109: Charm Resistance, Scavenger's Doom

The Scavengers leader's body instantly stiffened completely.

Every joint, every inch of muscle, seemed to be infused with ten-thousand-year profound ice, solidifying into a lifeless sculpture.

Behind him in the Void Realm, there were no energy fluctuations, no Law tearing.

A hand, just like that, reached out.

A warm hand, with the texture of living flesh and blood.

It gently rested on his shoulder.

The Scavengers leader's thoughts, his consciousness composed of countless data streams, experienced an unprecedented disorder at this moment.

"Error."

"Error."

"Target source signal confirmed as disappeared."

"Logical paradox."

"Restart judgment... Failed."

He turned his head frame by frame, with an extremely mechanical posture, as if rusty gears were turning.

A face appeared in his vision, which was shrouded in black mist.

That face even carried a smile that could be described as "benevolent."

It was precisely the newly emerged anomaly that had just been completely erased from the existential plane by the [Source Eradication Cone].

How could he still be alive?

How could the [Source Eradication Cone] fail?

This was the most incredible and core-logic-defying thing in their cognition.

"You..."

A cold voice, with a hint of playfulness, echoed faintly, as if pressed against his ear.

"Are you celebrating too early?"

The Scavengers leader's body instinctively tried to react.

Call permissions.

Activate defense.

However.

The hand resting on his shoulder suddenly tightened.

Five fingers met no decent resistance.

The protective spiritual light, strong enough to withstand a Nascent Soul Cultivator's full-force attack, shattered silently like a fragile eggshell.

The fingers continued downwards.

Easily piercing through his black clothing, which was refined from special materials and comparable to a Magic Treasure.

Finally, they deeply, completely sank into his flesh and blood body.

"You..."

A broken syllable was squeezed out of the Scavengers leader's throat.

The constantly flickering data streams in his eyes were, for the first time, overwhelmed by a pure emotion called fear.

Lin Gou did not give him a chance to utter a second word.

His palm suddenly clenched.

Buzz!

The power of the three-color Golden Core, at this moment, was less like energy and more like a millstone crushing concepts, exploding within his body!

Dao charm, demonic intent, divine breath.

The three forces furiously scoured every particle of the Scavenger, instantly shaking his very existence, along with his Divine Soul and all his traces, into primordial nothingness.

Not even a speck of ash was left.

Clean.

Thorough.

Lin Gou slowly withdrew his hand, even gently patting his palm as if dusting off some non-existent dust.

And it was at this moment.

An unprecedented System prompt, like the sound of the Heavenly Dao, echoed in his mind.

"Ding!"

"Detected that the host has completed the 'Root Eradication by Rule-Level Weapon' death method, rated as SSS-Rank (Mythical-Rank)!"

"Death reward settlement in progress..."

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining: 1. Special Passive Skill: "Charm Resistance (MAX)", immune to all mental, illusion, and charm-type attacks."

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining: 2. Special Physique: "Rule Resistance (Elementary)", slightly resists rule-level attacks from 'players' of the same origin."

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining: 3. System Core Code Completion +1%."

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining: 4. Free Attribute Points +500."

Lin Gou's lips curved into a satisfied arc.

This gamble paid off handsomely.

In the distance.

The other two Scavengers witnessed the entire process of their leader being instantly eradicated.

That scene completely shattered their programmed minds.

"Alert! Leader signal lost!"

"Unable to comprehend! Target exceeds calculable range!"

Fear, an emotion they considered only low-level creatures to possess, for the first time, spread wildly like a virus through their consciousness.

Escape!

This was their only command at this moment.

The two of them, without any communication, chose two completely opposite directions with extreme tacit understanding, transforming into two gray streaks of light, fleeing frantically.

"Want to leave?"

Lin Gou sneered.

He looked at the Scavenger fleeing to the left, and an eerie dark golden light flashed in his eyes.

The Sky-Devouring Toad's Bloodline Power was activated by him so proactively for the first time.

He opened his mouth.

And inhaled sharply.

An invisible, yet terrifying suction force, carrying the ancient Vicious Beast's power to devour the heavens and earth, instantly enveloped that Scavenger.

The Scavenger only felt the surrounding space collapsing inwards, an irresistible force dragging him tightly, making his escape speed slower and slower.

He turned back in horror, only to see Lin Gou's open mouth, which transformed into an ever-enlarging abyss in his eyes.

"No!"

He let out a desperate roar.

The next second, his body uncontrollably flew backward, sucked into Lin Gou's hand from a thousand meters away.

Lin Gou's hand, like an iron clamp, gripped his neck.

Crack.

A crisp sound of bone cracking.

The Scavenger's body, along with everything he was, was casually crushed into a cloud of blood mist by Lin Gou.

Having dealt with one.

Lin Gou's gaze then turned to the last Scavenger, who was fleeing in the other direction.

By this time, that person had already fled several thousand meters away, becoming a small black dot on the horizon.

Lin Gou did not pursue.

He merely slowly raised his right fist.

In that instant, he could clearly feel a brand new power condensing on his fist.

That was a faint trace of the 'player's' rule power, brought by the "Rule Resistance", yet it transcended the spiritual power of this world.

He aimed at that distant small black dot and, with an unremarkable movement, punched out.

