Chapter 186: The Price of Invincibility

Even with a body as tough as bronze and iron, the eyes remained the most vulnerable part of the human anatomy. Moreover, the murderous old man possessed immense strength, and with two fingers, he instantly plunged them into the ghost hunter’s eyes.

“Ahhh!!!” The ghost hunter let out an unspeakably tragic scream. His two eyes had been forcibly gouged out by the old man, and blood streamed down his cheeks.

“What happened?!” The last female ghost hunter, hearing his agonizing cries, had just reached the basement level. Her flashlight beam illuminated the gruesome scene, revealing her comrade’s eyes being ripped from their sockets.

“Run! Run now!” the ghost hunter, his eyes gouged out, screamed. Though blind and wracked with immense pain, he clung to his last shred of sanity, desperately urging the female ghost hunter to flee.

Upon seeing the old man, covered in blood and resembling a demon clawing its way out of hell, the female ghost hunter felt her heart seize in her chest. Yet, she neither prevaricated nor overestimated her own abilities. Quickly grasping the dire situation, she turned and fled back upstairs.

As she ran, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Murder! Help me! Someone’s been killed! Quick, call for help!”

The female ghost hunter’s mind was clear: only by summoning more people could her comrade possibly be saved. His life hung by a thread, and she screamed with all her might. However, her voice was muffled by the building and the underground, rendering it inaudible to me.

“So, there’s another female thief!” The old man immediately moved to pursue the female ghost hunter. But this time, the ghost hunter, his eyes now empty sockets, finally displayed a rare burst of courage. Though blind, he clung tightly to the old man’s legs.

“Let go of me! You bandits! Thieves!” The old man, enraged, repeatedly stabbed the ghost hunter dozens of times with his butcher’s knife. The blade scraped against the man’s bronze-like skin, emitting a teeth-grating sound.

Sparks even flew, but the knife could not penetrate, only leaving scratches on the surface of his skin.

The ghost hunter’s empty eye sockets wept tears of blood. He held the murderer with all his might, preventing him from chasing his teammate. In my opinion, if he had a knife at that moment, or even no weapon at all, just his eyes intact, he could have counter-attacked and killed the old man.

“Damn you! Get off me!” Finally, the old man kicked the ghost hunter away. He crashed heavily into the handrail, leaving a dent in it. However, he had bought enough time, and the female ghost hunter had successfully escaped.

“Help! Murder!” The female ghost hunter screamed as she burst out of Building 13. Her cries for help echoed throughout Liu Baiyuan, and this time, even I could hear them.

“What’s going on?” A group of people stopped their boxing practice, looking confusedly towards the source of the shouts. Many residents also emerged from their apartment balconies, craning their necks to observe.

“Quick, someone! Someone’s been killed!” The female ghost hunter continued to shout as she ran towards the community entrance. Building 13 was in a very remote corner, so she quickly reached the heart of the community, the small park where we were practicing our boxing.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” People strolling, practicing tai chi, and dancing in the community gathered around. The crowd offered the female ghost hunter a slight sense of relief, and she urgently pleaded, “There’s a lunatic in Building 13 killing people! Quickly, call the police! And help him!”

Just as she relaxed for a split second, a dark shadow, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow, lunged from the nearby bushes, plunging a knife into the female ghost hunter’s back.

“Ugh!” The female ghost hunter turned her head in disbelief. It was the old man. She had only just broken free from his grasp, and she never imagined he would dare to commit murder openly on the street, in broad daylight.

“Ahhh!!! Help! Murder!” The residents in the community also began to scream, scattering and running in every direction.

Witnessing this, I was actually stunned. I had assumed everyone in this community was a hardened individual, accustomed to murder, not batting an eye or losing their breath. I had even prepared myself for them to join the old man and land a few more blows. I never expected such a normal reaction.

After the old man finished off the female ghost hunter, who died with wide, unseeing eyes, he loudly declared, “Neighbors, don’t panic. You don’t need to be afraid. I merely caught a few petty thieves who came to steal my meat a few days ago. That’s all.”

With that, he dragged the female ghost hunter’s corpse back, leaving a trail of blood across the ground. Thus, a six-person team, equipped with decent gear, was completely wiped out. The only survivor was the one protected by talismans, making him invulnerable to blades and bullets. However, he was now blind, and I estimated he wouldn’t live much longer.

Indeed, as the old man dragged the female corpse back, the last surviving ghost hunter was groping his way up the stairs. His ‘bronze head and iron arms’ protection remained, but the old man simply kicked him back into the basement.

Just then, the people around the community finally gathered again. They looked at the bloodstains on the ground, exchanging bewildered glances. After a moment, someone finally remembered to call the police, immediately dialing the station and explaining the situation.

By this time, the old man, carrying the female corpse in one hand and the still-struggling ghost hunter in the other, had returned to the cold storage room.

The ghost hunter had heard his female comrade’s desperate cries for help when she fled, and knew the old man had pursued her. He was no longer afraid, and sneered, “You demon, your deeds have been exposed! You can’t hide them anymore! Just wait for the police to come and arrest you!”

“Heh heh, the righteous police officers won’t arrest me. They’ll only arrest you thieves who steal! Tell me quickly! Where did you steal my meat?!” the old man demanded furiously.

The ghost hunter felt utterly bewildered. This old man always twisted facts, making communication impossible. He seemed convinced he had done nothing wrong, merely catching thieves, but the ghost hunter had no idea what ‘meat’ he was referring to.

“Not talking, eh? I can definitely make you talk honestly.” At this point, the old man blocked the drain of the sink, then turned on the faucet and waited for it to fill with water before forcefully pushing the ghost hunter’s head down into it.

Indeed, even if he was invulnerable to blades and bullets, he still needed to breathe. With his head held submerged in the water, the ghost hunter struggled desperately, but he could not escape the old man’s clutches.

What was called ‘interrogation’ was, in reality, murder. The old man had no intention of lifting his head; he kept him submerged until his struggles grew weaker and weaker, eventually ceasing altogether.

This was a man who used talismans to protect his body, who should have been invulnerable to blades and bullets. Yet, he was alive, his eyes gouged out, and then drowned. This left me profoundly shaken.

It wasn’t just him; this ghost hunter team possessed both magical artifacts to deal with demons and ghosts, and weapons to deal with people. Their combat skills were also decent. However, they sorely lacked practical experience and mental fortitude. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for this murderer to wipe out all six of them.

It also served as a reminder that possessing supernatural powers doesn’t make one invincible. If you’re ruthless enough, an old man with a butcher’s knife can still cut down those flashy individuals.

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