Captain Mao stood anxiously outside the study, calling out several times but heard no movement from within.

Considering the urgency, he gritted his teeth, turned the doorknob, and opened the study door.

"Master Lv, please forgive me, I really..."

Before Captain Mao could finish his sentence, he swallowed the remaining words entirely.

After all, the study was only that big, not to mention being enveloped by three brightly glowing Yellow Talismans.

The Horror Scarecrow, nearly four meters tall, near the window side was enough to fill the entire view.

Captain Mao’s anxious expression hadn’t faded yet, closely followed by an uncontrolled terror.

Complex emotions displayed on his face, bringing an overwhelmingly infectious sense that no performance could replicate.

"Captain Mao, you’ve arrived at a bad time, as you can see, I have matters to attend to."

Lv Bai glanced at Captain Mao and then refocused on the Horror Scarecrow, speaking in a rather casual tone.

Perhaps soothed by Lv Bai’s calm demeanor, Captain Mao barely managed to settle down.

He took the handgun from his waist, gritted his teeth, and said, "Master Lv, what do you need me to do?"

"Just take care of yourself."

Without turning his head, Lv Bai waved his hand and then decisively stepped towards the Horror Scarecrow: "A minor interlude, alright, let’s continue."

He raised his hand, drew out a Yellow Talisman between his fingers, and the other end of the talisman ignited spontaneously.

"I refuse to join, what will you do about it? Kill me?"

The Horror Scarecrow, already raising its branch-like arm, upon hearing Lv Bai’s words, its grotesque humanoid face emitted a piercing blast similar to a viper rubbing its scales.

Without further delay, the two-meter-long branch arm swung directly towards Lv Bai.

It’s worth mentioning that its surface appeared decayed and shriveled, yet with the swinging of the branch arm, it produced a sound akin to metal slicing through the air.

Moreover, careful observation would reveal that the area traversed by the branch arm left patchy shadows, as if petroleum was splashed onto a pane of glass.

"Watch out!"

Instinctively, Captain Mao shouted upon seeing this.

Though Captain Mao need not alert him, Lv Bai was already vigilant against the unfamiliar and bizarre.

Notably, these spotty shadows were undeniably problematic, even thinking with one’s knee.

Without any hesitation, Lv Bai casually dropped the Yellow Talisman from his fingers while activating [Flash Time] and [Bursting Qi], allowing him to swiftly escape from the Horror Scarecrow’s attack range and retreat towards the door as everything momentarily froze.

During this time, he even had the energy to pull Captain Mao away from the doorway.

The 0.5 seconds of [Flash Time] passed, as time resumed flowing, Lv Bai had already retreated with Captain Mao to the center of the courtyard. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Honestly speaking, even the sinister itself found this scene rather bizarre.

Although the Horror Scarecrow’s face was obscured by a hood, preventing any expression from being seen, its frozen motion clearly indicated it was equally astonished.

After a brief silence, the Horror Scarecrow’s peculiar voice emanated from the room: "No wonder those folks want to recruit you."

Before Lv Bai could respond, a somewhat rough voice echoed from the eaves, signaling agreement.

"Clearly, he’s not human."

Lv Bai looked towards the source of the voice, evidently another mysterious entity.

This entity possessed a crow-like sharp beak and a pair of pitch-black wings, yet otherwise maintained a fairly ordinary human form, dressed in tattered Mountain Hermit attire with a tachi at its waist.

Without flapping its wings, it hovered steadily in the air, observing Lv Bai with a distinctly interested gaze.

Sequence 59—Wutian Dog.

"Master Lv..."

Captain Mao’s voice was filled with bewilderment, almost like a murmur.

Faced with these successive appearances of strange entities, his frazzled mind finally succumbed completely.

The erratic actions of these entities left the world’s humans without a foreseeable future.

Lv Bai released Captain Mao’s arm, gazing at Wutian Dog and inquired: "I’m curious, just how many of you came?"

Upon leaving the room into the courtyard, he could faintly sense the recruitment center’s rampant chaos.

Various screams and cries echoed from all directions; in the interval of their brief dialogue, two violent explosions had occurred, flames soaring into the sky.

"Unfortunately, I don’t know."

Wutian Dog shrugged its hands helplessly: "According to the original allocation plan, these people were meant to be the loathed ones’ nourishment, but your anomaly has arisen."

Original allocation plan?

Lv Bai felt no discontent towards the entities’ discourse on using the city’s population as expendable resources.

He simply nodded belatedly: "So, the subsequent appearance of that Plague Doctor was actually your rescue measure?"

As the conversation continued between one person and one entity, the twisting Horror Scarecrow emerged from the room.

With a chilling undertone, the Horror Scarecrow interjected: "If it weren’t for you killing that Cursed Tongue, we wouldn’t enjoy such a feast."

Wutian Dog glanced at the Horror Scarecrow, then slowly drew the tachi from its waist.

"Consider this our second rescue measure."

Before the words finished, its wings fluttered, transforming its body into a black lightning bolt, shooting towards Lv Bai.

Though Lv Bai wished to accuse Wutian Dog of unfairness, the exaggerated attack speed forced him to employ [Flash Time] to ensure dodging.

After catching a breath, the 0.5 seconds whisked by, another blade light slashed across.

Wutian Dog evidently noticed Lv Bai’s unusual evasive technique, giving him no respite whatsoever.

Lv Bai had to admit, the sole weakness of non-continuous [Flash Time] was opponents with remarkably fast attack speed.

Luckily, [Flash Time] wasn’t the only ability he possessed now.

Before the blade’s arrival, his figure abruptly vanished, while clanging sounds resounded around Wutian Dog.

[Alpha Strike (Gold): Consumes a certain amount of stamina, allowing the user to maneuver around the battlefield at barely visible speed, performing four cumulative attacks, untargetable during the duration, with a thirty-second cooldown.]

For safety’s sake, Wutian Dog tactically retreated a distance by fluttering its wings.

Lv Bai reappeared at the original spot, without pause, without glancing back at Wutian Dog, quickly drawing out a Yellow Talisman to chant a curse.