The morning in winter was frigid, with frost still clinging to the remnants of strange beast bloodstains on the ground. Luo Feng was quietly threading his way through the alleyway. Far off, two Shadow Cats were diligently tearing into the flesh of another Iron-Haired Boar, clearly enjoying their meal. But the moment they detected the approach of a human, the two Shadow Cats vanished with a quick dart.
Even the beasts possessed a degree of cunning. Any human martial artist operating within City 003 was formidable; one or two Beast Soldier-level monsters simply couldn't stand against them.
"Those two Shadow Cats are probably going to rally the others."
Luo Feng swiftly traversed the alley, then deliberately took a long detour, wasting precious time to advance slowly. It still took him half an hour to reach the back entrance of the hotel.
※※
The rear entrance of the hotel was filthy, the ground marred by patches of dark, inky bloodstains that even the heavy rains couldn't wash away. Luo Feng stood there alone.
"Half an hour. That Thunder Squad of seven has probably gotten far by now." Luo Feng glanced at the badly damaged back door before him, then immediately channeled his telekinetic energy into the two arm guards, the shield strapped to his back, and his battle saber. This powerful supportive force made Luo Feng feel light as a swallow, each step incredibly muted.
"Upstairs!"
He ascended the stairs step by painstaking step, allowing no sound to escape.
Luo Feng proceeded cautiously, but upon reaching the third floor, he spotted a massive Mastiff-Lion hybrid beast lumbering down the corridor. It, too, instantly caught sight of Luo Feng, the human martial artist! They discovered each other almost simultaneously, and Luo Feng broke out in a cold sweat from the shock!
Swish! Swish!
Two black shadows flashed past the Mastiff-Lion beast in an instant. Before the beast could even manage a roar or a snarl, its massive head was cleanly severed and dropped. The two flying knives circled briefly before returning smoothly to the sheaths at his thighs.
"Phew, that was close," Luo Feng breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, this beast didn't think to roar. If Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao had been alerted, things would have gotten messy."
Although killing Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao would be as easy as slaughtering chickens for him.
However, if Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao were on high alert, they might manage to contact the other members of the Thunder Squad before dying... If the others knew a human martial artist was assassinating them, Luo Feng's subsequent operations would become ten, even a hundred times harder.
"Sixth floor!"
Luo Feng reached the sixth floor and allowed a slight smile to touch his lips. Thankfully, he had only encountered one monster climbing from the first to the sixth floor. The Thunder Squad must have cleared out the hotel when they first entered, and that Mastiff-Lion beast had likely only recently arrived itself.
Luo Feng advanced slowly down the corridor on the sixth floor.
"The room with the south-facing windows, the eighth window counting from the east." Luo Feng couldn't be certain which room corresponded to that eighth window.
"It must be one of these three or four rooms."
Luo Feng held his breath, his body drifting soundlessly. He stopped outside one of the rooms, pressing his ear tightly against the wall to listen intently. Sure enough, he could faintly hear muffled voices chatting, which allowed Luo Feng to pinpoint the correct room. He quietly moved outside the door.
"This has to be the one." Luo Feng swiftly swept the interior conditions with his telekinetic energy.
"They’re just sitting there chatting?" Luo Feng smiled faintly.
※※
Inside the room.
Zhang Zehu was leaning back on a worn sofa, while Li Xiao was wiping down his heavy machine gun. They were casually talking amongst themselves.
"That Hammer Squad is truly cowardly. The time we ran into them, they bolted straight back to the supply base. No wonder we couldn't track them before," Zhang Zehu grumbled, spitting out the words. Li Xiao sneered, "They might run today, but they can't run forever. Since we have a death feud, the Hammer Squad is finished."
Zhang Zehu scoffed, "They think they can fight us? Hmm?"
Zhang Zehu’s expression shifted slightly, and Li Xiao’s did too.
"I just felt something," Zhang Zehu looked at Li Xiao, who nodded back, frowning. "I felt a sudden tremor just now."
Having spent years surviving between life and death, powerful martial artists developed instincts for danger. Moreover, the reason their sensations were so distinct was because... Luo Feng had just swept the area with his telekinetic energy. This spread of mental force was generally imperceptible, but highly skilled martial artists would still register a faint disturbance.
"Could it be a monster outside?" Zhang Zehu murmured.
