676: Chapter 676: Voices in the Night (Looking for Monthly Passes) 676: Chapter 676: Voices in the Night (Looking for Monthly Passes) 3…2…1
The man with brown curly hair watched the changing numbers on the elevator’s display, his brown eyebrows furrowed slightly.
The polished elevator doors reflected his current appearance, a red leather jacket, brown wide-leg Capri pants, and a long sword sheathed in leather fastened at his waist.
The silver hoop earrings hanging from his left and right ears gently swayed with his movents.
Ding—
The elevator’s display showed ‘-1’, and the tightly closed doors slowly parted to either side.
The man’s right hand slowly reached towards his left waist, grasping the hilt of the sword.
The scene outside the elevator door gradually ca into his view.
A deep, narrow corridor, dim lighting, a silent space, and in the middle of the corridor, standing with a crutch full of cracks, an elderly man in a sharp suit with salt-and-pepper hair.
“Elderly gentleman, I didn’t expect we would et so soon.”
The man watched the old man in front of him, his muscles tense, holding the sword hilt, carefully stepping closer to the elevator.
“That drone from Green Olive Street last night?”
He Ao looked at him calmly, “You were watching from behind the drone?”
“I was rely following the minister and watching from the sidelines.”
The man gripped the sword hilt, half-crouching.
“Your minister is ‘Shadow Cutter’?” He Ao watched him, “The head of the Evolution Acolytes in Saint Joen City?
Then you are…
‘Blood Wolf’?”
“It seems ‘Scorpion’ really did give you a lot of information,”
The man slowly drew the cold blade from its sheath, then swiftly removed the sheath from his waist and threw it aside, “So, elderly gentleman, how should I address you?”
“Cito.”
He Ao raised his left hand, taking out a butterfly knife from the inner pocket of his clothes.
The tallic sheen of the knife handle danced in the air, unfolding to reveal the sharp blade, “Over a month ago, did you capture a couple on Moke Street?”
Moke Street, that’s where Kavi, Cito’s son, had his house.
“Over a month ago?”
Blood Wolf raised his eyebrows, smiling at He Ao, “I caught many people there, maybe there was a couple among them,”
He placed the thin knife in front of his chest, slightly turned sideways, pointed the knife at He Ao, and took a starting stance,
“Elderly gentleman, Scorpion isn’t so easy to beat, I guess your body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
A powerful oppressing feeling emanated from his body, “If you want to know if there was a couple among those people, you might go down and ask them yourself.”
C-level, not as strong as the boss of the Scorpion Gang, but close enough.
He Ao raised the cane in his right hand, his Divine Sense swiftly engraving a Strengthening Magic Array on it.
Almost at the sa mont, Blood Wolf swung his knife, aiming straight at He Ao’s face.
He Ao activated Super mory, lifting his cane vertically, his legs slightly bent, channeling all his strength into his arms in just that instant.
Clang—
Just as the thin knife was about to strike He Ao’s face, the cane, covered in cracks, suddenly flicked to the right.
This sudden move disrupted Blood Wolf’s force, as the cane knocked the blade to the right, pulling Blood Wolf’s body off to He Ao’s right side.
As Blood Wolf’s body shifted, the cane He Ao swung to the right had already swept back from above Blood Wolf’s head and pushed down, followed by an upward swipe.
The sharp tip of the cane grazed Blood Wolf’s neck, leaving a shallow mark while further throwing off Blood Wolf’s balance.
Deflect the blade, retract the cane, swipe the neck.
This set of movents was executed seamlessly, without any pauses.
But He Ao’s attack didn’t stop there.
As the cane swiped upward, He Ao’s body followed the montum to spin to the right, his left hand holding the butterfly knife with the blade pointing upward.
As he spun, the knife danced along his fingertips, switching from blade up to blade down.
Then he sliced horizontally with force.
Almost as soon as the staff had swept across the Blood Wolf’s neck, the sharp Butterfly Knife tore through his clothes at the waist, laying open the flesh beneath.
