Chapter 4: Once Bound, One Cannot Resist

"What, Xiao Li died!"

"The shout made Tang Luo open his eyes, and he also stopped the futile effort, a remedy slightly better than nothing."

"The whole person was disemboweled."

"Zhou Zhen'guo said."

"No need to say more; everyone thought of Kaitangshou Jieke."

"Want to have a look?"

"Xiao Chu pushed up his slipping glasses and said."

"Zhou Zhen'guo nodded, leading everyone toward the toilet; just as they got close, he suddenly stopped and stepped back."

"His sudden move startled Xiao Chu and the others, who also retreated several steps."

"Only Tang Luo kept walking, stepping past Zhou Zhen'guo."

"Arriving at the tightly shut door, he reached out and pushed it open—effortlessly."

"Careful!"

"Zhou Zhen'guo shouted."

"He hadn't closed the toilet door when he left, but now the door shut itself, and even the bloody footprints left behind vanished."

"Such an abnormality meant danger."

"Tang Luo pressed his palm against the door, paused a moment, then exerted slight force."

"The locked door burst open, slamming into the wall with a crisp sound."

"Ah!"

"Li Liang on the toilet behind the door yelled, fell off, and looked around blankly."

"He looked like he had just woken up."

"He's not dead."

"Tang Luo stepped back two steps to make way, letting Zhou Zhen'guo and the others see the just-awoken Li Liang."

"Zhou Zhen'guo's eyes widened."

"Xiao Chu and the others' doubtful gazes kept shifting between Zhou Zhen'guo and Li Liang."

"What about the promised disembowelment?"

"I clearly saw..."

"Zhou Zhen'guo said."

"What did you see?"

"Li Liang stood up strangely and walked outside without knowing why."

"Zhou Zhen'guo reacted intensely, pointing at Li Liang and shouting, 'Stop!'"

"Li Liang instinctively stopped."

"'Uncle Zhou, calm down; we can sit and slowly sort things out to figure out what happened.'"

"Xiao Chu said."

"The others nodded like pecking chicks."

"A few minutes later."

"Li Liang's face full of disbelief: 'What the hell! I just sat in the toilet for a while and fell asleep—how did I die! Uncle Zhou, don't scare me.'"

"Zhou Zhen'guo crossed his arms and stared at Li Liang without a word."

"He trusted his own eyes and his own judgment."

"So, the Li Liang before him was no longer Li Liang!"

"The Kaitangshou Jieke in the God-Demon Game Mission could not possibly be the ordinary historical serial killer."

"He must have some special ability."

"Zhou Zhen'guo had prepared himself for this."

"'Uncle Zhou, could you have been mistaken?'"

"Xiao Chu hesitated and said."

"'Maybe I really was mistaken.'"

"Zhou Zhen'guo frowned, stepped closer to Li Liang, as if to examine him properly."

"Then he suddenly reached out."

"Aiming at Li Liang, he made a fist-clenching motion."

"On the ground, a black chain appeared out of nowhere, winding around Li Liang once before sinking back into the ground on the other side."

"The black chain tightened, binding Li Liang directly and imprisoning him in place."

"This is one of the skills Zhou Zhen'guo obtained—"

"Imprisonment Chain."

"It can bind the target and imprison him in place to restrict his movements."

"With Zhou Zhen'guo's current proficiency, to use this ability"

"he must get within ten meters of the target, spend a moment marking it; once the mark is set, it activates instantly."

"Marking also requires that Zhou Zhen'guo see the target with his own eyes and focus his attention on it."

"If the target moves, there is too much visual obstruction, or Zhou Zhen'guo becomes distracted and loses focus, the skill cannot be used."

"In other words, in intense combat this Imprisonment Chain is actually hard to use."

"As Zhou Zhen'guo becomes more proficient,"

"the success rate of activating the Imprisonment Chain also increases."

"Uncle Zhou, what are you doing?"

Everyone was startled by Zhou Zhen'guo's sudden attack.

Li Liang also naturally struggled to get up.

The chains kept clanking, creating echoes in the spacious church.

Zhou Zhen'guo lowered his hand, then stepped back, not continuing to approach.

The confinement chains aren't such that once you lock the target, you can keep them confined indefinitely.

Besides the current two-minute time limit, it also relates to the target's own strength.

When encountering a strong target, they can easily break free of the confinement.

Zhou Zhen'guo can be certain that his current confinement chains cannot be broken even by the strongest strongman in the real world.

Someone like Li Liang, an ordinary person, is even less likely.

But the question is, is the Li Liang before us an ordinary person?

Can the person disguised as Jack the Ripper break free of the chains?

This is an unknown.

If one gets close and is violently counterattacked by the opponent, that would be laughable.

Zhou Zhen'guo walked two steps to the side and grabbed the candlestick on the table.

The candle has burned down; the fixed candle on it exposes a near-finger-long spike, which can be used as a weapon.

Upon entering the God Demon Game, miscellaneous items on one's person are not brought in.

The situation of bringing one's own weapons and rations does not exist.

Want a weapon?

One needs to adapt to local conditions and use available materials.

"Surname Zhou! What are you doing!"

Seeing Zhou Zhen'guo's action, Li Liang's struggling movements suddenly intensified.

This guy, who has always been kind, suddenly wants to turn hostile?

Is he crazy?

Or is it that since entering the mission world, everything has been his disguise, and now is his true face?

"Uncle Zhou!"

Xiao Chu and the others shouted from the side, trying to stop, but without real action.

Facing a veteran who has turned hostile.

Those who have just entered the God Demon Game are very weak and powerless.

Nobody is willing to directly confront a veteran player on behalf of a stranger they just met.

Those two female students retreated several meters away, already prepared to escape.

This uncle is unreliable!

