Chapter 165
Nowadays, all sorts of terrifying and vicious monsters run rampant, and there are even mysterious and unpredictable gods in the world who hold absolute power over their respective regions.
Anyone who dares to arrogantly claim to regard all living beings as chess pieces and the entire world as playthings is either an arrogant, delusional clown or a cunning and scheming mastermind.
But the cloaked figure in front of him didn't seem to resemble either of the previous two.
Their voice is not their original voice; they clearly used some kind of strange power to disguise it.
To Xie Xubai's ears, it sounded like many people of different ages and genders speaking in unison, condensing into a hoarse, murky reverberation, indistinguishable in terms of gender, age, or gender.
His tone was flat and even, without any ups and downs or personal emotions.
It's impossible to tell whether what was just said was genuine confidence or just bluffing.
Even without any obstruction, one can clearly see their naturally upturned lips, unfocused and dim pupils, and slightly raised eyebrows, making it impossible to specifically identify their appearance.
Xie Xubai tried to sketch out the features of the person in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get them to form.
Like the sound, this person used some kind of cognitive interference. The seemingly blind eyes did not appear to affect their vision.
They sat calmly behind the glass wall, displaying exceptional body control; while speaking, their body remained completely still except for their mouth.
He didn't reveal any habitual little gestures, and it was impossible to discern his true nature from the details.
He wore a black cloak that cost a few dozen yuan on Taobao, underneath which was a black training uniform. Two old red ropes stretched from his neck down to below his collar, suggesting he was wearing a jade pendant or similar amulet.
Apart from that, there's nothing else about them worth noting.
Because of his blindness, he possesses an innocent and pitiful quality that evokes pity in people.
The moment the thought of pity and tenderness flashed through his mind, Xie Xubai suddenly pinched his fingers, and a piercing alarm sounded in his heart!
How could a mysterious person who could turn a thin, dark figure into a pulp without saying a word be harmless?
But the desire to protect the other person did not dissipate; instead, it became even more pronounced, like a poisonous thorn growing menacing roots, attempting to penetrate Xie Xubai's sea of consciousness.
Mental pollution!
Without the slightest hesitation, Xie Xubai activated his spiritual power in a flash, like a sharp sword unsheathed, instantly erasing the invading strange power completely!
That was an instinct honed through numerous dungeons; it took less than half a second to execute the action decisively and swiftly, without even a fluctuation in emotion.
Then Xie Xubai raised his eyes, his gaze sharp and intense.
This person's mental strength is no less than his; he is at least a quasi-god level.
As Xie Xubai scrutinized the cloaked man, the latter was also sizing him up.
Seeing Xie Xubai react quickly and defuse the crisis with ease, the cloaked man raised an eyebrow, said "Oh?", and sighed as if surprised: "What a pity."
"I thought it would be easier to win you over."
Since Xie Xubai had already realized that the person in the cloak was up to no good, the cloaked man simply stopped pretending and his tone became much more casual as he stood up as if nothing had happened.
Realizing that it was about to leave, Xie Xubai took a step forward.
Golden light condensed into countless cones of light in mid-air, their sharp tips poised to strike the cloaked figure.
"You are a guest, after all. Are you leaving before we've even had a chance to entertain you?" Xie Xubai raised his eyes, his voice gentle, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
The cloaked figure seemed to sense something and turned around, looking at Xie Xubai, whose spiritual power had surged. After a long pause, he suddenly chuckled and said, "It seems you don't like this kind of brief greeting."
Without warning, he stared at his white-rimmed eyes and slowly narrowed them into a long, pleasant arc.
Like a harmless mask suddenly ripped away, the last syllable of her voice trailed off slowly and deliberately, lingering long: "Me too—"
The voice seemed to travel through a transparent glass wall, carrying a dangerous, sticky chill, intimately close to Xie Xubai's ear, speaking gently.
Xie Xubai instantly got goosebumps all over his body, alarm bells went off in his mind, and the light cones shot out like a storm!
