Chapter Sixteen: The Difference

Page (1/3)

“Hm?”

“There is no point hiding it anymore. There is something I want to kill—a different demon. It abducted my childhood friend and turned my life into a complete mess. I want to find it and kill it. The only problem is that goal lies far beyond the person I am now—so far that it may already be utterly out of reach,” Jiang Si said.

Zheng Fan sat back down. “Revenge stories never go out of style. So have you made up your mind? To join forces with one demon in order to kill another?”

“I have no choice,” Jiang Si said heavily.

Zheng Fan clapped his hands. “That’s a good thing. Don’t look so miserable. Since you’re dressed like an anime character, something suitably anime-like might happen to you too.”

“Then what exactly does ‘anime-like’ mean?”

“For example, a terrifying demon might take up residence inside your body—actually, a legendary being of extraordinary origin. At first, the two of you don’t get along, but with its power, you repeatedly overcome powerful enemies. Along the way, you gradually come to understand one another, truly become partners, achieve your lifelong dream, and finally walk together into the sunset.” Zheng Fan spoke with great enthusiasm.

“...Are you bragging about yourself?”

“A little. But that was all nonsense. More likely, something unexpected will happen, I’ll abandon you and run, and you’ll die like a clown. After all, I really just want to find a body so I can do something entertaining.”

Zheng Fan did not bother concealing it. He spread his hands and shrugged.

Jiang Si fell silent.

“Disillusioned? I’m not interested in your revenge story either. Of course, if you can make it interesting, that would be nice. I might even look forward to it.”

Jiang Si sighed. “As expected, hallucinations can’t be trusted. You spout nonsense nonstop, making it impossible to tell what’s true and what isn’t. You’re interfering with my judgment.”

“It’s good that you realize that.”

“But being able to draw upon a demon’s power—that part should be true, shouldn’t it?” Jiang Si seemed to recall something and turned to ask Zheng Fan.

“Genuine beyond question. Though I’m not exactly confident in my own strength. Still, you can try having faith in it.”

“You really are... Never mind. My body is yours, Mr. Demon.” Jiang Si’s emotions finally settled. Her gaze fixed on the dark silhouette, gradually hardening with resolve.

...

“How much longer?”

“One hour. Almost there. Get ready to bring her back to reality. Don’t leave her behind, or all our work today will have been for nothing.”

“Understood.”

Voices drifted over as footsteps approached Jiang Si, who had seemed to fall asleep not long before.

Bang!

Suddenly, a tremendous explosion sounded outside, startling everyone inside the building.

“Damn it, the people from the Zoo have found us!”

“Don’t panic. We came prepared. Get the girl out first; the rest of you go hold them off!”

A gang member hurried through the shadows to the corner of the room, intending to take Jiang Si away. Instead, he found only several severed lengths of rope scattered across the floor.

He panicked and rushed closer. “This is bad!”

“What happened?” someone at the door called back.

Page (2/3)

“The package is gone!”

“What!? Find her! How did you let her get away!?”

Everyone immediately grew frantic. How could something go wrong at a moment like this? They had been watching her the entire time.

The man in the corner answered and was about to search when, upon turning, his head struck a leather shoe. He looked up and discovered that “Jiang Si” was sitting lazily atop a pile of office desks and chairs beside him.

One leg was crossed over the other, while the second hung carelessly down and had brushed against him.

Her red clothes were the color of blood, seeming to emit an eerie crimson glow in the darkness.

Black tear-like markings spread down from the corners of her eyes. Her pitch-black eyes had been ruthlessly overlaid with pale gray. One hand rested on the desk beside her, propping up her chin.

Her red lips parted slightly.

“You’re standing too close, idiot.”

Slash.

A red thread flashed past. The man below was severed in two.

Everyone in the room noticed, utterly unprepared for such a turn of events.

“How did she recover!? Was the sedative dosage too low?”

“I injected her with more than the maximum dose! Forget that—how do we restrain her now?”

“Calm down. There’s nothing to fear... She’s only a little girl from a violent world...”

One gun after another was aimed at “Jiang Si.”

“Quit playing tricks! Get down here!”

“Get down? Why don’t you come up here?” “Jiang Si” asked, puzzled.

“What—”

Slash!

Several red threads descended from the ceiling, piercing the flesh of the men below. They extended through their limbs and bodies, hoisting them into the air amid their agonized screams.

Zheng Fan was controlling Jiang Si’s body now. The red threads continuously extending from his hands and vanishing into empty space felt fascinating.

It was a power with tremendous potential. Why did this girl use it so feebly?

Still, he had just used the last black bead as well, slightly modifying and strengthening the ability. An initial investment was necessary, after all.

Jiang Si watched Zheng Fan operate her body, wielding her ability in a manner completely unlike anything she could achieve, and fell silent.

Was this the hallucination of black terror...?

When Jiang Si used the red threads herself, she could not make them extend through space without regard for distance. She could basically manipulate the threads only with her hands, and could not wield them like additional limbs or tentacles, directing them with such effortless precision.

The cutting and piercing force he had displayed moments ago was on an entirely different level as well.

Jiang Si’s own Violence Index was [Armed Fighting], but after Zheng Fan possessed her...

She no longer knew what it was.

The large man named Drew suddenly let out a roar and tore himself free of the red threads. Blood streamed from the holes piercing his body, but he ignored the pain, landed on the floor, and glared viciously at Zheng Fan.

Page (3/3)

“Ah, I haven’t gotten the hang of this yet. But your Violence Index seems pretty high too.” “Jiang Si” jumped down from the pile of desks and chairs, facing the large man.

Drew snatched up his gun from the floor and opened fire. The assault rifle spat a continuous stream of bullets toward Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan merely flicked a finger. Countless red threads wove themselves into a net before him, and the bullets struck it without managing to pierce through.

Drew kept firing until his weapon ran dry. Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind roared past from the side. He jerked his head around and saw that “Jiang Si” had somehow appeared beside him, swinging a fist.

Bang!

Drew reacted at the limit of his ability and raised his gun to block, but the punch still smashed him into the wall, blasting a hole through it. The gun in his hand was naturally reduced to scrap metal.

Zheng Fan shook his hand.

Hm?

The degree of bodily enhancement was not the same.

Did different bodies have different levels of compatibility with him?

When using Lin Yilin’s body, he could bring out more of his physical strength. By feel, he could probably reproduce sixty or seventy percent of his normal level.

But in Jiang Si’s body, a conservative estimate would be only thirty to forty percent.

Otherwise, that punch would have blown the poor man’s head clean off.

The body of the uniformed man he had first stolen had been even better suited to him than Lin Yilin’s, but unfortunately, the man had died so easily.

Still, physical strength did not represent everything.

Lin Yilin’s body had been more receptive to his physical power. Its other notable trait was heightened perception, making it easier to detect movements and disturbances in the surroundings.

Jiang Si’s senses were not as exceptional. The greater emphasis of her body seemed to lie in its extraordinary supernatural ability.

As for the lethality of her red-thread manipulation—someone whose only trick was summoning black earthworms probably could not understand it even after a lifetime.

If one considered overall Violence Index, there was no question that Jiang Si’s body was superior.

Besides that, Zheng Fan experienced a strange sensation while using Jiang Si’s body.

The humans before him all seemed so fragile.

He casually flicked a red thread toward the large man embedded in the wall, bisecting him at the waist. Then, wearing Jiang Si’s body, Zheng Fan swaggered toward the exit.

On the way, he picked up a severed arm from the floor and glanced at the watch on its wrist.

Forty minutes remained. That should be enough time for him to have a little fun.