The cleaver wasn’t fast, but at such an extreme distance, striking Mother Xie wasn’t a difficult feat either.
Crack—
The knife in Mother Xie’s hand lost its grip and clattered to the floor with a sound.
She stared in disbelief, her eyes wide. First she looked at Yan Huang’s face, then stiffly lowered her gaze to see the familiar cleaver embedded directly in her left shoulder, blood dripping down along the blade and handle, drop by drop.
She knew exactly how sharp that knife was.
But she only knew that when it struck tourists, a slight push was all it took to sever bone and flesh in one clean cut.
What she never imagined was that this blade, stained with countless blood, its handle still carrying the lingering warmth of her beloved, would ultimately end up in someone else’s hands, cutting into her own body.
In that moment, she nearly broke down.
Betrayal, suspicion… pain!
She almost screamed.
But her throat was as dry as if scorched by fire, completely unable to produce a sound.
She could only stare at Yan Huang with reddened eyes:
“How do you have… his cleaver?”
Yan Huang looked at the blade before him, nearly reaching Mother Xie’s heart, and had only two thoughts.
One: she was as good as dead.
Two: had he guessed wrong? Were the “Parents” not monsters?
He hadn’t actually intended to kill her. His earlier remark about wanting to know the maximum load on the Parents’ shoulders was purely literal.
But now that it was done, there was no taking it back. He could only accept this bitter reality.
Then again… she was the one who threatened him with a knife. At most, this counted as self-defense, right?
Yan Huang thought about it and couldn’t help but let out a faint laugh, then fixed his gaze squarely on Mother Xie before him.
“Sister Xie, I can see you don’t have long to live… I was too heavy-handed this time—my mistake. I’ll be more careful next time. As compensation… if you want to know the truth, I’ll naturally tell you.”
Those words sounded all too familiar. Mother Xie’s face, already pale from blood loss, flushed red with fury. She grabbed Yan Huang’s shoulder with one hand:
“Tell me now!!”
Yan Huang glanced at her hand on his shoulder and casually swatted it away.
He was afraid that if she died before hearing the answer, she’d never rest in peace.
So he leaned forward, his lips close to her ear, and whispered softly: “This cleaver, of course… is a gift your husband gave me. Now that you know… you won’t be angry, will you?”
“Killing you with this knife—I’m sorry about that. But… since you have your answer now, please rest in peace.”
With that, he pulled back and lifted the blade that had nearly sunk from her left shoulder into her heart.
The severed vessels lost their barrier, and a horrifying torrent of blood gushed out like a fountain, spilling onto the floor where it was slowly absorbed by the ground.
The golden floor absorbed the crimson, an eerily chilling sight.
But what finally drove Mother Xie into utter collapse wasn’t death.
It was the moment she raised her head and saw that man standing before her.
His face still wore that gentle, scholarly smile.
Not a single drop of blood on him.
Oh no… well, his glasses did have a few specks of blood on them.
He took them off.
And wiped them with a tissue pulled from his pocket.
Yan Huang put his glasses back on.
Thud—!
Mother Xie’s body hit the floor with a heavy sound.
“So… who exactly is the prey?”
“Certainly not me.”
He was the one who would survive to the very end.
[Tang Xin’s New Book has successfully recorded a new Monster.]
[City of Incubation—Parents]
[Strength: 1.0]
【Agility: 1.0】
【Intelligence: 1.0】
【Talent: Manipulation。】
【Description: They create life, and they use that life to extend their own will. The parents of the City of Incubation forever believe that sparing the rod spoils the child—only this way will their children obediently become outstanding Geniuses. Clearly, they fail to realize that their children ultimately become them. Who’s to blame… after all, we’re doing this for your own good?】
Yan Huang stared at this description, a trace of sorrow in his eyes.
【Manipulation: Possesses supreme control over 【Geniuses】 that exceeds the limits of the controller’s own authority. It is love, and it is also a shackle。】
Parents and children—what a complicated relationship it truly is.
Who can say for certain who is right and who is wrong?
Who has the right to define what is true for all?
No one has that qualification or that right.
But Yan Huang knew that children born in Hatching Town were destined for sorrow.
Destined to become “chicken babies” that crack out of their shells.
Looking at the corpse before him, his feelings were rather complicated. After all, he hadn’t initially expected to take down the 【Parents】 so easily.
Logically speaking, 【Parents】 should be equivalent to elite monsters.
But then again, that made sense.
That was only true from a child’s perspective.
For the children of Hatching Town, the 【Parents】 in their eyes were mountains that could never be climbed, seas that could never be crossed—a shadow of gloom, a source of terror.
But step out from beneath that shadow, and they were nothing more than insignificant beings.
Unfortunately, they were destined never to step out.
Yan Huang silently lifted Mother Xie’s corpse, moved aside the pile of garbage bags Tang Xin had accumulated over half a year, and hid her inside.
After all… he was still at Xie Fumu’s Home.
No matter what, having used the kid’s own father’s cleaver to kill the kid’s own mother—even as rotten as he was, he still owed an apology.
Besides, he was a good person.
Hide it if he could.
What you can’t see, you can pretend never happened.
The audience in the livestream was stunned speechless by Yan Huang’s move.
【Holy shit… this Deceiver is something else! I seriously thought he was about to throw it all away just now, but that counter-kill he pulled off—way too fucking thrilling!】
【Honestly, before this moment, I always thought he was just plain lucky and smart, but that his combat ability probably wasn’t up to par—that’s a common flaw in a lot of rookies… But seeing him ask who the prey was just now—damn, that sent chills down my spine! No wonder the system rated him as a Deceiver… In the first half, you’d never have guessed he was this kind of person!】
【Damn… rookies these days are more twisted than the last. With this Deceiver, what’s real and what’s fake anymore?!】
【The corpse-hiding is real. The noob play was fake。】
Without a doubt… that counter-kill reaction had the audience’s hearts pounding in their throats.
…
Yan Huang glanced at the livestream’s viewer count.
Over seven thousand.
The numbers were still climbing steadily.
That last move had brought in a lot of tips.
It seemed these “viewers” really did enjoy something thrilling.
Then again… it was only natural. Restlessness and the pursuit of excitement were simply human instincts.
Yan Huang was no exception.
He now held a wealth of information.
And he had certain means of self-preservation in hand.
He wanted to go see what this legendary ritual… actually looked like.
As for how he knew the ritual had begun.
Simple.
Because it was now 3:30 in the morning.
Behind him, the window in Tang Xin’s room—the one that could see the Genius Stone—was emitting a pure white light that had no business shining at this hour.
The white light swallowed his silhouette in the darkness.
He straightened his clothes.
Gripped the kitchen knife.
And slowly walked out of the room.