Under the immense force, the layers of human-faced beans on the trunk instantly peeled off.
They burst through the thick dust and slammed against the side walls, then, with excellent elasticity, flew back. For a moment, the tunnel seemed to transform into a children's playground, filled with "bouncing balls" flying everywhere.
With each impact, the various human faces attached to the spheres gradually contorted in pain. Their mouths, stretched wide, revealed sharp teeth, making them resemble tail-less sharks.
"Holy crap! These things are this bouncy? Did they use bouncy rubber?!" Fatty was squatting down, rummaging through his bag, when he was unexpectedly hit on the backside by several balls. He almost drew his gun in a fit of rage and unleashed indiscriminate gunfire.
"Don't hit these things. The more you hit them, the more violently they bounce. We can only dodge and let them stop on their own!" Wu Tianzhen, fearing that one of these big shots might lose control and do something drastic to these balls, quickly chimed in.
However, his concerns were clearly unfounded. Whether it was Xie Yuchen, who elegantly dodged all attacks with a graceful turn, or Zhang Qiling, who stood his ground and dared not let a single ball come near him, neither seemed to be someone he needed to worry about.
In the midst of the chaos, Hei Yanjing even became visibly excited. With a click, he used his optical device to snap a few unflattering photos of Wu Tianzhen being beaten by the balls. He then quickly bonded with the now-standing Fatty, exchanging mocking laughter.
Wu Tianzhen: ...Fine, I'll just focus on taking care of myself.
Zhang Qiling, who had been left to his own devices due to his imposing presence, stood in place, holding his saber. He appeared to be a detached and formidable figure, but in reality, his mind was in a state of confusion.
Zhang Qiling: Should I not have used my saber just now...?
Summoned by his intense emotions, the Qilin tattoo quietly emerged, lazily exuding its charm. The human-faced beans sensed an increasingly terrifying aura. They writhed in pain, shedding tears as they forcibly changed their trajectories in various contorted ways mid-air, struggling to avoid the culprit that had been terrorizing them.
The erratic maneuvers of these human-faced beans twisting in mid-air were clearly like adding insult to injury for Wu Tianzhen, who was already struggling to dodge. He was hit several times, his face filled with disbelief, and he finally couldn't help but exclaim:
"Damn it! What's wrong with you beans? Can't you follow basic rules?"
"Don't you have any concept of parabolic trajectory physics?"
The human-faced beans offered no response, continuing their willful movement on bizarre trajectories that could have resurrected Newton, appearing as if they were escapees from compulsory education.
Zhang Qiling, who had keenly noticed the reason for the balls' change in direction: ... (to the Qilin tattoo) Go back.
Qilin tattoo: Alright, brother!
The Qilin tattoo vanished with remarkable agility, as fast as an employee eager to leave work hearing the boss announce quitting time. After its disappearance, the situation with the "compulsory education escapees" on the field improved considerably.
Zhang Qiling moved slightly, avoiding a few human-faced beans that finally dared to fly towards him, feeling a sense of relief.
But at this moment, a sudden change occurred on the field!
Seeing that as time passed, the bouncing of these balls became increasingly sluggish, Wu Tianzhen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He had clearly made some progress in the ball-dodging game, making one wonder if he had a constitution that grew stronger the more he was abused.
He smoothly dodged a slowly approaching ball, only to be surprised by a ball with a distorted expression hurtling towards him. He instinctively reached out and grabbed it.
The moment he gripped the ball, its sharp teeth inadvertently grazed his finger, causing a sharp sting.
Wu Tianzhen looked closely and saw a thin trickle of blood slowly flowing from his finger, smearing onto the pale skin of the human-faced bean, looking particularly striking.
The human-faced bean was adorned with the face of a young woman, with delicate eyes and a delicate nose, appearing exceptionally petite and exquisite.
The blood smeared onto its lips, as if painted with lipstick. The expression, which had been contorted in pain, instantly softened. It even slightly curved its eyes, revealing a smile.
If one were to ignore the spherical body, this face resembled a young woman seeing her beloved, smiling charmingly, her face like a peach blossom, a gentle dream brought to life.
But the "beloved" in this moment, Wu Tianzhen, could only utter one sentence.
"Holy crap!!!" He absolutely did not believe in the so-called love between humans and ghosts. Based on his extensive experience, he immediately recognized that this thing was likely about to unleash its ultimate move.
With a flick of his hand, Wu Tianzhen intended to discard the thing, regardless of what happened next!
But the instant he made his move, the face of the human-faced bean instantly contorted!
The cherry mouth that had been smiling gently inverted in the blink of an eye. Its pale teeth flashed before Wu Tianzhen's eyes like peculiar ornaments, quickly flipping to the back of the sphere. As they closed, they made a "click" sound.
The dark and white substances within its mouth, like paint, swirled and sketched across the newly formed facial skin, creating yet another human face!
Wu Tianzhen instinctively looked over, meeting the gaze of the newly formed human face directly.
In that instant, his mind buzzed, as if struck by a heavy hammer to his skull!
...The new face generated by this human-faced bean was none other than his own face, Wu Tianzhen's!
The drop of his blood slowly entered from the mouth of that human face, giving the sensation that this thing now had a blood connection with him.
A chilling sensation shot through him. Seeing that pale, familiar face about to open its mouth, Wu Tianzhen felt a wave of nausea surge up!
With a "swish," his dagger was already unsheathed!
Wu Tianzhen abruptly pressed the human-faced bean to the ground. Before the face could cause any more trouble, he plunged the dagger deep into it!
The moment the dagger entered, a strange thing happened. The human-faced bean immediately dissolved into a liquid-like substance and, with a peculiar giggle, flowed up Wu Tianzhen's arm along with the dagger!
Wu Tianzhen felt a cold sensation on his face. That thing had directly covered his face!
A dense prickling sensation instantly spread across his skin, as if fine tendrils within this liquid were attempting to break through his skin and penetrate his muscles.
In that instant, Wu Tianzhen recalled the lifeless, familiar face from moments ago—
Could this human-faced bean be trying to directly replace his original face and parasitize his head in the form of skin?!
He wanted to cry for help, but found that his mouth was completely unable to open, and his throat felt as if it were blocked by something, rendering him completely voiceless.
Just as he was about to thrash around to attract the attention of the big shots before his legs and feet were controlled, the mud-like substance on his face suddenly fluctuated violently!
This was followed by a piercing scream that reached directly into his brain. The sound was not loud, but it seemed to possess a special kind of attack, causing Wu Tianzhen's head to ring.
Before he could even react to this new development, his cheek suddenly felt a warmth.
The tunnel's breeze once again brushed against his face. The human-faced bean seemed to have detached from him?!
Wu Tianzhen opened his eyes with a hint of disbelief, only to see Zhang Qiling standing directly before him.
The mud-like human-faced bean was held in his left hand like a chick, while his right hand gently brushed across Wu Tianzhen's cheek.
A scent of blood wafted over.
Warm, moist liquid slid down his cheek. Wherever it went, the stinging sensation from the human-faced bean's attachment melted away like ice and snow.
The Qilin blood could ward off all evil. Wu Tianzhen shifted his gaze slightly and, as his eyes moved, he saw the wound on the tip of that finger.