Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The hovercar was parked on the opposite broken wall, with Chushi and Angson peering down. Upon seeing the swarm of giant crabs on the wall, Chushi's face paled, and he decisively turned to run back, shouting, "Retreat quickly!"

Several of his subordinates followed him in retreat, but Angson lingered for two seconds too long. As he turned, he felt a sharp pain in his calf, caught by a crab that had climbed up.

He tried to pull his leg free, but to no avail; another crab clamped onto his other leg. With a crunch, the sound of breaking bones echoed, and Angson screamed in agony, falling to his knees.

"Steward Chushi, save me!"

Chushi turned, firing at the two crabs, but more crabs climbed up, pinning Angson's limbs amidst his heart-wrenching screams.

Crunch.

As the pincer clamped around his neck tightened, Angson's head drooped down at an odd angle, and his screams abruptly ceased.

Chushi, no longer concerned about Angson, hurried towards the vehicle, saying, "Get in the car, quickly."

Yan Bubu and Feng Chen were crawling along the utility pole when Feng Chen saw Adai, hanging in mid-air, and the semi-transparent snake wrapped around one end of the pole.

Adai looked up at him, her eyes still filled with undisguised venom, despite the swarming crabs beneath her feet.

After ensuring Yan Bubu had crawled past the snake without any hindrance, Feng Chen pulled out the dagger from his waist and aimed it at the snake.

Seeing him draw the dagger, Adai's expression remained unchanged until she realized he was targeting the snake coiled around the pole, then her face showed panic and disbelief.

"You, you can actually see it?"

Feng Chen did not respond, only raised the dagger and plunged it without hesitation into the snake's body.

There was no blood, nor any sensation of piercing flesh, yet both the snake and Adai screamed simultaneously.

"Ah!"

"Hiss!"

The semi-transparent snake, with its head coiled around Adai's waist, writhed in pain, swinging left and right. Adai trembled violently, clutching her head, her face turning pale as though she was the one stabbed.

Feng Chen raised his dagger again, and Adai rasped, "Kid, if you continue, no matter where you flee to, my master will catch you and make you wish you were dead."

She gasped for air, looking up at Feng Chen, only to see the young man unmoved by her threats, showing no signs of fear or hesitation.

His eyes were unfathomably dark and cold, devoid of any emotion, not betraying a hint of fright.

Only then did Adai start to feel a tinge of panic.

This young man was unlike others his age; he was cold-hearted, not only able to see her snake but also willing to kill her without flinching.

"You can see it, you are like me. Don't act, I can teach you. You probably don't know yet, right? And I wasn't really going to kill you, just trying to scare you," Adai said, her gaze on Feng Chen complex.

Feng Chen glanced at Yan Bubu ahead. Yan Bubu had reached the other end of the pole and, realizing Feng Chen hadn't followed, started to crawl back.

"Stay there, don't move," Feng Chen commanded.

Yan Bubu immediately stayed still.

Adai continued, "Killing me brings you no benefit, it's merely provocation against Anbu Jia—"

Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Feng Chen's eyes. He thrust the dagger down again. The blade pierced the snake without resistance, striking sparks against the metal utility pole with a crisp sound.

The semi-transparent snake convulsed, black smoke rising from the puncture as if seared by a hot iron, yet it dared not loosen its grip on the pole. Adai, in agony, clutched her head in mid-air, letting out a sharp scream.

Feng Chen, without a glance at Adai, coldly pulled out the dagger and raised it high again.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed from across the fissure. Feng Chen instantly ducked, a bullet grazing his scalp.

"Young master!" Yan Bubu cried out in fear.

The hovercar, half-suspended in the air, hovered above a group of crabs waving their pincers. Chushi, with a handgun, leaned out of the lowered car window, aiming at Feng Chen.

Feng Chen had to abandon confronting the snake, running swiftly along the utility pole amidst the gunfire, sparks flying from the pole behind him.

The crabs below began to climb upwards, some reaching the end of the pole, their spiked legs ready to latch on.

"Get down, you all get down, don't come over!" Yan Bubu, perched on the pole, shouted at the crabs climbing up.

As the foremost crab drew close, he was about to punch it.

Just as his fist was about to contact the open pincer, he felt a tight grip on his back and was lifted into the air, narrowly avoiding the large, spiky pincer sliding just below his face.

Feng Chen, carrying Yan Bubu, swiftly crossed the utility pole. His speed was so fast that the crabs couldn't extend their pincers in time. Along the way, he kicked off two crabs, sending them tumbling down.

Yan Bubu, now accustomed to being grabbed by the back, remained still in Feng Chen's grasp, even adjusting his position naturally to make it easier for Feng Chen to hold him securely.

Feng Chen kept running until they were off the beach, then turned back, locking eyes with Chushi.

