Chapter 105: The Awakened One
Outside the council chamber, Lin Xiaosu and Changye exchanged a glance, both eyes gleaming with excitement.
By using Longyan’s judgment, they confirmed this man was none other than Huang Chengwang.
A complex trap had been set, and the ultimate goal was right before them.
“Are you Huang Chengwang?” Director Yeteng asked coldly.
“I am... and you are...”
“The director of the Royal Research Institute, Yeteng!”
“So it’s Director Yeteng. I am a friend of Mr. Watanabe from your esteemed institute, and I have long wished to pay my respects to Your Excellency...” Huang Chengwang’s face was full of sycophantic smiles.
As a highly sought-after scientist in the Eternal Life Group, when he dealt with Daxia’s officials, he never needed to flatter anyone. On the contrary, those high-ranking officials had to show him respect—but that was back in Daxia!
Now, he was nothing but a stray dog, rude and powerless, unable even to gnaw on a bone. So he had become worldly-wise and slick.
Director Yeteng said coldly, “Because you are friends with him, you could enter his reception room without obstruction, ambush and kill him, and steal the Purple Demon Stone?”
“...” Huang Chengwang was stunned and disoriented by the barrage of explosive revelations, unsure where he stood.
Suddenly—
Inside, the three large lights went out simultaneously!
Everyone in the chamber was shocked at once!
At least seven or eight people clustered around Director Yeteng—
Boom!
A muffled explosion echoed, thick smoke billowing through the chamber...
“Poison!” someone shouted beside Yeteng, then suddenly fell silent as he collapsed to the ground.
Chaos erupted throughout the hall.
A burly lieutenant’s voice rang out: “The Royal Research Institute has poisoned us, trying to kill us... Soldiers of Zhezuo Island, obey orders, return fire!”
No sooner had his command fallen than gunshots erupted, aimed directly at the group from the research institute concealed within the thick fog.
Countless soldiers, confused, suddenly heard their general’s orders. Guns clicked and roared.
The burly lieutenant suddenly shrank back, face pale—he hadn’t given that order!
Who was the bastard?
Amid the gunfire, over fifty members of the Royal Research Institute were caught in the front lines; seven or eight were hit instantly.
Director Yeteng’s voice rose from the darkness: “Kill them all!”
“Kill!”
The gene experts beside him surged forward, scattering the enemy formations in an instant...
Yeteng, protected by four or five guards, had reached the wall, his expression changing; the previous command was not his either...
Among all present, Huang Chengwang was the most bewildered—what was going on?
They pulled me out, before I could say three words, both sides suddenly opened fire. Foreigners really are unreasonable. This is too dangerous—I want to go home...
Suddenly, a faint light flickered by his side. Huang Chengwang felt a chill at his neck as his head was severed mid-air.
Next to him stood a soldier—wearing glasses.
It was Changye.
Within Longyan’s vision, a green mark flashed rapidly—meaning the gene scan passed, and the person killed was indeed Huang Chengwang!
Her figure flashed past another soldier’s side; the two darted through the chaotic battlefield toward the door.
Outside the door, a large group of soldiers rushed in—Zhezuo Island troops hastening to reinforce upon hearing gunfire.
They were met by two grenades!
Boom!
A thick fog rose, dense enough to blot out vision. Perhaps the fog obscured the sky, or their eyes suddenly blurred—whatever it was, darkness fell before them, and the soldiers inhaled an unknown substance. The entire squad staggered, nearly falling at once.
Lin Xiaosu and Changye crossed a kilometer in just three breaths, the sea now close before their eyes.
***
Suddenly, three figures burst through the poisonous fog behind them.
Whizz!
Three bullets formed a “品” shape, aimed at Lin Xiaosu.
If he advanced, he would be hit by at least one bullet; if he didn’t, he would still be struck. This was the essence of "setting a trap with bullets"—the highest realm of a sharpshooter.
Another figure did not fire but moved at an almost bullet-like speed, quickly appearing behind Changye...
Lin Xiaosu abruptly fixed his stance, a dagger flashing in his palm, catching a bullet with a spark.
This was the only way to counter “setting a trap with bullets”: when all escape routes are sealed by gunfire, you must block the bullet head-on!
The bullet struck the dagger, shattering it!
Yet before the broken dagger half fell, Lin Xiaosu snatched it mid-air and reversed his wrist—
Whish!
The sharpshooter’s eyes widened in shock; his throat was pierced through by the blade.
Meanwhile, Changye’s form suddenly multiplied into thousands; she and the swift opponent fought with lightning speed, the battlefield filled with countless figures...
The third assailant let out a long howl—not quite human, more like a wolf.
He clawed downward, blue light flickering at his fingertips, aiming for Lin Xiaosu with near-superhuman speed.
But Lin Xiaosu was not Changye; he reached out directly.
Boom!
His fist, like a ghostly apparition, struck heavily on the gene expert’s forehead.
