Chapter 26: The Terrifying Woman
Gold Horn, originally named Qian Yu, is a resident of Lincheng, with a spirit energy fluctuation level of A.
Spirit Pattern [Mythological Species: Gold Horn King], carrying A-grade spirit energy item [Flesh Gourd].
Secretary officer to the Southwest Region inspector Xing Yuan of the Siye Society, one of the top ten operatives of the Siye Society, has previously hunted six A-grade urban legends, including [Green Faced Ghost], [Ghost Tomb Spirit Fox], and [Qinling Evil General]…
Beres stared at Gold Horn for two seconds, his mind roughly sorting through the intelligence related to Gold Horn that the Solar Eclipse Society had gathered.
After a brief consideration of the pros and cons, he decided to give up resistance.
He was just a researcher interested in the physical structure of spiritual ability users and urban legends, completely defenseless, so how could he have any combat ability?
Facing Gold Horn alone, the chances of successfully escaping were slim, not to mention Gold Horn couldn’t possibly be here alone.
What the Siye Society excels at is “overpowering the few with the many”; they don’t adhere to the rules of the martial world, nor do they follow regulations and laws.
While Beres was thinking, a remarkable spirit energy fluctuation suddenly resonated from afar.
From a distance, he could feel the ground shaking and hear the distant rumblings of collapse, along with the sound of explosions.
Clearly, the operatives of the Siye Society who had come with Gold Horn had found the members of the Solar Eclipse Society hiding in the shadows.
Thus, Beres smiled at Gold Horn.
“This… uh, Secretary Officer Gold Horn, right? Congratulations, you’ve successfully captured me; I am willing to confess.”
He extended his hands toward Gold Horn, striking a pose of surrender as if waiting for Gold Horn to step forward and put the Thousand Mechanisms Lock on him.
Gold Horn paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes and sizing Beres up, not stepping forward immediately.
Something feels off! He surrendered so easily?
The intelligence showed this guy is Romanian, not French!
Could this be a trap? Gold Horn wondered.
This was completely different from what he had envisioned before coming here. According to his intelligence, Beres Vikland was a psychopath with bloody hands and a deeply twisted psyche.
He had thought this operation would face fierce resistance from Beres, at which point he could smash him into a pulp to vent his anger for Silver Horn.
But now…
Seeing the cautious look on Gold Horn’s face, Beres shrugged with a bitter smile, explaining, “Actually, I have studied The Book of Siye.”
“According to the handling methods for illegal spiritual ability users stated in The Book of Siye, an illegal spiritual ability user like me, who surrenders, should be judged and sentenced before any action is taken, right?”
Gold Horn frowned slightly. “…” Oh wow! In this day and age, are the members of the Solar Eclipse Society so familiar with the regulations in The Book of Siye?
Beres was right.
After all, spiritual ability users are still humans; just like police cannot sh**t to k*ll a murderer without reason when apprehending them.
When Siye Society operatives capture illegal spiritual ability users, unless they’re thoroughly vicious and pose a significant threat, there are similar processes and regulations.
Moreover, this guy Beres… Gold Horn’s expression grew serious as he frowned.
Before commencing this operation, he had obtained detailed information about Beres through his underlings.
Although he was rumored to be one of the most deranged researchers in the Solar Eclipse Society, that was merely gossip; there was no concrete evidence of any truly heinous crimes.
This is where the Siye Society operatives are constrained—they adhere to laws and regulations, without getting involved in martial world codes or personal feelings.
Seeing Gold Horn still hesitant, Beres continued, “If you still don’t believe me, you can throw the Thousand Mechanisms Lock over, and I’ll put it on myself.”
“I’m a man who fears d*ath, and thus have decided to humble myself before you, begging for a path to survival. As the victor, you naturally have the right to dispose of me at your will, but I believe you wouldn’t violate the regulations of the Siye Society, right?”
Hearing this, a flicker of displeasure crossed Gold Horn’s eyes as his right hand instinctively pressed on the gourd at his waist.
Even though Beres said these submissive words, his speech carried an air of arrogance as if he was challenging, “If you have the ability, just k*ll me.”
d*mn it, I really want to hit him… Gold Horn glared at Beres, his chest heaving, silently sighing as he took out a Thousand Mechanisms Lock from his chest and approached.
“No need, I’ll personally put it on you to prevent any tricks!”
As Gold Horn’s words fell, a piercing shriek suddenly erupted.
“Whoosh—!”
A silver long blade shot from a distance, grazing past the side of Beres’s face and cutting through the skin, trailing a line of bl**d before embedding itself into the heavy metal door of the cold storage behind him with a “thud.”
