Chapter 52

Facing such a cruel, powerful, calm, and ruthless enemy, Ma Le decisively made the most appropriate response: to run!

Ma Le had originally walked out of the fast-food restaurant in a very cool manner, confronting Brad with a fierce demeanor on the wide street. But upon realizing he couldn't win, he turned around and ran back into the building. Brad was not about to let him go, and with a swift dive, he raised his massive claws and aimed them at Ma Le's back. However, Ma Le was not unprepared. He pulled out a white board grenade he had bought before coming and gently tossed it over his head, then lunged forward.

This toss and lunge changed their positions: Ma Le leaped forward, Brad dived from a diagonal position above, and a grenade slowly rotated between them. With Brad's agility, he could have accelerated and changed direction to catch up with Ma Le, but doing so would have caused the grenade to explode before he could make an effective attack, and he would have taken the damage for Ma Le. Brad was not about to lose both his wife and his soldiers, so he decisively slowed down and retreated. Sure enough, the grenade exploded immediately, sending Ma Le into the building while forcing Brad to retreat.

"Tricky bastard!" Brad roared, folding his wings and entering the building. Even without the advantage of the air, he was confident he could defeat his opponent. After all, once the speed advantage was established, no matter how much strength one had, it was useless if they couldn't land a hit.

Brad pursued Ma Le into the narrow hallway. Suddenly, Ma Le sneered and turned to shoot with his harpoon gun. But before he could pull the trigger, Brad had already leaped close, swiping with his left claw to deflect Ma Le's gun. The harpoon grazed Brad's right neck and embedded in the wall behind him. The fierce vampire sneered and quickly struck with his right claw, the sharp iron nails piercing into Ma Le's abdomen and widening the existing wound.

Ma Le endured the intense pain and swung his knife at Brad with his right hand. The vampire leaped back, faster than Ma Le's knife. However, seeing his enemy retreat, Ma Le did not get angry; instead, he smiled smugly and pulled the harpoon gun with his left hand. Brad immediately felt a pain in his neck and instinctively dodged to the left, crashing into the wall and cracking it. He touched his right neck and found a wound over three inches long, nearly severing an artery.

Brad looked at Ma Le in shock. He saw Ma Le pull the harpoon gun, and the marker gun that had been embedded in the wall fell off and returned to his hand. Brad then realized that the marker gun was connected to a very thin and extremely strong silver thread, which had cut his neck as he retreated.

Ma Le put away the silver thread and continued to run. He had intended to deal a severe blow to his opponent, but he hadn't expected the vampire to react so quickly, making him even more difficult to handle than Zhao Renfan. Although Zhao Renfan was a veteran, he was in the real world where most of his abilities were useless. This vampire, however, had no such limitations, and the danger level was higher this time than the last.

Brad raised his blood-stained iron claws to his mouth, licked them, and remembered the taste. He said softly, "You won't escape this time!" and pursued again.

Ma Le ran to the third-floor shopping hall, which mainly sold clothing, hats, and shoes. This floor had not been affected by the ultrasonic attack, and there were still citizens shopping. Ma Le's sudden appearance drew the attention of many people. Although his abdominal wound was just a flesh wound, it looked fatal to ordinary people. Many women showed signs of distress, and some even screamed. Two security guards approached him, asking if he needed help. Ma Le pointed to the stairwell behind him and shouted, "Help! There's a devil chasing me!" Then he pushed the guards and ran forward.

Given the recent incidents of madmen biting people, the security guards had heightened their vigilance. They drew their rubber batons and aimed their pistols at the stairwell, ready to subdue the "madman" as soon as he appeared. However, what they saw was not a slow-moving, dazed madman but a monster over two meters tall with a green face, fangs, and arms that reached past his knees!

The security guards were stunned and fired their pistols instinctively, but the bullets couldn't even break the vampire's skin. With one swipe of his massive claws, Brad left the two guards with only half their bodies standing.

"Ah... Help...!" The mall erupted in chaos as shoppers screamed and fled. Fortunately, it was just past 8:00 AM, and there weren't many shoppers, so the area was quickly evacuated. The empty mall now contained only Brad, the monster.

"Come out, you tricky bastard!" Brad shouted into the vast, cluttered hall. "I know you're still here. I've tasted your blood; you can't escape me!"

