Chapter Thirty-Two: The Senator’s Son

Yao Zhenyuan was utterly focused. The instant he saw Ji Cheng raise his gun to aim, he immediately darted deeper into the dense fog, at the same time pulling the trigger to fire back a shot in response.

That was his last bullet.

He had been running low on ammunition to begin with; the recent volley had completely emptied his magazine.

The sea wind surged in, compressing the night fog into an even thicker shroud, so dense that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. Around him, all he could hear were gunshots, the sound of exhaled breath, muffled groans, and heavy gasps.

Then, silence fell.

Such darkness worked to the advantage of the Gene Prototype-Lynx. It was as if he were in his element, his senses heightened all the more.

Bang!

Suddenly, Ji Cheng burst from the mist, as if he had lain in wait all along. His gun roared with an explosive crack in the night, spitting a tongue of flame.

Yao Zhenyuan was startled, but his instincts spurred him into action. He dodged to the side, his back scraping against a low wall. The bullet whizzed past, ricocheting off the concrete like a marble.

That was close. Cold sweat beaded over his skin.

Clang—

Ji Cheng tossed aside his empty pistol and flicked out the blade at his wrist, launching himself forward like a hunting leopard, swift and merciless.

Take advantage of your enemy’s weakness—this time, Ji Cheng did not hesitate. His razor-sharp wrist blade drove straight for his opponent’s heart.

“Die.”

A simple, direct thrust, yet with the strength amplified by the serum, it was unstoppable.

Yao Zhenyuan’s face changed drastically. It felt as if the air around him was being forcibly squeezed away, a suffocating pressure rushing at him. He could barely react.

Clang!

A mournful screech of clashing metal rang out as the taciturn old man appeared just in time to block the blow.

But all the strength from Ji Cheng’s Tyrant Serum was concentrated in his arm—how could the old man, caught off guard, possibly deflect such power with ease?

Boom.

It was as if an iron plow had gouged the ground; the long-cracked, neglected cement road was shattered underfoot, sending debris flying and a cloud of dust billowing.

“You—”

The old man’s mouth gaped, but his voice caught in his throat. He staggered, trembling, then stumbled out of the fight, hunching over and collapsing to the ground, his hands convulsing uncontrollably.

What terrifying strength, what a terrifying man.

Yao Zhenyuan climbed to his feet in silence, drawing from his thigh a strange inward-curving blade, the tip raised upward, and swung it at Ji Cheng’s side.

“A recurved blade,” Ji Cheng recognized it at once. Not long ago, he’d seen a corpse felled by this very weapon.

Also known as a kukri, the recurved blade’s odd shape made it exceptionally deadly in slashing. With its tip angled up, all the force was concentrated at the point of contact, delivering deep, savage wounds.

Ji Cheng flicked his wrist, retracting his blade into his sleeve. A stabbing weapon like the wrist blade could not go head-to-head with a slashing weapon like the kukri.

He retreated several steps, steadying his stance. Yao Zhenyuan pressed the attack relentlessly. A flash of brutality passed through Ji Cheng’s eyes. Suddenly, he spun around, his left arm turning an iron-blue, as if cast from steel, and he forcibly blocked the kukri’s slash.

Screech—

A wince-inducing rasp of metal on metal.

“How did he block my blade barehanded!” Yao Zhenyuan gasped in shock and fury, his color draining. It was as if he’d struck alloyed steel—the blow sent numb, jolting pain through his hand.

Ji Cheng paid no mind to what his foe was thinking. Seeing his enemy distracted, he immediately reached for Yao Zhenyuan’s throat.

Though the serum focused on his left arm, Ji Cheng’s natural strength was formidable. If his right hand seized its target, he could easily crush Yao Zhenyuan’s throat.

“Watch out!” At that critical moment, the ugly-faced woman emerged from the mist. She had been lurking, waiting for her chance to ambush Ji Cheng, but now that Yao Zhenyuan was in peril, she could no longer hold back.

