My neighborhood has time-traveled.

Chapter 65 Torture and Undercurrents

Niu Dazhuang led Li Hao to an unfinished, bare house on the edge of the residential area.

This place was originally planned to be a warehouse, but now only a few thick load-bearing columns remain in the empty concrete frame.

On one of the pillars, the indigenous woman who could wield sword energy was firmly bound with a thick rope mixed with ironwood fiber.

Her armor had long since been broken and discarded; she was now only wearing a simple animal skin garment, torn in many places, revealing her wheat-colored skin and muscular build.

Her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered in blood and dust, but her eyes remained defiant, like those of a trapped mother wolf, coldly staring at Li Hao and Niu Dazhuang as they entered.

Upon seeing Li Hao, a complex emotion flashed in her eyes—hatred, fear, and a hint of doubt.

She had just heard Behemoth's roar, but now it was suddenly gone, and the man in front of her was unharmed, though his clothes were tattered and covered in claw marks. Could it be...?

"What's your name?" Li Hao walked up to her and got straight to the point.

The woman snorted coldly, turned her head away, and refused to answer.

Niu Dazhuang shouted from the side, "Our captain is asking you a question!"

The woman scoffed, finally speaking in a hoarse yet mocking voice: "Lowly exiles, do you even deserve to know my name? I, 'Shadowmoon,' am a descendant of a noble bloodline with the inheritance of 'Battle Qi.' Even as a prisoner, it is none of your business to humiliate me."

"Battle Qi?" Li Hao caught the word; it must be the name of that sword energy power. "Hand over your method for cultivating 'Battle Qi'."

Yingyue seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. She turned around abruptly, and despite being tied up, she raised her chin and looked at Li Hao with the eyes of someone looking at a fool:

"Hand it over? Hahaha! What do you think 'Battle Aura' is? A stone picked up by the roadside? It's an innate talent flowing in your blood! A gift bestowed upon the noble by the gods!"

She stared at Li Hao, her face arrogant. "In the entire tribe—no, as far as I know, among all the human tribes in this region—I am the only one left who has awakened and mastered a faint trace of battle aura!"

"Even if I told you the method, your lowly bloodline is utterly incapable of sensing and cultivating it! Wishful thinking!"

Her tone was full of arrogance based on bloodline and utter contempt for Li Hao and the others.

Li Hao wasn't angry; he simply looked at her calmly and said, "Hand it over, or die. Choose one."

A flicker of fear crossed Yingyue's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by an even stronger obsession:

"Kill me, do you dare?"

"The Behemoths will find this place soon! When the Silver Lord, and even the Gold Clan Chief, arrive in person, you will all pay the price for today's offense!"

"At that time, you won't even have a chance to die! The best outcome will be becoming the lowest of laborers!"

"Lord Behemoth?" Niu Dazhuang couldn't help but interject, a relieved expression on his face. "That so-called Lord Silver you mentioned, and those few big, black hunks, were all personally killed by our Captain Li Hao! Their bodies are lying in the square outside right now!"

"What?!"

Shadowmoon's pupils contracted sharply, and she cried out in shock, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Lord Silver is a powerful being second only to the Gold Clan Chief, how could he possibly be killed by you... by this human? You're lying to me!"

"Lying to you?" Li Hao was too lazy to waste words and gestured to Niu Dazhuang, "Take her out to have a look."

Niu Dazhuang stepped forward, untied Yingyue from the pillar like a chick, and dragged her outside.

Yingyue struggled, muttering words like "impossible" and "blasphemy" over and over again.

Upon arriving at the plaza, when Yingyue saw the silver-white behemoth corpse, still exuding a faint aura even in death, with its shattered head, and the four even larger black Behemoth corpses beside it, she was struck dumb, frozen in place.

Her eyes widened as she stared intently at the corpse of the Silver Behemoth, her lips trembling, her face turning deathly pale.

"Lady Shirogane...is really...dead?" she murmured, her voice trembling, filled with the shock and bewilderment of her worldview collapsing.

In the mindset she was instilled with from childhood, Behemoths, especially those above the Silver rank, were symbols of near invincibility, gods that humans could only look up to and serve.

And now, the gods... have been slaughtered by humans.

"Do you believe it now?" Li Hao's voice pulled her back to reality.

Yingyue abruptly looked up at Li Hao, her eyes filled with complex emotions: fear, shock, hatred, and even a hint of doubt she herself hadn't noticed—a wavering in her belief that "humans could be so powerful."

