202: Chapter 202, First

Inside the alleyway

"Brother Chong, it's right here! Someone saw that wretched couple taking my... taking that little slut into this alley. They must be hiding in that shack!"

Liu Tian bowed and scraped, pointing at the wooden shack as he spoke.

Wang Chong slapped the back of Liu Tian's head with a backhand and cursed:

"Useless trash! You can't even handle such a tiny matter; I have to come and wipe your ass myself! You're a fucking disgrace to the Tribe!"

Liu Tian stumbled from the blow but didn't dare complain. Instead, he forced a fawning smile:

"Yes, yes, Brother Chong, sorry for the trouble! I'll make sure to show my appreciation later!"

The group then walked toward the shack.

...

Inside the dilapidated wooden shack.

"Some 'friends' are coming," Qi Yun said calmly.

Ranran, the girl who had just begun to calm down, shuddered violently, all color draining from her face.

Xiao Nan felt her daughter's fear and pulled her tight into her embrace with her remaining arm:

"Don't be afraid, Ranran, don't be afraid... We won't live like that anymore."

The next moment—

*Bang!!!*

The dilapidated wooden door was kicked open with brute force!

Amidst the swirling dust, several figures blocked the doorway.

The man leading them was tall; it was Wang Chong, notorious for his cruelty and lust.

Behind him were four or five thuggish-looking lackeys.

And hiding at the very back, peeking his head out, was the Liu Tian who had fled earlier.

Wang Chong's gaze swept across the room.

When his eyes landed on Xiao Nan and Ranran holding each other, he froze for a moment.

"I wondered who it was. So it's you, you old cripple? Still haven't kicked the bucket yet?"

"Damn, just thinking about how I actually slept with you back then and let a cripple like you bear my bastard child makes me feel disgusted!"

Wang Chong spat a glob of thick phlegm onto the floor.

His predatory gaze turned toward the trembling Ranran. He clicked his tongue and turned to curse at Liu Tian:

"You brat, you've been playing with her for so long and she's still alive? Keeping her to breed?"

Liu Tian hurriedly bowed and scraped:

"Brother Chong is right! I just haven't thought of any new tricks yet. Hehe, I'll make sure she goes on her way 'comfortably' later!"

Xiao Nan's body shook violently with overwhelming hatred and humiliation!

She stared fixedly at Wang Chong. It was him! This beast!

Xia Ran had her back to the door. It wasn't until Wang Chong finished speaking that she slowly turned around.

"Don't be afraid anymore. I'm back. No one will hurt you again."

Xiao Nan nodded heavily, hugging her daughter tighter.

Xia Ran faced Wang Chong and the others at the door.

"Finish this quickly. I need to get back to my new little treasure!"

Wang Chong spoke in a muffled, booming voice, not taking the man and woman before him seriously at all.

Before he finished speaking, a strange pitch-black hue rapidly spread across his exposed skin!

He was extremely confident in his ability.

His rare class, "Black Body," was incredibly overbearing, allowing his entire body to transform instantly, causing all attacks to be greatly weakened.

However, just as he was about to stride forward and crush his opponents with absolute power as he had done countless times before—

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Several vines as thick as a child's arm suddenly shot out at a speed difficult for the naked eye to track!

They instantly wrapped around Wang Chong's newly metallicized limbs and torso!

Wang Chong was startled and instinctively struggled with all his might.

With the strength of his "Black Body," he could easily snap steel bars!

But strangely, these seemingly flexible vines were exceptionally tough. Not only did they not break, but they tightened even further as he exerted force.

"You have some skill."

"These vines of yours have some trick to them, being able to trap me temporarily. But you want to hurt me? In your dreams! No one has ever been able to break through my Black Iron Body!"

Although Wang Chong was bound, there was little fear on his face.

He was emboldened by his perceived invulnerability.

His ability was strong, but it had a hidden, fatal weakness.

At the position of the third cervical vertebra on the back of his neck, there was a tiny energy node.

Attacking that node would temporarily disable his ability and turn him back into an ordinary person.

"Wang Chong. After all this time, you're still just as confident."

Xia Ran called out his name.

Hearing himself addressed by name, Wang Chong's entire body suddenly stiffened!

