Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 286 - 270: No One Survives This Road

Humans are probably the only species that, even when facing death, don't forget to smear their kind with mud. Truly filthy.

Born as a human, Feng Mu feels deeply ashamed!

"Compared to your ghostly appearance stuffed with wires, my body, all flesh and bones, is true respect for humanity."

This time, Feng Mu didn't get angry. He's always more tolerant and patient with those who are about to die.

He gently tugged at the wires protruding from the other's eye socket, explaining softly:

"Come on now, I'm just taking a bit of your vitality, it's nothing much, after all, you're about to die, right."

Feng Mu paused, then remarked with emotion, "Besides, in this world, who hasn't siphoned off someone else's vitality while living? Haven't you ever done so?"

"If you hadn't extracted life from others, you wouldn't have this abundant essence of life flowing inside you."

[You absorbed an essence of life imbued with a high concentration of resentful energy.]

[The Calamity Iron stored within you is being digested.]

Feng Mu wasn't surprised to find the man in front of him tainted with resentful energy; what surprised him slightly was:

"It turns out that to absorb resentful energy, you don't necessarily need to fight tooth and nail; you can just directly extract the essence of life."

Of course, in most cases, wanting to siphon another's essence of life would surely require some tactics.

The Peeping Tom grinned, baring its teeth, with dark stains remaining between them. These marks seemed freshly added, yet, who knows who they came from before today?

"There we go, that's the right expression, a smile showing your teeth."

Feng Mu always makes a habit of counseling those near death, so they don't pass on with too much negativity.

This approach is somewhat reminiscent of the Ancient Era, where some condemned prisoners would receive the prayer of a priest before execution—a final redemption ritual.

Yes, Feng Mu is indeed that benevolent priest.

He said: "Do you remember how many souls' vitality you've siphoned? Surely you don't. So when I siphon you now, don't bear resentment. Those who take from others shall themselves be taken."

The Peeping Tom opened his mouth, struggling to speak in rasping, broken whispers: "You... you too, will... get siphoned."

Feng Mu didn't refute, even nodding in agreement:

"You're not wrong; someday, I will be siphoned too. On this path, one either gets taken by those ahead or caught and consumed by those following. Ultimately, this path leads to doom for all."

The Peeping Tom's left eye was bloodshot; he stared intently at Feng Mu, croaking hoarsely: "I'll... be waiting for you!"

Feng Mu shook his head, speaking meaningfully: "Waiting won't suffice. Before you die, you must do something to hasten my descent to join you."

Feng Mu bared a mouthful of neatly arranged white teeth, sincerely:

"So, tell me who sent you to harm me. I'll go find him later, and you can walk a bit slower down there. Between him and me, one will join you soon."

A face of an old friend involuntarily surfaced in the Peeping Tom's mind, seemingly tempted by Feng Mu's words.

His face first showed pain and conflict, then morphed into a twisted yet pitiful smile. As if guided by fate, he managed to squeeze a name from between his lips: "Zuo Bai!"

Feng Mu quickly searched his memory for this name, but found he didn't know anyone called "Zuo Bai."

He strongly suspected the Peeping Tom was attempting to deceive him, but he couldn't verify it, so he filed the name away in his mind.

Feng Mu did not give up, continuing to press with two more questions, but the Peeping Tom kept his lips tightly sealed, refusing to respond, causing a dark, viscous mixture to ooze from his nose.

Feng Mu sighed softly, expressing helplessness at the Peeping Tom's silence and disappointment at his failure to probe further.

He extended a bone-white finger, gently slicing into Cheng Gao's shell before the Peeping Tom's eyes, as an invisible force permeated within.

His gaze penetrated the surface obstruction, landing on that core tangled with energy conduits and cables, where the two hook-jade-shaped pupils in his eyes spun eerily.

"Your core seems quite unique, so you have the fortune of being remembered by me."

Feng Mu licked his dry lips, as if bidding farewell to an old friend about to part, casually asking:

"Tell me, your name is..."

After revealing the name "Zuo Bai," the Peeping Tom opened his lips again, struggling to utter his own name: "Cheng Gao."

At this moment, Feng Mu could be sure the other wasn't lying, as the red bar above the Peeping Tom's head provided real-time verification for him.

The lurking mechanical half-cyborg [74/997].

The name before the red bar gradually blurred, then promptly recondensed into—Mechanical Half-Cyborg·Cheng Gao [68/997].

Seeing the confirmed real name reset on the red bar, Feng Mu's lips curled into a cryptic curve.

From the start, Feng Mu never truly relied on the Peeping Tom's cooperation to reveal the mastermind behind him.

This man's skeleton wasn't merely hard, even his words dripped with engine oil; how could Feng Mu believe what was said in his last moments?

Moreover, his clothes were in tatters, yet not a single phone or wallet was dropped, leaving no tangible evidence of his identity.

Feng Mu circled back to his questioning, but it was a distraction, slowly easing the other's guard. His real query lay in the last seemingly nonchalant question.

Feng Mu gently took the energy core from the other, then politely offered a bedtime farewell:

"Cheng Gao, right? I'll remember this name. Then, goodbye, Cheng Gao."

As the bone finger withdrew, the energy drained from Cheng Gao's body in an instant. His mechanical structure lost its luster, swiftly disintegrating into debris, mingling with scattered steel and wire remnants.

If someone passed by now, they would scarcely believe the heap was once a trace of life, most likely presuming it to be a pile of mechanical scrap.

[Mechanical Half-Cyborg·Cheng Gao [0/997].

The cyborg was considerate, even saving Feng Mu the trouble of cleaning up the scene.

Feng Mu gazed down at the heart in his hand, a line of text appearing on his retina:

[You are peeking into a half-mechanical, half-flesh human heart!]

[From this heart, you glimpse a yet-to-dissipate ability.]

[Dynamic Capture Lv3:

Those possessing this ability have exceptionally sharp insight. Their eyes function like precision instruments, discerning the subtle nuances of most movements, making deceptive actions difficult to mislead or deceive.

They can accurately capture every minute action of their opponent, thereby gaining insight into impending events and making precise predictions of the enemy's next move.]

Note: The insight of Dynamic Capture depends not only on ability level but also on the speed difference between the user and the target.]

[Would you like to copy?]

....