“Hey…” Suzaku twisted in Song Qi’s grasp for a moment before grinning. “You really do have some tricks up your sleeve.”
“Thanks.” Song Qi found himself completely immobilized, as if encased in concrete.
Suzaku’s “Soul Snatch” was far more potent than that of an ordinary person. Fortunately, his voice now emerged from this grotesque fissure of flesh—otherwise, if it were any louder, others might have heard.
“If I had known you’d pull something like this… I would’ve transferred into a rock instead, biding my time until I could rise again and play with each of you to death…”
Song Qi stared coldly at the mass of flesh. “That’s exactly why I kept it a secret until you walked into my trap. You didn’t have much time to think, after all.”
“You little rats… ‘Silence,’ ‘Twin Blossoms,’ ‘Shuttle,’ ‘Flashbang,’ ‘Lushwood,’ ‘Wildgrowth’—one after another…” The hoarse voice squeezed out words like a strained whisper. “Every time, it’s a suicide attack. Do none of you value your lives…?”
“Only a suicide attack would catch you off guard, leaving you no time to dodge,” Song Qi replied. “After all, even the other ‘Divine Beasts’ wouldn’t resort to such methods to kill you. But we will.”
“Kill me…? Naïve… So naïve… Do you really think—”
Song Qi took a deep breath, then cut Suzaku off with a loud declaration. “Fifth Brother, it’s over… Take the others and leave.”
Qian Wu pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.
He knew that, regardless of the outcome, Suzaku had been reduced to a lump of flesh.
He could no longer stop them. Yet, as he looked at Song Qi’s back, his expression darkened.
Song Qi had lied.
“Old Seven… You won’t even let us see you off?”
“No need, Fifth Brother,” Song Qi replied, his voice steady. “I’ll go down to meet them myself.”
Qian Wu nodded and turned toward the portal. He glanced at Zhou Mo and Di Zhu—both were injured. Though Di Zhu had a new body, he still looked weak.
How many had the “Cats” lost in this battle?
Feng Seventeen, Wu Thirteen, and Cui Fourteen had been decapitated. Chou Twenty had been bisected. Yun Nineteen and Liu Twenty-One had died in the final “Displacement.”
Their bodies had crashed into the already gravely wounded, barely mobile Ning Eighteen. The three collided with a sickening crunch of bones.
Now, even Ma Twelve had been torn apart by “Detonation.”
Not counting Officer Li and Su Shan, only five “Cats” remained alive.
Qian Wu, Zhou Liu, Song Qi, Bai Jiu, Luo Eleven.
But even Song Qi was about to leave.
Beyond them… Zhou Mo had also lost all the “Extremists” who had followed him.
Two consecutive battles had drained nearly all the strength the “Cats” had accumulated over the years. But from the very beginning, the “Cats” had existed to kill the “Divine Beasts.” That not all of them had died here was already a victory.
As for the next steps… Who cared?
That “train” symbolizing escape had never been meant for a group of “Cats” who didn’t want to leave in the first place.
Cats had always prowled the edges of the city, perched atop high walls, hidden in the night.
They never believed they needed care—or anyone’s pity.
They carried a pride outsiders could never understand.
A pride that would make them send their companions away when death loomed.
“I miss my cat,” Qian Wu murmured.
Just as everyone had expected, killing Suzaku was nothing like killing Xuanwu.
When both sides knew each other’s weaknesses, victory—and death—could come in an instant.
“Let’s go,” Qian Wu said to the others. “Jiu, stay with Eleven. He’s in no condition to fight. There’s no need for him to throw his life away. Sixth Brother and I will handle the rest.”
“I…” Luo Eleven sighed. “Fifth Brother… What kind of talk is that?”
“The ‘Cats’ mission is over,” Qian Wu said. “We’re disbanding.”
Luo Eleven and Bai Jiu felt a sudden hollowness in their chests, as if life had lost its purpose.
“But there are still the ‘Extremists,'” Bai Jiu suddenly interjected, turning to Zhou Mo. “Sixth Sister… You’ve lost your team. You can’t do much alone. Let me and Eleven serve as your squad.”
“Tch… Have you lost your minds?” Zhou Mo frowned.
“I can go too,” Officer Li said. “Me, Su Shan, Bai Jiu, and Eleven—that makes four. We can at least try to help.”
“You’re all insane…” Zhou Mo snapped. “Not hurt enough yet?”
“Enough arguing,” Qian Wu said sternly. “Don’t make things harder for Old Seven. Just go.”
Zhou Mo noticed the gravity in Qian Wu’s expression and fell silent. After exchanging a glance with Di Zhu, they all stepped toward the portal.
At the last moment, they turned to look at Song Qi. He remained motionless, still under the effects of “Soul Snatch,” never looking back.
Zhou Liu pressed a finger to his ear and whispered into the distance:
“Mission… complete.”
Only when Song Qi heard the others enter the portal did he finally relax, looking down again at the pulsing flesh in his hands.
Good… They believed him.
Whether they truly did or just pretended to…
They were gone now.
“Song Qi… Why go to such lengths?” the flesh chuckled.
“What do you mean?”
“Most people lie to those who don’t matter,” the flesh mused. “But you seem so close to them. Why deceive them too?”
“If I didn’t lie… how else could I send them away?” Song Qi said. “Those words were for you—and for my teammates. Only then could they leave without hesitation.”
“You know I can’t truly die… don’t you?” Suzaku laughed. “You’re not mad enough to see a lump of flesh with eyes… as a bomb.”
Taking advantage of Song Qi’s paralysis, Suzaku began crawling up his arm, inching toward his face.
“Doesn’t matter,” Song Qi replied. “Even if I can’t destroy you, this body of mine is already counting down to detonation.”
“So… you’re going to kill me by blowing yourself up?” The flesh quivered with amusement.
“Maybe,” Song Qi said. “Next, I might unleash the strongest ‘Detonation’ ever. Powerful enough to obliterate even your enhanced body.”
“Hah…” Suzaku reached Song Qi’s shoulder. “If mere physical explosion could kill me… I’d have died when that middle-aged man blew up earlier…”
Slimy and grotesque, he slithered toward Song Qi’s mouth—and forced his way inside.
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