Chapter 146: Destruction

Otherwise, once she escaped this Mysterious Domain alive, she’d have ten thousand ways to torture Lü Yang, and everyone close to him, to death one by one.

The most important reason Lü Yang decided to kill Zhou Ling was that she had touched Yi Ya. Yi Ya was his bottom line, one that absolutely could not be crossed.

“You’re much stronger than I imagined. Just became a Junior Paranormal Master, yet you could create a Mysterious Domain. You didn’t strike it lucky and get a Creation Card, did you?” Zhou Ling stared at Lü Yang with a strange smile. She proved worthy of being a Senior Engineering Spectralist, quickly deducing the chain of events for this Mysterious Domain. Or maybe, she was just trying to fish for information from Lü Yang.

Lü Yang didn’t speak. If this was truly his plan… successfully trapping Death Assassin Zhou Ling in the Mysterious Domain, stripping her of the powerful abilities of a Senior Eerie Practitioner… this should only be the first step… Things had progressed to this state, but rescuing Yi Ya was still far from success.

Lü Yang believed that with Zhou Ling’s cunning, perversion, and cruelty, even trapped in the Mysterious Domain together, she wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

Don’t speak when you shouldn’t. Speaking too much might reveal your strength and your plans, risking the chance to save Yi Ya forever.

“For your girlfriend Xiao Ya, you threw yourself into the Mysterious Domain as a Survivor. I admire your courage and confidence. You know, the hardest person for anyone to truly understand is themselves. Aren’t you afraid of being trapped to death in a domain you created?” Zhou Ling continued, seeming keen on probing Lü Yang for answers.

Of course, Zhou Ling understood the dangers of the Mysterious Domain far more deeply than Lü Yang. Sometimes, man-made Mysterious Domains were even more perilous than natural ones. Zhou Ling naturally worried about the Path of Survival or existing traps within this one. As a Senior Eerie Practitioner, dying due to carelessness in a domain created by a junior would be utterly worthless.

But she had her ace: Yi Ya. As long as she didn’t reveal Yi Ya’s whereabouts, she didn’t fear Lü Yang making a move against her. Unless Lü Yang gave up on Yi Ya and forced mutual destruction. But judging by Lü Yang’s previous actions, he probably wouldn’t do that.

He was kind. Kindness meant foolishness, lots of worries, and many weaknesses. Zhou Ling felt she could easily manipulate him using that.

“You should think carefully about how to leave this Mysterious Domain. Either tell me Yi Ya’s whereabouts and end it, or die here with me.” Lü Yang looked at Zhou Ling with an indifferent attitude.

His only trump card now was his firm belief: if he had created this Mysterious Domain and thrown himself into it as a Survivor, then during its creation, he must have planned a way out of certain death.

That plan should be robust enough to ensure Yi Ya’s rescue and Zhou Ling’s complete death. Otherwise, Lü Yang wouldn’t foolishly throw himself in. He just hadn’t recalled what that specific plan was yet.

Even if this was a hastily created Mysterious Domain, Lü Yang still had one final card.

He believed that when creating this domain, he had already prepared for the worst, embracing absolute determination to die. If he couldn’t save Yi Ya, then destruction together was acceptable!

When someone was resolved to die, they became fearless and terrifying. Unless the enemy possessed the same readiness for mutual destruction, otherwise, it presented an impassable deadlock.

Unless… this Mysterious Domain wasn’t created by Lü Yang at all. But that was beyond his control now. Thinking more about it was pointless.

“Dragging all these people into the Mysterious Domain… you want them to die with you? Especially… could you bear to let Liu Hui die here with you?” Zhou Ling scanned their surroundings while playing psychological warfare with Lü Yang. Or perhaps, she had instantly spotted some fatal flaw in this Mysterious Domain’s existence.

“For Yi Ya, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do. Destroying the entire world wouldn’t matter, let alone these people.” Lü Yang replied flatly, revealing only his resolve, no extra information.

“What is a Mysterious Domain?” Liu Yin asked Zhou Ling and Lü Yang, puzzled. Han Cheng had silently retreated to the reception desk and slumped down in despair.

“You brought these two here. To convince me to free Yi Ya? Or hoping they’d kill me for you? Wrong calculation! These two men would desert even the women they loved. They won’t risk their own lives. Don’t be fooled by their righteous talk about catching the Death Killer. When push came to shove, they were cowards!” Zhou Ling shot Liu Yin and Han Cheng a resentful look.

