Chapter 721 The Consequences of Speaking the Truth

"puff--!"

Shadow Scorpion felt a sweet taste in his throat and suddenly spat out a mouthful of scalding blood, which splattered onto his face, blurring it.

He looked down in disbelief at his chest.

A familiar object, gleaming with a cold metallic light, emerged diagonally upwards from above his heart on his chest, piercing through his body.

It was the scorpion tail that he had just broken off on his own in order to survive, and that he had placed great hopes on shooting at Feng Mu.

The metal spike at the end was still dripping with his own hot blood.

Sparks of short circuit electricity flickered at the fracture site of the coccyx.

It was as if it was saying to its owner, the scorpion—how could you leave me behind and run away? Luckily, I'm smart enough to catch up with you.

"Heh...heh..."

Shadow Scorpion tried to breathe, making a sound like a broken bellows in its throat.

Behind him, Feng Mu's gentle and polite voice came once again:

"Thank you for severing your tail. It's quite sharp. Otherwise, I might not have been able to punch through your exoskeleton."

"puff--"

Upon hearing this, Shadow Scorpion's eyes widened in fury, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.

He thought he was clever and cunning all his life, manipulating illusions and people's hearts, but he never expected that in the end, he would make such a foolish mistake.

He handed over the murder weapon that killed him with his own hands!

With his last ounce of strength, he turned his neck to look at Feng Mu behind him. His mouth opened and closed several times, frothing with blood, as if he had a thousand words to say. But in the end, all his strength was quickly drained away with the passing of his life, leaving only a hoarse utterance:

"I...I didn't lie to you...the fireworks on the highway...we really didn't set them off..."

Shadow Scorpion was truly wronged.

Feng Mu stared indifferently at Shadow Scorpion. The malicious intent highlighted on his glasses was slowly fading, along with the already depleted health bar above Shadow Scorpion's head and the gradually blurring and disappearing black lines.

Feng Mu narrowed his eyes, as if confirming something, then spoke softly, his voice still steady:

"Yes, I can see that you're not lying; you're telling the truth."

Upon hearing this, Shadow Scorpion's pupils, which had been beginning to dilate, suddenly emitted a final burst of light, carrying a mixture of disbelief, hope, and absurdity:

"Then why...?"

"laugh--"

Feng Mu did not answer his question immediately. Instead, he gently pulled out the scorpion tail that was halfway through the Shadow Scorpion's chest with a flick of his wrist.

It brought out a spray of warm blood and some broken internal organs.

At the tip of the scorpion's tail, a tattered heart was still hooked, faintly beating.

He reached out his clean hand and gently removed the tattered heart from the barb, cradling it in his palm and slowly closing his fingers.

"Pfft..."

The heart that once fueled Shadow Scorpion's madness, rage, and cunning was slowly crushed between his pale, slender fingers, turning into a pool of white ash.

Feng Mu opened his palm, letting the flying ash slip through his fingers and float in the air.

He raised his eyes to look at Shadow Scorpion, whose pupils were completely dilated but whose face was still frozen with huge questions and confusion. A smile curved his lips as he kindly and gently explained:

"Since you didn't do it, there's no point in keeping you around, is there?"

"..."

The last glimmer of light in Shadow Scorpion's wide eyes finally went out completely.

He understood the answer very easily.

He hesitated for a moment, then stammered out his last words in this world:

"Yes...yes, I made a stupid mistake!"

Shadow Scorpion's head lolled to the side, and it died.

The heavy body covered by the exoskeleton lost all support and crashed to the side with a thud, slamming heavily onto the muddy grass and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lying on the ground, Ahr instinctively turned his head to the side, and by sheer coincidence, his eyes met Shadow Scorpion's unseeing right eye.

A chill ran through him, and he felt an indescribable strangeness.

There was joy at the death of the Shadow Scorpion, and also... fear at its death!

Feng Mu believed Ying Xie's words; he could tell that Ying Xie was telling the truth.

So he must have realized I was lying!

But……

He still killed Shadow Scorpion without hesitation for speaking the truth.

So, what will he do to me, the one who lied?!

……..

Ah held his breath, his attention focused on Feng Mu, while Feng Mu's attention was drawn to the system notification box that only he could see.

A translucent, pale blue screen floated in front of my retina, the text clear and cold, yet possessing an indescribable allure.

[You're a merciful villainous boss; you let Shadow Scorpion die a clear and understandable death.]

