Chapter 16

The rain outside grew heavier and heavier.

Thunder rumbled.

On the ninety-third floor of the United Manufacturing Technology Company, in a temporary storage room for experimental items.

Wu Xiaode squatted on the ground, talking to a crow in a metal cage.

"Quack quack quack?" he asked.

"…Quack?" the crow in the cage hesitated.

"Quack, quack quack quack!" Wu Xiaode said with a serious face, waving his hands in a wavy motion, as if he were a white ribbon in the waves.

"Quack quack quack!" The crow in the cage became elated, flapping its wings on the spot.

"Quack—"

The crow possessing Wu Xiaode was about to continue but was interrupted by Wu Xiaode.

"Alright, just show yourself appropriately. Overdoing it can be off-putting. Hurry up and save her," Wu Xiaode suggested.

"That makes sense. Let's save her now," the crow nodded eagerly.

Wu Xiaode extended his hand and pulled the metal cage open on both sides—

The cage immediately opened.

"Quack quack! Ah!" The crow flew out of the cage, landed on his head, and gently pecked his scalp.

Wu Xiaode pointed to the night sky outside the window and encouraged, "Quack quack, quack quack quack, quack."

"Quack… quack quack?" the crow asked softly.

"Quack, crow, quack," Wu Xiaode said.

The crow pecked him again, spread its wings, and flew out through the window.

After a few moments.

The crow reappeared on Wu Xiaode's shoulder, extremely excited.

"What were you talking about just now?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"She asked who I was," the crow said.

"I see," Wu Xiaode said.

"Our crow clan is friends with death. Once she becomes a spirit, she will surely come to find me," the crow said.

"It seems things went well," Wu Xiaode smiled.

"Brother, thanks. If you need anything, just call me. I'll do it without hesitation," the crow said gratefully.

"Sure, sure."

"Shall we go?"

"Wait, I remember this storage room should have two cages."

Wu Xiaode walked to the other wall, mimicking what he did before, and opened it.

Sure enough, there was a large metal cage, inside which was a very beautiful white peacock.

"Fancy fellow," the crow said with a disdainful tone.

"Never mind, since we're here, let's set it free too," Wu Xiaode said.

He grabbed the metal bars with both hands, took a deep breath, and forced the cage open.

The white peacock immediately jumped out of the cage and flew to the windowsill.

"Can it survive on its own? In this city of steel, can it find its way out?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"It can. It's not a domesticated peacock. It comes from a very distant wilderness and is not easily caught. I don't know how it ended up here," the crow said.

"Why else? Someone must have caught it," Wu Xiaode said.

Wu Xiaode took a step forward and kicked the peacock's butt.

Startled, the peacock immediately spread its wings and flew away, heading towards the distance.

In a short while.

The peacock disappeared into the night rain.

"Since you were so determined to save it, why did you kick its butt just now?" the crow asked, puzzled.

"To let it know the dangers of the world. In the future, it should run when it sees people, so it won't be caught again," Wu Xiaode said.

"…I guess that works," the crow said reluctantly.

Wu Xiaode shook his head, lost in thought.

I really don't know what this company does.

According to Xia Huilan and her colleagues' knowledge and memories, this place is supposed to manufacture powered armor.

But why use these special animals?

And there are so many spirits.

It's really—

Mysterious.

Wu Xiaode took out his phone and glanced at it.

11:00 PM.

—It's already late at night.

I don't have time to figure out what this tech company is all about. After all, I've already killed someone, and the spirits have been appeased.

I also gained 1 point of virtue.

I have more important things to do right now.

"Binhai Road, Food God Restaurant…"

That road is unfamiliar.

Wu Xiaode opened the navigation on his phone and studied the map for a long time.

"Can't find the place?" the crow asked.

"Yes, I'm using the navigation to avoid flying in the wrong direction," Wu Xiaode frowned.

"Let's go!" the crow said.

Wu Xiaode leaped out the window, transforming into a crow and soaring into the sky.

In the sky, a woman's voice occasionally sounded:

"Estimated travel time: 31 minutes. You will pass through 17 traffic lights, with 700 meters of slow-moving traffic."

"Please turn left at the second intersection."

"Beep!"

"Turn left."

As the crow flew higher, the voice gradually faded away.

...

Five minutes later.

Binhai Road.

Outside the Food God Restaurant.

A crow circled in the air a few times and finally landed on a utility pole.

The rain started to fall again.

The cold wind blew through the crow's feathers.

The crow shook its feathers, completely unfazed by the wind and rain.

"You have arrived at your destination, time taken—"

The phone's voice was cut off by the crow.

It perched quietly on the utility pole, watching a certain direction.

—This place is not far from Room 308 of the restaurant. Across the street, it can see what's happening inside.

Through the window, a few men were smoking and playing cards, very excited.

One of them glanced outside.

It was a middle-aged man with a ruddy complexion and a robust build. He exuded an aura of authority, and others spoke to him with a hint of flattery.

When he noticed a crow perched on the utility pole, he paid no attention and continued to look at his cards.

After a while.

The door to the private room opened.

A man wearing glasses walked in, politely saying something, and placed a black briefcase on the table.

Someone got up and walked to the window, intending to pull the curtains closed.

"What are you afraid of? I'm in charge of this. Why are you pulling the curtains?"

