I Can See Experience Points

Chapter 16: Chapter 15: [The Legendary Maiden-in-Arms Kill]

After Zhao Lei and Zhou Yun went inside, they were startled when the iron door suddenly slammed shut behind them.

This was the bloodiest part of the slaughterhouse, after all. It demanded a little respect.

Inside the slaughtering bay, it was pitch-black.

Through the moonlight filtering in from the windows, they could vaguely make out rows of large, pale legs hanging high above.

Don’t get the wrong idea; they were just de-haired, fattened pigs.

Not actual people.

”Senior, do you smell that awful stench?” Zhou Yun whispered. She had tucked the instrument she was holding inside her clothes long before they came in. Otherwise, the two of them would have been far too conspicuous in the pitch-black bay.

”Don’t talk.”

Zhao Lei’s voice rang out, cold. ’We’re on their turf. You think this is a shopping trip?’

’Honestly, he really didn’t want to bring a rookie on a mission.’

’But there was no choice. It was the rules!’

’If veterans didn’t guide the rookies, how would they ever learn to grow up fast and stand on their own?’

’You couldn’t just throw them into the meat grinder and hope for the best!’

The number of these special individuals was large, but spread across the entire country, they were pitifully few and far between.

Currently, only some first- and second-tier cities had experienced and powerful adepts permanently stationed there.

They alone accounted for seventy percent of the total force.

An international metropolis is a massive area.

It’s impossible for a single person to manage an entire city.

Instead, the city is divided into districts, which are monitored around the clock with agents on standby.

The moment a suspected ”special case” occurred, they had to move out immediately.

Even so, they were constantly run ragged.

Remote little places like Z County had to rely on the remaining thirty percent of adepts for protection.

They were the nation’s workhorses, sent wherever a problem sprang up.

A Level-3 Superintendent for ten thousand a month.

Neither the rank nor the pay was easy to come by. That money practically burned your hands!

According to the instrument’s earlier readings, their target should be deep within the slaughtering bay.

”Stay close.”

Zhao Lei whispered, then started walking deeper into the bay.

Searching for a target in a room full of hanging pig carcasses in the dead of night... anyone would be liable to scare themselves to death if they were alone.

Especially when you knew full well that ghosts were involved.

DRIP! DRIP!

The classic horror movie dripping sound rang out, right on cue.

Zhou Yun was a girl, and even though she was also one of these special adepts...

...she still couldn’t suppress the fear welling up inside her.

”Ignore the noises,” Zhao Lei advised. ”If this thing were stronger than us, would it need to resort to such cheap tricks?” He had handled three cases involving ghosts before.

That made him a rather experienced adept.

THUMP!

The sound of a footstep that belonged to neither of them suddenly echoed, freezing them both in place.

THUMP! THUMP!

”Something’s coming. Get ready to fight.”

Zhao Lei took a deep breath. ’Why had he decided to charge straight in after entering the slaughterhouse?’

’Instead of first investigating what was so strange about this place?’

’It was simple. Whether they were dealing with a malevolent spirit, or some kind of monster born from special circumstances...’

’...in the end, it would all come down to a fight.’

’Once they eliminated the source that was driving people mad with an unprecedented craving for flesh...’

’...all the other problems would solve themselves.’

BOOM!

An iron counter—the kind used for de-hairing and bleeding—was hurled through the air toward them with incredible force.

”Move!”

Zhao Lei spun around and shoved Zhou Yun with his palm, sending her flying out of the way.

He, on the other hand, pushed off his feet and dodged backward.

BANG!!

In the moonlight streaming through the window, he clearly saw the counter crash to the floor, buckling on impact.

’If he hadn’t dodged in time, he’d be heading for a hero’s grave.’

A hulking shadow, over two meters tall and built like a tank, rushed at Zhao Lei with a butcher’s knife in hand.

Its speed was far beyond that of an ordinary human.

It could even give a champion sprinter a run for their money.

Immense strength and extreme speed.

A tough opponent.

”HAAH!”

With a roar, his body swelled rapidly, his shirt tearing apart as it failed to contain his bulging, well-defined muscles.

CLANG!

The instant he finished transforming, the shadow’s butcher knife stabbed viciously at his neck.

”Die!”

Zhao Lei’s massive palm slapped down toward the crown of the shadow’s head.

BANG!

To his surprise, the blow...

...only made his opponent stumble. The figure then revealed a set of dazzlingly white teeth.

It was clearly mocking him.

POW!

Before he could make another move, the shadow lifted a leg and kicked him in the gut.

He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into a row of pig carcasses.

”Senior!”

Elsewhere, Zhou Yun had fallen to the ground, having dodged the lethal counter.

Before she could even get to her feet, the fight was over in a flash. Zhao Lei was at a disadvantage, and a single kick from the shadow had left his fate unknown.

OINK! OINK!

The oinking sound rang out. Zhou Yun’s body went rigid; she had a bad feeling.

In the moonlight, nine shadowy figures appeared, standing side-by-side.

Each one of them clutched a butcher’s knife.

’What the hell?’

’Zhou Yun’s mind went blank. Zhao Lei couldn’t even handle one of them, and now nine more had shown up.’

’This was a fucking joke!’

’Didn’t my senior say this was just a minor supernatural incident, not even worth calling a disaster?’

’Easy to resolve, he’d said.’

’So a case with ten hulking brutes, when you can’t even beat one of them, is what you call ’simple’?’

”OINK!”

An oink rang out, and one of the shadows lunged forward.

The butcher’s knife in its hand glinted with an eerie light.

’One stab from that, and I’m dead for sure!’

”What is this?”

Zhou Yun was in despair. She thought she had found a powerful ally to depend on.

But who could have known that when trouble actually started...

...she’d find out he was a Bronze-leaguer, while she was at least a Silver.

At the critical moment, she recalled the sticky sensation on her hand from when she’d fallen.

’Liquid?’

Watching the butcher’s knife fly toward her, she fought to calm herself and activate her ability.

BOOM!

A large pool of dark red liquid rapidly converged on her position. Just as the knife’s tip was about to pierce her neck...

...a giant, red hand rose from the ground, blocking the attack.

Zhou Yun stared, beads of sweat on her forehead, at the tip of the blade. It had pierced through the liquid hand and was now less than a centimeter from her throat.

If she’d been a second slower, she would have been ”gloriously sacrificed in the line of duty.”

”Get out of here!”

The giant hand clenched, then hurled the shadow out the window.

Outside the slaughtering bay, He Xiaotian heard the roars from within and knew something was wrong.

Just as his hand was about to touch the iron door, he changed his mind.

’He had no idea what was happening in there. If it was something even he couldn’t handle, wasn’t going in just feeding them a free kill?’

So, He Xiaotian crept quietly toward a window instead.

’He planned to use the moonlight to get a look at the situation.’

’If it was something he could handle, he would of course go in and help.’

’After all, they were assets. Every bit of combat strength was valuable.’

’But if he was powerless to help, then all he could offer was a silent apology.’

But what did he see?

A massive shadow bursting through the window and flying right at him.

And then He Xiaotian subconsciously opened his arms and caught the shadow in an embrace.

???

Under the pristine moonlight, two faces stared at each other, both completely dumbfounded.