Chapter 228: Surrendering So Fast Ruins My Sense of Achievement
Chapter 228: Surrendering So Fast Ruins My Sense of Achievement
Shiya Hikari clenched his cigar between his teeth, the surrounding tanks, aircraft, and masses of armed personnel boosting his confidence to the brim.
He studied Fang Cheng and Nangong Saye with amused curiosity before thrusting a finger outward. “Tell him I’m taking that woman. Hand her over and he walks free.”
A nearby subordinate immediately barked at Fang Cheng: “Give us the woman beside you, and you can go.”
“What’s that?”
Fang Cheng cupped his ear, cocking his head sideways in exaggerated deafness. Nangong Saye shot him a puzzled glance—he’d heard perfectly well.
“Surrender the woman next to you, and you may leave!”
The demand repeated louder.
“Can’t hear ya! Speak up!”
Fang Cheng hopped down from the wrecked vehicle, strolling toward Shiya Hikari beneath a forest of cannon barrels. Nangong Saye hesitated half a beat before following.
Every gaze tracked their movement. “Halt! No closer!” Shiya Hikari’s guards bellowed.
“Eh? Still can’t hear!” Fang Cheng called back, advancing steadily.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!”
“Deaf over here!”
BANG!
A warning shot cratered the ground before Fang Cheng’s boots. The pause had brought him within fifty meters of his target.
Shiya Hikari smirked, untroubled. His tanks’ barrels tracked the duo’s every twitch, ready to reduce enemies to ash. Elite guards stood poised to become human shields at the critical moment.
At his gesture, a subordinate produced a megaphone. “I’m Shiya Hikari!” The amplified voice boomed. “You know my name. Hand over the girl—we’ll call it friendship. Deal?”
Darkness swallowed the world mid-sentence. Tanks, troops, streets—all vanished. Only Fang Cheng remained, flashing a shark-like grin. “Deal.”
Shiya Hikari’s head whipped around. He spun and bolted. Yet no matter how far he fled, Fang Cheng kept materializing behind him, mockery etched in that unblinking gaze.
Exhaustion finally tripped him. “Wh-what is this place?” he panted, failed calm cracking his voice.
Fang Cheng’s eight-tooth smile gleamed. “Guess right, and you’ll find the exit.”
Shiya Hikari sucked air, mind racing. “Sir! That woman concerns Mechanical City’s survival! We meant no offense—only duty! Allow me to… apologize!”
Fang Cheng studied Shiya Hikari briefly before expressing disappointment. “That’s it? Where’s all that earlier bravado?”
He’d hoped to hear classic lines like “Do you know who my father is?” or “Release me now or face consequences!” Instead, this guy folded immediately, utterly failing to embody the spoiled heir archetype.
Shiya Hikari offered an uneasy smile. He wasn’t stupid enough to provoke someone in this situation.
“Unacceptable,” Fang Cheng complained. “Try again. Your quick surrender ruins my satisfaction.”
Shiya Hikari: …
“Sir, I—”
“Your left arm splits at the elbow.”
Agony exploded through Shiya Hikari’s arm before he saw the cleanly severed limb. Blood gushed freely from the stump.
“AAAHHH!!”
Clutching the wound, he wailed while begging: “Mercy! Please!”
Fang Cheng chuckled. “Weren’t you offering friendship?”
“Never again! Spare me!”
Tears and mucus streaked Shiya Hikari’s face. He’d thought this an illusion until the pain proved otherwise. Terror cemented the gruesome reality – he truly believed his arm was gone.
He wasn’t entirely wrong. This was indeed an illusion.
Lying Demon’s Voice. An Ability Fragment Fang Cheng had scavenged from his first monster kill, later perfected using Uka family monster corpses.
The skill’s pros and cons stood stark. Its overwhelming first-strike potential caught 99% of victims off-guard. But it failed against strong mental powers like Sato Hayato’s, and couldn’t reach targets beyond fifty meters.
Shiya Hikari’s arrogance had let Fang Cheng enter that critical range. Being powerless and ordinary, he fell instantly.
*Snap*
The screams stopped. Shiya Hikari stared at his miraculously restored arm, cold sweat drenching him. This speech-altering-reality power terrified him beyond measure.
“Follow instructions. Clear?”
Though hidden by armor, Fang Cheng’s kindly tone chilled Shiya Hikari’s bones – a devil’s voice incarnate.
…
“DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FATHER IS? RELEASE ME OR ELSE!”
Shiya Hikari’s tenth attempt dripped with forced arrogance. He awaited judgment, trembling.
Each previous failure brought dismemberment “warnings.” He nearly wet himself, never having endured such terror.
Fang Cheng rubbed his chin. This time, the spoiled heir act almost convinced him.
“Better. I’m satisfied.”
Shiya Hikari sagged with relief. Who knew playing himself could be so exhausting?
“Your arm splits at the elbow.”
“AAH!”
Clutching the nonexistent wound, he screamed internally: *Why punish me after cooperating?!*
Fang Cheng kicked him over. “Who cares about your father? Wealth breeds arrogance?”
Face in dirt, Shiya Hikari wept bitter tears of humiliation.
Yanked upright, he faced Fang Cheng’s demand: “Explain your organization’s target. You may refuse… if you enjoy our games.”
“I’LL TALK! NO MORE GAMES!”
Shiya Hikari would’ve kissed his tormentor’s boots to end this. The prospect of becoming a mechanical-armed modified human broke him completely.