Deep Within the Living

Chapter 38: Suppression

Confronting Possession once again, this was the only solution Luo Di could think of—and the only one he could execute. Injecting corpse poison through a bite inflicted minimal harm to the class leader while delivering the toxin directly into her artery for the fastest effect.

Only after confirming that the secretion from his zombie-infused teeth had sealed the wound did Luo Di release his bite.

Now, all he could do was wait for the results.

Over the six months since their practice session, Luo Di had come to regard the class leader as a friend and respected her capabilities. He believed her willpower was strong enough to break free.

“What did you do!?”

The Spider Woman, possessing the class leader’s body, was about to retaliate when a violent tremor coursed through her consciousness. The tremor spread throughout her nervous system, while an unbearable force seemed to twist her stomach, as though wringing her dry.

She gagged.

Blagh!

A torrent of foul, pitch-black filth erupted from the class leader’s mouth, far exceeding the volume of a day’s worth of meals, mixed with countless spider corpses.

The possession was broken!In that instant, the paper effigies in the hall all disintegrated. From within their remains, spiders scurried out, converging on the vomit to form the true body of the Spider Woman.

But as her body was condensing, a sinister blade slashed down.

Before she could fully take shape, the strike cleaved her head, and the corpse poison immediately began corroding the "pituitary gland" hidden within.

“Ahhhh!!!”

The Spider Woman’s agonized screams echoed throughout the wedding hall. The space trembled, and a distinctive spatial rift that didn’t belong to the building appeared near the front door.

Luo Di wasn’t about to miss this chance to escape.

Killing an Impersonator’s true body within a pseudo-corner space was incredibly difficult, and with the class leader still unconscious, fleeing and contacting investigators was the best option.

By the time the swarm of spiders reassembled to repair her head, the wedding hall was empty.

“You won’t get away!”

Her limbs elongated to twice their normal length, and her mouth split open into a spider-like maw as she chased after them at top speed. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel⁂fire.net

The Stairwell

Luo Di dashed down the stairs, carrying the class leader still dressed in her bridal gown. The stairwell no longer trapped him in an endless loop.

He burst through the first-floor barricade and had just stepped out of the old building when—

Boom!

A loud crash came from above, as bricks and tiles rained down. Thankfully, Luo Di had already run a fair distance, carrying the class leader to safety.

Only a few small shards struck the class leader, which was enough to jolt her awake.

Her vision gradually cleared, first registering the rapidly moving brick pavement. Realizing they had escaped the building, she remained calm and composed.

There was no panic, no rush to demand an explanation from Luo Di. She only needed to know they had made it out.

“Luo Di, put me—”

Before she could finish, Luo Di unceremoniously dropped her, almost causing her to fall.

Luo Di knew exactly what the sound above meant: the Impersonator had smashed through the stairwell walls and was now in pursuit. Any delay would lead to disaster.

Now that the class leader was awake, things would be much easier.

“I’ll hold it off. You, contact the investigators—can you still run?”

“Yes!”

The class leader had no intention of staying to fight. Recently freed from possession and weaponless, she would only be a burden.

Using the speed she’d honed in track practice, she sprinted toward the exit of the neighborhood. As she ran, she called for help, hoping her voice would rise above the sound of the pouring rain and rouse the residents.

Even if no one heard her, she would reach the street as quickly as possible and flag down a passing vehicle.

“You’re not getting away!”

The Spider Woman landed smoothly after leaping from the third floor. Her limbs moved with astonishing speed, and it would take her less than five seconds to catch up to the class leader.

Her face was now stripped of its skin, and the corner rift in the center of her face widened in fury, revealing what appeared to be layers of spider-like compound eyes.

As she rapidly crawled along the escape route, a blade with overwhelming force slashed in from the side, cutting even the falling raindrops apart.

Swish!

A few drops of blood mixed with rainwater as they flowed into the sewer.

The strike had landed, but it only cut three centimeters deep. The Spider Woman’s natural instincts allowed her to dodge most of the blow at the last second.

Despite her injury and the searing pain from the corpse poison, her hatred boiled over. Luo Di had disrupted her entire wedding ceremony and ruined everything. Her rage clouded her judgment, leaving her with only one goal: kill this young man.

To her, killing him swiftly would still leave time to recapture her prey.

Missing two of her heads, the Spider Woman began to spit out hair-like spider silk from her mouth. There wasn’t much—only enough to form four strands of black hair.

Swinging her blade, Luo Di remained fully focused, undeterred by the storm.

Swish! With just two precise slashes, he severed the strands of black hair.

But the strands were only a distraction.

