Zhang Heng only felt his entire right arm suddenly ache and smart, vaguely experiencing an itch mixed with pain—a discomfort so profound it made him want to laugh out loud and weep uncontrollably. The sensation was overwhelmingly awful; in that instant, Zhang Heng truly wished he could take a knife and sever the entire right arm.

Ming Yanwei, tears streaming down her face, cried out with a strained laugh, “This is a B-rank legendary weapon, the Bow of the God of Love. It makes the target feel the consumer market of affection. Heh heh, can you taste that tart, aching flavor? Feeling like laughing one moment and crying the next—that’s the taste of love. Of course, that’s not the bow’s only function. I doubt you’ll want to sample the others, Zhang Heng. Have you missed me at all during this time?” With that, she loosed another arrow, striking right beside the original wound on Zhang Heng's arm. Thwack! Another shaft tore straight through his limb.

Zhang Heng let out a terrible scream. He roughly tugged at the piercing hole in his wound; comparatively, the pain itself felt almost relieving. That sharp, aching sensation was enough to drive one to self-destruction. Good. He bit down hard on his tongue, then murmured hoarsely, “Wei, Wei, I’m sorry. I did come back, but—”

A murderous intent suddenly flared in Ming Yanwei’s eyes. She powerfully drew the silver miniature bow. When she released the string, a beam of silver light shot toward the ancient bronze bell beside Zhang Heng. With a sharp clang, the bronze bell instantly melted into slag, as the arrow from the silver bow carried an intense fiery damage. Yet, this particular arrow was not aimed at Zhang Heng.

“You came back? Came back to do what? To watch me get brutalized by several men in turn? To watch me chained up like a dog? And then watch me—!”

Ming Yanwei immediately burst into tears, but her grip on the bow never slackened. Arrow after arrow continued to pepper Zhang Heng’s body. Each impact caused a piercing injury, and each injury was enough to elicit a piercing scream from him. In mere seconds, he was drenched in sweat, his body feeling utterly spent.

Zhang Heng mumbled, “Wei, why are you in the Demon Reincarnation Squad? Did you really go abroad? Which country did you end up in? You have no idea, I wanted, desperately wanted, to find you, but I never gathered the courage. So, I could only… I made those who insulted you pay. But I never knew you had already entered this horror movie world.”

Ming Yanwei suddenly gave a cold laugh. “My primary self is in the Central Continent Team. My memory only extends up to the moment I first appeared in the Central Continent. I know nothing about that particular horror movie. Looking at things now, my primary self in the Central Continent Team must already be dead, right? Hmph. How do I know that my self didn’t die after you ran away?”

Zhang Heng’s face cycled through shades of blue and white. His mouth trembled, wanting to voice a thousand things, but in the end, not a single word escaped. All that remained in his heart was a profound bitterness and heartache—not for his own suffering, but for the woman before him, both familiar and alien. Once, this woman had laughed and fussed like a child. Together, they had planned future travels, discussed leisurely pursuits, envisioned the members of their future family, and dreamed about the life ahead. But at some point, those dreams were brutally torn apart, all because of his cowardly and shameful actions—fleeing alone when faced with ultimate peril.

Zhang Heng’s mind churned with thoughts. After a long silence, he gritted his teeth fiercely. “Wei, I will repay you! But before that, I have something I must do. If I don’t complete this, I will once again be a coward who runs away. I refuse to be that kind of coward again, so please forgive me for this temporary absence.” With that, Zhang Heng resolutely raised his bow and aimed it directly at Ming Yanwei. Amidst her stunned expression, he loosed a Burst Arrow. The enchantment on the arrowhead flashed fiercely, but the arrow whistled past the side of Ming Yanwei’s face. By the time she recovered her senses, Zhang Heng had vanished from the rooftop of the clock tower.

Zhao Yingkong moved silently through the alleyway. Since that black mist had begun to spread, she had already connected with Zheng Zha’s consciousness via the Mind Link to converse once. She was currently heading as promised toward the foot of that large building. In this murky darkness, it was the perfect environment for an assassin to utilize her abilities, which gave her the confidence to make that proposition to Zheng Zha.

“Heh heh, still such nimble movements, like a little kitten. My adorable Xiao Yan Yan cousin.”