Though the expert was in a transformed state, possessing terrifying strength, he was blasted far back, landing silently.
Whish!
A soft sound, Changye’s hair flying as the speed expert she’d grappled with for seconds tumbled down the reef.
“Go!”
Changye shouted; they both leapt down the last cliff to the shore...
At the same moment, the council chamber’s wall was blasted apart, countless experts soaring into the air...
Just as Lin Xiaosu and Changye were about to break through the encirclement,
The sea before them churned violently.
Like a shape-shifting mountain and sea, a colossal humanoid figure burst from the waves.
Lin Xiaosu’s Heavenly Insight confirmed his shock.
Was this even human?
Over three meters tall, covered in scales, with glowing green eyes...
The giant’s hands, like the trident of a sea god...
Two steel tridents simultaneously attacked Lin Xiaosu and Changye.
Lin Xiaosu’s punch landed squarely!
But it was like hitting a steel plate, shaking not the giant in the slightest; instead, he himself was slammed backward against the cliff.
Changye reacted swiftly, wielding a dragon-scale dagger infused with her full strength, stabbing between the giant’s palms.
Crack!
The dragon scale shattered into fragments, even piercing steel plates.
Her palm bled.
The giant punched again; Changye’s palm blocked it.
Boom!
She was also sent flying, crashing into the cliff.
Her feet seemed to cling to the rock as her hair whipped wildly; her face was grim: “Awakened!”
Lin Xiaosu’s expression changed as well.
Awakened. He had seen this at 101—they were second-tier gene humans. The first tier was “Budding,” representing some breakthrough in genes; the second was “Awakened,” signifying the extraordinary!
To encounter an Awakened tonight?
One strike already defeated both him and Changye combined?
The wind howled fiercely above; countless experts had descended by the shore...
By now, even the dullest could tell they had been trapped. Someone was stirring trouble. Whether the Black Dragon Society or the Royal Research Institute, they had united to tear them apart.
And ahead stood an Awakened.
They were in utter peril.
“Fight!” Lin Xiaosu spat out a single word.
With it, his palm slowly rose.
This lift seemed to command his entire body’s strength.
“Kill!” Changye’s feet struck sharply; she transformed into a sharp arrow, charging the Awakened.
The Awakened’s green eyes were mercilessly cold as his two claws suddenly snapped together—
At that moment, a fist descended from above!
Boom!
It struck the Awakened’s massive head—also covered in scales, which normally could deflect bullets.
Yet the Awakened suddenly froze...
Swish!
Changye darted between his claws, plunging into the sea.
Lin Xiaosu followed suit.
The Awakened stood dazed on the reef, seemingly unaware.
Slowly, he fell, his head striking the rocks with a dull sound.
The faces onshore changed entirely...
The Awakened was Zhezuo Island’s strongest trump card.
He was invulnerable to weapons, possessed immense strength, and was brutal by nature. Even Lieutenant Kuofei dared not deploy him on the island.
This theoretically indestructible bulwark had fallen to what seemed a harmless punch?
Several experts leapt into the sea, struggling to flip the Awakened over. Their inspection revealed the stunning truth: his brain was shattered—he was not just down, he was dead!
“One punch to kill the Awakened!” Vice President Gucun’s eyes gleamed sharply. “Could it be the Hidden Dragon’s Thunder?”
“No, not Thunder!” came a voice from the sea, in refined Daxia language.
Clear and soft, not loud but heard by nearly everyone onshore.
All eyes lifted simultaneously, focused on a small boat on the water.
The boat was not mechanical, just an ordinary rowboat propelled by oars. Yet no oars were in the hands of the figure standing at the prow—a white-clad man wearing a silver mask.
Without oars or engine, the small boat surged toward the shore through the waves.
Just a single boat, propelled by an inexplicable method, made the dozens of experts onshore wide-eyed.
A mysterious ancient martial artist?
A mysterious ancient martial artist from Daxia?
“Your Excellency, White-Clad Heavenly King!” Gucun bowed deeply.
He spoke in Daxia language as well.
Several Black Dragon Society members behind him trembled slightly and bowed in unison.
Director Yeteng’s heart shook violently...
He had heard legends of the White-Clad Heavenly King.
This man was not from Fusang but from Daxia. However, he was an enemy of Daxia’s Hidden Dragon and thus a distinguished guest of the Black Dragon Society, even the society’s president treated him with utmost respect.
The White-Clad Heavenly King seemed to ignore the courtesies extended to all in the Black Dragon Society, fixing his gaze on Director Yeteng: “Director Yeteng, you probably don’t know who killed the Hidden Dragon who infiltrated your institute last night. Today I shall tell you honestly—it was I who killed him!”
Yeteng trembled all over.
That infiltrator, after reaching the third floor, had alarmed the guards, killed seven of them, reached the lab door, and had placed the explosives—then suddenly collapsed. No one in the institute knew how he died. Now the truth was out—it was this White-Clad Heavenly King.