Chapter 68: Chapter 65: So What if It’s a Group Attack?

The narrow alley was half-lit, half-shrouded in shadow.

The drunk in the corner had long since been startled awake. His eyes were wide as he instinctively looked for a place to curl up and hide.

Few people dared to cause trouble in the black market, let alone start an unprecedented brawl.

Residents of the nearby tenements noticed the commotion. More and more people peeked out from their windows, while others in the shantytown lifted tarps to stick their heads out. A curious crowd gathered, looking down as if watching a show.

In their line of sight, the two figures from before had settled their fight. One was down, the other still standing.

But now, seven or eight new figures had appeared at both ends of the alley, blocking the way.

"Pal, just let it go."

"Don’t make things difficult for us, alright?"

The man blocking the path ahead suddenly spoke. He was burly, dressed in a black hoodie and cargo pants. A fluorescent pattern glowed on his neck, suggesting some kind of cybernetic implant. The five or six thugs behind him weren’t at Fighting Level, but their Life Energy was around fifteen. They held clubs, their faces grim.

The man at the rear was also eyeing him predatorily. Though of average build, the knuckles of his arms hanging at his sides were unusually large. His breathing was steady and deep; he was clearly a veteran fighter skilled in fisticuffs.

"So what you’re saying is, you’re going to make things difficult for me?"

Lu Chao exhaled a turbid breath, easing the discomfort from the previous fight.

Standing his ground, he ignored the man in black who was vomiting blood and unconscious on the ground, and calmly retorted.

The atmosphere tensed. The burly man with the cybernetics who was blocking the way fell silent for a moment before shaking his head slightly.

"You’re a patrol officer. Of course we wouldn’t dare to hurt you."

"But you should know you can’t take this man with you."

He seemed to be reminding him of something. Lu Chao narrowed his eyes, a guess already forming in his mind.

’The black market wouldn’t dare oppose the Patrol Department. The only reason Qin Guangrong would do this is if someone inside the Patrol Department is targeting us.’

"Isn’t Qin Guangrong afraid of Captain Yang?"

Lu Chao asked abruptly. The man was clearly taken aback, then let out a soft chuckle.

"Kid, do you have any idea who really calls the shots in Ring City?"

An abrupt silence fell over the alley.

The Patrol Department? The Superpower Bureau? Or those corporate giants? Or maybe the board members and shareholders behind them? The conglomerates and powerful families?

The thoughts flashed through his mind, and Lu Chao was lost in brief contemplation.

And in that very instant.

WHOOSH!!

The fighter at his back suddenly lunged forward, launching a ferocious attack.

The rapid succession of footsteps whistled like an arrow. The furious gust from his fist was so reckless that a chill ran down Lu Chao’s spine.

"You’re too green."

The man seemed to sneer as his large-knuckled right fist shot out like a cannonball.

WHOOSH!

However, in the next moment,

as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Lu Chao twisted his body and dodged to the side.

The cannonball-like fist brushed past his shoulder. The accompanying airflow ruffled his hair, kicking up a cloud of dust in the dim light.

In a flash,

his eyes focused. Lu Chao’s right fist was covered in white-gray Rock Hide as he threw a punch, aiming straight for his opponent’s abdomen.

BANG!!

A dull thud exploded against the man’s stomach.

But the man just gave a mocking grin, revealing a set of menacing white teeth. His thick left palm, now covered in Martial Arts Power, had appeared in front of him at some point to block the blow.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!!

As if in perfect coordination,

the man with the cybernetics blocking the front of the alley charged forward at the same time. His knee strike tore through the air, his right leg, clad in black pants, transforming into a spear aimed straight for Lu Chao’s lower back.

Keenly sensing the danger, Lu Chao tried to dodge.

But the first fighter suddenly changed his move, his palm becoming a claw that gripped Lu Chao’s fist tightly, seemingly trying to subdue him in a joint effort.

In that brief moment, danger loomed.

Lu Chao’s gaze turned cold as he unleashed all of his power.

BOOM!!