“Da da—da da—!”
Accompanied by the sound of galloping hooves, a figure clad in silver armor flew from a nearby hill, landing steadily in front of the cold storage door.
Gripping the blade, he withdrew it, and in a rapid pivot…
Jiang Li moved with agility like a swift swallow, silently activating Hydra’s toxin as he charged toward Beres.
In an instant, the bl**d marks on Beres’s face turned a dark purple, his body convulsing violently as he collapsed to the ground.
The next moment, a bone-chilling coldness enveloped him, as the silver blade pressed against his throat.
The pain from the toxin was unbearable, the blade sinking into his skin as d*ath seemed to loom near, yet Beres smiled.
“Oh? It’s you? I remember you as an… excellent test subject.”
Jiang Li had once been this guy’s test subject? Gold Horn stared at Jiang Li, his eyes nearly bulging out.
“Don’t! Jiang Li, calm down, don’t let your emotions take over!”
Though he vaguely knew that this operative from Huacheng had been kidnapped by the Solar Eclipse Society and subjected to a series of inhumane experiments, he did not know her ordeal was related to Beres.
Had he known earlier, Jiang Li should have been avoided this operation.
In fact, shortly after Lu Ming rescued Jiang Li, he took a strong stance to destroy all internal records within the Siye Society related to Jiang Li’s experiences, leaving only the basic files.
Once certain things happen, they cannot be changed, but doing one’s best to avoid bringing them up repeatedly is a form of protection for the victims.
Under Gold Horn’s watchful gaze, Jiang Li slowly retracted her blade, took out the Thousand Mechanisms Lock from her pocket, and bent down to place it on Beres’s wrist, lightly tapping it to activate the lock with spirit energy.
As the polyhedral Thousand Mechanisms Lock burst forth with a dark golden glow, the black metallic band that suppressed spirit energy fluctuations wrapped around Beres’s arms several times and looped over his shoulders, with a “ding!” it locked in place on his back.
“This guy is crafty; just the Thousand Mechanisms Lock might not be able to control him…” Jiang Li said calmly, her expression as tranquil as water.
“You…” Gold Horn was momentarily dumbfounded, staring at Jiang Li, wanting to say something but hesitating.
“Once he is escorted to the special ward of Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital, please notify me, and I will remove the toxins from him then.” Jiang Li added, turning to leave without a hint of attachment.
Though she hated Beres to the core, punishing him was a matter of law; her responsibility was only to capture him and send him for trial.
Watching Jiang Li’s departing back, Gold Horn frowned.
He had initially thought Jiang Li would disregard all barriers to k*ll Beres, thus getting herself into deep trouble, yet she unexpectedly…
“Heh, what a terrifying woman!” Beres exclaimed.
In his view, it was not the person who could control joy that was terrifying, but the one who could suppress hatred that was dangerous.
“Indeed!” Gold Horn instinctively responded.
“You think so too?”
Gold Horn glanced down at Beres and kicked him hard in the stomach, “You b*stard, do you have a lot to say? Come here and let your grandpa Gold Horn have you!”
As he spoke, he ripped a piece of flesh from the gourd at his waist and forcefully stuffed it into Beres’s mouth.
In the next moment, Beres felt the foreign object forcefully enter his throat, sealing off his vocal cords.
Casting a sideways glance at Beres, Gold Horn shrugged nonchalantly.
I was worried the suspect would chant a spell halfway through, releasing a spell formula and causing unnecessary trouble, so blocking his mouth was very reasonable, right?
————
In the evening, as dusk was about to fall.
Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital.
Yun Kang Psychiatry is situated on a low hill in the outskirts of Huacheng, with a uniquely shaped hill surrounded by craggy cliffs, only one winding mountain road leads to the top. Three large mountains, like three sentinels, surround the small hill, which has guard posts.
Such an arrangement, while not entirely preventing even a fly from flying out, is more than sufficient to stop spiritual ability users and urban legends from escaping the psychiatric hospital.
…
In the underground second floor of Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital, in cell B2016.
Beres opened his eyes, looking at the gray-white ceiling, the heavy metal door engraved with spell inscriptions, the specially made restraint suit suppressing spirit energy fluctuations, and the positioning ring on his foot, he chuckled wryly.
It was evident that he was lying in prison.
“This place looks just like my old laboratory! Living here, I actually feel an unusually familiar sensation.”
Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside the cell; he yawned, propped himself up from the bed, and smiled as he looked at the small window on the heavy metal door.
After a few seconds, the sound of mechanisms moving was heard, and the small window opened, revealing Gold Horn’s face.