By the time he cut them down, the Spider Woman had already closed the distance.

Crack!

Her arm joints snapped audibly.Her fingers, like her arms, were twice the length of a normal human’s, and her nails had grown razor-sharp.

Clenching her five fingers together, she drove them forward like a deadly spear aimed straight at Luo Di’s head. A direct hit would pierce his skull completely.

Faced with this life-threatening attack, Luo Di didn’t retreat an inch. His eyes widened as he swung his blade once more.

Blade and claws collided.

Ding!

A metallic clash rang out.

The Zombie Blade was unexpectedly disarmed from Luo Di’s grasp, spinning high into the air before landing in the greenery over ten meters away.

Luo Di looked down at his trembling hand, his expression heavy. “So, this is the strength of a real Impersonator?”

But the Spider Woman was equally suffering. Two of her fingers had been severed in the collision, and the searing pain made her scream madly, her cries drowning out even the heavy rain and echoing across the neighborhood.

Her attacks didn’t relent, however. The other hand was already prepared to strike.

Whoosh!

With a vicious swing, her arm launched another deadly piercing strike, even faster and more ferocious than the last.

This time, Luo Di had no weapon to defend himself.

Frozen in place, he appeared unable to recover from the previous clash, making no effort to evade. Yet his eyes gleamed with a startling clarity, as though he could see the exact trajectory of her attack.

Shlick! Flesh was pierced.

But the blood that dripped into the rainwater was an unusual, dark black.

The Spider Woman had not struck Luo Di’s head but his raised right hand.

More specifically, his zombie-infused hand. The hardness of the zombified flesh seemed to have carried over as well, preventing the strike from penetrating entirely.

“Ahhh!”

She swung her maimed right arm—still missing two fingers—once more.

Luo Di, without hesitation, raised his other hand to block. Shlick! This hand was also partially pierced but didn’t give way entirely.

A savage gleam flickered in Luo Di’s bloodshot eyes. Ignoring the pain, he suddenly clamped his ten fingers down, his zombie-like claws digging into the back of her hands, holding her arms firmly in place to prevent her from pulling away.

Before she could kick him or spit spider silk at him, Luo Di gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as he summoned every ounce of strength he had—strength built through years of doing over a thousand push-ups daily and grueling physical training.

Despite her supernatural abilities, the Spider Woman still adhered to human physiology and didn’t weigh more than 70 kilograms.

Using his right foot as a pivot, Luo Di twisted his torso and spun his entire body.

Like hurling a hammer throw, he rotated a full 360 degrees and hurled the Spider Woman with all his might.

Clang!

Under the night sky, the humanoid spider flew over four meters and slammed into a metal streetlamp with such force that the sound of bones breaking was audible.

The moment he completed the throw, Luo Di paid no attention to his pierced hands and sprinted toward the greenery to retrieve his weapon.

He was just about to grab the handle when—

Whoosh!

A strand of black hair shot out, coiling tightly around the blade. In the blink of an eye, the weapon was back in the Spider Woman’s grasp.

“What?!”

His weapon now seized, Luo Di knew his physical strength was no match for hers. Using the same tactic again was impossible, and a direct confrontation was suicide.

Adrenaline surged through his system, driving him to flee at full speed, hoping to stay alive long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

But just as he took his first step, the Spider Woman was already on his heels.

At that critical moment, a metal garbage can came flying through the air, striking the Spider Woman squarely on the head. Rain-soaked trash spilled over her face, momentarily disorienting her.

“Luo Di, get out of there now!”

The class leader’s voice pierced through the rain.

Luo Di didn’t need her reminder. The instant the garbage can landed, he bolted.

The Spider Woman, furious, clawed the trash away and was about to resume her pursuit when—

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

An alarm blared from above, waking the entire neighborhood. Furniture trembled from the vibrations, and birds caged indoors squawked in distress.

Click.

A specialized lighting system descended from the sky, casting a deep crimson light in the form of a rectangular frame. The light enveloped the Spider Woman completely, isolating her.

Warnings appeared in five languages on the frame’s edges, declaring the area inside to be extremely dangerous and prohibiting all non-target individuals from approaching.

The intense red light drowned out the glow of the streetlamps, painting the surrounding streets in blood-like hues.

The Spider Woman had no time to escape.

Shlink!

Five thin, jet-black pillars descended from above.

Crack!

In an instant, they pierced through her spine and all four limbs, pinning her to the ground.

Moments later, a military helicopter with a circular emblem and the letter “I” painted on its side appeared in the rain-soaked night sky, slowly descending toward the scene.