If anything befell this young master, who knew what his councilman father might do?

“Your fight is with me!” she shrieked.

She threw herself in front of Yao Zhenyuan, her twisted face flushing crimson as she mustered all her strength to intercept the deadly blow, ready to redirect its force at any instant.

Ji Cheng glanced over and recognized her prototype.

Gene Prototype–Box Crab: primarily developed for cellular activity, with astonishing bone density and endurance, but a little-known fatal flaw—her upper torso was inflexible.

Ji Cheng hadn’t expected her to appear at this moment, but he was unfazed. As a perfect assimilator of the Lynx prototype, his neural reflexes had the absolute edge.

He changed direction with lightning speed. His hand, just touching her arm, suddenly swept sideways. The shift in force was abrupt and tremendous, leaving her utterly exposed.

In a flash, Ji Cheng’s right hand was back at the woman’s chest. A glint of cold steel—the wrist blade flicked out like a snake’s tongue, driving straight for her inflexible neck.

Thud.

The blade pierced through her throat and exited at the nape. Blood spurted from her neck in a crimson arc. She collapsed without a sound, curling up like a dead shrimp, blood from her main artery spraying over Yao Zhenyuan’s calf and knee.

“What!” Yao Zhenyuan’s eyes nearly split open in disbelief. His highly skilled bodyguard had died in a single exchange before his eyes.

“Young Master Yao, attack together!” the old man, having recovered, roared as he brandished his short sword.

Yao Zhenyuan hesitated, seemingly paralyzed with fear, but finally steeled himself.

“Together!” he shouted.

They both let out hoarse war cries, lunging at Ji Cheng.

In the wild, the rule is simple: win or die.

Ji Cheng stepped over the woman’s corpse, parrying the combined sweep of the old man and Yao Zhenyuan, then lashed out with a lightning-fast claw. The old man, startled, tried to block, but his arm, already injured, was too weak to withstand Ji Cheng’s thunderbolt assault.

The strike howled through the air, iron-hard fingertips smashing the short sword aside and, in an instant, ripped the old man’s belly open from waist to collarbone.

His sword clattered to the ground. He crouched, clutching his chest and stomach with both hands as his intestines spilled relentlessly from between his fingers.

Ji Cheng spun once more, dodging another slash from Yao Zhenyuan. His body swayed, and the icy wrist blade pressed against Yao Zhenyuan’s chest.

In just a few minutes, three out of four powerful Gene Prototype injectors had died, and one had been defeated.

In the face of Ji Cheng, who had fully assimilated the Lynx prototype and wielded the biological weapon of the Tyrant Serum, they were utterly powerless.

“They... just called you ‘Young Master’?” Ji Cheng inquired calmly.

The man before him had three bodyguards—he must have some standing. Ji Cheng, now able to barely restrain the savagery surging within, asked out of caution.

“Yes, yes, you can’t kill me! My father is an Esper—a Tier-2 Esper!” Yao Zhenyuan babbled incoherently, his eyes wild with fear and despair.

“A Tier-2 Esper?” Ji Cheng repeated, his tone solemn.

“My father is Councilman Yao! Councilman Yao! Please, put the blade down!” Yao Zhenyuan had lost all composure, his gaze fixed on the wrist blade poised above his heart.

“A councilman, is he? My respect,” Ji Cheng said, excitement lighting his face as he thrust his arm forward.

Thud.

Yao Zhenyuan felt a numbness in his chest, then a wave of searing pain. He looked down to see blood pouring from his chest in great gouts. The numbness spread from his chest throughout his whole body. He struggled to lift his head and looked at Ji Cheng.

“Didn’t you say you’d spare me…”

His narrow eyes brimmed with unwillingness, but his pupils were already vacant.

Ji Cheng gazed at the councilman’s son, dead and soiled, humiliation etched on his face, and felt tears prick his eyes.

I truly had no intention of killing you!