Chapter 580: Clash of Fates

“Ability user?”

“No, wait… isn’t this just a pervert?”

“What kind of ability does he have?”

Lu Xin suddenly lost control, instantly terrifying the armed personnel around him.

In less than ten seconds, the tide had turned. Those who once thought Lu Xin an easy mark now saw his bloodstained face and felt a bone-chilling dread radiate from his eyes.

In an instant, several of their comrades lay dead—even one had his head completely crushed.

They retreated several steps in panic, forming a wide circle and trembling as they watched Lu Xin.

Frowning, Lu Xin glared at them with deep discontent. Even after taking a heavy drag from his cigarette, nothing could quell the restless anger that only burned fiercer.

…Because he couldn’t understand why.

…Despite repeatedly holding back, why did every path lead to a dead end?

“Heh, a Spider-type ability user?”

Just then, from atop a nearby car, a voice rang out.

It was the Dragon Team Leader in a Tang suit…

Quick on his feet, he had dashed onto the car roof as Lu Xin began jabbing at the face of a man in his forties. If Lu Xin fired, he could easily duck behind the car, ensuring his safety.

For an ordinary person, his agility was already exceptional.

At that moment, he slowly removed his sunglasses, an ambiguous smile playing on his lips as he addressed Lu Xin:

“Pretending to be an ordinary guy, coming here to pull a ‘pig for the tiger’ trick?”

“…”

Lu Xin’s discontent flared up once more.

Like gasoline thrown on a fire, his anger surged, his eyes even flickering with tiny black particles.

Yet he restrained himself, insisting, “What exactly do you mean by ‘pig for the tiger’?”

The young Dragon Team Leader, showing no sign of fear, simply smiled and replied:

“Friend, you’re clearly an ability user but are playing the role of an ordinary man. Isn’t that the classic ‘pig for the tiger’ act?”

Lu Xin frowned, suppressing his anger as he tried to explain:

“Before you, I’ve shown every ounce of courtesy and restraint a man can muster. Honestly, you point guns at me, frisk me, and even toss my sister’s Screaming Chicken on the ground. I’m furious—but I held back…”

“I just tried to act like a normal person, yet in your eyes it becomes playing dumb?”

“Now I have no choice but to fight back. And does that mean you’ll say I deliberately provoked you like a tiger?”

“…”

Shaking his head in exasperation, he added, “Aren’t you all being a bit unreasonable?”

His eyes flicked to one of the armed personnel, and his expression grew even more indignant. “Especially since you even called me a pervert…”

“Tell me—who here is really abnormal?”

“…”

“You…”

Listening to Lu Xin’s indignation, the Dragon Team Leader on the car roof wore an oddly perplexed expression.

Tilting his head slightly, he remarked, “You really do seem quite angry…”

“Looks like you’re not as normal as you pretend…”

“…”

Lu Xin’s expression suddenly turned indifferent.

The Dragon Team Leader chuckled and said, “You’ve got a decent ability. Here’s my proposition—I step back if you tell me which faction sent you, and you promise to leave immediately, far away, so we all avoid trouble. Deal?”

Lu Xin fixed his stare on him and replied slowly, “So you decide when there’s trouble and when there isn’t?”

As he spoke, he steadily advanced.

His fingers twitched slightly.

This time, he was truly angry—determined to settle this once and for all.

“Heh, so you really came for me…”

Noticing his approach, the Dragon Team Leader laughed as well.

Moments earlier, someone from the modified car had handed him a black suitcase.

Placing it before him, he slowly opened it. As Lu Xin moved closer, he shook his head lightly and grinned:

“Playing the ‘pig for the tiger’ act is a trick that catches people off guard—but this time…”

“…you chose the wrong target!”

“…”

By the time the last word was uttered, Lu Xin had closed in to within three or four meters of the car, contemplating just how thoroughly to finish him off.

His sister walked alongside him, holding his hand.

Yet her eyes remained fixed on the armed personnel, alert for any sudden moves.

From his earlier actions, it was evident that the Dragon Team Leader appeared to be an ordinary man.

But unexpectedly, as soon as his words fell, the Dragon Team Leader reached into the suitcase and swiftly produced a gleaming object, its surface etched with bizarre patterns, and pressed it against his face. In the next moment, his body began to fall backward in a strange manner.

His movements were so erratic that his bones seemed to snap with a cracking sound.

Yet he didn’t miss a beat, instantly pointing forward.

Astonishingly, one hand now wielded a silver, short-handled handgun while the other brandished a black dagger.

“Bang” “Bang”

As his body tumbled backward, he fired two shots in rapid succession.

One after the other, both bullets were aimed precisely at Lu Xin’s eyes—with perfect accuracy.

Such precision left almost no chance for evasive action.

“Crack… Crack…”

But Lu Xin merely tilted his head slightly and dodged the two bullets.