Chushi's eyes were sinister, his face ghastly pale in the light from inside the car. He slowly extended a metal arm from the window, bending three fingers in a mock shooting gesture at Feng Chen.

Feng Chen looked at him indifferently, while Yan Bubu, with a face full of anger, raised his hands at Chushi, making gun noises with his mouth.

"Bang bang, I'll shoot you dead, bad guy."

Then he mimed throwing something, making unintelligible sounds as if tossing a bomb.

It wasn't until Feng Chen carried him away that he put his forefingers to his lips, blowing as if to clear smoke from a gun barrel, and then tucked them back into the front pocket of his overalls.

Feng Chen, worried Chushi and his group might follow, sought out a secluded area and found an outdoor parking lot. Seeing no one around, he slipped into a school bus parked there.

The bus door was open, and there was nobody inside. It seemed to have been abandoned here during the earthquake, with the students and driver having fled.

Feng Chen closed both the front and rear doors of the bus and sat down in the front row, gasping for breath.

Yan Bubu sat beside him, opening his ever-present cloth bag to take out a chocolate bar. He quietly unwrapped it and held it up to Feng Chen's mouth.

"Young master, have some chocolate."

By this time, Feng Chen was completely drained, his limbs weak and his body trembling uncontrollably. He glanced at the chocolate, took a big bite, and leaned against the seatback, chewing slowly.

After Feng Chen swallowed that bite, Yan Bubu held up more chocolate to continue feeding him.

As Feng Chen ate, he pondered Adai's words and suddenly asked Yan Bubu, "Didn't you see that snake?"

"Snake?" Yan Bubu straightened up, looking around, "Where's the snake?"

"The woman we met earlier had a snake with her, didn't you see it?"

Yan Bubu thought for a moment, then shook his head, "I didn't see any snake."

Feng Chen eyed him, "If you didn't see the snake, then how do you explain her hanging in mid-air without falling?"

Yan Bubu scratched his face, "I didn't really pay attention."

"What about when I stabbed the snake with my dagger, did you notice then?"

Yan Bubu fell silent for a moment before mumbling, "I didn't see you stab a snake. Maybe I was climbing at that time, I only saw you stab the utility pole."

Feng Chen instinctively tightened his grip, but he didn't press further, simply frowning in thought.

After finishing the entire chocolate bar, his complexion slightly improved. Yan Bubu then reached for Feng Chen's backpack, unzipping it to pull out a water bottle, which he bit and slowly twisted open with his teeth.

Yan Bubu's teeth slipped on the bottle cap, making a squeaky friction noise, punctuated by occasional slurps. Feng Chen couldn't bear to watch and reached out, gesturing for him to hand over the water.

"No need, young master, I've got it," Yan Bubu said, turning aside and furrowing his brows, "I didn't chant the spell earlier, that's why I couldn't open it."

"What?" Feng Chen didn't quite catch that.

Yan Bubu solemnly recited, "Awu beng ga ada wu xia," then mimed grabbing something from the air, pressed it to his mouth, and bit the cap again, twisting it open with a click.

"Here, drink," Yan Bubu handed the water to Feng Chen.

Even though Yan Bubu had only bitten the cap, Feng Chen instinctively wiped the bottle mouth with his sleeve.

There were only five bottles of water left in the bag, so they needed to be conserved. Feng Chen drank only half a bottle before handing the rest to Yan Bubu, indicating for him to drink as well.

Yan Bubu, unfazed by the mouth of the bottle Feng Chen had just used, didn't bother to wipe it and drank directly. But not wanting to finish it all, he only took a few sips before screwing the cap back on and placing the bottle back in the backpack.

Feng Chen leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and casually asked, "What was that spell you just chanted? Specifically for opening bottle caps?"

Yan Bubu glanced at him and earnestly explained, "It's not just for opening bottle caps. It's magic. It can open caps and also be used to fight bad guys."

"Oh, right, you chanted the same thing when you pretended to throw a bomb at Chushi."

Yan Bubu nodded, "Yes, with the Binunu magic spell, my bomb could have blown him to pieces."

"Binunu magic spell?" Feng Chen slightly opened his eyes.

Yan Bubu, with a serious expression, affirmed, "It's taught by Binunu's master in the TV show. I can teach you if you want to learn."

Feng Chen, finally relaxing, found the leisure to engage: "Alright, teach me then."

"Awu beng ga ada wu xia, come on, repeat after me."

Feng Chen murmured softly, "Awu... ga ga wu xia."

"No, it's not awu ga ga wu xia, it's awu beng ga ada wu xia," Yan Bubu earnestly corrected him, exaggerating his mouth movements, "Watch me, it's like this: awu, beng ga, ada wu, xia."