translator: liu_kaixuan  editor: valvrave
the amr-2âs bullet blasted shen haiâs body backward. in reality, if someone were to be shot in the head by a 12.7 mm sniper bullet, their head would burst apart like a watermelon falling to the ground. however, shen hai was a special case as his brain seemed to be perfectly intact. actually, the bullet was unable to penetrate his brain as it was protected by a thick layer of mental force at all times.
shen hai was momentarily stunned from the impact, and in the next moment, he regained his senses. but he was still a step too late. jiang zhuying mastered every bit of strength she had and flung the longsword to shen haiâs throat, piercing it, while ling stabbed her military-grade dagger into his heart from his back.
shen haiâs eyes started losing their luster, but there was still a shred of consciousness in them. he was unwilling to die like that. he tried his best to look at jiang liushi, but his pupils had completely lost focus. he was unable to see jiang liushi. as a proud advocate of genesis, it had never crossed his mind that he would die here.
in the next instant, shen haiâs body crashed heavily on the ground. shen haiâs body was in a sorry state. his clothes were in tatters, his body filled with open wounds and charred parts. it was a miserable death.
âbrother!â shouted jiang zhuying. she didnât have the time to think, and as soon as she landed, jiang zhuying rushed to her brotherâs side.
currently, jiang liushi was kneeling on the tour busâ roof, holding the amr-2 sniper rifle in his hand to support himself. his countenance was unsightly as if he was in excruciating pain.
âzhuying, be careful!â shouted ran xiyu.
undoubtedly, ran xiyu was the most exhausted one after this battle. she had surpassed the limits of her power, and the backlash awaiting her was no trifling matter. however, she still did she utmost best to remind jiang zhuying not to approach her brother recklessly.
âsister xiyu, you meanâ¦âjiang zhuying looked at ran xiyu in confusion. then, she realized that her brother may have succumbed to the sprite queen. in that case, jiang zhuying did not dare imagine what theyâd do. âmy brother, has he been infected?â
âiâm not sureâ¦â answered ran xiyu slowly as she had a hard time breathing. she was too weak to even form big sentences. âbrother jiangâs energy fluctuationsâ¦areâ¦unstable. he isâ¦alsoâ¦aggressiveâ¦â
while ran xiyu was speaking, they suddenly heard a loud sound. they turned their head immediately and looked at jiang liushi. he had squeezed the amr-2 so hard that it had snapped! at the same time, jiang liushi collapsed on the roof.
everyone looked at jiang liushi in astonishment. the amr-2 was crafted by a high-strength alloy, but jiang liushi was able to break it apart bare-handed.
jiang zhuying was in a daze. she knew that jiang liushi had developed a powerful brain domain and his physique, but she had never thought that he would be so powerful. evidently, jiang liushiâs current power was due to the sprite queen. in other words, the sprite queen was getting control of jiang liushi!
but why did he shoot shen hai? if not for jiang liushi, they would all be dead now.
âbrother!â regardless of ran xiyuâs warning, jiang zhuying got closer to jiang liushi. they were less than five meters apart.
âbrother! youâre different! youâre stronger than the other infected, you can beat it! i believe in you!â said jiang zhuying confidently. even though jiang liushi looked ferocious, she believed that her brother would not attack them. she was worried about him, but not in the least afraid for her life.
the other teammates looked at jiang liushi who was like groaning in pain and roaring like a lion, hoping he would overcome it.
âxiyu, can you help him?â asked xiang xuehai suddenly.
ran xiyu was the only one who could communicate with jiang liushi. unfortunately, she was badly hurt. thus, she shook her head. despair was written all over her face.
âlet me try!â said li yuxin and moved toward jiang liushiâs direction.
when li yuxin got close to jiang liushi, xiang xuehai shouted, âyuxin!â although they were love rivals, she was worried about li yuxin. she didnât want her to risk her life.
âdonât worry. since brother jiang attacked shen hai, it means that he is still rational and hasnât succumbed yet. i want to give it a try. although i have healing abilities, i can treat my patients through my mental energy. i can be regarded as a half-psychic paranormal,â explained li yuxin.
then, she walked toward to jiang liushi slowly, trying to touch him. everyone watched with halted breaths at jiang liushi and li yuxin. meanwhile, they all got closer to them slowly, ready to act and protect li yuxin.
âbrother jiang, itâs me, yuxin.â li yuxin held jiang liushiâs hands gently and slowly. she was totally different from ran xiyu, whose mental energy could move out of her body. li yuxin could only sense othersâ mental energy through direct contact. she silently probed jiang liushiâs brain area. her power allowed her to see everything happening in oneâs body, better than a ct, x-rays and so on.
jiang liushi fell silent but still struggled. fortunately, he didnât attack li yuxin at all.
after probing, li yuxinâs eyes lit up. then, she said, âbrother jiangâs situation isâ¦quite complexâ¦i have studied the blue liquid. as long as the liquid enters a personâs body, it will occupy the infected personâs brain first. after controlling the brain, it will spread out to the rest of the body. however, brother jiangâs case is totally different. it seems that his brain is protected by a layer of energy, which prevents the sprite queen from entering. therefore, the sprite queen entered brother jiangâs nerves. it is about to control brother jiang through the spinal nerve and peripheral nerve.â
ying did not seem surprised. she knew that the layer of energy protecting jiang liushiâs brain was starseed. since it was occupying jiang liushiâs brain, naturally, it could not allow anything to harm it. as a result, ying was not worried about jiang liushi.
âi could try and extract the sprite queen, but i donât know if it will be a success. if we donât act, the sprite queen might break through and take control over brother jiangâs brain. or it could control brother jiang just though his nerves,â conjectured li yuxin.
theoretically, controlling only the spinal nerve and the somatic nerve could completely control all the movements of a person other than their thoughts. however, it was too difficult to separate the sprite queen from jiang liushiâs body without damaging his body.
li yuxin knew that they could not waste any more time and had to make a decision quickly.