297: You have no right.

The father slumped on the ground, seeing the Dinosaur-man Child actually blocking for him, confronting that terrifying armored man. First came astonishment, then a more twisted, even crazily triumphant look broke out on his face.

He pointed at Wei Ziqing, laughing hoarsely with excitement:

"Hahaha! See that! Lord Official! He chose it himself! He made a choice! He'd rather protect a useless old dad like me than go with you!"

"That high-and-mighty 'salvation' of yours is worthless to him! You can't even win the heart of a 'monster'! Hahahaha!"

Wei Ziqing remained silent, looking at the wary Dinosaur Person through his red goggles, murmuring in his heart: 'Why would you protect him... protect someone like...' But he didn't stop. Instead, he adjusted his stance again, slowly moving to the side and front, trying to bypass the Dinosaur Person's frontal defense.

The Dinosaur Person immediately moved with him, always staying between the father and Wei Ziqing. Seeing Wei Ziqing approach, it let out a low growl and swung its right claw fiercely to the left, creating a whistling sound.

Wei Ziqing slid to the right and turned, precisely dodging the claw. Simultaneously, he raised his left hand, using his forearm armor to block a potential follow-up attack from the other's left claw. The bone sword wasn't rushed out; he was observing, looking for an opening to restrain the opponent without causing serious injury.

"Why bother discussing so many philosophical issues with him, Brother Wei!" Wang Yu's original body shouted from the side, his tone crisp.

"We're not here for a debate. We know what he's doing now is wrong, and we know there might be better options outside. That's enough!"

"We don't need to prove how 'correct' our motives are to someone like him. We just need to do what we think should be done—take this child out to see the world. So," he cracked his wrists, "let's go!"

Hearing this, Wei Ziqing took a deep breath, the gaze beneath his armor becoming sharp again: "...Yeah. Then, for now... let me be willful one more time."

As soon as he finished speaking, he went on the offensive. His pace suddenly quickened, the sword light flickering. No longer hesitating, he tangled with the Dinosaur Person. He deliberately controlled his strength and the angle of his strikes, focusing on parrying, redirecting force, and finding openings.

The Dinosaur Person fought entirely on instinct and agility. It was fast and strong, but lacked technique. After a subtle feint, Wei Ziqing sidestepped, causing the opponent to lunge into empty air. Just as he was about to seize the opportunity to strike the shoulder and neck with the spine of the sword—

"Watch this! Sliding Tackle!" A Wang Yu Clone suddenly darted out from the side, shouting as he slid across the dusty ground!

The Dinosaur Person reacted extremely fast, pushing off with its hind legs and jumping high, easily dodging the attack.

"Eh? It missed?" That Clone scratched his head after sliding past.

"Watch mine! Double Sliding Tackle!" Another Clone shouted and slid in from the other side.

The Dinosaur Person twisted its body gracefully in mid-air, dodging again.

"Damn it! Dual Combined Sliding Tackle!" The two Clones shouted indignantly at the same time, sliding in from left and right in a cross pattern.

After landing, the Dinosaur Person quickly took a step back, causing the two Clones who missed to crash into each other, rolling into a heap.

"You two!" Wang Yu's original body yelled. "Stop fooling around! Fight properly!"

The two Clones climbed up, covered in dust, and responded sheepishly: "Oh..."

"Got it, Original Self..."

The rhythm of the battle was entirely in Wei Ziqing's hands. Although the Dinosaur-man Child resisted tenaciously with instinct and speed, it ultimately appeared naive before Wei Ziqing's sword skills and tactics, which had been honed by the System. Wei Ziqing wasn't in a hurry; most of the bone sword's strikes landed on non-lethal parts of the opponent's limbs. Every time a scale was sliced, a small amount of Neuroparalytic Toxin was quietly injected.

Gradually, the Dinosaur-man Child's movements began to lag, the hostility in its amber vertical pupils replaced by a trace of confusion and powerlessness. The small wounds on its body increased, its steps faltered, and its breathing became heavy.

Wei Ziqing spotted an opening, feinted a strike to force it back, then stopped and retreated. No longer pursuing, he turned and walked toward the father, who was slumped on the ground with the triumph on his face not yet fully faded.

"Roar—!" Seeing this, the Dinosaur-man Child let out an anxious low growl, struggling to intervene again, but the paralytic toxin had already spread through its entire body via the blood circulation. Its forelimbs gave way, its massive body swayed, and it finally collapsed powerlessly to the ground. Its eyelids closed heavily as it fell into a forced slumber.

"Done!" A Wang Yu Clone stepped forward briskly, and together with another Clone, carefully lifted the unconscious Dinosaur-man Child. "Original Self, Brother Wei, we'll take him up first!"

With his back to them, Wei Ziqing gave an "OK" gesture, his gaze always locked on the father, whose face had instantly turned pale.

"You... what are you going to do?!" Seeing the approaching armored figure and those emotionless red goggles, fear seized the father again. He scrambled backward with his hands and feet until his back hit the cold wall.

Wei Ziqing stopped in front of him and slowly raised the bone sword. The tip of the sword glinted coldly under the dim yellow light. He deliberately let his voice take on a cold, bone-chilling quality through the armor:

"Who knows? Perhaps... cut you into ten thousand pieces? Or sever your tendons and hamstrings, so you can also taste what it's like to be unable to move and be at someone else's mercy? I want you to know what true pain is."

The sword tip slowly moved down, finally resting lightly on the man's trembling shoulder. The cold touch made his whole body shake violently.

"Brother Wei! Calm down!" Wang Yu's original body hurriedly called out. Although he didn't think Wei Ziqing would actually kill him, the posture was still a bit scary.

"Hmph," Wei Ziqing snorted coldly. With a flick of his wrist, the bone sword instantly left the man's shoulder, turning into a flash of white light that precisely swept past the nearby chair—Crack! The ropes binding the unconscious College Student snapped.

"I was just scaring you." Wei Ziqing put away the sword, his tone returning to being flat but carrying an unquestionable firmness. "Now, let's go."

He wasted no more words, grabbing the collar of the man, who was almost limp with fear, and hoisting him up like a small chick. Wang Yu's original body walked over and easily carried the unconscious College Student on his shoulder.

The group quickly left the oppressive basement, returning the way they came.

When they passed the first floor, they dumped the unconscious College Student along with the other two who had been scared unconscious earlier and dragged outside. They left them in the roadside grass relatively far from the house—once they woke up, tonight's experience would be enough for a lifetime of nightmares and would certainly kill all their curiosity about "haunted houses."

Along the way, the father struggled in vain, pleading in a low voice and even cursing: "You can't do this! This is kidnapping! Let me go! I'll sue you! You have no right..."