At this moment, Buzz, who was responsible for opening the door, was already slumped on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Jiang Baimian, unable to communicate with Shang Jianyao, turned her gaze into the room.
It was quite spacious inside, with a large bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a sofa area, covered with a thick, dark brown carpet, which made it clear that the occupant was of high status.
The only problem was that the back of this room was the wall bearing the holy emblem of the Ruling God "Yougu," making it impossible to open a window. The window facing the corridor was draped with heavy, light-colored curtains, completely blocking out the light.
Relying on the faint light that seeped in from the doorway, Jiang Baimian barely managed to make out the interior of the room, finding that both the layout and style of the furnishings were closer to the Red River area.
Suddenly, she sensed something and raised her right arm, preparing to parry.
Almost simultaneously, a figure darted out of the room.
This figure was wearing a black robe and was about 1.7 meters tall.
He moved extremely fast, ferociously throwing a punch.
Shang Jianyao, ahead of Jiang Baimian, proactively met the attack, raising his arms to block.
With a bang, the air seemed to explode when their fists and feet made contact.
The next moment, Shang Jianyao staggered backward, nearly bumping into Jiang Baimian.
With his stable lower body and his strength surpassing ordinary people, he couldn't even withstand a single punch from the opponent.
Jiang Baimian was also very surprised by this. Even when she used her left hand in daily training, she didn't seem to be able to achieve this effect. After all, Shang Jianyao had undergone good genetic optimization and diligently honed himself.
Only then did Jiang Baimian clearly see the appearance of the attacker.
He looked to be in his thirties, with deep facial features, slightly curly black hair, and a pair of amber eyes. His face was pale from prolonged exposure to sunlight.
Under the sunlight from the corridor, his eyes were full of bloodshot, cloudy, and fierce like a wild beast, no longer possessing the feeling of being human.
"Heartless Disease"!
This was a "Heartless"!
Jiang Baimian dodged past the retreating Shang Jianyao and unhesitatingly rushed forward, flicking her left shoulder and throwing a left punch.
It was as if a small cannonball had been fired, forcibly breaking through the air wall and emitting a bang.
The "Heartless" had enough instinct to see that he couldn't dodge in time, so he raised his arms and crossed them in front of him.
Puff!
His body only swayed slightly, without retreating.
He had actually blocked Jiang Baimian's punch, which fully utilized the monstrous strength of her bionic limb.
Entering a state of combat, Jiang Baimian didn't have time to be surprised. She used both fists, launching a storm-like attack.
In this process, her right fist was mainly used to adjust the rhythm, forcing the "Heartless" to dodge through hooks, side hooks, smashes, and direct strikes, leaning towards her strong side without actually colliding.
And her left fist, either like a cannon or a hammer, was heavier and fiercer with each punch, causing the air to bang and the "Heartless" to retreat into the room.
Cracking sounds rang out continuously as the punches and kicks of their fight overturned the sofa and shattered the chairs, leaving the room in a mess.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Baimian forced the "Heartless" into a corner and once again used her left hand to launch a powerful cannon punch.
With a clang, the "Heartless," although blocking the punch, flew backward and crashed heavily into the wall.
Huh… Jiang Baimian was surprised to find that the opponent's strength was much weaker than before, even less than Long Yuehong's level.
This made her suspect that the "Heartless"'s earlier enormous strength was a temporary enhancement.
Without time to analyze, she prepared to switch to joint-based fighting techniques, combined with high-voltage electricity, to subdue the "Heartless" and confirm the situation.
Just then, the corners of the "Heartless"'s mouth turned up, and he suddenly smiled.
In those amber eyes that only had bestial instincts left, countless bloodshot seemed to come alive all at once.
Jiang Baimian unconsciously smiled as well, and the hostility in her heart suddenly dissipated completely.
This made her feel that the other party had given up resisting and was willing to surrender, so she was no longer vigilant or ready to strike.
Slap!
The "Heartless" threw another punch, aiming straight for below Jiang Baimian's ear.
Jiang Baimian's body reacted instinctively, curling up, retracting her head, and rolling on the spot, escaping the "Heartless"'s attack range.
Seeing this, Shang Jianyao, who was blocking the door, took two steps forward and stopped the enemy.
The "Heartless," seeing this, also gave him a smile.
