Celestial Human Diagram
Chapter 232 - 198: Sudden Kill
From the convoy that had appeared last, Mr. Ling stood in an open-top off-road vehicle. He looked down at the chaotic battle below and said excitedly,
"We’re right on time. Let’s wait a bit. Let them fight to the death first, then we’ll go in and clean up. The most valuable things in this shipment from the Molan Company are the High-Energy Nutrient Supplements and possibly some Combat Mantises. Once we get our hands on them, this haul will be enough to set us up for life."
High-Energy Nutrient Supplements were selling like crazy on the black market right now. The price had been driven up to a previously unimaginable level, yet people were still constantly buying them up. They were practically snatched up the moment they appeared.
Once he had this shipment, why would he stay in this remote place?
He could go anywhere he wanted.
He had previously invested all the operational funds allocated to him into this intelligence deal. It was undoubtedly the right choice; the intelligence from Antan had proven to be very reliable.
He turned his head and shouted to a vehicle behind him, "Xiaoxiao!"
A figure in a hooded robe jumped out of the vehicle and quickly walked over. Beneath the hood, his face was gaunt with sunken eyes, but he radiated a murderous aura, and a spectral light gleamed in his gaze.
Mr. Ling looked at him with great satisfaction. He had originally thought the young man would only last a month or two after the Implant surgery. Unexpectedly, he had adapted to the Implants exceptionally well, completed all the surgical procedures, and could perform at thirty percent beyond the normal human limit.
The company had even commended him for finding such a fine test subject, although it was only a verbal commendation.
During the raid on the Blood Mark Gang, Xiaoxiao had also performed with great merit, becoming more and more proficient with his Implants in the process.
However, the frequent use had also increased the burden on his body. Recently, he often felt inexplicable aches and pains all over, and would shout for no reason. Thus, in addition to his daily anti-mutation injections, he also had to take medication to be able to sleep.
Mr. Ling pointed at the armed teams shooting at each other below. "Well? Think you can handle them?"
Xiaoxiao said, full of confidence, "Just watch me."
A dozen or so men came up from behind him and said, "Brother Xiao, we’ll cover you from the rear."
Xiaoxiao wasn’t fighting alone now; he had formed an Implant team. Some of its members had been recruited from other wasteland armed groups they had defeated, while others were young people from Jiaoshan. They originally had no prospects, so being fitted with Implants to gain combat power was, for them, a ray of hope.
Xiaoxiao looked down below. The plan was to find the right opportunity, wait until both sides had worn each other down, and then drive a wedge between them.
With almost no cover in the open wasteland, and after their tires were successively shot out, the two groups that had first clashed could only use their armored vehicles for cover as they exchanged fire. Gunshots roared across the wasteland, and muzzle flashes flickered everywhere.
The attackers were well-prepared. After the first wave of their assault forced the Molan Company convoy to a halt, they released massive dragonflies from their ranks, each with a scorching red glow seemingly inside its abdomen.
These creatures flew rapidly over the heads of the Molan Team, where they suddenly exploded with a series of POPS, splattering large amounts of a greenish-blue liquid. Some of it stuck to the armored vehicles, some to the nearby ground, and some splashed onto the members of the Molan Team.
Soon, the contaminated areas began to look as if they were being corroded, and a pungent odor filled the air.
These were small venom dragonflies, also a product of the Compound Eye Company. The special venom contained within them was not only highly corrosive, but the odor it emitted was also intensely toxic.
Although a few members of the Molan Team wore masks, they had no defense against the corrosive liquid. Seeing that more dragonflies were still on their way, many of them had no choice but to leave the cover of the convoy. Without cover, they could only rely on their Protective Clothing to block the enemy’s shots.
However, they didn’t just wait to be slaughtered. They pulled out several crates and released Combat Mantises that had been pre-injected with High-Energy Nutrient Supplements. The moment the crates opened, the mantises leaped out and, under the command of hand signals, charged swiftly toward the enemy.
Two of the Combat Mantises spread their wings and charged into the enemy ranks within a breath or two. As they brandished their scythe-like forelegs, they instantly sliced the people in their path to pieces.
Xiaoxiao and his men, who had been about to charge, involuntarily halted when they saw this. They knew how to deal with armed personnel, but this kind of living weapon... not only was it fast, but it could also fly. ’How are we supposed to fight that?’
On the other side, Old Feng commented, "Quite the lively battle." Just then, a scout came over and reported, "Commissioner, I’ve checked them out. The team on the high slope over there is very amateurish. They’re likely a sponsored private militia."
Old Feng nodded. "Then send a few men to keep an eye on them for now." He gave a signal, and the squad beside him quickly dispersed, preparing to move out.
After watching for a while longer and seeing the Molan Company’s people start to gain the upper hand, he looked at Chen Chuan. "Brother Chen, we need a spearhead right now. What do you say, can you handle it?"
Chen Chuan said, "I can give it a try." He had already observed the battlefield; there were no Third Limit masters present. This was indeed a suitable time for him to make his move.
