Chapter 296: The Uncommon (Beginning of Month, Requesting Monthly Votes)

You don't even know who our Sava Party's boss is, and you're asking me? Then you probably don't know he's an "Officer" of the secret organization "Iron Blood Cross," or that we're an outer branch… At the man's question, Lu Mi's mind flashed with countless thoughts, and he slipped his right hand into his pocket.

He immediately formed three hypotheses:

First, Boss Gardener Martin's secret activities through the Sava Party—like having "Rat" Cristo smuggle in a strange artifact—had been noticed by someone or some faction, who now intended to investigate the gang and uncover the mastermind;

Second, another Sava Party member had offended someone they shouldn't have, and that person had come looking for them;

Third, after the Poison Stinger Gang's destruction, the Sava Party expanded rapidly and drew the attention of certain factions, putting them under surveillance.

In a flash of thought, Lu Mi swiftly eliminated the first two possibilities: whether it was a secret act being discovered or someone having offended a rival, the person questioned about "who the Sava Party boss is" should never be him!

Normally, whoever committed a secret act would be the first targeted by investigators; similarly, whoever offended someone would be the first target of retaliation—or their protector, the boss. But Lu Mi had never truly participated in the Sava Party's secret affairs, nor had he recently defended any subordinate.

More importantly, the man before him directly asked about "the identity of the Sava Party boss," not whether someone belonged to the Sava Party or whether they had done something specific on a certain date.

Based on this, Lu Mi strongly suspected that some faction or individual had set their sights on the Sava Party and intended to absorb it.

Of course, it was also possible that a rival gang had accidentally encountered a powerful individual and hired him to eliminate the Sava Party boss.

But in either case, their knowledge of the Sava Party was extremely shallow—they hadn't even uncovered Gardener Martin's public identity, and had simply learned the name of the most famous recent Sava Party member before coming directly to "visit."

In other words, they're temporarily treating the Sava Party as a regional gang with a few extraordinary individuals, and dealing with such a gang clearly wouldn't involve real elites—they couldn't afford them. Even having a Mid-Sequence member would be considered serious attention, possibly not even exceeding Sequence 6… Within just two or three breaths, Lu Mi made his general assessment.

Seeing his silence, his failure to immediately answer, and the motion of reaching for a weapon, the tall man with thick hair, deep black eyes, and a wide-brimmed brown-yellow hat let out a cold snort, his expression and gaze radiating clear danger.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Mi felt the surrounding darkness grow heavier, squeezing out the faint streetlamp glow and the crimson moonlight from above from this area.

The darkness congealed like frost, slowly but steadily seeping into Lu Mi's skin, flesh, and bones, compelling him to feel an uncontrollable surge of fear.

Is this all? Lu Mi internally scoffed—he'd seen far bigger scenes.

He stared at the muscular man with grayish hair, wearing a linen shirt and brown jacket, feigning terror, and blurted out:

"It's Gardener Martin! Member of the Sava Trading Company, Gardener Martin!"

The man nodded in satisfaction and pressed further:

"Where does he usually live?"

That "Lion" Xia Er, that ruthless, ferocious, insanely powerful gang boss—he's no different from any other gang member!

These gangsters only bully the weak, rely on their gang's backing to fight other gangs, and when faced with real power or simple dark magic, their inner cowardice and weakness are exposed!

Lu Mi swallowed hard and said:

"He lives… at Spring Street No. 11."

As he spoke, Lu Mi suddenly snapped awake:

"I'm telling you, our boss is a member of a secret organization—his power is far more terrifying than you imagine!"

Secret organization member? The broad-shouldered man froze for a moment, then smiled.

This was an unexpected windfall!

"Lion" Xia Er is even more cowardly than I thought—he actually revealed such vital information!

The man lifted his chin higher, his voice low and mocking:

"Did I ever tell you I'm also a member of a secret organization? A very ancient one."

As he spoke, the pressure of the surrounding darkness intensified.

Is that so? I didn't notice… Lu Mi seriously considered whether to lead this man and his faction to his boss, to see what would happen when two secret organizations clashed, whether the "Iron Blood Cross" might reveal more secrets.

After a brief silence, Lu Mi seemed unable to bear the pressure of the darkness—his right hand, still in his pocket, trembled along with his arm:

"I don't know, I don't know! The boss never told us its exact name!"

The man studied Lu Mi for several seconds and decided he genuinely shouldn't know the details of that secret organization.

For a regional gang like this, only the boss himself was likely a member.

