Chapter 27 Strike

Chapter 27: Taking Action

Superhumans don't require much sleep, and Mo Qi wasn't truly asleep, so he was aware of Mo Xiu's departure.

Just like last time, the man silently extended his spiritual awareness and followed.

Unaware of the tail behind him, Mo Xiu used his Wind Superpower to accelerate, quickly reaching the vicinity of his destination.

After he killed Ren Zha in the middle of the night a few days prior, Xu Liang had ordered increased security around his area. But in Mo Xiu's view, it was still far from sufficient.

At least for him, slipping in unnoticed remained effortless.

Especially since Bian Tai's residence was slightly more remote than Ren Zha's—after all, true to his name, the things Bian Tai usually did were truly depraved.

Even though it was almost common knowledge, out of deference to his position as Xu Liang's subordinate, he had to maintain some superficial restraint.

Indeed, like master, like man—both cloaked in a veneer of hypocrisy.

But the location of this residence made it more convenient for Mo Xiu to maneuver.

Peering through the window, Mo Xiu saw the room was completely dark and guessed the occupant was probably asleep. Bian Tai lived on the third floor, a bit trickier to scale than the second, but fortunately, Mo Xiu knew the layout well.

If it were one floor higher, he might have had to find a way to sneak in through the main entrance.

To Mo Xiu's surprise, however, when he entered the room through the window this time, he found the bed empty. Bian Tai wasn't in the room at all—it seemed he had gone out.

Wasn't he supposed to be cultivating his mind and character? How could he be out so late at night? Trashy folks' promises aren't worth a damn. But where could he be at this hour?

Mo Xiu pondered briefly, and perhaps due to a gut feeling, the image of a certain person surfaced in his mind.

Although there was a chance his guess was wrong, remembering his earlier promise to Cheng Cheng, Mo Xiu decided to go check.

So, Mo Xiu hurried over to Xie Wu's residence at top speed.

The living areas for different people in Mountain River Base were clearly divided. Superhumans and higher-ups occupied the best spots in the base.

Meanwhile, non-superpowered laborers like Xie Wu were mostly concentrated in the eastern district.

Fortunately, Mo Xiu remembered that during his conversation with Cheng Cheng, Xie Wu had mentioned living in a white RV.

Using his Wind Superpower, Mo Xiu quickly located the RV. Perhaps because Xie Wu preferred his privacy, the vehicle was parked in a somewhat remote spot.

The eastern district was already a bit chaotic, so safety wasn't much of a concern for an RV in this location. From a distance, he could see a small bonfire burning beside the RV and a neat stack of firewood.

But as he drew closer, Mo Xiu heard some chaotic noises—things clattering to the ground and a man's angry roar.

"Get lost! I'd rather die than let you have your way!"

Hearing this, Mo Xiu rushed over. He saw Xie Wu outside the RV, holding a hatchet, his face tense as he confronted Bian Tai.

Compared to how he looked during the day, the man appeared disheveled, his clothes messy, with a purplish bruise at the corner of his mouth—clearly, he had been beaten.

Bian Tai was a tall, burly bald man with a strength-based superpower, making him an opponent ordinary people couldn't hope to defeat.

Seeing the lecherous grin on the man's face, Xie Wu felt nothing but disgust.

He knew that in this situation, even if someone heard the commotion and saw it was Bian Tai, they likely wouldn't dare to help him. So, how was he supposed to take down this scumbag in front of him?

Gritting his teeth, Xie Wu knew that no matter how much he begged for mercy, the other wouldn't let him go. He chose to strike first, charging recklessly toward Bian Tai.

But the disparity in strength was too great. The hatchet in his hand was easily snatched away and thrown aside. Soon after, he was pinned to the ground by the hulking, bald man.

"Little beauty, just give in to me! What's so bad about following me? I guarantee you'll eat well and live comfortably. If you don't obey, I'll have to use force!"

Bian Tai threatened, his face full of a smug grin.

Smelling the disgusting odor emanating from the man, Xie Wu closed his eyes in despair.

Just then, the man restraining him suddenly stopped moving and let out a pained cry.

"Who? Who the hell dares ruin my fun!" Bian Tai roared furiously.

Hearing this, Xie Wu quickly opened his eyes and saw that Bian Tai had somehow been bound by layers of thorny vines.

The overlapping sharp thorns pierced the man's skin, causing blood to flow instantly and making him scream in pain.

Bian Tai turned his head and saw the boy with rainbow-colored hair controlling the vines not far away. His eyes filled with rage and murderous intent.

So what if he's a Plant Superpower wielder? A milk-snatching brat dares stand in my way? He'd better be ready to face the consequences!