He planted the Snow Monarch Blade into the ground and took a deep breath, channeling both his Inner and Outer Breathing Methods. Then, he reached for the hilt and slowly drew the blade.
Once the Snow Monarch Blade was fully unsheathed, he stroked the back of the blade. This time, under the effect of his breathing, the blood-red line on the blade’s spine instantly turned a brilliant crimson.
He stared straight ahead and took a step. The ground abruptly shattered, and then everything around him seemed to slow down.
In Old Feng’s eyes, Chen Chuan was there one moment, and in the next, he had suddenly vanished from sight. Only a gust of wind remained, causing his scarf to flutter.
Chen Chuan charged down from the high ground and, in just a few moments, reached the heart of the battle. He adjusted his stance, holding the Snow Monarch Blade to his side, and then lunged forward.
The combatants on both sides only felt what seemed like a gust of wind. A few men who had been firing ahead suddenly found their upper torsos toppling cleanly to the ground in the blink of an eye.
One of them was clearly a Second Limit Fighter. He seemed to sense something, but he only had time to turn his head for a glance before it flew off his shoulders, continuing the motion.
As for the two released Combat Mantises, they had been rampantly slashing at their targets. Now, seeming to sense a threat, they immediately turned and charged toward Chen Chuan.
However, in the instant they crossed paths, both mantises were sliced into several pieces in mid-air and fell sequentially to the ground.
Chen Chuan’s gaze was calm and placid. ’The two I encountered at the old factory fought evasively, which made them very difficult to deal with. But these two have clearly been ordered to carry out a direct assault, abandoning their strengths to face me head-on. In that case, there’s nothing more to it. I can finish them in a single clash.’
To the onlookers, it seemed as if a shadow had flickered a few times in the middle of the battlefield. Then, a large number of severed bodies collapsed to the ground, and the two Combat Mantises were also reduced to fragments in an instant. The once-dense gunfire grew sparse, and then fell silent.
Then, everyone saw a figure holding a blade appear in the middle of the field, walking step by step. Under the summer night sky of the wasteland, the crisscrossing headlights of the vehicles illuminated him, revealing a black windbreaker and a face obscured by a scarf. Only the Long Blade held at his side reflected a cold, exceptionally sharp and dazzling light.
Someone finally reacted, shouting in terror, "It’s a Third Limit Fighter!"
The members of the Antan Company, who had been watching the show from a distance, had a sudden change in expression. The appearance of a Third Limit individual meant that they were no longer safe either. They immediately quickened their pace and retreated, leaving one person behind to prevent pursuit.
Up on the high slope, Mr. Ling’s face turned incredibly ugly. Xiaoxiao and the others also stared blankly, the scene on the battlefield now beyond their comprehension. ’What is happening?’
They hadn’t had time to charge down yet. If they had been down there just now, would they have become one of the corpses? At this thought, their faces turned pale, and their bodies trembled slightly.
Chen Chuan then turned his head and looked in the direction the Antan Company had fled. Only a single, powerfully built man stood there.
He could feel that during his charge, this man’s gaze had been fixed on him, clearly able to follow his movements. And yet, he didn’t get the same feeling from this person that he had gotten from Tan Wang.
The burly man quickly took out a syringe, jabbed it into his own neck, and then threw it away. In the blink of an eye, his eyes turned crimson, his breathing grew heavy, and his body seemed to have faintly expanded by a circle.
The captain from the General Affairs Bureau saw this and immediately said, "Commissioner, that should be Antan Company’s newly developed ’Berserk’ serum. Fighters with special constitutions can stimulate their Mutated Organizations to gain a temporary boost in combat power.
This person, probably like Brother Chen, must have abnormally developed neural reactions and coordination. Although he hasn’t reached the Third Limit, he can use drugs to temporarily reach that level of strength."
Old Feng knew Chen Chuan hadn’t used any drugs, but he didn’t stop his subordinate from thinking so.
Chen Chuan walked up to the burly man. The latter drew two daggers from his waist that looked exceptionally sharp. After a moment’s standoff, the two of them suddenly rushed forward!
As Chen Chuan ran, his Long Blade slashed down first. But the burly man tilted his head and met the blow with his shoulder, letting the blade strike him. As the blade fell, however, Chen Chuan felt a layer of resistance.
A flicker of light passed through Chen Chuan’s eyes. ’In the past, I’ve always cut those wearing Protective Clothing or with Implants in two with a single strike. This is the first time I’ve encountered something like this.’
A savage expression appeared on the burly man’s face. He sped up, using his momentum to thrust his two daggers toward Chen Chuan.
Watching him charge, Chen Chuan flicked his sword hand’s wrist upward, resting the back of the blade on his shoulder and aiming the hilt forward. At the same time, he thrust his shoulder forward, and the pommel struck his opponent’s shoulder before the daggers could reach him, instantly knocking the man backward.
He used the force of the impact to halt his own momentum and take a step back. Simultaneously, he twisted his waist, flipped his wrist again, and brought the blade down in a diagonal arc. The blade flashed across the burly man’s neck with a SWISH. The man’s head flew violently to the side, bounced a few times after hitting the ground, and then came to a stop.
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