Chapter Thirty-One: Assessing the Situation

The desiccated corpse had been dealt with, buried beneath the earth before him, but Fang Mu’s thoughts refused to settle. The events of the day were simply too strange—stranger even than the gaping hole that had appeared in the sky days before, from which a severed hand had fallen.

His heart had been shattered; he’d felt the shadow of death looming, or more precisely—he had died. Yet, inexplicably, he was alive once more. And upon awakening, he was confronted by that bizarre corpse.

Anyone could deduce that there was some connection between the death of the dried corpse and his own resurrection. But what sort of connection? Fang Mu searched his memory carefully, but could not find the answer. Still, a vague unease lingered within him, for every detail of the affair reeked of the uncanny.

Especially when he considered the black severed hand, now buried somewhere on the Plain of Falling Swallows—the sense of disquiet grew stronger.

...

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he suddenly shook his head vigorously.

“What am I thinking? Isn’t this a good thing? No matter how strange that black flame may be... if not for its bizarre power, I’d be dead right now! Why worry about anything else?”

Fang Mu realized he was becoming obsessed—or perhaps simply foolish. Even if that black flame was ominous, even if it carried some hidden terror... so what?

Without it, he’d already be dead—a corpse. What right did the dead have to fret over such matters?

This thought made Fang Mu roll his eyes at himself. How ridiculous. He felt like a starving man, faced with a cake whose origin was unknown, earnestly pondering: “Hmm, this cake looks delicious, but its provenance is far too mysterious. It must be poisoned! Eat it, and a hundred years later the poison will kill me...”

Wasn’t that absurd?

He couldn’t help but laugh, finally letting go of his doubts.

“If not for this black flame, I’d have died today. Why worry about anything else?”

“And in fact...”

“The stranger it is, the better.”

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“This means its origin is all the more extraordinary.”

“Even if there are consequences... that’s something for the future, if it happens at all.”

“For now, I only need to know what it can do for me.”

With that, Fang Mu’s mind cleared completely; he abandoned the pointless speculation. His eyes grew bright.

“I never imagined this thing could bring someone back from the dead... but judging from the corpse, resurrection seems to require certain conditions. So it can’t be relied upon. It’s best not to die at all...”

He pondered quietly. The mere thought of death made his spine shiver. He had no way to control the conditions or circumstances of resurrection; naturally, he couldn’t depend on it.

Or rather...

This time, he’d come back.

But who could guarantee this power would always be there? What if it only worked once?

So caution was still necessary!

“Best to assume this ability doesn’t exist. No need to overthink anything else.”

He made up his mind.

After a while, he buried all thoughts of the black flame deep in his heart, then suddenly looked at the communicator in his hand.

The other person’s fingerprints were useless now, so it couldn’t be unlocked.

But he remembered the incoming call display clearly.

“Chang Le... most likely the sniper from earlier...”

Fang Mu began to consider the situation.

First and foremost, the sniper.

That made his heart heavy.

No doubt, the opponent was formidable. This wasn’t difficult to deduce.

Two hours before he was shot, he’d killed the bald man. At that time, the sniper had not arrived yet.

If he had, the sniper would surely have reacted—the moment Fang Mu fired, his position would have been exposed. With such skill, the sniper could have locked onto him instantly! Fang Mu had no doubt.

If the sniper had fired then, he would have met the same fate as just now, and the bald man would have survived.

But the sniper did not fire.

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Which meant... the sniper likely arrived at the canyon only after the bald man was dead.

Yet, in less than two hours, the sniper managed to locate Fang Mu’s new firing position, then fired three consecutive shots, piercing his heart.

This indicated the sniper had analyzed his movements thoroughly—a true tactical domination.

Just as Fang Mu had done to the second sniper he’d killed.

His counterpart’s chosen sniping spot was exactly as Fang Mu had anticipated. That’s how he was able to discover him so quickly and deliver a fatal shot.

This sniper named Chang Le had likewise found Fang Mu’s position through tactical superiority.

Combined with his terrifying marksmanship—in the dim light, over a distance of six or seven hundred meters, three shots, each on target...

Such a sniper was undeniably dangerous.

Thinking of this, Fang Mu felt a heavy weight inside.

But so what?

The opponent had, without question, killed him just now!

Fang Mu wasn’t the type to take such a loss lying down.

Therefore...

He had to strike back!

Taking a deep breath, he began to turn things over rapidly in his mind.

“He fired three shots, killed me, then came to my side, yet I never saw him. Even during my resurrection, he never appeared or took any action... From this, two points can be inferred.”

“First, Chang Le is extremely confident in his marksmanship, believing those three shots were enough to finish me. So, no need to check personally.”

“Second... he had other matters to attend to. Or perhaps... other destinations. That’s why he didn’t meet up with the corpse.”

“He wasn’t present at first; from the time I killed the first man to the time he arrived, there were five or six hours... most likely, he was called in as reinforcements. Since those people were members of Sirius, it’s reasonable to speculate... Chang Le is probably one of them as well!”

“If he’s part of such a large group, he’s unlikely to be acting alone.”

“He killed me, that man came here, but he wasn’t present—he must have other obligations... So, can we conclude...”

“He didn’t come alone?”

Fang Mu’s eyes narrowed; by analyzing the fact that Chang Le hadn’t regrouped with the corpse and the two hours without a trace, he deduced much...

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