"If you spot anything unusual, investigate at once. No hesitation."
"First thing tomorrow, a new team will relieve the four of you. They'll conduct a detailed search of South Cross Street and the nearby blocks."
Hearing this, the four of them nodded quickly, recalled their Guardian Beasts into their Soul Bases, and then dispersed to various points throughout South Cross Street.
"Number 6, you're responsible for compiling detailed data on this Bizarre entity."
"Use the Exclusive Traits of your Cursed Eye Slug to review the recent battle in detail."
The petite Number 6 adjusted the mask on her face and said,
"Captain, I actually already performed a preliminary analysis of this Bizarre entity during the fight."
"It's a dual-element Bizarre entity: Flesh and Blood and Curse."
"Its Tier is Extraordinary, Tenth Level, and its Quality is Silver Peak."
"This Deceit Beast Master had his Deceit Beast slaughter numerous Guardian Beast Masters with Lifebound Guardian Beasts in a short time. He's devouring their beasts, most likely because he's unwilling to attempt a breakthrough to the Fantasy Level with his beast's Quality being merely Silver-grade."
"Otherwise, even if this Deceit Beast Master possesses an amplification-type Talent, his Deceit Beast wouldn't be this powerful unless it was on the cusp of advancing to the Fantasy Tier."
"According to the Ghost Suppression Guard's comprehensive assessment standards for Bizarre entities, this Deceit Beast's potential can be rated as A-rank."
"However, due to its Contractor's Talent, their combination could likely scrape by with an A+-rank rating."
At this point, Number 6 paused, then continued in a soft voice.
"Captain, you can't summon your Guardian Beast here. It's perfectly normal that he escaped our encirclement."
Her voice, clear and cool under the night sky, was like a mountain spring.
A low chuckle sounded.
"Qianqian, you always know how to comfort people."
"Tonight, on South Cross Street… I hope no ordinary person runs into this Bizarre entity."
"You go back and report the results to our superiors. I'll stay at the street entrance to watch over the other four."
As he spoke, the eyes of the leading man narrowed behind his mask!
South Cross Street was lined with Guardian Beast shops, over a hundred from one end to the other.
Besides the shops that sold Guardian Beasts, there were also several Guardian Beast breeding bases.
A Flesh and Blood Element Bizarre entity likely has a way to recover quickly by devouring flesh and blood.
Given the situation on South Cross Street, four or five people were not nearly enough to provide targeted protection.
'I hope this Bizarre entity has already fled to the Lower City District and isn't still hiding on South Cross Street!'
At that moment, deep within South Cross Street, a cloud of blood mist coalesced into a hunched, lifeless-looking figure.
The moment the figure appeared, it didn't dare to pause for even a second, quickly stumbling forward.
As it ran, it scanned its surroundings as if searching for something.
Then, its gaze fell upon the sign of a Guardian Beast Shop named "Evolution"!
Mustering a final burst of strength, it grabbed the railing, vaulted over, and landed inside the courtyard of the Guardian Beast Shop.
If those Ghost Suppression Guards had seen Wang Jinda's path just now, they would have realized he wasn't just fleeing aimlessly.
He was heading straight for this Guardian Beast Shop named "Evolution."
In fact, Wang Jinda had indeed set this Guardian Beast Shop as his destination.
Wang Jinda had been hunting Guardian Beast Masters. Being caught by the Ghost Suppression Bureau while in the Upper City District to devour Lifebound Guardian Beasts was an unforeseen event.
But his presence on South Cross Street wasn't because he had run out of places to go, or because he'd been cornered like a rat in a cat's trap.
He had come here intentionally!
Ordinarily, Wang Jinda ran a tavern in the Lower City District, which was convenient for his hunts.
It also provided him with a plausible identity in the Lower City District.
The tavern had a delivery service. Wang Jinda would personally deliver alcohol to the homes of his regulars, and several of those regulars lived on South Cross Street.
Some of these regulars from South Cross Street had talked about this Guardian Beast Shop called "Evolution" in his tavern. They said the husband and wife who owned the shop had died in a Demon tide that erupted from a Secret Realm.
The family was left with only a teenage boy, whose head had been addled in an accident.
The shop was being run by just two servants, one old and one young.
Upon hearing this news, wicked ideas immediately began to form in Wang Jinda's mind.
South Cross Street was a prime location. The Guardian Beast shops here, even those selling only Mortal Beasts, would have accumulated considerable wealth.
