddenly, a semi-transparent bag was placed over the mask, blocking everyone’s line of sight.
"Don’t look at it, this thing is strange."
The speaker was Wu Zhe, who deftly put on a pair of silver gloves and carefully took the mask from Wu Zhengwu’s hands, placing it into the evidence bag he had produced.
Yang Xiao had seen a similar bag not long ago, semi-transparent and showing a strange silver hue from certain angles. Wu Zhe had used it to store a shiny hairpin-like Resentful Eye, which he had confiscated from the last Evil Cultivator he had killed.
After sealing the mask completely in the evidence bag, Wu Zhe finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned toward Yang Xiao and gave a slight nod, his tone much more earnest, "Captain Yang, we owe you one this time. I didn’t expect you to have such a treasure on you."
"Not at all, even without me, Captain Wu would have thought of a way to deal with this person, wouldn’t you?" Yang Xiao smiled, not taking all the credit. He spoke the truth because the method of cutting the face to draw blood was conceived by Wu Zhe, and this move had objectively created an opportunity for him.
"Folks, step aside."
After the others backed away, Wu Zhengwu swung his hunting knife and chopped off the corpse’s head, then divided the torso into three sections.
Luckily, Wu Zhengwu was accustomed to using the knife with his left hand, so even though he had lost three fingers on his right hand, it hardly affected his combat capability. Yang Xiao nodded secretly at the decisive actions; indeed, those who worked as investigation team leaders at the Patrol Defense Bureau were all resolute, never leaving any chance for their adversaries.
After all was done, Wu Zhengwu put away his hunting knife and, with the back of his hand, wiped the blood that had splashed on his face, "That should do it. When the tech department guys tidy up the scene, we can collect some body samples to take back for research. This Evil Cultivator had some tricks."
Yang Xiao, looking at the almost dismembered corpse, could not help but frown, as if there was something he couldn’t figure out. Beibei, who was moving her nearly twisted waist, asked curiously, "What’s the problem, Captain?"
"It’s nothing, it’s just..." pausing, Yang Xiao raised his head and looked at Wu Zhe, whom he considered the most reliable among them, "Captain Wu, have you ever clashed with a Venerable Level Evil Cultivator?"
Wu Zhe’s expression froze for a moment, "No."
As if understanding Yang Xiao’s concerns, Wu Zhengwu exhaled slowly, "Captain Yang, rest assured, Evil Cultivators are still human. Chopped up like this, they’re definitely dead. If you’re still not at ease, I can dig out her heart."
"No, no, that’s not what I meant." Yang Xiao quickly intervened, knowing Wu Zhengwu could indeed do such a thing. He wasn’t worried about the Evil Cultivator not being dead; rather, his subconscious told him that a Venerable Level Great Heretic Cultivator shouldn’t have had only this much skill.
He himself possessed four Resentful Eyes, so even a lesser skilled Great Heretic Cultivator should have two or three Resentful Eyes. This single mask hardly seemed sufficient for anything significant.
After expressing his doubts, Beibei and the others smiled with relief and Wu Zhe patiently explained to him that more Resentful Eyes were not necessarily better; their strength and the compatibility with the user mattered most. Under special conditions, different Resentful Eyes might also repel each other, which could be disastrous for the user.
Simply put, Resentful Eyes weren’t simply a matter of quantity; compatibility was most crucial. Considering the compatibility of the Resentful Eye with the mask to the body on the ground, if it hadn’t been for their quick wits, a different team might have faced total annihilation.
Although this explanation made sense, Yang Xiao still felt something was off but did not feel it was proper to say more. The team covered the Evil Cultivator’s solitary head with an old piece of clothing, and Wu Zhengwu carved a mark on the wall before they left. On the way, Beibei sent a message to Sun Qiya, who had been left behind, informing her that the Evil Cultivator had been killed but also reminded her to remain vigilant.
However, after waiting over ten seconds, there was no response. When she sent another message, there was still no reply, triggering a sudden bad feeling in Beibei’s heart. The group immediately quickened their pace towards the children’s playground.
After roughly five minutes of running, Wu Zhengwu, who was leading, stopped and held back the others, "Stop running, something’s not right. It shouldn’t be this far from where we came."
Indeed, after running at full speed for five minutes, there was still no sign of the playground ahead. The mall couldn’t possibly be that large.
Moreover, with only one path, it was impossible they had taken a wrong turn. At this point, instead of panicking, they calmed down. Wu Zhe’s gaze turned peculiarly towards Yang Xiao, "Captain Yang, it seems you were right."
At this moment, Yang Xiao was quite tense with sweaty palms. It appeared that another Evil Cultivator was hidden in the mall, and the one in the red dress had been just a distraction.
But if a mere distraction had almost cost them their lives and even broken three of Wu Zhengwu’s fingers, the one lurking in the darkness could be incredibly dangerous.
Without further ado, Yang Xiao was convinced this person was the Venerable Level Great Heretic Cultivator.
This was trouble.
And there was Sun Qiya, with whom contact was lost—it was feared the outcome was grim.
"Don’t panic. This time we walk slowly. Captain Wu, take the lead. I’ll cover the rear." With Wu Zhe and Wu Zhengwu taking the front and back, both capable of defending themselves, firearms were of little use now. In case of an attack, close combat was likely, and Yang Xiao’s martial arts were not up to par.
