Chapter 246: Afraid Of Horse And Ox

Before the Perfect Man could fully recover from the effects of the Memory Alteration ability, Shen Yu abruptly tore the Fox Medal from his chest.

His slender body began to change. His muscles swelled, and he straightened from his hunched posture. Two curved horns sprouted from his forehead.

Shen Yu shook his head, and in an instant, he transformed into a towering, black-haired Minotaur.

"Shen Yu, have you lost your mind?!"

Long John stared at him in disbelief. He hadn’t even seen Shen Yu make his move.

Did Shen Yu seriously think transforming into a cow would help? Was he trying to offer himself up as a meal to the Perfect Man?

"Ah! You... What have you done to me?!"

At that moment, the Perfect Man seemed to have fully regained consciousness. However, the instant it saw Shen Yu’s new form, its usually steady body staggered backward several steps.

"You... How is this possible? Why did I turn into a cow?"

Shen Yu ignored its panic and calmly asked, "There’s something I’ve never understood. Why are you afraid to eat cows and horses, yet make the higher-ranking managers eat them instead? Is it because you don’t like their meat, or because you’re afraid of them?"

He took a step forward.

"And why did the elevator unlock management permissions for twelve positions? The twelve animals gathered here weren’t just the Fox and Wolf. The Ox and Horse were part of the original twelve, too, weren’t they?"

Shen Yu glanced at the painting on the wall.

"The twelve figures in that painting worked together to suppress the monster. The Fox and Wolf were useless against you, so your reaction tells me everything I need to know."

His gaze sharpened.

"You’re afraid of the Ox and Horse."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Shen Yu walked forward and decisively removed the Scapegoat Medal from Yan Cheng’s body.

After extracting some of the corruption value stored inside it, a new medal gradually materialized on Shen Yu’s chest.

The Ox Medal.

The instance’s announcement rang out.

Ding! Congratulations! You’ve unlocked one of the most crucial medals in this level!

Work Hammer Ox!

The hardworking, enduring Ox can summon a hammer capable of crushing all rotten and foul-smelling things.

Note: Long live the working class!

Shen Yu finally understood.

The Scapegoat Medal had never existed merely to make someone a scapegoat. Its true purpose was to store power and accelerate the birth of a particular animal.

The twelve medals were not simply tools for climbing the company’s hierarchy. They were the keys to unlocking the power needed to overthrow the Perfect Man.

"Oh, so that’s how it is!"

As the instance’s announcement faded, Shen Yu seemed to experience an epiphany.

A strange buzzing sound came from the space around his hand. Slowly, a pitch-black hammer materialized in his grasp.

The hammer was simple in appearance, without any elaborate decorations. Yet the moment Shen Yu held it, he felt an immense, seemingly endless strength flowing through his arm.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

He spun the hammer in his hand and turned to face the Perfect Man.

The monster’s body was trembling uncontrollably.

"What... What is that? The Ox? How can the Ox possess such power?"

Long John was completely stunned.

Wen Lan, meanwhile, had finally recovered from the suffocating pressure that had nearly killed her. Watching Shen Yu’s transformation, she seemed to understand what he was doing.

She immediately removed the Wolf Medal from her chest.

Her body began to change, and brown fur sprouted across her skin as she stood upright.

"Here. Take it!"

Wen Lan tossed the Scapegoat Medal toward Shen Yu.

After Shen Yu caught it and absorbed enough mutation points, another medal appeared prominently on Wen Lan’s chest.

The Horse Medal.

A loud announcement rang through the room.

Ding! Congratulations! You’ve unlocked one of the key totems of this instance!

Agricultural Sickle Horse!

Simple and hardworking, the Horse can summon a sickle capable of cutting through all worthless scraps.

Note: Long live the peasant class!

A simple wooden sickle appeared in Wen Lan’s hand. It resembled the old-fashioned tools once used to cut grass in the fields.

Yet when she gripped it, an endless vitality surged through her chest.

It was the vitality of the working people—the strength of those who labored tirelessly while looking toward a better future.

"This... This is the Ox and Horse?"

Wen Lan stared at the sickle in her hand.

"The lowest-ranking positions... the Ox and Horse..."

"How could this happen?"

Even Lin Yao was shocked by their transformation.

The live-stream comments exploded.

Wild Boar Peppa: Damn! So the Ox and Horse are the core forces that overthrow the ruling class!

Another viewer: Ox and Horse? Sorry, but the Ox and Horse have another name: the working peasant class!

Another viewer: Long live the working peasant class!

Another viewer: Long live the working peasant class! Long live the proletariat!

Inside the Jochi City Defense Department, the barrage of comments continued to flood the screen.

Ho Yunying stood frozen, still holding his phone. His lips trembled.

"This... This..."

He hadn’t even finished explaining the situation before Shen Yu had already figured everything out.

"Ha!"

A realization suddenly struck him.

Shen Yu must have begun piecing things together the night he received the Fox Medal. The instance required someone to assume the leading positions of both factions while concealing the identities of the Ox and Horse beneath the Fox and Wolf disguises.

Now everything finally made sense.

And it wasn’t too late.

After all, the painting had clearly shown the Ox and Horse alone holding down the Year Beast.

Jiaoqua seemed to have already foreseen the outcome. Shaking his head, he walked out of the room.

"Tell him Long is out. Have him come find me at the villa next door."

"You... You people!"

Inside the ninth-floor office, the Perfect Man clutched its face with all six arms.

Unlike before, when it had covered its eyes, mouth, and ears, this time all six hands pressed tightly against its face.

Its floating body slowly descended.

BOOM!

After letting out a furious roar, the giant creature curled into a ball and crouched on the ground, using its arms to protect its head.

It remained motionless.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Its enormous body shook continuously.

It was trembling.

It was afraid.

The Perfect Man was genuinely terrified of something.

"Hey... Look! It’s afraid of the weapons you two have!"

Long John’s eyes lit up with excitement.

"Quick! Attack it!"

He immediately began sketching in his book. Before long, he threw out two sheets of paper.

A bull-headed warrior and a horse-faced warrior leaped out of the drawings, each carrying a weapon.

Clang! Clang!

The two figures swung their hammer and sickle at the Perfect Man’s ball-like body.

However, their weapons couldn’t even pierce its skin.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of repeated strikes echoed through the office.

Long John watched the Perfect Man continue protecting its head, then turned toward Shen Yu with a faint smile.

"You knew, didn’t you? You knew we had to strike now."

"Of course."

Shen Yu’s gaze remained fixed on the monster.

"Every time it attacked us before, the golden mask reacted. The mask is the source of its power. It’s afraid of the Ox and Horse because the hammer and sickle can smash the mask concealing its ugly face."

He raised his hammer.

"The Perfect Man isn’t invincible. Beneath that mask, it’s nothing more than a three-headed monster."

Shen Yu’s expression turned cold.

"I declare that the evil vampires who exploit the people shall have their hands bound, bow their heads, and await the people’s judgment!"

As Wen Lan’s resolute voice rang through the room, Yan Cheng’s mouth split open completely.

Click! Click! Click!

The Perfect Man’s hands trembled violently as they pressed against its face. Only a few centimeters separated its fingers from the golden mask.

Then—

BOOM!

Yan Cheng’s head exploded.