On the wall of a secluded alley, a large, multicolored spider with thick, powerful legs, yet a well-proportioned body, scurried nimbly forward. It would pause from time to time, as if cautiously surveying its surroundings, before continuing on its way.

Chen Chuan followed behind at a leisurely pace.

This creature was a biological combat weapon specially cultivated by Tayana, originally designed for surprise attacks and assassinations. As such, it was highly sensitive to scents. The Crossbow Arrow and the note left behind earlier carried its master’s scent, allowing it to track them.

However, the spider wasn’t moving very fast. Reaching its top speed required a massive expenditure of Energy, and right now, it was only running on the residual Energy from its last awakening.

Since it hadn’t been on a combat mission last time, there was a lot left over. Even if he didn’t use it, the Energy would slowly deplete while the creature was idle, and it would remain agitated. It was better to put the excess Energy to use before letting it enter a true state of slumber.

Before long, they arrived in front of a house. The Tayana Spider stopped and began circling it.

Chen Chuan didn’t bother with any reconnaissance. He walked straight up to the door, stood beside it, and listened for a moment. Hearing no movement from within, he placed a hand on the door and pressed lightly. The lock vibrated open, and he stepped slowly inside.

Once inside, he found, as expected, that the people who had been here were already gone. Some kind of chemical had been sprayed around the place, likely a scent remover.

This must have been just a temporary safe house. The table was thick with dust, and the surroundings were a mess. More than one person had likely stayed here. Judging by the traces, they had left in a hurry, as some leftover food had been left behind.

’Did they expect someone to follow them and evacuated ahead of time?’

Chen Chuan tapped his fist twice. The spider turned around and crawled back outside. He followed it out and soon reached the mouth of an alley, where the spider stopped by some distinct tire tracks.

He looked in the direction of the road. It seemed the group had made a timely escape by vehicle, likely picked up by someone. There was no point in pursuing them further.

He would have someone check the residence later to see if there were any clues. It didn’t matter if nothing was found. If this matter continued, these people would surely show up again.

He set down his briefcase and tapped the back of his hand twice with his curled fingers. The Combat Spider obediently crawled back and slipped into the case inside the briefcase, quickly falling silent.

At that very moment, a cargo truck was driving down the highway. Inside the cargo hold, the group of young people sat, now joined by a man in his forties with a mustache that wrapped around his lips.

The cargo hold was stuffy, and they couldn’t see outside. Brother Xin couldn’t help but ask the man, "Mr. Ling, did we really need to leave in such a hurry?"

Mr. Ling answered affirmatively. "Yes. You shouldn’t have provoked that expert."

"He’s just an occult expert, isn’t he?" another young man blurted out.

Mr. Ling said, "That expert has connections to the Patrol Bureau. After being attacked today, he’ll probably have the Patrol Bureau investigate the nearby residential areas. You stayed there for several days, and Su Xin, you passed through so many places on your way there and back. Can you say for certain you didn’t leave a single trace?"

He folded his arms. "It would be very easy to find you."

Su Xin asked, "So will they be able to follow the clues to find us?"

Mr. Ling said, "Don’t worry. Now that we’ve relocated, you’ll be fine. That house was a long-vacant property we used. The owner has no connection to us, so they won’t be able to trace it to you."

"Is that expert really so much trouble?" The young man from before snorted and looked at Su Xin with dissatisfaction. "Brother Xin, we should’ve just eliminated him today."

Mr. Ling shook his head. "That would have caused an even bigger scene. Besides, with your skills, you might not have been able to eliminate him. He’s a student at Wuyi Academy, and his skills are nothing to scoff at."

"That’s right. He caught my arrow with his bare hands."

Su Xin also had a solemn expression. Although he hadn’t intended to shoot the man, his arrow was caught before it even got close. And that was during a surprise situation. That kind of reaction time was terrifying just to think about. ’If he hadn’t been in the car at the time, I probably wouldn’t have gotten away at all.’

"A student from Wuyi..."

Upon hearing this, the young people felt a mix of fear and a hint of longing, followed by a surge of resentment. If it weren’t for the Blood Mark Gang, perhaps they too could have been studying at Wuyi right now.

The cargo truck drove straight out of the city and into the wilderness. Late at night, it entered a camp, which was clearly the stronghold of a wasteland smuggling ring.

As the group of young people walked in, led by Mr. Ling, the people inside stared at them with cold, indifferent eyes. It felt as if they were being appraised like some kind of cargo, which made them extremely uncomfortable.

Mr. Ling led them into a large tent and gestured toward a shelf in front of them. "The weapons you wanted are here."

"What’s inside?"

A few of the young men had expected to see some powerful firearms, but all they saw were several sealed boxes. They didn’t look like they contained explosives either, which they found strange.

Mr. Ling smiled, walked over, and opened one. When the contents were revealed, the young men all stared in shock. "What is this thing?"

After the box was opened, something resembling a silkworm chrysalis was revealed inside. Several appendages extended from its sides, and it seemed to be alive, squirming slightly in a way that was unsettling to watch.

If Chen Chuan and the others had been here, they would have recognized this thing as being very similar to the one they found in the wilderness. However, there wasn’t just one here; there were several other matching components surrounding it.

One of the young men seemed to realize something and blurted out, "A biological Implant?"

Mr. Ling smiled. "Correct. It’s a new Implant, one of the Hunting series. This is a deadly weapon. Is anyone willing to have it implanted? There’s an Implant doctor right here in the camp who can perform the surgery now. With this, you’ll have power comparable to a Fighter."

