Chapter 1822

Damn it, these Rule Fragments feel fake as hell..

Damn, Lin Dui won't be fooled by the system, right? That shouldn't be...

Inside the spacious combat Meeting Room, a hulking giant as big as a mountain muttered softly, fiddling with the glowing fragments in his hand.

He stood four or five meters tall, his build as thick as a city gate; even though the Meeting Room was extremely spacious, at a glance it still felt crowded.

Zhang Tie lowered his head, stuck in his seat like a bear on a rocking horse, his head swaying back and forth.

In his hand, each of those Rule Fragments capable of sparking a war outside now looked like glowing lollipops, which he licked left and right with a look of disgust.

Damn, this tastes fucking awful...

What this thing says doesn't match what I think at all?

Did I get it wrong?

His eyes showed a hint of confusion.

Frustrated, Xiong Hanzi couldn't help but put his clever brain to work, thinking hard.

But as he thought, it wasn't just his brain cells that were mobilized—his whole body tensed, and in an instant a powerful, oppressive aura burst forth, shaking the entire Meeting Room violently.

If Lin An were here, he'd probably be surprised to find that Zhang Tie has already reached mid Fourth Stage, his strength now matching what it was when he left.

No matter how I think about it, it's wrong.

These damn fragments say that reflecting damage is the rebound rule—actually it's about absorbing and storing, then unleashing it all at once.

If this thing is to be believed, I'd turn into a SpongeBob rubber ball?

He scratched his head, deep in thought.

Zhang Tie's eyes were full of doubt and irritation.

His hand gripping the fragments clenched tight, as if hesitating whether to absorb them or not.

Lin An has been gone for a very long time...

Now, in Faction: Long An—or rather, the whole Earth's situation is worsening; as one of the strongest combatants, he has already taken up the banner, putting out fires everywhere.

But as the fugitives grow ever more reckless, Fourth Stage appearances are increasing, and he can clearly feel his strength falling short.

If I don't absorb the fragments, even Gao Tian kid will surpass me... Damn it, I can't let that brat get ahead of me...

He hesitated, wavering.

No one knows when Lin An will return; although Xiong Hanzi seems rash, he is actually quite meticulous at heart.

He knows full well that, as Lin An's disappearance drags on, as his former confidant he must keep his combat strength strong, or else...

People's hearts will scatter.

At the very least, he must be among the strongest on Faction: Long An's side!

I have to eat it even if I don't want to!

This damn rule is impossible to figure out, Zhang Tie here can't crack it!! Being stuck like this isn't a solution!

Damn it, if Chu An were here, at least I'd have someone to teach me!

Making up his mind, Zhang Tie clenched the fragments in his hand irritably; even if he didn't believe in this thing, he only planned to swallow it.

Perhaps even Lin An didn't expect that the Rule Fragments he specially left for Zhang Tie would remain uneaten by him to this day.

The reason is simple.

Although Xiong Hanzi himself doesn't even understand his own rule, the moment Zhang Tie first touched the fragments after he left, he felt something was off.

His rule manifests as rebound damage, absorbing damage.

When fighting Fourth Stage opponents, he usually charges straight into their attacks; the more the enemy hurts him, the worse his injuries become—but once he reaches them, a single punch can kill the foe.

The stronger the enemy, the fiercer the rebound! The fiercer the rebound, the quicker the death! The quicker the death, the weaker the enemy!

Thus, the stronger the enemy, the weaker the enemy!

And the Rule Fragments he obtained basically enhance this trait.

By coating himself with a rule similar to absorption, after taking in the rule's kinetic energy and impact, he then releases it all at once in a rebound.

This seems fine, but in Zhang Tie's mind it always feels off.

It's quite simple.

With such rebound damage, he no longer needs to rely on his body's resistance to injury.

Absorbing damage is the rule, and rebounding damage is also the rule; for Zhang Tie, accustomed to bloody close-quarters combat, doing this feels too effeminate.

If a man doesn't get hit, doesn't trade blows flesh to flesh, is that even fighting? Is he still a man?

Moreover, with a feeling Zhang Tie himself can't articulate, he always feels his rule isn't that simple.

"I don't even feel pain... how can I make the enemy feel suffering?"

"Or maybe my path is wrong... the system is so powerful, it couldn't be fake..."

He let out a long, somewhat dispirited sigh.

Leaning against the ground by the window, Xiong Hanzi unconsciously gazed at the inner city of Faction: Long An, where warplanes constantly took off, and at the grayish sky outside.

His eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness, as if he could see no direction.

No one knows that, while he appears outside like a war god—unfazed by any difficulty, forever bold and confident—as soon as he returns to the base and hides alone, his heart feels tormented, as if a mixer were churning inside.

He missed Lin An, he missed Lin Dui.

Without Lin An, without Chu the pervert, he felt like he'd lost his backbone, with no one to tell him what's right or wrong.

The situation kept worsening, and many even began to suspect that Lin An was already dead.

As days passed, Zhang Tie only felt more oppressive, less able to see hope.

"Lin Dui... when the hell are you coming back..."

"Old Zhang..."

His head bowed low, unseen by anyone, Zhang Tie's eye sockets rare­ly reddened as he clenched the fragments in his hand tight.

Only saw him in silence, as if he had made up his mind, he took a deep breath and intended to eat the fragment in his hand.

The next second, an urgent voice suddenly sounded from outside the meeting room.

"Director Zhang!"

"Commander Gao requests you immediately teleport to the East Sea battlefield to provide support!"

"Forty minutes ago, Japan sank! That group of madmen charged into the Majestic Sea War Zone!"

"Bang!!"

He sprang to his feet.

Zhang Tie glared, his surging Rule Power suddenly whipping up a storm throughout the meeting room.

Looking at the pale-faced Third Stage delivering the report, he instantly rushed forward, eyes blazing with shocked anger as he demanded.

"What's the situation!? Weren't An Jing Tian's people supposed to be monitoring all along!?"

"Wasn't he also there in person!?"

"Why are you only telling me now!?"

Shock and anger intertwined.

Although he doesn't like to think, as a Fourth Stage powerhouse, Zhang Tie's reaction couldn't possibly be slow!

Gao Tian now demands he provide immediate support! An anomaly has occurred in the Japan war zone under surveillance!

Combined, this means that An Jing Tian's side likely encountered a major incident!

Under such circumstances, how could he not be startled!

"It's a Ghost Lair! It's a Supernatural Incident!"

"The satellite was fooled! Director An may have been "replaced" twenty-four hours ago! We only just received the distress signal from the Majestic Sea War Zone!"

"That group of Awakened Ones from the Japan war zone mixed with the sea beast mutants and charged over! Commander Gao suspects they're already dead— all turned into ghosts!"

Under Zhang Tie's angry glare, the Third Stage squad leader in charge of notification replied in a hurried voice, speaking rapidly.

As he spoke, he too was filled with shock, just as in the scene he had seen before arriving, he witnessed an extremely terrifying sight!

The Japan war zone disappeared, just as they had simulated, eventually sinking to the seabed and becoming a Ghost Lair.

But no one expected that, before its destruction, the people there..

They turned themselves into "ghosts"!