I Got My Cheat Skill by Acting My Way into a Horror Protagonist Role Chapter 31
He let out an awkward laugh. As long as Xiao Gui’an and the others didn’t have concrete evidence, there was no way he would admit anything.
“What do you mean, stealing? Gentlemen, you can’t just tarnish someone’s name without proof.”
Xu Zisheng didn’t want to waste words with him anymore. After being secretly double-crossed, there was no way he would let it slide with a smile.
Xiao Gui’an glanced at Chen Ze’s previously bulging pocket; now it looked empty.
He frowned slightly, not knowing where the man had hidden whatever was in there. There was no way he could have eaten it, right?
Xu Zisheng noticed the same thing and said coldly,
“There’s no time for chatter. One question: hand it over or not?”
The man had gone straight to Residential Building No. 3 and somehow stolen that Ghostly Old Woman’s item. Clearly he had inside knowledge—or at least help. This wasn’t something a lone player could pull off.
“What is it with you two kids and your stubbornness?” Chen Ze’s face twisted viciously. The brass knuckles on his hand flashed coldly again as he lunged fiercely toward Xu Zisheng and Xiao Gui’an.
Seeing the situation go south, Xiao Gui’an instantly moved behind Xu Zisheng.
Xu Zisheng pulled out the jagged shard of glass he had thought would be handy and charged at Chen Ze.
Seeing Xiao Gui’an’s movement and the glass in Xu Zisheng’s hand, Chen Ze couldn’t help but sneer.
If you want to rob someone, you should at least measure your opponent. This flimsy, brittle alliance couldn’t possibly take him on.
The brass knuckles in his hand weren’t ordinary; they were a warped ghost object, sharp as a knife, capable of easily tearing flesh.
Faking weakness and striking unexpectedly—that trick was one Xu Zisheng pulled off well.
Xiao Gui’an, having seen how the ghost-child girl had been set up earlier, couldn’t help but feel a moment of pity for the duped Chen Ze.
Xu Zisheng’s rusted axe looked shabby and incapable of cutting, yet its true sharpness was hard to imagine.
“Clang—”
As the axe tip came within mere centimeters of his face, a cold sweat rolled down Chen Ze’s temple. If it had been a sharper weapon, his eye would likely have been gone.
He felt his arm go numb from the terrifying force of Xu Zisheng’s strike; the fingers blocking the axe felt as if the bones were about to shatter.
The other looked thin and weak, but the explosive power that burst forth in an instant was strong.
Even more chilling was the flash in Xu Zisheng’s eyes at that moment—the frenzy and killing intent that didn’t feel human.
That strike had truly aimed to behead him, to separate head from body.
“You sick bastard!” Seeing through Xu Zisheng’s intent, Chen Ze roared. The muscles in his arm bulged ominously, like a charged cannon, and he shoved Xu Zisheng hard.
The strike didn’t finish the job, but Xu Zisheng didn’t lose heart.
If one swing didn’t do it, swing more times.
But Chen Ze’s strength exceeded his expectations.
After all, his body had undergone several enhancements; his concentrated burst of power often outmatched many ghosts.
With Chen Ze’s abilities, he shouldn’t have been injured by that Ghost Boy in the first round—unless he had done it intentionally.
Stealing an unknown item, faking weakness—
Xu Zisheng had a sense that a storm was brewing. This guy’s presence made the Blood Book uneasy; he was more disgusting than a ghost.
Xu Zisheng trusted his instincts, so while the man hadn’t yet made a decisive move, it was best to deal with him on the spot.
The two brutal fighters tumbled together; Xiao Gui’an couldn’t intervene, so he neatly picked up the glass shard Xu Zisheng had dropped.
Keep this—might come in handy later.
Since Chen Ze could exchange blows with Xu Zisheng, he definitely wasn’t someone Xiao Gui’an’s human body could handle. He didn’t jump in recklessly.
Otherwise they might end up taken hostage or slowed down, dragging Xu Zisheng’s rear.
Chen Ze felt the killing intent directed at him grow more intense. He was injured and began to hesitate, but Xu Zisheng showed no sign of mercy.
Xiao Gui’an keenly felt the air around them grow colder. If this dragged on, they might be surrounded again.
Ghostifying doesn’t cost anything and only makes you a little hollow; why not use it?
Sensing another wave of ghost qi forming, Xu Zisheng didn’t need to turn to know what was happening. He barked, “Gui Yi!”
But that had no effect. The half-turned ghost form of Xiao Gui’an issued a command: “Lethargy—”
A mental-control command from the Long-Tongued One’s ghost power passed over Xu Zisheng and landed on Chen Ze.
The man’s resistance lagged a fraction. Without scolding Xiao Gui’an, Xu Zisheng seized the moment and swung his axe; Chen Ze’s right arm was severed.
“Ahhhhh!” Painful wails burst from him as black beetles crawled out of the white bone of the fallen arm.
On the beetles’ shells were tiny closed eyes that trembled. The black beetles chewed at the flesh on the ground as if they were feeding on Chen Ze himself.
