Shen Mengbai's face tensed; an invisible telekinetic force surged from her body.
Pfft! A sharp pain flashed across her neck—an ultra-thin white thread had somehow coiled around her throat.
"Don't move. Twitch and your head leaves your shoulders." A cold voice sounded behind her.
'When?!' Shen Mengbai's pupils shrank; the platform was twenty metres from the door—she hadn't seen him cross the distance.
Behind the women, Li Yong had shifted into his Monster form; one hand held four white threads, each looped round the necks of Shen Mengbai and the other three.
"Let me go!" The two-metre-tall muscle-JK girl snarled, feeling the razor-sharp wire against her skin.
Li Yong's face stayed calm: "Just take one step forward yourself."
As he spoke, the white threads tightened; skin split and blood trickled down all four necks.
Feeling the warmth, none of them dared say another word.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!
From below the platform, scarlet feathers shot out, each piercing four or five people with terrifying speed.
"Help!"
"Ahh!"
"Don't kill me!"
"Boss Shen, save us!"
In one pass, more than half the people near the doorway were down, still falling like wheat.
Some tried hiding behind tables—table and bodies alike were shredded.
Wei Gaocheng wore a soundless grin; new feathers regrew the instant his wings shot the last volley.
The barrage lasted five seconds; when it stopped, no one in front of him was still breathing.
"Trash, all of you." He curled his lip in disdain and turned to the four Li Yong held on the platform.
"Shen Mengbai, I'll give you one chance—join us, or become one of them." Wei Gaocheng stared straight at her, cruel smile curving his beak.
His gaze made her heart clench, but she kept her composure: "Fine, but fight me fair and square. Beat me and I'll join—not this ambush."
Seeing humans able to turn Monster, she couldn't help but think of the Monster Association that had rampaged through neighbouring Nanwu Country.
The Liuyang City incident had been hidden from ordinary folk, yet among the Awakened Ones it had caused an uproar—everyone now knew of the Association that dared clash head-on with the Xuanjian Division.
"All right—pick one of us." Wei Gaocheng's avian face split in a grin.
The white threads in Li Yong's hand dissolved into motes of light, releasing the four.
Without hesitation Shen Mengbai spun round, glaring at the blade-horned Li Yong. "I'll fight him!"
She fingered the cut on her neck; the bird-man below could fly—bad for her. The man behind her looked manageable.
Wei Gaocheng's beak-smile widened—Li Yong was the strongest of the three, a born fighter once his ability awakened.
"Come, then." Li Yong glanced at Shen Mengbai and leapt off the platform.
He landed amid the corpses, looked up: "Begin."
"I'll finish you in a second." Shen Mengbai rose into the air; space around her twisted as a violent burst of telekinetic power shot out.
Bang! Li Yong kicked off, darting right—so fast only a white blur was visible.
Boom! The spot he'd stood exploded, revealing the floor below; shredded corpses fell through.
'Fast.' She flicked her left hand; telekinesis ripped a several-metre slab from the ground and hurled it at him.
Bzz! Li Yong skidded to a stop, eyes sharp on the incoming slab—he'd held back to gauge her ability.
Bzz! His right hand glowed; five white energy threads sprouted from his fingertips.
Shhk! He slashed; the threads sliced the slab like tofu.
Stone fragments scattered as he sprang toward Shen Mengbai floating ten-odd metres up.
She sneered: "That high with nothing to push off—how will you reach me?"
Bang!
She yanked both hands; the side walls shattered, spraying gravel like bullets at Li Yong.
"That's all you've got?" Li Yong reached the space beneath her, smirked, and slashed with his energy threads from ten metres away.
The white strands elongated, sweeping across Shen Mengbai's body.
Rrrrip! They shredded her telekinetic shield and carved straight through her flesh, exiting her back.
Wei Gaocheng's face changed: "Shit, Li Yong—you killed her!"
High above, Shen Mengbai looked stunned; her body began dropping in pieces, gaze still locked on Li Yong.
It seemed to ask: 'Wasn't this just sparring?'
Li Yong frowned—he hadn't expected her to be so fragile; he usually sparred with Han Qi and Wei Gaocheng, both tougher than steel.
"Big sis!" The two-metre JK howled and leapt off the platform.
Thwip! A feather pierced her skull; she flopped and lay still.
"Kill them all, then." Wei Gaocheng raised his wing, covering the last two fleeing Awakened Ones.
Thwip-thwip! Both were shot through before they'd gone a few steps.
Li Yong glanced at the corpses and shrugged at Wei Gaocheng: "Weren't we here to recruit? Guess we suck at it."
Wei Gaocheng scratched his head: "Their smug faces just piss me off. Forget it—slaughtering suits us better."
He reverted to human form, picked a relatively intact set of clothes from the floor and put it on.
Li Yong took photos of the Awakened corpses with his phone.
Outside the building, he sent an address and a message to Mirror Demon.
[My King, send a clean-up crew; deliver the Awakened corpses in the photos to the Laboratory.]