Why does she know my name? This voice sounds somewhat familiar...

A trace of panic, though hard to detect, appeared on Wang Chong's face:

"You... youWho exactly is it??!"

Xia Ran didn't answer.

She simply raised her hand slightly.

Following her movement, a thinner, deep-green rootlet with a tip as sharp as a needle slowly grew out from the thick vines binding Wang Chong.

It reached out with clear intent toward the back of Wang Chong's neck—the fatal weakness he thought no one knew about!

"No!!!" The composure on Wang Chong's face completely shattered!

She really knows! How could she know?!

This weakness was only known to a few core members of the Xiguang Tribe back then!

"Stop her! Kill them!"

Wang Chong let out a terrified roar, struggling desperately.

The lackeys behind him finally snapped out of their shock from the lightning-fast turn of events. They roared and charged forward, aiming straight for Xia Ran and the nearby Qi Yun.

However, in Qi Yun's eyes, their movements were as slow as a turtle's crawl.

No one could even see what Qi Yun did.

He just casually raised his hand.

And the heads of those lackeys fell to the ground.

Liu Tian, at the very back, was scared out of his wits. He let out a strange cry, turned around, and tried to flee the alley.

Wang Chong watched as his men were instantly wiped out, and his arrogant attitude immediately vanished:

"Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! It was that bastard Liu Tian who instigated this! Money! I have lots of money and supplies! I'll give it all to you! Just don't kill me!"

Xia Ran turned a deaf ear, merely tilting her head slightly toward those behind her.

"Xiao Nan, watch closely."

"This is my meeting gift to you."

As soon as she finished speaking, the tip of the rootlet pressed against the back of Wang Chong's neck pricked forward gently.

"No—!!!" Wang Chong let out a desperate howl.

The next moment, the pitch-black hue covering his entire body rapidly faded!

Now he was just a man slightly stronger than an average person.

"You... you..." Wang Chong felt the power draining from his body, and boundless fear submerged him.

"Don't worry," Xia Ran's voice came through her mask, devoid of any emotion.

"I won't let you die so easily."

Five rootlets wrapped around Wang Chong's limbs and his crotch, and then simultaneously pulled with sudden force in different directions!

*Crack! Squelch! Ahhh—!!!*

The tooth-aching sound of bones snapping, the dull thuds of muscles and tendons being torn apart, and Wang Chong's shrill scream—which rose to a peak before cutting off abruptly—all rang out at once!

His left arm and right leg were brutally torn from his body!

Blood gushed out wildly.

"Ugh... huff... huff..."

Wang Chong's eyes bulged, his face twisted in extreme agony. The intense pain almost caused him to pass out instantly.

Xia Ran's voice rang out again:

"From now on, you shall live out your days as a eunuch."

As soon as she finished, the rootlet wrapped around his groin suddenly twisted and yanked!

*Splat!*

A duller tearing sound followed, along with one last violent, death-like convulsion from Wang Chong's body.

Then, those few rootlets tossed Wang Chong onto the filthy ground by the door like a piece of trash.

Blood quickly spread beneath him in a large pool of dark red.

Inside the room, Qi Yun thought to himself: She's certainly ruthless.

Xiao Nan stared fixedly at the mangled Wang Chong, her body trembling violently with excitement and satisfaction. She murmured, "Retribution... it's retribution! Captain... thank you... thank you..."

Xia Ran walked slowly toward Wang Chong, who lay limp like mud, his consciousness blurred by blood loss and intense pain, yet still clinging to a breath of life.

"Now, do you remember who I am?"

Xia Ran's voice was flat and emotionless.

"You... you..." Wang Chong's lips trembled, emitting broken, raspy sounds.

Xia Ran reached out with her other hand and removed the mask from her face.

*Gasp!!!* Wang Chong's eyes were filled with the horror of having seen a ghost.

Xia Ran! It was Xia Ran!

She was still alive!!!

Under the dual stimulation of physical and mental trauma, Wang Chong completely passed out.

Qi Yun leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets and gave her a slight nod.

Deep in Xia Ran's eyes, a frost seemed to spread.

"The first one," she whispered to herself.

The reckoning has only just begun.