After weighing the candlestick in his hand, Zhou Zhen'guo approached Li Liang and said, "I don't know if you truly can't break free or are just pretending—"

Before he finished speaking, he grabbed the candlestick with his right hand, raised it high, and brought it down.

He didn't even think of saying nonsense.

That half-sentence just now was merely to confuse the opponent and lower their guard.

The candlestick let out a whistling sound as it fell toward the immobile Li Liang.

The candlestick is not light, also has spikes, and Zhou Zhen'guo is not weak in strength.

If this strike lands solidly, Li Liang won't die but will be seriously injured.

Everyone's mission is to find Jack the Ripper.

This is actually a relatively broad concept.

Speaking loosely, it's possible that one doesn't necessarily need to see Jack the Ripper's true form; like a deduction game, once you confirm Jack the Ripper's true identity, even if you find him, the mission is completed.

Speaking strictly, perhaps one still needs to personally capture Jack the Ripper.

Just seeing or confirming the identity cannot complete the mission.

No matter how the scope is defined.

Killing Jack the Ripper definitely counts as completing the mission.

Zhou Zhen'guo's face was ferocious, his strike ruthless.

"Ah!"

Li Liang let out a miserable scream.

The spike of the candlestick is less than two centimeters from his eyes; a slight movement of the head could touch it.

The barely movable head is already at the limit of leaning back.

Pain sensations kept coming from the neck; Li Liang even suspected he had twisted his neck off.

Zhou Zhen'guo's hand halted in midair.

Clearly only a step away from Li Liang, yet he couldn't advance an inch, unable to move.

The hand gripping his forearm transmitted a force that made Zhou Zhen'guo feel as if he were bound by the confinement chains.

"Amitabha."

Tang Luo, who blocked Zhou Zhen'guo, uttered a Buddhist chant and slightly nodded.

A force of merit arose from the void, absorbed by the merit jade lotus.

A faint light flashed; the merit force just absorbed was directly used by Tang Luo.

A cool yet warm power surged from the jade lotus into Tang Luo's body.

Like a spring surging.

As if a person parched for years had drunk a cup of clear water.

The fleeting sense of exhilaration made Tang Luo exhale slightly.

"Ah!"

This time, the one screaming miserably was Zhou Zhen Guo.

The intense pain made him let go of the candlestick in his hand, which fell onto Li Liang's head as he flung it about recklessly.

After it sliced a gash at the corner of his eye, the candlestick fell to the ground.

Li Liang felt a burning pain around his eyes, also clearly realizing he had saved his life, and his body instantly went limp.

If it weren't for the chains tightly binding him, he would already have collapsed on the ground.

"Sorry."

Tang Luo loosened his grip and stepped back.

Just now it was like a long drought meeting sweet rain—even if only the "rainfall" of a pot of water.

So Tang Luo inadvertently used a bit more force and accidentally injured Zhou Zhen Guo.

"Patron Zhou, you were reckless."

Tang Luo said to Zhou Zhen Guo.

Zhou Zhen Guo's entire right arm was trembling; he felt as if, from the elbow down, his whole forearm was about to cease belonging to himself.

The intense pain left him unable to speak for a moment.

The others immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Then their gazes toward Tang Luo changed.

This monk who claims to be Xuanzang seems not to be lying?

He really looks like he can fight.

"You don't believe me? I trust my eyes, everything I saw."

Zhou Zhen Guo covered his arm and said to Tang Luo.

"Patron, there's no need to get angry; the poor monk didn't say I don't believe you."

Tang Luo gave a hehe laugh.

"Then why are you still stopping me?" Zhou Zhen Guo asked.

Regarding Tang Luo blocking him, he showed no surprise.

He knows his own affairs.

As someone who barely survived the newbie period, still a player who got by, a wanderer among gods and demons.

Aside from the skills he acquired, Zhou Zhen Guo actually isn't much beyond an ordinary person.

If he were thrown onto a professional boxing or combat, fighting ring to face those professionals head-on,

without skills, Zhou Zhen Guo would definitely not win.

In Zhou Zhen Guo's eyes, Tang Luo should have been practicing martial arts since childhood, similar to a martial monk.

He has great strength, so he should be very capable in a fight.

Moreover, he's a bit chuunibyou—who wouldn't claim to have demon-subduing methods if not chuunibyou?

It's normal to be able to stop him.

"Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life; to kill outright just because of suspicion is improper."

Tang Luo said.

Zhou Zhen Guo snorted and said nothing.

"However, since Patron Zhou spoke with certainty, saying that Patron Li is not himself and could be a thirst-quenching impostor disguised by a ripper, the poor monk thinks we should still verify a thing or two." Tang Luo smiled and picked up the candlestick from the ground.

Li Liang's body shuddered, and he had an ominous feeling: "Hey! Monk, what are you doing!"

"Patron Li, you needn't worry; at most there will be some pain, with no danger to life."

Tang Luo was just short of raising his thumb to indicate "no problem."

"Hey! Hey!"

Li Liang, who had just lost his strength, again struggled with the chains, making a "clanking" sound.

Human potential is indeed inexhaustible.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"

The miserable cries echoed in the church, but to be honest, shouting so loudly and forcefully.

Actually, it was more an emotional venting than pain.

After a moment, Tang Luo threw the blood-stained candlestick to the ground and nodded firmly: "I've already verified it; the poor monk believes Patron Li is not a ripper."

Before him, Li Liang had both arms pierced with several blood holes.

"If he were a ripper, he wouldn't let the poor monk do as he pleased; he would certainly resist, so Patron Li is not a ripper." Tang Luo was full of confidence.

"……"

"……"

"Master, he—he's still tied up." Xiao Chu reminded softly.

When a person is bound, they cannot resist; this is a basic law of nature.