In the very next moment, he crouched and dashed forward.

Originally below the car, a fleeting red silhouette suddenly appeared on the roof as he reached out.

His gaze locked onto the Dragon Team Leader, a trace of astonishment in his eyes.

The man who had just seemed ordinary was now…

…Spider-type!

There was no mistaking it—he was using a Spider-type ability.

If it were any other power, it might be forgivable. But a Spider-type…

…Who else could have a sister as formidable as his?

“…”

As Lu Xin vaulted onto the roof, the Dragon Team Leader, still falling off the car and not yet touching the ground, was over a meter away—making it nearly impossible for Lu Xin to grab him with one arm.

Yet, Lu Xin’s arm strangely extended, nearly reaching his shoulder.

“Heh…”

The Dragon Team Leader let out a low chuckle before suddenly bouncing upward, his body snapping high into the air.

It was as if an invisible thread had yanked him, abruptly altering his direction.

Puppet-type!

Lu Xin couldn’t help but feel a surge of curiosity.

A Spider-type ability user can push their body to its limits.

But even they can’t change direction mid-air without support—yet this Dragon Team Leader had seemingly grasped an invisible thread and, with its pull, altered his trajectory in an instant, evading Lu Xin’s close-range grab.

That was the power of a Puppet-type ability.

How can one man switch from being ordinary to wielding two distinct abilities?

Lu Xin was taken aback, but before he could ponder it further, a cold gust swept over his back.

Using his Puppet-type power, the Dragon Team Leader flung himself into the air behind Lu Xin, landing against his back with a grim determination. With a twist, he lunged at Lu Xin, plunging a black dagger from his left hand downward fiercely.

Lu Xin abruptly whirled around, his hand thrusting out unexpectedly.

In an almost uncanny coincidence, his hand clamped onto the young man’s neck.

Behind his mask, the Dragon Team Leader’s eyes flashed with a hint of shock before he let out a cold laugh.

At that moment, as Lu Xin gripped him in mid-air, the Dragon Team Leader vanished completely—leaving only a phantom behind.

Simultaneously, a black slash shot upward from below, aimed directly at Lu Xin’s throat.

Trailing the slash was the Dragon Team Leader’s mask, its surface smeared with bizarre black-and-white ink.

Distorted vision.

The image Lu Xin had seen in mid-air was clearly a warped version of the Dragon Team Leader.

It appeared as though he had leaped from the air, but in truth he had stooped low and slashed at Lu Xin’s throat.

In a frenetic, close-quarters clash full of swift and unpredictable moves, one misjudged position was an irreparable mistake—the dagger nearly severing Lu Xin’s throat before he could block or dodge.

Through the two holes in the mask, Lu Xin could see the Dragon Team Leader’s eyes—cold and unnervingly strange.

With a sigh, he suddenly kicked him away.

“Thud!”

The kick landed solidly; Lu Xin’s instep felt the soft impact as his foot collided with the enemy’s ribcage, producing a dull, resounding thud.

The young man in the Tang suit tumbled and rolled through the air.

It was like a spinning top hurled upward, uncontrollably rotating.

He was thrown two or three meters, crashing into a line of armed soldiers and toppling them over.

Throughout the chaos, Lu Xin kept a cigarette clenched between his teeth, its smoke causing his left eye to narrow.

“So many flashy tricks… yet he doesn’t realize that strong Psychic Power allows one to deploy a Distorted Force Field,” Lu Xin mused as he slowly advanced.

He eyed the Dragon Team Leader sprawled on the ground, barely able to rise, with a hint of curiosity.

The mask was reminiscent of a Peking Opera face, coated in mysterious, vibrant colors.

Its black patterns were meticulously drawn—aligned perfectly to resemble six eyes.

Lu Xin recalled that in his last glance, three of those eye-like patterns had flashed red.

In that brief encounter, the Dragon Team Leader had employed three abilities.

Ultimately, his own Distorted Force Field had backfired, sending him sprawling with a single kick.

He himself wasn’t an ability user.

So, does this mask grant ordinary people power?

“You…”

The Dragon Team Leader in the Tang suit finally convulsed and flipped over, his gaze fixed on Lu Xin. His voice was deep and laced with fury, but after uttering a single word, he abruptly retched, as if the kick had inflicted internal damage, with blood surging to his mouth.

“…”

“…”

“Are you using a parasitic item?”

Lu Xin ignored him, flicked his cigarette, shook off the ash, and then eyed the mask as he said:

“Mind if I take a look?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not after yours—I’ll just have a look…”

P.S. I recommend the book ‘Unscientific Beast Taming’ by Qingquan Liuxiang. The previous work ‘Elf Master’ was a great success. This time it’s a classic pet cultivation story full of fun twists and deep bonds. It’s releasing on August 1—if you enjoy this genre, please support it!