Chapter 200: Chapter 151: The Spirit-Startling Art Shows Its Might, Brother Hu Wants Revenge
Chen Ze had joined the Zoo as a contract security guard after leaving the military.
Yang Qi had never seen him in action or sparred with him privately, so he had no way of judging his skills.
But the burly man currently pinning him down and beating him was, Yang Qi could tell at a glance, no pushover.
Though his footwork was slightly sloppy with rage, the man’s core was stable. The coordination between his shoulders and elbows was fluid when he threw a punch. His strikes were short and vicious, aimed at vital points like the jaw and ribs, yet he cleverly controlled his force to inflict a "beating" rather than a "lethal blow."
These weren’t the wild swings of a street thug; this was the work of systematic training—either kickboxing or Sanda, with plenty of real-world combat experience to boot.
Given Chen Ze’s background as a veteran, if he were to fight back without restraint, he might have had a chance to hold his own or even win.
But the problem was, Chen Ze couldn’t fight back.
He was a security guard at the Zoo. When facing a visitor—even one who was an assailant—his duty was to stop, defend, and control, not to get into a brawl.
The moment he struck back, win or lose, he’d be slapped with the label of "security guard assaults visitor." The lightest consequence would be a severe reprimand; getting fired or even facing legal charges was a real possibility.
He could only block, dodge, and try to restrain the man’s arms. But faced with a clear disadvantage in strength, size, and fighting skill, his constrained defense quickly crumbled. He took blow after blow to his face and body, splitting his lip and rapidly bruising the area around his eye.
If Yang Qi himself were to step in and fight, he would face the same problem. But he had a better option.
In a flash of thought, he mobilized his Magical Power, gathering it at his fingertips. The Shocking God Technique was ready.
Just as the burly man, cursing again, swung his fist viciously toward Chen Ze’s already swollen cheek, Yang Qi’s gaze hardened, locking onto his target.
"Go!"
A silent ripple of Magical Power, mingled with a faint, imperceptible spiritual shock, instantly crossed the several-meter distance and entered the burly man’s sea of consciousness between his brows.
The man’s fist, less than an inch from Chen Ze’s cheek, froze in mid-air.
The ferocious violence on his face instantly solidified. Then, as if he were seeing the most terrifying thing in the world, his pupils dilated wildly, and the color drained from his face, leaving it ashen white.
"A ghost... A ghost!!!"
A shrill scream that sounded barely human erupted from his throat.
The burly man snatched his fist back as if he’d been burned. He staggered backward in terror, his feet tangling together. With a THUD, he fell to the ground, then scrambled backward on all fours. A dark, wet patch quickly spread across his pant leg.
He had actually been scared into incontinence!
???
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone around—the onlookers who had been pointing, gasping, and trying to intervene. Even Chen Ze, his vision blurring, was completely bewildered and had no idea what was going on.
But Zhang Chenghu had no mind for anything else. Fear had completely flooded his senses.
In the illusion that now filled his vision, the lush, tree-lined path had transformed into a ghoulish netherworld. The ordinary passersby and tourists had all become twisted, horrifying monsters with green faces and long fangs, lunging at him with sinister grins.
"Ghosts! Ghosts!"
"Don’t come near me!"
"Get away!!"
Tears and snot streamed down Zhang Chenghu’s face as he scrambled and rolled on the ground, flailing his arms wildly. With his crotch soaked, he was a picture of utter humiliation.
Trembling, he tried to get up, but his legs were too weak, and he failed several times. Finally, driven by pure survival instinct, he scrambled away in a random direction.
Just as he reached an intersection, he ran straight into Chief Zhao, the head of security, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, along with several guards carrying rubber batons.
In Zhang Chenghu’s twisted perception, Chief Zhao’s stern, square-jawed face and security uniform had morphed into that of an even larger, more ferocious monster king!
"A mon... a monster!!!"
Zhang Chenghu let out an even more ear-splitting shriek. Not daring to stop, he veered sharply and fled for his life down a side path leading to the park’s bamboo forest.
He hadn’t run more than a few steps before his left foot tripped his right. With a THUMP, he took a nasty spill, face-planting and rolling several times on the gravel path, instantly scraping his elbows and knees.
But he seemed to feel no pain. He scrambled back to his feet and continued to sprint, letting out incoherent, terror-filled howls as he ran.
"Where is this? How did I get here?!"
"Ghosts... Ghosts! Stay away! Don’t chase me—!"
His terrified cries and the sound of his frantic footsteps quickly faded as he disappeared deep into the bamboo forest.
He left behind a crowd of dumbfounded onlookers.
Zhao Dalong and the other guards hurried to the scene. Seeing the mess and the cuts on Chen Ze’s face, he frowned and asked in confusion, "What happened? What was with that guy who just ran off?"
Yang Qi, who had already helped Chen Ze up, put on a perfectly timed expression of bafflement and lingering fear. "Chief Zhao, we’re not sure either," he replied. "That guy suddenly started hitting Brother Chen. In the middle of it, he just froze, and then ran off screaming and yelling like he’d seen a ghost."
"Did he suddenly go crazy?" a still-shaken tourist chimed in.
"He must’ve had a seizure! Look at the state he was in."
"That guy definitely has some mental problems. There was something wrong with his eyes."
"I think so too. Did he... pee his pants?" a young female tourist whispered.
"No ’did he’ about it. I was close by and saw it crystal clear, hehe..." another male tourist said, a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.
The surrounding tourists all started talking at once, quickly concluding that the incident was a case of "a mentally ill person having a sudden episode."
