Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 780 - 43 Shadow Demon Ninja

Chapter 780: Chapter 43 Shadow Demon Ninja

Yao Feng isn’t one for reckless behavior, and he’s usually quite cautious around Tang Zheng. Combined with the sudden scream of terror suggests that the young man didn’t hurt himself, but was attacked.

Tang Zheng shoved Pang Meiqin aside and dashed through the convenience store lobby toward the stairs. As he ran, he grabbed a submachine gun, cocking it.

"Meiqin, be alert and watch your back," Tang Zheng quietly warned her, reminding her to secure their retreat. His mind was rapidly calculating the possible identity of their attacker.

"Mei Jueye? No, that’s impossible, otherwise Yao Feng wouldn’t have even had the chance to scream. It’s a demonic shadow, but its fighting style doesn’t resemble that of a warrior or geisha - it could be another type of shadow monster..."

Pang Meiqin was quick to react. Snatching the submachine gun from behind her back, she took a classic on-guard combat stance, evidencing her hard-earned skills.

Upon hearing the scream, Yu Manli didn’t recklessly rush into action but quickly guarded the area with her gun drawn and waited for Tang Zheng to arrive. She then charged out of the kitchen to join forces with him.

Yu Manli was careful and didn’t let her proximity to the stairs get in the way. If she had advanced too early, she would have overtaken Tang Zheng. She cared how she appeared to Tang Zheng and didn’t want to seem heartless for not aiding Yao Feng.

"Watch out, it could be a new demonic shadow." Tang Zheng warned her, rushing past without giving any thought to her caution.

Seeing Tang Zheng’s unwavering resolve to come to Yao Feng’s aid, Yu Manli felt a twinge of shame and regret. Had she overthought the situation?

The beautiful leg stewardess was always armed, but she had temporarily put down her Howling Reaper only because she felt safe upon Tang Zheng’s arrival and wanted to flirt with him. She still had a gun on her back, a Luger Pistol, and two daggers in her leg holster.

Tang Zheng tread lightly as he ran up the wooden stairs to avoid alerting the demonic shadow and to deny the enemy a chance to predict his arrival. He was about to turn and caution them when he noticed Pang Meiqin and Yu Manli. Despite their fear, they were attempting to suppress the noise of their footsteps and breathing to avoid giving away information to the enemy.

The Central Hammer Squad’s Conquerors were maturing and progressing with time, becoming more accustomed to this brutal game. Despite their limited experience, they were still formidable.

Yao Feng’s cries for help still echoed, calling Tang Zheng’s name.

Tang Zheng crouched at the top of the stairs, easily identifying which room Yao Feng was in, yet he glanced back at Pang Meiqin, just to be sure.

Pang Meiqin understood and pointed to the second room on the left. She then swiftly sketched out the room’s layout on the floor and quietly described the arrangement and the items inside to him.

Yu Manli was puzzled by Tang Zheng’s hesitation. If they took any longer, Yao Feng might die.

"We can be sure the demonic shadow plans to lure us into the room and kill us. Yao Feng’s scream is the bait." Tang Zheng speaking, keeping his voice low and quick. "Stay alert. There’s likely more than one, and they’ll try to separate us then kill us one by one."

"But what about Yao Feng? Should we just stand by and watch him die?" Yu Manli, always contemplative, spoke up. "If we don’t go in, they might kill him then come out to fight. But then, we’d be the ones with the initiative."

Considering Yu Manli’s cautious nature, facing an unknown demonic shadow it would be best to retreat quickly. After all, they had experience battling warriors and geishas, and there was no need to risk it.

Pang Meiqin didn’t try to dissuade Tang Zheng. She knew their leader wouldn’t abandon Yao Feng and agreed with her plan to setup traps in the convenience store lobby, baiting the demonic shadow in.

"You two take care of yourselves, I’m going in." Tang Zheng, tired of waiting, decided not to summon his warrior for a surprise attack, but instead pulled up his T-Rex hood to cover his face and stormed into the room with his gun. He was saving his power for any unexpected occurrences.

Under Tang Zheng’s force, the wooden door shattered into splinters. As he rolled in, he quickly scanned his surroundings and saw Yao Feng pinned to the floor by two samurai swords skewered through his shoulders, like a dissectable frog in a laboratory.

"Save me." Yao Feng’s face was twisted with pain, lying in a pool of his own blood, his face wet with tears.

Tang Zheng stood still, looking for the shadow demon, ready to defend potential blind spots. As expected, the moment his roll was about to stop, a dozen dark figures tore through the air towards his head, their speed caused an eerie whistling noise.

Tang Zheng hit the floor with one hand to halt his momentum, then leapt to his feet. With his other hand, he fired his firearm towards the incoming dark figures.

Muzzle flames blared but failed to hit the target, leaving only bullet holes in the wall.

The black figures grazed past Tang Zheng and embedded themselves into the tatami floor, revealing to be four-sided ninja stars.

While he avoided getting hit, he couldn’t let his guard down. Just because these ninja stars couldn’t deal serious damage even if they were to pierce his primary protective clothing, didn’t mean they couldn’t be dangerous.

"Smeared with venom?" As this thought crossed Tang Zheng’s mind, the ninja stars exploded into a large cloud of black smoke which rapidly expanded. Everything touched by the smoke turned black and started corroding.

Continuing to fire his weapon not to kill but to distract the enemy, he quickly waved his hand to knock away the swords impaling Yao Feng, then grabbed the back of his collar to drag him out of the room.

