HAGLTP Chapter 8

Driven mad, Liu Jiang finally left Ye Qi’s side, his expression ferocious as he approached Xiao Lu.

This guy named Xiao Lu really deserved to die. Not only did he write songs for Ye Qi, but he also wanted to steal Ye Qi away from him. What was worse, this person even mocked him.

Die, die, die, die!!!

Suddenly, several pitch-black spheres appeared in the air, flying towards Xiao Lu at bullet speed.

Having witnessed the power of the black spheres, Xiao Lu quickly dodged to the side.

The black spheres crashed into the shelves behind him, easily leaving several holes in the sturdy metal, breaking the support beams, causing the heavy shelves to immediately become unstable and topple over.

After Xiao Lu evaded the attack of the clutter, he realized that Liu Jiang had vanished from his sight.

The black cube enveloping Ye Qi closed again, making it impossible to see Ye Qi’s condition.

Moments later, the black spheres attacked again from tricky angles, and Xiao Lu narrowly avoided them.

After several attacks.

The air fell silent, and all Xiao Lu could hear was his own breathing, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Not good, it seemed Liu Jiang was very familiar with the layout of the warehouse. Could it be that he was originally a supermarket employee? The stacked shelves were an obstacle for Xiao Lu, but for Liu Jiang, they were more like hiding spots.

Xiao Lu’s palms were slightly sweaty. To face an ability user for the first time and end up with one who had the home advantage—his luck was really…

Liu Jiang hid in the shadows, grinning at Xiao Lu’s back.

This was his lair; anyone who dared to invade would not have a good ending.

The black spheres silently appeared in the air.

Die!

Before the spheres could attack, Xiao Lu moved first. Golden star patterns flashed across his arm, and in the next moment, a long, compressed blade of light appeared, swiftly slashing in all directions.

The tall shelves immediately suffered, toppling over at odd angles, and the goods on them rolled everywhere, creating a chaotic blockage of the original pathway.

With the hiding shelves gone, the floating spheres hung alone in the air, looking somewhat pitiful.

Unfortunately, Xiao Lu had no sympathy. The moment he spotted the spheres, he retaliated with a blade of light, destroying them all.

At the same time, he continued to wreak havoc, the shelves crashing down with a thunderous noise.

Since there was no home advantage, he would create one himself. Everyone rolling in the freshly made garbage heap—wasn’t that fair?

Liu Jiang in the shadows gritted his teeth in anger.

How dare he destroy his territory!

This guy was unforgivable!!!!

“Knock knock—”

A faint knocking sound echoed, more like an accidental touch than a knock.

“Is anyone home?” A delicate woman’s voice came from outside, carrying a hint of chill.

Huang Sansheng, curled up in bed, shivered and dared not make a sound.

Growing up in a slum, he knew very well that someone suddenly knocking for help was not a good sign. Either it would involve danger, or… that danger was coming for him.

“I know you’re inside. Please help me, my head hurts so much… I’m about to faint…” The woman’s voice grew weaker, her tone almost disappearing, as if she were about to collapse at any moment.

Living in a place like the slums, Huang Sansheng’s peephole was sealed, to prevent someone from removing it from the outside and using a wire to unlock the old-fashioned door.

Although this solved the risks posed by the peephole, it also meant that the people inside could not directly see what was happening outside.

Huang Sansheng cautiously leaned out, casting his gaze towards the outside, looking through the crack of the door.

The orange glow of dusk illuminated the fine dust on the ground, but no figure was visible, as if there was no one outside.

Yet the knocking continued.

“Open the door, please…”

“I beg you…”

Huang Sansheng: “…”

What on earth was going on?

The pitiful pleas echoed outside, but Huang Sansheng grew increasingly cowardly, not daring to respond.

After a moment of silence.

“Click, click.” The doorknob was jostled.

After several attempts, the doorknob was violently shaken, and the woman’s pleading voice became sharp and piercing: “Come out… come out! Come out!!!”

Huang Sansheng wrapped himself tighter in the blanket, trembling. Even if he were a fool, he could understand that the current situation was off. That woman outside…

No, what on earth was that thing?

At this moment, he felt like a small cabbage caught in a storm. Brother Lu had kept him safe at home for three days without incident, and now that he was gone, monsters were knocking at his door.

Did his forehead have “Here lies a lazy bum, come quickly” written on it?

Thanks to the fear, Huang Sansheng’s mind was exceptionally clear at this moment. He resolved that no matter what happened, he could not open the door.

But the old, worn door of the Huang family had long been weathered, and under the strain of external forces, it was constantly accumulating dust, its fragile components unsure how long they could hold out.

Huang Sansheng silently screamed: Brother Lu! Help me!!!

·

Meanwhile, Xiao Lu, who was on Huang Sansheng’s mind, was too busy to care.

