However, Leopard had already said some harsh words to Zhou Ziwei, so Zhou Ziwei must hate him to the bone by now! Even if he wanted to back out now, it was too late. The enmity between the two was inevitable. If he didn't find a way to teach Zhou Ziwei a lesson here, then after the mission was completed, he, Leopard, would probably be the one to get punished.
Thinking of this, Leopard couldn't help but feel a surge of malice. He gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, "You brat, who told you to get involved with Shui Shui like that... I don't care if Shui Shui has a childhood fetish or what, anyway... I'm going to cripple at least one of your legs this time, otherwise... hmph... hmph... you're just unlucky."
"You want to cripple one of my legs?"
Before the leopard's low muttering had even finished, he suddenly heard a voice as cold as a demon in his ear. He was immediately terrified and turned around to look behind him. He immediately saw Zhou Ziwei following closely behind him like a lifeless shadow. No matter how hard he tried to speed up, he couldn't catch up with Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei was clearly short and small, and his steps didn't seem particularly fast or quick, but for some reason, it was this leisurely pace that made his legs weak and sweat pour down his forehead, yet he just couldn't outrun Zhou Ziwei's slow, leisurely steps.
"Ghost...you...you...you can't be human...you're a ghost."
Leopard suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this seemingly five or six-year-old child was not human. If he were human, how could he be so monstrous at such a young age? Especially now… He felt that Zhou Ziwei's legs seemed to touch the ground with every step, but he always felt that Zhou Ziwei was not running, but flying… That's right, flying. Otherwise, given Zhou Ziwei's height and leg length, even if he tried his best to take a big step, he could not possibly cover more than half a meter. But now, Zhou Ziwei's foot movement frequency was more than twice that of Leopard, so how could he be so firmly hanging behind Leopard, not falling behind by even half a step…
The leopard was filled with fear and trepidation. Moreover, Zhou Ziwei had overheard his mutterings about plotting to kill him. He knew there was no possibility of reconciliation between them; regardless of whether Zhou Ziwei was human or a ghost, he would never forgive him. A ruthless thought arose in his mind, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks. Two exquisitely crafted pistols appeared in his hands, and without hesitation, he pulled the triggers, unleashing a volley of bullets at Zhou Ziwei's legs, emptying both guns in a single burst.
At such close range, and with the opponent completely unprepared, Leopard was over 90% confident that he could take down Zhou Ziwei immediately.
Although Leopard's greatest strengths are speed and power, his marksmanship, while not as monstrous as Bullet's, is still quite good among all the members of the Dragon Group. If the entire group were to compete in marksmanship, Leopard would at least be in the top five, and might even make it into the top three.
So as soon as he had a gun in his hand, Leopard immediately regained all his confidence and no longer took this seemingly monstrous little brat seriously.
More than a dozen bullets hit Zhou Ziwei's legs. Leopard had exceptional eyesight and could see it clearly. In his eyes, the other party was still an immature child. The moment he pulled out his pistol, Zhou Ziwei seemed to be stunned and stopped in his tracks, standing there frozen in place. He even forgot to dodge and just stood there dumbfounded as he was fired more than a dozen shots in one go.
Leopard frantically pulled the trigger, wanting to burst into laughter. He believed that after these dozen or so shots, Zhou Ziwei's legs would be completely useless. Moreover, Leopard had slightly moved his aim upwards for the last few shots... so that... Zhou Ziwei's manhood would be mercilessly pierced by his gun, and when he grew up, he would no longer have the manhood to attract women. How would he then seduce women?
But when Leopard finished firing his round of bullets, until both magazines were empty, he was shocked to find that Zhou Ziwei was still standing there "stunned" and had not fallen to the ground. What terrified him even more was that despite being shot so many times in the leg, not a single drop of blood had seeped from Zhou Ziwei's body.
"There's a ghost here."
The leopard's eyes immediately filled with fear. At this moment, he began to doubt whether Zhou Ziwei was even alive. If he was alive, how could he not be bleeding?
"Idiot." Zhou Ziwei cursed Leopard without any politeness, then coldly stepped forward, lightly kicking a few bullets that had just bounced off him, and said, "You actually dared to treat me so cruelly just because Jiang Chunshui was a little nice to me? Hmph... It seems that an elite of the country like you really has guts, not even sparing your own teammates. So tell me... how am I supposed to repay your kindness?"
