Chapter 65: Taking Action

Chapter 65: Taking Action

"What was that sound over there?"

"Probably someone running around in the dark, bumping into the doors and shattering the glass. They should be more careful in the dark."

"Does anyone still have battery on their phone? Mine's completely dead."

"Mine too."

"Mine as well... Does anyone have a charger?"

"What's the point of a charger when the power's out? Does anyone have a power bank?"

The venue was filled with chatter, but everyone mostly assumed that the hotel had suddenly lost power, and there wasn't much chaos.

"Something's not right here." Pei Tiancheng pressed the power button on his phone for a long time, but it remained unresponsive.

He frowned, "How is it possible that the hotel lost power and everyone's phones died at the same time?"

In the darkness, Ye Chenlin spoke up, "Let's not worry about that for now. We don't know when the power will come back on, so let's get out of the hotel. The elevators probably aren't working, so we'll have to take the stairs... Who has a lighter? Light the way for us."

Pei Youguang quickly said, "I do."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fancy lighter.

"Snap—"

He flicked his finger, igniting the lighter.

A source of light appeared in the pitch-black lobby.

Everyone present heaved a sigh of relief. Humans have an innate fear of the dark, and the return of light brought a sense of happiness.

"Everyone, gather over here."

Ye Chenlin clapped his hands and spoke loudly.

"Follow the light and come over here. Let's walk slowly and avoid crowding. Watch your step."

Most of the young people in the lobby were either friends of Ye Chenlin or acquaintances he had invited. The sense of security provided by the lighter's glow naturally drew them closer, and they obediently gathered around.

"What a wonderful banquet, suddenly ruined by a power outage. What's going on with the Rui Zhu Hotel?"

"It might not be the hotel's fault. Maybe there's a problem at the power plant? Perhaps the entire area has lost power."

"I think this is quite exciting. It feels thrilling. If this were a suspense horror movie, we would probably be in grave danger right now, haha."

The group laughed and chatted. Although they were in a dark environment, the large number of people and the source of light dispelled most of their anxiety, creating a peculiar feeling of 'excitement and reassurance'.

This led to a generally positive mood, and no one seemed too upset about the abrupt end of the banquet.

"Why don't we go and take a look at the suite where the person died? That would be even more thrilling!"

Someone from Ye Chenlin's small group suddenly suggested.

"No, thanks. It's too dark, and it's scary... I'm a bit afraid," a girl refused quietly.

"What are you afraid of? We have so many people here. Even if there's a ghost, it wouldn't know who to catch first. Besides, isn't Young Master Pei here? He's so skilled in martial arts. He can protect us if anything happens."

The person suggested nonchalantly.

Pei Tiancheng smiled and was about to speak when he heard a rustling sound. He turned his head and, in the dim light, thought he saw a shadow scurrying past.

"What was that?!" He shouted sternly.

Everyone was startled by his reaction.

"What's wrong, Young Master Pei? What happened?"

"Don't scare me! I have a weak heart. Don't tell me there's a ghost?"

Pei Tiancheng stared fixedly in one direction. In the faint light, the lobby was full of shadows, making it hard to see clearly.

"Maybe I'm mistaken," he said uncertainly.

But just as he finished speaking—

"Puff—"

Everyone's vision blurred for a moment, and the person who had suggested going to the dead man's suite for an adventure suddenly disappeared without a trace!

"Yingyang?!?"

"Where did he go? What's happening?!?"

"Hey, don't scare me!!!"

The next moment, a heart-wrenching scream echoed through the banquet hall.

"No, something... Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

The scream was so horrifying that it sent shivers down everyone's spines, as if the person was enduring unimaginable pain.

"That's Yingyang's voice!!!"

"What's going on?!?"

Everyone immediately fell into a panic.

Several dojo disciples, including Li Zhaoquan and Zhang Daqing, quickly moved to the front of the group. Zhang Daqing's expression turned serious as he said, "Everyone, stay together and don't run around!"

While maintaining discipline, they spoke quickly among themselves.

"Did you see clearly?"

"No, it's too dark with just one lighter. I only saw a shadow, and I can't tell what it was."

"Does anyone else have a lighter? Light them up!!!"

One of the dojo disciples shouted.

Although the young people were in a state of confusion, they were thankfully obedient. The crowd gradually lit up with seven or eight flames, making the lobby brighter.

"Woah... Holy crap!!! What is that?!?"

Suddenly, someone pointed tremblingly at a corner of the lobby.

Everyone looked in that direction, and screams immediately filled the air.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

In the corner lay a corpse that was riddled with pits and holes, as if something had taken bites out of it. The face was already chewed beyond recognition, but the clothes indicated that it was the person who had disappeared and screamed earlier.

And on the body was a monster.

The monster was pitch-black and appeared to be about two meters tall. It had human-like feet, but where the arms should have been, there were six insect-like limbs with sharp, barbed claws resembling sickles. Its head resembled a human's, but it had two large compound eyes, two antennae on top, and a mouth resembling an insect's mandibles, which were constantly chewing on a piece of flesh.

On its back were several large, thin wings, resembling those of a cockroach, stacked together. Its rear end also resembled that of a cockroach, with two vibrating, needle-like tail hairs. The overall appearance was that of a horrific hybrid of a cockroach and a human.

Everyone, including the martial arts disciples, felt their scalp tingle and their hairs stand on end.

Insects were already a source of discomfort for most people, and cockroaches were among the most repulsive creatures.

And now, there was a cockroach-like creature that was even larger than a human, seemingly a hybrid of a cockroach and a human...

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

Everyone immediately retreated, running away from the monster and pressing themselves against the wall of the lobby, their screams echoing endlessly.

