Chapter 84: A Trip to Syria (Part 2)

Before long, about half an hour passed. At the end of their line of sight, a militant outpost constructed from abandoned concrete buildings, barbed wire, and stacked sandbags came into view. Several pickup trucks mounted with heavy machine guns were parked at the entrance, while a dozen heavily armed, fierce-looking terrorists patrolled back and forth with AK rifles. Beside them, a few others held rocket launchers. This was the most dangerous forbidden zone in the entire desert: the camp of Naqib, the Supe-Terrorist with self-detonation capabilities.

Vague shouts in Arabic echoed from the camp ahead. "Finally here," Soldier Boy said slowly.

"Stormfront was right, sir. Your tracking skills are incredible. Based on our projected speeds, we thought it would take at least three or four days to find this place, but I didn’t expect..." Starlight, though bewildered, was full of adoration. The current Starlight was different from her later self; she couldn’t fly yet, and her speed was comparable to an ordinary person’s. While Benjamin possessed [Super Speed: Lv1], he walked slowly to accommodate her.

Benjamin stopped in his tracks. He turned around to look at Annie, who was eager to test her mettle, and said flatly, "Annie, stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll handle the trash ahead myself."

Annie paused, a flash of defiance crossing her beautiful eyes. "Sir, I know you’re strong, but I’m still a superhero of Vought’s The Seven." Annie puffed out her chest, her white-and-gold suit gleaming brilliantly in the sun. "My powers aren’t weak either. I can completely fight side-by-side with—"

"Are you sure?" Benjamin tilted his head slightly, his deep gaze locking onto her. "Do you want to lose your superpowers and turn into a fragile woman who can’t even beat an ordinary tough guy? If that happens, you won’t be able to protect the people you care about."

Annie instinctively took half a step back. Staring at Benjamin’s deadly serious expression, she swallowed hard. Benjamin’s lips curled slightly as he looked toward the distant camp. "In a moment, I’m going to show that exploding kid in there what a real goddamn blast looks like!"

With that, Benjamin paid no more attention to the frozen Starlight. Hand-carrying his incredibly heavy eagle shield, he took long strides, unhurriedly walking toward the terrorist camp. Left behind, Annie helplessly pouted her full red lips.

Watching his broad back, a highly bizarre feeling suddenly welled up in her heart. She, a proud superhero of The Seven and an idol to countless teenagers across America, felt like nothing more than a useless little mascot standing next to Soldier Boy. Aside from being worked to death in bed by this overbearing man at night as a glorified bed-warmer, whenever actual danger arose, there was absolutely no need for her to lift a finger. Benjamin alone could crush all troubles like ants. Well, although being protected by the man she liked felt incredibly comforting, Starlight still wanted to fight.

However, the frustration lasted only a second before being replaced by an intense curiosity. What exactly was the method Mr. Benjamin mentioned earlier that could strip away someone’s superpowers? He said he wanted to show that Supe-Terrorist what a real explosion looked like... Could it be that besides his freakish physical strength, he could trigger some kind of self-detonation capable of destroying superpowers?

At that thought, Annie obediently cleared her mind and found a relatively safe, massive boulder for cover. Poking half her head out, she cupped her hands around her mouth like a fanatical little fangirl and shouted loudly at his retreating back, "Mr. Soldier Boy Good luck!"

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As Benjamin drew closer, the terrorists stationed on the outer watchtowers finally spotted him. In a godforsaken place like Syria where deaths happened daily, these desperadoes didn’t bother with warnings or pleasantries. The moment they spotted a muscular man in a vintage suit strolling openly toward them through their binoculars, they pulled their triggers without a split second of hesitation!

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!

Deafening gunfire instantly tore through the tranquility of the desert! A Soviet-made DShK heavy machine gun mounted in the bed of a pickup truck opened fire first. A terrifying weapon of this 12.7mm caliber was typically used to puncture light armored vehicles and attack helicopters; hit an ordinary person with a single round, and it would rip them clean in half! A dense hail of bullets instantly blanketed the zone where Benjamin stood!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

However, the scene that unfolded next made the eyes of every firing terrorist nearly pop out of their heads. Those heavy machine gun rounds, easily capable of tearing through steel plates, struck Benjamin’s dark green suit—even impacting his chest and neck—only to produce a series of sharp, metallic clangs! The exact millisecond the bullet heads made contact with Benjamin’s skin, the immense counter-force crushed them into flattened discs of metal that dropped uselessly onto the scalding sand.

Benjamin didn’t even blink. Shrugging off the heavy machine gun fire, he maintained his original pace, walking forward unhurriedly. "Fuck! What kind of monster is that?! RPG! Blast him to pieces with the RPG!!!" a leader-looking terrorist roared frantically.

Whoosh!

Two militants shouldering rocket launchers immediately poked their heads out. Two RPG rockets trailing long plumes of fire screamed through the air, hurtling viciously toward Benjamin from the left and right! Simultaneously, from a well-hidden high vantage point 800 meters away, a deeply concealed sniper pulled the trigger of his Barrett heavy sniper rifle.

Bang!

An armor-piercing round raced at supersonic speed straight for the center of Benjamin’s brow! Rockets, a heavy sniper rifle. Of course, these terrible weapons probably couldn’t even scratch Annie, let alone Soldier Boy. Facing the incoming rockets closing in right in front of him, Benjamin didn’t even bother to lift the shield in his hand.

Boom! Boom!!!

The two RPGs detonated directly against Benjamin’s chest! Blinding flames and thick black smoke instantly engulfed him, the terrifying shockwave blasting away all the sand and dirt within a dozen meters! Meanwhile, the armor-piercing Barrett round precisely struck Benjamin dead center between his eyebrows amidst the flames!

"Hit!" the sniper shouted in ecstasy behind his scope. However, when a sudden gust of wind swept away the smoke, everyone’s breathing stopped. Benjamin was still standing in the exact same spot, completely unscathed, without a single trace of being harmed by the firepower.

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