Chapter 157: The Fall of Black Island

The potency of biological weapons is inherently expressed through cellular activity. The experimental subjects before them were clearly not evolved ability-users, nor did they bear any mutated organs injected with gene progenitors. In other words, they were entirely ordinary human beings!

Their cellular activity was practically negligible!

If such weapons were amplified by the formidable cellular activity of actual ability-users, the destructive power would be unimaginably terrifying!

Ji Cheng’s gaze toward those test subjects shifted completely, resembling the look of a bandit eyeing a group of people who had stolen his valuables.

Under normal circumstances, biological weapons could be repeatedly removed and reused. However, the cellular activity of the test subjects was far too low to withstand such a massive dosage of serum; their original blood and cell fluids would inevitably be dissolved and integrated by the serum, rendering them completely ruined.

"You'd better not waste too much of my serum..." he thought with a deep pang of heartache, glancing toward the distant crater.

In his mind, these tyrant serums were already firmly within his grasp.

"After all, since they amplify one's innate strength, biological weapons are far rarer and more valuable than mechanical ones... Furthermore, from the looks of it, the power of tyrant serums after massive injections grows exponentially."

Whether he sold them for cash or used them himself, he absolutely could not let them slip away.

Unfortunately, the knowledge required to produce such serum clearly exceeded tier one; even if he managed to acquire it, he wouldn't dare study it, or else he would risk being hunted down and having his data aether forcefully wiped out.

Composing himself, Ji Cheng redirected his attention to the surrounding battle situation.

It seems a bit tough going. Fortunately, I have this section of metal phalange...

Swish!

At that moment, an extremely bright golden beam of light pierced straight ahead, resembling a divine thunderbolt from mythology striking down. Even under the sunlight, it remained striking, instantly piercing through three cyan-black test subjects.

"As expected, is Rest City's particle light-spear still a bit stronger?"

"Old Lei, hit my side with one, I can't hold on much longer!"

"Same over here!"

As soon as the numerous tier-two powerhouses engaged in combat, they found it increasingly strenuous. Although the test subjects possessed mediocre attack power, their bodies were incomparably rigid; whether hacked with cold steel or bombarded with firearms, the lethality was exceptionally weak.

South Harbor's military forces also collapsed almost upon contact. Facing opponents impervious to swords and guns, these ordinary soldiers struggled to summon the courage to fight back.

Had it not been for Lei Junming’s particle light-spears repeatedly turning the tide, these tier-two ability-users might have already been forced to scatter and flee.

Even so, amidst their hectic battle, they frequently cast glances toward Ji Cheng, expecting him to pull out some special trump card.

Through the battles of the past few days, Ji Cheng's strength had long since been universally acknowledged, and even those veteran ability-users who were not particularly close to him felt a deep sense of respect in this regard.

Yet Ji Cheng merely stood in place, not participating in the combat.

"Ah-Cheng, I can't break through them. My hands are almost chafed raw..." Luo Rao ran over to Ji Cheng’s side holding a plasma pistol, complaining with a pitiful yet melodiously pleasing voice.

She wrapped her arms around Ji Cheng in a charming posture, gently poking his cheek with the tip of her nose. "Let big sis give you a kiss to restore some health, won't you?"

Can one even chafe their skin raw from holding a pistol? Are you telling me the tier-two gene progenitors your dear brother painstakingly selected are knockoffs?

"Uh, kiss yourself then. I'm a bit busy right now."

Ji Cheng didn't even raise his head, intently tinkering with the metal phalange he had been fiddling with for a long time.

This was something he had found in a corner of the South Harbor military armory. Originally belonging to the components of a mechanical combat soldier, South Harbor had somehow managed to unearth it, but having no idea how to use it, they simply discarded it in the armory to gather dust.

The design philosophy of a mechanical combat soldier was entirely centered around combat; its entire body was covered in weapons, classifying it as a heavily regulated robot that typically only appeared on battlefields or under the command of prominent aristocratic figures.

Even a mere segment of its metal phalange possessed astonishing destructive power when triggered, though the number of uses was strictly limited.

Crack!

Ji Cheng snapped the metal phalange in his hand. After the first joint flipped backward, the remaining two-thirds of the phalange at the rear emitted a series of grinding clicks, refusing to maintain its shape as a single finger. Instead, a split ruptured down its length out of thin air. At the same time, Ji Cheng pinched the tail end and pulled outward, ultimately extending the phalange by a fraction.

All these changes were completed in an instant. The surrounding powerhouses only felt a blur before their eyes; the metal phalange in Ji Cheng's hand had transformed into something entirely new, looking somewhat nondescript.

Three exquisite metal bones were connected in sequence, with white, hemispherical, heterogenous synovial joints at the junctions. The shortest and foremost bone flipped upward, leaving a small opening at the joint.