“All right, all right, you’ve got some nerve!” Chen Ze’s face turned deranged, his eyes full of extreme rage and murderous intent. He also noticed Xiao Gui’an now wrapped in ghost qi and whose features had shifted.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Xu Zisheng pivoted, used his momentum, and aimed the axe hard at Chen Ze’s neck, swinging it down.
“Wah—”
A dreadful cry like a ghost infant’s wail suddenly reverberated in Xiao Gui’an and Xu Zisheng’s ears, chilling them to the bone and sapping all strength. For a split second it felt like their eardrums would burst.
A metallic clash rang out with a crisp tinkling. Xu Zisheng saw Chen Ze’s neck suddenly swell, the skin split and bulge, revealing a chain of protective locks shaped like a safety amulet, faintly engraved with the character for “treasure.”
Xu Zisheng leaned closer; the piercing sonic attack sapped much of his strength.
As the axe fell, the string of safety locks hidden in Chen Ze’s flesh exploded violently, blood spraying everywhere.
Then a reversing ripple enveloped the two of them—the strike that had been aimed at Chen Ze’s neck rebounded with equal force onto Xu Zisheng’s neck.
“Slash—”
A deep gash appeared along Xu Zisheng’s arm as blood sprayed, bone exposed.
If he hadn’t blocked with his arm, his head might have been severed.
Xiao Gui’an’s pupils contracted and he took two quick steps forward to try to withdraw strategically with Xu Zisheng. “L-Let’s go…”
He felt something wrong with the bowing Xu Zisheng—the man’s aura seemed to have changed in an instant, and his ominous premonition grew stronger.
Because he hadn’t fully ghostified, Xiao Gui’an could still briefly maintain his mind.
Even with half his tongue removed, speaking without using the ability was clumsy.
[Tsk, if only I hadn’t set it up that way earlier.]
Xiao Gui’an tried to grab Xu Zisheng. Although they’d known each other for such a short time, he wasn’t willing to see Xu Zisheng die here; after all, Xiao Gui’an was already dead. Xu Zisheng was still alive.
“W-wait…”
Before Xiao Gui’an reached the hem of his clothes, Xu Zisheng’s figure moved like a specter and charged at Chen Ze again.
The calm that had been woven on the surface was finally torn apart by Xu Zisheng. He tilted his head slightly, lifting a huge wicked grin; frenzy and malice finally surfaced, like a demon clawing its way out of hell.
His surviving left hand clenched the axe so tightly his fingertips whitened, whipping up a wind that scraped like flesh.
“I’ll chop you up!!!————”
Xiao Gui’an: ???
What’s happening?!
Even if he wasn’t as clever as Xu Zisheng, he knew the situation was wrong and that Xu Zisheng shouldn’t be charging in like this.
Xiao Gui’an frowned tightly. If he hadn’t misread it, he’d seen a circular ring mark flash on Xu Zisheng’s blood-soaked right wrist a moment ago.
Had he lost control?!
“Xu… Xu Zisheng…”
Compared to a decapitation, the shattering of the safety lock on Chen Ze’s throat barely hurt—only a shallow cut.
A dark light sparked in Chen Ze’s eyes. Looking at Xu Zisheng, whose arm had been ruined, Chen Ze’s throat made a horrible sound, as if something was tearing.
“It’s indeed a fine thing…”
“Let’s try this. None of you will escape—”
Chen Ze’s brow slowly split open, exposing a twisted, corrupt eyeless sigil. He didn’t speak, yet it was as if he used every ounce of strength to howl; a terrifying, unspeakable force descended on the area.
[Curse: Corruption—]
Most of that crushing power struck Xu Zisheng; a smaller part washed over Xiao Gui’an.
The instant the force locked onto them, Xiao Gui’an recognized what it was.
It was a kind of spiritual contamination far beyond his current strength—law-word-like, capable of destroying everything.
If it landed on Xu Zisheng—
Xiao Gui’an had no time to think further. Instinctively, he fully ghostified in an instant and leapt up, confronting the world-engulfing force with defiance.
The rows of auxiliary teeth deep in the Black-haired Ghost’s throat trembled wildly with uncontainable fear and despair in the face of annihilation.
“Dissipate!—”
When he barely reached the force, Xiao Gui’an experienced just how horrific that corrupted power was.
As if sensing an invader, it would not tolerate intrusion. The power swelled in an instant; enormous eyeless orbs with fangs snapped open.
Power that didn’t belong to Chen Ze naturally ignored his commands. In response to Xiao Gui’an’s sudden provocation, it sought to crush and obliterate him.
“Boom—”
Xiao Gui’an felt the world plunge into shadow in a blink. Dirty, grievous howls assaulted from all sides.
A suffocating pressure tore spirit and flesh apart. Unlimited, viscous, scarlet blood engulfed him; the boundary between the two worlds blurred for a moment.
There was no time even to cry out in pain.
The Black-haired Ghost, who had rushed toward death while embracing a protective intent, was crushed inch by inch—flesh and bone entwined—vanishing into the black night.