Chapter 67: Slain with a Single Punch

The passage was now completely collapsed.

Inside, a horizontal platform was revealed.

On the platform, three dark figures sprang up simultaneously—three venomous lizard-men.

A flash!

A white silhouette swept through in an instant.

It was Zhao Zhen.

His ability for instantaneous movement was the true, god-like skill on the battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, his dragon scale blade sliced across one lizard-man's eye.

Given his speed, and the logic that force arises from velocity, theoretically this dagger should have lifted the man’s skull clean off. Yet, as the dragon scale blade passed, sparks flew, and though one eye was wounded, the other remained intact; only a scratch appeared between the eyes on a scale.

Wounded and enraged, the lizard-man pivoted in midair and lunged at Zhao Zhen.

Meanwhile, another lizard-man reached Zhao Zhen’s right side. Though Zhao Zhen possessed the power of instantaneous movement, he still needed solid ground beneath his feet to propel himself; at this moment, he had none.

On the platform ahead, Lin Xiaosu raised his gun.

Three shots!

The two lizard-men attacking Zhao Zhen were blinded in all three eyes.

He aimed directly at their eyes—the only vulnerable point, for their entire bodies were armored in scales impervious to bullets.

The pain in their eyes caused their attack to falter, opening a gap in their perfect encirclement.

Zhao Zhen stretched out his hand, grasped the right arm of one lizard-man, and used it to launch himself upward.

Yet the lizard-man’s response was astonishingly swift, its claw swiping at Zhao Zhen...

Midair, Zhao Zhen shouted, “Damn it, there goes another eight million!”

He drew the glittering golden LV belt from his waist, transforming it into a long sword.

Slash!

With a single stroke, two lizard-men were cut into four pieces.

Such a deadly blade?

The last lizard-man retreated sharply, backing up against the cave wall. In the next moment, it swiftly darted along the wall towards Lin Xiaosu.

Though genetically modified, these lizard-men retained human intelligence. Zhao Zhen wielded a weapon capable of piercing their armor—how could it dare attack him again?

Its only option was Lin Xiaosu.

Lin Xiaosu’s gun posed no threat except to its eyes, and facing him head-on, the chance of Lin Xiaosu hitting its eyes was slim.

Zhao Zhen, still in free fall, saw this and his expression changed. “Be careful!”

Had he been on solid ground, he could have used instantaneous movement to cover the distance and rescue her. But now, with nothing beneath his feet, he was powerless.

Earlier, when Zhao Zhen was in danger, Lin Xiaosu’s three bullets saved him. Now, he could not return the favor. For Zhao Zhen, famed for his generosity and willingness to pay for everyone’s expenses, this was intolerable.

Time seemed to crawl, yet pass in an instant.

The lizard-man was already above Lin Xiaosu.

Below, Changye’s hair lifted as she suddenly looked up, her expression changing.

Zhao Zhen was still three feet from the ground, his face darkening.

Slash!

The lizard-man’s claws seemed to tear through the silence of the cave, stabbing at Lin Xiaosu.

In the tense moment when Zhao Zhen and Changye’s hearts nearly stopped—

Lin Xiaosu punched.

Boom!

His fist struck the lizard-man’s head dead on.

The lizard-man soared, clearing half a ruined fence, and crashed into the hall below.

A white shadow flashed—Zhao Zhen crossed ten meters, his white and gold belt pointed at the fallen lizard-man, but he did not strike. Not because the golden belt was damaged, but because the lizard-man on the ground, bleeding from mouth and nose, was already lifeless.

Changye landed beside the lizard-man, her mouth agape in astonishment.

“Ancient martial arts? Injuring the internal organs through the skin...” Zhao Zhen, standing atop the ten-meter platform, sized up Lin Xiaosu. “Brother, New Moon never mentioned this technique.”

Indeed, Lin Xiaosu had used ancient martial arts to kill the lizard-man.

Ancient martial arts are internal skills.

At high levels, one can punch through steel beneath a layer of tofu. Conversely, one can penetrate the soft interior beneath the toughest armor.

The lizard-man’s skin was incredibly tough, impervious to bullets.

However, ancient martial arts internal energy bypassed the skin, delivering lethal force directly to the organs. With one blow, the lizard-man’s head was reduced to pulp.

Lin Xiaosu felt the true energy swirling in his right hand, his heart pounding.

He finally understood the advantage ancient martial arts held over gene-enhanced warriors.

Gene modifications strengthen the body: greater power, speed, defense.

Ancient martial arts excel in penetration!

With this skill, almost all the gene warriors’ defenses were rendered useless...

Suddenly, a strange whistle sounded.