Most of them were absorbed into the barrier, but a few broke through the restrictions and struck directly at the cloaked man's face.
Seeing that Xie Xubai had analyzed the flaws in the barrier so quickly, the cloaked man was surprisingly sincere this time.
He then burst into laughter.
Like an eraser erasing its existence, its form faded at a visible speed. When the light cone approached, only a vague phantom and an echoing laughter remained.
With a few soft popping sounds, several cones of light pierced through the illusion and embedded themselves in the chair and the ground.
The cloaked figure vanished! Xie Xubai's eyes sharpened, and he immediately got up to give chase.
The next second, a strange ripple appeared on the glass curtain wall in front of him, and the originally transparent surface suddenly burst into thick black smoke and blazing flames!
The flames surged towards him, and Xie Xubai initially thought it was a means to intercept him, but soon he realized that the flames had not spread into the bedroom.
The glass curtain wall stood still, its edges separating it from the objects in the room. Because the images playing inside were so realistic, it now resembled a television projection showing a live disaster report.
projection?
Xie Xubai suddenly snapped back to reality and quickly scanned the image on the glass curtain wall.
When he caught sight of a series of familiar street scenes, his hair stood on end and his heart skipped a beat!
Golden light shot out from Xie Xubai's palm, completely enveloping the glass curtain wall, and he rushed out of the window without thinking.
"Safety!"
Xie Xubai looked very tired last night. The usually clingy little ones obediently went back to their nests to sleep so as not to disturb his rest.
Only Ping An, as was his habit, lay prone at the young man's door, watching out for any potential dangers.
Hearing Xie Xubai's urgent call, which came from the window outside the building, the big white dog Ping An suddenly opened its eyes, shooting out a sharp and cold light. Its entire body transformed into a black mist, smashed open the bedroom door, and saw Xie Xubai jumping down.
Ping An barked anxiously and rushed over like lightning, its body swelling and growing larger several times in the process, before steadily catching Xie Xubai beneath it.
The lights of the buildings behind us were all on, illuminating the night.
Everyone was awakened by the sudden noise and rushed into Xie Xubai's bedroom, where they saw the open window.
Xie Kaile leaned against the window, watching Xie Xubai's departing figure, and shouted, "Teacher, what happened?"
Xie Xubai didn't have time to explain further: "A chemical plant in Qiankangyong District is on fire. You and Cen Xiangcai should contact the fire department immediately!"
What?! A chemical plant?!
In an instant, Xie Kaile's mind flashed to the enormous and terrifying scale of that chemical plant.
The chain reaction of explosions involving flammable chemical raw materials, pressure vessels containing hazardous substances, and their reactants can instantly create extremely destructive shock waves and release large amounts of toxic fumes!
"Wait a minute! Teacher—"
Seeing Xie Xubai ride away into the moonlight without looking back, Xie Kaile, unable to stop him, slammed his fist on the windowsill and hurriedly dragged Cen Xiangcai, who had rushed over, out the door.
Ping An ran as fast as he could, carrying Xie Xubai to the fire scene as quickly as possible.
From afar, one could see a bright orange flame shooting into the sky, cruelly cleaving through the tranquil night.
The fire completely engulfed a work area of the chemical plant and relentlessly spread to the surrounding buildings. Thick smoke billowed everywhere, mixed with acrid toxic fumes, and the air was distorted and deformed by the rapidly rising temperature.
The location of the emergency exit caused panic among those working the night shift or living in the chemical plant's dormitory, who rushed to escape.
Deeper inside the work area, more helpless and desperate cries for help can be heard.
A dark figure hovered in the pale moonlight, draped in a black cloak, its white-rimmed eyes calm and unwavering, observing the human tragedy below with indifference.
A golden light, like a sharp arrow, pierced through the air, carrying a chilling wind as it aimed at the cloaked man's temple, revealing an undisguised, fierce killing intent.
Regardless of the cloaked man's motives for harming innocent civilians, he had truly touched Xie Xubai's sore spot.
The cloaked figure turned his head and dodged past, laughing, "You've finally arrived."
