77: hostage

The dangerous aura and violent electric light emanating from the silver-armored figure before him made Wu Meng, who was parasitizing Zhang Wei's body, instantly make the most instinctive choice—to flee!

He manipulated Zhang Wei's sturdy legs to suddenly exert force, turning and fleeing without hesitation, desperately sprinting deep into the corridor! At the same time, he issued a silent command.

Upon receiving the command, the Parasitic Nurse and the Parasitic Wild Dog showed no sign of life in their eyes, only a deathly stillness. They emitted lifeless, grating sounds and low growls from the friction of their physical structures. Like two puppets controlled by strings, they stiffly yet swiftly pounced on Lu Jianchuan from the left and right, attempting to block his pursuit.

These were nothing but empty shells, already killed and driven by parasitic nerves!

Realizing this, Lu Jianchuan felt no more pity or hesitation in his heart.

Facing the pouncing wild dog, he sidestepped precisely to avoid its bite. His hand, covered in electric arcs, slashed down like lightning on its neck. The violent current instantly overloaded and burned out the fragile parasitic nerve node within its body.

The wild dog's corpse convulsed violently once before going completely limp and motionless.

Almost simultaneously, the Parasitic Nurse swung a metal tray it had grabbed from somewhere. Lu Jianchuan neither dodged nor evaded, throwing a punch instead! The tray, along with the lifeless arm behind it, was twisted and deformed by the tremendous force. A powerful electric current surged through, and the corpse collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Dealing with the two obstacles took no more than two or three seconds. Without pausing, Lu Jianchuan's figure transformed into a silver blur as he swiftly chased after the direction Wu Meng had fled!

Zhang Wei's body, honed through long-term training, possessed explosive power and endurance far beyond ordinary people, allowing it to run extremely fast through the complex corridors. But Lu Jianchuan's speed was even greater; the distance between them was rapidly closing.

Wu Meng manipulated the body to constantly make sharp turns, using every corner and room door in an attempt to shake off the pursuit. Yet, the icy killing intent clung to him like a tangible entity, impossible to shake.

Meanwhile, in the luxurious office on the top floor of the 'Qiming Future Medical Center,' Lu Hongyi—the only son of Shen Jianguo, Chairman of the Hongyuan Group—was idly flipping through documents on the desk. The dense numbers and clauses made his head spin.

"Steward Wang, when will all this end?" He pushed the documents away, slumping into the comfortable leather chair with a sigh. "My dad threw me here, claiming it's to familiarize myself with the business, but this stuff is so boring!"

Standing nearby, Steward Wang, his hair meticulously combed, bowed slightly and advised kindly, "Young Master, the Master also hopes you can stand on your own soon. This family business will eventually be handed over to you."

"Ugh, I know, I know." Lu Hongyi waved his hand impatiently, glancing at the dense night outside the window. "Forget it, that's enough for today. My head's about to explode. Let's go home!"

He stood up, straightened his expensive suit, and walked out of the office with Steward Wang. The corridor was silent, with only the echo of their footsteps. Just as they reached the elevator entrance and Lu Hongyi reached out to press the down button—

"Clang!"

The fire door of the adjacent emergency staircase was violently flung open! A figure wearing the center's security uniform staggered out, nearly colliding with them.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? Watch where you're going!" Lu Hongyi was startled and instinctively scolded. But he immediately sensed something was wrong. He recognized this security guard—it was Xiao Li, responsible for patrolling this floor. Yet now, Xiao Li's face was deathly pale, his eyes rolled back with no focus, drool uncontrollably dripping from the corner of his mouth, and strange "heh... heh..." sounds coming from his throat.

"Xiao Li? You... what's wrong with you?" Shen Hongyi felt a chill, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor.

Security Guard Xiao Li ignored Shen Hongyi's call entirely. Those rolled-back eyes locked onto him, and then he pounced like a wild beast!

"Young Master, be careful!" Steward Wang reacted swiftly, stepping in front of Shen Hongyi in a flash.

However, the security guard's strength was astonishingly great. With a single punch, he sent the elderly Steward Wang stumbling backward, crashing heavily against the wall, unable to get up immediately.

"Steward Wang!" Lu Hongyi was horrified and wanted to resist, but that powerful arm had already clamped around his body like an iron hoop, easily restraining him and dragging him toward the emergency staircase!

"Let me go! What are you doing?!" Shen Hongyi struggled and roared desperately, but to no avail. He was forcibly dragged down through the dimly lit stairwell.

Several floors below, at a relatively open staircase landing, the security guard holding him suddenly stopped.

Lu Hongyi looked up in terror, and the scene before him nearly froze the blood in his veins!

He saw an extremely muscular man standing ahead, but next to the man's neck bulged a huge, pulsating tumor made of dark red flesh and twisted nerves!

Embedded on the surface of the tumor were a pair of eyes filled with madness, resentment, and greed, along with a crooked mouth that could open and close!

The man's original head hung limply to the other side, his face ashen. Meanwhile, the mouth on the adjacent tumor slowly twisted into a horrifying "smile."

On one body, there grew a normal head and a bizarre, tumorous "secondary head"!

Extreme fear instantly seized Lu Hongyi's heart. His mouth gaped open, but no sound came out; only his body trembled uncontrollably.

Lu Jianchuan charged down the stairs like a silver whirlwind, instantly reaching this open landing. However, the sight before him forced him to halt abruptly.

Wu Meng reacted extremely quickly, immediately pulling the captured Shen Hongyi tightly in front of him, using his robust body as a shield. The eyes on his tumor fixed intently on Lu Jianchuan, his voice shrill and distorted with fear and madness:

"Don't come any closer! I... I know you! Those videos online... those silver guys fighting... it's you, right?!"

He had clearly seen some blurry circulating clips from Linjiang Square or street riots but didn't know the specific codename, simply viewing them as the same threat. "You... you don't want to see innocent people die, right?"

As if clutching at a lifeline, his voice carried the desperate ferocity of a coward making a last stand: "Look clearly! This is Shen Hongyi! The only son of Shen Jianguo! If he dies, do you know what the consequences will be?! Let me go! Otherwise... otherwise I'll take him down with me!"

And Shen Hongyi, in his extreme terror, finally got a clear look at the pursuing silver figure.

The sleek lines, the cold armor, the deep blue visor... This image seemed vaguely familiar from some corner of a blurry online video he had glimpsed, thinking it was some promotional stunt at the time.

"It's... it's you?!" he exclaimed in shock, immense fear and absurdity crashing over him. "Those videos were real?! Save me! Whoever you are! Save me, please!"

The situation instantly reached a stalemate. With his cowardly yet precise judgment, Wu Meng had grasped Lu Jianchuan's weakness. Lu Jianchuan, fearful of harming the hostage, held his fist, condensed with violent electric light, suspended in mid-air, unable to strike.

The cold visor locked onto Wu Meng, hiding behind the hostage, searching for the slightest opportunity to subdue the enemy in one blow without harming Lu Hongyi.