As he spoke, a grenade suddenly flew straight at Brad from his diagonal rear. But it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head, and he dodged, the grenade passing by his face. Brad smiled confidently, planning to continue taunting, but then he noticed something odd. There was a faint light behind the grenade. Could it be...? In the next instant, the grenade was pulled back, and Brad barely avoided it, but it was too late. The grenade exploded beside him, scattering nearby shelves and clothes, and Brad took over 100 points of damage.

"Damn! Tricky bastard!" Brad shouted, opening his personal space and taking out a deck of playing cards. He sneered and said, "You think only you have gadgets? I'm an adventurer who has experienced over ten mission worlds. You're just a rookie!"

Brad drew a card and looked at it, then sneered. "The six of spades, you're not very lucky..." He tossed the card, and it disappeared. Suddenly, a card appeared in front of Ma Le, who was hiding. It was the six of spades! Ma Le didn't know what the card did, but he knew it wasn't good, so he turned and ran. The six of spades glowed and transformed into a black chain that caught up to Ma Le and wrapped around his neck.

Ma Le, with his enhanced physique and the effects of the black light virus, had a different body mechanism and didn't need as much oxygen. Simple asphyxiation and lack of blood to the brain didn't affect him much, but the chain tightened, threatening to snap his neck. Ma Le struggled, even hurting himself by inserting his long knife into the gap between the chain and his neck, trying to cut through it. The chain, being a summoned item, was no match for the black weapon, and after a few cuts, a deep notch appeared. Seeing an opportunity, Ma Le increased his cutting speed.

At that moment, Brad drew another card, the two of diamonds. Like before, the card appeared in front of Ma Le but transformed into a sharp, serrated iron hook instead of a chain. The hook plunged into Ma Le's abdominal wound, causing him to open his mouth in pain, but the chain around his neck prevented him from making a sound. Brad sneered and curled his long, sharp fingers, and the chain and hook, as if alive, pulled Ma Le to Brad's face.

Brad played with the remaining cards and said to Ma Le, "These are Fate Cards, top-tier silver gadgets. Each card can transform into a weapon or gadget and appear within 100 meters to attack. You think hiding in this complex mall will keep you safe? For me, who has your precise location, killing you is as easy as pie!"

Ma Le, suspended by the chain, couldn't speak, but he struggled, trying to saw through the chain with his ghost blade. However, it would take at least a few dozen seconds, and Brad wouldn't give him that chance.

"Die in peace!" Brad said with a smile, raising his terrifying iron claws and plunging them into Ma Le's abdominal wound, tearing through his stomach and grabbing his still-beating heart. He squeezed, the sharp iron nails piercing the heart muscle and squeezing out the blood. An indescribable pain overwhelmed Ma Le's nerves. He had never felt so uneasy or terrified. Then, he watched the vampire demon pull his heart out of his chest and chew it.

The light in Ma Le's eyes faded, his muscles relaxed, and his breathing stopped. Without a heart, there was nothing to beat. The chain and hook disappeared, and Ma Le's body lay motionless on the ground, still clutching his harpoon gun and long ghost blade, a symbol of his final desperate struggle.

All the adventurers in Hurricane City and Miracle City received a system notification: "Miracle City adventurer number 110405 confirmed dead..."

The elder in Hurricane City smiled with relief, the fat Max raised his arm in celebration, and Medea felt a twisted sense of dissatisfaction. The vampire had killed the enemy who could instantly defeat Ghost Blade Pill, implying that her ace, Ghost Blade Pill, was no match for him...

The reaction in Miracle City was much more subdued. The three ordinary-level adventurers sighed, and it was unclear whether they were genuinely sad or hiding their secret joy, as Ma Le had shown the power to threaten their dominance. The other beginners mostly felt a small pang of sorrow for their comrade who had sacrificed himself, but they were relieved it wasn't them. Even Snowy Owl, who had some interaction with Ma Le, only lost her composure for a moment, shaking her head and sighing at the unpredictability of life.

The only one who was completely stunned was Persian Cat. This young man, who was usually aloof and proud, had few friends, whether in the real world or in Miracle City. Ma Le, though called a fool by Persian Cat, was the first to greet him, the first to accept his insults, and the first to make him feel the warmth of friendship... and now, this person was dead...

Persian Cat lagged behind the group, and when everyone had walked far ahead, she finally took off her large baseball cap, which she wore even while sleeping. Her long, golden hair cascaded down to her waist. She faced the direction they had come from, the direction where Ma Le had fought and died, placed the cap over her chest, lowered her beautiful face, and shed two clear tears.

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**End of Chapter**