Accompanied by the splatter of fresh blood, the Blood Wolf spun around, stopping behind He Ao, who also turned to face him.
Droplets of blood, glowing with a violet hue, trickled down the blade of the Butterfly Knife.
He Ao calmly looked at him, “Perhaps you should go down and et them.”
“Old man, judging by age, it should be your turn.”
Clutching the wound on his abdon, the Blood Wolf looked up at He Ao as tendrils of fleshy growth extended from both sides of the wound, interweaving to stop the flow of blood.
Tendrils separated from his back, tearing through his red leather jacket.
These tendrils, each hovering in the air, aid at He Ao, their tips splitting open like petals to reveal sharp bone spikes within.
Whoosh—
With a sharp sound tearing through the air, a bone spike shot out from the uppermost tendril, stabbing towards He Ao.
Thump—
He Ao leapt forward, raising his staff and striking the incoming bone spike.
Plop—
The bone spike was deflected, piercing the thick wall beside them as if it were tofu, sinking deep into its surface.
In this back-and-forth exchange, He Ao and the Blood Wolf had noticeably closed the distance between them.
After their recent close-quarters fight, they were already not far apart, and He Ao, reacting quickly, turned and was about to engage the Blood Wolf at close range again.
The Blood Wolf hurriedly retreated, controlling the tendrils behind him to shoot out more bone spikes.
Thump thump thump—
He Ao raised both his staff and Butterfly Knife, waving them to deflect the three bone spikes once more.
By now the distance between them was extrely close, and the Blood Wolf raised his knife, slashing diagonally at He Ao.
He Ao raised his staff in his right hand, arm crossing his forehead, tip pointing downward to block the slanted cut, then with his left hand holding the Butterfly Knife, he forcefully slashed down on the thin blade.
The Blood Wolf’s wrist shook, and the thin blade was deflected.
He Ao took advantage of the montum to swing his staff, chopping down towards the Blood Wolf’s forehead.
The body of the staff cut through the air, issuing a whistling sound.
The Blood Wolf looked up at the staff, imdiately drawing his tendrils in front of him to block, withstanding the chopping staff.
But what He Ao was waiting for was this mont.
The Butterfly Knife in his left hand, which had just sliced the thin blade, spun at his fingertips from tip downhill to tip uphill, then he thrust his hand forward, stabbing perfectly at the Blood Wolf’s waist.
The Blood Wolf imdiately reacted, controlling the tendrils to block and arching his body back, increasing the distance between himself and the Butterfly Knife.
The sharp Butterfly Knife sliced through several tendrils and stabbed into the wound at the Blood Wolf’s waist again.
Grinding his teeth, the Blood Wolf gathered all his strength and sprung back, while trying to distance himself from the Butterfly Knife, he also attempted to create more space between himself and He Ao.
He had long-range bone spikes, while He Ao did not, making greater distance more advantageous for him.
However, He Ao naturally would not easily give up the engagent and imdiately pursued him.
But instantly, innurable bone spikes shot from the tips of the tendrils, forcing He Ao to divert his attention to block these bone spikes, slowing his steps.
As the Blood Wolf raised his tendrils one by one, the incoming bone spikes beca more nurous, densely packed, making He Ao sowhat overwheld in his response.
Each ti He Ao deflected a bone spike, another two or three would follow imdiately after, with one even grazing his cheek, leaving a bloodstain on his face.
Had this bone spike deviated slightly more, it could have pierced his skull.
If such a ‘bone spike storm’ lasted longer, He Ao might have been broken through his defense, but it seed the bone spikes from the Blood Wolf were not infinite.
After a brief intense barrage, the frequency of the spikes gradually lessened.
anwhile, the Blood Wolf’s tendrils took the opportunity to reach the doors of the Control Room and the feed room, pulling forcefully and tearing both doors off their hinges.
He placed one to the left, and one to the right, attempting to block He Ao’s advance, while they swung towards He Ao.
