All I felt was a slippery wetness on my chest, then I was caught by a tongue with a soft, fleshy lump at the tip. It dragged me toward the charging bull.
"You two are working pretty hard, aren't you?"
Walter Cao laughed heartily, sitting not far away atop the roof of the photo studio, watching us.
Just as I was about to collide, I quickly conjured a blade of baleful energy and swung at the toad’s tongue. But it was too slippery—I couldn’t cut through. Stunned, I froze for a moment, and then with a bang, the tongue released me. The bull’s horns crashed into my chest, piercing two holes, and I was pinned to the ground.
Terry Chen kept me pinned to the ground, dragging me backward. I felt our speed increasing, and I was completely powerless to resist.
With a heavy thud, I spat out a mouthful of black blood, slamming straight into a wall inside the photo studio. Breathing heavily, I struggled to lift my head and saw Terry Chen just over ten meters in front of me.
The pain was intense—my whole body ached, and waves of weakness swept over me. I could barely stand.
I had to uncover how Walter Cao used the camera to transform them into animal forms. Quietly, I released my Specter Web and sensed it—sure enough, I could see Terry Chen’s soul clearly, but he appeared as a bull.
At that moment, Terry Chen began stomping the ground again, preparing to charge. Behind him, David Dong’s massive toad-like form leapt toward us, croaking loudly.
Terry Chen twisted his bull head, glanced over, and quickly stepped aside. Suddenly, with a bang, David Dong landed in front of me, mouth wide open, tongue snapping out. I saw a ball-shaped object—then, with another crash, I was sent flying, smashing through several buildings before finally coming to a stop.
I lay on the ground, propping myself up against a crumbling wall. It was no use—the spirit serpent still hadn’t exhausted the Vermilion Bird’s power, and both the Wailing Ghost and the Grieving Ghost were completely silent. My shadow had disappeared as well.
I started to recall in detail—Terry Chen and David Dong, their personalities really do resemble a bull and a toad.
Terry Chen used to be a dock laborer, always doing hard work. His temper—often, if you disagreed with him, he’d start a fight. So he became a bull. David Dong, though clever and always wanting more, ended up with nothing. Walter Cao once said, "A toad lusts after swan meat."
But Zhang Qingyuan turned into a tiger. I couldn’t figure it out. Is her heart that of a tiger?
Just as I was pondering this, David Dong leapt at me again. I couldn’t just sit and wait for death. His tongue, once soft, was now impossibly hard.
I had no idea what was happening. Instinctively, I ran toward the vast cluster of photo studios behind me.
"Idiots! By doing this, aren't you just giving Ethan Zhang a chance to catch his breath?"
Walter Cao roared. Behind him, David Dong was already in pursuit, leaping onto the roof and lying in wait. When I saw him land on the rooftop behind me, I immediately crashed into the house to my right.
With a loud crash, a huge pit appeared in the ground outside, rubble flying everywhere. I quickly looked around, found the window, and, without hesitation, covered my head and dove out.
Immediately, the entire building behind me collapsed—David Dong, using his massive body and tongue, had completely destroyed it. He croaked loudly, seemingly searching for me.