I Return From Hell

Chapter 26: Chapter 24: Spiritual Heart, Thug in a Suit

THWACK.

THWACK.

...

No. 7 was still swinging the axe wildly, lost in a state of frenzied rage.

Xia Yu didn’t stop her. Instead, she plunged her Butterfly Knife into the sister’s chest, right where her heart was.

BZZZT.

Immediately, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power in the air surged madly into the Butterfly Knife. The sister’s heart withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Xia Yu knew this was the Spiritual Heart working with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power to temper the Butterfly Knife in every aspect.

’Just how much it can be improved will depend on the Spiritual Heart.’

Not all weapons could be tempered by a Spiritual Heart—firearms, for example, could not. If a weapon’s material was already high-grade, an ordinary Spiritual Heart would be unable to temper it.

The Butterfly Knife in Xia Yu’s hand was a cheap toy she had bought for a few dozen yuan. Its material was garbage, so even the lowest-grade Spiritual Heart could temper it.

It took just over ten seconds.

The commotion died down.

The sister’s heart had completely withered away.

Xia Yu pulled out the Butterfly Knife. The blade was now entirely pink, as if it were covered in a cute, pastel sticker.

She flicked it lightly with her finger, and the blade vibrated slightly. Just from the hum and the frequency and amplitude of the vibration, she could tell it had been upgraded by at least one tier.

Most importantly, after being tempered by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power, it could now harm Spiritual Life forms!

”The Spiritual Heart.”

”It really is incredible.”

A satisfied look appeared on her face.

’If I run into that Asexual Ghost again, I’m confident I can protect myself even without using a Crystal Core.’

This operation had gone a little too smoothly, which made Xia Yu even more vigilant. She instantly composed herself and strode over to No. 7, who had grown tired of hacking and was now slumped on the ground with a vacant expression.

SQUELCH.

She plunged the knife into the brother’s chest.

As for the head that had been hacked to a pulp, she merely glanced at it before looking away, her expression unchanging. Such scenes were all too common in the Apocalypse.

’I’m used to it.’

BLEGH.

Xie Shaokun started retching again.

Last time, he could still bring up water. This time, all he could manage were dry heaves.

Xia Yu glanced back and said flatly, ”You’re running out of time to adapt. I don’t want you hiding in the back and just using your superpower forever.”

Xie Shaokun’s dry heaves stopped instantly. He forced himself to endure it.

’How can a grown man let a woman look down on him?’

Xia Yu’s attention shifted to No. 7, a strange glint in her eyes. ’Her speed of absorbing Spiritual Energy is truly astonishing. She’s no slower than I am.’

And she was using the Ancient Guiding Skill!

’This one’s a real talent!’

「Three seconds later.」

The brother’s Spiritual Heart withered completely. The Butterfly Knife’s quality only increased by half a tier, its pink hue slowly transitioning toward a blood-red.

Besides the fact that higher quality meant greater difficulty in upgrading, there was another reason: the brother’s Spiritual Heart was a much lower grade than his sister’s.

”Let’s go.”

Xia Yu got up and headed back to the surveillance room to find the precise location of the last Long-tongued Monster.

Xie Shaokun hurried to follow, while No. 7 was left behind alone.

Xia Yu made no attempt to recruit No. 7. It was tiring enough to drag along one Apocalypse rookie like Xie Shaokun, let alone two.

’If No. 7 can survive until the end, we can talk then.’

Not long after the two left, No. 7 felt someone watching her from the shadows. Having spent so much time in the White Building, she had become extremely sensitive. So even though she was overwhelmed with grief and on the verge of a mental collapse, she still noticed it immediately and subconsciously looked in that direction.

But she saw nothing.

ROAR.

Just then, a Mutant, having caught the scent of blood, charged down from the first basement level.

No. 7 recognized the clothes it was wearing; before its transformation, it had been one of Brother Li’s men. Madness and hatred flashed in her eyes as she grabbed the fire axe and charged.

As if she couldn’t feel pain, she paid no mind to the bloody gashes the Mutant left on her body, nor the chunks of flesh it tore away. All she knew was to attack.

In the end, she actually managed to kill a Mutant.

