Chapter 146: Technology Gap Means You Can Do Whatever You Want

As wind aids fire and fire rides the wind, Feng Xue's punch—though crude and unstructured—carried terrifying heat; the bridge's glass instantly melted, and Feng Xue, who had been planning to test the hardness of high-tech bulletproof glass, nearly stumbled headfirst into the cabin.

Fortunately, his fall-and-roll training with Liu Yunxi hadn't been wasted—he merely twisted his body slightly, and the Wind Movement Technique stabilized his motion.

"Bang!"

A gunshot erupted at the precise moment when his old force had spent and new force had yet to arise; the bullet struck straight for Feng Xue's forehead, hurtling toward his temple.

Fortunately, Feng Xue had always kept a shortcut reserved for the Substitute Spell in combat; though he couldn't perform advanced maneuvers like afterimage duplication, remote control, or form dispersion, its advantage lay in instant activation.

Thanks to his spiritual soul cultivation's enhanced reaction speed, Feng Xue instantly activated the Substitute Spell—his body exploded into a paper doll, and in the same instant, he crushed the attacker's throat.

He pulled a network terminal from his bag; without Feng Xue needing to search, Xiao Lingdang had already marked the connection point with a virtual projection.

"Wipe all washable data—repeat it multiple times. Also, check if there's anything on this ship worth taking—under fifty tons, easy to dismantle."

Feng Xue glanced out the window; Sara had already eliminated most enemies, and he relaxed slightly. Xiao Lingdang, upon hearing the order, immediately projected her graceful image onto the bridge's display:

"Master, Xiao Lingdang has fully integrated. You may remove the terminal. Estimating, it will take roughly five minutes of repeated overwriting to permanently and irreversibly disable the main control system. The ship holds no valuable items, but in the cabin behind the third deck are several small synthesis packs—input water and carbon dioxide, and they produce starch, protein, and other survival essentials. Though outdated, they're portable. Also, the two electromagnetic cannons on either side of the deck can be handled by the Dayun's engine, and dismantling is easy—the cables can be severed directly; the Dayun has the necessary parts and interfaces. And…"

Listening to Xiao Lingdang, Feng Xue's eyes lit up instantly—he followed her instructions and began looting.

Five minutes wasn't long, but it wasn't short either; by the time Feng Xue sprinted to the cargo hold, tossed the synthesis packs into the Hu Tian Bag, and returned to the deck to dismantle the electromagnetic cannons, only two minutes had passed.

But those two minutes had brought one more man aboard—a man in red.

"Impressive strength!" The red-clad man wore a pair of gray wolf ears atop his head. Though speaking to Feng Xue, his sharp gaze remained locked on Feina.

He shifted his steps slowly, yet spoke in a calm tone:

"Making an enemy of the Rui family over this thing isn't a wise choice. What did it promise you? The Rui family can offer you the same."

"Thing…" Feng Xue weighed his words, then ignored him entirely—he kicked the side of the electromagnetic cannon. After reactivating the Jin Shen Zhou, his body became as solid as metal and stone; the kick rang out with a thunderous crash.

"..." A flicker of fury flashed in the red-clad man's eyes, yet he still stared at Feina. Feng Xue didn't care—he casually manipulated Mo Ying to unscrew the bolts.

Yes, he never intended to kick the cannon down with his foot—that kick had merely used the Spirit-Object Control Spell to shove Mo Ying into the cannon mount.

As each bolt popped free, Feng Xue waved his hand—the massive device, over a man's height and weighing tons—vanished.

Watching Feng Xue sprint cheerfully toward the other electromagnetic cannon, the red-clad man finally lost patience—but in that instant, Feina seized his opening.

Though desperate for death, Feina now showed no trace of nihilism; instead, her eyes blazed with fierce hatred and rage—the intense emotional willpower born from this fury was precisely why Feng Xue trusted her to face the red-clad man alone.

The white wolf and gray wolf collided in an instant; the raw physical force of their impact made Feng Xue, even at a distance, grow solemn. Though he'd always understood Sara's "excellent" combat rating, only now did he truly grasp the gap.

Though not entirely without hope of victory, Feng Xue absolutely did not wish to fight such an opponent.

Mentally calculating the techniques needed to defeat him, Feng Xue reconfigured his setup, switching back to his most comfortable combo: 【Wind · Thunder · Substitute】.

But since Xiao Lingdang needed all her computational power to crack the main system, Feng Xue had no intention of summoning her into his body—instead, he adjusted his Qi ratio, timed the countdown, and silently refined Water-and-Wood elemental power.

"One minute left…" Feng Xue watched Xiao Lingdang's countdown, his gaze fixed on Feina, who was slightly losing ground. If this intensity continued, he estimated they wouldn't finish until tomorrow.

What truly troubled him was that the man clearly still held back—each time Feng Xue tried to intervene, he failed.

Not because he couldn't find an opening, but simply because he didn't want to get hurt.

"Thirty seconds left—get ready to leave! Xiao Lingdang, remotely pilot the Dayun—depart immediately!"

"Understood. Detecting personnel near the Dayun…"

"Ignore them—just go. We'll handle it later!" Feng Xue said, then sent Sara a Ghost Clap message. Sara had no time to reply—she only vibrated her nanofilm to acknowledge.

Seeing this, Feng Xue suddenly pulled a stamp pad from his bag, dabbed a bit of ink onto his index finger, timed the countdown, and notified Sara to prepare for coordination.

Though Feina now seemed frenzied, she was clearly more obedient than usual—she rushed forward with several attacks, widening the distance.

Yes—widening, not closing. It was to make the opponent lower his guard slightly. And now, after long preparation, Feng Xue finally activated his first precise teleportation beyond ten meters!

Combining the Spirit-Ghost Transport Spell with the Substitute Spell, he forcibly crossed the ten-meter gap using the magical property of "transfer." Sara and Feina, already alerted, suddenly broke apart—Sara lunged to bite, while Feina kicked low.

Though unexpected, the attack weakened its force—the red-clad man merely blinked in surprise, then easily caught both strikes, even attempting to seize them—sure that in their split state, neither could escape his pursuit!

But just as he thought he'd succeeded, a finger touched his body—and only then, slowly, did a delayed sound reach his ears:

"Takizawa Laura!"

(End of Chapter)