From a cave to the left came odd noises.

Lin Xiaosu’s gaze snapped to the source.

In the darkness, countless red lights flickered—it was a swarm of rats, huge ones, densely packed, nearly filling the cave.

“Mutant rats?” New Moon exclaimed. “Are they seriously using this tactic against us?”

For ordinary people, a swarm of rats would be terrifying. But who were they?

Dragon Vanguard!

Members wore dragon armor; even lying down, the rats could not bite through. Why fear them?

Lin Xiaosu shouted, “This isn’t an attack—it's a diversion! Someone inside is trying to escape!”

The rats posed no threat—so it wasn’t an assault. The only reason for releasing so many was to buy time for the base leader to escape!

This was the only possibility Lin Xiaosu could infer from such an unreasonable tactic.

Changye’s gaze sharpened. “Makes sense!”

She darted to the cave, extended her fingers, and from all ten fingertips, mist shot forth.

The mist enveloped the cave. The red lights faded as if snowflakes met boiling water; the rats screamed eerily, and in an instant, the entire cave was still.

A thick layer covered the ground.

“Go!”

Lin Xiaosu leaped from the platform, joined by Changye, Zhao Zhen, and New Moon. They tapped the cave wall with their toes, vaulting over the mass of rat corpses and quickly passed through.

On the other side was a larger cave.

Gunshots!

Zhao Zhen swept through—ten guards were sliced in half, and the gunfire ceased.

Four gene warriors attacked. One was Dongzi, whom Lin Xiaosu had tracked.

Lin Xiaosu rushed toward Dongzi.

“Lin Xiaosu!” Dongzi’s face twisted. He thrust his dagger at Lin Xiaosu’s throat.

Lin Xiaosu pivoted on his toe, his body suddenly sidestepping. Dongzi lunged past.

As he passed, Lin Xiaosu struck his neck with a palm.

Dongzi fell face-first.

The other three gene warriors engaged Changye and her companions. Two more gene warriors, instead of attacking, lurked at the cave entrance; as the battle broke out, they turned and fled outside.

They were opportunists.

Unfortunately, after three steps, a dark figure appeared before them.

Thud!

Dragon scale flashed, and Number 88’s blade dripped blood as he entered from outside.

After a bloody fight, he had slain the lizard-man and caught up, blocking the gene warriors’ escape.

Changye had just subdued her opponent with a finger to the brow when a sudden gust swept past her; her belt loosened.

She spun her finger toward the newcomer—but was stunned.

The one who had undone her belt was Lin Xiaosu.

Why would he suddenly do that? Was he being a rogue?

New Moon shrieked, “Lin Xiaosu, do you have any decency at all? In broad daylight, you’re undoing Sister Changye’s belt...”

Lin Xiaosu’s toe touched the ground, his speed becoming incredible as he charged into the dark area ahead.

Changye followed, her speed almost matching his.

Ahead lay a river.

The water was dark, its destination unknown.

Lin Xiaosu raised his hand—the belt in his grasp was not really a belt, but the Dragon Cord! When its clasp was secured, it was a belt; when released, it became the Dragon Cord.

He opened the clasp, and the cord unfurled like a long snake, plunging into the darkness.

Whoosh!

A figure was tightly bound by the Dragon Cord and dragged back.

Changye’s eyes widened.

So that was the real reason for undoing her belt?

He’d noticed someone fleeing and had come to catch them.

The enemy had entered the river, and only the Dragon Cord could retrieve them from afar.

It was an old man in black, his face full of disbelief, but his hands were firmly tied, and he crashed to the ground, eating dirt.

“If nothing goes wrong, this should be the leader of the nest,” Lin Xiaosu said.

Changye reached out, grabbed the old man’s hair, and lifted him.

The old man smiled at her, his expression full of mockery.

“Speak! Are you the leader of this ant nest?”

He laughed, loud and sorrowful.

“Not good!” Lin Xiaosu’s face darkened.

Boom!

A low rumble—his laughter stopped, blood and brain matter oozed from his nostrils...

Meanwhile, a gene warrior fighting Number 88 suddenly collapsed.

Zhao Zhen, about to approach, halted. He stared at a fallen gene warrior whose nostrils began bleeding—this was one of those poisoned by Changye, with no internal wounds.

“Chip!” Number 88’s voice sounded behind him, serious.

“Yes!” New Moon, ever-changing, appeared before them. “All the gene warriors here have chips implanted. Damn it, they never intended to leave us any survivors.”

“The computers outside have initiated the self-destruct sequence. New Moon, let’s see if you can stop it this time!” Lin Xiaosu’s voice echoed from the darkness behind them.