"How...how did you do that?"

"That's none of your business," Li Hao said coldly. "I'm only asking you, if I were to kill even your so-called Golden Behemoth Clan Chief, would you be willing to hand over the 'Battle Qi' cultivation method?"

"Kill the Golden Clan Chief?" Yingyue shook her head frantically, as if she had heard something even more absurd.

The recent wavering was overshadowed by a deeper fear and a deeply ingrained faith.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Golden Clan Chief is a true god!"

"He can not only fly, but also possesses the power to tear mountains apart! You have no idea how terrifying he is! Enraging the Golden Clan Chief is your own doing! All living beings on this land will suffer divine punishment!"

Her tone was absolutely certain, as if she were stating an ironclad rule.

Hearing this, Niu Dazhuang, who was standing nearby, got angry and said in a gruff voice, "Pah! What kind of bullshit god is this! It's just a mutated beast."

He looked at Li Hao, "Our Captain Li Hao can fly too! Just you wait and see, when that Golden Behemoth dares to come, our captain will twist its head off and kick it around like a ball!"

Yingyue simply looked at Niu Dazhuang with the eyes of someone looking at a dead man, and stopped talking, clearly believing that these people had gone mad.

Li Hao glanced at her, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get the cultivation method out of this woman for the time being.

She has been too deeply brainwashed by Behemoth's tyranny and bloodline theory.

But he didn't give up. He took out a magic core from his pocket and asked, "Do you know how to use the 'magic core' taken from this Behemoth's head?"

Yingyue glanced at the crystal radiating energy in Li Hao's hand, a primal desire flashing in her eyes, but she immediately shook her head:

"The Demon Core? That is the source of power for the Behemoths, containing the most violent divine power."

Only the Behemoths can directly devour and absorb them to strengthen themselves.

We humans... have had warriors who tried to absorb it, but without exception, they all exploded and died, or were corrupted by its bestial nature and turned into crazed monsters.

That's not something humans should touch.

Death by exploding body? Consumed by bestial instincts?

Li Hao frowned slightly, looking thoughtfully at the warm yet scorching silver magic core in his hand.

"Lock her back where she was and keep a close watch on her. Make sure she doesn't die," Li Hao instructed Niu Dazhuang.

This woman knows a lot of information, and it's valuable.

"yes!"

After dealing with the prisoners, Li Hao looked at the busy crowd in the square.

Wang Hao was directing some quick-handed people with experience in handling prey to try to skin the Behemoth.

Behemoths have extremely tough fur, especially the silvery-white fur of Silver Behemoths, which is difficult to damage with ordinary swords and knives.

In the end, it took several power-type evolved beings, using the relatively intact Behemoth claws as cutting tools, a great deal of effort, to peel off the five intact skins.

The Silver Behemoth has the smallest skin area, yet it shimmers with silver light, and even when covered in blood, its extraordinary nature is still evident.

The four black sheets are slightly inferior to the leather, but are equally thick and tough.

Looking at the fur, Wang Hao said to Li Hao, "Li Hao, these furs have amazing defensive capabilities; they are difficult to damage with ordinary swords and knives."

I plan to have it tanned and made into a close-fitting armor or coat for each of you key combatants, especially you, Li Wen, Zhao Meng, Niu Dazhuang, and Zhang Jinfeng.

He can step in and save the day in a crucial moment.

This stuff is even better than the scales of the mutated giant snake; it not only keeps you warm but is also less prone to damage.

One coat can probably last a lifetime.

Li Hao glanced at his bare feet and tattered clothes, nodded, and said, "This is indeed necessary. Make us a few more pairs of shoes."

Now he is so powerful that his every move can split stones and shatter monuments.

Ordinary shoes and clothes simply cannot withstand the damage; they will crack with the slightest step.

When fighting with others, even a slight hit will turn you into strips of cloth.

We definitely need sturdier clothes and shoes.

Wang Hao glanced down at Li Hao's bare feet and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll get it made as soon as possible."

The dead were piled together, and a bonfire was lit.

Night gradually enveloped the scarred city of Dawn.

The breach in the city wall was temporarily plugged with debris, broken wood, and mud, and a double-guard post was set up.

But the stench of blood and the atmosphere of sorrow in the air could not be dispelled.

Everyone went home, and many residents looked at their empty rooms, surrounded by darkness, feeling incredibly cold and sad.

My family was still there in the morning, and the room was still warm.

