Chapter 16: The Hammer and the Unseen Threat

“L-L-Li Qiang, behind you…”

“Shh!”

As Liu Dali stood menacingly behind the Bearded Man, the blood-stained hammer clutched in his hand sent chills down the spines of everyone else in the elevator. One person, trembling, began to speak, trying to warn the Bearded Man about the figure behind him.

However, before he could finish his sentence, Qiao Xia swiftly raised a hand to cover his mouth.

Liu Dali was highly sensitive to sound at the moment. If a loud voice agitated him, he might truly lash out at the Bearded Man.

‘But why did he try to carve out my heart, yet resort to a weapon for others?’

‘Could it be a profound love?’

While Qiao Xia was preventing others from speaking, the Bearded Man noticed the panic etched on their faces. His heart lurched, sensing something was terribly wrong.

Especially after hearing the words “behind you,” the Bearded Man instinctively twisted his head, desperate to see what lurked there.

He had seen nothing when he first stepped out of the elevator.

Yet, with that single turn, he saw Liu Dali in a black trench coat. The Bearded Man’s sharp eyes immediately fixated on the hammer clutched in Liu Dali’s hand, from which fresh crimson blood was still steadily dripping, splattering tiny crimson stars on the floor.

The scene before him required no further explanation; any sane person would understand the gravity of the situation.

‘That young man’s words were true!’

‘Liu Dali has truly lost his mind!’

Fortunately, though thoroughly terrified, the Bearded Man didn’t scream. Instead, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably, a clear sign of his profound fear of Liu Dali and the weapon he wielded.

Because the Bearded Man remained silent, Liu Dali stayed perfectly still, without a single movement. He merely fixated his gaze on the Bearded Man, just as he had stared intently at Qiao Xia moments before.

As soon as Qiao Xia saw that Liu Dali wasn’t reacting, he immediately hurled the lighter he had been clutching towards the left side of the corridor.

The moment the crisp clatter of the lighter hitting the ground echoed, the previously rigid Liu Dali suddenly sprang into action. He whipped his head towards where the lighter had landed, his feet immediately following suit.

However, Qiao Xia, now able to control his own body, clearly observed that even as Liu Dali turned his head to the left, his eyes remained fixed on the elevator.

It was as if his body and consciousness had separated; his body was moving, yet his awareness kept his gaze locked on them.

Those crimson eyes, like a malevolent spirit clawing its way from hell, sent a shiver of dread through Qiao Xia, causing him to involuntarily tremble.

Once Liu Dali’s figure vanished from the elevator entrance, Qiao Xia quickly pulled the stunned Bearded Man back inside. He then immediately reached up and pressed the button for the first floor.

As the elevator resumed its descent, the committee members finally seemed to awaken from their stupor. Some gasped for breath, slumping against the elevator walls, their legs turned to jelly from fright.

“Young man, thank you so much just now. If it weren’t for you, I might have been seriously hurt. That Liu Dali truly has violent tendencies; it’s terrifying.”

It was only then that everyone recalled Qiao Xia’s earlier words in the elevator. They had initially dismissed his warnings, but now, reality had taught them a harsh lesson.

The Bearded Man, especially, having personally faced the unsettling Liu Dali, now offered Qiao Xia his sincere gratitude.

Had Qiao Xia not reacted so quickly, the hammer in Liu Dali’s hand could have easily split his head open.

Crucially, the hammer Liu Dali held was blood-stained. Yet, Liu Dali himself showed no signs of injury. So, where had the blood come from?

‘Or had Liu Dali already attacked someone else?’

After all, the young man had just mentioned that Liu Dali had tried to attack him earlier.

The thought of Liu Dali harming someone sent a fresh wave of urgency through the Bearded Man. Once his initial fear subsided, he immediately addressed the others: “Everyone, Liu Dali’s situation is serious. We must get him to a hospital for treatment, quickly!”

“Yes, I agree. Let’s get him out of the neighborhood right away!”

“This time, when we go down, we need to bring weapons. I remember the Animal Protection Bureau left some metal poles at the committee a few days ago. They’d be perfect for restraining Liu Dali, preventing him from retaliating.”

“We also need to warn other residents not to come upstairs for now, until we’ve taken Liu Dali away!”

Upon hearing the Bearded Man’s words, the others nodded in agreement, all concurring with the proposal to apprehend Liu Dali and send him to the hospital.

At this moment, they had completely forgotten their earlier resolve, made while ascending the elevator, to prioritize persuasion and avoid any violence with Liu Dali.

Yet now, every single one of them was calling for the use of force, with no one mentioning verbal persuasion any longer.

Watching the committee members’ fervent discussion, Qiao Xia, standing nearby, finally felt a sense of relief. He thought that they had finally taken the situation seriously, and perhaps now Liu Dali could be safely taken to the hospital with zero casualties.

This latest encounter with Liu Dali, aside from frightening him once more, had also yielded other insights for Qiao Xia.

At the very least, his ‘experiment’ confirmed that Liu Dali was indeed sensitive to sound.

His golden finger not only allowed him to reverse outcomes but also offered additional benefits. He would need to experiment more to fully understand them.

****

The subsequent events unfolded with remarkable smoothness.

Despite Liu Dali’s aggressive tendencies, the committee members, now mentally prepared, managed to apprehend him with only a little extra effort. They even secured a straitjacket borrowed from the community’s psychiatrist, then drove him directly to the nearest hospital.

As for the blood-stained hammer, when the committee members entered Liu Dali’s home, they discovered several stray cat corpses in the living room, beaten into a bloody pulp.

Some of the cat corpses had already begun to decompose and were infested with maggots, causing those who entered Liu Dali’s apartment to retch, nearly vomiting on the spot.

Qiao Xia, however, didn’t join the commotion. As Liu Dali was being transported to the hospital, he politely excused himself from the committee members, who were once again expressing their gratitude. After unlocking his front door with a key and just as he was about to open it, he subconsciously recalled the scene of his heart being carved out. This prompted him to quickly glance behind him.

‘Hm, the crowd of onlookers is still there; there’s no danger.’

Finally relieved, Qiao Xia entered his home without incident. After locking the front door, his heart settled completely.

‘Next up, time to play some games.’

Though he had endured one bizarre event after another, thankfully, it was all over now. Safe within his home, Qiao Xia genuinely didn’t believe any other surprises could possibly occur!

[Danger detected. Future Sight activated.]

[100 yuan automatically deducted. Future vision constructing… Construction successful. Activating now.]

However, Qiao Xia was still too naive.

Just then, that strange voice resonated once more, without any warning.