Chapter 21: The Death of Blood Kite and the Fangs in the Shadows

Xue Yuan was a high-ranking member of “The Purge.”
As an A-rank ability user, her strength ranking within “The Purge” was not low, and she was on the verge of becoming a cadre.

Xue Yuan’s ability was “Blood Blade.”
This ability was actually a strengthening type, using the enemy’s blood to strengthen her body and weapon.
Every time she killed a person or an Aberrant Beast, her ability would draw their blood, part of it strengthening her body, and part of it strengthening her short blade.

The ability “Blood Blade” could actually only be considered B-rank, because the effect of each strengthening was not significant.
Even after endless slaughter and sufficient blood for strengthening, the flesh and the blade ultimately had their limits.
Moreover, not just any blood could be used for strengthening; only the blood of enemies whose strength was comparable to Xue Yuan’s could be used.

But there was a reason why Xue Yuan’s strength was second only to the cadres.
She was a “dual ability user,” and her main ability was the application of mental power.

Xue Yuan’s main ability, “Purgatory Eyes,” was a very powerful mental ability.
Anyone who made eye contact with her would fall into a mental illusion, losing themselves in an endless purgatory, or even suffering direct brain death.
Coupled with Xue Yuan’s strengthened body, which could contend with A-rank ability users, and that equally strengthened short blade, Xue Yuan always felt that she had no rival among A-rank ability users.

Before this mission began, Xue Yuan’s direct superior had specifically instructed her, “Don’t think you’re invincible below S-rank. Not to mention the cadres in the organization, even if you encounter an A-rank ability user with very strong mental power, you’ll probably capsize in the gutter.”

“Your ‘Purgatory Eyes,’ if you encounter an ability user with stronger mental power, will backfire on you. And you, who have always had it easy, if you continue with such a frivolous attitude, you will end up falling victim to your own ability!”

At that time, Xue Yuan had scoffed.
Falling victim to her own ability?
Fine, during the sniping period, when almost all ability users were mobilized, let’s see you find someone with higher mental power than me first.

There was only one A-rank “dual ability user” in the “Guardians,” and it was impossible for any S-rank ability users to be loitering in the central city during the sniping period.
Even if there were A-rank ability users left in the city, how strong could their mental power be?
To surpass her, a “dual ability user” whose main ability was mental power application, was simply impossible.

But at this moment, under the gaze of those deep purple eyes, Xue Yuan understood for the first time what it meant to be a “frog in a well.”

The moment her mental power came into contact with the little girl’s, Xue Yuan regretted it.
That momentary contact felt as if her life was being targeted by some powerful existence.
Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand, and her soul trembled.
She had thought that Xia Xingli, whose material-type ability was quite powerful, should have far weaker mental power than her.
But at this moment, Xue Yuan began to doubt whether she was facing a human at all.

In the instant of mental contact, she saw an endless expanse of stars, an entire boundless universe.

Facing an existence whose mental power was like a universe for a moment, Xue Yuan’s mental offensive was like a small wooden boat hitting a giant tsunami.
Without even a chance to resist, it collapsed and disintegrated.
The effect of “Purgatory Eyes” backfired.
Xue Yuan, who had always used this ability to destroy countless people’s minds, finally experienced firsthand the terror of her ability, experienced the terrifying illusion that could destroy a person’s spirit.

From Xia Xingli’s perspective, after making eye contact with those crimson pupils, she felt a momentary trance for some reason, a fleeting sense of dizziness.
This dizziness was more severe than the previous inexplicable discomfort, but it was only a momentary feeling.
When she came back to her senses, the woman had stopped moving at some point, standing there with vacant eyes.

Hurriedly jumping back a few steps to create distance, Xia Xingli guessed that the dizziness just now was the other party’s attack.
After all, this woman had said she was a “dual ability user.”
She just didn’t know why she didn’t take the opportunity to attack just now.
After all, the dizziness and trance had caused Xia Xingli to lose control of her “Violet Spirit Ice Flame” for a moment.

However, to Xia Xingli’s surprise, just as she pulled away to be on guard, the woman suddenly clutched her head and started wailing.
The mournful wail startled Xia Xingli.
She carefully observed the woman, strengthening the shield of “Violet Spirit Ice Flame” as much as possible.
But after observing for a while, Xia Xingli came to a conclusion: this woman no longer had the ability to continue fighting.

Not only was she wailing, but an abnormal fluctuation was also emanating from her body.
Along with this fluctuation, a very strong smell of blood emanated from her, making Xia Xingli involuntarily cover her nose.

“Her ability is out of control… it seems this woman’s material-type ability is related to blood.”