Liu Yin flushed with shame upon hearing her words. Han Cheng looked utterly helpless. Neither spoke up to defend themselves.

“Them not killing you doesn’t mean I won’t.” Lü Yang narrowed his eyes. He had to make Zhou Ling understand clearly: she only had two choices – release Yi Ya, or die here together.

“Xiao Ling, we shouldn’t be here!” Han Cheng suddenly stood up, grabbed the heavy chair he’d been sitting on, and charged at Zhou Ling while she was distracted talking to Lü Yang. He lifted it high, aiming to crush her from behind.

Lü Yang frowned. It was too late to stop him…

Just as the chair in Han Cheng’s hands was about to smash into Zhou Ling, her body twisted with an unnatural grace. She swiftly dodged the descending chair. A gleam of light flashed in her hand.

THUD!

Han Cheng’s tall frame and the heavy chair crashed heavily to the ground. The chair shattered completely, pieces scattering everywhere.

Han Cheng lay on the floor, clutching his neck as blood gushed out. He stared at Zhou Ling standing beside him in disbelief. Her speed and the sharpness of her strike were unimaginable.

“I told you, the old Xiao Ling is dead. I’m not that pathetic little sister you held hands with anymore… the one needing care… Why didn’t you believe me?” Zhou Ling knelt, cradled Han Cheng’s face, touched the wound on his neck. Her eyes reddened.

“Xiao Ling… this isn’t right…” Han Cheng’s face wore a look of profound sorrow. After uttering these words, his body slackened and he collapsed.

“Ah! Hahahahaha!” Zhou Ling released Han Cheng’s body and stood up, laughing wildly. The laugh was shrill, tinged with madness. Two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.

No one else saw clearly how Zhou Ling dispatched Han Cheng in an instant. But Lü Yang, facing her directly, saw it clearly. Evidently, this woman had undergone extensive training in blade techniques and footwork within the Virtual Reality. That’s why she could dodge Han Cheng’s surprise attack from behind and, with exact precision and minimal force, slice his throat.

Her blade skill and movement made Lü Yang shiver. If she got within two meters of him, he doubted he’d last a moment before dying at her hands.

He had underestimated her too much! Even inside the Mysterious Domain without Eerie Card enhancements, killing her wouldn’t be simple…

“You want to kill me? You think you have the ability? What can you actually do, even after dragging me into this Mysterious Domain?” A white flash shone in Zhou Ling’s hand. She suddenly lunged directly at Lü Yang.

Lü Yang stumbled backward several steps. Seeing the blade in Zhou Ling’s hand closing in, his survival instinct kicked in. He wrenched a Handgun from behind his back, raised it, and aimed squarely at Zhou Ling’s head…

“You actually found a gun?” Zhou Ling stopped, visibly shocked as she looked at Lü Yang.

Lü Yang stayed silent. Compared to a Senior Engineering Spectralist like Zhou Ling, his understanding of creating Mysterious Domains was vastly inferior. Many things remained confusing, like how this gun was just… on him initially.

“What if you have a gun? Dare you kill me? Kill me, and Yi Ya will never be yours again. Go on, shoot me…” Zhou Ling taunted him. She then clasped her hands behind her back and advanced toward Lü Yang with a swaying, cat-like walk.

“You think I really don’t dare?” Lü Yang had no choice but to retreat further, trying to put distance between them. Zhou Ling didn’t press forward. Instead, she veered sharply away, darting straight into the crowd huddled fearfully against the wall…

When Lü Yang spotted her next second, she already had her blade pressed against Liu Hui’s neck.

“Drop the gun! Tell me the Path of Survival for this Mysterious Domain! Or you’ll watch her die right in front of your eyes!” Zhou Ling shoved Liu Hui step-by-step towards Lü Yang, her expression filled with mockery, as if playing a deliciously cruel game.

Blood was already leaking from Liu Hui’s neck. Clearly, Zhou Ling’s blade was incredibly sharp. And with her consistent cruelty, killing Liu Hui would be as easy as crushing an ant. She wouldn’t hesitate.

“Sister Zhou…” Liu Hui winced in pain, trembling violently from fear.

“Killing everyone in this hall won’t get you the Path of Survival. Unless you tell me where Yi Ya is, we’ll die here together.” Lü Yang kept the gun aimed at Zhou Ling. He had zero room for retreat.

In every film Lü Yang had seen, surrendering your gun to a ruthless hostage-taker just meant you and the hostage would be tortured to death together…