As Zhao Yingkong sprinted forward without a sound, a voice, accompanied by a surge of imposing aura, suddenly slammed into her from straight ahead. The young girl immediately recoiled backward, jumping away, her entire posture wary like a startled cat surveying her surroundings. But she recognized the voice almost instantly. Zhao Yingkong pulled the flaming dagger from behind her back. While her expression remained unchanged, anyone familiar with her could sense the raging fury building within her.

An exceptionally handsome young man emerged from the shadows. He had shoulder-length hair and stood approximately 1.8 meters tall, his physique comparable to a male model. Combined with the noble, utterly gentle smile on his face, he was undeniably a rogue killer capable of captivating countless women.

“Zhao! Zhui! Kong!”

Zhao Yingkong roared the name out, articulating each syllable through her blinding rage, and charged violently toward the strikingly handsome young man, Zhao Zhuikong. The flaming dagger in her hand stabbed fiercely toward his heart. This furiously attacking Zhao Yingkong was unlike anything Zheng Zha and the others had ever witnessed—the fire in her eyes seemed poised to consume her very being. This attack carried the force of a strike from which there would be no return.

Zhao Zhuikong shrugged helplessly, making no move to defend as he allowed the dagger to plunge toward his heart. Yet, Zhao Yingkong felt no sensation of the blade penetrating solid matter; her entire body passed right through Zhao Zhuikong, as if she had lunged at a mere phantom. Zhao Zhuikong then innocently turned around.

“Little cousin, your movements are still superb—a pure and direct assassination, the perfect, flawless innate assassin. Of course, if you were maintaining a normal mindset, I imagine even I would require significant effort to overcome you. Are you angry? Furious with me?” Zhao Zhuikong asked with a gentle smile.

Zhao Yingkong did not look back. She shot toward a nearby wall, planting her feet firmly against it, and lunged at Zhao Zhuikong once more. But again, her strike passed cleanly through the center of his body. Only then did Zhao Yingkong ask coldly, “Why? Why are you doing this? Why?”

Zhao Zhuikong scratched his head with a look of resignation. “I have done so many things, little cousin. I truly don’t know which action you are referring to. Can you give me a hint?” He maintained that exquisitely pure smile, yet it was laced with an intense, chilling coldness, utterly devoid of the warmth a smile should convey.

Zhao Yingkong took a deep breath. “Why did you kill Brother Yukong? You and Brother Yukong were the two people I respected most. Why did you kill him? And Sister Mingkong, and little sister Nikong—why did you kill them?”

Zhao Zhuikong scratched his head again, looking bewildered. “Oh dear, how am I supposed to answer that? You’ve really stumped me. Heh heh. I actually thought you’d ask why I abandoned the assassin world. I didn’t expect you’d ask such a dull question. As for why I killed them? The answer is very simple…”

“I wanted to test the extent of my own resolve.”

“If I couldn’t even bring myself to strike them, then why would I bother leaving the assassin family? Hahahaha!”

Zhao Yingkong inhaled sharply, feeling a surge of hot blood rush to her chest. Before she could regain her composure, this hot wave erupted from her mouth in a spray of blood. Clutching her dagger, she flung herself at Zhao Zhuikong with reckless abandon.

At this moment, approximately several kilometers away from the main battle zone, a colossal black shadow leaped out from an armed helicopter. This massive figure stood at least three meters tall, its muscles standing out like solid iron blocks. More startlingly, it possessed a single, enormous eye embedded in its chest, resembling a magnified cat's eye affixed there.

The spot where the giant figure landed was over twenty meters below the helicopter—a height that would surely crush any ordinary creature. However, the figure seemed utterly unharmed. It calmly rose from the ground, leaving two deep fissures in the earth where it stood, looking as if a massive cannonball had struck the surface.

The giant figure stretched its limbs. It then casually delivered a light punch to a nearby burning car, flinging it over ten meters away, crushing a standing Tentacle Zombie beneath it. The punch looked effortless. Simultaneously, the figure roared toward the sky, and the giant eye on its chest blinked once.

Another heavy iron crate was dropped from the helicopter. The giant figure merely tugged lightly at the chains securing it, and the chains snapped as if they were thin threads. Inside the crate lay a massive rotary machine gun used by helicopters, along with a shoulder-launched, multi-round rocket launcher. The giant figure easily hefted both weapons and strode toward the distant area shrouded in black smoke. With every step, a crack appeared in the ground beneath its feet.