Now that my loved one is gone, the room suddenly feels incredibly cold.

My heart felt even colder.

"Waaah..." The cries of those who had lost their loved ones came intermittently from the buildings and rooms where people had lost their loved ones.

Crying is contagious; even those who aren't crying will start crying when they hear it.

The neighborhood was filled with the sound of sorrowful weeping.

When Li Hao returned home, Chen Sihan had already quietly tidied up the room and prepared simple food and water.

Seeing that his right arm was still somewhat inconvenient and that there were many scabbed wounds on his body, Chen Sihan's eyes reddened again, but she held back her tears and carefully helped him change into a relatively clean set of clothes.

"Brother Li Hao, you should rest first. I'm in the next room. Call me if you need anything." Chen Sihan said softly, then left, leaving Li Hao alone.

She knew that Li Hao needed time alone to recover.

The room fell silent.

Li Hao sat on the edge of the bed, his palm outstretched. The silver-white magic core still shimmered faintly in the dim light, and the surrounding air distorted slightly.

He tried to use his mind to guide the force field to absorb the energy in the magic core, just like absorbing solar energy.

The magic core was slightly warm, and a violent and scorching energy flow tried to surge out along his force field, but as soon as it came into contact with his skin and force field, it produced a strong sense of repulsion and stinging, as if it was not gentle energy, but a living, aggressive beast!

The energy rapidly dissolved his force field, and the magic core turned into a bomb, making him tremble with fear.

Li Hao stopped immediately.

Shadow Moon's words echoed in his ears: "Death by exploding body," "Bestiality erosion."

"It seems that direct absorption won't work," Li Hao pondered.

He didn't dare to act rashly.

He put away the magic core and then took out the smaller black magic core to try. It felt similar, only the energy was weaker, but the nature was just as violent.

"Do I need a special method? Or... is my body not strong enough? Solar energy seems to be able to neutralize some of it?" He recalled how solar energy healed his injuries and strengthened his body during the battle that day.

Perhaps, when my body has recovered to its peak, or when I have a deeper understanding of solar energy, I can try again.

He carefully put away the magic core, ate a few evolution stones, and then lay down to rest.

---

Under the same night sky, dozens of miles away from Dawn City, lies the Behemoth tribe.

The campfires blazed brightly, making it even noisier than during the day.

A golden Behemoth, two meters tall and covered in gorgeous pale gold fur, sat on the highest stone throne in the center of the tribe.

It was none other than the Golden Clan Chieftain whom Shadowmoon had described as being filled with immense fear—"Rending Gold".

At this moment, a huge bonfire was burning in front of Liejin, and on it sat a strange fish that was ten meters long and covered with huge scales.

This was the mutated electric fish king that he had personally led several silver behemoths and dozens of black iron behemoths to hunt down in a nearby lake that afternoon.

The strange fish could release a powerful electric current, enough to stun an ordinary Behemoth, but under the influence of the Silver Behemoth and its strong resistance and power, it eventually became food.

Around the campfire, several silver behemoths and even more iron behemoths were feasting, tearing into the charred fish and other mutated beast meat they had hunted that day.

Some human slaves served him tremblingly, adding firewood, turning the roasted meat, and serving him water. If they were not careful, they might be slapped to death by a Behemoth in a bad mood.

Rifting Gold tore off a large piece of the fattest fish belly meat, chewed it, and his golden pupils scanned the area below. Suddenly, he spoke, his voice booming like a bell: "Silverwing and his squad, and those human slaves, haven't they returned yet?"

A silver behemoth below, which was gnawing on a beast leg, raised its head and replied in a deep voice, "Chieftain, not yet. Perhaps there are too many exiles, and the cleanup will take time, or perhaps 'Silverwing' has found other amusement."

Lie Jin frowned slightly: "Although Silverwing is bloodthirsty, he won't neglect important matters. Send a few human slaves to check in that direction."

"Yes." The Silver Behemoth nodded, casually grabbing a trembling human male next to him as it prepared to give orders.

A blood-soaked human tribesman staggered up, collapsed to the ground, struggled to lift his head, extended his right hand, and spoke haltingly.

"Clan...Clan Chief! Something terrible has happened!"

"Lord Silverwing...and the four Black Iron Guards he led...are all dead!"

"The bodies are outside those exile cities! Everyone we brought there... they all died in battle!"

"It seems only a few women were arrested!"

After he finished speaking, he coughed and coughed, spitting out blood, and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.