Chapter 63

Before the source water supply base was a spacious square.

Only after crossing the square could one enter the wilderness zone.

Xu Jingming had just left the supply base and stepped onto the square when Zhao Chunlin blocked his path.

Zhao Chunlin was no longer the merchant he had been yesterday.

He had donned battle armor and carried a long blade—clearly prepared in advance.

“You really don’t listen. I told you not to leave the supply base, yet you insisted on coming out.”

“Now you’re caught here, aren’t you?”

Looking at Xu Jingming before him, Zhao Chunlin wore a smug smile.

He had suspected yesterday that Xu Jingming wouldn’t stay obediently inside the base, so he’d waited outside since early morning.

As expected, Xu Jingming showed no intention of avoiding him.

“I’m not someone you can mess with. Cut off both your arms and pay me one million, and we’ll call it even.”

Zhao Chunlin drew his long blade and unleashed the full aura of a Second-Rank Mid-Level Ability User.

It drew the attention of many on the square.

At that moment, Wang Qian and her teammates emerged from the entrance of the supply base hall.

They immediately spotted Xu Jingming facing off against Zhao Chunlin not far ahead.

“Damn it! Didn’t I tell him not to leave the supply base during this time? Why did he come out?!”

Seeing this, Wang Qian panicked and moved to rush over, but her team leader Yao Muxi called out to stop her:

“Xiao Qian, don’t rush. Let’s watch first.”

She was a girl around Wang Qian’s age, but taller and slimmer.

Her gaze was fixed on the long spear behind Xu Jingming, her expression thoughtful.

“Well... alright...”

As a team member, Wang Qian naturally followed her leader’s orders.

Besides, she was also annoyed that Xu Jingming hadn’t listened to her.

‘Let him learn a lesson—it’ll keep him from being so self-willed and ignoring advice.’

Wang Qian thought to herself.

On the other side, facing Zhao Chunlin’s threat, Xu Jingming’s resolute face flickered with impatience:

“What if I say no?”

“Oh? Then you’ll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.”

“Because I’ll break both your legs!”

Zhao Chunlin’s face twisted into a cruel smile.

He hadn’t just been hanging around the supply base for a day or two.

If word got out that he’d been fooled by a rookie, where would he save face?!

He had to establish dominance—and it had to be brutal.

Only then could he intimidate the others.

Thinking this, his exposed skin turned a metallic gray-blue sheen!

Class-C Ability: Metalized Skin!

With Metalized Skin, his defense was extremely formidable—he was nearly impervious to blades and bullets!

“Metalized Skin, plus my Class-D battle armor—you can’t even break my defense!”

“Kid, you still want to—”

Zhao Chunlin’s words were cut off by Xu Jingming’s low voice:

“Noisy.”

“What?!”

Before Zhao Chunlin could react, a tremendous force struck his waist!

Under that force, his Class-D battle armor and Metalized Skin were as useless as decorations, offering no resistance.

Then, he was flung backward as if hit head-on by a speeding truck!

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

He cratered the ground with several impacts, flying eight or nine meters before stopping—unconscious, possibly dead.

The perpetrator, as if nothing had happened, didn’t even glance back—he simply walked toward the entrance of the wilderness zone.

“Whoa! Instant kill! That terrifying?!”

“How the hell did he strike? I didn’t even see it?!”

“Haha, Zhao Chunlin just kicked a steel plate.”

“I was worried about that guy yesterday—turns out he’s this strong.”

“...”

Zhao Chunlin, a Second-Rank Mid-Level Ability User, was somewhat well-known at the source water supply base.

His crushing defeat naturally sparked heated discussion among the crowd on the square.

Many who had been cheated by him in the past but dared not retaliate felt immense satisfaction.

Some even rushed over to check on Zhao Chunlin.

His waist looked as if it had been blown apart by a high-explosive bomb—drenched in blood.

He was still breathing, but barely—his breaths faint and weak.

On the other side, Wang Qian’s eyes widened in shock at the supply base entrance.

She never imagined the outcome would be so completely opposite to what she expected!

Xu Jingming had not only defeated Zhao Chunlin—he’d killed him instantly!

More importantly, as a Second-Rank Low-Level Ability User herself, she hadn’t even seen how Xu Jingming struck.

“It was a spinning kick,” said her team leader Yao Muxi, who had seen it clearly.

But even she hadn’t expected the sheer power of that single spinning kick.

“Zhao Chunlin’s pelvis is completely shattered—he might not even survive.”

“Even if he’s saved, he’ll be a wheelchair-bound cripple from now on.”

“No wonder he’s from Metropolis Ability University—strong, and ruthless.”

Yao Muxi’s almond eyes held admiration.

“From Metropolis Ability University? How do you know that?”

Wang Qian blinked in surprise and asked quickly.

The other two teammates also turned curious glances toward her.

“His spear bears the emblem of Metropolis Ability University.”

This was something Yao Muxi had noticed earlier.

The dagger and sword encircled by thorned roses—every weapon produced by Metropolis Ability University carried this mark.

“Besides, have you ever seen anyone outside a top-tier university achieve cross-rank instant kills like this?”

“That’s true,” Wang Qian realized, then eagerly suggested:

“Our team still needs a frontline attacker—why not recruit him?”

“Our school’s right in the Metropolis University District anyway—team-ups will be easy later.”

“He’s already far away—how do you recruit him now?”

“Besides, didn’t we agree when forming this team that we’d only take female members?”

Yao Muxi said slowly.

They were all current students at Linjiang Ability University within the Metropolis University District.

This trip was to hunt more ferocious beasts during summer break and accumulate money and resources.

“Haha, Xiao Qian, are you interested in him?”

“Still, that guy’s pretty good-looking—I wouldn’t mind him joining us.”

The other two teammates burst into laughter.