Chapter 73: I’ll Take This

The moment Shen Lie revealed himself to be an Awakened, everyone in the hall sprang to their feet in terror and hurried to gather around Wang Liguo. The atmosphere in the room tightened at once.

“What do you mean by this?” Shen Lie gripped the black spear in his hand and stared coldly at the short-haired man opposite him.

Unwilling to waste his energy needlessly, Shen Lie had not immediately retaliated. Wang Liguo, however, took this as a sign of fear, believing that his side had two Awakened.

After glancing at his Awakened companion, Wang Liguo found himself considerably bolder. His gaze first swept over Xia Ke’s shapely figure, greed flashing briefly in his eyes, before he looked at Shen Lie with a false smile.

“You may leave, but the woman and the backpack she carries must stay.”

“What if I refuse?” Shen Lie had not originally intended to make a move. His main purpose was to search for information about his cousin, but the other party was being so aggressive that he had no choice but to act.

“Refuse?” The short-haired man seemed to have heard a joke. Sneering, he advanced toward Shen Lie. “It won’t matter if you refuse. A dead man has no right to resist!”

With that, he moved his arm and prepared to strike again.

How could Shen Lie, having already been ambushed once, give him a second opportunity? Before the short-haired man could act, golden light flashed across Shen Lie’s body, and he shot forward like a prehistoric beast.

Brutal Charge!

What Shen Lie had not expected was that the young man’s reactions were equally swift. Seeing Shen Lie unleash such a powerful ability, the short-haired man’s body shot backward as he sent several vines forward, weaving them into a net before him.

Most of the force of Shen Lie’s charge was absorbed by those vines. Though they were smashed to pieces, his momentum was greatly reduced, and the attack no longer posed much of a threat.

But Shen Lie pressed his advantage. His first blow had failed, so he immediately followed with another. At some point, a delicate little hammer had appeared in his hand. With a casual wave, he swung it through the air.

Above the short-haired youth’s head, an enormous golden hammer phantom formed. Threads of lightning coiled around it, and its overwhelming pressure filled the entire hall. Shen Lie had deliberately restrained its power; otherwise, the original World-Ending Hammer could have torn the floorboards from the building.

“Ah!”

“Don’t!”

“I surrender!”

A string of cries rang through the hall. Shen Lie saw the terror in his opponent’s eyes, but he also detected the cruelty and treachery hidden beneath it. He had no intention of playing the fool who saved an ungrateful man. Without hesitation, he pressed his hand downward.

The golden hammer phantom crashed down with terrifying force, crushing the short-haired man into a bloody mass amid his unwillingness and despair.

“Urgh!”

“Splash!”

The carnage caused by the World-Ending Hammer was violently graphic, especially within such a confined space. The sight of blood spraying everywhere made everyone, Xia Ke included, retch dryly. Even Shen Lie himself had found it difficult to accept at first, but he had grown accustomed to it by now.

“Can I leave now?” Shen Lie glanced at the others, his indifferent voice echoing through the hall.

The scene they had just witnessed had frightened the courage out of everyone. Not a single person dared make a sound. They all lowered their heads as far as they could, terrified that if the devil before them disliked the look of someone, he might bring down another hammer.

The remaining Awakened—a large-eared young man wearing glasses—was especially terrified. His entire body trembled like a leaf, and he had not the slightest will to resist.

“M-Mister Awakened, w-we have no ill intentions toward you. What happened just now was only Wang Liguo’s personal decision.” An older woman forced herself to raise her head. It must have taken tremendous courage for her to utter those words.

Shen Lie glanced at her. She was probably a teacher. Though her body was covered in grime, she still possessed an unmistakable air of learning.

Shen Lie had never intended to do anything to these people. If the short-haired man’s gaze had not made him sense a threat, he would not have struck at all. Thus, he merely gave the frightened, rabbit-like group a passing look before turning to leave.

Suddenly, just as he turned away, Shen Lie’s expression changed dramatically. He touched the area over his chest, his face lighting up with delight, then spun around and strode quickly toward the female teacher who had spoken.

“What—what are you going to do?” Seeing the hunger in Shen Lie’s eyes, the teacher turned pale and stammered as she took a step backward.

Shen Lie touched his chest again. His eyes remained fixed on the woman, as though he were deep in thought. The atmosphere instantly became taut with tension. It seemed as if everyone’s heartbeat could be heard.

Xia Ke had been standing by the doorway the entire time, and her face was likewise filled with fear. Although she was on Shen Lie’s side, she had known him for only a short while. She had always believed him to be kind, if somewhat weak-willed, which was why she had stubbornly insisted on staying with him.

But today she had seen another side of Shen Lie—a cruel and ruthless man, or perhaps one who simply acted with decisive brutality. She could not help feeling a lingering fear. Fortunately, she had not pushed him too far before. Otherwise, she might already have been thrown into the wilderness.

Shen Lie stood before the teacher for a full half-minute, frightening her to the verge of collapse. Yet he did nothing to her. Instead, he turned and walked over to a long-haired female student standing beside her.

The girl’s name was Lina. She had remained silent the entire time, pretending to be an ostrich while silently praying that the great demon would hurry away. Suddenly, the light before her dimmed. Her heart jolted, and she raised her head with tears in her eyes.

There stood Shen Lie, his face icy, slowly reaching toward her with a demonic claw.

“No—please, no! I beg you, please let me go!” The girl was so terrified that she could barely speak coherently. Countless lurid images flashed through her mind, yet she lacked the courage to resist and could only plead desperately.

Shen Lie remained unmoved by her begging. His right hand drew closer and closer, finally stopping before her neck. After a brief pause, it slipped through the opening of her collar and into her clothing.

“No—no, not here. Please, not here!” The girl had already resigned herself to her fate. When Shen Lie’s large hand touched her chest, she abandoned all hope, praying only that he would not commit such a bestial act in front of so many people and leave her at least the last shred of her dignity.

The people around her lowered their heads even further. Some even shifted aside to clear a space for Shen Lie. The teacher seemed to want to say something, but after opening her mouth, she could not utter a word.

Xia Ke stared at Shen Lie in disbelief as he pawed at the girl. She simply could not connect him with a lecher. When she had first encountered him, he had been practically destitute, yet he had not shown even the slightest trace of lust. Besides, she considered herself far more attractive than this girl. Why had this man suddenly become so impatient?

Could there be something about the girl that attracted him, something that had sent his hormones into overdrive? Xia Ke maliciously speculated about Shen Lie, mentally stamping a huge black mark beside his character. For a moment, she even wondered whether she should continue following him.

But she quickly dismissed the thought. In times like these, who cared about morality or character? Staying alive was already enough.

Everyone believed that the female student was doomed. Among the crowd, a young man who had long been secretly in love with her clenched his fists tightly, but he lowered his head further and further.

Shen Lie’s hand reached deeper, even brushing against the girl’s slightly raised breasts. Her body trembled, but her expression suddenly became indescribably strange.

She felt Shen Lie grasp something between her breasts. Then he withdrew his hand from beneath her collar, holding a small jade pendant she had once casually purchased on an antiques street.

His eyes shone with delight.

“I’ll take this.”

With a gentle tug, Shen Lie snapped the pendant’s cord. He dangled the pendant before the girl, his voice filled with undisguised excitement.