I Contracted Myself

"Is he really dead?"

Zhang Ping watched from a distance, eyeing the tattered corpse of the masked man, muttering to himself.

He was genuinely scared.

The masked man's attack had nearly cost him his life.

In truth, the electric eel venom that the masked man had high hopes for had no effect on him. Although water is an electrolyte, the electrolysis process is slow, and the electric current's damage to him was quite limited. The real threat came from the high temperature caused by the short-circuited dagger.

The large amount of steam emanating from his body at that moment was the best proof.

Fortunately, the Changsha River was to the east of Mingzhu City, making the night air quite humid. Coupled with the steam he himself evaporated, which increased the air's humidity, he was injured but not completely incapacitated.

He glanced at the masked man, confirming he was motionless, then quickly retrieved a bucket of water from the Golden Treasury and poured it over his head. The small lump of his Pure Water Body rapidly absorbed the water, gradually expanding until it returned to its original size.

He put the bucket away, circled around the masked man from a distance, and bent down to pick up the Fear War Scythe from the ground.

"Is he really dead?"

Zhang Ping gripped the scythe, looking at the masked man again, uncertain.

He had deliberately exposed himself twice, but the masked man remained motionless on the ground.

Still, he didn't dare approach the masked man, instead cautiously conjuring a Nether Mist throwing knife and shooting it over.

Thud!

The masked man was hit again but still didn't move.

This person seemed devoid of fear, showing no signs of terror from beginning to end.

Unable to judge whether the masked man was alive through his emotions, Zhang Ping considered for a moment and threw another Nether Mist knife from a distance, this time hitting the masked man's buttocks.

"Enough... kill me, give me a quick death," the masked man trembled slightly and said with difficulty.

Zhang Ping was genuinely startled, exclaiming, "Damn, he's still alive!"

He had been cautious, but he didn't actually believe the masked man could survive such injuries.

Who would have thought the masked man was still alive? It was terrifying.

The resilience of an Awakener's life force was astonishing.

At that moment, Zhang Ping gained a new understanding of Awakeners. They couldn't be regarded as ordinary people; both their superpowers and life forms were beyond his previous knowledge.

He restored his flesh and blood body, a flame appearing in his hand. While absorbing the flame to recover his stamina, he observed the masked man's condition.

In reality, the masked man's body was like a tattered sack, covered in wounds, with blood flowing everywhere. A normal person in his condition would never survive.

"Hmph, I didn't expect to fall into the hands of a coward like you," the masked man said disdainfully, struggling to open his eyes and look at Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping had no intention of conversing with the masked man, knowing he couldn't extract any useful information.

Instead of advancing, he retreated a few steps and then conjured another Nether Mist knife, aiming for the masked man's vital points.

The masked man barely managed to block the knife with his hand, letting out a deep sigh.

"You're really cautious. You look like a rookie, but you never fall for the bait."

The masked man smiled bitterly and then forcefully shattered the ring on his index finger.

Danger!

Zhang Ping's hair stood on end, and he quickly retreated, wrapping himself entirely in Nether Mist.

Most of the time, he relied on the Pure Water Body's ability to ignore most attacks, rarely using Nether Mist for defense, considering it a waste.

But now, he couldn't afford to worry about waste; he needed to withstand this wave of attacks first.

Boom!

A thunderous roar.

A bolt of lightning struck from the sky, shaking the entire street.

The masked man was at the center of the lightning strike, his body quickly disintegrating into ashes. The surrounding buildings were also affected, with windows shattering and many sleeping residents waking up in terror, screaming.

The temperature of the entire street rapidly increased. Zhang Ping retreated frantically, the mist enveloping his body being continuously consumed.

Ten seconds later, the lightning vanished, leaving a large crater in the alley, with cracks appearing on the walls of the surrounding buildings and the air filled with the smell of ozone.

The Nether Mist instantly transformed into a black cloak. Zhang Ping hovered uncertainly on the rooftop of a building, his heart pounding as he looked at the street struck by lightning.

"So that's it, not targeting the enemy but altering the environment to obscure the Moon Clan's sight. Quite a clever idea."

Not good.

His ears twitched slightly, and he immediately looked towards the City Lord's mansion. The commotion had been too loud, and the Tianchang Fox had been alerted.

"Sister Sisi, retreat quickly, the Tianchang Fox is coming out!" He hurriedly took out his badge and contacted Liu Sishan.

Without waiting for Liu Sishan's response, he put away the badge and turned to flee.

...

Ten seconds earlier, at the City Lord's mansion.

The Moon Prince jumped out of the window, his eyes fixed on the direction of the lightning strike. Despite the light barrier, he could still sense the lightning's energy.

"So that's it, not targeting the enemy but altering the environment to obscure the Moon Clan's sight. Quite a clever idea," the Moon Prince said slowly, his fox-like eyes narrowing.

In the next moment, his eyes widened, and the tails behind him rapidly extended, branching out and spreading across the entire city like an impenetrable net.