At this moment, the woman no longer possessed her former beauty.
Her face was twisted into an inhuman shape by fear.
Protruding blood vessels could be seen on her exposed skin, and in some parts, the blood vessels had already burst, with blood gushing out from her body.

Xue Yuan’s ability “Blood Blade” used the enemy’s blood to strengthen herself.
After losing control, it instead caused all the blood in her body to go berserk.
If this continued, all the blood vessels in Xue Yuan’s body would probably burst, and she would die an unrecognizable death.

Covered in blood, Xue Yuan was still wailing, lost in the backfired purgatory.
The scene for a moment was like something out of a horror movie.
But the next moment, her wailing came to an abrupt end, and the loss of control over her ability also stopped.

Because her throat had been pierced by a dagger.

Perhaps it was a final burst of life before death, but Xue Yuan’s eyes regained their clarity, and she awoke from the mental purgatory.
She laboriously raised her hand to touch the dagger stuck in her throat, revealing an ugly smile that was perhaps self-deprecating, perhaps one of relief, and then fell backwards.

In the last moment of her life, what was she thinking?
Was it regret for not heeding her superior’s warning?
Or was it the relief of finally being free?
Xia Xingli couldn’t possibly know these things, nor did she need to.
The members of “The Purge” were, in a sense, more dangerous than Aberrant Beasts.
And when you kill an Aberrant Beast, do you consider what the beast is thinking?

Casually waving her hand to destroy Xue Yuan’s body with “Violet Spirit Ice Flame,” Xia Xingli still didn’t understand why the enemy would inexplicably die from her ability going out of control.
From the series of events just now, the most reasonable explanation was that the woman had suffered a backlash from her own mental ability, leading to mental disorder, which in turn triggered the loss of control over her material ability.

“I just don’t know how her mental ability suddenly backfired… was it because her strength wasn’t enough? Well, whatever, it’s a headache.”

If she couldn’t figure it out, she simply wouldn’t think about it anymore.
Xia Xingli stretched lazily and continued to stroll down the street.

“Alright, back to patrolling.”

On a desolate piece of land, a few Aberrant Beasts wandered aimlessly among the ruins.
This place was far from the central city, and there were no safe zones nearby.
The beasts never encountered any humans.

One of the beasts seemed to have discovered something.
Its dinosaur-like head turned towards a broken wall, but after a few seconds, it turned its gaze back, as if the feeling just now was just an illusion.

And beneath these ruins, a hundred meters underground, there was a large-scale underground base.

In a very spacious room, a man abruptly appeared on the ground.
While taking off a raincoat-like garment, he said as if with lingering fear, “Oh my, I was almost discovered by an Aberrant Beast. That was close, so close.”

“The camouflage suit should be able to hide your aura, right? At least ordinary beasts shouldn’t be able to discover you.”

Another tall man leaned against the exit of the room, dressed like a western cowboy, even wearing a worn-out cowboy hat.

“To activate the entrance, I have to reveal the mark on my arm, right? Just for that short moment, I was almost discovered by a beast within thirty meters.”

After folding the “raincoat,” the man waved his exposed right forearm.
On his forearm, there was a black tattoo-like pattern imprinted on his skin.

“That’s your own carelessness.”
The cowboy man seemed unwilling to continue this topic.
“How’s the situation?”

“Bad news, Xue Yuan’s entire team is dead.”
The man who had reported the news lowered his rolled-up sleeve and said nonchalantly.
“They didn’t even do anything, and they were all wiped out by a patrolling ‘Guardian.’ It seems they ran into an A-rank ability user. Capsized in the gutter.”

The cowboy man touched the brim of his hat, not seeming too surprised by this news. “What about the other teams?”

“The other teams are fine, but they didn’t have much chance to act either. But you’re really cold. A capable subordinate died, and you don’t even have a reaction.”

The man reporting the news shrugged, his tone somewhat teasing.

“Xue Yuan had become too inflated because of her own strength long ago. I had already foreseen that she would fall because of her arrogance one day.”

The cowboy man was unmoved, his voice still without any fluctuation.

“Alright, alright, talking to you is really no fun. I’d rather go find ‘White Rose’ for a drink.”

The man made an exaggerated gesture of helplessness, intending to bypass the cowboy man and leave directly.
But after walking a few steps, he stopped again.

“By the way, you’d better tell the higher-ups that there might be another ‘dual ability user’ in the ‘Guardians,’ and a powerful A-rank one at that.”

The cowboy man pressed down on the brim of his hat without any response, it was unclear whether he understood or hadn’t heard.
The man raised his eyebrows, spread his hands, and shook his head, walking away helplessly.

In this seemingly ordinary underground, one of the branches of “The Purge” was hidden.
They were like beasts lurking in the dark, quietly waiting for the moment to bare their fangs to the world.