Chapter 212: Old Grudge

The invisible man's blood splattered everywhere, the same red as a normal person's—meaning he wasn't fully invisible, but rather bent light with his skin.

"Attack together!"

Ella's pupils shrank sharply as she raised her Remington shotgun and pulled the trigger.

The buckshot missed, flying out through the open hangar door and snapping a few distant corn leaves.

Only then did Ella turn her head backward—Li Cheng, having activated his Instant Thunder skill, moved so fast only afterimages remained; he swung his hand-blade and struck the throat of a black man with a mohawk.

The mohawked black man was the team's sonic superpower user; his laryngeal cartilage shattered, his vocal tract damaged, the half-formed sonic wave collapsed instantly, spraying blood from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears as he collapsed.

Li Cheng didn't even look, simply raised his left arm and activated the 【Dead Curse Current】 skill recorded in the Bone Corridor, blasting it toward the spiky-haired white youth on his left.

The spiky-haired youth was the team's fire-type superpower user; just as he clenched his arms together and unleashed a column of flame from his chest, the black water of the Dead Curse Current drenched him entirely.

The side effect of the black water induced terrifying hallucinations; only those with sufficient willpower and courage might break free of the illusions.

But the spiky-haired youth was both a mutant shunned by society and a gang member addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Drenched in the black water, he sank completely into hallucination, curling into a ball on the ground, sobbing with tears and snot streaming down his face, "Dad, stop hitting me—I know I'm wrong—"

Nearby, a pair of mutant twins, sensing the tide turning, spun their eyes rapidly, preparing their respective hallucination and hypnosis abilities.

Shhh!

Li Cheng fired a gravity energy sphere at the corner of the hangar behind them; the sudden reversal of gravity sent both tumbling backward onto the ground, knocking over shelves and burying them under a pile of debris, unable to rise again.

Their hallucination and hypnosis abilities only worked when making direct eye contact with others—without sight, they were useless.

'What… is going on?'

Ella's thoughts descended into chaos; this glasses-wearing man was firing black water, manipulating gravity—yet the multiplicity of his superpowers wasn't even the most shocking thing.

What stunned her most was that he seemed to see through every one of her teammates—before her side even moved, each one was cleanly and efficiently taken down.

Let it be known: Ella's team weren't minor players; though only eleven strong (ten plus the invisible man), each was a skilled Level Two or Three superpower user.

For years they'd roamed the U. S., robbing banks, stealing cars, smuggling contraband—never once getting caught by Vanguard Corporation or the FBI.

Until now.

"Crush you!"

A giant over two meters tall, his muscles bulging with knotted veins, his eyes dull with low intelligence, stomped toward Huiyu and Carolin hiding behind him.

The giant was a Level Three physical enhancement superpower user; each time he strengthened his body, his intelligence dropped drastically.

In a sense, the entire team wore black leather jackets because of him—to help him distinguish friend from foe.

The giant raised both arms and brought them down like hydraulic hammers toward Huiyu.

Huiyu didn't dodge or evade, watching the fist descend with keen interest.

Clang!

After the blow, the expected scene of a shattered skull and splattered brain never came—Huiyu stood unharmed, while the giant himself trembled, his palms split open, tears of pain streaming from his eyes.

"My turn."

Huiyu seized the giant's wrists and effortlessly spun him around, slamming him into the ground with a thud, denting the hangar's concrete floor into a human-shaped crater.

The giant was dazed, but still shouting, "I'm fired! I'm fired! I'm really fired!"

Rarely encountering another legendary tank like himself, Huiyu was exhilarated, swinging the giant repeatedly and smashing him into the concrete until the floor was riddled with depressions.

"Let him go!"

Ella roared, the air around both her palms twisting violently, radiating intense heat, "Or I'll destroy this plane!"

Click.

The sound of a pistol safety being disengaged rang out—Li Cheng held a Glock, its muzzle aimed at the spiky-haired youth lying on the ground, trapped in fear hallucinations.