No fist aura.

No sonic boom.

Not even any energy leakage.

Just a simple punching motion.

However.

Several thousand meters away, the Scavenger, who was desperately fleeing, suddenly shook.

On his chest, without any warning, a huge, transparent fist print appeared.

His face still held the panic of escape.

But his vitality, all his power, was instantly emptied by this single punch.

His body, like a kite with a broken string, fell powerlessly from mid-air.

Finally, it crashed into the sea below, splashing a small wave.

The battle was over.

From Lin Gou's resurrection to the complete annihilation of the three Scavengers, the entire process did not exceed ten breaths.

Lin Gou slowly descended from the air, his feet landing on the already dilapidated black reef.

The entire sea area returned to dead silence.

Only the sound of waves crashing against the reef remained, and... a woman's rapid heartbeat.

Su Meier was still sitting on the ground.

She stared blankly at the man in front of her.

Watching him, with an overwhelming and utterly unreasonable demeanor, slaughter the three terrifying enemies who had driven her to despair.

Her eyes were incredibly complex.

There was the relief of surviving a catastrophe.

There was heartfelt gratitude.

There was lingering fear at his inconceivable method of resurrection.

More than that, there was an unprecedented wariness that felt alien to her.

And... a hint of reliance that she herself hadn't even noticed.

This man.

Not long ago, he still needed her to provide information, still needed her guidance.

But now.

He had grown to a height that she could not fully comprehend, and even needed to look up to.

A strange sense of loss welled up in her heart.

Especially, the moment Lin Gou obtained "Charm Resistance (MAX)", she keenly felt that some invisible connection between her and him had been severed.

This meant that her most proud and livelihood-dependent charm arts would likely no longer have any effect in front of this man.

Her biggest trump card had become ineffective against him.

Lin Gou walked up to her.

He looked at her peach blossom eyes, which still held tear stains but whose gaze was constantly shifting, and suddenly smiled.

He reached out his hand.

Su Meier instinctively recoiled.

Lin Gou's hand, however, made no improper moves.

He merely used his index finger to gently flick her upturned, delicate nose.

The action was natural and intimate.

Like teasing a startled, bristling kitten.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you afraid of me?"

Su Meier was stunned by this sudden, somewhat doting gesture.

A strange, tingling sensation instantly spread from her nose to her entire body.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Her cheeks uncontrollably flushed with two red clouds.

She had lived for so long, and for the first time, in front of a man, she displayed such a girlish shyness and annoyance.

"Nonsense!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped Lin Gou's hand away.

"I, big sister... was just thinking..."

Her eyes darted around, not daring to meet Lin Gou's smiling gaze.

"How to repay your life-saving grace."

Lin Gou looked at her hypocritical expression, the smile on his lips growing wider.

He didn't continue to tease her.

He turned around and collected the [Source Eradication Cone] that was quietly suspended nearby, as well as the Storage Pouches left behind by the three deceased Scavengers.

The spoils of war had to be cleaned up.

Su Meier also took the opportunity to calm her chaotic emotions, stood up from the ground, and returned to her usual enchanting appearance.

Only her slightly red earlobes still betrayed her inner turmoil.

Lin Gou extended his Divine Sense into one of the Storage Pouches.

The resources inside were secondary; what truly caught his attention was a peculiar token, entirely black, neither metal nor jade in texture.

The front of the token was engraved with a ferocious skull.

The back had constantly flowing data patterns.

"What is this?" Lin Gou took out the token.

Su Meier's expression immediately became solemn when she saw this token.

"This is the identity token of a 'Scavenger Squad'."

Her voice was somewhat dry.

"It records their mission authority, mission targets, and... the points they can earn after completing missions."

Lin Gou raised an eyebrow.

He cautiously extended his Divine Sense into the black token.

Instantly.

A cold information stream, filled with a sense of order, poured into his mind.

"Squad Number: Black Raven-17"

"Authority Rank: D-Rank"

"Current Mission: Clear/Capture designated area 'Anomaly'"

"Mission Target List:"

"1. Anomaly ID 734 (Su Meier), Contamination Rank: Moderate, recommended for elimination."

"2. Newly emerged Anomaly (Lin Gou), Contamination Rank: Unknown, Threat Level: High, recommended for capture or elimination."

Lin Gou was not surprised to see his and Su Meier's names.

But as his gaze moved further down, his pupils suddenly contracted.

On the third line of the mission list, there was an unexpected name.

Li Hanyue!

Moreover, next to Li Hanyue's name, a blood-red, shocking phrase was marked.

"High-value native, recommended for capture."

Native?

Not an anomaly?

A ominous premonition instantly enveloped Lin Gou's heart.

"They are not only hunting 'players'..."

Su Meier had clearly also seen the information in the token through some means; she let out an uncontrollable gasp.

"They are also hunting the 'Children of Destiny' of this world!"

Lin Gou's face, at this moment, turned extremely grim.

In those eyes that had just held a playful smile, now only cold, almost solidified killing intent remained.

An unprecedented fury ignited fiercely in his heart.

He immediately understood.

Li Hanyue was in danger!

And behind this, hidden, was a conspiracy far grander, far more cruel, and far more insane than he had imagined.