Wreaking havoc was indeed fun, but he had to dismantle the shelves while keeping an eye out for Liu Jiang’s sneaky attacks, all while being cautious of his footing. Juggling all this was quite a task.

Liu Jiang was both mad and paranoid. After the shelves were torn apart, more hidden bloodstains were exposed. The numerous bloodstains on the ground indicated that he had certainly taken lives, making him a tough opponent.

Both were ability users, moving swiftly in the warehouse.

Xiao Lu carefully captured every movement of his opponent, waiting for the right moment to strike. The blades of light and black spheres clashed continuously, sometimes canceling each other out, sometimes affecting the surroundings, complicating the terrain further.

Ahead, beside a shelf, Liu Jiang’s clothing corner appeared, and Xiao Lu immediately chased after it.

What greeted him was a large piece of cardboard, nearly blocking his view.

Xiao Lu raised his hand and sliced through the cardboard with a blade of light, but what appeared behind it was not a path, but a solid expanse of darkness.

Not good, it was the opponent’s ability.

Alarm bells rang in Xiao Lu’s mind, and he immediately prepared to retreat.

But a heavy blow struck at that moment, hitting him hard in the back, causing Xiao Lu to lurch forward into a pitch-black void.

He could see nothing, nor hear a sound; not even an echo or a breeze was present. It felt as if he were cut off from the world, where time and space lost all meaning. Once a person entered, it was like being exiled, with only endless void tormenting the nerves.

He tried to use the blade of light to break through the darkness, but his ability struggled to coalesce.

Soon, Xiao Lu’s senses began to dull.

How long had time passed? A few seconds? A few minutes? Or was it over ten minutes?

Xiao Lu thought he understood why Ye Qi went mad in the original plot.

Staying in such an environment for months, the only chance to sense the outside world was when being tormented by a madman. The cycle of torment and confinement repeated, and at that time, Ye Qi was powerless to resist. Even the strongest mental fortitude couldn’t withstand it.

It was truly remarkable that Ye Qi managed to turn the tables in the end.

In the void, a sudden sense of crisis surged. Xiao Lu tried to dodge but found he couldn’t move his limbs in time, as if an extra layer of barrier had formed between his nerves and muscles.

A sharp pain shot through his arm, and Xiao Lu realized he was injured, yet his nose couldn’t detect any scent of blood.

“Hahaha…” Liu Jiang’s delighted laughter filled the space, “You’ve been caught in my black prison; you can no longer compete with me for Ye Qi!!!”

“Give up; he won’t be with you!”

Xiao Lu spoke the truth: “I never intended to be with him.”

Liu Jiang’s laughter abruptly stopped, his tone sharp as he interrupted: “You’re lying! You want him! You must be dreaming about him every day! Thinking about him while eating! Even while sleeping!”

Xiao Lu: “…”

Was there really someone who forced others to be their rival in love? The mental world of these madmen was truly rich.

However, since Liu Jiang could attack him, it meant this space wasn’t absolutely closed. Plus, Ye Qi had endured months of torment and still managed to fight back; he must have had a chance to escape.

“Right, I want to. Actually, I lied to you; we’ve known each other for a long time. Do you know what Ye Qi said to me that night?” Xiao Lu tried to provoke Liu Jiang while subtly moving his wrist, gradually regaining control of his body.

Liu Jiang sharply denied: “Which night?! No, Ye Qi could never talk to you!!”

Xiao Lu continued to entice: “If he didn’t have a special relationship with me, why would I come to save him? You know, I write songs for him. Have you counted how many times my songs appeared alongside him?”

“When you watched him blush on camera, the song was one I personally wrote for him. How was it? Was it nice? Did it suit him?”

To provoke Liu Jiang, Xiao Lu had thrown all shame aside, directly using the opponent’s logic against him, defeating magic with magic.

“That night he told me—”

“Impossible! He wouldn’t have anything to do with you; the one he loves is me!! It’s me!!” Liu Jiang interrupted Xiao Lu violently, his voice sharp to the point of breaking.

Xiao Lu laughed, his tone filled with pity: “Alright, alright, you can think that way, my dear.”

“Shut up!! Don’t mock me!!!” Liu Jiang’s tone grew increasingly deranged.

Seeing the moment was right, Xiao Lu decided to deliver the final blow: “You can kill me; that way, he will remember that I died for him, never forgetting.”

“Ah————” A piercing scream erupted.

Liu Jiang was filled with murderous intent; he wanted to kill this guy named Xiao Lu, twist off his head, cut out his tongue, break his fingers that wrote songs, and rip out his heart! So he could never appear before Ye Qi again!

With murderous intent, his hand shot towards Xiao Lu like a drawn blade.

Now!

Starting from the heart!

Just as he was about to reach Xiao Lu, a long yet powerful hand suddenly seized his wrist, the force so great it nearly broke his bone.

“Got you, big beauty.” In the darkness, Xiao Lu’s voice rang out with a smile.