Meeting the Heavenly Demon's Fan (7)
“I’ll guide you, but this place has a bad reputation.”
“Don’t even think about going in through the front. It’s too dangerous. I’ve marked another passage on the map. Use that.”
“I don’t think you’ll die, but be careful anyway. This lab is dangerous.”
With those words, the man bolted as if he couldn’t stand to remain a second longer. What kind of place was this lab that made him react like that?
Two armed guards stood at the entrance. Was this similar to the company branch I’d cleared last time?
“That would be no fun at all.”
There was nothing here that could threaten me anyway. I might as well create some entertainment. As I approached the main gate, the guards raised their guns.
“Halt! Halt!”
Ignoring them, I kept walking. They didn’t bother with further warnings and pulled the triggers. I’d expected at least one more warning, but they were quite vicious.
Using Reverse Flow Phantom Steps, I slipped behind one guard, struck the back of his neck to knock him out, then slammed the other’s face into the wall. Once they were both unconscious, I tried to enter, only to realize I had no idea how to open the door. What was this? There wasn’t even a handle. It didn’t seem to be an automatic door either, since waving my hand did nothing. How was this thing supposed to open and close?
Left with no choice, I kicked it hard. One panel flew off, opening the way. Perhaps these were single-use doors. They had served their purpose.
“As long as it opened, it’s fine.”
Inside, dozens of gun barrels immediately aimed at me. What a warm welcome. I ought to return the favor.
After reducing the guards to pulp amid the gunfire, a new problem arose. This lab had far too many corridors. Searching the entire building would take all day, which was inconvenient when I wanted a quick clear.
Fortunately, several people nearby seemed quite familiar with the layout. I grabbed one groaning guard.
“May I ask for directions?”
“Go to hell.”
Unfortunately, that particular organ had been gone for quite some time. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t oblige. So I couldn’t grant his request. Instead, I would help him open his mouth. The human body had many fascinating pressure points. Some existed purely to inflict pain.
When I pressed down firmly, the guard’s ecstatic scream filled the room. He thrashed desperately to escape my hand, as if my assistance was too much for him. We hadn’t even begun, yet he was already reacting this way. How disappointing. If that was what he wanted, he could enjoy it as much as he liked. There was no need to worry. Savor my help slowly—until he decided to speak.
“Where! Where are you trying to go!”
Apparently moved by my sincerity, the guard finally revealed the lab’s layout. The fact that he held out so long before talking suggested he had rather enjoyed my assistance. Of course, I wasn’t naïve enough to ignore the possibility of lies, so I cross-checked with another trembling guard. Surprisingly, the first guard had told the truth. How embarrassing. He had spoken with genuine gratitude, yet I hadn’t believed him. I should have apologized, but he had already passed out and couldn’t hear me.
Now that I had the route, I pressed onward without hesitation. The guards here were similar to the company employees but more professional—their equipment was better. Still, they were just small fry. They posed no obstacle to my advance.
After breaking through several more waves, I entered a room and suddenly heard walls slam down behind me, sealing off the exit.
[Hello, Mr. Avenger. Is this our first time meeting like this?]
“Who are you?”
[Didn’t you find it strange? This is a research lab, yet there isn’t a single researcher in sight.]
No response. Was this a recording, or was it speaking freely?
[I prepared everything because I knew you would come. This will be your grave.]
Oh? How familiar. Every sect leader I’d crushed had said something similar, yet none had succeeded. Would this one be any different?
The moment the voice cut off, the door ahead opened. What stepped through was something shaped like a human, yet devoid of life. The only thing inside it was the internal energy it had been imbued with.
Hah. Of all things, it had to be one of those. Jiangshi. Damn it. Something I never wanted to see again had appeared.
“I have. And it’s a sad story for you.”
I’d done it to the point of exhaustion. Did they know how unpleasant it was to kill someone you’d already killed? Especially when their face belonged to someone you once knew? Until now I’d tried to enjoy this as a game, but I couldn’t anymore. Even so, deploying jiangshi was crossing a line. It made my mood turn cold.
The jiangshi assumed a stance, as if it hadn’t forgotten its martial arts even in death. Every time I saw one, I felt disgusted. It wasn’t about life or morality—if I went down that road, I’d become someone drowning in self-loathing. It was simply the principle behind its creation that repulsed me.
The principles of the world had nothing to do with human morality. They had existed since the beginning and cared nothing for good or evil. The Blood Cult’s jiangshi were the same. That repulsive existence, created according to the world’s principles, along with the sacrifices, the blood, and the corpses used to make it—everything followed those principles. That was why the Blood Cult’s disciples always cried out in injustice whenever other factions condemned them. “We follow the same principles as you, so why do you curse us?”
The orthodox martial artists would argue back with various reasons, but my answer was always simple. Did dislike need a reason? I simply disliked them. Since they displeased me, I crushed them.
The jiangshi before me was at least better than the ones I’d seen in the murim. This one was merely an imitation of the Blood Cult’s sorcery using this world’s technology.
“Harin. What’s about to happen is rather brutal. Don’t be surprised.”
“A skilled swordsman can execute sword techniques with bare hands.”
Fundamentally, yes. But during my years wandering the murim, there was little I hadn’t tried. The weapons I couldn’t use were fewer than those I could. I was confident my swordsmanship surpassed that of most mediocre murim swordsmen.
After cutting through the walls blocking the path, I continued forward. More jiangshi kept appearing to stop me. Their lack of fear or hesitation made them annoying. Normally, showing overwhelming force would make enemies hesitate or flee, but these things had no such instinct. Still, because I held nothing back, my progress was swift.
After several minutes, I arrived before a rather large door. Beyond it was the only living being left in this lab. Probably the one who had sent the jiangshi after me.
This door also lacked a handle, just like the entrance. This lab must be quite wealthy to produce so many single-use doors. When I kicked it, the door burst open with a bang.
My eyes met those of a woman seated in a chair. At the same moment, I felt my body move against my will.
‘Mr. Avenger. This is the first time I’ve seen your face directly.’
‘You? The owner of this disgusting lab?’
‘Disgusting? It’s magnificent, don’t you think? I’ve given those who devoted their lives to martial arts the chance to continue training even after death.’
She was completely, thoroughly insane. Even if one disregarded the desecration of the dead, the complete absence of any guilt was disturbing.
‘Crazy bitch.’
The game’s protagonist seemed to share my sentiment. Anyone would think the same. At my scathing reply, the woman in the white lab coat burst into laughter.
‘Anyway, your revenge ends here.’
‘If you want to stop me, then kill me.’
‘I was planning to.’
The woman pulled a syringe from her inner pocket and plunged it into her own neck. Internal energy began to rampage through her body at an abnormal speed. She could use it endlessly now, but the backlash would be severe. There was a limit to how much internal energy the blood vessels could withstand. Energy beyond one’s level damaged the meridians. At best, she would never use them again. At worst, she would die.
As a researcher, she must have known this. Was she willing to sacrifice her life to defeat me? This was troublesome. If she was the lab’s director, there were many things I wanted to ask—about the technology that reproduced martial arts through means other than principle, or where they were manufacturing these jiangshi. To do that, I needed to capture her alive first.
Haah. She was making this unnecessarily complicated. This was exactly why I hated those who used sorcery.