Zhang Zehu, Dead!

Winter's early morning was frigid. Frost still clung to the bloodstains and monster remains on the ground. Luo Feng moved silently through the alley. In the distance, two Shadow Cats were devouring the flesh of an Iron-Furred Wild Boar, feasting heartily. But the moment they spotted a human approaching, the two Shadow Cats darted away. Monsters possessed a degree of cunning. The human Warriors operating in 003 City were formidable; one or two Beast Soldier-level monsters couldn't possibly stop them. “Those two Shadow Cats are probably gathering others,” Luo Feng mused. Luo Feng swiftly navigated the alley, continuing his advance. He deliberately took a wide detour, wasting a bit of time along the way, slowly progressing. It took him half an hour to reach the hotel's north back entrance. At the hotel's grimy back entrance, dark, indelible bloodstains marred the ground. Luo Feng stood there alone. “Half an hour has passed; the seven members of the Thunder Dojo Squad must be long gone,” Luo Feng thought, glancing at the dilapidated back door. He immediately channeled his spiritual force into his armguards, the shield on his back, and his combat blade. This powerful lift made Luo Feng as light as a swallow, each step feather-light. “Upstairs!” He ascended the stairs step by step, making not a single sound. Luo Feng moved with extreme caution, but upon reaching the third floor, he spotted a massive Tiger-Mastiff monster slowly patrolling the corridor. It instantly detected Luo Feng, the human Warrior! Both discovered each other almost simultaneously, and Luo Feng broke out in a cold sweat! Whoosh! Whoosh! Two dark blurs streaked past the Tiger-Mastiff monster almost instantly. Before the monster could even snarl or roar, its massive head was cleanly severed. The two flying daggers circled back from a distance, returning to the dagger pouches on Luo Feng's leg. “Phew, that was close,” Luo Feng exhaled silently. “Good thing this monster didn't get a chance to roar. If it had alerted Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao, things would have gotten troublesome.” Though killing Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao would be as simple as slaughtering a chicken for him. However, if Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao were on alert, they might contact the other members of the Thunder Dojo Squad before dying... If the rest of the Thunder Dojo Squad learned that a human Warrior was assassinating them, Luo Feng's subsequent actions would become ten, even a hundred times more difficult. “Sixth floor!” Luo Feng couldn't help but smile upon reaching the sixth floor. Thankfully, he'd only encountered one monster climbing from the first to the sixth floor. The Thunder Dojo Squad had likely swept the hotel clean when they first arrived, and that Tiger-Mastiff monster had probably just entered the hotel recently. In the sixth-floor corridor, Luo Feng advanced slowly. “The room with a south-facing window, the eighth window from east to west.” Luo Feng couldn't be sure which specific room that eighth window belonged to. “It should be one of these three or four rooms.” Luo Feng held his breath, his body moving so lightly it made no sound. He stopped outside one of the rooms, pressing his ear to the wall to listen intently. Sure enough, he faintly heard voices chatting. This allowed Luo Feng to pinpoint the room where the two were, and he quietly positioned himself outside. “This must be the room.” Luo Feng's spiritual force swiftly swept through the room's interior. “They're just sitting there chatting?” Luo Feng smiled. Inside the room. Zhang Zehu was lounging on a tattered sofa, while Li Xiao polished his machine gun. The two were casually chatting. “That Fire Hammer Squad is truly cowardly. The last time we ran into them, they just fled straight back to the supply base. No wonder we couldn't find any trace of them before,” Zhang Zehu grumbled. Li Xiao sneered, “They can run, but they can't hide forever. Since they've made a mortal enemy of us, their Fire Hammer Squad is doomed.” Zhang Zehu scoffed, “They think they can fight us? Huh?” Zhang Zehu's expression subtly shifted, and Li Xiao's did too. “I felt something just now,” Zhang Zehu said, looking at Li Xiao. Li Xiao nodded, frowning, “I also felt a sudden unease.” Having constantly faced life-or-death situations, they had developed a sixth sense for danger. The reason their feeling was so pronounced was... Luo Feng's spiritual force had swept over them. While spiritual force, when spread out, was hard for ordinary people to