Chapter 17: Killing, or Harnessing Killing

Li Weiyi's ears caught the subtle sound of three slow, light footsteps approaching from the grave forest. A massive grave mound, seven or eight meters high, blocked their view, so neither side could see the other.

The three were incredibly cautious, their footsteps entirely unlike normal walking.

Thus, Li Weiyi couldn't identify them by their footsteps. A misjudgment, failing to eliminate Chen Hong immediately, would expose him to the fatal threat of Chen Hong's rifle.

The upcoming confrontation required not only speed but also extreme caution.

Xie Jin's position allowed him to see Chen Hong and two others slowly moving through the grave forest to his right, and his gaze involuntarily shifted in their direction. He sighed inwardly, regretting that Li Weiyi had been too cautious to pursue.

Had Li Weiyi pursued, he would undoubtedly be dead by Chen Hong's gun.

Chen Hong shook his head at Xie Jin, signaling him to lure Li Weiyi closer.

Xie Jin understood. Feigning arrogance, he called out, "Li Weiyi, you're tough today, I admit defeat, but Dr. Cai is still our hostage. Come on, with a hostage, he won't dare touch us."

Xie Jin and the security team member with the stun gun fled towards Chen Hong and his group, hoping to draw Li Weiyi into their line of fire.

Chen Hong gripped his rifle tightly.

He braced the butt against his shoulder, aiming forward.

Li Weiyi, of course, didn't fall for the trick. Instead, he seized this rare opportunity, rushing up the seven-to-eight-meter-high grave mound at top speed. Suddenly, the five people behind it were completely exposed.

Hearing the sound, Chen Hong quickly swung his rifle and looked towards the top of the grave mound.

The Yellow Dragon Sword had already been hurled.

The sword, cutting through the air, emitted a shrill clang.

"Thud!"

The sword tip struck Chen Hong's chest.

It felt like he'd been violently thrust with an iron rod; Chen Hong's chest exploded in pain, and he reeled backward, nearly dropping his rifle.

Thanks to the corpse-skin soft armor he wore, the Yellow Dragon Sword didn't pierce his chest, and his injury wasn't severe.

After throwing the sword, Li Weiyi leaped from the grave mound's summit onto a tombstone over three meters high, then dropped from the tombstone, aiming to land on Chen Hong's face.

Chen Hong quickly rolled to evade him.

Li Weiyi pursued, his palm like a horizontal blade, his sleeve-wind sharp and biting, chopping directly at Chen Hong's neck.

It was too fast for Chen Hong to aim at Li Weiyi, so he could only raise his rifle to block.

"Thud!"

Li Weiyi's palm struck the rifle barrel with the force of a heavy hammer, driving the barrel back against Chen Hong's neck, almost crushing his throat.

Chen Hong's throat was throbbing with pain, a metallic taste filling his mouth. His eyes wide, he was about to counterattack...

...but a dry, hoarse scream escaped his lips first.

Li Weiyi had already twisted off the arm holding the gun, then slammed him to the ground, his head hitting a tombstone with a sickening *thud*.

The sequence—chopping, grappling, twisting, slamming—

—was executed with fluid precision.

Li Weiyi picked up the rifle and approached with steady steps, using the butt to smash Chen Hong's knees, shattering them and ensuring he could never stand again.

"Clang clang!" Faintly, a sound like camel bells echoed from deep within the grave forest.

Li Weiyi's eyes flashed with a blood-red glint, and it felt as if thousands of voices in his ears urged him to pulverize Chen Hong. The rifle butt hovered above Chen Hong's terrified eyes, but Li Weiyi finally restrained himself, his reason triumphing over emotion.

He had to harness the power of killing for self-preservation, not be consumed by it for self-destruction.

If there was killing to be done, he would leave it to his senior brother.

Amid Chen Hong's screams, the other four, terrified to their core, scattered and fled.

This university student was too brutal, his actions vicious, truly a fiend.

Li Weiyi fired directly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The rifle's remaining three bullets struck down the slowest security team member, the one with the stun gun.

Dropping the rifle, Li Weiyi didn't pursue the three who had already vanished into the nether mist. The bronze ship's deck area was only so large; where could they possibly escape?

Without guns, they posed no threat to him.

Conversely, the situation there was far more complex. If Li Weiyi pursued, someone might seize the opportunity to circle back, leading to unimaginable consequences.

Li Weiyi emerged from behind the grave mound, one hand holding the blood-stained, gleaming sword, the other dragging Chen Hong by the leg.

Seeing this, everyone on deck sighed in relief, their tense hearts settling. They all felt Li Weiyi was like a god descended to earth, and any number of scoundrels were powerless before him.

The previous gunshots had indeed filled them with great worry for Li Weiyi.

Xie Tianshu still lay in a pool of blood, enduring kick after kick from the returning Gao Huan, writhing in pain on the ground.

Xiaolin was likely genuinely terrified, sensing that Li Weiyi was no longer human, but invincible. He sat hunched by the bulwark, like a quail, not daring to stir.

After all, they were just ordinary people.

When bullying others, they were fierce as beasts. But when death approached, they became timid as mice.

"Vent your anger later. First, untie everyone!" Li Weiyi instructed, then headed towards Zhao Meng, intending to check his senior brother's injuries.

Suddenly.

From the distant nether mist, the sound of a round being chambered echoed.

It was faint, but it didn't escape Li Weiyi's ears.

Without a second thought, Li Weiyi instinctively ducked and rolled, then dodged towards the distant medical tent.

"Bang!"