The man's grin turned feral:

"Then take me to Spring Street No. 11."

No sooner had he spoken than he lunged at Lu Mi, moving so fast he nearly left afterimages.

Simultaneously, his fingernails extended—long, sharp, gleaming with metallic sheen, reflecting a dark, shadowy hue.

In the deep black eyes of the man, Lu Mi did not cower, nor did he panic and clumsily dodge—he instead thrust forward his right hand, which had just been hidden in his pocket.

In his palm rested a fist-sized sphere of blinding white fire, which he tossed toward his target as if offering a gift.

The fireball… blinding white… The man's face and hands were already sprouting tufts of grayish short hair; due to his excessive speed and proximity, he had no time to veer off. The moment those two thoughts flashed through his mind, he collided with the condensed, blazing white fireball.

Boom!

In a muffled, low explosion, the man's abdomen was directly ripped open, flesh and blood shredded, emitting a distinct charred odor.

After the man asked who the Sava Party boss was, Lu Mi had slipped his right hand into his pocket—not to grip a weapon or prepare for attack, but to conceal his palm as he continuously generated crimson flames, layering and compressing them into the smallest possible size.

By the time the man launched his assault, the flames in Lu Mi's palm had turned blinding white, their explosive power rivaling a "Giant Fireball," yet even more concentrated, capable of burning through skin.

Had the enemy's speed not exceeded Lu Mi's expectations—if the blinding white fireball had been thrown upward instead of striking instantly—the man's neck might well have been severed on the spot.

Amid the boom, the man was blasted backward; Lu Mi himself was thrown off balance by the shockwave, stumbling backward and rolling several times.

Both men rose almost simultaneously—Lu Mi's shirt and vest were scorched and torn, multiple patches of skin injured.

He saw the man's abdomen bore a jagged, massive wound, with bloodied intestines oozing out, then being shoved back in, the surface riddled with fractures and charred patches.

Despite the grievous injury, the man retained full mobility—he pressed his abdomen to keep his intestines and organs from spilling out, while emitting a low, guttural roar of pain, fury, and savagery.

As he roared, grayish short hairs sprouted across his body, transforming him into a towering, upright wolf.

His severed intestines writhed, attempting to reconnect; his charred skin slowly healed; the massive gash on his abdomen was forcibly clamped shut by his hands, flesh and muscle slowly interweaving.

Such incredible vitality… Lu Mi uttered a genuine sigh of awe.

He felt that given enough time, the man would fully recover!

The man's condition triggered memories of several passages from Aurora's witch notes:

"'Werewolf,' Sequence 7 of the 'Prisoner' Path, a type of 'Aberrant.' When under a full moon or near-loss of emotional control, they are consumed by bloodlust and the urge to kill, involuntarily transforming into true werewolves.

"They possess terrifying strength, agility, and speed, excellent self-recovery, and their claws and teeth are hard and sharp, naturally toxic—equivalent to a weapon of their own Sequence, capable of piercing thin steel plates.

"They also know a few dark arts, capable of turning ordinary humans into monstrous, short-lived puppets.

"'Werewolves' are common in the Southern Continent, but in the Northern Continent, they're always linked to various acts of terror…"

So I've encountered a "Werewolf" extraordinary individual… Lu Mi gave the man no time to heal—he summoned behind him a flock of crimson fire crows, spiraling toward his target.

The "Werewolf" did not wait in place; he clutched his abdomen, pressed the wound, and darted in a swift arc toward Lu Mi.

Most of the fire crows, lacking precise targeting, missed—but a few adjusted their flight slightly, striking the target one after another, continuous booms echoing.

The "Werewolf" now bore several new wounds, each a mix of char and blood.

Relying on his formidable recovery, he ignored his injuries, closing the distance to Lu Mi with terrifying speed, aiming to engage the "Arsonist" in close combat and tear him apart with his sharp, toxic claws.

Meanwhile, the darkness around Lu Mi had further eroded him, making him feel a chill even in the summer night, slightly impeding him.

Instantly, a layer of crimson flame erupted across his body, bringing searing warmth.

The next second, Lu Mi spun around and bolted away, evading the "Werewolf's" claw strike.

This made the "Werewolf," whose mind was flooded with bloodlust and killing urges, believe the opponent was terrified, had exhausted his strength, and lacked experience in such combat.

He chased after him, closing the distance in mere strides.

ps: Beginning of the month, requesting monthly votes~

(End of Chapter)