When Wang Jinda had come to case the place to confirm if the story was true, he was only thinking of stealing some valuables in the future.
But after seeing Zhong Chenghuai, Wang Jinda had set his sights on the entire shop.
To a Bizarre entity, a Guardian Beast Master whose Lifebound Guardian Beast's Origin had been damaged was an irresistible temptation.
'A Bronze Quality Guardian Beast that had just reached the Extraordinary Tier, its Origin damaged… After I devour some of the flesh and blood from the Mortal Beasts in the shop, killing it might take some effort, but it won't be too difficult.'
Wang Jinda knew very well that by tomorrow morning at the latest, a large contingent of Ghost Suppression Guards would arrive on South Cross Street to conduct a sweep.
If he didn't use the cover of night to recover as much as possible and escape back to the Lower City District, he would likely fall into the hands of the Ghost Suppression Guards anyway, even though he'd just managed to flee the battle.
The thought of the Ghost Suppression Guard's methods for dealing with Bizarre entities made Wang Jinda shudder.
Wang Jinda had planned to vault into the Guardian Beast Shop's courtyard, lie quietly on the ground to recover some strength and Blood Qi, and then make his move.
During his escape, Wang Jinda had used every last bit of his strength, nearly overdrafting his very Life force to its limit.
Without recovering, forget about defeating the Guardian Beast Master with the damaged Origin inside; he wouldn't even be able to absorb the flesh and blood of the Mortal Beasts in the shop.
But before Wang Jinda, having just jumped into the courtyard, could find a quiet place to rest, he saw by the dim moonlight a young woman in a red dress standing beside an enchanting, two-headed, violet-red flower.
The young woman had noticed his presence and was turning her head to stare at him, not even blinking.
Her gaze was calm, and her eyes seemed to hold a hint of indescribable interest as she looked at him.
The look felt familiar to Wang Jinda. 'It's the same way I look at my food.'
Even someone like Wang Jinda, who had weathered many storms, couldn't help but shiver instinctively!
If the person in the courtyard were alive, Wang Jinda would have been able to sense them, no matter how terrible his current condition.
But this breathtakingly beautiful young woman had not the slightest fluctuation of Blood Qi!
Just then, the young woman in the red dress gracefully walked up to him and twitched her nose slightly, sniffing.
A clear, cold, and ethereal voice spoke words Wang Jinda would never have imagined in his wildest dreams.
"You have such a nice scent!"
"You smell delicious!"
"You ran into my home on your own. My master shouldn't get mad if I have a little snack."
A sense of danger surged through Wang Jinda's heart.
"I…"
Before Wang Jinda could get the words out, the young woman's pale hand gently covered his lips.
Her fingertips were fragrant, yet they felt ice-cold to the touch.
"I'll be sure to thank you… my little meal delivery cart!"
Wang Jinda had no time to ponder the meaning of the words "meal delivery cart" before he felt something cold envelop his head, followed by a sharp, intense pain.
The last thing Wang Jinda heard before he died was the CRACKING sound of his own skull shattering.
Wang Jinda, along with the strange doll covered in red thread that he clutched in his arms, was completely devoured by Hong Ji, becoming material to strengthen her.
After devouring the new material, Hong Ji's body once again grew sluggish.
As she rapidly digested the material, two thoughts surfaced in Hong Ji's mind.
The first was, 'Will Zhong Yi be angry when he finds out I had a midnight snack?'
The second was, 'It seems I ate something even better for combat than the Luminous Flame Scorpion, and I like it more, too.'
A moment later, Hong Ji returned to normal. Then, four tentacles, each about ten meters long, shot out from behind her back.
These tentacles were not bright red and made of flesh. However, they looked even more terrifying than the tentacles of clotted blood that Wang Jinda had created through his Blood Thread Puppet.
The four tentacles were composed of the corpses of various Mortal Beasts that had been drained of their Life and Soul Energy.
As the tentacles danced behind Hong Ji, the corpse materials from various Guardian Beasts rearranged themselves, always keeping the hardest parts of the carcasses exposed on the outside of the tentacles.
Meanwhile, the tattered doll covered in red thread now hung from Hong Ji's waist, suspended by a chain woven from blood vessels.
Bloody threads writhed rapidly across its surface. Hong Ji reached out and stroked the Blood Thread Puppet at her waist.
Like a proper lady fondly stroking her favorite little handbag!