Chapter 140: The Splitter

"Run!" Luo Qi shouted.

This was not feasible; both Du Zhengyi and Majiang understood that one could not outrun a Space Traveler.

Yet Guan Xinyue only hesitated for a moment before charging fiercely in the direction Luo Qi had come from. She ran desperately, regardless of everything; the earth pounded against her foot bones beneath her, and she could not care about any ridiculous bugs or the shrubs that scratched her arms. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, and every thought she had left was just running.

This turn of events was abrupt. Du Zhengyi endured intense pain as he chased after Guan Xinyue, seeing Luo Qi's figure appear in the thick fog head-on. He was running out of breath, his mouth hanging open in a silly way as he exhaled, and he was still urgently shouting to run as he crossed paths with Guan Xinyue.

"Luo Qi, you..." Scolding Luo Qi had practically become a conditioned reflex for Du Zhengyi. The moment he opened his mouth, the intense pain from his wound made him gasp and swallow the second half of his sentence. Just at this moment, he suddenly realized another problem.

Du Zhengyi turned around to face the high-energy Mage. The Mage had actually not used Teleportation, nor had he seized the most advantageous tactical moment. In the thick fog, Du Zhengyi even saw the Mage's flickering eyes looking at them with resentment. Then, the Mage took a few steps back and retreated into the thick fog behind him on foot.

"Majiang!" It was Luo Qi shouting again, his tone filled with anxiety. "Quick, quick, follow Guan Xinyue, look after her, go quickly, get down the mountain, drive away. His interest is Guan Xinyue."

"What?" Majiang asked in astonishment amidst the thick fog.

"Go quickly," Du Zhengyi said through gritted teeth, having already understood. "Luo Qi has sealed the ability in his brain that controls space shifting. Seize the time and go quickly."

Majiang gave Luo Qi a startled look, but he did not dally any longer. He ran nimbly, leaving as he followed the sound of Guan Xinyue's footsteps.

"Luo Qi," Du Zhengyi said, "Alright, disconnect now."

Luo Qi was covered in sweat in the slightly cold air and did not respond to his words. "Brother, damn it, can you imagine he is a schizophrenic? I was almost scared to death when I was in his mind. You can't guess what the world looks like in the eyes of a schizophrenic! I actually feel a bit of sympathy..."

He froze, staring blankly at Du Zhengyi as if he were looking at a Qiongqi.

"Damn," he said in a low voice, his tone filled with disbelief. "You're hurt?"

"Luo Qi, I know he is a madman, stop talking nonsense!" Du Zhengyi stared into the depths of the fog. He could feel the Mage was nearby; the thick fog acted to confuse the force field, and he could not pinpoint the location with complete accuracy. "Disconnect immediately, it's too dangerous!"

"It's fine." Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi with concern, then nervously watched the thick fog all around. He licked his lips, forcing himself to stay calm. Du Zhengyi was just injured; that didn't mean anything. People get injured, and they also heal. "It's fine," he repeated, then whispered an explanation. "I am right here, not over there in him. I copied a small portion of my consciousness into that schizophrenic's brain. I can't do anything else; I only had time to figure out the part that controls Space Travel. Now that part of his brain can't be activated, but I don't know how long it will last."

"It won't last long," Du Zhengyi said. He was somewhat surprised that Luo Qi had mastered such a technique so quickly. But that thought passed immediately; it wasn't important. Telepaths had always been deeply secretive about their craft. If one were not a Telepath, one would have no qualifications to consult the relevant literature at all, so it was normal for him not to understand them, but he understood his own abilities. "The ability to Teleport is not so easy to control."

"I guess so," Luo Qi said. "Do you know where he is?"

"Only a rough range," Du Zhengyi said. "He is also a Battle Mage-level person."

"And he's gone mad," Luo Qi added dejectedly.

Du Zhengyi hesitated for a moment and asked, "Can you feel his position?"