Beres stood up, bowed slightly, and politely said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, esteemed Mr. Gold Horn.”
Beres advanced toward the small window of the metal door, staring intently outside, not sure if he was looking at Gold Horn or the special action team members following him, or something else entirely.
A hint of disgust flashed in Gold Horn’s eyes as he stared unflinchingly into Beres’s eyes, his voice low and steady, “Since you’re awake, it’s time to confess honestly. Where is the Inheritance Beast?”
“This is your only chance to redeem yourself; otherwise, involvement in illegal spirit energy experiments and urban legend modifications, as well as the m*rder of potential spiritual ability users, poses a serious threat to public safety. These charges combined could easily send you to the bottom of the Dahua Horn Trench for twenty or thirty years!”
Beres took a step back, raising his hands in a helpless gesture, “Sorry, Mr. Gold Horn, but even if you say that, my answer remains the same.”
“I’ve made it very clear before; I have no idea where the Inheritance Beast is.”
“I only came near Huacheng out of curiosity regarding the sudden outbreak of Nightfall Syndrome, hiring a bounty hunter to help me procure a patient’s corpse, that’s all.”
“b*stard!” Gold Horn spat out a curse, “Don’t think that because we haven’t found evidence yet, everything’s well. Once this matter in Huacheng is settled, I will dig up every detail about your father down to what color underpants he liked to wear!”
“Then let me thank you in advance, Mr. Gold Horn.” Beres bowed slightly, “As an abandoned orphan, I too would like to know my father’s preferences.”
“You b*stard! Just wait for me!” Gold Horn glared fiercely at Beres, slamming the small window shut with a “bang.”
Soon, silence engulfed the cell once again.
Beres paced back to the narrow single bed, lying down while gazing at the ceiling, his fingers poking out from the restraint suit to lightly tap the wall.
“Tap tap… tap tap tap… tap…”
Intermittently, with some strange rhythm, it sounded like a certain kind of melody.
Unbeknownst to how long it passed, the outside world completely darkened, and the lights in the psychiatric hospital’s underground grew fainter.
In the darkness, Beres heard the expected sounds, and a sly smile crept onto his face.
“Bang bang, bang bang, bang bang——!”
Continuous muffled sounds erupted from the adjacent cell, dust and debris showering down from the ceiling.
The underground levels one to three of Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital were filled with cells for holding illegal spirit ability users and urban legends.
These cells had undergone special renovations, with wall thickness exceeding one meter and lead plates engraved with spell inscriptions embedded in between.
Even under such circumstances, the sound of hammering from the adjacent cell reached Beres’s cell, illustrating the tremendous force being applied by the other side.
Listening to the noises of wall-breaking from the neighboring cell, Beres positioned himself in a corner, then charged at the wall where the banging was coming from, using his body to slam into it forcefully.
The sounds of impact, the cracking of his shoulder blade, and Beres’s screams all resonated together.
However, the Beres who fell to the ground seemed to revel in the pain, chuckling lowly as he stood up unsteadily, retreating, charging, and slamming into the wall in repetitive cycles, driven by some strange rhythm.
Accompanied by this odd rhythm, the entire underground level two’s cells stirred.
The sounds of wall crashing, shrieks, cheers, and the clanging of metal doors echoed incessantly.
Until…
“d*mn it, B2015! What are you doing? Stop right now!”
“And you all, be quiet!”
The low growl of the special action team members responsible for managing the cells resounded in the corridor, and soon a commotion of scuffles and shouts erupted from the adjacent cell.
Minutes later.
All cells on the underground second floor fell silent again.
In the dark, Beres lay on his bed, a faint smile on his lips, bl**d seeping through his restraint suit, continuously dripping, dripping, dripping…
Then gathering together, writhing, crawling toward the darkest corner.
————
Half an hour later.
Outside Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital, at a guard post.
A burly member of the special action team, armed with firearms loaded with specialized ammunition, remained alert to the subtlest sounds in the surroundings.
Suddenly, a rustling noise came from the darkness.
He instantly focused, taking a step back, raised his weapon, and unhesitatingly fired a burst of alchemical bullets in the direction of the sound.
Then, a wailing scream, akin to that of a dying rodent, rang out.
A small mass of writhing bl**d was instantly turned into a sieve, maintaining its form for less than a second before dissipating, transforming into a pile of black ash.
“Hmph——!”
Inside the guard post, the member of the special action team snorted coldly, skillfully ejecting the magazine, reloading it with alchemical bullets, securing the magazine, and returning to his original position.
Such escape attempts happened nearly every day at Yun Kang Psychiatric Hospital, yet none had succeeded…
