Ch. 185 - The Right Mask

Ma Xingbang looked at the mask in his hands with excitement. He didn't want to let it go.

Yang Ming was speechless as he watched at him. "Are you crazy? There are so many masks here. Why did you have to take mine?"

Ma Xingbang seemed to have given up pretending and sneered, "You're the one blessed by God, and the Genesis mask is meant for you. The mask you chose must be the real one!"

"You say the one I chose is the right one, but you took it from me before I could choose, isn't it possible that the one you took is wrong?"

Ma Xingbang was a bit shocked and looked at the mask in his hand.

Yang Ming seemed to get interested and picked up another mask, one with a bull's head.

"I'm now choosing the bullhead mask. I think it's real. What will you do then? Do you want to trade?"

Ma Xingbang's face turned ugly. He realized that the mask in his hand might be fake.

Logically speaking, the one Yang Ming chose should be real. So, if he took it from Yang Ming, then it should be the real one. But there was a big problem: what counts as Yang Ming's choice?

If he intercepted it halfway, does it still count as Yang Ming's choice? If not, then the one in Yang Ming's hand now is the real one.

But Ma Xingbang didn't dare to trade. If he traded and found out he was tricked, he would be a fool. If he gave away the real mask, he'd be a laughstock.

He was stuck, staring at the mask in his hand, trying to tell if it was real. He didn't dare to wear it because Zhou Qingfeng said wearing the wrong mask might cause horrible things to happen.

But the more Ma Xingbang looked at the skull mask, the more he felt it was real. He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that it was real. The scary skull mask seemed to come alive, its dark eyes staring at Ma Xingbang, the grin on its mouth growing bigger.

Ma Xingbang's thoughts became more certain: 'This is real! It must be real! Yang Ming will never choose wrong. If I take it from him, it must be the right one!'

"You can't trick me! The mask in my hand is the real one!" Ma Xingbang's face twisted with determination.

To prove he was right, he put the skull mask on his face.

Fang Xiu frowned slightly. The mask had a problem—it seemed to affect people’s minds. Ma Xingbang was clearly too emotional.

Although they hadn't known each other long, he could tell that Ma Xingbang was calculating and good at pretending. People like that usually weren't so impulsive.

Now, Ma Xingbang put on the mask impulsively, and Fang Xiu knew he must be influenced by something.

"Hahaha!"

Suddenly, there was a burst of wild laughter.

It was Ma Xingbang.

Now, he wore the skull mask, with only his eyes visible. The scene was strangely evil and menacing.

"My choice was right! This is the real Genesis! The key to perfect Specterization!"

Suddenly, the skull mask seemed to come to life. It moved with Ma Xingbang's laughter, forming a twisted grin. Then, a wave of extreme evil Specter power surged from the mask. Dark energy flowed wildly into Ma Xingbang's body.

Suddenly, the energy exploded, causing a strong shockwave that spread out from Ma Xingbang.

Yang Ming and the others were forced back several steps.

"Humanity is frail, but Specters rise! Hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces changed.

"So you're with the Pokers?" Yang Ming shouted angrily.

"The Pokers?" Ma Xingbang tilted his head slightly, looking at them with an evil gaze. "Those rats are just tools we use."

Fang Xiu instantly understood. The headquarters and the Pokers organization were connected, maybe even cooperating. Or it was the faction behind Ma Xingbang doing it. It seemed the headquarters weren't united.

"Alright, now Yang Ming is no longer useful. You can all die here. No one will know. We'll say you were killed by a Specter in the mental hospital. This place is good for hiding bodies; no one will find you."

Yang Ming was speechless. He didn't expect Ma Xingbang to be so vengeful and have such a dark sense of humor. This was exactly what they had said to him before.

"And you, Fang Xiu! Didn't you keep saying you wanted to kill me? Threaten me? Did you really think I was scared of you? I just needed Yang Ming to find the Genesis mask, so I didn't want to fight you. Now that I have the Genesis mask, try threatening me again!"

Ma Xingbang’s tone grew more arrogant, as if he was venting all the frustration he had felt.

"You really think you're something, don't you? Acting all high and mighty. Without the Genesis mask, you wouldn't even dare to speak aloud," Yang Ming said with disdain.

Ma Xingbang's face darkened instantly, clearly stung by Yang Ming's words.

"Shut up!"

BOOM!

A loud explosion rang out. Ma Xingbang, wrapped in dark energy, disappeared in an instant, the air around him shattering. When he reappeared, he was right in front of Yang Ming.

Yang Ming was shocked by Ma Xingbang's speed. Before he could react, a dark fist slammed into his stomach.

His face twisted in pain, and the force sent him flying backward. He crashed into a wall, creating a big hole and covering him with rubble.

Seeing this, Bai Qi's eyes turned red with rage. He activated his Extreme Speed ability and slashed at Ma Xingbang's back with his dark gold dagger.

However, the blade hit empty air.

Ma Xingbang dodged Bai Qi's attack as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

"With my killing intent sense, I can never be caught off guard," he said with a sneer, turning to grab at Bai Qi. But Bai Qi quickly retreated, avoiding the strike.

"Your third-tier Extreme Speed is faster than the second-tier one," Ma Xingbang remarked. "I now have the Genesis mask and have copied your second-tier ability, but I'm still a bit slower than you. It seems the Genesis mask needs more time to perfect my Specterization. But it doesn't matter. I'll just slow you down."

With that, a massive gravitational force erupted from Ma Xingbang, covering the entire area.

Bai Qi, who had been swift, suddenly felt as if he were carrying a huge rock on his back, his face darkening.

At that moment, the rubble exploded. A dirt-covered Yang Ming, wearing embroidered shoes, emerged from the debris.

He spat out dirt, clearly having eaten quite a bit. His cheeks were puffed up, holding a Corpse Bead.

However, in the next second, perhaps due to too much force, he spat the Corpse Bead out.

"Damn!" Yang Ming exclaimed, quickly picking the muddy Corpse Bead off the ground and stuffing it back into his mouth.

"You idiot!" Bai Qi yelled, enraged at Yang Ming's actions.

Yang Ming gave a sheepish smile and mumbled, "A mistake, just a mistake. Let me light a cigarette first."

He pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, reaching for his lighter.

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