Letisia’s spatial ability was quite unique. It didn’t directly distort, fold, or displace space; instead, it operated like three-dimensional modeling within the contours of a specific object.
After witnessing more and more extraordinary abilities, Ashley realized that even the most top-tier ones had limited destructive power and range. There were no pure energy blasts with forbidden spell-level might.
Once “Time Sequence Heterostructure” activated, Ashley first selected Sidney, the eldest son of the Boothslot Family, as the target. She set the origin point and coordinate system, then circled his excrement and dragged it into his lungs. It was that simple.
Though Sidney was a criminal with a mountain of sins who deserved to die ten thousand times, Ashley held no hatred toward him, let alone any killing intent.
The “good person” that Ashley pursued wasn’t about punishing evil and upholding justice; it was a state of mind, akin to yūgen, mono no aware, or wabi-sabi—a feeling that just felt right.
Killing Sidney was just to obtain the suspected King Insect Tentacle. While choking him to death with feces, she transferred the soft whip into his flesh. Unless someone cut open his arm, it would be impossible to find.
After the seven-day mourning period passed, she could dig up the grave and recover this treasure.
Sometimes, dead people were more useful than the living, so she had no choice but to ask him to die.
That said, the purpose of Ashley’s trip was precisely these two treasures. She found a suitable excuse to seize them, and since they were personal spoils of war, there was no need to hand them over. Besides, the laws of the Isolated Lands were practically nonexistent, and the Tribunal tacitly permitted infighting between factions.
The Insect House was private property of Amber’s family. Though anomalous, the Tribunal had no reason to confiscate it. With that, all three pieces would be in hand for comparative study—Amber’s would be hers! she thought righteously.
Ashley yearned to possess core technology of her own. In this unstable world, it was the only thing that could bring a sense of security.
But this operation had stirred up a hornet’s nest. Tracer rounds streaked across the sky, and the dense sound of hooves echoed in the darkness.
The Boothslot Family mobilized en masse, surrounding the small square airtight.
“Son! My son!”
A tall woman in a black mink coat jumped frantically beside the corpse, crying hysterically.
The family lord, Montago Boothslot, stepped down from a pure-black carriage with luxurious interior fittings, using a footstool prepared by a servant.
The second son, Gysin, alighted from the other side, circled around the carriage, and came before his eldest brother’s corpse. He kept his head lowered, a playful smile on his lips.
He was a man with a lean face and shifty eyes, possessing extremely sharp perception. He spotted the anomaly at a glance.
“Where’s the ‘Touch of Will’ that Big Brother had?”
Only then did the crowd notice that the whip had vanished!
When questioned, the servants who had contact with Sidney during the rescue all shook their heads, saying they hadn’t seen it.
“It couldn’t have disappeared into thin air. It was definitely stolen by someone who was present at the time—and that person is Big Brother’s killer,” Gysin said confidently.
With the eldest son dead, the second son couldn’t wait to show off.
He felt power converging toward him and couldn’t help but want to grasp it.
“Find them quickly! Avenge my little Sidney!” The woman’s face twisted ferociously, her eyes filled with venom. “I’ll sew that person’s head onto a pig’s body! Let dogs gnaw at it every day! Torment them forever…”
“Auntie, rest assured. I’ll avenge Big Brother.”
Gysin approached the six invitees, scanning them one by one. A smile played on his lips as he said unhurriedly,
“I know the killer is among you. Now, remove your cloaks and masks. I want to inspect you!”
Though displeased, the six removed their black robes and tossed them to the ground, but no one took off their masks.
Ashley calmly hid behind the tall woman, puzzled inwardly. There were many people, but they were mostly ordinary folk without a single decent fighter. Their extraordinaries must have been sent to chase Amber and Linden. So, where did this guy’s confidence come from?
Could some of them not be first-timers and already in cahoots with the Boothslot Family?
Ashley immediately considered this possibility; otherwise, there was no reason to provoke six unknowns.
She turned her head and quietly asked Delwei, who confirmed it was their first time. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief.
During the inspection, Gysin’s gaze was drawn to a woman.
