The moment that absurd thought flashed through Phantylia's mind, she nearly laughed at herself.
A dignified Annihilation Gang Lord… thinking something this childish? What, did Aha sneak into my brain?
Wei Qing was still seated, perfectly relaxed. He shook his head and spoke lightly:
"Lady Phantylia… why'd you stop?"
"Is the chair too hard? Uncomfortable to sit on?"
On the surface, everything looked calm.
But inside, Wei Qing was finally certain: this incarnation of Phantylia couldn't do a damn thing to him.
How's it feel? Really wanna punch me, huh?
He didn't say it out loud—because it would ruin his aura.
Phantylia's irritation flared. She stared at him like she wanted to carve him into sashimi.
"What did you do?" she finally demanded, her voice glacial.
Wei Qing didn't bother answering. He didn't even shift in his seat—he simply spoke one line, flat and clear:
"Za… Warudo!!!"
With that shout, the whole world seemed to freeze.
Everything around them stopped moving.
Only Phantylia's shocked expression remained—locked in place.
Yeah… shouting the skill name really is satisfying, Wei Qing thought.
In the black-and-white stillness of stopped time, he rose leisurely from his chair and strolled toward the immobilized Annihilation Gang Lord.
He examined her at close range, unhurried.
Then he poked her cheek.
Soft. Ridiculously soft.
"Huh. These fox ears feel nice," he muttered. "Way better than the tail. I still haven't even touched Baiheng's…"
Seriously… is Phantylia some kind of fox fetishist? Why does she love cosplaying foxians so much?
Five seconds vanished in an instant.
Time resumed.
Phantylia's vision blurred—then she realized Wei Qing had "disappeared" from his seat and reappeared behind her in the blink of an eye.
She whipped around.
Wei Qing stood there casually… holding a single fox hair between his fingers.
"You—!" The humiliation slammed into her like a hammer.
At this point, she couldn't keep up the innocent-girl act. Destruction's power began to seep out around her.
"You've gotten far too arrogant, hound of the Hunt."
Wei Qing's repeated provocations had finally snapped something inside her.
And she deeply regretted it now—why, when she molded this temporary body, hadn't she poured more power into it?
If this vessel weren't so weak, she wouldn't be getting played like a toy with no way to retaliate.
But then Wei Qing suddenly lifted both hands in a surrender gesture.
"Wait. We can talk."
Phantylia paused, suspicious.
With the current situation, she couldn't imagine what there was to "talk" about.
Wei Qing shrugged.
"We really don't need to go straight to murder."
"Meaning?" Phantylia narrowed her eyes. Her fox ears—still a little swollen from being handled—stood up in wary attention.
Wei Qing ignored her tone and continued.
"Look at the Luofu right now. Even if I exposed you this time, you definitely have other backup identities."
He was honestly baffled.
The Xianzhou should be one of the top forces in the universe, yet both Phantylia and himself—Destruction Emanators—could infiltrate it with laughable ease.
And in the future, even trash-tier factions like the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and the Borisin would manage to worm their way into the Luofu.
As a "reserve candidate" for the next Luofu general, Wei Qing could only say—
the future looks grim.
"What are you trying to say?" Phantylia demanded again.
She obviously wasn't going to openly admit the truth, no matter how accurate it was.
Wei Qing smiled faintly.
"I'm just thinking… instead of you swapping identities later and we play hide-and-seek again—why don't we both let each other go?"
"Lady Phantylia, you didn't infiltrate the Luofu for sightseeing. You've got a mission."
"So how about this: stay by my side as Baiheng's 'cousin.' As long as you don't do anything too outrageous, I'll close one eye. Deal?"
It was, by his own admission, an extremely unreliable proposal.
"Hmph." Phantylia sneered. "You think I'm stupid?"
Wei Qing sighed.
"…Fair. Honestly, I can't even keep bullshitting that plan anymore."
Since she refused his "kindness," he figured he had no choice.
If it weren't necessary, he didn't want to move against a coworker.
He didn't believe he could hide his identity forever—if he got exposed later and she decided to make his life miserable, that would be a hassle.
"Well then," Wei Qing said calmly, "I guess this is goodbye."
The moment the words fell—
His palm was already pressed onto the crown of her head.
A catastrophic force surged downward.
Phantylia's temporary body cracked like porcelain, splitting apart from the inside as Destruction erupted through it.
But her true consciousness slipped free at the instant the vessel collapsed—escaping cleanly and vanishing into the distance.
"Yeah… still can't capture her alive, huh?" Wei Qing scratched his head, sounding genuinely a little disappointed.
He'd expected it, but it still stung.
If he could've captured an Annihilation Gang Lord alive, that'd be an instant top-tier merit citation.
He'd briefly considered coming clean—telling her that he was also an Annihilation Gang Lord.
But he abandoned the idea.
Phantylia was specially designed by Nanook to counter the Hunt.
If she found out her "coworker" was about to become the Luofu's general, who knew what kind of moral-blackmail "colleague obligations" she'd try to pull—getting him to do free labor.
Wei Qing wasn't about to let anyone sabotage his future peaceful life.
[Ding! Congratulations! The host has successfully taught an disloyal coworker a lesson and safeguarded the purity of the Destruction faction!]
[Reward: Special Skill "Coworker's Authority": When facing other Annihilation Gang Lords, you may briefly release Nanook's aura to intimidate them.]
This reward felt… kind of weak compared to the previous two.
But Wei Qing didn't dwell on it.
He was more concerned about how to explain what just happened.
On the surface, he'd basically just slapped Baiheng's cousin to death.
Whatever. I'll just tell the truth.
He and Baiheng had been friends for years.
A fake "cousin" he'd met today wasn't going to shatter Baiheng's trust.
And once someone investigated "Linglong's" background properly, the truth would reveal itself naturally.
PS: Tomorrow I'll probably change the cover, but the title stays the same.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
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