Chapter 277: How Does the Villain Die?

Inside the crystal, the dark blue spirit body suddenly expanded; the old man's phantom flickered and vanished, transforming into a youthful male with a sinister appearance.

Seeing this, the Black Dragon rose to a coiled stance, its dark gold vertical pupils instantly locking onto the phantom; the pressure from a superior being simultaneously pressed toward Huang Shaohua.

"Heh..."

Huang Shaohua snorted with a sneer.

Even in a spirit state, the aura emanating from him easily broke through the dragon's pressure lock.

"Bang!"

The pressure shattered.

It was as if the Black Dragon had merely been holding him in midair earlier, just an act.

"Shen Yuan Black Dragon..."

"If it were a mature body..."

"No, if it were a youthful body I'd still be wary of two parts, but now?"

"A juvenile body?"

"Boom!!"

The giant phantom filling the room raised a hand and waved; a violent mental shock burst forth, directly blasting Lin An together with the Black Dragon toward the wall.

Bricks and stones flew, dust rose, and the wall impacted into a human shape.

The concrete soundproof wall seemed as flimsy as paper; after breaking through six walls in succession, Lin An's recoiling figure barely came to a stop.

The necklace seemed to be held aloft by the void; the dark blue spirit body resided within it, controlling the necklace to swiftly float before Lin An's eyes.

"How?"

"Not speaking?"

Huang Shaohua gave a cold snort; the blue Mental Power Barrier had already isolated the entire floor, so even under such an explosion, Zhang Tie and the others downstairs sensed nothing unusual.

Lin An remained silent, slowly rising with difficulty from the ruins.

His body was covered in rubble, and exposed steel bars protruded from the damaged wall.

His chest cavity was sunken; the violent mental shock was truly horrifying.

Had it not been for the effect of the Grudge Skull reducing the damage, this casual blow alone could have seriously injured him.

Is this the gap between First Level and Third Level...?

Even though my own strength already far exceeds First Level...

The spirit body's sudden burst of power reached the threshold of Third Level.

Unlike pure attribute power, the power erupted by the spirit body is mostly the special power of a Third Level expert after opening the Gene Lock.

"Roar!!"

A dragon's roar of anger.

Seeing Lin An injured, the Black Dragon, enraged, shot out, enlarged itself, and lunged to swallow Huang Shaohua.

"Hum!"

A strong mental pressure erupted again; the air, like steel, restrained the enlarged Black Dragon in place.

"A juvenile body, and you still want to swallow me?"

"Ridiculous."

Huang Shaohua, having taken on a youthful appearance, smirked contemptuously and with a wave of his hand sent the Black Dragon flying backward.

"If I had a physical body, I would have already crushed you, little snake!"

Hearing this, the Black Dragon flew into a rage; as a member of the Shen Yuan Royalty, damage to its spirit body caused it no harm.

"Little snake!?"

The dignity of the Shen Yuan Royalty cannot be insulted!

"Black Dragon! Come back!"

About to charge again, he was stopped by Lin An.

Lin An laboriously wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and did not use the Nether River Power to heal his wounds.

Before a Third Level expert, healing his wounds was meaningless; he showed no panic, as if it were expected.

His eyes flickered, and he directly asked the spirit body:

"I'm curious..."

"What was your strength in life—Third Level or Fourth Level?"

Hearing that Lin An still had the leisure to ask him, the dark blue spirit body couldn't help but sneer:

"Does it matter what level I am?"

"You only need to know that I want to kill you; that's just a matter of an instant."

"Originally I wanted to let you enjoy a few more days like Li Lei, waiting until your body could bear me before striking."

"Isn't it fine to foolishly accept all this?"

"Living foolishly is far better than dying lucidly..."

Although he said that, Huang Shaohua secretly felt uneasy inside.

Lin An's performance was too calm, completely lacking the expected panic.

"Death?"

Lin An straightened his body, blood dripping from the back of his hand:

"You won't kill me..."

"If you want to be reborn, you must rely on my help."

"With your full power unleashed, how long can your mental strength sustain?"

Kill me, where will you find a host again?

A brief silence, then Huang Shaohua let out a cold laugh:

You won't kill me?

That's right, I really don't want to kill you now.

But I can kill all your companions!

Believe me, my methods of tormenting people are only more terrifying than yours!

Your performance far exceeds my expectations.

Compared to Li Lei's trash, your body is far more suitable for me!

Between his words there was a sigh:

It's really hard to imagine what kind of person you are.

That Li Lei kid, under my guidance, has had one lucky break after another, but his strength is only at the peak of the First Level.

But what about you?

How many days has it been since the Apocalypse broke out? Twenty days?

A black dragon, a piece of orange equipment, space equipment, and strength not inferior to the peak of the Second Level.

If it weren't for our different auras, I would almost have thought you were my kind!

The youthful phantom lowered his head to glance at his feet, then gave a cruel smile:

If you were truly smart, you shouldn't have exposed me.