[Your final words deeply impressed Shadow Scorpion; you have convinced him!]

[Persuasion through reasoning has taken effect! Your Strength attribute has been permanently increased by 0.01.]

[You looked at his crumbling heart and accepted his "thank you."]

[Residual capacity being tested]

[From this heart, you glimpse three abilities that have not yet faded.]

Scorpion Venom Tempering Lv3

Trait Description:

By fusing various biological toxins with chemical compounds, and using the condensation of qi and blood, a unique "Shadow Scorpion Venom" is created.

This poison possesses both nerve paralysis and energy erosion properties. It can be transmitted through contact with weapons. Those who are poisoned experience a sensation similar to being stung by a scorpion. Initially, they feel no pain, but then their limbs become numb, their blood circulation becomes sluggish, and they may eventually experience hallucinations or fall into a state of continuous decline in life.

P.S.: Shadow Scorpion relies too heavily on its exoskeleton for combat, which has led to some rust in its poisoning techniques. The synthesis and transmission of toxins require 0.8 seconds of "charging" preparation.

Exoskeleton Manipulation Specialization Lv.3

Trait Description:

A sophisticated technique for manipulating biological exoskeletons.

Users can control the exoskeleton (or strengthen their own bones) on the body surface to a limited extent, performing local hardening, deformation, extension, or even peeling.

P.S.: The ability to perform this task heavily depends on the exoskeleton's instinctive functions.

Teasing Words Lv.3

Trait Description:

A language skill that excels at psychological suggestion and emotional manipulation.

It can precisely stimulate negative emotions such as doubt, anger, and fear in targets, amplify existing rifts in their hearts, create conflicts silently, undermine trust, and even induce infighting among targets.

Effectiveness assessment: It is extremely effective for targets who are weak-willed, emotionally unstable, or who already have grudges against each other.

[You can choose one to copy (the copying capability is forcibly adapted to the user's current rank)]

Feng Mu took in the three ability information that appeared on his retina. However, after examining them, he felt a little disappointed. It was like a long-awaited delicacy that was served as a few side dishes.

None of the three abilities were related to illusion manipulation.

Could it be that because the other party was tricked by his illusions and his Dao heart was shattered, the ability to control illusions was missing from the power he bestowed upon him after his death?

Feng Mu actually really wanted it.

He already possesses multiple illusion-type abilities, so naturally he has grown to love illusion-type skills even more and wants to collect more of them.

He hopes that one day, as the name of the S-class artifact, the Axe of the End, truly symbolizes, he can become an army by himself, transforming into millions, and becoming the master of the Thousand Illusions Void.

Unfortunately, Shadow Scorpion's heart is a bit fragile and doesn't hold up well.

The strength of this "gratitude" did not meet Feng Mu's expectations.

Unable to obtain the ability he desired most, Feng Mu had to settle for second best and choose one of the other three abilities.

Feng Mu was slightly surprised that Shadow Scorpion also had the ability to apply poison; he had never seen the other party use it before.

Shadow Scorpion: "..." Is it my fault for dying too quickly and not letting you have enough fun?

Feng Mu's gaze swept between the three abilities.

He ruled out the possibility of poisoning due to its limitations, but what's with the 0.8-second casting delay?

In a battle between masters, life and death are often decided in the blink of an eye. Even a delay of 0.1 seconds can be fatal, let alone a nearly one-second "charge" preparation.

He could have used that time to resurrect a corpse and turn it into a glorious zombie to fight for him.

The "Teasing Words Lv.3," which manipulates emotions and creates infighting, did catch his eye slightly, but it was merely a pleasant aftertaste.

It wasn't enough to entice him too much, mainly because it didn't quite match the temperament of his Level 4 Proof of Loyalty.

Although he is indeed a villainous boss, he prefers to project his noble moral charm rather than be a gossipy troublemaker.

These days, villains who wear their evil on their sleeves usually don't survive to the end.

So, although it seems like there are three options, Feng Mu can only choose the second one in the end – Exoskeleton Control Specialization lv3.

The name itself is simple and unpretentious, making it particularly suitable for villainous bosses who are good at disguising themselves.

Although Feng Mu doesn't have an exoskeleton, he does have an "endoskeleton," and his endoskeleton can be worn outside the body.

"This is it."

Once Feng Mu made up his mind, he had no more hesitation.

"Choose the exoskeleton control specialization!"

[You copied the exoskeleton manipulation specialization!]

[The copying capability is forced to adapt to the user's current rank.]

