Chapter 521: Shattered Mirror

"... Of course."

Hua Jian Lei stood still, looking back without a flicker of emotion; even his peach‑blossom eyes softened, lacking the usual flirtatious charm he shows at everyone.

He still has principles, for example, he wouldn't lay a hand on under‑age girls.

"Why are you here?"

After confirming that Hua Jian Lei wouldn't act recklessly, Min Xingyao also restrained herself a bit.

Hua Jian Lei didn't know how this instance had reshaped his identity in Min Xingyao's eyes, but he must have bet correctly.

Although Min Xingyao had just looked as if she were about to slaughter him, she pulled back in the end, merely to intimidate.

Yet her words forced Hua Jian Lei to ponder deeply.

Over‑developing one's Aberrant Arts beyond one's limits does indeed invite very bad outcomes; even emotional loss of control is the mildest case.

But why be so eager to develop one's Aberrant Arts?

Hua Jian Lei himself has long been wildly hopping along this perilous edge, but the crux is that their Undead desperately need a way to protect themselves in this dangerous world.

But what are they after?

"Um... just happened to be passing by?"

Hua Jian Lei tossed out a casual excuse, and Min Xingyao naturally couldn't believe it.

Yet she wasn't prepared to press the issue further.

To fulfill Lingxiao's plan, they need far more manpower, and suitable candidates are exceedingly few.

Hua Jian Lei is merely a backup under observation in their scheme, a Special Ability Practitioner of the Consciousness Law who even dares to gamble his life to push his Aberrant Arts to the limit.

"Passing by? Your sudden appearance has already ended my work ahead of schedule."

Min Xingyao turned her head aside; fortunately, before Hua Jian Lei arrived, she had already finished the business.

She scanned the room and indeed found a cellar‑like spot in the corner.

She walked over, intending to move the heavy object atop it; Lao Bao frowned and went over to lend a hand.

Compared with the frail Min Xingyao, Lao Bao handled the labor effortlessly, and under her guidance even the cellar door was forced open.

"Hoo—!"

Accompanied by a crisp whooshing, a blood‑stained shard of glass, as if premeditated, sliced straight from beneath the cellar toward Lao Bao.

The sudden attack left Lao Bao unable to dodge, and a bright crimson slash appeared on his wheat‑colored arm.

With a single effort, Lao Bao flung the cellar door panel aside.

Min Xingyao looked down and met the gaze of the man inside the cellar.

The man appeared to be at least twenty years old, his posture especially ragged, hair caked with dust and grime, making his original features hard to discern.

His clothing was a tattered shroud barely covering him; his body bore marks of abuse everywhere, especially his hands, shackled with heavy manacles so tight they gouged terrifying blood marks.

It's hard to imagine what kind of torment this once‑robust youth endured at the hands of those traffickers.

He clutched the glass shard tightly, like a raging beast, staring at everyone outside.

Min Xingyao knew that rushing in now wouldn't calm the scene; it might even provoke the other side into extreme actions.

They weren't afraid of such a skinny, gaunt ordinary person, but didn't want the other side to kill themselves.

Lao Bao tried to lift his arm and found the wounded limb seemed completely disconnected from his brain, losing control over it.

Hua Jian Lei, expression unchanged, moved to his side and gently placed his hand on Lao Bao's muscle.

The wound wasn't deep, nor did it seem poisoned—perhaps... an energy fluctuation?

His gaze fell on the man's hand, engraved with a Rune; so this is a shackles specifically designed for Special Ability Practitioners?

The man is a Special Ability Practitioner; because the shackles prevent him from fully using his Aberrant Arts, he uses this method to disrupt outsiders? Clever.

The man was clearly tortured beyond humanity, his sole Aberrant Arts stripped away; that recent strike was already his final retaliation.

He's actually a Special Ability Practitioner of the Consciousness Law...

Hua Jian Lei felt he'd dealt with many such practitioners; is the Consciousness Law really that widespread?

Wait.

Hua Jian Lei suddenly recalled how oddly coincidental the time and place were.

Min Xingyao's earlier words suggested this group needed his Aberrant Arts.

Could it be that he just so happened to match that person's identity?

Hua Jian Lei silently pushed Lao Bao into the corner, trying to conceal his injured arm.

Min Xingyao didn't examine Lao Bao's wound; although she guessed the man was a Special Ability Practitioner, she couldn't know without basis that his arts involved the Consciousness Law.

Min Xingyao, however, noticed something else—a shadow that shifted quietly in the corner.

"Do you want to come out first?"

Min Xingyao addressed the struggling man before her, her tone especially cold, each sentence hitting the point directly.

"You can't hold on much longer, and you should know that under the three‑person pressure from our side, you have no chance to escape."

"Come out yourself; of course, I'm not only talking about you."

"Um... don't be so ungracious."

Hua Jian Lei raised an eyebrow at the scene and proactively tried to smooth things over.

"You still have a child, don't you? If this turns too confrontational, it'll leave a bad impression on the kid, you know?"

The man and Min Xingyao both glared at Hua Jian Lei, exchanging wordless looks.

This is a Slum, not some convent; a child raised here has already endured far more terrifying things.

Yet strangely, the two actually didn't remain as confrontational as before and fell into silence.

Perhaps the man also knows what the outsiders intend; they are powerless to resist.

He was already at the end of his rope; this sudden relaxation caused his whole body to tumble down the stairs.

"Jingzi gege!"

The frightened voice of the child in the basement rang out; the child immediately scrambled over and threw himself onto the man, becoming a human meat pad.

Although just as miserable, the child also bore scattered injuries, yet compared to that man, he had healed far more.

The child shoved aside the man who had heavily fallen on him, seeing his unconscious state and being terrified; looking outside at Min Xingyao looking down into the interior, he begged humbly.

"Please, please, save him......"

Even though he knows it's nearly impossible, medical supplies are an incredibly important resource for this abandoned slum.

But this is already the only thing he can do.