"You're Ella, right?"

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow, studying her; first he activated his title skill 【Life-Risk Gambler】, forcibly increasing the probability of an event,

then activated his 【Information Synthesis Glasses】, triggering the second effect—X-ray Vision—and successfully read the most critical information.

"Level Four Special Ability user: can make any object she touches explode, and can also cause parts of her body—nails, hair, dead skin—to explode after being burned. The explosive force exceeds any mainstream explosive."

Li Cheng smiled: "Do you know someone named Didara?"

"Who's Didara? I don't know."

Ella grew more wary, even fearful, forcing calmness: "We give up. The plane is yours. We'll leave and won't report our location to Vanguard Corporation."

"Not enough. Because of your delay, Vanguard's people are almost here."

Li Cheng gazed southward and casually released a paper crane.

The paper crane flapped its wings out of the hangar, hovering above, spotting three black SUVs speeding through the cornfields.

Li Cheng asked calmly: "You're right-handed, right?"

"What?"

Before Ella could react, Li Cheng, having activated Instant Thunder, was already beside her; his rusty cleaver cleanly severed three fingers from her left hand.

Catching the three fingers, Li Cheng activated his Familiar Swap, exchanging positions with the paper crane, appearing midair.

He pulled out a nuclear lighter, burning the three dripping fingers, then hurled them downward at the SUVs.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Inside the vehicles, Vanguard members heard three muffled thuds above their roofs—before they could react, the fingers detonated, flipping all three SUVs over.

The summoned superpower users inside, unable to even activate their abilities, were swallowed by the explosions.

The thunderous roar echoed over the farmland as Li Cheng landed steadily, his silenced Glock firing precise shots, blasting the heads of every survivor still crawling out of the vehicles.

"Hello? Hello?"

The three-layer-protected walkie-talkie that had fallen from the vehicle still worked, emitting a voice Li Cheng found vaguely familiar: "Alpha Team, report your status!"

"There is no Alpha Team anymore."

Li Cheng grinned: "Long time no see, Cervantes of the Laughing Troupe."

「. 」

A silence filled the walkie-talkie; after a long while, Cervantes' voice came through: "Landon from Prometheus Corporation? Listen, I didn't intentionally seduce your wife, husband, daughter, or son."

"No!" Li Cheng's eye twitched; he thought, this guy's romantic history must be wild.

"Oh oh, then you're Dawson from the Beast of a Thousand Throats?"

Cervantes suddenly understood. "I didn't steal your fire dragon egg and replace it with a fire dragon fruit—that was our guild's JOKER. He did it, don't come after me."

Li Cheng's eye twitched again. "No, not him either!"

"I get it—you're Zack from European Heavy Industries."

Cervantes' eyes widened in realization. He took a deep breath and said: "I know it was vile of me to sell you the water of the Mother-Son River as a libido potion and make you pregnant—but look, you're fine now, aren't you?"

"You even gave birth to five healthy baby girls right before your wedding. Everyone's safe. Isn't that great?"

???

Li Cheng stared, speechless. If Huiyu were here, she'd surely laugh and mock him for finally being left speechless by someone else.

"No, how many crimes have you committed? How many enemies have you made?"

"Uh… let me think."

Cervantes actually began to recall: "Maybe a few dozen guilds, a hundred old grudges. We the Laughing Troupe have KPI performance reviews—if you don't get any jobs for a while, you have to bite a lighter."

You're invincible.

Li Cheng silently put down the walkie-talkie. Cervantes hurried to add: "Buddy, I don't know who you are, but you've probably figured out the true nature of this death match mission by now."

"I have an entire vanguard company backing me, and half of America's superhumans at my disposal—you have no chance of winning."

"Why not sit down and talk properly? At least I can get you out of this mission without any loss."

Bang.

Words were useless. Li Cheng shot and destroyed the walkie-talkie, plugged in his Skill Mobility USB, and activated 【Familiar Swap】 again, returning to the hangar.

(End of Chapter)