On Zou Zhengze's chest, the faces of a man and a woman—Zeng Weiming and Wang Fangni—slowly emerged.
Their faces bore blank eyes, expressions alternating between joy and sorrow, anger and grievance, as they muttered indistinctly, "Come, come, come..."
Hearing the call, the souls of the residents floating in midair appeared even more serene and peaceful, as if they had heard a sacred and pure gospel, and uncontrollably flew towards Zou Zhengze.
BOOM!
The disc-shaped explosive pack, fired by the Conscienceless Cannon, traced an arc through the air as it spun toward Zou Zhengze.
However, before it could get close, the explosive-filled package was struck by lightning from the dark clouds and exploded with a bang.
The shockwave from the explosion tore a gap in the rotating vortex of Demonic Qi. In the distance, Li Ang, standing on a rooftop, leaned forward—his body almost at a forty-five-degree angle to the ground—and charged like a cheetah.
His boots kicked up dust, the Gale lifted his hood, and Adrenaline surged, prompting his liver and muscles to release glucose into his blood, providing his tendons with energy like molten lava.
His body burning hot, Li Ang kicked off the edge of the rooftop. Like a lone sail in a tumultuous sea, he soared into the sky amid an overwhelming rush of wind.
Shrouded by the vast moonlight, Li Ang, still in midair, flipped his hand, drew his rifle, and opened fire on the demon.
The gunshots crackled like firecrackers. Flames erupting from the barrel dispelled the night, and the bullets, etched with a cross-shaped groove, spiraled forward, penetrating the sole gap in the vortex of Demonic Qi.
The searing bullets smashed into the demon's massive body, tearing skin, jolting muscles, and splattering blood. It was like a torrential downpour ravaging a pond, causing ripples to surge.
After unloading half a magazine, Li Ang descended from the air, his foot landing heavily on another rooftop.
Since it was a charge, there could be no hesitation.
Li Ang ran wildly, finger still on the trigger. His shoulder was hammered by the gun's recoil, but he remained unflinchingly steadfast.
Metal shrapnel, embedded all over the front of Zou Zhengze's body, shone brightly under the moonlight. What seemed like horrific injuries merely annoyed him.
The demon, colossal and inhuman, furrowed its brow and sighed softly, as if pitying Li Ang's overestimation of his own strength. The flesh around its wounds writhed wantonly, swelling and expanding like fermenting dough, pushing out all the shrapnel, which clinked to the ground.
Zou Zhengze guided the residents' souls as they slowly drifted towards him with one hand. With the other, he bent down and pressed his fan-sized Red Palm onto the rooftop floor.
His fingertips pierced the ground effortlessly. With a muffled BOOM, Zou Zhengze lifted a large chunk of reinforced concrete with one hand as if throwing a discus, hurling it at Li Ang.
The concrete block spun, seemingly slow yet deceptively fast, toward Li Ang, who maintained his charging stance. He put away his empty rifle, increased his speed, and leaned back, letting his back slide against the ground.
Rough stones grated against his spine, but Li Ang remained expressionless. The moment his feet struck the stone railing at the rooftop's edge, he slammed one hand to the ground and vaulted into the air like a pole vaulter.
His body spun, vision swirling, the sensation of weightlessness stimulating his vestibular system. Yet, his feet landed precisely on the chunk of reinforced concrete Zou Zhengze had thrown.
THUD—
Using the concrete block as a stepping stone and propelled by the tremendous rebound force, Li Ang changed direction again. He carved a Z-shaped trajectory in the air and plummeted straight towards Zou Zhengze like a meteorite.
"All flash and no substance! Just circus tricks!"
The demon laughed wildly, its hideous face filled with cruelty.
It threw a punch, its arm—covered with bone spurs—shooting upwards like a projectile to intercept the falling Li Ang.
About to be skewered by the jagged bone spurs, Li Ang's expression remained unchanged. He took a Shotgun from his backpack, pressed the stock against his chest, and fired towards the sky.
The Shotgun's tremendous recoil altered his falling trajectory again. Li Ang narrowly missed the bone spurs on Zou Zhengze's arm and landed on the ground. Before he could steady himself, Zou Zhengze's heavy fist was already smashing down.
This smash was like mountains collapsing, like giant waves cresting and crashing down.
With no time to dodge, Li Ang bent down and slammed his fist into the concrete floor of the rooftop.
The rooftop, already damaged by Zou Zhengze and on the brink of collapse, disintegrated under Li Ang's Ripple Energy-infused punch. The entire structure caved in with a roar.
Zou Zhengze suddenly lost his balance as the rooftop gave way beneath him. His body slid with the collapsing structure, plummeting into a corridor of the building below.
The punch that should have crushed Li Ang into pulp veered sideways, smashing a hole in the corridor's stone wall.
Dust filled the air, obscuring vision. Li Ang, dagger held firmly, silently closed the distance and stabbed at Zou Zhengze's chest.
DING—
The dagger struck the center of the palm, emitting a crisp clang, as if metal had struck metal. Li Ang's hand vibrated violently from the impact, his entire arm tingling with numbness.
Red and black runes on Zou Zhengze's body writhed and spiraled like tadpoles. His already tall stature grew further, his skin shimmering with a molten iron luster.
He had failed to breach its defenses, not even scratching the skin. The formidable body bestowed by the Demonic Path of Yin and Yang allowed Zou Zhengze to disregard such attacks.
"Weak and feeble," the demon commented coldly, its form seeming to flicker. Its legs, as sturdy as an African elephant's, had silently lifted, and a knee strike thundered into Li Ang's chest.
CRACK—
The steel plates of the CQB Tactical Bulletproof Vest shattered, fragments scattering everywhere and embedding themselves deeply into the concrete walls of the narrow corridor.
Even with the protection of Ripple Energy, Li Ang's chest went numb, losing all sensation. He flew backward helplessly, slamming hard into the corridor's corner wall.
BOOM.
The ceramic tiles on the wall fractured like a spiderweb, forming a human-shaped dent. From outside the building, one could clearly see a corresponding "bulge" on the exterior wall.
The System's 72-hour mission time limit was actually a hint. I could have followed the police, cooperated with the authorities, leveraged the state's power to pursue Zou Zhengze over three days, and found an opportunity to kill him, rather than recklessly charging in like this. That thing is a tank with high damage output; I can't take it!
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
The demon's massive, muscular body began a savage charge through the narrow corridor, the ground trembling beneath it. Any object in its path—rubble, furniture, or even walls—was smashed to pieces.
Li Ang struggled to his feet. He saw the two human faces on Zou Zhengze's chest still muttering indistinctly.
As the demon ran faster, the eyes on those faces grew clearer, their expressions more spiteful, and their voices louder:
"Come, come, come..."
The eyes on the human faces snapped wide open, and they roared with resentment, as if calling out to Li Ang, urging him to abandon resistance, embrace his fate, and willingly merge with Zou Zhengze.