20: Chapter 20 Wild Wolf Mercenary Group

Zhou Lie gritted his teeth and waved both hands, causing a translucent Wind Element shield to instantly form in front of him.

The Wind Element shield spun rapidly, its edges as sharp as knives, slicing through the surrounding air and emitting a shrill hiss.

"I don't care what kind of monster you are!"

"If you can't break through my Wind Element shield, you might as well wait for death!"

Wang Lin smashed his fist against the Wind Element shield.

Bang!

His fist was deflected, and the Wind Element shield remained completely motionless.

Wang Lin shook his hand, his brows knitting slightly.

Zhou Lie laughed, his smile filled with ecstasy: "Haha! Kid, don't waste your energy!"

"My Wind Element shield is the strongest defense at Sequence 45. Just based on you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the tentacles behind Wang Lin moved.

Three tentacles thrust toward the Wind Element shield simultaneously, carrying blue flames.

Pfft, pfft, pfft—

The tentacles struck the Wind Element shield and were likewise deflected.

The Wind Element shield continued to spin, remaining stable.

Zhou Lie laughed even more smugly: "I told you, it's useless! Even if your strength has recovered, you still can't break through..."

Wang Lin didn't speak.

He simply lowered his head and took a look at his tentacles.

The blue flames flickered on the tentacles, but the rhythm of the flickering began to change.

The color began to deepen.

From blue, it slowly turned to deep blue, then from deep blue to black.

Black flames ignited on all three tentacles simultaneously.

That black was not ordinary black; it was a black that could even absorb light.

As the flames flickered, the surrounding mist grew slightly dimmer.

Zhou Lie's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Upon seeing the black flames, his pupils contracted sharply.

"This is..."

A tentacle thrust toward the Wind Element shield.

This time, there was no sound of impact.

Where the Wind Element shield made contact with the black fire, it began to melt.

Like ice meeting fire, like paper meeting red-hot iron,

that Wind Element shield he was so proud of, that strongest defense at Sequence 45, was as fragile as a thin layer of paper before the black fire.

The tentacle pierced through the Wind Element shield.

Zhou Lie didn't even have time to react before the tentacle had already pierced into his chest.

He lowered his head, looking at the thing that had appeared in his chest.

The barbs on the tentacle pierced into his flesh, and the suction cups began to squirm.

"No..." he muttered.

The other two tentacles also pierced in.

One pierced his abdomen, the other his thigh.

Zhou Lie's body began to convulse, and mouthfuls of blood gushed from his mouth.

He felt his consciousness, his memories, and his Wind Element ability all flowing outward along those tentacles.

He wanted to struggle, but couldn't move.

He wanted to scream, but couldn't make a sound.

He could only watch helplessly as Wang Lin stood before him, his reflection mirrored in those eyes.

"Why..." he asked with his final ounce of strength.

Wang Lin did not answer.

He simply watched Zhou Lie's eyes, watching the light in them fade away bit by bit.

Then, the tentacles began to absorb.

A light and sharp power surged into Wang Lin's body; it was Zhou Lie's awakened Wind Element power.

Unlike A-Qing's enhancement power from before, this power was more agile and sharper, like countless small knives traveling through his blood vessels.

Wang Lin closed his eyes, feeling the integration of this new power.

A moment later, he looked down at his own fist.

It was stained with blood—A-Qing's, Zhou Lie's, and his own.

But he could feel that his strength had completely recovered.

No, it wasn't just recovery.

It was even stronger than before.

He moved his arm, explosive power surging within his muscles.

That feeling was like becoming a different person.

Wang Lin looked down at the two corpses on the ground, his gaze falling on their bracelets.

He crouched down and touched them one by one.

[2100] was transferred from Zhou Lie's bracelet to his account.

[1800] was transferred from A-Qing's bracelet.

He took a look at his own bracelet.

[4012] had become [7912].

Seven thousand nine hundred and twelve points.

Wang Lin stood up, blue flames gushing from his palm and landing on the two corpses.

...

At the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group headquarters, a subordinate rushed in frantically.

"Commander, it's bad!" he shouted, panting. "Something happened to Zhou Lie!"

In the hall, a middle-aged man was sitting on a chair, wiping a long blade.

He had a burly build, a deep scar over his left eye, and his entire being exuded a fierce aura.

Commander Leí Héng, leader of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group.

His motion of wiping the blade paused.

"What is it?"

"Zhou Lie and A-Qing's bracelets... have both been completely cleared." The subordinate swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"And, their vital signs have also... also disappeared."

Commander Leí Héng was silent for two seconds.

Then he placed the blade on the table and stood up.

"When did this happen?"

"Just now... the brothers on duty discovered it."

"Their bracelet signals are completely gone. The last location was over at the Spider Nest."

Commander Leí Héng walked to the wall and stared at the hand-drawn map of the Mist Camp on the wall, his gaze falling on that area.

"The Spider Nest? What did that kid run over there for?"

The subordinate dared not reply.

"Have you checked the transfer records? Who was it transferred to?"

The subordinate nodded: "Checked. The records show that both Zhou Lie and A-Qing's points were transferred to the same person."

"Who?"

The subordinate handed over a crystal screen, which displayed a name.

Commander Leí Héng lowered his head and took a look.

"Wang Lin? Never heard of this guy."

"Pass the order down, investigate this Wang Lin for me."

"Find out where he is, find out what his background is, and find out who is behind him."

"I want to know all the details about him."

Before long, the subordinate hurried back.

"Commander, I've found it." He handed over a crystal screen. "The information is all here."

Commander Leí Héng took it and scanned it.

"Wang Lin..."

"A reserve member for the Twelve Zodiacs selection?"

His brows furrowed.

The subordinate watched his expression cautiously from the side.

"The Twelve Zodiacs... this is big trouble."

The Twelve Zodiacs are one of the forces in this camp that you absolutely cannot provoke.

Never mind small organizations like their Wild Wolf Mercenary Group with a few dozen people,

even those large mercenary groups with hundreds of people have to give the Twelve Zodiacs a wide berth when they see them.

They could send just about anyone, and that person could wipe out the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group entirely.

Seeing his silence, the subordinate tentatively spoke: "Commander, how about... we just let it go?"

"It's not worth offending the Twelve Zodiacs for the sake of that kid Zhou Lie."

Commander Leí Héng didn't speak, just continued tapping the armrest. After a good while, he finally spoke:

"What's the stance from the Twelve Zodiacs side?"

The subordinate was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean, what stance?"

"Their person died; do they care or not?"

The subordinate shook his head: "This... it seems they don't."

"You know their selection method, Commander."

"They throw the reserve members into the Mist Camp, give them a bracelet, and then ignore them."

"Those who survive stay; those who die... well, they're just dead."

He paused, then added: "I heard people call this 'raising Gu'."

"They throw a bunch of people inside to kill each other, and only those who survive in the end are qualified to become official members."

"During this period, they don't care at all about the life or death of the people below."