Chapter 40: The Traitor

To Lin Lei’s surprise, the person he had dismembered did not transform into a "Child of Flesh and Blood."

"Not a fanatic of the Blood Sakura Society?" Lin Lei raised an eyebrow slightly. Shaking his head, he took the initiative to walk toward Hong Qiuqiao.

"Investigator Lin..." Seeing him approach, Qiao’er’s eyes filled with tears as she sniffled.

Lin Lei squinted at the corpses scattered on the ground, then raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "It’s over now."

"Guhu." Qiao’er pursed her lips and threw herself at Lin Lei, appearing utterly terrified.

The next moment.

*Squelch!*

Lin Lei’s brow twitched. He looked down to see Qiao’er holding a blood-red dagger, etched with mysterious patterns, plunged into his chest. The special protective suit he wore—which far exceeded the specifications of standard bulletproof gear—was like tissue paper before the blade.

A flash of madness crossed Hong Qiuqiao’s face. "Investigator Lin, I’m sorry!"

An evil aura emanated from the dagger, and as it sank into his body, Lin Lei felt cold, malevolent energy spreading through his veins from the wound, sapping his strength instantly. The dagger clearly possessed some unique power.

Lin Lei instinctively swung his hand out.

*Boom!*

A powerful, massive force slammed into the girl’s chest. The blue, ghostly light flickered once more on her body, and she was sent flying backward by the strike.

However, the dagger remained firmly embedded in Lin Lei’s chest. He tried to pull it out but found it impossible; meanwhile, a sense of weakness gripped his entire body, making even the simplest movement arduous.

Lin Lei frowned at the girl lying on the ground, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face as he sighed. "Why?"

Possessing the "Gluttony" ability, he knew that even while weakened, he could still trigger his "Devour" to neutralize the blade. It was not a true threat to him. Yet, he did not rush to use it.

Suddenly, a cold wind swept through, accompanied by intense fluctuations of source energy. A mist of blood emerged from the darkness, coalescing into the silhouette of a person beside Hong Qiuqiao. It was a middle-aged man, gaunt and unnaturally pale.

Judging by his source energy, he was a Third-Stage practitioner, though his current condition seemed poor.

"Well done, my servant!"

Bathed in the blue light, Hong Qiuqiao struggled to stand, her eyes filled with excitement and anticipation as she gazed at the blood-red figure. "This is already the third Second-Stage source user! Where is that thing you promised me?"

The blood-red figure wore a sinister smile. He opened his palm and handed Hong Qiuqiao something that looked like a blood-colored seed.

Lin Lei raised an eyebrow, looking at Hong Qiuqiao with disappointment. "You’re with the Blood Sakura Society?"

He had long suspected there would be moles from the Blood Sakura Society within the Investigation Bureau; it was unavoidable. Reflecting on it now, Hong Qiuqiao had decent source aptitude, but due to her mental state, she had never been granted an "Enlightenment Serum." The possibility of her being manipulated was indeed high.

In that case, the others who died here had likely perished due to her betrayal and entrapment.

Hong Qiuqiao snatched the blood-colored seed, her face twisted with madness. She stared directly at Lin Lei. "At the Bureau, no matter how hard I worked, I could never get an [Enlightenment Serum]. I’m not reconciled to this... Why do you get to be investigators while I have to remain a reserve member?"

"Many investigators aren't even as good as me! I won't accept it!" Her eyes glowed with red light. "But now... I can finally receive the 'Gift' and become an Awakened..."

Watching her madness, Lin Lei shook his head. "Even if you awaken this way, you won't be able to resist the erosion of 'source energy.' You will only degenerate and mutate into a mindless monster."

Hong Qiuqiao’s mental state had never been entirely normal, but she had never been this unhinged. It seemed the Blood Sakura Society had exploited her obsessions, twisting her into this state. Ignoring his warning, she swallowed the seed with ravenous hunger.

In the next instant, a wicked, eerie aura erupted from her. Streams of blood-red light emanated from her body, and her muscles began to swell.

*Rip.*

Her clothes were instantly shredded as her frame expanded significantly. The girl, who had been barely 1.6 meters tall, transformed in the blink of an eye into a muscular woman over 1.9 meters in height. Even Chen Ning, standing beside her, could not match her sheer muscle mass.

"Power! This is power! Hahahaha!" She laughed hysterically, her eyes wild with mania.

Seeing her like this, Lin Lei recalled the first time he saw her with a submachine gun. She hadn't loved the weapon; she had simply loved the immense power she could command.

"Congratulations, my servant..." The voice of the blood-red figure rang out. A subtle, sinister smile played on his face as he pointed at Lin Lei. "Since you have completed your transformation, kill him yourself!"

He pulled a blood-red blade from his robes and handed it to her. Hong Qiuqiao turned toward Lin Lei, her eyes devoid of any hesitation. She walked straight toward him with the blade in hand.

Lin Lei watched her approach without a trace of fear, only disappointment.

"Don't be afraid, Investigator Lin. I won't let you suffer for long!"

Hong Qiuqiao raised the blade, but just as she was about to strike, her hand suddenly froze in mid-air. With a *clang*, the blade dropped to the ground.

It was not a change of heart or a sudden pang of conscience. Countless lumps and fleshy nodules erupted across her body. She clutched her head, but could not stop the emergence of even more growths from within her flesh.

*Squelch!*

In a heartbeat, her clothes were completely torn away, revealing a body covered in dense, blood-red tumors.

"Is this... the mutation?" Lin Lei watched the scene, sighing once more.

The blood-red figure stepped forward, walking coldly to the side of the mass of tumors, and crouched down. "What a pity... you couldn't withstand the grace of the 'Mother of Flesh and Blood' either."

Amidst the countless tumors, Hong Qiuqiao’s eyes remained visible. Unable to speak, she looked at the man in the blood-red shadow with a gaze full of desperate pleading.

"I cannot help you," the man said, shaking his head with a mocking smile.

He picked up the discarded blade and turned toward Lin Lei, his eyes flashing with bloodlust.

"A powerful [Physical-System] Second-Stage... that should help me recover quite a bit of strength..."