Not far away, Mo Xiu raised an eyebrow and pulled back the foot he’d been about to step forward with. He was somewhat surprised to see Cheng Cheng here.

Why was this kid also out so late at night, coming to find Xie Wu?

This move with the thorny vines was the first time he'd seen Cheng Cheng use it. Mo Xiu felt oddly pleased and decided to observe the fight for a while, to see if Cheng Cheng could handle Bian Tai on his own.

In the chaos, no one noticed Mo Xiu hiding in the shadows.

Xie Wu quickly took the opportunity to break free from Bian Tai's restraint, then saw that the one who had helped him was Cheng Cheng, standing not far away.

Cheng Cheng was holding the other end of the vines, his forehead covered in a light sweat. It seemed he was struggling to keep Bian Tai restrained.

Recognizing Cheng Cheng, Xie Wu breathed a sigh of relief, immensely grateful for this timely intervention. He felt even more thankful toward him.

What he didn't know was that the actual situation wasn't as optimistic as it seemed. Bian Tai's Strength Superpower wasn't so easily restrained by vines.

Cheng Cheng's Plant Superpower was only at level two, so its offensive power was limited. Altering the vines to grow thorns had already drained much of his energy.

Soon, he saw the trapped man break free from the vines, ripping them to pieces.

The moment he broke free, Bian Tai glared maliciously at Cheng Cheng and snarled, "You brat, how dare you ruin my fun? I'm going to kill you!"

Seeing this, Cheng Cheng quickly generated more vines. But clearly, these vines were no match for the Strength Superhuman.

Bian Tai seemed lost in bloodlust, completely disregarding the injuries from the thorns. As a result, all the vines Cheng Cheng produced were eventually torn to shreds.

"Hahaha, none of you are getting away! Take a closer look—this Plant Superhuman kid is actually quite good-looking too. You can both wait obediently for my... favors!"

Bian Tai laughed cruelly. His face and body were covered in bleeding wounds from the thorns, but he acted as if he felt no pain, relentlessly tearing through the vine barriers and advancing toward them. The atmosphere became suffocatingly tense.

Feeling his Superpower draining faster and faster, Cheng Cheng anxiously shouted to Xie Wu not far away, "Run! I won't be able to hold him much longer! Go find Brother Mo or the boss for help!"

Xie Wu looked at Cheng Cheng, who was still fighting hard to buy him time to escape. Remembering Bian Tai's earlier insinuations, his expression darkened.

If he ran away now to find help, it would be too late to save Cheng Cheng!

Thinking of this, Xie Wu noticed a dagger sheathed at Cheng Cheng's waist. He rushed over, pulled out the dagger, and shouted to Cheng Cheng, "Help me hold him down!"

After saying this, he recklessly charged towards Bian Tai once more.

Cheng Cheng also did his part; understanding Xie Wu's intention, he expended all his remaining power to generate vines that nearly cocooned the man halfway.

Immediately following, Xie Wu plunged the dagger in his hand into the man's carotid artery.

In an instant, blood gushed out.

Blood also gushed from the man's mouth as he stared in disbelief at the man he had once regarded as helpless prey.

Seeing this, Xie Wu felt as if his heart had stopped, yet his actions did not cease. After pulling out the dagger, he followed up with several more stabs into the man's body.

Each stab was driven by a need to ensure the threat was eliminated and to overcome the fear in his heart.

Only when the man trapped in the vines finally stopped moving did Xie Wu collapse to the ground, drained of strength.

Cheng Cheng, also half-lying on the ground, had completely exhausted his power. It was even worse than the last time when he was chased by their two zombified companions—he couldn't even sprout half a *gūniang* berry now.

The two survivors looked at each other, smiling with relief at surviving.

But then, Cheng Cheng's expression suddenly changed. He pointed behind Xie Wu.

Xie Wu also realized something was wrong, but before he could react, a large hand clamped down on his neck. Turning his head, he met Bian Tai's blood-soaked face.

Despite stabbing him so many times, the man still wasn't completely dead. It seemed he had saved his last ounce of strength to take someone down with him.

Just as Xie Wu despairingly thought he was doomed, the arm restraining him was suddenly chopped off at the midpoint. What followed was the decapitation of the man.

Staring at the instantly mutilated corpse, Xie Wu was utterly stunned.

It took him a long moment to regain his composure. Only then did Xie Wu realize that Mo Xiu had somehow found his way to them, holding the hatchet that had been taken and discarded by Bian Tai earlier.

Seeing that Xie Wu was unharmed, Cheng Cheng patted his chest in relief and exclaimed excitedly to Mo Xiu, "Brother Mo, thank goodness you're here! Otherwise, we would've surely met our end here!"

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Author's Note: Mo Xiu: Double kill.