This smile was like that of a man-eating beast.
Shang Jianyao paused for a moment, but did not give up attacking. He struck out with his right fist from the side.
The "Heartless" was a little stunned, his reaction slowed down a lot because the ability didn't seem to work, but fortunately, he was also ready to attack and dodged this punch by squatting down in time.
Shang Jianyao smiled, tightened his left thigh, and lashed out from bottom to top, like a whip tearing through the air.
The "Heartless" didn't have time to maintain his posture, so he exerted force with his right foot, jumped out sideways, and rolled to the ground, while Shang Jianyao followed closely and engaged him in ground grappling.
In this state, Shang Jianyao, who had learned corresponding fighting techniques, was obviously superior to the "Heartless," who only relied on instinct. In a few moves, he grabbed the other party's joints and locked the enemy firmly with his body.
With another roll, Shang Jianyao twisted the "Heartless"'s arm behind his back, used his knee to press against his sternum, and pressed his face down on the ground.
"I won!" Shang Jianyao announced happily.
He treated this as a game, so he wasn't affected by that "smile"? No, it should be that after seeing that "smile" and the hostility dissipating, he treated this as a game, replacing vigilance with a desire to win… Mental illness is really useful… Jiang Baimian could probably determine that the "Heartless" opposite her was a "Higher Heartless," but she didn't know if he developed the disease from an "Awakened" or inexplicably gained the ability after developing the disease.
At this moment, the "Heartless" responded with a low roar, as if threatening Shang Jianyao.
Shang Jianyao unhesitatingly "Awoo"ed.
The "Heartless" was immediately quiet, feeling a bit confused.
Jiang Baimian's lips moved slightly, and she turned her head to Buzz outside the door and said:
"Do you know who he is?"
Although she already had a guess, she still needed further proof.
Buzz had recovered from his previous fear and walked into the room, squatting down to examine him.
Suddenly, he slumped down, propped himself up with his hands, and retreated repeatedly.
"Bishop! It's the Bishop!" he shouted in extreme terror.
"Bishop Renato?" Jiang Baimian had just used various characteristics to determine that the person with "Heartless Disease" was likely Bishop Renato, but she was still a little shocked to hear Buzz say that.
Even a bishop protected by the Ruling God could suffer from "Heartless Disease"?
Buzz nodded heavily:
"Yes!
"I recognize his eyes, that amber color, there's no other like it in the whole town!
"Bishop, the Bishop has 'Heartless Disease'…"
He stood up in panic, unsure of what to do.
"You haven't seen Bishop Renato's face?" Jiang Baimian asked cautiously.
Buzz replied:
"When I saw him, he was always wearing a mask."
Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said:
"Go and find the others in the church and have them recognize him."
Buzz was at a loss, and after receiving the order, he reflexively complied.
He ran out of the room, down the corridor, running and shouting:
"Someone come! The Bishop has 'Heartless Disease'!
"Someone come! The Bishop has 'Heartless Disease'!
"…"
Jiang Baimian withdrew her gaze that had been following his figure and said to Shang Jianyao, who was controlling Bishop Renato:
"It's good that it's 'Heartless Disease', otherwise we might have been wrongly accused of being the murderers of Bishop Renato."
There was no way to blame others for contracting a disease; it wasn't like being poisoned or infected.
Shang Jianyao immediately responded:
"That's bad luck to say."
Jiang Baimian didn't continue the topic. While waiting vigilantly for the others in the church to come over, she asked solemnly:
"The moment Buzz opened the door, did you feel like you were being watched from a very far distance?"
"Yes." Shang Jianyao was very honest.
Jiang Baimian asked further:
"At that time, did you feel very scared, very horrified, and unable to generate any thoughts of resistance, as if, as if you were facing a true god?"
"About the same." Shang Jianyao replied candidly.
Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled, and said with exceptional solemnity:
"Could it be, could it be that because the Bishop contracted 'Heartless Disease', it attracted the gaze of 'Yougu'?"
Hearing this, Shang Jianyao suddenly turned his head and looked over.
Jiang Baimian said in a low voice, as if talking to herself:
"We might have just 'met' a Ruling God…"
Ruling Gods seem to really exist…
PS: I wish everyone a happy Lantern Festival. By the way, it's the end of the month, please vote for monthly tickets~