A voice sounded from the room.

Everyone laughed.

The man didn't know whether to pull the curtains or not. Suddenly, he saw a black dot rapidly approaching.

Swish—

The window shattered into pieces.

A figure darted past him, lightly tapping his neck.

With a crack, the figure landed in the room, spinning like a whirlwind, hands moving in a blur, striking everyone in quick succession.

—Iron Wire Fist: Whip Power!

The key to this move is to knock people away, creating space for oneself.

Five people.

One had his neck broken, and the remaining four were thrown away.

The last one was the robust man, who had already stood up when the window shattered. When Wu Xiaode struck, he swung his fists and sneered:

"Good, a wanted criminal dares to come and cause trouble?"

Bang!

The sound was like thunder.

The two exchanged a blow, each stepping back.

"Huh?" Wu Xiaode widened his eyes at the man.

Impressive, this guy can actually block my Whip Power driven by soul power.

The robust man's face turned pale, and he rushed forward, hands like knives, slashing at Wu Xiaode in quick succession.

Wu Xiaode, with the combat experience passed down by the Zhao family ancestors, calmly reached out to counter.

At that moment, he suddenly felt his body become more agile.

The man's hand strikes were fierce, but Wu Xiaode was confident he could dodge them.

Could it be… the "Secondary Agility" from the crow spirit?

Wu Xiaode decided not to block and instead moved his body back and forth, like a bamboo swaying in a storm, easily dodging the man's seven or eight strikes.

"You—"

The robust man was both shocked and angry, but the more he attacked, the more disorganized he became, unable to touch Wu Xiaode.

On the contrary, after observing a few of his moves, Wu Xiaode found a weakness and immediately combined his fists, swinging them like a hammer at the man.

Iron Wire Fist: Hammer Power!

Among the six power techniques of the Iron Wire Fist style, Hammer Power is extremely destructive. If compared, only the ultimate technique "Iron Hand Blocking the River" is more powerful.

So, this move consumes a lot of soul power.

Rows of icy small characters appeared in the Book of Spirits:

"You have used Iron Wire Fist: Whip Power, consuming 1 point of soul power."

"You have used Iron Wire Fist: Hammer Power, consuming 3 points of soul power."

"Remaining soul power: 0/4."

A faint cold light appeared on Wu Xiaode's fists, looking like a series of iron rings.

The man's face changed. "Iron Wire Hammer Technique!"

His move was old, and Wu Xiaode had caught his weakness. He had no time to dodge and could only raise his hands to block Wu Xiaode.

Thud!

A dull sound, the man was thrown back seven or eight steps, hitting the wall with a thud.

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, his hands trembling, and shouted, "Stop! I didn't know you were a successor of the Iron Wire Fist. Otherwise, I wouldn't have issued a warrant for you."

The crow flew out from Wu Xiaode's shoulder, circling the dead bodies on the ground.

"All yours, brother, take him down."

The crow shouted.

With its cry, a line of small characters appeared in the Book of Spirits:

"The crow has absorbed 2 points of soul power for you. Current soul power: 2/4."

Wu Xiaode felt more confident and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am a successor of the Bak Mei Knife style," the man said.

"Head of the Security Bureau?" Wu Xiaode asked uncertainly.

"Exactly. We are both practitioners of ancient martial arts and should support each other. Give me some time, and I'll revoke the warrant," the man said.

"Not enough," Wu Xiaode said.

The man thought for a moment and suddenly said, "Every night at midnight, we can team up to face the terror. I believe you also want an ally."

—What is he talking about? Is he crazy?

"What do you mean?" Wu Xiaode asked calmly.

"At this stage, almost no one has more than 10 points of soul power. This is because everything is just beginning. If you're willing, you can join my team, and we can face the midnight terror together," the man said.

Wu Xiaode tilted his head, thought for a moment, and got into a fighting stance again.

"What are you doing? Young brother, we can resolve this without bloodshed," the man said.

"Even if midnight is terrifying, I can't trust my back to someone like you," Wu Xiaode said.

"I treated you as an ordinary person before. Now that we've revealed our identities, why fight to the death?" the man shouted.

Wu Xiaode sighed and said softly, "You could issue a warrant for a poor student. How many ordinary people have you treated this way over the years?"

"Remember, I'm not just doing this for myself."

He clenched his fists and walked towards the man.

The man suddenly pulled out a gun from his waist, about to pull the trigger, but found Wu Xiaode had vanished.

"Where is he?"

The man's face changed, turned to run out the door, but found a crow had transformed into human form, blocking the door, and struck back with a punch.

Bang!

The man was caught off guard and hit in the face.

Iron Wire Fist: Thrust Power!

The man spun and flew across the room, stopping at the other end.

He was dead.

"Quack! Quack!"

The crow flew excitedly over the body, flapping its wings.

This man was quite strong, able to withstand two punches from Wu Xiaode, making him a skilled fighter among mortals.

His soul power should be higher than average.

Bang—

The body fell to the ground, emitting faint, shimmering light points that were absorbed into the crow's wings.

At the same time, a line of icy small characters appeared in the Book of Spirits:

"The crow has shared some of its gains with you."

"Your soul power limit has increased by 1 point, and you have gained 3 points of soul power."

"Current soul power: 5/5."