[You have gained the ability to manipulate exoskeletons, progressing from level 3 to level 4!]

A warm current, accompanied by a wealth of unfamiliar knowledge and instincts, surged into Feng Mu's mind and body like a floodgate being opened.

Due to Feng Mu's recent frenzied upgrades, his life rank has far surpassed that of Shadow Scorpion. As soon as he acquired the copied ability, it underwent a leapfrog evolution, directly increasing from Lv3 to Lv4.

This means that his understanding and mastery of this skill has surpassed Shadow Scorpion's entire life's efforts.

For Yingxie, pushing the limits of his professional abilities to the limit throughout his life was merely the beginning of a higher realm for Feng Mu.

Feng Mu subtly sensed the subtle changes emanating from within his body.

There was no immediate improvement in the hardness and quality of his bones, but he inexplicably felt that the bones in his body were more compliant and easier to control.

He can come up with even more tricks now.

In other words, under the stimulation of exoskeleton manipulation expertise, the [plastic] was greatly enhanced.

The system did not provide a specific numerical value for the increase, but based on Feng Mu's meticulous control over his own power, he concluded that it was roughly an increase of 20%-30%.

This increase was so exaggerated that it slightly shocked Feng Mu.

After all, he really didn't have much trouble killing Shadow Scorpion.

It's nothing more than using illusions to deceive, precisely finding the flaws, and then striking a fatal blow; the whole process can be described as effortless and carefree.

In a true sense, the effort and the reward are completely disproportionate.

Moreover, judging by the appearance, there are still a few... mobile exoskeleton control specialists left in this patch of grass.

Feng Mu's heart suddenly warmed, and he involuntarily began to calculate:

"The gift from Shadow Scorpion alone has given my [Formula] such a significant boost. If I had killed all the other White Masks..."

Copying their 'exoskeleton manipulation expertise' as well might directly upgrade [Sculptor] from a blue attribute to a red attribute?!

Once this idea took hold, it spread like wildfire, becoming uncontrollable, and the killing intent that Feng Mu had been concealing suddenly became uncontrollable.

Previously, he mainly wanted to help his friend get an explanation, but now he has become truly serious.

He carefully scanned the area, and what he saw no longer seemed like humanoid enemies, but rather rows of gleaming red treasure chests.

……

Ahhe lay on the ground, staring up at Feng Mu without blinking, and saw Feng Mu's lips suddenly part into a clear smile.

That wasn't a sinister grin after killing someone, nor the triumph of victory, nor the twisted anger.

That smile carried a kind of heartfelt, almost pure sincerity and...joy?

It's like an innocent child who has accidentally found a beloved new toy.

But this smile, when seen by Ah, was more terrifying than any ferocious expression. His heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand, then jerked and stopped for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a chilling killing intent burst forth from Feng Mu's body without warning.

No, you were very gentle before you killed someone, so why did you only unleash your murderous intent after you had killed them?

Why is your sequence different from other psychopathic killers?

The first to be completely overwhelmed by this terrifying killing intent was Ah, who was lying at his feet.

"I'm doomed, Feng Mu is going to kill me."

Ah immediately understood that Feng Mu's murderous intent was directed at him.

It's not entirely Ach's fault for misunderstanding.

This is one of the three great illusions in life—he might want to kill me!

This is similar to when you were in school, and the homeroom teacher glared at you from the podium. Every student with a guilty conscience would instinctively feel that the teacher was glaring at them.

In reality, the homeroom teacher might just have some chalk dust on their eyebrows.

Ah was a bit better than them; he wasn't entirely delusional, because Feng Mu really wanted to kill him, but it wasn't entirely aimed at him.

Feng Mu's logic is very complex, and Ahe cannot understand it.

At least, he certainly couldn't understand it while he was alive.

He simply gave up, giving up on continuing to fabricate flawed lies, giving up on meaningless sophistry, and even giving up his last shred of survival instinct.

He simply stared wide-eyed at Feng Mu, waiting for his "savior" to deliver his final death sentence.

Ah's mood was far from calm. No one could calmly accept a third death after experiencing two near-death experiences in a short period of time.

Fear, like a cold vine, coiled around his heart, slowly but steadily contracting.

Surprisingly, deep within this overwhelming fear, Ahr did not harbor even the slightest resentment towards Feng Mu.

On the contrary, an absurd sense of guilt, which he himself could not understand, quietly emerged like a hidden reef underwater.

……

(End of this chapter)