"Very likely," Li Xiao nodded. "The first time we came here, we cleared out every monster in the hotel, but who knows, maybe a beast pack has moved into the building since then."
Click!
Li Xiao hefted his machine gun, and Zhang Zehu gripped his massive mountain-cleaving saber. Both stood up and moved toward the door. The lock on this room's door had rusted away after decades of neglect. Zhang Zehu pulled gently, and the door swung open. Outside the door, there wasn't a single shadow of a person or a monster.
"No sound," Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao exchanged a glance. Then, Zhang Zehu took a deep breath, preparing to cautiously step outside to look.
Just then!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two dark, obsidian rays instantly appeared in front of Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao. One ray sliced across Zhang Zehu’s left arm, cleanly severing it. Continuing unabated, this dark ray immediately swept across the neck of the gunner, 'Li Xiao,' causing his head to fly off its shoulders.
And the second dark ray instantaneously slashed across Zhang Zehu’s throat!
Chkk! A throat-slitting blow!
Blood sprayed forth.
"Uh—uh—" Zhang Zehu’s eyes were wide, but no sound escaped. The speed of the two dark rays was impossibly fast. The distance between Zhang Zehu and the light must have been barely a meter or two, and Li Xiao was only three or four meters away. At such close range—with the speed of those dark rays even surpassing that of a sniper bullet—how could they possibly dodge?
Perhaps a high-level Warlord might have a sliver of chance at survival. For them, however, there was absolutely none.
"Uh—" Zhang Zehu tried to speak, but his throat was cut, and his communication watch had long since dropped to the floor when his left arm was severed.
"I'm going to die? I—how can I die?"
Zhang Zehu clutched his throat with his right hand, blood gushing violently from the wound. He clearly felt his life force draining away. "How could this happen? How could this be!!!"
Suddenly—
A figure materialized in the doorway, clad in martial artist combat gear, alloy combat boots, a shield and saber on his back, his eyes cold and fixed upon him.
"Uh!" Zhang Zehu’s eyes snapped wide, staring at the martial artist before him in disbelief!
It was Luo Feng!
It was the Luo Feng whom he had looked down upon, the rookie newcomer???
"You go first. The rest of the Tiger Tooth Squad will join you soon enough," Luo Feng's voice cut through the air. Zhang Zehu tried to open his mouth to say something, but his throat was slit, and air merely leaked out of the wound. Moreover, his vision was darkening. Just then, the two dark rays flew back toward Luo Feng, hovering before him—they were two flying knives.
The two black throwing knives hung suspended for a moment before gliding back down into the sheaths on Luo Feng's thighs.
"Ah, ah!" Zhang Zehu's eyes widened, trying desperately to articulate something, but his body convulsed, and he crumpled heavily onto the ground.
Before death claimed him—
He finally grasped Luo Feng’s great secret: Luo Feng was a Telekinetic Master!!! In his final moments, Zhang Zehu seemed to glimpse the nightmarish future awaiting all members of their Tiger Tooth Squad.
Silence!
The only sound in the entire room was the drip, drip of blood hitting the floor. Two corpses lay still. Luo Feng stood silently, looking down at the man.
"Zhang Zehu," Luo Feng murmured, looking down at the man.
This Zhang Zehu had always considered himself a veteran martial artist, viewing Luo Feng as a green rookie. That was why, during the negotiation over Zhang Haobai's incident, he had refused to yield an inch. At that time, Luo Feng had just awakened his telekinesis, filled with confidence, and possessing the moral high ground, so he certainly wouldn't back down either.
Originally, this conflict was a minor issue.
The trouble was that the Tiger Tooth Squad had previously set a trap for the Hammer Squad, nearly wiping them all out. Thankfully, Luo Feng had exploded with power at the last moment to save everyone, but even so, Zhang Ke had lost an arm.
Thus, the Hammer Squad nursed their hatred and swore revenge.
The Tiger Tooth Squad, fearing their enemy would grow stronger, sought to eliminate the threat completely! A cycle of unending hostility between the two parties!
"Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao are dead. Six members of the Tiger Tooth Squad—four remain," Luo Feng stood at the doorway, thinking silently. "When they return and find these two murdered, they will certainly become wary and connect many dots! In that case... I will thoroughly stage this scene to confuse them. Whether it succeeds or not will be up to fate."