But the next moment, he felt a sudden chill behind him.
Those golden beams, still brimming with killing intent, unexpectedly turned back at an unbelievable angle in mid-air, heading straight for his vital points once more.
Swish—
A gust of wind swept past the cloaked man's head. He quickly turned to the side, raised his hand, and grasped the golden light in his palm.
The scorching light sliced a deep gash in the palm, revealing the bone, and a splash of bright red blood flew out against the light.
Staring at the unstoppable bleeding, whether out of surprise or displeasure, his eyes narrowed slowly and melancholically again. He lowered his voice and uttered a single word to Xie Xubai, who had jumped off Ping An's back: "You—"
Xie Xubai didn't even glance at him; his taut face was as cold as ice under the moonlight.
With toxic fumes filling the air, unsure if it would harm Ping An, he hastily patted the big dog's head, signaling it to wait where it was.
The next second, propelled by his mental power, he flew towards the raging fire at the chemical plant, heading straight for the source of the cries for help.
To save lives, they disregarded the formidable enemy at hand.
No.
The cloaked figure glanced at the grimacing Ping An.
It wasn't a complete disregard; at least a safety net was left in place.
Enter the chemical plant, memorize the terrain of the passageways, break through multiple security gates to find the trapped people, and then, braving the high temperatures and the unpredictable possibility of an explosion, lead everyone to evacuate quickly.
The time required to complete this series of rescue operations is too long; there simply isn't enough time, and even a slight delay could result in the loss of a life.
Xie Xubai acted decisively, fully unleashing his mental power and sending out his consciousness to pinpoint the location of the trapped individuals through the feedback of his mental energy fluctuations.
At the same time, golden light poured down, like a golden waterfall cascading down a thousand feet, cutting into the metal shell of the chemical plant.
Xie Xubai's idea was decisive: avoid the detonation device, cut a large hole in the dome, and bring all the victims out at once.
But he didn't expect that the golden light would penetrate the chemical plant directly, without him feeling any real contact with anything!
Not only that, just a hundred meters away, Xie Xubai could smell the pungent, acrid odor of burning materials, but now he can't smell anything at all.
Unable to touch the people who fled the scene, unable to feel the scorching heat of the flames.
It was as if his existence had been suddenly repelled from the current area, and the two spaces were no longer in contact. To him, the chemical plant was just a very realistic 3D projection.
The cloaked figure landed slowly behind Xie Xubai, and with a snap of his hands, crushed the golden light that attacked him: "If you act without listening to the rules before the game starts, you'll suffer the consequences."
Xie Xubai turned his head inch by inch, coldly glancing at him.
Seeing that Xie Xubai had finally taken notice of him and was genuinely on high alert, his muscles tense, the cloaked man chuckled with pleasure: "The real culprit, looks like he's about to eat you alive."
He raised his finger, and the raging fire at the chemical plant seemed to be abruptly paused.
Flames, crowds, thick smoke, and leaves swaying in the heatwave—everything within a radius of thousands of meters, inanimate and inanimate, was frozen in the blink of an eye.
Ping An was one of the only three living beings present who could move. With limbs tense, she slowly moved in front of Xie Xubai. Her single eye was bloodshot, and she let out a threatening and fierce growl at the cloaked man.
The cloaked figure glanced at it and commented calmly, "Bad dog."
Thump! It was as if an invisible pressure slammed down on Ping An in mid-air, causing its limbs to collapse and its bones to creak under the strain.
The golden light struck the cloaked man's head again, this time with an even deeper level of rage.
At the same time, Xie Xubai stepped forward. He was physically weak, but the combat skills he had learned through hard work were ingrained in his bones.
Having learned his lesson, the cloaked figure had no choice but to turn his head away from the golden light again, clamping down on Xie Xubai's swinging fist, a hint of indifference flashing in his eyes.
It seemed to know that Xie Xubai was physically weak, and didn't take this light attack seriously.
