"You tried to deceive me and Mom, sealing your own fate for death."
Xu Ran silently sneered as the Assassin Mantis silently swept towards the impostor Guhuoji pretending to be him.
"Sizzle——"
Like a sharp blade slicing through rice paper. The blood-red blade cut through the Guhuoji's head.
Simultaneously.
The Substitute Paperman took the place of the Guhuoji.
The entire process was seamless, and Mom didn't notice.
She continued holding "Xu Ran" and ran forward.
In the shadows, Xu Ran, crouching on the wall, watched his mom's back.
He urged the Assassin Mantis to accelerate the absorption of the energy from the Guhuoji's corpse.
Soon, another detail appeared on the Origami Mantis.
"Alright, I'll be at your side soon to devour you."
Xu Ran sneered, moving along the wall like a sinister infant.
They quickly reached building seven.
Mom was ahead, running frantically, exhibiting such speed for the first time—even with the twenty or so pounds "load" on her.
She still managed to dash up to the third floor.
At the door, she fumbled for her keys, trembling.
Unlock.
Enter the house.
Immediately lock it from the inside!
In the gap of closing the door, Xu Ran reacted swiftly, using Mysterious Footwork to slip into the living room by following his mom's shadow.
"Baby, don't be afraid. Everything's fine now; everything's fine. Let me call the Security Patrol."
Mom, shaking, found her phone.
However, at that moment.
The Substitute Paperman on her shoulder reacted, gently knocking her unconscious.
Mom fell straight onto the sofa.
Xu Ran's figure emerged.
"Mom will wake up in half an hour."
"Within that half-hour, I'm going on a killing spree."
The Guhuoji is easily countered by Paper Spirit Communication, shattering upon touch.
Xu Ran, having grabbed the vulnerable prey… decided to give them a little shock.
He walked to the balcony.
Pushed open the window, crawled out, and closed the window behind him again.
Gecko Wall-Climbing Skill activated, and soon Xu Ran silently reached the sixth-floor rooftop, hiding in the shadow of a small building.
"Switch perspective!"
Almost with a thought, Xu Ran's vision moved to thirty-five meters high, and the Origami Bat, like a drone, surveyed below.
The view was wide and clear, as vivid as high-definition quality.
"Sure enough, there are accomplices. Haha!"
In the distance.
A "mom" carrying a child dashed at an eerie speed through secluded areas; undoubtedly, this was a fake mother transformed by a Guhuoji.
Xu Ran chuckled, like a grudge-filled doll, swiftly crawling along the wall.
The "mom" ahead fled with the child.
A sinister infant silently followed behind.
One couldn't tell who was the ghostly entity!
Xu Ran's speed was extremely fast, catching up thirty meters behind the Guhuoji in a blink.
In the next second.
The Assassin Mantis flew out, and the blade flashed, slicing the mother-disguised Guhuoji in half.
The illusion shattered, and ghost energy sprayed out like oil…
Xu Ran gracefully caught the child, setting them down in the distance.
But once free of the illusion, the child wailed loudly, cries echoing in the surroundings.
Afraid of being seen, Xu Ran quickly transformed into an agile gecko, hiding in the shadows.
The Origami Mantis swiftly absorbed the energy emanating from the third Guhuoji corpse.
Then returned to Xu Ran's hand at an incredible speed.
"After devouring the energy of three Guhuoji corpses, the strength and rapid attack speed of the Origami Mantis have doubled."
"If I had to rely on blood-feeding, it would have taken over two months!"
"I have no choice but to go on a killing spree this time."
"Another Guhuoji is just nearby."
Xu Ran, expressionless, eerily crawled and moved along the wall.
A minute later, he spotted another type of Guhuoji.
It lay sinfully on the real mother's shoulder, shamelessly grinning.
With cold eyes, Xu Ran quickly approached.
"Within slaying range! Little chick!"
Sneak attack!
The Assassin Mantis flew out. The doubled speed even surprised Xu Ran.
"Whiz——"
The blood-colored blade severed, slicing away half of a hair-covered melon.
Ghost energy violently spewed outward.
Xu Ran tossed an Origami Bat, feeding off the Guhuoji's corpse energy completely clean.
The illusion disappeared, the baby on the shoulder vanished.
The real mother was looking around, terrified and helpless, utterly confused…
"My baby! Where's my baby? Where did my baby go?"
The real mother collapsed to the ground, her voice breaking.
Despite feeling a pang in his heart, Xu Ran refrained from revealing himself, as he was too young to show up and explain.
He could only turn away, hiding his achievements and legacy: "I have to consume all the Guhuoji."
"This equals a few months of my blood feeding! Not a single drop can go to waste."
"But I'm just a baby of one year and four months, and I need to hide and launch sneak attacks, in case the Guhuoji have someone powerful behind them."
As he whispered to himself.
The Origami Bat had already finished consuming another Guhuoji corpse.
Its flight speed doubled, the sound of wind breaking during flight became subtle, making it less detectable. Both invisibility and reconnaissance capabilities improved.
"Good."
"There must be more Guhuoji around here!"
Xu Ran, like a ghost, crouched on the wall, controlling the bat to scout.
The fifth Guhuoji, second. Fed to the Substitute Paperman. The Substitute Paperman looked even more like Xu Ran; if not examined closely, it would be truly hard to distinguish.
The sixth Guhuoji, second. Fed to the Assassin Mantis.
The seventh Guhuoji, second. Fed to the Assassin Mantis. Having consumed five Guhuoji, the Assassin Mantis had become a merciless killing machine.
Xu Ran smiled.
Controlling the bat to hover at a hundred meters high.
"Only this last Guhuoji remains in the area. It's carrying a baby, perfect for using it as a lead to trace back to their lair."
Xu Ran quietly followed the fake "mom."
Suddenly.
This Guhuoji elongated its neck like stretching noodles, twisting its face towards the left side of its neck.