Chapter 173: Stealing Emotions

Zhuo Shuqing had seen through Wen Shilin’s strength. He casually took an iron bar from a thug beside him and walked unhurriedly toward the groaning Wen Shilin:

"Wen Shilin, do you have any idea how many people you've offended? There are plenty of people in Aurora City right now who want you dead. Perhaps in a couple of days, the daily paper will carry the news of your accidental death... If I'm lucky, I might even get the chance to write your obituary myself."

The iron bar scraped across the uneven ground, making a clanging sound. Wen Shilin lay on the ground, bright red blood already covering his cheeks.

"Is that so... then I thank you in advance." He raised his head with difficulty and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"You don't believe me?" Zhuo Shuqing stood still beside Wen Shilin and continued, "Aurora City must be peaceful and beautiful. Anyone who tries to dig into its deepest darkness is an enemy of the entire realm... You’ve dug too much, you know too much, and your mouth isn't tight... If you don't die, how can Aurora City be at peace?"

"Of course I believe you. I know better than you who I've offended." Wen Shilin grinned. "However, it won't be that easy for them to kill me..."

Zhuo Shuqing sneered, "With your skills, what's the difference between killing you and killing a chicken?"

"Is that so?"

A flash of cunning crossed Wen Shilin’s eyes. He suddenly pushed his body up with both hands, swung a clenched fist with a whistle, and struck at Zhuo Shuqing, who was within arm's reach!

Wen Shilin’s outburst was too sudden. Because everyone had been deceived by his fragility when he fell from a single blow, they never expected him to be able to get up so quickly. At such close range, it was too late for Zhuo Shuqing to block.

Bang!

With a dull thud, Wen Shilin’s fist slammed into Zhuo Shuqing’s cheek, sending him stumbling back several steps, nearly falling to the ground.

Seeing this, Chen Ling’s eyebrows raised slightly.

"It is indeed a common skill; both strength and speed are mediocre, but..."

Wen Shilin stood firm with difficulty, his blood-stained face showing a rare tenacity and determination.

However, the mental power contained in that punch was not bad.

Wen Shilin’s punch left the surrounding thugs stunned. They looked at Zhuo Shuqing blankly, not knowing whether they should step in to help.

Zhuo Shuqing clutched his cheek, his mouth trembling uncontrollably. He seemed to feel a foreign object in his mouth, chewed for a moment, then spat forcefully onto the ground, a blood-soaked broken tooth landing on the floor... He stood stunned for a long time, his gaze toward Wen Shilin burning with enough rage to spit fire!

"Beat him to death!!"

At Zhuo Shuqing’s command, the thugs who had been waiting swarmed forward!

In the chaos, clubs and fists surrounded Wen Shilin, raining down on him. Wen Shilin knew he was no match for so many people, so he skillfully crouched down on the spot, covering his head and vital areas with his hands, letting them beat him like a sandbag while letting out muffled grunts of pain.

"Let him go!"

"Damn it, let's fight them to the end!!"

The Third District residents nearby saw this and immediately rushed over. After all, Wen Shilin had come to stand up for them, and now that he was being beaten, they couldn't just sit by and watch.

Zhao Yi was a thug from the Third District to begin with; he was best at street brawls. He immediately picked up a brick from the side of the road and led the charge toward the thugs with a fierce momentum.

"A bunch of mobsters!" Zhuo Shuqing said grimly. "Get them all!"

The thugs and the Third District survivors clashed, and the scene descended into chaos. Zhuo Shuqing retreated behind the thugs, watching the melee coldly.

At the same time, Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly... To be honest, he didn't really want to get involved in the Third District's affairs anymore. He had already done his duty by bringing these people into the city; how they survived was none of his business, as he wasn't their nanny.

However, the chaotic situation before him was exactly what Chen Ling wanted. One of his purposes for coming to the Outer Ring was to find an opportunity to test the [Heart Python] skill, and now seemed like the perfect time to act.

He wondered, at his current Tier 2 level, to what extent he could use [Heart Python]?

Chen Ling locked his gaze on Zhuo Shuqing, who had retreated outside the battlefield. His fingers in his sleeves curled slightly, and an invisible python emerged from between his brows, heading straight toward Zhuo Shuqing.

This invisible python was the manifestation of the Heart Python, invisible to anyone but Chen Ling. It coiled silently around Zhuo Shuqing, its head examining his skull, its tongue flicking slightly as if observing something.

Chen Ling’s thought shifted, and the Heart Python suddenly bit into Zhuo Shuqing’s mind.

As Chen Ling narrowed his eyes, he could see a few faint threads being pulled out by the Heart Python; those must have been Zhuo Shuqing’s recent memories. But no matter how hard the Heart Python tried, it couldn't pull them away... With his current mental strength, he couldn't steal memories at all, not even a small fragment.

The Heart Python tried for a long time, only biting off a layer of skin from the memory thread. At the same time, Zhuo Shuqing’s whole body suddenly shuddered.

He looked at the chaotic battlefield in the distance, the anger in his eyes vanishing without a trace, replaced by a blank and bewildered calm... He looked down at his own hands, stunned, not knowing what had happened.

"Can't steal memories yet, but can steal emotions?" Chen Ling raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking at the fragment held in the Heart Python’s mouth.

In Chen Ling’s eyes, Zhuo Shuqing’s spirit was like a physical body, memories were like flesh and blood, and the emotion he had just bitten off was like the skin attached to the immediate memory... Beneath the flesh of memory, there were deeper things, like bones, but Chen Ling couldn't see their full picture yet.

At first, Chen Ling was worried that with his current rank, he might not be able to use the high-level [Heart Python] skill at all, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

Even if he could only steal emotions at this stage, Chen Ling had already thought of countless ways to extend its use... He had a premonition that this skill would be highly compatible with him.

Chen Ling pondered for a moment, walked straight toward Zhuo Shuqing, and tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

Zhuo Shuqing turned his head, saw a strange and young face, and frowned involuntarily.

He spoke coldly: "Who are you? I advise you not to meddle..."

Bang—!!

Before Zhuo Shuqing could finish his sentence, a fist whistled through the air and slammed into the other side of his cheek!