"What the hell is that thing? An experimental subject that escaped from a biotech company, or a creature from the borderlands?" Zhang Daqing exclaimed in shock.

"I don't know... What do you think, should we fight it?" Li Zhaoquan asked, swallowing his saliva.

"Fight it? Putting aside whether we can beat it, I hate bugs the most. I don't even want to touch it..." Another dojo disciple shook his head quickly.

At that moment, someone couldn't take it anymore and tried to escape, running towards the direction of the banquet hall's entrance.

"Hey! Don't move recklessly!"

Zhang Daqing hurriedly scolded, but the person ignored him.

The 'Cockroach Man' seemed to sense that its prey wanted to escape. It tilted its head slightly, its antennae twitching.

The next moment—

"Bang—"

The floor cracked as the Cockroach Man transformed into a black shadow and charged towards the escaping person. Its speed was incredible, like a bolt of black lightning.

The escaping person didn't even have time to scream before they were sliced in half at the waist, their insides spilling onto the floor in a mess of white, yellow, and red.

The Cockroach Man's shadow appeared next to the two halves of the corpse, one of its sharp insect legs dripping with chunks of flesh.

"Hiss—" Everyone inhaled sharply, terrified.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight this thing?!" One of the dojo disciples cursed.

In the dim firelight, the Cockroach Man's antennae twitched as it turned its attention towards the crowd.

Then, it spread its four thin wings on its back, each spanning nearly three meters across, creating a visually terrifying effect.

"Swoosh—"

It took flight, just like a Southern cockroach suddenly rushing towards one's face, and lunged at the crowd!

"Holy sht!!"

No one dared to face it head-on. Several dojo disciples quickly jumped to the sides to dodge, allowing the Cockroach Man to plunge into the crowd.

"Young Master Pei, save us!!"

Ye Chenlin's group cried out for help as Pei Tiancheng steeled himself and stood in front of the crowd, assuming a fighting stance.

"Haa!" He shouted to bolster his courage, predicting the Cockroach Man's flight path and throwing a punch. "Bang!" The punch sent the Cockroach Man flying backward, crashing into a long table and shattering it.

This scene boosted everyone's morale.

But before they could even cheer, the next moment, the Cockroach Man on the floor lifted its rear end and stood up.

Then, it bent its legs, crouching as if ready to pounce.

Pei Tiancheng's instinctive danger warning went off, and he realized the situation was bad. He shouted, "Run away!!"

Before the crowd could react, Pei Tiancheng jumped to the side and dove to the ground.

Just as he moved, a black shadow flashed through the space where he had been standing, slicing through three or four people in succession, cutting them into halves.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!"

The crowd screamed again.

The Cockroach Man seemed to understand that its speed was something this group of prey couldn't handle.

So, it once again assumed a charging stance and lunged at the crowd.

One of the dojo disciples was caught off guard and was pounced on by the Cockroach Man in mid-air. They didn't have time to react, and their head was bitten off by the insect-like mouthparts.

Even the highly skilled Pei Tiancheng and the dojo disciples were no match for this creature, and everyone immediately fell into despair, screaming and scattering in all directions, any sense of discipline gone.

Amidst the chaos, Xue Jing's gaze followed the shadow of the Cockroach Man, his eyes flickering with hidden black flames.

"So that's how it is... It looks human, but its internal structure is completely different from a human's. It's more like an insect's hydraulic structure, capable of bursting out with instantaneous acceleration far beyond human capabilities." Xue Jing thought.

"And—after taking a punch, it's almost unhurt. Does it have the same resilience as a cockroach?"

"It's very powerful."

"But—it's not invincible."

Xue Jing made a decision and stepped forward.

In the center of the hall, the Cockroach Man's antennae twitched as it seemed to be choosing its next prey.

At that moment, it spotted a particularly tender-looking prey walking towards it.

Amidst the scattering crowd, Pei Youguang noticed someone walking towards the monster. He took a closer look and, despite the dim firelight, immediately recognized Xue Jing!

"Brother Jing?!?" He called out in surprise.

What is Brother Jing doing? He'll get himself killed!

The others also noticed this development.

"What is he doing? Is he trying to die?"

Even in their terrified state, the question arose in everyone's minds.

Zhang Daqing, Li Zhaoquan, and Pei Tiancheng also watched that figure, thinking: Has he gone crazy?

This monster has speed, resilience, and lethality that are specifically effective against humans. It's not an opponent that we young people can face!

If he doesn't run, is he trying to get himself killed?

Ignoring everyone's thoughts, Xue Jing stepped forward and stood in front of the Cockroach Man.

"Bang!"

The floor cracked as a black projectile, like lightning, shot towards Xue Jing.

His gaze intensified as he concentrated, his Level 5 Aim giving him dynamic vision beyond normal human limits.

The Cockroach Man's speed, which was imperceptible to others, was clearly visible to him.

He activated his Twin Birth Speed and Twin Birth Power, pushing his body to the limit!

Xue Jing's body seemed to have been accelerated as he spun and unleashed a powerful kick!

"Boom!!"

As if calculated precisely, the Cockroach Man, which had been rushing forward, was kicked squarely in the chest by Xue Jing's kick!

The kick was incredibly powerful, with the absolute double strength of the Twin Birth Power, sending the Cockroach Man flying backward even faster than it had charged, crashing into the stone wall of the banquet hall and leaving a huge imprint.

"Gya—"

The Cockroach Man's mouthparts opened, spewing out mouthfuls of greenish-black blood.

In the dim light, the crowd, which had been running and screaming, suddenly fell silent, their eyes wide as they stared at the young man slowly retracting his kicking leg.

Xue Jing looked at the Cockroach Man embedded in the wall and said calmly:

"You seemed to be having fun just now."

"Now, it's time to play with me."

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end