I actually had planned to help you rise to the Third Level, let you be mighty for a few years, then take over your body...

But now...

Either you submit to me as my puppet, or I will kill your men before your eyes, making you suffer greatly!

That black bear and girl downstairs, they weigh heavily in your heart, right?

You have one minute to kneel and submit to me, or I will tear their flesh bit by bit, letting them die in pain and wails!

Seeing Lin An silent and speechless, as if pondering something, Huang Shaohua couldn't help but cross his arms and speak arrogantly:

You are indeed smart, able to sense the abnormality.

You're much stronger than that idiot Li Lei.

But.

In the face of absolute power! So-called strategies are useless!

Although I'm curious what you're thinking, and also curious how you figured it out!

But these are meaningless.

The gap between us is like heaven and earth! The difference between Third Level and below Third Level cannot be made up by just thinking!

Lin An's expression didn't change, his figure swaying slightly:

Is that so?

I can tell you...

I can sense it because of the Manchineel Flower...

Lin An's second utterance made Huang Shaohua unable to help but listen closely:

Manchineel Flower?

His tone doubtful, confident of victory, he also didn't pay attention to Lin An's attitude.

What's the worth of a verbal advantage?

If Lin An still dares to struggle, then just kill all his comrades!

To be honest, he asks himself his act is thorough enough, and his demeanor is low enough.

If it were him in Lin An's place, he would never suspect a trick.

Having a black dragon and a death god crystal as trump cards, capturing his own spirit body is quite normal.

Who would think his performance is too weak? They'd only think their scheming was excellent, having calculated his momentary weakness when exposed to the outside.

His chest caved in, each word sprayed with blood, Lin An could feel his lungs pierced by his ribs:

You say you pity Li Lei, so you're willing to lend him a hand...

But the Manchineel Flower, he can't use it at all.

Even if you plan to let him take it later, why would you think of poisoning me?

You'd rather have him risk death and constantly urge him... to attack me.

I don't believe Li Lei never thought of stopping...

His courage is tiny; besides you behind the scenes giving him brainwashing, boosting his confidence. Otherwise, with his guts he'd likely give up...

Huang Shaohua furrowed his brows, casually replying:

These are not enough to make you doubt me.

After all, your equipment is too tempting; in your view, you'd naturally think: I'm overconfident I can handle you, so of course you'd let Li Lei take some risk.

Lin An inexplicably gave a light chuckle, nodded, and continued speaking:

That's right, based on this alone I can't judge whether you deliberately let Li Lei go to die and then pretended not to be an enemy.

Thus... letting me lower my guard and keep you nearby.

Then when the time is ripe, occupy my body.

But.

You made a mistake.

You deliberately shouted for Wang Kun to let go of his mind, so you could possess him and attack me.

But since you can possess a body, why not just possess Li Lei's body?

You even deliberately flew slowly, to the point that you pretended to mock me midway.

You're worried that after possessing Li Lei, I'll subconsciously think of 'body snatching,' and then you could also possess me, right?

So you simply didn't even bother possessing Wang Kun, leaving plenty of time for me to act.

All just to create the illusion that possession is difficult...

Lin An finished speaking, then bent over and gasped heavily.

A large pool of blood accumulated beneath him, reflecting his pale face.

His lungs were pierced by his ribs, making even breathing painful.

Huang Shaohua's approach is the same as the Spider Maker's; both are subconsciously hiding the key point.

The dark-blue spirit body fluctuated, remained silent for a few seconds, then let out a light laugh.

It was my oversight; I didn't expect my shout to instead arouse your suspicion.

Tsk tsk, I'm getting more and more curious.

Just who are you, to be so wary?

Such thinking is completely not what someone your age should have; on the contrary, it's like an old thing that has lived a long time in the Apocalypse...

But even if you notice the flaw, what then?

If I were you, I would definitely pretend not to know! Then I would strengthen myself in the future, seek opportunities. Perhaps there's still a slim chance to oppose me!

By speaking up directly, aren't you just sending yourself down a dead end?

Huang Shaohua said arrogantly, his words full of contempt.

Lin An could notice the problem; it's no big deal.

This scheme was simple to begin with; it was just his spur-of-the-moment idea.

In his view, the correct approach should be to pretend not to know and lie low!

It's as if there are many unspoken rules in this world, and many people choose to stay silent and not expose them.

Is it because they don't know? Or because they don't want to resist?

No, it's simply because they cannot speak!

Living in a daze is still better than dying...

After a moment, Lin An's body swayed slightly, completely unbothered by Huang Shaohua's mockery.

He curled the corner of his mouth and spoke weakly:

What you said is correct; theoretically I should pretend not to know and not expose you.

But.

Have you ever heard a saying?

What saying?

The dark-blue spirit body heard it, was taken aback, then sneered at him.

A dead duck's hard beak—Lin An was nothing more than a stubborn struggle in his eyes.

The next second.

Lin An's gaze grew deep, a white light flashed in his hand and vanished, as if he were looking at an idiot:

Villains die from talking too much...