His heart pounded like a war drum.

The muscles on his captured right arm knotted and bulged, as if being built up inch by inch with concrete and rebar.

Wisps of white mist seeped from the pores around his fist. The fighter holding him paled slightly, a sudden chill creeping over him.

The next instant,

VMMMM!!

Lu Chao’s punch seemed powerful enough to move mountains. His right fist blasted through the fighter’s claw-like grip and smashed directly into his abdomen.

WHOOSH!

BAM!!

The medium-built fighter was sent flying into a wall, his face contorted as if in extreme agony.

His staggering body was like a torn sheet of paper as he slid down the concrete wall. In a single breath, Lu Chao had critically injured him, leaving him unable to fight.

"You!"

The man with the cybernetics, who was mid-knee strike, was slightly startled. But seeing Lu Chao’s unguarded side profile, he felt this was an opportunity he couldn’t miss.

SHING!!

Instantly, the knee strike ripped through the air, piercing forward like a long spear.

Lu Chao caught the movement in his peripheral vision. He didn’t dodge or evade. Instead, he took a sharp breath.

HFFFF!!

His chest swelled as the air in the alley rushed through his nostrils and into his lungs.

For a moment, his frame seemed to grow taller.

The muscles in his legs tensed like steel cables, making the fabric of his patrol uniform pants bulge unnaturally.

All the power in his body surged from his legs, through his back and shoulders, and into a fierce elbow strike from his left arm, smashing toward his opponent.

The mighty blow, like a boulder shattering the sky, was unstoppable.

The cybernetic man’s knee strike shot up from the ground, charging forward unimpeded.

BANG!!

In that brief instant, the two collided savagely, their bodies shuddering from the impact.

A visible blast of air exploded between them, kicking up dust and dirt from the ground.

The two seemed evenly matched, but Lu Chao’s reaction speed exceeded the cybernetic man’s expectations.

VMMMM!!

His right fist, coiled and ready at his waist, suddenly shot out like a stone splitting the air.

He had endured the shock and discomfort of the collision, dropped his shoulder and elbow, and forced out the killing blow of his 2nd Floor Fighting Skill.

"Hn?"

His expression tightened. The man with the cybernetics instinctively turned his head to dodge.

WHOOSH!!

The whistling fist grazed past his shoulder, stirring his hair.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he tried to seize the opportunity to counterattack.

But—

WHOOSH!!

another punch came flying. Lu Chao’s left arm had somehow switched from an elbow to a fist, launching a preemptive strike. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Frowning slightly, the cybernetic man stepped back with his left foot, pressing his side against the wall at the critical moment to narrowly avoid the blow.

Catching all of this in his periphery, Lu Chao’s gaze was as sharp as a knife, exceptionally calm.

All his reservations vanished in that moment. He had only one thought.

’Take them down!’

’Take down everyone who stands in my way!!’

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!!

Like flying stones, his arms became a blur of afterimages in the air, hammering out punch after punch.

He integrated the killing moves of his Rock-Shaking Hand, holding nothing back.

The cybernetic man’s brow was deeply furrowed. He was completely on the defensive, forced to sidestep left along the wall to evade.

BAM BAM BAM BAM!!

Instantly, Lu Chao’s fists missed their mark, grazing past the man’s head to slam into the concrete wall.

The powerful recoil was absorbed by his white-gray Rock Hide.

The two moved sideways, from the middle of the alley all the way to the front end.

A series of deep Fist Seals were left in the concrete wall, and a layer of gray dust gradually settled on the ground.

The other black market thugs holding clubs had turned pale. All traces of their grim expressions vanished as they instinctively backed away, creating distance.

BAM!!

Another punch, and Lu Chao hit nothing but air again.

A shallow layer of concrete exploded, revealing the red bricks underneath.

It seemed his explosive power had reached its limit and could no longer be sustained. Lu Chao’s breath hitched, and his punching motion suddenly stiffened.

His eyes precisely catching this scene, spotting the change in his expression, the cybernetic man, who had been shrinking back to dodge, relaxed his brow. He had finally found his chance.