The Shadow Demon Ninja had been waiting for this moment. As Tang Zheng was on the verge of victory, its body suddenly appeared from the ceiling and dropped rapidly. It clutched its ninja blade in both hands, intending to pin him to the ground through his skull.

The intense wind pressure caused the black mist to spread even faster. It was like a sea of clouds and it adhered onto Tang Zheng. His tyrannosaurus protective clothing protected him, but Yao Feng was not so lucky. His protective clothing had been damaged and the areas exposed began to corrode, rotting his skin.

Without time to dodge, Tang Zheng simply tilted his head to avoid the attack of the ninja blade while his legs mustered their strength to leap like a spring. His right arm was swung powerfully, resembling a steel whip, and struck the Shadow Demon Ninja’s head.

The assailant, hit for the first time, was flung like a baseball. Just as Tang Zheng was about to shoot, the ninja’s body unexpectedly shattered into a ball of demonic mist and disappeared.

"Watch out, it’s a new type of Shadow Demon." Tang Zheng shouted a warning. Holding Yao Feng, Tang Zheng had barely left the room when he heard the sounds of battling outside. Clearly, the Shadow Demon Ninja had switched its target after failing to hit its first.

When Tang Zheng rushed out of the room, he saw that the Shadow Demon Ninja was throwing four-sided ninja stars with one hand while attempting to assassinate Pang Meiqin with its ninja blade held in the other.

Pang Meiqin held a gun in one hand and a dagger in the other, engaging in close combat with the Shadow Demon Ninja without losing ground. She discarded her weapon as soon as the clip was empty, and immediately pulled out a handgun from her leg holster.

Bang, bang. While dodging the Shadow Demon Ninja’s attacks, Pang Meiqin consistently found opportunities to counterattack, landing bullets on its face.

This was a Shadow Demon Ninja. Short and wrapped in dark blue tight-fitting clothing, it was surrounded by a thin layer of black mist which made it difficult to spot.

Seeing Tang Zheng approach, Yu Manli let out a sigh of relief. This momentary lapse in focus immediately caught the attention of the Shadow Demon Ninja. Its body shattered into black mist and disappeared. In the blink of an eye, it appeared before Yu Manli, its ninja blade thrusting toward her face.

Yu Manli was shocked and stepped back. Dragon’s Strength coursed through her body and she punched at the Shadow Demon Ninja’s face.

The Shadow Demon, hit once more, was sent flying towards Tang Zheng. As it adjusted its pose mid-air, it shot out more than a dozen four-sided ninja stars.

Tang Zheng threw Yao Feng out of the battlefield while dodging the ninja stars. He then extended his right arm, his five fingers widely spread and steady, and grabbed the Shadow Demon Ninja’s head. He then swung it to the ground like a rag bag.

Boom, the wooden floor shattered and the Shadow Demon Ninja was slammed into it, then ripped out and hurled into the wall.

Tang Zheng’s right hand also kept busy. He pulled out a dagger and stuck it into the ninja’s throat. He stirred it around and then gave a quick pull. The Shadow Demon Ninja’s head drooped.

"Is it dead?" Pang Meiqin had just finished asking when the ninja held by Tang Zheng exploded. The shockwave, mixed with splinters, flew Tang Zheng out.

"Tang Zheng?" Yu Manli and Pang Meiqin were astonished.

"Cough, cough. I’m fine, go check on Yao Feng." Tang Zheng was uninjured. He had just gotten some black mist into his eyes, which felt like being pricked with needles.

"He’s okay, just superficial wounds." Pang Meiqin took out some pills worth a dozen points and stuffed them into Yao Feng’s mouth. Following that, she took out a syringe, "Hang in there, this is an analgesic."

"Thank you, Sister Meiqin." Yao Feng was touched, feeling a cool liquid enter his body, dispelling the pain. Especially since Pang Meiqin was so close, after glancing at her red lips, he swallowed. Yao Feng really wanted to kiss her, but dared not.

That was precisely the effect Pang Meiqin was aiming for. Being able to buy some favorability with a dozen points, she thought it was worth it. If Tang Zheng had been injured, she would have whipped out her most expensive treatment medicine.

"I will take the Soul shards." Tang Zheng picked up the pieces, not generously offering them to Meiqin. After all, he still had Cheng Cheng at home. And there was also the fool Jing Xiang.

"No problem, I can hunt on my own." Pang Meiqin was very generous and knew that if she was short of shards on the final days, Tang Zheng would certainly help. But she didn’t want to express her inability now.

"Be careful everyone, I will not wait for Cheng Cheng. I’m going to inform the others about Mei Jueye and the new Shadow Demon Ninja." Tang Zheng prepared to leave. "Yao Feng, rest well and don’t try to be brave."

"Tang Zheng, you probably won’t be able to find them. The survivors in the nearby hunting districts have almost all formed groups." Yu Manli had come to find Fanfan this time in the hope of joining.

"Right, it’s less dangerous for the Conquerors to form groups and go hunting Shadow Demon Ninja in other places," Tang Zheng nodded, expressing that others had done well. However, he didn’t know how newbies were doing.

Yu Manli gave a wry smile. Before she had even explained, he had already understood. This gave her a lot of pressure and she began to question herself.

At the same time, members of the Trojan Squad scattered in the Ikebukuro district were also attacked by the Shadow Demon Ninja one by one!

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PS: You guys are great! There will definitely be three Chapters today. I will write them out even without eating! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)