Chapter 946: Shocked Eight of Spades

Xu Jia's headless body fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Spade 8 watched Chen Ling, clad in a large red opera robe, standing in a pool of blood, sneering while holding a severed head. His mouth twitched uncontrollably, and having already prepared himself for death, he suddenly felt a surge of panic.

What was happening?

Spade 8 had originally hidden in the warehouse, ready to take anyone down with him. If only Xu Jia had come, he was confident he could ambush and kill him. However, seeing two people approach, Spade 8 had essentially given up hope. But to his utter surprise, Chen Ling not only didn't kill him, but after knocking him to the ground with a punch, began frantically stabbing himself with a knife!

Before Spade 8 could react, Chen Ling had already used a backhand strike to eliminate the Blazeforger.

"You... who are you??" Spade 8 asked, utterly bewildered.

Chen Ling casually dropped Xu Jia's head and limped over to Spade 8.

"I want to purchase a glimmer of hope," Chen Ling said calmly. "Hello, I am Heart 6."

"Heart 6??"

Spade 8 seemed to recall something, a realization dawning on him. "You're that Chen Ling??"

Heart 6's name was well-known throughout the Twilight Society, with descriptions of him growing more outlandish by the day. Yet, "World-Ending Calamity," "Grand Red Opera Robe," and "Ruthless Madness" remained his most prominent labels.

"It seems we haven't met before," Chen Ling said, extending a hand to help Spade 8 to his feet. "My apologies, my memory has been a bit muddled lately, and I don't recognize people well..."

"How are you in the Infinite Domain? And why are you with the Blazeforger people?"

"It's a long story."

Chen Ling sighed deeply.

"The Silver King kidnapped me. He wants to control the 'World-Ending' power within me. To do so, he even scrambled my memories with someone else's, hoping to turn me against the Twilight Society..."

Hearing this, most of the doubt in Spade 8's mind dissipated. If what Chen Ling said was true, then Spade 8 himself was likely just a tool to provoke conflict between Chen Ling and the Twilight Society. No wonder he was dragged out of the dungeon at that particular moment.

"How did you avoid being brainwashed and retain your memories?" Spade 8 asked the crucial question. "That was the Silver King! How could you possibly deceive him??"

Chen Ling smiled faintly.

"That... is a secret."

Seeing this, Spade 8 wisely refrained from asking further questions. He didn't doubt Chen Ling's identity; after all, there was only one fused being of the World-Ending Calamity in this world: Heart 6, Chen Ling.

He took a deep breath, enduring the pain from his injuries, and staggered away.

"Regardless, let's get out of here first... This is the Blazeforger's territory, after all. They'll eventually find this body and realize you weren't actually brainwashed... If we anger the Silver King, it won't be easy to hide."

Spade 8 took a couple of steps but noticed Chen Ling hadn't followed. He turned back, puzzled.

"Who said I was leaving?" Chen Ling chuckled. "If both of us disappear, the Silver King will definitely notice something amiss and send people to hunt us down... This is the Infinite Domain, their home turf, and you're injured. No matter how far we run, we'll be caught eventually..."

"You... you're going back??" Spade 8 exclaimed in shock.

The Silver King was no pushover, and the Cathedral was the Blazeforger's stronghold, teeming with powerful individuals. Chen Ling, merely a fourth-tier combatant, had barely escaped, yet he dared to return?

"If I go back and report your death, you'll completely disappear from the Blazeforger's radar... Only then can you survive, and we won't have the entire Blazeforger faction hunting us down." Chen Ling paused briefly.

"As for myself... I have a way to establish a foothold there."

"The legends were right, you truly are a lunatic!" Spade 8 couldn't help but blurt out.

But Chen Ling was indeed correct. If he were to escape with Spade 8 now, their chances of evading the Silver King would be infinitesimally small. On the contrary, if Chen Ling returned, their prospects of survival would be much higher.

Spade 8 pondered for a moment, as if coming to a decision. "Wait for me."

Spade 8 closed his eyes and mumbled something, his skin starting to turn an unnatural corpse-white. Simultaneously, the flesh on his back slowly bulged, as if something was about to burst forth.

Spade 8's breath grew weaker and weaker, his heartbeat nearly vanishing. Patches of lividity appeared on his skin, as if he were transforming into a corpse.

Chen Ling watched this scene with curiosity. A few seconds later, he saw a second head growing from Spade 8's back!

It was a head identical to Spade 8's. From a distance, he looked like a two-headed zombie, both heads with closed eyes and ghastly pale faces, a truly terrifying sight!

"You're... " Chen Ling said, utterly astonished, having never witnessed such an uncanny path before.

Spade 8, now resembling a corpse, bent his arms at a grotesque angle, embracing the new head that had grown from his back. With a forceful tug, the head was detached from his body and cradled in his hands.

Spade 8 turned, his back to Chen Ling, and offered his head forward, cradled in both hands.

"Take this. If you return with it, they'll believe you more readily."

"?" Chen Ling's mouth fell open in shock. "That's possible?"

The lividity on Spade 8's body gradually receded, and his vitality slowly returned. He looked as if all his strength had been drained, on the verge of death, his face ashen and lifeless.

"It's only because my path is unique; anyone else couldn't help you this much," Spade 8 murmured, barely alive.

Since Spade 8 had gone so far as to detach his own head, Chen Ling naturally couldn't refuse and immediately took it with both hands. Although this was a new head that had grown from his back, it was identical to a real one, with no discernable difference whatsoever. With this item, Chen Ling would have an easier time reporting back.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it... you should go quickly..." Spade 8 said hoarsely. "For now, I'll be staying at a private hospital on Gothic Street. If you need to find me, you can go there."

"Okay."

Chen Ling was about to leave when he suddenly seemed to remember something. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled an item from his pocket and placed it into Spade 8's hand.

"What's this...?" Spade 8 paused, slightly startled.

"The Silver King is elusive. This isn't safe with me, so I'm entrusting it to you for safekeeping," Chen Ling said solemnly. "Remember, under no circumstances are you to open it."

"I understand, rest assured."

Spade 8 said no more to Chen Ling. At this point, he looked as if he might faint at any moment. Leaning against the warehouse wall, he slowly made his way into the distance.

Seeing him leave, Chen Ling took a deep breath, picked up a rigid zombie hand from the ground, and plunged it fiercely into himself!