As Zhou Ziwei continued to kick the ground, making crisp clanging sounds, Leopard noticed that there were now more than a dozen bullets in front of Zhou Ziwei, and judging from the type of the bullets, they were clearly fired from the two guns in his hands.
How is this possible... He... He... He couldn't even be hurt by bullets. No wonder there wasn't a drop of blood on him. It turns out all the bullets that hit him bounced off; not a single one penetrated his body. How is this possible...?
The leopard's face immediately turned deathly pale, as if it had just rubbed two pounds of flour on its face; it was frighteningly white.
This kid is definitely a prodigy.
The more the leopard thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the more he looked, the more terrified he became. Now he knew how foolish it was to go against this little brat for no reason. He knew that this person was not someone he could afford to offend. Seeing a strong killing intent flash in Zhou Ziwei's eyes, he let out a strange cry, quickly turned around, and ran back for his life.
He needed to run back to the Dragon Group's headquarters, the only place where he could feel a little safe. After all, everyone there was one of his own, and no matter how vicious Zhou Ziwei was, he would never dare to harm him in front of all the Dragon Group members.
Zhou Ziwei sighed softly, pointed at the leopard from afar, and then casually said, "Get over here."
As Zhou Ziwei shouted, the leopard's body convulsed as if struck by lightning, and its steps came to an abrupt halt. Then, it slowly turned around, its face filled with boundless fear and despair, and walked step by step toward Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei curled his lip in a wicked grin, beckoned to the leopard with his finger, and said, "Come up to me... kneel down... and slap yourself until I'm satisfied..."
As Zhou Ziwei spoke, the leopard, like a lifeless puppet, obediently walked to Zhou Ziwei and knelt at his feet as instructed. Then, it raised its hands and began to slap Zhou Ziwei's face repeatedly with great effort. In an instant, the once somewhat handsome face was slapped into a pig's head.
At this moment, the leopard was filled with utter terror. He knew he had been hypnotized by Zhou Ziwei, and what was even more unbearable was that... even though he knew he was hypnotized, even though he was fully aware of everything and hadn't truly lost his mind, he had absolutely no control over his body. He watched helplessly as his body moved like a puppet on strings, following Zhou Ziwei's instructions step by step, kneeling shamelessly before a little brat, and then slapping himself repeatedly with all his might...
If all these things had happened while he was completely out of his mind and unaware of anything, that would have been one thing, but now... the leopard was fully aware of everything, yet he simply couldn't control himself to react in any way.
This guy is a devil. He must be a devil.
Leopard was truly terrified, harboring a deep-seated fear of Zhou Ziwei. If he could have a moment's freedom of movement, he would not want to run away immediately, nor would he want to fight Zhou Ziwei to the death... because he knew that running away was useless. No matter how fast he ran, he could not escape the clutches of this devil.
As for risking his life... that would be completely useless. He knew that even if he used all his skills, he wouldn't be able to harm a single hair on Zhou Ziwei's head. Doing so would only further enrage this devil.
So... if the leopard could regain control of its body for even a moment, the only thing it would want to do most is... commit suicide immediately, end its life immediately, to avoid being tormented by this devil in pieces any longer, and to avoid feeling so clearly humiliated in front of this devil without any dignity.
"How about it? Do you really want to die now?" The demon's voice rang clearly in the leopard's ears. The leopard wanted to nod and loudly beg Zhou Ziwei to grant him his only wish, but unfortunately, he could no longer control his body to make even the slightest blink.
He could only watch in horror as this "child," who seemed like a demon descending upon him, walked towards him step by step, his heart filled with regret and despair...
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 512: The Demon Seed
Zhou Ziwei controlled the leopard's body with his soul power, but deliberately did not let it completely lose its mind. He only made the leopard's body nerves subconsciously respond to his control, while its mind was still clearly aware of everything that was happening to it.
This was the first time Zhou Ziwei had tried to use soul power in this way. Controlling a person in this way would undoubtedly be extremely difficult, far exceeding the soul power required for ordinary hypnosis.
