There was a look of confusion on The Traitor's face, but even more so, anxiety. His gaze never once left Rachel Lan.
"Impossible, it should..."
"The facts are right in front of you. You're very confident in your corpse venom, aren't you? But the Phoenix Rebirth of Hades is a formidable thing—you should know that well."
The Traitor nodded.
"I've seen the Vermilion Mantle many times. The most powerful one belonged to Wendy Hsieh. Her Vermilion Mantle—I only saw it once—was ominous, a purple flame that could burn everything to ashes. To this day, it still makes my heart race with fear."
At this moment, Hugh Thompson walked over and adjusted his glasses.
"As expected, you're really quite cowardly."
In an instant, The Traitor lifted his head, eyes gleaming with wild joy, as if it were about to burst forth.
"Once again, you're right, Hugh Thompson—the human."
Rachel Lan and I watched Hugh Thompson's every move. We were just waiting for a simple signal—then the two of us would work together to capture The Traitor.
"Indeed, I am cowardly—I've been this way since long ago. It's a weakness I retained as a human, but as a corpse, it became my greatest weapon. After all, we have no feelings, only expressions, but some traits still linger."
A face immediately surfaced in my mind—Lance Quinn, with that perpetually sly, irritating grin of his.
"As a hunter, you must have faced many difficult opponents. So your cowardice is your only reliance. Your strategies, your power, are all built upon that foundation—always hiding in the shadows, delivering a fatal blow at the right moment. Or, to put it another way, stabbing someone in the back. The name 'The Traitor' really suits you."
The Traitor laughed again.
"So what now? The situation has reversed. Maybe it's time you considered your next hunt."
Hugh Thompson continued his mix of threats and temptations, while The Traitor lowered his head and clenched his fists, as if deep in thought.
"How about I make you an offer?"
As Hugh Thompson spoke, The Traitor looked up.
"Go ahead."
"Ethan Zhang..." Hugh Thompson suddenly pointed at me.
I let out a sound of surprise, looking at him in confusion. Considering the current situation, the guys in the prison couldn't hold on another moment—I was getting anxious.
"Don't you think Ethan Zhang would make an excellent next prey? Maybe even better than the Immortality Society."
The Traitor fixed his gaze on me. I stared back without a word. After a long pause, he shook his head and pointed at Hugh Thompson.
"It's decided. The next prey is you, Hugh Thompson."
"Totally fine, no problem at all."
Hugh Thompson replied easily, reaching out his hand. The Traitor extended his hand as well.
"Pleasure working with you, heh. I'm looking forward to seeing you grow stronger. When the time comes, I'll kill you myself. Hahahaha..."
With that, The Traitor sank into the ground. Suddenly, a hand emerged, holding a mass of black water. Hugh Thompson quickly glanced around, then used a bottle to collect the black water.
"Since I've failed my mission this time, and my prey can no longer be pursued, I won't interfere in what comes next. Do as you please."
As he spoke, I noticed the surrounding walking corpses sinking into the ground one by one, gradually disappearing in large numbers. Hugh Thompson immediately took the black sculpture in his hand and tossed it into the air. In an instant, black flames ignited, and Lan Yin appeared right then and there.
"It's all resolved, Lan Yin."
With a loud smack, Lan Yin slapped his palm against Hugh Thompson's. Instantly, we all breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, Lan Yin suddenly transformed into a mass of black flames and moved toward the main gate.
Rachel Lan and I hurried over. When we arrived, I saw the two dying Blue-Faced Men, who turned to dust in the black flames. Huang Mingfa was nowhere to be found.
Lan Yin dealt with the Immortality Society agents without a trace of hesitation. He quietly watched the completely incinerated Society members, searching the area.
"Don't worry, Ethan. That guy can't escape."
I nodded. Scum like that absolutely can't be allowed to get away. As long as we catch him, he'll probably spill everything he knows about the Immortality Society.
The prison gates slowly opened. Those poisoned by corpse venom gradually recovered after drinking the black liquid.
Only then did I realize The Traitor hadn't asked about anyone else's condition before handing over the antidote. I was suddenly alarmed.
"What's wrong, Ethan? That guy's been testing us all along. He knows very well that the Immortality Society will eliminate him the moment he's no longer useful. The more people know about you, the easier it is for them to kill you when the time comes."
I nodded, looked at Hugh Thompson, and thanked him. But right now, the most urgent thing was figuring out where Huang Mingfa had gone.
All of us temporarily gathered in the cafeteria—after all, no one here except Lan Yin could match Huang Mingfa.
The top priority now was to find Huang Mingfa. He was probably hiding somewhere in one of the buildings. Hugh Thompson called in several members of the Ghost Burial Squad. At that moment, Lan Yin produced several black figurines—each one appeared in his hand, and he distributed them to many people. The three of us formed a small team, planning a thorough search to track down Huang Mingfa.
Lan Yin had said that with these black figurines, all it took was to release one and he would appear instantly.
According to Hugh Thompson, the most likely places Huang Mingfa could reach in such a short time were the Ghost Burial Squad's main building, the dormitory, or the training ground.
This chapter isn't finished ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
We split into three teams. Rachel Lan, Miles Mao, and I formed one group to search the main building, since it had the most rooms and was indoors.
After deciding, we ate a little, then headed straight for the main building. Along the way, Miles Mao followed behind Rachel Lan and me, keeping two or three meters away.
"Hey, come a little closer. If that guy suddenly shows up when we go in, you..."
"Enough, Ethan Zhang. I'm not happy about you and Miss Rachel being like this, sigh."
I smiled contentedly, then suddenly remembered: during my first Phoenix Rebirth, Hugh Thompson and Justin Huang were both injured—their souls wrenched from their bodies. But I saved them, because Yvonne May and the Ghost Burial Squad had reached an agreement. I immediately asked about it.