Chapter 13 Slaying the Scorpion, The Ring of Souls

East Sea City Investigation Bureau.

The lights were blazing.

Inside the bureau chief’s office, Dai Guoqiang sat behind his desk, his expression stern.

In front of him stood several investigation team captains, all his subordinates.

“Still no news about Scorpion?” Dai Guoqiang asked, his brows tightly knitted.

The team captains kept their heads lowered, not daring to utter a word.

“Useless! You’re all just a bunch of loafers! Huh? After all these days, you still can’t catch a single wanted criminal?”

“What exactly do I pay you for?” Dai Guoqiang slammed his palm on the desk in a fit of rage, standing up and shouting.

None of the captains dared even to breathe loudly, terrified that the bureau chief’s anger might descend on them.

After a moment, Dai Guoqiang took a deep breath to calm himself and sat back down, his voice cold: “Just now, I received a call from higher up!”

“The Scorpion case has caused a huge stir! There must be a result within a day!”

“And now, there are still so many high school students out there hunting beasts in preparation for the entrance exams—if they run into Scorpion, they’re as good as dead!”

“If something happens now, not only me, but every single one of you will be in prison for life, rotting behind bars!”

One of the captains spoke up timidly, “Chief, I have... already stationed people at every training ground. If Scorpion tries to harm the students, they’ll intervene at once!”

“Intervene? You think they can stop him?” Dai Guoqiang shot him a glare. “According to the latest intel, Scorpion has a special piece of equipment—a Soul Ring!”

“This ring can directly attack a person’s mind. The strong will be stunned, the weak will be wiped out instantly!”

“Ordinary investigators are no match for him! Are you sending them to their deaths?”

A heavy silence fell over the room. No one dared to speak.

Indeed, equipment like the Soul Ring was exceedingly rare.

And its effects were terrifying.

Unless one’s strength completely overwhelmed Scorpion’s, even a small misstep could mean being killed by him instead.

Just as everyone was racking their brains about where to find Scorpion, the office door suddenly burst open.

A team captain stood in the doorway, panting.

Dai Guoqiang’s eyes blazed, and he roared, “What do you think you’re doing? Ever heard of knocking?”

The captain hurriedly waved his hands, “Chief, there’s news—news about Scorpion!”

Everyone in the room instantly turned their gaze on him.

He continued, “According to reports from our people, Scorpion was spotted at Shadow Marsh three hours ago!”

A cold gleam flashed in Dai Guoqiang’s eyes. “That little rat—so he’s hiding in Shadow Marsh!”

“Everyone, to Shadow Marsh! Even if you have to turn the place upside down, find that bastard Scorpion today!”

One of them ventured hesitantly, “Chief, it’s night now. Going into the Shadow Forest... those poisonous insects are hard to deal with...”

Dai Guoqiang’s tone was icy. “What? You don’t even dare go into a low-level training zone? In that case, take off your uniform—you won’t be going anywhere!”

That captain immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

With Dai Guoqiang’s order, the entire Investigation Bureau sprang into action.

One vehicle after another sped off toward Shadow Marsh.

...

At this moment—

Within the depths of Shadow Marsh.

Xu Han was glaring coldly at Scorpion.

Both men were wounded.

Scorpion’s gaze was icy as he stared at Xu Han: “I see I underestimated you. To fight me to a standstill... You must be a third-tier professional, right?”

“So young and already a third-tier—there must be a powerful consortium behind you.”

“I’ll spare your life now, as long as you hand over all your equipment. What do you say?”

Xu Han sneered. “You think I’d believe that?”

Scorpion could only spread his hands helplessly. “If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. I was being perfectly sincere.”

“Then you can die!” he spat.

A strange gray light flared on the ring on his hand.

In the next instant, an invisible shockwave spread in all directions.

The next moment, Xu Han felt as if someone had smashed a hammer into his skull.

His mind went blank.

Scorpion’s eyes narrowed, and a chilling smile curled his lips. “Mental Shock really is effective.”

“Let’s see how you die this time!”

He darted forward, dagger in hand, stabbing viciously at Xu Han.

Slick!

The dagger struck Xu Han’s leather armor.

But the armor was slippery as an eel, and it deflected the blade!

Scorpion froze for a second.

He simply couldn’t believe Xu Han had managed to dodge his attack!

Suddenly, Xu Han snapped back to his senses.

Glancing at the dagger, he immediately understood.

It was the dodge effect of the Ape King set!

Seeing Scorpion so close, Xu Han didn’t hesitate—he activated Dragon Claw!

Fine dragon scales covered his right hand.

His fingernails transformed into razor-sharp claws!

With a sweep of his claw, he tore at Scorpion.

A chunk of flesh was ripped from Scorpion’s body, blood gushing out.

The searing pain rattled Scorpion’s mind.

His movements slowed for a split second.

Xu Han wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slip by.

In a flash, he moved behind Scorpion.

His claw, like a flood dragon bursting from the sea, slammed into Scorpion’s back.

Boom!

This time, Scorpion couldn’t hold back a scream of agony.

He crashed heavily to the ground, coughing up blood.

Xu Han glanced at Scorpion’s health bar.

Not much left.

He strode forward, drawing his dagger.

Scorpion’s eyes went wide with terror, fixed on Xu Han. “Please, don’t kill me!”

“I’ll give you all my equipment, all my money!”

But Xu Han was unmoved.

“The moment you tried to kill me, only one of us was ever going to walk away from here.”

The blade flashed.

Scorpion’s head hit the ground.

Xu Han slumped to the ground, exhaling a long breath.

With his strength, to have slain a third-tier professional—no one would believe it if he told them!

There was no experience for the kill.

But Xu Han’s gaze shifted to Scorpion’s corpse.

Scorpion had hunted beasts for years; he must have been sitting on quite a fortune.

Maybe there’d be something good to scavenge.

He rummaged through the body.

But all he found was a pitch-black ring, a dagger, and a few rations.

Scorpion’s armor had been destroyed—utterly useless, not even worth selling.

Xu Han activated Eye of Appraisal and examined the ring.

[Soul Ring]

[Quality: Silver Grade]

[Mental Power +40]

[Skill 1: Mental Shock (Releases a mental shockwave, stunning enemies for 0.5–3 seconds; cooldown 3 minutes)]

[Skill 2: Mental Guardian (Passive skill—the Soul Ring automatically forms a mental shield to block psychic attacks)]

[Description: A ring forged by a blacksmith for his beloved wife. After her death, her soul remained in the ring, guarding its wearer.]

[Equip requirement: Level 10]