Just the brief moment he manipulated the leopard was enough to burn through hundreds of Zhou Ziwei's soul power.
Think about it: after Zhou Ziwei was executed in his previous life, he relied on the Six-Syllable Mantra to absorb the remnants of the souls of many death row inmates on the execution ground. He only accumulated a little over a hundred units of soul power. It was with these few units of soul power that he was able to survive the scorching sunlight and eventually, by some strange twist of fate, be reborn in another body.
A mere hundred units of soul power could exert such a powerful effect, and now... Zhou Ziwei, in order to make the leopard experience more mental torment, has consumed a full four or five hundred units of soul power.
With so much soul power, I believe that apart from Zhou Ziwei, a freak who is skilled in soul abilities, no hypnotist in this world could afford to waste it. Even if they were to risk their lives, they would definitely not be able to do so.
Moreover, Zhou Ziwei's method of controlling the leopard's body, even at the cost of expending a great deal of soul power, was still extremely difficult. After all, the leopard was not an ordinary person. Although it had not cultivated its soul, its powerful physique naturally led to its extraordinary soul ability, far surpassing that of ordinary people. If it hadn't been for the fact that more than ten shots had hit Zhou Ziwei without a single bullet injuring his body, causing such a great shock to his mind, Zhou Ziwei would not have been able to successfully complete this attempt.
Strictly speaking, Zhou Ziwei's actions just now could no longer be considered hypnosis; rather, they were almost equivalent to using his own soul power to plunder someone else's body.
Each person's body is unique and can only be controlled by themselves. This is because each person's nerve endings are controlled by a unique soul force.
Even if Zhou Ziwei could inject his soul power into other people's bodies, generally speaking, he could only cause healing or harm to other people's bodies. It would be difficult to use this soul power that entered other people's bodies as a medium to manipulate other people's bodies.
Zhou Ziwei had just used a special method to allow his soul power, which had penetrated the leopard's body, to completely occupy the major nerve pathways within the leopard's body. Then, in a form that was almost like burning, he used his soul power to temporarily erase the imprint left by the leopard's own soul on these nerve pathways. Only then could he replace the leopard's consciousness and control its body.
Zhou Ziwei quickly discovered that this method was indeed very useful, but the consumption was ridiculously high. Almost every second, he had to burn a large amount of his soul power to maintain this additional control. In comparison, if he were to completely influence the leopard's consciousness with hypnosis, he could eventually achieve the same result by consuming a dozen or even several times the amount of soul power. This was truly a luxurious waste...
When Zhou Ziwei, feeling sorry for his own soul power, released his control over the leopard's body, this usually proud member of the Dragon Group was so excited that he burst into tears because he had regained control of his own body and ended that nightmarish feeling of being unable to control himself.
Leopard couldn't remember the last time he had cried so pathetically. It seemed like the last time he shed tears was when he was wearing open-crotch pants and had two big snot dripping from his nose! Although he knew that he looked very unrefined and shameful, Deng didn't care about that anymore. Anyway, he had already knelt down in front of Zhou Ziwei and slapped himself hard, losing all face. So what else was there to care about?
Although Zhou Ziwei seemed completely unguarded and stood casually in front of the leopard, the leopard showed no intention of fighting Zhou Ziwei or seeking revenge.
The scene that had just unfolded had completely shattered the leopard's originally resilient will, making him realize one thing clearly: never provoke this devil in front of him. He and this seemingly harmless child were not even in the same league. If the devil wanted to, he could toy with him like a monkey, and even if he used all his strength, he wouldn't be able to harm a single hair on the devil's head.
"How was it? How did it feel just now?" When the leopard's tears gradually stopped, Zhou Ziwei took two steps forward and stood in front of him, coldly saying, "If you're still not convinced, you can try again. I know you still have two magazines on you, and two grenades on your waist. Or you can try blowing me up with those things. Maybe you can really blow me to pieces. Or you can stab me with that poisoned dagger strapped to your calf. That way, you won't have to worry about your goddess falling for a kid like me anymore, right?"
Hearing Zhou Ziwei's somewhat unfriendly tone, Leopard felt as if he were being watched by a venomous snake... no, it should be said that he felt as if he were being watched by a group of venomous snakes. He was immediately terrified, and the hairs on his body stood on end.