Overall, it looked quite similar to a fractured finger.

Ji Cheng flicked his wrist, sending the metal phalange tracing an arc through the air. The flipped first joint reconnected with the rear section, while a deep blue ray flickered at the small opening on the fingertip.

This triggered the movement of a charged high-energy particle stream carrying tens of thousands of electron volts, causing the nitrogen-oxygen molecules or inert atoms in the air to undergo excitation and ionization—

A needle-like stream of high-energy particles shot out from the metal phalange in his hand, swiftly vanishing into the crowd of cyan-black figures.

"Yours... why is it so thin?" Zhang Lingfei had been secretly keeping an eye on Ji Cheng’s direction. Seeing him shoot out a beam as thin as a toothpick, she couldn't help blurting out.

Previously, Lei Junming’s arm-thick beam had set a lofty standard, making Ji Cheng's contraption look utterly dwarfed by comparison.

"Even though our Ah-Cheng is thin, he's long, you see." Following the direction of Luo Rao's finger, everyone watched in astonishment as a long line of countless test subjects collapsed to the ground simultaneously, each bearing a tiny blood spot on their forehead.

"How is this possible!" Just as Lei Junming was preparing to lend a hand, he witnessed this terrifying scene. "I..."

When facing Ji Cheng, he had completely lost confidence in himself, but he had originally retained faith in Rest City's foundational heritage. Yet now, Ji Cheng had casually pulled out a strange finger bone and instantly reduced his particle light-spear to trash.

That was Rest City's ultimate trump card! The incomprehension and bewilderment in Lei Junming's eyes were as palpable as reality.

Yuan Feng from Rest City exchanged a glance with Yu Yin, who had sustained a minor injury beside him:

Does your Blackwater Hanging City possess weapons this powerful?

Yu Yin rolled his eyes at him: Naturally, we do not.

Not far away, Tian Gang glanced at the metal phalange in Ji Cheng's hand, then looked down at the chainsword he was gripping, and tossed it to the ground with a loud clatter.

What utter garbage!

"Damn it! You had good stuff like this and didn't take it out sooner, you're not playing fair!" Lu Shangbai shouted from the side, as he was being chased around frantically by the test subjects. "Look at what kind of state your Brother Lu has been beaten into!"

"It can't be used many times, and there are no replacements," Ji Cheng shook the metal phalange and said helplessly, "I have to use it sparingly."

Inside South Harbor City, the citizens who had woken up early to watch the livestream immediately burst into cheers that reverberated throughout the entire city upon witnessing their speaker display such overwhelming might.

Ten minutes later...

The arduous battle finally concluded, and the exterior of the Black Island organization's headquarters fell into a quiet stillness.

No more enemy troops charged out, nor was there the roar of artillery fire.

"Those who aren't injured, let's storm in and finish this in one decisive battle!" Ji Cheng discarded the depleted metal phalange, pressed his headset, and commanded through the channel.

A large number of tier-two ability-users, along with some tier-one ability-users, entered the main base of Black Island's headquarters, holding weapons and mutually covering each other's sectors.

With the war progressing to this stage, victory could essentially be declared.

It was equivalent to the city walls being breached in ancient warfare, leaving only a few alleyways where the enemy could make a desperate last stand.

Once the gates of the base were breached, the subsequent clearing operation was merely a matter of time.

In South Harbor City, the massive screens in street shopping malls, the televisions in homes, and the projectors in schools... all bore witness to this historic moment.

"We won!"

"Victory!"

The emotions that had been suppressed for years were completely released, and the entire city erupted. Regardless of gender, age, or background, everyone cheered and jumped with excitement.

Although South Harbor rarely sat at the bottom, it had never held a particularly high status in White Mountain Star.

Rest City had always been an entity that looked down upon others from above.

Especially after the establishment of the new city, the residents of old South Harbor City felt an extra sense of inferiority. Yet now, they had led other city-states to fight a massive victory, capturing the headquarters of the Black Island organization, which had spent decades inciting wars and provoking everyone around them.

The citizens' sense of honor and belonging reached its absolute peak at this moment.

Drip—

To avoid leaking certain classified information, the livestream feed no longer followed Ji Cheng, instead switching back to a high-altitude overhead shot of the battlefield.

Chen Qian also began summarizing and reviewing the events for the audience.

Inside the base.

Upon entry, Ji Cheng and the others discovered to their surprise that they encountered virtually no resistance, not even a single trap. All corridors were wide open, completely undefended.

"It seems all the soldiers were sent out earlier," analyzed one ability-user with a serious expression.

Did the Black Island organization—which seemed so high-profile, aggressive, and prone to provoking others—actually possess only that handful of people?

It was truly incredible.