Black-red armor materialized from the flowing photon veins, ultimately wrapping Lin Cheng tightly.
Xu Wanyue’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
She wasn’t the only one stunned. The ability users facing Lin Cheng, led by Qin Huan, were frozen too. Qin Huan’s body had already been healed by then. He stood up and stared at Lin Cheng, who had just completed his transformation. He couldn’t help thinking, “What a joke?”
“So cool,” Lin Cheng murmured softly. In the next instant, his body vanished into thin air, leaving only a black-red afterimage behind. Qin Huan’s group finally snapped out of it and activated their abilities.
Among Lin Cheng’s former teammates had been a martial arts master. He’d learned plenty of exquisite combat techniques from that man and had even picked up some martial skills from the ancient martial families.
This FAIZ suit granted him the power of an A-rank physical-system ability user. It was more than enough.
Blood was red, not green or yellow. When Lin Cheng’s fist smashed into the nose of the physical-system ability user in front of him, the man’s face erupted like an overturned soy sauce bottle, red blood spraying everywhere. The moment the first punch landed, Lin Cheng followed up with two more, striking the exact same spot. The A-rank ability user blocking his path collapsed into unconsciousness.
The remaining elemental-system ability user hurled water balls at him, but unfortunately, they flew at a pathetically slow speed. Lin Cheng dodged them effortlessly. He didn’t even throw a punch at the man—instead, as he brushed past, he slammed his shoulder into him. The sheer force sent the ability user flying far away.
At that exact moment, a blinding bolt of thunder struck Lin Cheng from behind.
But his movements didn’t falter for a second. He closed the distance in a flash and, under the attacker’s shocked gaze, drove a fist into the right side of his face.
“My suit’s insulated, dumbass.”
The psychic-system ability user activated his telekinesis. Lin Cheng could feel the force trying to lift him into the air, but right then, Xu Wanyue’s gunshot struck the psychic’s shoulder, detonating on impact.
The searing pain caused the psychic’s telekinesis to fail instantly. Lin Cheng dropped back to the ground.
“Nice shot,” he said, giving Xu Wanyue a thumbs-up. He turned his head to dodge two bullets whizzing in from afar.
Thorns made of rock suddenly erupted from the ground, aiming to impale him. But he had already moved. Another precise punch to the head, and the earth-system ability user slumped into unconsciousness.
Among all ability users so far, physical-system awakenings were the most common, but they also held the lowest status. There were simply too many of them. Most only enhanced their physiques, leaving them completely countered by elemental and psychic systems—unless they got in close.
But his speed was utterly unlike that of an A-rank ability user.
“He’s not A-rank…” Qin Huan’s voice trembled.
Now, only Qin Huan remained standing, along with a healing-system ability user and a physical-system brute whose bulging muscles made him look like a muscle freak. The brute stepped forward, and the ground cracked faintly beneath his feet.
Lin Cheng closed in. His fist, the size of a sandbag, hurtled toward the brute’s head. The punch carried not just raw power but speed at its limit. Yet the brute dodged it effortlessly, as if he’d predicted the trajectory. Lin Cheng countered instantly with a blow to the ribs.
The punch snapped three of the brute’s ribs. He spat out a mouthful of blood. Lin Cheng dodged in time, not wanting to dirty his suit. The muscle freak crumpled to the ground.
“You wouldn’t dare kill me.” Despite his legs trembling uncontrollably, Qin Huan’s eyes burned with ferocity.
Lin Cheng now stood right in front of him. Qin Huan clutched a handgun, its barrel aimed straight at Lin Cheng’s head. But Lin Cheng had already dodged bullets with his speed earlier. The gun offered little sense of security.
Lin Cheng fell silent for a couple of seconds. “Do you remember that girl you drugged and took from West City three months ago, using the exact same method?”
Qin Huan’s pupils dilated as realization dawned. “I didn’t know she had a heart condition… She was so fragile… I even called a healing ability user… She didn’t make it… What could I do?”
Before he could finish, Lin Cheng was upon him. He knocked the gun from Qin Huan’s hand and kicked him hard. Qin Huan flew several meters, crashing heavily to the ground. He hadn’t even had time to activate his ability. Lin Cheng caught the gun midair and walked toward him step by step.
“I compensated her family… The whole family stopped pursuing it… Three million…”
Lin Cheng crouched down, gripped the handgun tightly, and shoved the barrel into Qin Huan’s mouth.
Qin Huan’s eyes bulged. He struggled, but Lin Cheng punched him in the gut. Blood surged up, spilling onto the barrel. His body curled like a shrimp, all strength gone as spasms wracked him.
