Chapter 123: The Traitor

“How is this possible… Why…” The man in white stared at Man Luo in disbelief, utterly failing to understand why his armor had proven completely useless.

“Heh, feeling desperate, are you?” Man Luo pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket, gently wiped the blood-stained dagger, and his eerie smile grew even more radiant. “Didn’t I say so? Those fellows within my plans wouldn’t cause me any trouble, and you happen to be right within my plan.”

“A plan…” The man in white clutched the wound on his waist and abdomen, gazing at Man Luo with a trace of bewilderment.

“You could never have guessed it. No one could ever guess what prompted all of this.” Man Luo looked down at the man in white from on high, like a majestic and ruthless dragon gazing at an ant.

“I thought I could put an end to your arrogance, yet I never expected to merely serve as a stepping stone.” The man in white offered a bitter smile and let out a sorrowful sigh. “To think my curtain would fall the very moment I stepped onto the stage. However, I won’t die so simply; even in death, I will maintain my dignity!”

Man Luo raised an eyebrow and teased the man in white, “Oh? A dignified death? Why don’t you demonstrate a dignified way to die and broaden my horizons?”

“For instance: taking you… down with me!” The man in white suddenly moved, darting forward like an arrow released from a string.

Man Luo seemed entirely unresponsive, maintaining his mocking expression as if the man in white’s sudden burst of violence had caught him completely off guard.

“Crash!” A figure slammed heavily into the wall, the dilapidated wood uttering a complaint of discontent as it grew even more ruined and decayed.

“Hmm, it seems someone was just sent flying?” Man Luo feigned a look of peering around, glancing left and right with utmost complacency.

“You! How! Could! You! Use! It!” The man in white pressed a hand to his abdomen in agony, staring fixedly at the white lantern held aloft by Man Luo. His chest heaved violently, and every single word he spat out sounded as though it were squeezed from between his teeth—replete with murderous intent, icy and ruthless.

“Why don’t you tell me why I shouldn’t be able to use it? This thing isn’t yours to begin with; if you can use it, naturally I can too.”

The man in white seemed choked for words, remaining silent for a long time. The ferocious and violent aura encompassing his entire body slowly leaked away like a deflating ball. He coughed twice, as if trying to clear his throat, and barely managed to prop himself up against the wall to stand.

“Erica, Erica, you bastard! To think I trusted you so much, and you even claimed we were cut from the same cloth? I never expected you to be nothing more than a shameless lackey! Damn it all, fuck…” The man in white cursed furiously at the ceiling. All his previous detachment and mystery had rolled away into who knows what dark corner at this moment; he seemed like a shrew scolding neighbors at a vegetable market, hands on hips, pointing fingers, determined to curse the one who provoked him to death with a mouthful of filthy vocabulary.

The man in white cursed for a full two minutes. His voice was overwhelmingly loud, and his obscenities never repeated themselves. Articulate and skillfully executed, it was truly appalling.

Seeming exhausted from the cursing, the man in white leaned against the wall to catch his breath. Instantly, he appeared to deflate completely, devoid of even a shred of vitality. He allowed the blood to flow freely from the wound on his abdomen, resting like an old dog on the verge of death in the darkest corner, laboring and panting heavily, waiting for the Grim Reaper to harvest his life.

Luo Hanhai shook his head inwardly. He was unaware of what exactly had transpired between the man in white and Erica, but he could at least be certain that a profound friendship had once existed between the two; otherwise, the man in white wouldn’t have been so enraged. Only the betrayal of someone closest could drive a person to such hysteria.

Macarius cast a pitying glance at the man in white, then spat disdainfully, as if lamenting his misfortune and feeling angry at his lack of resolve.

Stone Silkworm still kept his head lowered, his eyes half-closed as though he were asleep, completely indifferent to the unfolding events before him.

“Is that all? Is it over just like that?” Man Luo had somehow returned to sit beside the dining table, holding a slice of toast smeared thickly with jam, savoring it leisurely and meticulously. The disdain in his gaze was laid bare, resembling someone watching a clown, not yet fully satisfied by such an ugly and ludicrous performance.

“Stone Silkworm, come here!”

Stone Silkworm froze, seemingly slow to react for a moment. Upon realizing what was happening, he widened his remaining right eye, hurriedly shambled over to Man Luo’s side, and looked with a measure of incomprehension at Man Luo lounging in the master chair.

Man Luo closed his eyes, appearing somewhat tired, unwilling to expend any more energy on the remaining group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people in the room. He picked up a steel fork, lazily pointed it at Macarius sitting beside him, then gestured toward the man in white slumped against the wall, and casually instructed Stone Silkworm: “Go, kill the two of them.”

Stone Silkworm blinked in terror, the tumors on his face twitching violently as he subconsciously shook his head, signaling his inability to comply.

“Hmm? You can’t even handle this tiny task?” Man Luo crossed his legs, slightly lifting an eyelid, and discontentedly hurled the steel fork. The fork embedded itself squarely into the chair beside Stone Silkworm, its entire sharp end sinking deep into the wood.

“Pull it out and present it to me.” Man Luo’s tone shifted abruptly, turning freezing cold to the extreme, devoid of a shred of emotion.

Stone Silkworm trembled slightly, cautiously bending down, and gripped the steel fork with both hands, exerting a slight force in an attempt to pull it out.

Suddenly, his hands, resembling withered tree branches, convulsed, and every tumor on his face twisted together into a clump, reflecting intense pain.

“Pull! Pull it out! If you dare let go, I’ll chop off your hands!”

Man Luo’s tyrannical voice came from behind Stone Silkworm. The latter’s body stiffened; he viciously bit down on his already withered and yellowed teeth, tightened his trembling grip around the handle, and desperately tried to yank the steel fork free.

“Pull! Hurry up and pull! Haven’t you eaten? How long are you going to take to pull out a tiny fork?”

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans trickled down Stone Silkworm’s forehead. He braced his foot against the chair and pulled backward with all his might. After struggling for nearly a full minute, he finally managed to yank the steel fork out.

“Ah!” The moment the steel fork came loose, Stone Silkworm shrieked in agony and cast the fork aside. His fingers were covered in densely packed, freshly lacerated splits, causing Luo Hanhai, sitting nearby, to feel a creeping numbness in his scalp and a surge of profound anxiety.

“Pick it back up! I told you to pull it out and present it to me! I didn’t tell you to throw it away!” Man Luo roared at Stone Silkworm with a ferocious visage.

Startled by Man Luo’s roar, Stone Silkworm tumbled backward onto the ground. Suddenly jolted into motion, flustered and scrambling, he crawled on all fours to retrieve the steel fork.

“Hmm? Brilliant! Simply brilliant!” Watching the flustered Stone Silkworm, Man Luo clapped his hands, stood up with a half-smile, and loudly addressed the remaining people in the room: “Ladies and gentlemen! Do you know how brilliant his performance has been? Playing dumb behind my back, contacting everyone, and even handing my heart crystal over to Luo Hanhai—yet usually acting like this.”

“An Oscar-winning actor! A true Oscar-winning actor! You really fucking ought to go make movies!”