detect, powerful Warriors would still sense a faint presence. “Could there be a monster outside?” Zhang Zehu whispered. “Very likely,” Li Xiao nodded. “Even though we cleared out all the monsters in the hotel when we first arrived, a new monster pack might have entered.” Click! Li Xiao gripped his machine gun, and Zhang Zehu held his broadsword. Both rose and moved towards the door. The room's lock, corroded by decades, had long since broken. Zhang Zehu gently pulled, and the door swung open. Outside the door, there was no human or monster shadow. “Nothing,” Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao exchanged glances. Then, Zhang Zehu took a deep breath, cautiously preparing to step outside and check. Just then! Whoosh! Whoosh! Two streaks of dark light instantly appeared before Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao. One dark streak sliced through Zhang Zehu's left arm, severing it completely. Without losing momentum, it then slashed across the neck of the gunman, Li Xiao, sending his head flying. The second dark streak, in the same instant, cut across Zhang Zehu's throat! Pfft! A slit throat! Blood spurted out. “Ugh—ugh—” Zhang Zehu's eyes widened, but he couldn't make a sound. The two dark streaks were incredibly fast. Zhang Zehu was only a meter or two from one, and Li Xiao three or four meters from the other. At such short distances... with the dark streaks moving faster than sniper rifle bullets, how could they possibly dodge? Perhaps an Advanced Warlord might have had a sliver of a chance, but for them, there was none. “Ugh—” Zhang Zehu tried to speak, but no sound came out. He tried to press his communication watch, but his left arm had been severed, and the watch had already fallen to the ground. “I'm dying? I, how could I die?” Zhang Zehu clutched his throat with his right hand, blood gushing wildly. He distinctly felt his life force draining away. “How could this happen? How could this happen!!!” Suddenly— A figure appeared in the doorway, clad in a Warrior's combat suit, alloy combat boots, and carrying a shield and combat blade on his back. A pair of icy eyes stared directly at him. “Ugh!” Zhang Zehu's eyes instantly bulged, staring in disbelief at the Warrior before him! It was Luo Feng! It was actually Luo Feng! It was that rookie, Luo Feng, the one he had always looked down upon??? “You go first; the rest of the Tiger Fang Squad will soon join you,” Luo Feng's voice echoed. Zhang Zehu opened his mouth, trying to say something, but his throat was slit, and air escaping his neck made speech impossible. Moreover, Zhang Zehu's vision began to blur. At that moment, the two dark streaks of light flew to Luo Feng's side, hovering before him—they were clearly two flying daggers. The two black flying daggers hovered for a moment, then settled into the dagger pouches on Luo Feng's thigh. “Ah, ah!” Zhang Zehu's eyes were wide, trying to speak, but his body trembled, and he collapsed with a thud onto the floor. Before he died… He finally uncovered Luo Feng's great secret—Luo Feng was a spiritual force user!!! In his final moments, Zhang Zehu seemed to glimpse the nightmarish future awaiting all members of the Tiger Fang Squad. Silence! The only sound in the entire room was the 'drip-drip' of blood hitting the floor. No other noise. Two corpses lay there, and Luo Feng stood silently, watching. “Zhang Zehu,” Luo Feng murmured, looking down at the man. From the very beginning, Zhang Zehu had considered himself a seasoned Warrior, while Luo Feng was just a rookie. That's why, during the negotiations over the Zhang Haobai incident, he refused to back down. At that time, Luo Feng had also awakened his spiritual force, brimming with confidence and holding the moral high ground, so why would he yield? Originally, this conflict was minor. The real problem was when the Tiger Fang Squad ambushed the Fire Hammer Squad, almost wiping them out. Fortunately, Luo Feng unleashed his power and saved everyone, but even then, Zhang Ke still lost an arm. Thus, the Fire Hammer Squad was determined to exact their revenge. Fearing their enemy would grow stronger, the Tiger Fang Squad also sought to eliminate them completely! Both sides were locked in a death feud! “Zhang Zehu and Li Xiao are dead. Of the six members of the Tiger Fang Squad, four remain,” Luo Feng thought silently, standing at the room's entrance. “When they return and find these two murdered, they'll definitely be on high alert and connect many dots! So... I'll arrange this scene carefully to mislead them. Whether it succeeds or not, that's up to fate.”