Chapter 457 - 399: Fu Tailan: What He Did in Secret

Chapter 457: Chapter 399: Fu Tailan: What He Did in Secret

In the moment of a car crash, there are no coherent thoughts, only fragments.

Fragments of sight, fragments of touch, fragments of emotion, fragments of a lifetime of memories... like countless fireworks exploding at once, blooming against the vast, dark curtain of life.

When Fu Tailan felt his body go light and the world flip over, he closed his eyes.

He’d been handcuffed the moment he got in the car, with no seatbelt. By all rights, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d died in the crash.

But as it happened, he didn’t die. And it seemed he wouldn’t be dying anytime soon.

’See? Nest dissociation disorder isn’t a completely bad thing.’

The pain of every impact, every crush, every scrape, felt unreal, disembodied.

The pain seemed to spring from some distant place outside himself, washing over him like a tide. It didn’t come from his battered skull, or the arm bent beneath him... or anywhere else on his body.

He didn’t know when he’d lost consciousness.

When Fu Tailan opened his eyes again, the sounds that the crash had momentarily silenced came flooding back—the blare of a car alarm, the screech of emergency brakes, the shouts of unknown voices, gunfire, and the seemingly endless roar of the downpour.

Fu Tailan raised his cuffed hands and felt his forehead. The section from his brow to the crown of his head had caved in, leaving a depression deep enough to fit a fist.

Touching it was a little unnerving, yet also strangely novel.

When he placed his hand in the hollow, he could feel his skull and flesh knitting together from all sides, pushing the indentation back out and gradually smoothing it over.

This was the second time Vulture had saved his life. And his face.

Fu Tailan glanced around.

Bright headlights from the side and rear, along with muzzle flashes blinking through the curtain of rain, shattered the gloom inside the car. The darkness broke into fragments, clinging to the deepest corners of the cabin.

’Are the other bodyguards in a shootout with Chaisi’s people?’

’For a moment, he really didn’t know who to root for.’

Ah, so that heavy weight pressing on him was the bodyguard captain. Who knows what he’d hit, but he had soaked half of Fu Tailan’s body in something warm, wet, and bloody. He seemed to still be alive, however. Still breathing.

"Damn it," Carter gasped, muttering a string of curses from the other side of the bodyguard captain. He clutched his head as he slowly pushed himself up, fumbling for something. "They dare hit me... they dare hit me... The gun? Where’d you put the gun? Wake up, you waste!"

’The bodyguard captain was unconscious, but Carter, who should have borne the brunt of the impact, looked perfectly fine. He didn’t seem hurt at all, and he had plenty of strength for cursing and shoving. He must have a defensive Illusion, right?’

’Carter must have brought something to protect himself when he met with Fu Tailan. He probably never imagined he’d end up needing it because of Chaisi.’

He shot a quick glance out of the car. Whatever he saw made him panic even more, and he started searching frantically for the gun.

Fu Tailan was also looking for something, and his luck was far better. The reason Carter couldn’t find the bodyguard captain’s gun was because Fu Tailan was already quietly holding it in his hand.

It wasn’t just the gun. He’d also fished out the keychain from the captain’s belt and, in the cramped space, managed to unlock his handcuffs.

As for the dream, it had escaped to parts unknown the moment he transferred the Vulture Particles, freed from its restraints.

Carter glanced outside again. This time, his fear was practically bursting out of him.

"Hey!" He gave up on the bodyguard captain and slapped the driver in the front seat. "Give me your weapon! He’s coming over!"

The driver was slumped in his seat, motionless.

’Can someone whose head has turned into a Black Abyss Belt even die?’

"Useless, every single one of you—"

Before Carter could finish, the mangled car door was suddenly ripped open. The heavy door seemed to offer no resistance as it was torn inch by inch from its warped frame, letting out a screech so sharp it felt like it could pierce the skull and scrape the brain.

’Fu Tailan only knew one person with that kind of strength.’

The moment the door came off, the harsh light and columns of rain from outside flooded in.

A hulking, dark figure stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Monroe," Carter said, twisting around and forcing himself to sound calm. "You should recognize me—"

Before he could finish, the figure’s arm shot out and grabbed Carter by his clothes.

He glanced at Carter only once. The moment he confirmed it wasn’t Fu Tailan, he lost all interest. He seized Carter, yanked him out of the car, and flung him aside. Carter, who was by no means a small man, was tossed out like a piece of trash, landing with a heavy splash on the rain-soaked ground.

"Brother Chaisi," a woman’s voice—Han Liuyue’s—called from a distance. "Be careful. He might have an Illusion."

Chaisi Monroe said nothing.

He dragged the bodyguard captain out of the car in the same fashion. His other hand was already holding a gun, aimed squarely at Fu Tailan.

"Get up," he said, his voice hoarse. "I know you’re not dead."

’Ugh, honestly.’

Fu Tailan sighed and opened his eyes. Chaisi was backlit as he stood outside the car, his expression unreadable. Only his soaking wet black hair was faintly illuminated by the light.

He lay in the overturned car, amid shattered glass and twisted steel. Watching the heavy rain fall outside, he slowly began to smile.

"What do you want with me? Can’t go on living?"

The next second, his vision blurred. A large hand seized him by the throat, yanking him out of the car and throwing him onto the ground.

Chaisi planted a foot on Fu Tailan’s chest, and his vision went black. It seemed Chaisi was restraining himself with all his might, holding back from letting his foot crush Fu Tailan’s ribcage, pierce his body, and squeeze his organs and blood into the puddles on the ground.

"Talk,"

Chaisi stood in the rain, lit by the car’s headlights, his eyes bloodshot. He kept his gun trained on Fu Tailan, forcing each word through his teeth. "...Where did it go?"

Fu Tailan had never seen Chaisi this furious.

He was so furious he had lost all composure. His chest heaved, and an irrepressible tremor ran through his voice.

Chaisi’s soaked body was slightly hunched, as if he’d taken a punch to the gut and was too pained to stand straight. It was impossible to tell if he was about to erupt in a rage or burst into tears.

’...Perfect. You have to hit them where it hurts.’

’The view from the front row is always so interesting.’

The pressure on Fu Tailan’s chest made it nearly impossible to breathe, and his head was still foggy. Though the pain was distant, his body refused to obey him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, deciding to play dumb and draw out the fun. "What ’went where’? Your mind?"

He had barely finished speaking when he heard the click of a pistol’s safety being released not far behind him. It was Han Liuyue, shouting an order at someone, "Don’t move."

"I-I’m not trying to run. Look, I can be of value to you," Carter stammered. "I’m Carter Morgan. The Morgan family and the Kai Family could form a powerful alliance, rule this game together..."

’He must think Chaisi is after the target Illusion.’

’He probably thought Chaisi wanted the target Illusion back, and that Fu Tailan would give him up.’

Chaisi didn’t even spare him a glance.

He stared at Fu Tailan as if he were the most shockingly vile creature in the world, as if it took every ounce of his strength not to crush him on the spot.

Chaisi slowly opened his mouth, his breath shuddering. Rainwater clung to his eyelashes like tears.

"...What did you do with Uncle Kai’s Path?"