The gunshot exploded like thunder. Had Li Weiyi not reacted quickly enough, that shot would have left a bowl-sized bloody crater in his lower abdomen.

Xiaolin, still sitting on the ground, became an unwitting casualty; his head exploded, splattering bloody pulp onto the bulwark.

Immediately, chaotic screams erupted across the deck.

Gao Huan, who had been untying the research team members, was startled by the gunfire, squatting down motionless, peering into the nether mist.

"Thud-thud!"

A flurry of footsteps approached from the distance.

From the nether mist, the six figures from Lab 705 gradually became visible.

Han Qin, a burly man nearly two meters tall, led the group, chambering another round and aiming towards the medical tent. The moment Li Weiyi showed himself, he would be shot dead.

Everyone slowly recovered from their initial terror.

A baffled research team member asked, "Director Yang, what are you doing? Little Brother Li saved us!"

Director Yang, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, replied calmly, "Why do you think he's so powerful? He can effortlessly lift a rifle weighing hundreds of pounds. His speed is utterly inhuman. He must have swallowed the Buddha's sarira; it's the sarira's power that has made his body transcend the mortal realm."

The bound research team members instantly looked enlightened.

The middle-aged woman with glasses from Lab 705 added, "He's been deceiving everyone, claiming the Buddha's sarira isn't with him. Can such a person be trusted?"

Director Yang continued, "Only by retrieving the Buddha's sarira can we hope to turn this bronze ship around and return to Earth. Don't you want to go home?"

Li Weiyi's voice echoed from behind the medical tent: "Yes, the Buddha's sarira is with me, but it cannot control this bronze ship at all. Director, you merely wish to swallow the sarira yourself and gain extraordinary power, don't you? Let me tell you, my strength has nothing to do with it."

Director Yang, unwilling to engage in a verbal spat with Li Weiyi, declared, "I will count to three. If you willingly hand over the Buddha's sarira, I give you my word that we'll act as if nothing ever happened, and we'll work together to survive in this strange, desolate world."

"If you insist on going your own way, you'll have only yourself to blame for the consequences."

Qi Shanshan, concerned Li Weiyi was too young and might be tricked by Director Yang, smiled and said, "If he doesn't show himself, Director, I doubt you can do anything to him."

Director Yang cast a glance at Qi Shanshan, who stood alone near the bulwark. He simply couldn't fathom where this Dr. Qi found the audacity to defy them in such a perilous situation.

Director Yang stared at Qi Shanshan, stating coldly, "They are, after all, bound by deep fraternal affection. If he doesn't show himself, his senior brother is right there."

Han Qin aimed his rifle at Zhao Meng, who lay on the ground.

"One!"

"Two!"

Director Yang gave Li Weiyi little time to think, rapidly counting: "Three..."

The instant "Three" was uttered, Qi Shanshan's eyes narrowed, and she decisively tore off the cross pendant from her neck, flinging it away.

This was an artifact taken from a skeletal human!

With a "clink," the cross pendant struck the ground at Han Qin's feet. Some mystical energy within it seemed to activate, and the pendant erupted with dazzling white light, completely dispelling the surrounding nether mist.

Qi Shanshan had anticipated that, given Li Weiyi's personality, he would either act or surrender once Director Yang finished counting to three.

She refused to let Li Weiyi lose to the six members of Lab 705 like this, which is why she risked helping him.

Moreover, Qi Shanshan had just witnessed Li Weiyi's capabilities, not only his physical power but also his acute perception and judgment in seizing opportunities.

He would surely seize this chance!

Just as Qi Shanshan predicted, the moment Director Yang shouted "Three," Li Weiyi's voice rang out: "You just want the Buddha's sarira, don't you? I'll give it to you."

Li Weiyi leaped onto the medical tent roof like a phantom, a surge of hot energy coursing through his arm. Like throwing a flying knife, he flung the Daoist Tai Chi Fish, which cut through the air with a *whoosh*, directly towards Han Qin, thirty meters away.

Han Qin was about to fire, but the blinding white light erupted at his feet, forcing his eyes shut. In that brief instant, the Daoist Tai Chi Fish struck him in the head.

Li Weiyi's strength was immense; even a thrown pebble could be lethal.

Han Qin's forehead skull fractured, his eyes went dark, and he toppled over, heavy-footed.

"Whoosh!"

Li Weiyi leaped from the medical tent, his feet moving as swiftly as a galloping horse, determined to reach and eliminate the Lab 705 members before they could re-arm themselves.

Apart from the middle-aged woman with glasses, the other four, though not young, reacted incredibly quickly. One of them swiftly picked up a shotgun.

At that moment, Li Weiyi was still ten meters away.

"Thunk!"

Li Weiyi had already anticipated this; the Yellow Dragon Sword flew from his hand, piercing directly through the man's chest.

A scream and the clatter of the shotgun hitting the ground sounded simultaneously.

"I'll hold him off!"

Director Yang remained calm, his aged face growing somber. He raised his arm, revealing a three-headed snake bracelet on his wrist.

Its design featured a metal snake with three heads wrapped around a blood-jade-like bracelet.

Another artifact!

Director Yang used a small knife to cut his wrist open.

As blood flowed out, it didn't drip to the ground but seeped into the blood-jade-like bracelet. As the bracelet pulsed with a bloody glow, the metal snake truly "came alive."

Meanwhile, Director Yang, due to the massive blood loss, gradually withered, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

"Does it really need this much blood?"

In previous tests, the bracelet had reacted to only a small amount of blood.

It was too late for regret now.