Stronger with Crimson Modifier-Chapter 45: I’m Still Young, I Can Have Another

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: I’m Still Young, I Can Have Another

Lu Ming Bell pointed at the photo in his hand, his voice filled with resentment.

The photo showed a tall, strong, middle-aged man with a rugged face, wearing a hat. He had a scar on his brow that stretched nearly across his entire face.

However, after the woman in the black dress glanced at it, she didn’t take the photo. Instead, she asked in a strange tone,

"Are you sure it was this person?"

Even through the mask, Lu Ming Bell could feel her gaze fixed on him.

"Yes. We also have surveillance footage. It captured this man’s face."

Afraid she would think he was lying, Lu Ming Bell quickly took out his phone, pulled up a video clip from the surveillance footage, and held it out to the woman in the black dress.

However, after watching it, the woman in the black dress let out a clear, bright laugh, like the chime of a bronze bell in the wind.

"Interesting. A dead man who can still kill."

Lu Ming Bell was visibly shaken.

"My Lady, what do you mean by that?"

"I encountered this man before. I bestowed the transformation upon him, but unfortunately, he couldn’t endure it. He’s dead!"

the woman in the black dress said lightly.

"Your son’s killer must be someone else, perhaps in a Disguise.

"But based on appearance alone, they’re nearly identical. Even I would have trouble telling them apart. I don’t know how this person managed it, but finding them won’t be difficult."

As she said this, she took the white shirt.

The next moment, a strange scene unfolded.

Wisps of black mist rose from between her long, slender fingers like living things, then twisted and coiled to envelop the white shirt.

Before his very eyes, black spots surfaced on the shirt, and within a few breaths, it turned from its original white to pitch black.

The fabric began to collapse and disintegrate, transforming into a drifting cloud of mist as thick as ink.

Suddenly, the mist contracted, forming a palm-sized, all-black crow with two glowing red dots for eyes.

After appearing, the crow first nuzzled affectionately against the palm of the woman in black, then tilted its head to preen its black feathers.

Watching this, the look of reverence on Lu Ming Bell’s face deepened.

He felt an even greater sense of fear and awe for these unknown methods.

"Go. Find me the one who killed this shirt’s owner!"

the woman in the black dress said lightly.

—CAW CAW!

The black bird immediately let out a harsh cry, beat its wings, and flew away.

...

Night fell, the neon lights brilliant.

At some point, a light rain had begun to fall.

Though the rain was light, puddles had formed on the road. These pools of varying sizes were like shattered mirror fragments scattered across the ground, reflecting the distant neon lights and the leaden, overcast sky.

SPLASH!

Black tires rolled through a puddle, sending up a spray of water.

A black sedan drove at a steady speed.

Ahead of the car, a red-eyed crow, entirely black and almost blending into the night sky, was beating its wings, flying in a specific direction.

It finally entered an alleyway.

The car stopped at the entrance to the alley.

The car door opened.

Lu Ming Bell got out.

The rain soaked his hair.

He turned his head.

The woman in the black dress had also gotten out.

But shockingly, as the rain fell from the sky, it seemed to be deflected by an invisible barrier just before it reached her head, unable to touch her in the slightest.

The woman in the black dress walked to the mouth of the alley and looked to where the crow had landed.

With a wave of her hand,

the manhole cover below seemed to be struck by an Invisible Power, flying open and landing to the side.

After glancing down, she looked back at the crow, but it was no longer moving.

"The person must have thrown the clothes in here before. A very clean disposal.

"A pity. Too much time has passed, and it has rained several times these past few days. If it had been two days earlier, we might have found something."

At this point, she looked at Lu Ming Bell.

"Before your son’s death, did he have any feuds with anyone?"

Hearing this, Lu Ming Bell shook his head.

"I’m not sure about that. I have plenty of enemies. It’s not impossible that one of those old bastards would shamelessly go after him."

He paused for a moment.

"Actually, there was a woman killed along with my son. Could it be..."

As he thought of this, his eyes lit up slightly, as if he had just understood something.

He took out his phone.

And made a call.

It was unclear what was said on the other end, but his expression grew increasingly ugly.

As if sensing her gaze, he began to explain.

"My boy once hired some people to beat up a young man named Hu Qi for that woman and sent him to the hospital. But not only was the man fine, he even joined the Red Scale Club, passed the assessment, and became a preparatory member of the core class."

"It seems he’s the one, then. Do you still want revenge?"

the woman in the black dress said in a playful tone.

"The Red Scale Fighting Club..."

Lu Ming Bell muttered, his expression flickering.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again, his voice a bit hoarse.

"My Lady, I think we should just forget it. My son wasn’t a good person to begin with. His death was the result of his own actions—karma. You can’t force these things.

"I’m still relatively young. If my son’s gone, he’s gone. I’ll just work at it and have another one. It’s not a big deal."

To ordinary people, the Red Scale Fighting Club was just a place that taught martial arts.

Only a select few knew what kind of terrifying existences stood behind it.

’If that Hu Qi were just an ordinary student, it would be one thing. But he’s already secured a spot in the core class and will soon be heading to *that* place. This means he has already entered the sights of those existences. Even though I wield considerable power myself, compared to them, I’m not even worth a fart. They could destroy me and my entire enterprise with the flick of a finger. Besides, even if I insisted, this woman before me would never help. Killing an ordinary person and provoking the powers behind the Red Scale Club are two completely different things.’

Then, as if he had thought of something, he looked at the woman in the black dress and said,

"In any case, what I promised you before still stands."

As he spoke, he failed to notice the somewhat strange expression on the woman’s face, hidden behind her mask.

...

Nighttime.

Inside a rental apartment in the Hanlin Garden District.

HUFF!

HUFF!

...

Hu Qi stood with his feet shoulder-width apart.

He gripped a heavy, enormous axe with both hands, raised it over his head, and brought it down with force.

Then he retracted the axe, turned his body slightly, and used the power of his waist to swing his arms horizontally, the axe blade carving an arc as it slashed diagonally outwards.

Immediately after, he held the axe with one hand, using the other to steady it, and thrust forward in a quick, lightning-fast motion.

As his body rose and fell, the shadow of the axe danced in his hands.

Over half an hour later, Hu Qi finally stopped.

His face was flushed, and he was breathing heavily, his gasps like a bellows pumping.

Even with the air conditioner on, after training for so long, sweat had already soaked his undershirt, trickling down his skin.

THUD!

He set the axe down, and the moment it hit the floor, it made a heavy, muffled sound.