He Ao went along with the motion, raising his staff and using the crook of the staff to brace against the sandwiching doors, then his left-hand Butterfly Knife sliced through, breaking the other door in half.
His body moved through the gap where the door had split, stepping forward and closing in on the Blood Wolf once more.
The Blood Wolf retreated, imdiately pulling back the other door to shield his body.
At the sa ti, several of his tendrils converged behind the door, their tips opening to reveal densely packed bone spikes within.
This tal door would block He Ao’s sight, and also conceal these bone spikes ready to launch.
His movents were not fast, intentionally letting He Ao close in on him.
These bone spikes were spread across all the blind spots; the mont He Ao got close, the spikes could pierce through the door panel and riddle He Ao with holes.
It was at this mont that He Ao, who had been moving closer, no longer approached from the front but sidestepped around the door panel.
The Butterfly Knife in his hand abruptly raised, bypassing the tendrils in front of him, and swept at the Blood Wolf’s neck.
At this mont, Blood Wolf had no ti to panic that his stratagem had been exposed; he imdiately lifted the slender knife in his hand.
Although the quality of this slender knife wasn’t poor, it had already sustained a deep notch after being struck by the butterfly knife, and it could withstand only one more attack at most.
However, he didn’t raise the knife to guard against the butterfly knife but instead made a slashing attack directly at He Ao.
He had realized that He Ao’s body wasn’t as strong as his, and he could completely trade injury for injury, going on the offensive as a form of defense.
Sure enough, He Ao, who had previously been on the attack, had no choice but to raise his hand in defense against this sudden slash.
But what He Ao used to defend wasn’t the butterfly knife, but his cane.
He lifted the cane in his right hand forward, colliding with the slender knife, and at the sa ti, his butterfly knife followed the montum, turning downward with the blade facing towards the ground.
This ti, Blood Wolf was prepared, and countless tentacles swiftly retracted, shielding the wound at his waist and ready to seize the opportunity to entangle He Ao’s wrist.
And it was in this instant that the cane that had collided with the slender knife didn’t follow through with the expected inertia to the left side, but rather, it suddenly pressed down, concentrating force on the tip.
The heavy cane bent briefly under the imnse pressure, and the sharp tip of the cane thrust downward, piercing through Blood Wolf’s chest.
Blood Wolf’s body stiffened, and he raised his head slowly, looking at He Ao in surprise, “Wasn’t your target my belly?”
That spot in his chest was his energy hub.
“When did I ever say that my target was your belly?”
He Ao watched him calmly.
In the previous exchanges, Blood Wolf had actually always intentionally guarded his chest.
Therefore, He Ao deliberately repeated his attacks on the waist and abdon, creating the illusion that he was mainly targeting that area, and each ti he attacked mainly with the sharper butterfly knife, thereby lowering Blood Wolf’s vigilance towards the cane.
The effectiveness of a weapon does not always depend on its own quality.
“Boy, you’re strong, but unfortunately, you do not know how to control it,”
Although they appeared to be about equal in strength, Blood Wolf did not impose as much pressure on He Ao as Scorpion did.
He Ao raised his hand, forcefully pulled out the cane, and blood splattered, “Now, you have the chance to et those whom you’ve captured.”
He Ao sidestepped, revealing the door to the feedroom that he had been blocking behind him.
Blood Wolf’s body swayed, and his gaze fell upon the people inside the feedroom, confined within cages.
His eyes widened in shock, and he fell forward, tumbling in front of a pile of bloodstained torture instrunts hanging above, landing in a pool of vivid red blood.
“Control Room takeover complete, retrieving host data, copying host data.”
Eve’s voice resonated in He Ao’s ears.
He Ao returned to the Control Room, put the bracelet on his wrist, then walked over to the elevator, pressing the elevator button, and entered the lift leaning on his cane.
“Eve, which floor in this building has the most people fused with the Polluted Monsters?”
He Ao asked.
“The tenth floor, that is where the core mbers of the Evolution Acolytes’ offices are located,”
the sound of Eve’s voice responded.