"Also only a rough range," Luo Qi said. "But, Brother, I am good at attacking emotions, right?"

"Quite," Du Zhengyi said, "good at it."

"Are you okay?" Luo Qi felt a bit relieved and gained some confidence, yet he examined Du Zhengyi with extra nervousness. "Can you still hold on?"

"Can you force him out?" Du Zhengyi asked with interest. Honestly, if it were in the past when he could use his abilities as he pleased, and he encountered a Mage like Luo Qi who could cooperate, he would have already been excited.

"I can try." Luo Qi nervously licked his lower lip again. "He is very anxious and nervous. In his eyes, there are eyes staring at him everywhere in this world. He only sees a distorted, deformed, and absurd world. I can try to increase his anxiety. Damn it, I'm already anxious as hell just to do this, so my anxiety level should be enough to drive him crazy. But... but you keep bleeding..."

"It doesn't matter," Du Zhengyi said, smiling slightly. "The highest mode for a Battle Mage is to shut off the sensation of pain."

Luo Qi was startled, inevitably feeling admiration again. "That awesome?"

"And nervousness, fear, sadness... and all emotions can be shut off," Du Zhengyi said in a low voice. "Fortunately, this madman can't do it. Come on, Luo Qi, this is the moment that needs your L-Value."

A look of astonishment flashed across Luo Qi's face. Wasn't everything Du Zhengyi said he could shut off the very part that makes a person human? However, he had no time to think about this. In any case, Du Zhengyi could shut off his humanity, and he could also turn it back on. He did, however, incidentally figure out why Du Zhengyi sometimes seemed so unlike a human.

Luo Qi rubbed his hands together. "Brother, can you make me a bit more anxious?"

"I have discussed it with Majiang; you will undergo closed training with him alone. During this time, I am going to live on Gushan for three months," Du Zhengyi said quietly.

"What?" Luo Qi shouted, immediately realizing this might not be true. But then he thought, would Du Zhengyi joke at a time like this?

"Hurry up, stop the nonsense," Du Zhengyi said impatiently. "If you delay any longer, his skill cooldown will end."

"Damn it." Luo Qi focused his attention, muttering to himself, "Fine, I know he is very uncomfortable. His target is Guan Xinyue, and Guan Xinyue fits his excitement point for slaughter. But now that Guan Xinyue is gone, he is so anxious he can barely stand it."

"Disgusting," Du Zhengyi said in a low voice.

"Yeah," Luo Qi closed his eyes. His Mental World suddenly filled with power. He projected his anxiety, restlessness, fear, unease, and even his own lack of confidence onto the Mage's consciousness nearest to them. That consciousness was boiling, its core already at the critical value of an explosion. He lit a fire on his consciousness, shattering his precarious Mental World.

The mad Mage rushed out, and Du Zhengyi flew to meet him just as quickly. In the instant they converged, Luo Qi didn't even see clearly how Du Zhengyi flew above the Mage's head. A non-reflective metal noose appeared in his hand, and that Execution Chain wrapped around the neck of the insane high-energy Mage. Leveraging the momentum of Du Zhengyi's jump and his body weight, the noose tightened around the Mage's neck. Luo Qi opened his mouth wide, watching from a very close distance as a person was strangled to death, taking their last breath in front of him.

Luo Qi was stunned, and it was a long while before he shifted his gaze to see Du Zhengyi walking over. "Is it over?"

"It's over," Du Zhengyi said in a low voice.

Luo Qi realized sluggishly what he was thinking; so, a high-energy Mage could also be ended so easily.

"Luo Qi." One of Du Zhengyi's hands rested on his forearm, gripping it neither lightly nor heavily.

"Hmm?" Luo Qi said, half-dazed.

"I am going to turn all my senses back on."

For a moment, Luo Qi didn't understand what he meant, but then he almost fainted. Du Zhengyi collapsed in front of him; the thick fog had already dispersed, and there were bloodstains from Du Zhengyi everywhere.