No. 7 descended into complete madness. She hacked wildly while crying and laughing, spouting strange words. ”All of you damn demons deserve to die! You all deserve to die!”

”Don’t touch me! *Sob*... I’m so dirty, so dirty.”

”Please don’t hit me! I was wrong! I won’t run anymore, I’ll never run again!”

”I killed someone! I killed someone! Don’t come for me! I didn’t mean to! They forced me, they forced me!”

”I’m a demon.”

”We’re all demons! Let’s go to Hell together! To Hell, haha...”

「Elsewhere.」

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Xie Shaokun knocked on the door of the surveillance room.

Three knocks.

Six knocks.

No one opened the door.

”Don’t tell me Manager Ma is dead in there?” he said with a frown.

”No.”

Xia Yu looked up at the surveillance camera and said flatly, ”He’s alive. He just wants us to die.”

Inside the surveillance room, Manager Ma felt as if Xia Yu was staring right at him. He jumped in fright, accidentally bumping his chair and making a noise.

Hearing the sound, Xie Shaokun gritted his teeth and roared, ”Manager Ma, you son of a bitch! Open the damn door for me!”

”Or I’ll kill you!”

Realizing he’d been exposed, Manager Ma dropped the act and shouted back, ”This door is made of solid steel! It’s even sturdier than a security door! No matter how tough you are, you’re not getting in.”

”Go ahead and shout! It’d be best if you attracted more monsters. Then they can eat you all!”

”Haha... Ahh...”

He was relishing the thrill of revenge, but he accidentally pulled at the cut on his lip and cried out in pain.

Furious, Xie Shaokun was about to kick the door.

Xia Yu spoke calmly, ”Save your energy for the Mutants.”

”I’ll open the door.”

With that, she tossed the Butterfly Knife to him.

Xie Shaokun fumbled to catch it, then watched, utterly dumbfounded, as Xia Yu crouched down and began to pick the lock.

’She can pick locks too?’

’What did she do before all this?’

ROAR.

At the end of the hallway, another Mutant appeared. Spotting Xia Yu and Xie Shaokun, it charged.

”This... I’ll fight you to the death!”

Xie Shaokun gritted his teeth, gripped the Butterfly Knife, and rushed forward.

He had already figured out that the Mutant’s weak spot was its head. He also realized that it wasn’t very smart and that his usual fighting style was useless, since the Mutant couldn’t feel pain.

Recalling Xia Yu’s clean and efficient fighting, he quickly formulated a series of combat moves and a plan in his mind.

And then...

BANG.

The Mutant was too fast. It sent him flying with a single kick.

Cough, cough.

Xie Shaokun felt like the kick had nearly gone straight through his stomach. He coughed violently, unable to straighten up from the pain.

Fortunately, he was used to brawling and had a ”take one to give one” mentality. The moment he was sent flying, he managed to swing the Butterfly Knife.

It struck the Mutant’s ankle.

After being tempered and enhanced, the Butterfly Knife could cut through steel as if it were mud.

It easily sliced most of the way through the Mutant’s ankle, leaving only a thumb-thick piece of flesh connecting it to the lower leg.

THUMP.

The Mutant was about to pounce again when its foot gave way. It staggered and fell headfirst, landing facedown in front of Xie Shaokun.

Seeing this, Xie Shaokun was overjoyed. He gritted his teeth against the pain and stabbed with the Butterfly Knife again.

It struck the back of its head.

Most of the blade sank in. If his hand hadn’t been gripping the handle, the hilt probably would have gone in too.

’Is it dead?’

Staring at the motionless Mutant, Xie Shaokun was thrilled. He whipped his head around to show off, ”Yu, I...”

His voice trailed off.

He saw Yu leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, calmly looking down at his pathetic, sprawled-out form on the floor.

Xia Yu said flatly, ”Is that the martial arts you took out a 100,000-yuan loan to learn?”

Xie Shaokun was so embarrassed he wished he could dig a six-bedroom, two-living-room, one-kitchen, three-bathroom luxury apartment into the floor with his toes.

”Check if it has a Crystal Core. If not, get in here.”

After speaking, Xia Yu walked into the room. Her gaze fell on Manager Ma, who was already kneeling before her, trembling.

”Great-grandmother.”