“To the tenth floor.”
With He Ao’s calm voice, the elevator button for the tenth floor slowly lit up.
——
Outside Saint Joen City Federal Bureau of Investigation Building
“Eek,”
Jia Xi leaned against the window, watching agents in FBI uniforms continuously exiting the building, “What are they doing?”
“They’ve received a ‘report’.”
A gentle female voice emanated from the car system, “Jia Xi, sit tight, we’re departing soon.”
The SUV slowly started.
——
Wanderer’s Aid Foundation・Tenth Floor
He Ao stepped out of the elevator, looking at the workers in the hall, bodies sprouting tentacles here and there, and spoke calmly while leaning on his cane, “Ladies and gentlen, it’s ti to end this.”
The piercing alarm bell rang from outside the window.
“It’s the Federal Bureau of Investigation!
And those bastards from the Pollution Cleaning Departnt!”
The person sitting by the window looked up, glanced outside, and scread in disbelief.
“Boss!
Boss!
Quick, notify the boss!”
“We’ve got to run!”
“The escape route is locked!
What’s wrong with the main control system!”
“Is there any other way?”
“The elevator!
The elevator!”
Amidst the chaos of the crowd’s voices, as the cry for ‘elevator’ rang out, all eyes turned to He Ao, who was standing at the elevator door,
“Kill that old man!”
A loud shout ca from the spacious hall.
Dancing tentacles obscured the light.
He Ao raised his left hand, and the beautiful Butterfly Knife slowly lifted, fluttering in the air like wings.
And with every dance of the butterfly, the immaculate blade would stain with a sar of fresh red blood.
In the chaos, soone shattered the chandelier, plunging the whole area into dim darkness.
But the splashing blood did not stop dancing because of the darkness’s descent.
He Ao’s body moved slowly forward, step by step through the wide hall, and with each step he took, a monster fell at his feet.
Eventually, he reached the floor-to-ceiling window that faintly transmitted the city lights, with the hazy glow spreading along the edges of the window, overlooking the city as bright as daylight outside.
This is the east side of the city, where neon lights can shine all night long.
He Ao retracted the extended Butterfly Knife, as the last monster collapsed beside him, the flowing blood drenching the soles of his shoes.
The grating sound of sirens drew closer and closer; they were from vehicles of the Pollution Cleaning Departnt and the Federal Bureau of Investigation approaching.
He raised the walking stick in his hand, smashed the floor-to-ceiling window in front of him, and then leaped outward.
The howling wind whisked past his ears, carrying the night’s furious sounds.
He quietly listened to the sounds of the night, estimating the ti in his mind.
As he neared the ground, he stretched his hand with the walking stick, hooking onto the steel frawork of the building’s exterior wall.
The entire steel fra bent instantly due to the powerful impact, also dissipating He Ao’s downward inertia.
He Ao looked down, having just hooked onto the second floor’s steel fra, now not far from the ground.
He released the walking stick, landed on the ground, and after mitigating the impact with a squat, he stood up once more and walked forward.
Above He Ao, the walking stick that had lost the support of Divine Sense finally couldn’t maintain its structure, abruptly collapsing and turning into a rain of steel that fell behind him.
Click—
An off-road vehicle drove out of the night and stopped in front of him.
“Grandpa!”
Jia Xi’s little head poked out from the rear window of the off-road vehicle.
He Ao smiled and patted her head, opened the driver’s door, and got in.
The off-road vehicle drove into the depths of the night.
——
Wanderer’s Aid Foundation·Main Entrance
A black sedan screeched to a halt at the entrance of the hall, the rear car door opened, and YiXiya sprinted out of the car, crashed through the revolving door, raised the Gauss Pistol in her hand, “Pollution Cleaning Departnt, everyone get down imdiately.”
Behind her, people dressed in Federal Bureau of Investigation uniforms and Pollution Cleaning Departnt uniforms poured in.
But all they were t with was the silence that seed to ld into the night.
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