Hyperthermal Hell || Apocalypse Paradise #1 [Complete]

31: Sorry, I Lied

The street had long lost any semblance of its former facade after the ravages of the unforgiving heat. A long black shadow danced between the silhouettes of two combatants engaged in an aggressive fight on that very street. The silhouette with the slightly shorter stature dodged each attack swiftly. Even with twenty successive whip-like attacks from the duoluozhong's long mouthpart, not one touched the clothes of its opponent.

The duoluozhong was so exhausted that it would be panting heavily right now... if it still had a mouth.

"Who... who... are you? You are not Meiye!" the duoluozhong's enraged buzz rang out in the air. At the same time, he snatched the opportunity and swung its mouthpart toward Luther's face.

As the mouthpart approached, Luther suddenly shrunk in a blink of an eye, and the mouthpart swung over the head of a "little countryside girl," totally missing its target. Even before the duoluozhong could withdraw backward, the little girl ducked down and slid toward the duoluozhong's legs, and just as she delivered a low sweep kick, she transformed into a tall, dangerous-looking man—obviously Hei Zeji. The heavy blow immediately shattered the duoluozhong's ankle. The duoluozhong shrieked in pain and collapsed to the ground.

Regardless of whose form he took, Luther did not possess the ability to replicate the ability stats of his reference target but was restricted to the upper limits of their overall stats. If Luther's original strength was 89, and the security man's sister's strength was 14, Luther would only be able to deliver up to a 14. Conversely, when he transformed into Hei Zeji, he could fully utilize the full amount of his strength at 89 since Hei Zeji was many times stronger.

Luther delivered another kick to the duoluozhong's leg. When the impact of his full-strength kick landed on the duoluozhong's leg, fragments of shattered bones flew out as they pierced through the skin of its calf. This time, the duoluozhong could no longer stand up. It laid down, taking gasps of air as it rested its mouthpart against the ground. Its mouthpart trembled uncontrollably as it touched the scalding hot ground.

Maintaining his Hei Zeji form, Luther walked to the side of the duoluozhong, looking down on it with an icy cold expression.

"Ok, ok... I admit defeat. I lost," the duoluozhong said, changing his tone, gasping. "I sprung a surprise attack on you because I thought you were that bitch Meiye. It was just a personal grudge! Since you are not her, why do we have to fight?"

"I'm okay with that..." Luther smiled—an amiable smile that would have looked endearing on his original face but looked twistedly oppressive when it appeared on Hei Zeji's face, "if you let me cut off your mouthpart."

The duoluozhong's slightly pitiful, slightly patronizing expression melted away from his face like ice on a hot plate. Without its mouthpart, it wouldn't be able to feed on any humans, so how was that any different from killing it?

Suddenly, it rolled to its side and forced itself up. Thereafter, lifting its mouthpart...

"This again? No matter how many times you try, you won't be able to touch me—" Even before Luther could finish his sentence, the duoluozhong swung its mouthpart downward, not in Luther's direction, but toward its own calf instead.

With a sharp howl, its utterly shattered calf fell off—it actually severed the entire portion of its leg below its knee. "Once I absorb you, I can regenerate as many legs as I want." The duoluozhong gave Luther a deadly stare, looking even more malevolent than before. "Actually, I couldn't decide on whether to use this... but now..."

Luther felt a chill and took two steps back, looking back at it cautiously.

The duoluozhong let out a sneer-filled laugh and took something out with a quick gesture. Luther almost suspected that his eyes were deceiving him because... apparently, that something was a lunch box.