Vol. 4 Chapter 8: Fury

Chapter 8: Fury

"You never cease to amaze me. Even scum like you can come across such treasures!" Fu Bin sneered, grinding his heel into the woman's hand. As she writhed in pain, he nudged the mask that had fallen nearby with his foot. Floating shadow creatures formed a tendril, lifting the mask into a nearby basin to wash off the grime. Only after it was clean did Fu Bin pick it up.

"See, your filthy hands soiled it. Trash!" Fu Bin swung a sword formed of black floating creatures, ending another life. He turned to the shadow assassin nearby and said, "Are you just going to stand there while I claim this mask?"

"Indeed. If you take a mask, it becomes yours. My only role is to remind you to find a new host for the mask as soon as possible," the shadow assassin replied, glancing at the dead woman. He hadn't expected her to be the first to fall.

"And why does this mask feel different from mine?" Fu Bin held up the mask, probing with his eyes. Despite the shadow assassin's claim of being a guardian of the masks, Fu Bin had many doubts.

"The mask you wear is indeed special. It inherently possesses unique abilities. The black substance you control was not initially present," the shadow assassin explained. "The other five masks are akin to blank slates, needing their hosts to unlock their potential. Your mask retained its abilities from the last mask competition."

"Mask competition?" Fu Bin laughed. "You never mentioned anything about that."

"Masks can sense each other. Just as you knew she was a mask host when she approached, hosts often clash over these connections. Greed or other motivations can lead to mask competitions."

"You could never accept that a prostitute could become a mask host, seeing it as an insult, which led you to kill her," the shadow assassin pointed to the corpse.

Fu Bin's face darkened. "I killed her because she was trash, not because she was a mask host."

"Perhaps," the shadow assassin smirked. After Fu Bin left, he found a medical report and a diary in a drawer. He placed them on a table and sent a message to the shadow assassin monitoring Shao Zhang: "Bring these to Shao Zhang."

In a hotel room, the bright sunlight woke Shao Zhang. He sat up, still wearing his mask, and saw no trace of anyone else. He cursed himself for his false pride and turned on the TV. On the bedside table, he found two items.

Frowning, Shao Zhang picked up the diary and medical report. The news on TV caught his eye, reporting a bloody murder in an apartment building. The screen showed a girl's ID photo, not particularly beautiful but pure and innocent, like a white lotus. Beside it was a photo of the blood-stained wall with the message: "Dirty women must die."

Reading the diary's entries, Shao Zhang's anger surged. Something sacred to him was being trampled. The shadow power within him, fed by his rage, erupted into black flames that engulfed him without burning the diary or the sheets.

Back at his hideout, Lu Li emerged from a giant black cocoon, greeted by Lilith's coiled body. She felt a deep sense of peace, but now she heard movements from within the cocoon. It slowly split open, transforming into a large shadow, revealing Lu Li inside.

He had spent several days inside the cocoon and looked thinner. Lilith slithered closer, coiling her tail to form a seat for him and massaging him with a blush on her face.

Lu Li controlled the shadow energy easily, a black flame igniting in his left palm. The experiment had yielded significant results. He had explored the primary structure of the beast and giant species abilities within Lilith. The energy patterns were nearly identical, with some elements beyond his understanding, which he suspected were the so-called "original sins."

Lu Li had programmed the shadow masks to form the basic structure of these abilities in their hosts when infused with shadow energy. As the shadow energy filled their bodies, it completed the ability structure, lacking only the component related to original sin. The recent experiments with Zheng Long and Shao Zhang confirmed that strong emotions could trigger these abilities.

When Shao Zhang felt intense anger, he gained the power of fire, and the mask transmitted this data back to Lu Li. Now Lu Li knew how to ignite the flame of fury.

Although he couldn't feel negative emotions, Lu Li knew they were stored deep within him. During the mermaid mission, the witch had exploited this, causing his emotions to erupt. Now he could extract specific emotions and recognize anger, even if he couldn't feel it.

"This way, I have a vent for these pent-up emotions. Even if I face the witch again, she can't make me lose control," Lu Li thought, the flame in his hand growing before extinguishing. He had burned through his stored anger.

"Master, are you hungry? Should I make some noodles for you?" Lilith blushed and offered shyly, "Or maybe you could..."

"Just make me some noodles," Lu Li ignored the latter suggestion. He wasn't one to be driven by lust, especially with pressing matters at hand. Lilith was entirely his, so there was no rush.

While Lu Li ate Lilith's noodles, Zheng Long began his quest for revenge. Disguised in a cap, sunglasses, and scarf to hide his mask, he wore a studded leather jacket and iron chains around his waist. Mounting his motorcycle, he muttered, "I'm the protagonist. I'm the protagonist. I can definitely find him!"