Chapter 61 – Schemes

“So it really is a Mutant…”

The figure’s clothes had been stretched open in several places. Looking at the countless bulging lumps swelling all over his body, Su Lifeng felt his scalp crawl.

At the same time, Su Lifeng noticed a cage lying by the figure’s feet. In his other hand, he was clutching a bloody, mangled creature of indeterminate species.

“A captured Xenospecies?” Su Lifeng was shaken.

By now, Tang Tang’s screams had gradually grown faint. The moment the figure loosened his grip, Tang Tang collapsed to the floor.

“This is what I meant by a carnival,” the figure said with a smile as he looked down at the chaos below.

All of a sudden, a gust of wind struck from behind him. At the same time, a flash of cold light smashed toward his head.

But just as that cold glint was about to reach the top of his skull, the figure abruptly turned his head. A forked tongue shot out of his mouth and swept the cold light aside.

Clang!

Su Lifeng did not look at the hammer that had been knocked flying. He only frowned and shook the arm that the tongue had slashed, leaving bloody marks behind.

It was also a tongue, but this figure’s tongue was far tougher than Xie Yu’s. The forked tips kept writhing to either side, the barbs on the tongue were sharper, and the force it contained was far more powerful. Su Lifeng had only been grazed by it, yet his arm already felt slightly numb.

“Wait. Something’s wrong! His tongue is poisonous too! And the toxin is strong!” Su Lifeng had just tried to clench his fist when he realized his palm and arm had gone weak. Fortunately, the poison did not continue spreading through the rest of his body.

He glanced at Tang Tang and saw that she was covered in blood, her eyes closed. He could not tell whether she was alive or dead.

But she had been in the figure’s hand just now, so Su Lifeng had been unable to make a move. He could only launch his attack the instant the figure released her.

Seeing Su Lifeng glaring at him in shock and anger, the figure did not look all that surprised. “Looks like you got here a little faster than I expected. In that case, Xie Yu, that piece of trash, was killed by you?”

“Yes,” Su Lifeng said with a cold snort, making no attempt to hide it.

“I’m Cheng Feiwen,” the figure introduced himself. His attitude seemed rather relaxed, but Su Lifeng felt the other man’s gaze was firmly locked onto his every move. The fact that Cheng Feiwen had reacted so quickly just now clearly meant he had been on guard the entire time.

“Even though he had his subordinates text him a report every three minutes, he didn’t let his guard down because of it… This guy really is difficult to deal with,” Su Lifeng thought. He could tell that his self-healing ability would not be able to neutralize the toxin in a short amount of time. This weakness would probably last another two or three minutes.

Cheng Feiwen should obviously have known that as well, but he showed no intention of seizing the chance to end the fight quickly. Instead, he started chatting with him.

“I still have to thank you. Xie Yu was someone I never liked much either. I kept telling him that although we had obtained power, in the face of state power, we still amounted to nothing. But the final result was a little beyond my expectations. I didn’t think he would avoid being killed and taken away for dissection and research, only to end up being dealt with by you instead,” Cheng Feiwen said.

Su Lifeng stared at the man’s face and discovered that there were many bulging lumps there as well. Under the light, his skin even seemed a little green.

“Is this… a toad or a frog? Or does he have the genes of both?” Su Lifeng silently speculated.

“No, actually, your guess isn’t exactly wrong,” Su Lifeng said. Xie Yu was currently lying in his freezer as experimental material.

“Oh? Then that’s good. I feel that we’re still very much worth researching, at least as far as humanity is concerned,” Cheng Feiwen said, actually nodding in agreement.

“Those Mutants down there, did you gather them here?” Su Lifeng asked.

The screams downstairs went on and on, mixed with all kinds of laughter that sounded like pure release. Su Lifeng had thought he was no longer afraid of killing, but hearing that still sent a chill crawling up his spine. And what followed immediately after was anger.

If Su Lian had been brought here today, she might have ended up like Tang Tang. Or she might have been like those ordinary people, locked inside a warehouse with the doors sealed shut, killed by these Mutant creatures. This place was not exactly close to the road. Even if the screams never stopped, they would not attract anyone’s attention. The occasional cars passing outside would never know that, not far from where they were, a mad slaughter was taking place…

“Yes. To be precise, they were transformed by Xie Yu and me, using the Xenospecies in our possession,” Cheng Feiwen said.

“For what purpose?” Su Lifeng asked as he felt the strength in his arm slowly returning. Another minute…

“Why, of course… so we can live better. My friend, don’t you think that after gaining power, you’re living better than you did before?” Cheng Feiwen’s tone remained calm, giving off an impression of great sincerity. “It’s not only that you’ve reached another level of life… Social status, the gap between rich and poor, all those things that once made you suffer, now they’ve all become insignificant, haven’t they? Money? However much you want, that is how much you can get. Those who looked down on you, those who oppressed you, you can make all of them answer for it… If we unite, that kind of life will become even more secure, won’t it?”

Su Lifeng was silent for a moment. Then he let out a soft breath. “You’re very persuasive. I imagine this is how you talked Xie Yu into it, isn’t it? He killed his eldest uncle’s entire family because he heard this little speech of yours, didn’t he?”

“I merely said what everyone was already thinking. As for their choices, they made those themselves,” Cheng Feiwen said.

“Then what about these people? Being absorbed-is that their own choice too?” Su Lifeng asked again.

“No, no, no. That is a benefit for the members who join us. Don’t you know? If a Mutant does not absorb other living beings, the Xenospecies may turn around and absorb and devour them instead. I’m doing this for everyone’s sake…”

Whoosh!

That tongue suddenly swept over again. This time, it was aimed straight at Su Lifeng’s vitals.

But the instant Su Lifeng’s pupils contracted, a pair of Bone Wings burst open behind him and shielded him from the front.

Bang!

The tremendous force drove Su Lifeng two steps back, while a sharp pain shot through his Bone Wings.

The smile had vanished from Cheng Feiwen’s toad-like face, replaced by a look of disappointment. “Tch. You actually didn’t die in one hit…”

A sneak attack! What a schemer!

Even after gaining a slight advantage through his toxin, this man had still tried to lower Su Lifeng’s guard by persuading him, waiting for an opening so he could launch a sudden ambush when Su Lifeng least expected it.

Su Lifeng lowered his Bone Wings, his eyes already filled with fury. But immediately after, a cold smile appeared on his face. He clenched his fist, and a layer of Exoskeleton emerged over his knuckles. “Idiot. Too clever for your own good!”

During that time, the strength in his arm had recovered to about sixty percent!

“Is that so? But from what I can see, your relationship with this girl isn’t bad either, is it? Although according to the information I have, the one close to her is Su Lian, when I asked her for clues just now, she didn’t volunteer your name. Tell me, is that only my wild guess, Mr. Su Lifeng?” As Cheng Feiwen spoke, his tongue suddenly curled toward Tang Tang, who was lying on the ground.