These tails slowly descended, and red eyes on the tails opened one by one.

At the Sweep Team headquarters,

In the barrier room, a girl in camouflage sat on a lounge chair, manipulating a black screen with her hands. She suddenly frowned and said, "Not good, the Tianchang Fox is acting up, but I don't know what's happening."

Another girl beside her, eyes closed with light swirling around her, quickly said, "Xu Jie, contact Sister Sisi."

"No, Man Ni, just take Sister Sisi away," said a woman in a swimsuit, bathed in light, not far away.

The girl in camouflage, Man Ni, hesitated for a second but then decisively activated her power.

In Mingzhu City, Liu Sishan, who was fighting the crimson-eyed man, was instantly enveloped in a black mist and transported to the secret room. She was momentarily stunned and then took out her badge to contact Man Ni, asking, "Man Ni, what are you doing?"

"The Tianchang Fox is acting up; I can't let you continue taking risks, Sister Sisi!" Man Ni said seriously.

Liu Sishan frowned, "Then you should save Zhang Ping first. Where is Zhang Ping?"

"He's already escaped into a water channel; he's safe," Man Ni replied.

Although Mingzhu City didn't have sewers, it had many drainage channels. A heavy rain had just fallen the day before, so most of the channels were filled with water. Zhang Ping, in his Pure Water Body form, was hard to detect in the water.

He listened carefully, hoping the Wind Whisperer would bring the latest news.

On the other side, the crimson-eyed man was surprised that his troublesome opponent had suddenly left. He paused for a moment, then carried Chen Junting and turned to flee, but stopped abruptly after a few steps. A beautiful woman was standing in front of him, smiling.

"Luo... Luo Shiyu!" The crimson-eyed man recognized the girl.

He knew even more clearly that this girl had long been dead, and the one standing before him was... the Moon Prince!

"You know me?" The Moon Prince looked down at the crimson-eyed man, squinting his eyes.

The crimson-eyed man, retreating, gritted his teeth and said, "Of course, I know you. The brightest genius of this year's Mingzhu Academy of Powers. How could I not know you? What do you want?"

"Wrong answer."

The Moon Prince suddenly wrapped his tail around the crimson-eyed man, pulling him close.

Staring at the sweating face of the crimson-eyed man, he asked, "You're not with those people. There was a fight here just now, and the other person involved is with those who killed my kin. So, you were fighting here... to seize her?"

As he spoke, he walked to a wall and gently touched the cut marks on it, marks he had seen on a Moon Clan member.

He leaned in and sniffed, then continued, "The other person is a woman. I remember this scent. Tell me, why were you fighting over this woman?"

"Luo Shiyu, I don't understand what you're saying. Let me go, or... you'll die horribly," the crimson-eyed man trembled but surprisingly stood firm.

The Moon Prince sneered, "Interesting, interesting."

Suddenly, a tail pierced through the crimson-eyed man's brain, splattering blood and brain matter.

The Moon Prince grabbed Chen Junting with one hand and casually tossed the crimson-eyed man's headless body aside, saying indifferently, "Moon Shadow, you're responsible for eating him. Don't waste it."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

A silver-furred fox slowly emerged from his shadow.

The Moon Prince looked at Chen Junting, muttering to himself, "Since both sides are fighting over this woman, what if... I eat her? Wouldn't that make things interesting?"

But no fox answered his question; the street was filled only with the terrifying sound of Moon Shadow chewing.

At that moment, Chen Junting in the Moon Prince's hand let out a soft moan, gradually waking from her coma. When she opened her blue eyes, the Moon Prince seemed to be under a spell, momentarily forgetting what he was doing.

"Why am I not at home? Sister, you're so beautiful," Chen Junting first wondered why she was on the street, then saw the Moon Prince and smiled sweetly.

The Moon Prince gritted his teeth, raising his hand but unable to harm the girl in front of him.

"Moon Shadow, kill... kill... kill her!"

He put Chen Junting down, quickly turning around and hoarsely shouting.

Moon Shadow, who was still eating, immediately leaped up, but in the next moment, he saw Chen Junting's eyes. Instead of attacking her, his right claw stabbed into his own left shoulder.

"Your Highness, I can't do it!"

He landed on the ground, clutching his wound, not daring to look at Chen Junting.

The Moon Prince, with his back to Chen Junting, gritted his teeth and tried to control his tail to stab her, but stopped at the last moment, feeling immense guilt.

He panted heavily, looking at Chen Junting in disbelief.

"Sister, what's wrong?"

Chen Junting tilted her head, looking at the Moon Prince in confusion.

In her eyes, Moon Shadow didn't exist, and 'Luo Shiyu' was sometimes in a daze, then panting heavily with her back turned, acting a bit strange.

The Moon Prince's expression kept changing, sometimes wanting to kill Chen Junting, sometimes feeling ashamed.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and decided to take Chen Junting back to the City Lord's mansion before making any further decisions.