As her black robe fell, her graceful, lithe figure bloomed in the darkness like a ghost orchid, instantly revealing stunning beauty—
Her skin was dazzlingly white, her neck slender and straight like a swan’s, her earlobes adorned with blue crystal tassels. Golden-brown wavy hair cascaded like silk, crowned with gem-carved butterfly ornaments.
The woman clasped her slender waist with both hands. Her high-slit gown to the waist exposed one snow-white leg in high heels.
“Heh, high-class goods.”
Gysin licked his lips, not hiding the lust in his eyes. He pointed at her and chuckled, “I’ll inspect you!”
“Don’t go too far!” The woman’s rebuke was proud and icy. She raised her chin slightly and demanded, “You invite us here, fail to entertain us properly, and now suspect us of theft? I’m a judge on the authoritative gourmet rankings…”
Such a beautiful woman naturally drew covetous eyes, but she had solid backing—her male companion lifted his cloak, revealing a towering, imposing physique like an insurmountable mountain. His chest was broad as a door, delivering a strong visual impact. A sawn-off shotgun and large-caliber revolver hung at his waist, and he wore king’s horse boots.
Ashley glanced over and saw the man’s exposed neck and wrists showing grayish, inorganic hardened skin—clearly bio-modified, with toughness comparable to Kevlar, bulletproof, and possibly extraordinary abilities.
“I don’t like forcing people. Since you disagree, I’ll play with your corpse instead. Corpses don’t refuse.” Gysin cracked his neck, his lips twisting into a creepy smile.
Before his words finished, one of the six invitees suddenly elongated their head from the neck!
Ashley’s dynamic vision was exceptional; she clearly saw a ferocious, monstrous crocodile head—half croc, half turtle. In a black blur, the horrific maw clamped shut on the woman’s abdomen!
The woman let out a shrill scream. Dagger-like teeth pierced her belly, clamping and squeezing like a vacuum sealer, without spilling a drop of blood. The crocodile head’s saliva acid-etched the wound to staunch bleeding.
Intense agony made her soft, snow-white body convulse and writhe. Her calf tensed and lifted, toes splaying desperately. The pain shattered her mind, muscles relaxed, and a stream of orange-yellow, crystalline warm liquid gushed to the ground, splashing more droplets.
Gysin stared at the woman, his pupils dilating to nearly fill his eye sockets, a sadistic gleam surging deep within.
His fingers slipped between his lips. Two rows of steel teeth glinted coldly as they ground back and forth, producing the crisp crack of bone!
Ashley’s eyes narrowed. This guy was eating his own fingers! He chomped down like an eating show host—skin and flesh crisp and chewy, bones crunching loudly. Finally, he stuffed the palm root in like a dog gnawing, shook his head forcefully to snap the wrist bones and tear it free, then chewed maniacally!
What madness was this?
Ashley was baffled, but she also noted his wound didn’t bleed—indeed, similar bio-modification to the crocodile head.
“She’s peeing… my beauty… so holy… so filthy…”
Gysin crazily chewed his own palm bones, producing popping sounds like firecrackers.
“Little Yin—!”
The woman’s companion roared in fury, striding to Gysin. The shotgun looked like a toy in his massive hand. “I’ll kill you!”
Close-range shot!
Boom!
In the instant the iron pellets exploded, Gysin ghosted to the side—like a silky motion unaffected by inertia, backed by incredibly strong leg muscles and core strength.
But the servant behind him took the hit. His body jolted, his servant uniform first dotted with fine blood points that rapidly spread. He toppled straight backward.
Gysin tilted his head back slightly, his throat widening and thickening. With a fierce downward thrust, he vomited a wriggling, extending mass of living flesh!
Ashley’s heart tightened. ‘Time Bird’ had recorded an extraordinary ability!
It was called “Meat Baby,” which transformed ingested flesh into ‘meat puppets.’ She didn’t know their combat power—Time Bird could only parse the general principle.
The meat puppet bounced upon landing and shot toward the booted man at high speed!
What the hell?
Ashley startled. This exceeded ordinary visual capture; even she struggled to react in time.