Who would have thought that Xie Xubai would use himself as bait? Ignoring the cracking sound of his wrist bones being squeezed, he stepped around behind the cloaked man, grabbed his neck with his arm, and instantly became a shackle to imprison him!
"As arrogant as you are, what are the chances that you will show your true face?" Xie Xubai asked with a sneer in the cloaked man's ear.
I bet eight points.
Golden light seeped from Xie Xubai's skin, pulsating and expanding rapidly. It seemed slow but was so fast that it left afterimages. The moment it touched the cloaked man's body, it burst open like a dense cluster of sharp spikes, piercing through the man's body in one fell swoop!
Bang.
Without warning, the cloaked figure shattered, turning into black ash that fell like snowflakes from Xie Xubai's empty body.
Less than a second later, he reappeared not far away, his face deathly pale.
It's clear that even if the cloaked figure manages to escape unscathed, it will still cause considerable damage.
The cloaked figure clutched his chest, blood trickling from between his fingers, his face cold and icy.
Xie Xubai didn't expect to kill the mysterious man in front of him in one go. He half-squatted down and used his mental power to release Ping An from her restraints.
Having escaped safely, it whimpered and stuck out its tongue, carefully licking Xie Xubai's chest.
Forces are reciprocal. In order to catch the cloaked man off guard, Xie Xubai did not hold back at all. While the light spikes injured the cloaked man, they also pierced into his body without reservation.
However, he controlled the situation well, and his injury was relatively minor. He swept his palm across his chest, gently and skillfully wiping away both the light spikes and the injury.
"What a pity." Xie Xubai then looked at the cloaked man. "I thought it would be easier to take you down."
I'll return the words to you verbatim.
The cloaked man's breath hitched.
Now that things have come to this, how could they not see that Xie Xubai had never intended to follow their lead, nor would he be coerced by anyone? Even if it meant suffering heavy losses himself, he was determined to take a piece of their flesh first.
Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile.
Humans, who seem so gentle and mild-mannered, are actually so fiercely proud.
His expression changed several times, his brows furrowing slightly, as if he were annoyed or confused.
More than the anger of being mocked, it revealed an indescribable strangeness.
“I was wrong,” the cloaked man said, enunciating each word clearly. “Your integrity and ferocity are no less than that of that arrogant and domineering evil god, and you are even more troublesome than He.”
Xie Xubai paused, then raised an eyebrow and looked over.
His tone was not one of praise, but rather a veiled mockery.
With a wave of his hand, the horrific scene inside the chemical plant appeared before the two of them.
Seeing the people struggling in agony in the inferno, their burned fingers scraping across the floor, leaving mottled bloodstains, frantically pounding on the warped and deformed door, and opening their mouths as if to burst out heart-wrenching screams, Xie Xubai's expression changed slightly.
"Beg me." The cloaked man looked at Xie Xubai with malice. "If you beg me to let them go, I will push the timeline of this area back to before the fire."
Before he could finish speaking, Xie Xubai pleaded, "Please let them go."
The answer came so quickly that the cloaked figure didn't even have time to react until Xie Xubai repeated it in a more sincere tone. Only then did the figure's expression change, and surprise seemed to be written in their eyes.
Where did your self-respect go? Where did your resilience go? You just threw it all away so brazenly?
If the cloaked man were to ask this question, and if Xie Xubai were to answer him, he would surely give a faint smirk: It's not like he's kneeling and begging for mercy; it's just a matter of opening his mouth. What's there to talk about dignity about?
He would also say with a touch of seriousness: if it could save a life, he would give anything for it.
However, none of the setbacks Xie Xubai has encountered so far have been easily resolved.
Seeing the cloaked figure stiff and motionless, without uttering a sound, he thought to himself that it was indeed not that simple.
Remembering that the other party had specifically emphasized the game, he figured they must have a strong competitive spirit. Since asking for help was useless, Xie Xubai dropped his sincerity and said sarcastically with a nonchalant air, "How about it? Does this kind of unfair surrender make you happy? I can say it a thousand times, ten thousand times, until you start deceiving yourself and believing it to be true."
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