Especially when he heard Zhou Ziwei clearly reveal all his trump cards, he felt as if he had seen a ghost. He realized that he had no secrets from this child, which made him even more certain that this prodigy who had forcefully joined the Dragon Group was clearly a terrifying devil.
"No, no, no... I won't do it again, I really won't do it again."
Leopard trembled all over and knelt down again. This time, no one was controlling his body. He couldn't resist the intense fear in his heart. His legs went weak and he naturally knelt down in front of Zhou Ziwei. The tears he had just held back flowed out again.
"I'm sorry, I know I was wrong, please... please forgive me!" Leopard cried as he crawled on his knees to Zhou Ziwei, grabbed Zhou Ziwei's leg, and repeatedly begged for mercy.
Zhou Ziwei stared at the leopard with an unchanged expression. He had initially thought that the leopard was deliberately using this method to lull him into a false sense of security before suddenly launching a deadly attack after getting close to him. However, after waiting for a long time, he found that the leopard had only smeared snot and tears all over him, but had not shown any signs of attacking him.
"Alright... get up now!" Zhou Ziwei knew that the leopard had been tortured to the point of losing all courage to resist, but he couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking that burning so much soul power in one go hadn't been entirely useless.
The feeling of being powerless must be terrifying! Otherwise, a special forces elite like Leopard, who has undergone special training, would not surrender to someone so easily. Generally speaking, even if such an elite falls into the hands of the enemy, no matter how much torture he undergoes, he will not reveal any secrets, much less betray his comrades and country.
Although Zhou Ziwei hasn't asked him about any secrets yet, it seems that even if Zhou Ziwei did ask, he would definitely tell him all about his secrets, such as how he wet the bed when he was a child and how he peeked at girls taking a bath when he was a child.
An agent can maintain his integrity and not reveal any secrets because he has a strong mental strength supporting his body. But the leopard now clearly has a completely broken mental state, at least... completely broken in front of Zhou Ziwei.
The leopard obediently stood up, but still kept its back slightly bowed, seemingly not daring to show any arrogance in front of Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei didn't have a good impression of this guy who only knew how to be jealous, but he didn't have much ill will either. He just taught him a lesson because this guy attacked Zhou Ziwei first.
However, if the leopard hadn't acted so docilely just now, Zhou Ziwei wouldn't have minded wiping it out completely here.
Although Zhou Ziwei considered that they were all Chinese and were now comrades-in-arms, he did not want a guy who was always thinking of harming him to continue living a comfortable life.
Even if in his eyes the person who wanted to harm him at this moment was just an insignificant ant, sometimes even being bitten by an ant can make one feel uncomfortable.
Of course, Zhou Ziwei wouldn't completely trust the guy just because of his momentary obedient behavior. He hesitated for a moment, then beckoned to the leopard and said, "Come here... come closer."
"Oh...yes, yes, yes..." The leopard's fear of Zhou Ziwei was far greater than that of a mouse seeing a cat. When Zhou Ziwei told him to come closer, his body began to tremble involuntarily. However, he dared not disobey Zhou Ziwei's wishes and could only cautiously step forward, stammering, "What...what are your orders, sir?"
"Pah... You're the one who's old..."
Zhou Ziwei scolded him, somewhat speechless, which immediately frightened the leopard so much that it knelt down again, its face turning completely pale with shock.
He quickly explained, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean that. Of course you're not old... Ah... not old, it's... it's young. Of course you're not old at all. I just wanted to express my respect for you because you're young. I absolutely didn't mean anything else!"
"You're young?" What kind of address is that...? That's quite a clever way to address someone...
But this guy is such a coward! He's already scared to death like that? If I threaten him a couple more times, he'll probably burst out of his stomach!
Zhou Ziwei shook his head helplessly, then reached out and gently patted the leopard. The pat was so light and casual, without using any force, but it still startled the leopard so much that it almost fainted.
"Don't be afraid...you won't die."
Zhou Ziwei smiled faintly, and then, as the leopard nodded repeatedly, seemingly relieved, he suddenly snorted coldly and said, "However... if you dare to disrespect me again, I will make you wish you were dead."
