Otherworldly Affairs Office

Just as Shangxing had anticipated, Pei Yan might not be able to deal with this freak for the time being, but at the same time, it wouldn't be easy for the opponent to take his life either.

Pei Yan tightly gripped the freak's wrists with both hands. This time, he had wisened up and didn't go head-to-head against him again! From the previous attacks, it was clear that this freak, though having strong defense and a robust body, was not invincible. Once the blue Protective Array disappeared, even if his attacks couldn't kill the freak in one blow, it was like cutting meat with a dull knife; eventually, he would wear him down to death!

With this thought, he exerted his full strength, flipped the freak onto the ground, straddled him, and then thrust more than a dozen long drill bits from his chest towards the opponent's chest, drilling fiercely.

At the same time, he first released arcs of electricity from his palms, attempting to stun the freak. However, after several electric shocks, when Pei Yan saw that the opponent seemed unfazed, he gave up on the electric shock strategy. High-speed rotating saw blades popped out from his palms and spun rapidly as he gripped the freak's wrists in an attempt to slice them off.

In this manner, the two were in a deadlock for two to three minutes. During this time, the freak constantly tried to get up and resist, continually raising his legs high to knee Pei Yan in the back. However, Pei Yan remained unmoved despite the hits, and in the end, simply raised a row of saws on his back, causing each hit from the freak to result in greater injury to himself!

As the drill bits gradually bored through the freak's skin, as hard as steel, and the wounds kept expanding, Pei Yan finally let out a long breath, his tense emotions somewhat relieved.

Just as the investigation bureau's people stabilized their footing and gradually gained the upper hand, the Black-robed Man, who had been standing motionless since the start of the battle, shook his head, pointed lightly at the black sphere in mid-air, and a mass of flame ignited in his hand and flew over. The black sphere was engulfed by the flame in an instant, and in no time, it turned into a plume of black smoke, spiraling up and gathering over the Black-robed Man's head. Then, his right hand first spread to dispel the flames, and with a slight wave, a gust of clear wind arose from nowhere, sweeping the black smoke across the entire pond.

Though Pei Yan didn't witness the Black-robed Man's actions, he sensed something unusual about the freak beneath him the moment the black sphere erupted. The already grotesque features seemed to scrunch together in more horror due to pain, and his entire body shook violently several times, nearly tossing Pei Yan off.

At this moment, the black smoke from the Black-robed Man wafted in front of Pei Yan. His first reaction was that it was poisonous, and he immediately activated anti-poison measures. However, the black smoke wasn't coming for him. After swirling between them, it slithered into the large cavity on the freak's face.

Seeing this, Pei Yan knew it was no good. Without needing to think, he realized this black smoke was definitely bad news for him. With this thought, he pressed down even harder with his body, hoping to finish this bastard off before the black smoke took effect.

But things didn't go as planned. Just as the freak's wound grew larger and his wrist finally buckled and was sawed off by Pei Yan, he didn't even have time to celebrate. The freak's sealed mouth suddenly split open, a pitch-black large tongue shot out and wrapped around Pei Yan's mechanical neck with a swish.

"Cough, cough, cough!" As the tongue tightened, Pei Yan's breathing immediately became difficult. His entire face flushed red from lack of oxygen. He had discovered this weakness while battling with Xia Yu; although his body and throat had been fully mechanized, he still needed to breathe to maintain life's functions.

"Activate protective measures!" Pei Yan commanded with difficulty. The system promptly responded to the command. The mechanical neck, originally flexible for head movement, became incredibly rigid. Then, from the shoulders, flows of iron surged along the freak's tongue to the neck connection, coalescing into layers of armor to reinforce throat defense.

Once his breathing returned to normal, Pei Yan gasped, eyes bulging red. You want my life? Then let's see who dies first! Without hesitation, both hands reached for the freak's neck, channeling force throughout his body to strangle him.

The freak, with his chest being continually eroded by the electric drill and his throat being strangled, seemed on the brink of collapse. The arm with the severed wrist waved a few times, and finally, through the gap between Pei Yan's chest drills, lightly pressed against Pei Yan's chest before dropping weakly.

Pei Yan didn't dare to relax just yet; he had witnessed firsthand the freak's immense vitality. After thoroughly twisting the freak's neck and watching his big head wobble back and forth as it lost neck support, confirming he had no breath left, only then did he slowly release his hands, collapsing onto his corpse.

"Damn it, is this bastard finally dead!" Pei Yan licked his parched lips and muttered to himself as he gazed at the freak's corpse.

Just as Pei Yan thought this and withdrew the drill from his chest and the protection from his neck, ready to get up, he saw black smoke seeping out from the freak's seven orifices, followed by his body deflating like a punctured balloon.

Knowing this black smoke was definitely not a good thing, Pei Yan hurriedly retreated several steps to evade it. But this black smoke, as if having a tracking system on him, circled in the air after leaving the freak's body and shot straight toward him.

Despite dodging left and right, Pei Yan couldn't escape the assault of this black smoke, watching helplessly as it rushed straight into his chest.

In a panic, Pei Yan looked down at his chest—damn! Since when did a black circular mark, engraved with strange and mysterious patterns, appear on his chest?

Ah, right! That touch from the freak before dying, damn bastard wanted to drag me down even in death.

While berating the freak's ancestors, Pei Yan reached for the black mark on his chest, trying to scratch it off. To his dismay, the more he rubbed, the deeper the mark became until it transformed into a black light and drilled into his chest.

What kind of sorcery is this! Pei Yan was startled by the situation. All his life, he had never feared face-to-face fights, yet he had an innate dread of such strange supernatural arts.

Highly tense and fully concentrated, Pei Yan closed his eyes to sense the changes in his body.

A moment later, he 'hmmed' in bewilderment. The scenario he imagined, where he would be mentally controlled by someone, didn't occur after the black mark entered his body. Rather, his chest's core seemed to have consumed some potent tonic, expanding slightly more than before, and rapidly spreading this surged core throughout his entire body.

Could I have misjudged the freak, perhaps they were victims enslaved against their will, and this is their way of repaying evil with good like modern-day good Samaritans??? Pei Yan contemplated absurdly, feeling the tangible benefits inside his body.

Forget it; I'll figure these things out later. First, let's deal with the current battle! Pei Yan shook his head, casting all doubts aside. As he turned to rejoin the fray, he was startled by the sight before him. From dealing with the freak to idly standing there had been only a few minutes, yet how did the situation become like this!