Chapter 60: Struggling Before the Vortex

On the long bridge, a scattered group of people were sprinting desperately toward the east end. Those lacking stamina who lagged behind were mercilessly pierced through the brow and shot dead by water droplets.

Turning his head and seeing the dwindling number of Underworld members left behind, Horse Face wore an expression so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it.

The Tier 1 and Tier 2 Awakened could die as they pleased, but those Tier 3 and Tier 4 Awakened were trusted aides he had personally cultivated. Every single death caused a fresh pang of heartache.

"Run! We're almost at the exit! If you don't want to die, move your legs!" Horse Face shouted at the top of his lungs, leaping frantically, much like a gym teacher urging students to run faster.

Just as Horse Face was about to yell something else, Shen Yuanguo, who was sprinting side-by-side with him at the very front, reached out and tugged at his arm.

"What is it?" Horse Face demanded, his voice bordering on a shriek.

Shen Yuanguo swallowed hard, pointing ahead. "Is... is that Li Chenqiu?"

Hearing this, the expression on Horse Face's face froze instantly as he recalled the message conveyed by the earlier red characters.

That's right! Everyone had ended up on this bridge known as the "Path of Gods," so how could Li Chenqiu possibly not be here?

At this thought, Horse Face clenched his teeth, stiffly turning his head like a corpse, and caught sight of the tiny figure beneath the vortex.

He didn't want to get near that figure, but he had no choice. Being weak was the original sin.

The distance between them was closing rapidly, and more and more Awakened began to notice Li Chenqiu's figure.

Li Chenqiu swept his gaze coldly over the crowd. "Since you've found out, none of you need to leave."

With a thought, countless small water droplets condensed around him, quietly waiting for Horse Face to step into his attack range.

Whether out of the experience gained from being hunted down, Shen Yuanguo and Horse Face stopped just outside the lethal range of the extreme water, and the group following closely behind them was forced to stop as well.

They glanced back and forth between Li Chenqiu and the approaching mirror-image Chenqiu, every single one of them trembling uncontrollably.

Watching the steadily approaching mirror-image Chenqiu, Horse Face turned his head and shouted at Li Chenqiu, "Li Chenqiu, we're all Awakened; there's no need to fight to the death. Your doppelgänger is right behind us. He's incredibly strong, and he's immortal. With your strength, you can't beat him!"

Li Chenqiu chuckled lightly. "What are you trying to say?"

"Let... let's cooperate! As long as we work together to push your doppelgänger into the abyss, we can pass—"

Before Horse Face could finish, a subordinate beside him frantically yanked his arm. "Sir, that thing has caught up!"

Hearing this, Horse Face turned his head in terror.

Patter... patter...

The dull sound of footsteps echoed from afar and grew closer. Mirror-image Chenqiu walked out slowly from the clinging, pervasive fog with his hands in his pockets.

Caught between the two Chenqius, Horse Face, Shen Yuanguo, and the others found themselves with no way forward and no retreat.

"Li Chenqiu, what are you still hesitating for? We are all Awakened; only by joining forces can we fight your doppelgänger!" Shen Yuanguo shouted loudly.

Li Chenqiu did not answer them, instead looking with curiosity at mirror-image Chenqiu, who returned his gaze with equal curiosity. By tacit agreement, neither made a move, leaving the Awakened trapped in the middle to shout at the top of their lungs.

"Interesting." Mirror-image Chenqiu smiled eerily and snapped his fingers crisply.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Instantly, a biting, bone-chilling wind swept across the bridge. Wisps of black smoke darted out from the thick fog, landing on the bridge deck and transforming into human shapes.

Among this large crowd were Horse Face, Shen Yuanguo... whether they had died on the bridge or were still alive, they were all among them. Clearly, these were the doppelgängers of everyone else.

Once the doppelgängers appeared, they first looked up and down at their own bodies, then turned their hungry, wolf-like gazes toward the Awakened trapped in the center.

With a mocking expression, mirror-image Chenqiu raised a hand to block the doppelgängers behind him. "Don't move, everyone. Let's watch the dogs bite each other."

Hearing this, the Awakened felt a profound sense of humiliation, but none dared to voice their anger. One by one, they turned their gazes back to Horse Face and Shen Yuanguo.

Shen Yuanguo spun around and stared fiercely at Li Chenqiu. "Do you really have to do this?"

Li Chenqiu's eyes were dark and heavy. "I don't like killing, but I have no choice. You must die."

With that, the water droplets around him expanded, hovering silently in mid-air.

A bitter, desolate smile appeared on Shen Yuanguo's face. "After you kill us, let's see how you get out yourself. Hahahaha..."

"No." Li Chenqiu shook his head. "I am going to walk to the other side."

"What are you hesitating for? Charge!" Horse Face roared, grabbing two Awakened and rushing forward first. Seeing this, the other Awakened gritted their teeth and followed suit.

In an instant, the scene descended into utter chaos. To seize a sliver of survival, everyone exerted every ounce of strength they had to charge forward.

"Scatter." Li Chenqiu parted his lips slightly, and droplets of water shot out like bullets, their precision far surpassing that of mirror-image Chenqiu.

Although mirror-image Chenqiu possessed all of Li Chenqiu's abilities, when it came to familiarity, the two were worlds apart.

Under Li Chenqiu's indiscriminate slaughter, the Awakened fell to the ground one after another, and the survivors dwindled rapidly.

Yet even the tightest net has a hole. Amidst the dense barrage of water droplets, a few managed to luck their way to the very end.

Li Chenqiu raised his hand in a void grasp, and an ice blade radiating white, freezing vapor materialized in his hand.

Moving like a ghost, he crossed the curtain of rain in the blink of an eye and appeared directly above Shen Yuanguo.

Shen Yuanguo looked up in astonishment. "Ice—"

Puff!

Wrapped in freezing mist, the blade sliced across his neck. Shen Yuanguo's head was sent spinning high into the air. Before the bright red blood could even spray outward, the intense cold froze it into transparent crystal droplets that shattered against the bluestone bricks with a crisp snap.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuanguo's head plummeted toward the bottomless abyss.

Having disposed of Shen Yuanguo, Li Chenqiu did not break his stride. Tiptoeing lightly, he flashed instantly before Horse Face.

"Bastard, do you really think I'll die here?!"

With bloodshot eyes, Horse Face roared coldly as a sharp bone spur erupted from his forearm, aiming straight for Li Chenqiu's head.

Yet all of this was far too slow in Li Chenqiu's eyes.

Just as the bone spur was about to pierce his skull, Li Chenqiu tilted his head slightly to the left, dodging the weapon by a hair's breadth.

Before Horse Face could react and alter the trajectory of the bone spur, Li Chenqiu's ice blade had already severed his head.

Bang!

Horse Face's head tumbled onto the cold ground, and his headless body collapsed resentfully.

With distorted features and a ferocious expression, Horse Face glared at Li Chenqiu. "Just you wait for me... You wait, I'll come back for you—"

Before he could finish, a single water droplet pierced straight through his head, extinguishing his life force.

And the Li Chenqiu he was obsessing over had already moved on, blade in hand, to slaughter the next target, never hearing his final words.

......

......

City 11, a certain rental apartment.

Against peeling, decaying wallpaper sat a damp, foul-smelling single bed. A hollow-cheeked young man lay wrapped in a quilt, completely motionless, as if dead.

Click!

The hour hand on the clock pointed squarely to twelve.

The young man on the bed suddenly opened his eyes wide, his pinprick-sized pupils fixed unblinkingly on the ceiling.