Su Xin stepped forward and began to say, "I’ll do it—" But before he could finish, the young man who had argued with him earlier suddenly cut in, "Let me do it!"

"You..." Su Xin looked at him and hesitated. "Xiaoxiao, are you sure about this?"

Xiaoxiao said, "I’m sure. Brother Xin, you’re an expert with the crossbow. It would be a waste of your talent to get this close-combat Implant. I think it’s better if I do it. That way, our team will have two people with combat strength. Plus, I’m in better shape than you, and I’ve been learning Fighting Skill since I was a kid. I should be able to master this thing."

Seeing Su Xin still hesitating, he took another step forward. "Brother Xin, let it be me. I can do it."

Seeing his insistence, and admitting that his reasoning made sense, Su Xin was finally persuaded. "Alright, Xiaoxiao. I’ll leave it to you. But you need to think this through. Once you have this implanted, you might have to rely on medicine for the rest of your life."

Xiaoxiao hesitated for only a moment, then nodded firmly and said through gritted teeth, "I’ve thought it through!"

’In this world, without power, you can’t even protect yourself, let alone your family and friends.’

’And with power, what couldn’t you accomplish?’

Mr. Ling said, "Actually, there’s no need to worry. Although you’ll need to rely on Anti-Differentiation Medicine, I can provide an initial batch. Besides, the Blood Mark Gang has plenty of it. They got their start by trafficking illicit drugs. I’ll give you intel, you just have to hijack their shipments, and you can use the medicine you steal. Wouldn’t that kill two birds with one stone?"

"Let’s do it!"

Xiaoxiao said impatiently, "Mr. Ling, please have the doctor come and install these Implants for me now. I’m ready!"

Mr. Ling smiled. "Wait here."

He walked out and found a man in his thirties wearing a white coat in another tent. He said to him, "I’ve found a test subject. Perform the implant surgery now."

"A volunteer?"

"A volunteer."

The Implant doctor said, "Hmm, volunteers don’t have as many extreme emotional reactions, so their chances of survival are higher. This way, we should be able to implant thirty percent of the Implant."

"Only thirty percent?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The Implant doctor said, "For a Fighter, thirty percent would be low. But he’s just an ordinary person. Thirty percent is the absolute maximum. Any more and he’d certainly die."

"How long can he live with thirty percent?"

The Implant doctor said, "Depends on his luck. If he’s lucky, a year or two, no problem. If he’s unlucky, two or three months? This model hasn’t undergone many tests. That’s the rough estimate."

"Two or three months? That’s enough!" Mr. Ling said. "Go perform the implant surgery. The person is in that tent."

"I’ll be there after I prepare."

A little while later, the Implant doctor emerged carrying a surgical toolbox. Led by Mr. Ling, he entered the large tent, and the other young people all filed out.

After washing his entire body with a medicinal solution, Xiaoxiao was taken to a separate cubicle inside the tent. His limbs were secured with metal straps. The Implant doctor, wearing a surgical mask, walked in and began putting on his gloves.

Xiaoxiao lay there, feeling extremely nervous. "Doctor, it’s going to be a success, right?"

The doctor glanced at him, walked over, and inserted a long, thin tube into his nasal cavity. Xiaoxiao said, "Doctor, it feels a little itchy."

The doctor said nothing, merely watching him. After a moment, Xiaoxiao twitched a few times, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he lost consciousness.

The doctor reached out and pulled down a curtain, similar to a shower curtain, and began spraying various pre-mixed chemical solutions.

In Central City, a proper Implant operating room would be required. But this was the wilderness; they didn’t have those kinds of facilities. Besides, this was just a test subject, not a regular high-paying client, so there was no need for such formalities.

He carefully removed the still-active biological Implant from its box and set it aside. Then, he stepped forward, picked up a scalpel, and made an incision in Xiaoxiao’s back.

Outside the tent, the group of young people waited. The night passed. Some of them had long since drifted off to sleep. In the morning, the sound of the tent flap being opened and footsteps emerging from within startled them awake. They looked over anxiously, and everyone gasped in shock.

Xiaoxiao walked out. His hair had been completely shaved off, his eyes were deeply sunken, and his body had become gaunt and skeletal. His skin was stretched taut over his bones as if all the water and fat had been drained away. A section of grayish-black Implant tissue could be seen embedded in the part of his neck emerging from his collar.

Seeing his condition, Su Xin became extremely worried. He turned to the Implant doctor, who had walked out with him, and asked, "How could this happen? Why does he look like this?"

The Implant doctor said in a completely flat tone, "It’s a normal side effect of the implant surgery. A couple of nutrient injections will fix him up."

"Don’t worry, I’ve never felt better!" Xiaoxiao looked to his side, borrowed a sharpened steel pipe from one of his companions, and with a slight exertion of force, bent the metal tube.

Mr. Ling appeared from somewhere, smiling. "It seems you’re adapting well. The Hunting model doesn’t emphasize strength, but it requires sufficient tissue density to support its speed.

Tomorrow, there’s a second implant surgery for the defensive dermal layer that matches the Hunting model. It can withstand small-caliber bullets. The day after that will be sensory enhancement processing."

Xiaoxiao grinned, spreading his arms wide. Full of confidence, he declared, "I can already hear the screams of my enemies! Once I’m done with the implant surgeries, I’m going to take out all of them, and that damn expert, too! If he dares get in our way, I’ll deal with him all the same!"

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