"It’s over!"

His cold voice echoed as the fluorescent pattern on his neck flashed faintly, seeming to pulse with silver light.

His cybernetic right arm suddenly launched a heavy uppercut, flying upward toward Lu Chao’s jaw.

The civilian model Mark II arm from [Lianwei Heavy Industry] was sturdy and powerful, its explosive force no less than that of any Fighting Level combatant.

It could shatter a shallow layer of concrete, let alone unprotected flesh and blood.

The cybernetic man’s eyes were cold, as if he could already see his opponent being struck on a weak point and collapsing, unconscious.

But against all odds—

WHOOSH!!

Lu Chao jerked his head to the side. The cybernetic fist grazed the tips of the hair on his left cheek as it sliced through the air.

"You!"

A single strand of hair floated down. The cybernetic man’s pupils contracted, his expression changing in an instant.

And in his line of sight—

VMMMM!!

Lu Chao’s breathing started again, as if he had come back to life.

"This is..."

The muscles of his poised right arm bunched up, blue veins popping out one after another like countless flood dragons coiling to empower his fist.

"The end!"

BOOM!!

The punch flew like a dragon!

Lu Chao’s eyes were as bright as day, his striking right arm unstoppable.

His Stacked Force Fist, using a special power-generation technique, exploded with nearly five hundred kilograms of force, smashing viciously into the cybernetic man’s chest.

CRACK!

The grating sound of splintering bone, sharp enough to set one’s teeth on edge, rang out. The man’s body shuddered, his face turned deathly pale, and bloodshot veins crazily spread across his eyes.

The concrete wall he was pressed against trembled from the force, as if struck by a giant hammer, and shed a shower of dust.

THUD!

The next moment,

blood trickled from the corner of the cybernetic man’s mouth as he buckled at the knees.

His body collapsed limply. He could only lie in the corner of the alley, looking up at Lu Chao’s sturdy figure blocking the light.

HUFF!

HUFF!!

HUFF!!!

Gasping out one ragged breath after another, Lu Chao’s chest heaved violently, sweat trickling down his face.

Using Stacked Force Fist twice in such a short time had put an immense strain on his entire body. His arms trembled slightly, and a tearing pain spread through his muscles.

But still, his will did not falter.

He forced himself to take a breath and turned his head toward the figures still blocking the alley.

His eyes were sharp and bright, carrying a certain pressure.

Steam rose from his body, dissipating into the air and forming a hazy mist in the alley where light and shadow intertwined.

GULP!

Someone swallowed hard.

The several black market thugs turned pale, instinctively glancing at the three critically injured Fighting Level combatants on the ground.

Their bodies trembled, and one of them even lost his grip.

CLANG!

A metal club clattered to the ground, once again shattering the dead silence of the alley.

A series of muffled thuds followed.

Figures were sent flying. The alley floor was now littered with several more seriously injured men, blood trickling from their mouths.

TAP TAP TAP!

Finally,

the sound of hurried footsteps approached rapidly from a distance.

Lu Chao, fighting his exhaustion, swayed on his feet.

He turned his head to see that the bald Qin Guangrong had appeared at the front of the alley, along with Qian Hu and the rest of Team Two.

His confusion vanished when he saw the shock and disbelief on their faces.

The other black market people further back looked the same, as did the local residents on the higher floors, who were staring with wide, utterly shocked eyes.

"Are we going to continue?"

Lu Chao asked instinctively.

Even though steam continued to pour from his pores and his muscles ached and stung, pushing him to his absolute limit, he still didn’t back down.

However, no one answered.

Qin Guangrong opened his mouth as if to say something, while Qian Hu’s expression darkened, a vicious glint appearing in his eyes.

But soon, before they could get any closer,

new footsteps sounded from behind Lu Chao.

In his peripheral vision, he saw a figure in a captain-grade patrol uniform appear.

His meticulously styled side-parted hair, his familiar and stern square-jawed face, came into view.

"Captain Yang..."