"Thump—" The leopard started trembling the moment Zhou Ziwei changed his expression. When Zhou Ziwei uttered the words "worse than death," the leopard immediately leaned back and fainted.
"Uh..." This effect left Zhou Ziwei stunned. A member of the Dragon Group who had undergone rigorous training and possessed extraordinary strength was actually scared unconscious by his words. This... was too outrageous!
Witnessing this scene, Zhou Ziwei had to reconsider the novel use of soul power that he had unintentionally created today. Using his own soul consciousness to control other people's bodies through soul power was clearly not worth the effort if viewed only superficially.
What he accomplished by expending hundreds of soul points, he could normally achieve with just a little hypnosis and a tiny bit of soul point.
However, the intense psychological pressure that controlling a person's body can bring in that situation is truly terrifying. Therefore, this method is still necessary in certain specific circumstances. So, it would be worthwhile to study this technique further if time permits.
Zhou Ziwei channeled another wisp of his soul power into the leopard, waking it up before saying, "You guessed right, I did tamper with you. Now you can gently press your chest area to see what happened."
"Ah...I...I...ah..."
The leopard stammered, unsure how to answer, and then carefully pressed his chest lightly. Instantly, he felt an indescribable pain, as if countless sharp steel needles were piercing every inch of his chest. The pain caused him to let out a shrill roar.
The pain was excruciating. Leopard had suffered countless serious injuries throughout his life, but never before had he experienced such terrifying pain. He couldn't even imagine how a person's body could generate such intense pain.
Seeing the leopard in such excruciating pain, Zhou Ziwei couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement before completely withdrawing all the soul power he had just dispersed into the leopard's body.
"You should have already felt the power of the restriction I placed on you, right?" Zhou Ziwei gave a mocking snort and said, "This is a demonic seed I planted in your body. With just a thought, I can make you suffer as much as you did just now, screaming in pain for three days and three nights before you finally collapse from exhaustion and die. However... as long as you behave yourself and don't have any other thoughts towards me, this demonic seed will never activate. If you don't believe me, press the spot you just pressed again. Doesn't it hurt at all now?"
Upon hearing this, the leopard was filled with doubt and apprehension. The agony he had just experienced had truly given him a taste of what it meant to be in hell on earth. He believed that even if the legendary eighteen levels of hell really existed, the tortures there, such as climbing mountains of knives and being thrown into boiling oil, would never be as painful and terrifying as what he had just endured. He simply couldn't imagine what it would be like if such pain really lasted for three days and three nights. Just imagining it in his mind was enough to send chills down his spine.
Despite being terrified, Leopard carefully pressed his chest again to confirm Zhou Ziwei's words.
It's okay...it doesn't hurt.
Leopard's heart skipped a beat, and he increased the pressure on his hand again, but still dared not feel any pain. Finally, he punched himself hard in the chest, and there was no more pain. Only then did Leopard have no doubt about what Zhou Ziwei had just said.
Sure enough... that so-called demonic seed is completely controlled by this devil. He can make it activate whenever he wants, and if he doesn't want it to, I'll be fine. So what am I hesitating for? He clearly wants to control me and make me work for him. Sigh... who told me to walk right into his line of fire? Well, I guess I'll just have to accept my fate!
Thinking of this, Leopard knelt down in front of Zhou Ziwei again and solemnly swore a solemn oath, which meant that he would be loyal to Zhou Ziwei from now on, and would not hesitate to do so even if Zhou Ziwei asked him to kill his own father.
Zhou Ziwei naturally didn't care about such oaths; anyone with a mouth could say them. However, he believed that after experiencing such terrifying pain, the leopard would never dare to have any thoughts of betrayal again.
Of course... the so-called demonic seed doesn't exist at all. The reason the leopard was in so much pain when just a light touch was because Zhou Ziwei had previously injected a whole drop of liquid soul power into the leopard's body, temporarily replacing the nerve transmission and sensing abilities of that part of its body. This made that part of the leopard's body so sensitive that even a light touch would cause excruciating pain. Zhou Ziwei had suffered this kind of pain many times before, and now that he finally saw others suffering the same pain as him, he suddenly felt much more at peace.