Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Shen Yu looked up coldly.

As the carriage drove further and further away, they were about to leave the guard post at Xuanwu Gate.

The full moon hung high in the sky tonight, casting a soft glow over the city walls. Shen Yu was far from Xuan Lin, and amidst the sounds of fighting and wailing, he looked up and could only vaguely make out Xuan Lin's figure.

The palace walls were ablaze with lights, outlining Xuan Lin's all-black figure with a few pure gold borders. Shen Yu couldn't see his specific movements, but seeing the cold glint of the bow tip, he knew that Xuan Lin must have already drawn his dragon-bone bow to its fullest extent.

The bow and arrow that Shen Yu made for him using the bones of thousand-year-old beasts from Chengyuan Mountain had its bowstring selected, crafted, and reshaped nearly a thousand times. In the dozens of battles he fought alongside Xuan Lin, this dragon bone bow helped him take down the enemy's head on several occasions.

Now he finally aimed the bow at Shen Yu.

"Waaaaah—what are you doing! Get out of the way!" The scream of Gouqie Tousheng exploded in Shen Yu's ears. Before Shen Yu could react, Gouqie Tousheng knocked him to the side with a ball.

The arrow pierced the air, passing just two or three millimeters from Shen Yu's face before embedding itself in the wooden pillar beside him.

The carriage was also hit and tilted twice. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared where the bullet had pierced its body, and the entire carriage was teetering on the verge of collapse.

Shen Yu's forehead bumped into a wooden pillar beside him, and he took a step back, only to be suddenly pulled to the inside by the person behind him.

"Hide inside and don't come out." Wen Yu's voice was cold and sharp. He took the long arrow from Shen Yu's hand and stood at the edge of the carriage in his place.

He was much thinner than Shen Yu. Although their faces were similar, every part of his body was significantly different from Shen Yu's. This was mainly because he had suffered many injuries over the years without proper rest and treatment, making him inferior to Shen Yu's post-apocalyptic physique.

Shen Yu calmed himself down and sat in the shadow cast by Wen Yu, turning his gaze to the arrow that had pierced the inside of the carriage.

Unlike ordinary long wooden arrows, this bow and arrow was covered with a layer of red color of unknown origin, and its tip was made of pure iron, exuding a sharp and imposing aura.

Shen Yu held the long arrow in one hand. As soon as his palm touched the arrowhead, he sensed a familiar energy fluctuation.

The red part of the bow and arrow cracked open, and fine, pure black lines emerged from the gap. They seemed to be alive, and as soon as they appeared in Shen Yu's eyes, they were accompanied by a crackling sound mixed with lightning, slowly climbing up the surrounding air.

Upon seeing this, the alarm on its body suddenly lit up, its body turned pure black, and it quickly hid around the corner.

"Shen Yu! This is the system's energy! No... no, no, this... this is the coal ball's energy! It hasn't locked onto you yet, you have to get out of here!"

Shen Yu's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. He withdrew his hand and turned to look outside the carriage. They had already left Xuanwu Gate, and the guards behind them were still in hot pursuit. If he jumped out of the window now... perhaps he would have a chance to escape.

Shen Yu frowned. He was about to reach out and grab Wen Yu when he looked down at the interior of the carriage and froze in place.

Within a second or two, the dense, tiny black lines spread across the entire bottom of the carriage, their currents slowly gathering and converging in the direction of Wen Yu.

Shen Yu's eyes were dry. His pupils moved and he saw that these black lines seemed to have a premonition. They bypassed the other people in the carriage who were on the verge of death and only approached Wen Yu.

Wen Yu naturally couldn't see these things. He was standing on the outside, his legs already tightly wrapped by the rapidly splitting and crawling black lines.

“Lan Yu…”

For a moment, Shen Yu's mind went blank. He used his dagger to tear at the black lines that were wrapped around him. His palms ached from the dense, tiny electric currents surging through them.

Xuan Lin's arrow wasn't aimed at him. Shen Yu was wearing a mask, and everyone in the carriage was wearing a mask. They were all similar in build and dressed identically, so Xuan Lin couldn't tell them apart from that distance.

He only wanted to shoot this arrow so that Coal Ball could take Wen Yu back.

The death row inmates of Chengyuan Mountain were irrelevant to him; they were merely tools Xuan Lin used to threaten and suppress Wen Yu.

The only person Xuan Lin never let go of from beginning to end was Wen Yu.

"Damn it! How did the coal's strength change so much?! I can't bite it!"

Clinging to life, it changed form, biting at the black lines on Wen Yu's leg and pulling relentlessly, but failing to sever a single one. The purple light vanished, and the glow on its sphere dimmed, as if merging with the night.

Shen Yu stood there stunned. He looked ahead and saw Wen Yu stagger for some reason, her arm supporting the inside of the carriage, her face pale.

A few drops of scarlet blood dripped from his trouser leg.

Shen Yu blinked, his expression hidden behind his mask. He suddenly spoke to Gouqiechousheng, "Gouqiechousheng, Wen Yu and I are actually the same person, you know that?"

Having barely managed to survive, its mouth full of black lines, it turned around and tapped the ball upon hearing this.

“You know, but Coal Ball might not,” Shen Yu said, cutting open his palm with a dagger. Blood trickled down the edge of his hand, soon forming a puddle in front of him.

Sensing the scent of Shen Yu's blood, the black lines immediately stopped crawling on Wen Yu's body. After a moment's pause, they abruptly changed direction and surged towards Shen Yu.

"Are you crazy?!" she screamed, clinging to life.

Shen Yu removed the mask from his face. In front of everyone in the carriage, he tore off the mask from his face, revealing his true face underneath.

When Cheng Yuanshan, who was hiding inside, saw Shen Yu's face, his eyes widened immediately: "Junior Brother?!"

Wen Yu turned around at the sound, his pupils dilating in shock. He grabbed Shen Yu's arm and said, "What do you want to do? Go back! What are you doing out here now?!"

His mouth was full of gritted teeth, as if he wanted to tear Shen Yu to pieces.

Helpless, Shen Yu pulled the bow and arrow from the carriage and smiled at Wen Yu: "Lanyu, after you get out of this life, you must live well. Don't think about the next life, because it might be even worse."

Wen Yu's eyes were bloodshot, and he held onto Shen Yu tightly, refusing to let go: "Don't go crazy, let's go back!"

The black lines had already wrapped around Shen Yu's chest. He gripped the long arrow in his hand, suddenly turned around, and jumped out of the carriage.

"Shen Yu!!!"

Shen Yu fell to the ground, Wen Yu's voice, which sounded like it was tearing him apart, still echoing in his ears. He blinked and looked up, seeing that the pursuing guards had stopped in front of him shortly afterward.

Shen Yu remained seated, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings. He looked down at the black thread wrapped around his hand and smiled when he heard certain sounds.

"Your Majesty, you've arrived?"

Xuan Lin slowly walked towards Shen Yu, the coal ball resting on his shoulder, the electric current surging through his body and emitting a cold light.