“I’ll give you three million too. Please go die.” Lin Cheng’s finger rested on the trigger.
“You can’t kill him.”
The only one still standing was the healing-system ability user. He had no combat prowess, so Lin Cheng had ignored him entirely. The healer looked up at him.
Qin Huan, his mouth plugged by the gun barrel, saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“His father’s the leader of Viper. Viper’s boss is sworn brothers with the leader of West City [Black Beast]. He’s their only son. If you kill him, Viper’s boss won’t let you go…”
“Oh.” Lin Cheng nodded and pulled the trigger.
A gunshot rang out.
Qin Huan’s eyes remained wide, staring at the sunset glow. The hope in them slowly faded. The healing-system ability user gaped at Lin Cheng in a daze.
Lin Cheng rose slowly. He left the gun lodged in Qin Huan’s mouth—he couldn’t be bothered to pick it up again.
He turned to the healer. “Call someone to collect the body. Revenge away.”
He stepped up to the healing-system ability user and suddenly punched his ribs. They shattered completely. A milky white glow lit up around the man’s body—his healing ability activating. But he collapsed to the ground. Before he could rise, Lin Cheng stomped down on his ribs again, snapping them anew.
Screams echoed repeatedly until the healer’s ability was exhausted. Lin Cheng delivered one final stomp, shattering every rib.
The transformation ended.
Lin Cheng removed the transformation belt and stored both it and the transformation device in his storage ear clip. He looked up at Xu Wanyue. Her face was deathly pale, her body trembling.
“You… killed… him…”
“The intel from Litchi mentioned it. Three months ago, he took a girl from West City the same way. She had a heart condition and couldn’t withstand his abuse. She died in his villa. He paid her family three million to settle it. She had two older brothers, so her family didn’t seem too heartbroken.”
“Even after three months, the Alliance hasn’t brought him in.” Lin Cheng’s gaze turned deadly serious. “So I really want to know—what the hell does the Alliance even do all day?”
Xu Wanyue had no answer for him.
“Take this girl back to the Fruit Shop. Have Litchi alter her memories and get one of the shop’s healers to fix her up,” Lin Cheng said softly. Xu Wanyue nodded hurriedly and glanced at him. “What about you?”
“Waiting for the corpse collectors. Don’t worry about me,” Lin Cheng replied gently.
“Okay…” Xu Wanyue scooped up the unconscious girl from the ground and headed out of the courtyard. Lin Cheng remained where he was.
The ground was stained red with blood. The women in swimsuits from the villa earlier huddled in the corner, shivering. Lin Cheng glanced at them calmly. “All of you, get out of here.”
Freed from their fear, the women scattered like frightened birds. Those Lin Cheng had beaten and knocked out had recovered a bit, but none dared approach. Lin Cheng sat down on a bench in the courtyard, staring at the blood-soaked ground. His head suddenly felt dizzy.
He was waiting.
Not just for Qin Huan’s corpse collectors, but for his own backup. After all, this belt could only be used twice.
Fifteen minutes later, his backup arrived first.
It was Hongshao, whom he’d seen at the East City Casino just last time. She still wore a striking red dress. Red was a notoriously tricky color to pull off, but it looked stunning on her.
At twenty-one, she was tall and strikingly beautiful, with a high slit in her skirt revealing glimpses of her snow-white thighs as she walked in black high heels. She spotted Lin Cheng quickly and sat down beside him.
She took a cigarette from her ring, lit it, and offered it to him. “Smoke?”
“Quit that a while back.”
Hongshao removed the freshly lit cigarette from her lips and stuffed it into Lin Cheng’s mouth. It still bore a fresh red lipstick mark. Lin Cheng coughed from the smoke. Hongshao burst out laughing.
“You’re so cute.” She reached out and pinched his cheek.
Lin Cheng gave her a wry look. “Aren’t you a lesbian?”
“I’m just saying you’re cute. Wait—how did you know?”
“Your ability is Charm. If you wanted, every man in the world would fall for you… So no way you’d like guys.” Lin Cheng shrugged. “Not hard to figure.”
“Where’s the rest of your Fruit Shop crew?”
“It’s just me.”
“I was hoping to meet Litchi or Grape. I remember your Fruit Shop is full of gorgeous women. Oh yeah, and Water Honey Peach… I’ve been craving her for ages.”
“…”
“Are they your harem?”
“Just friends,” Lin Cheng said flatly. As they chatted, cars pulled up outside the courtyard—not just one, but several. Groups of men in black suits stepped out. The middle-aged man at the forefront was clearly Viper’s leader. The instant he saw Qin Huan’s body, his frame shuddered. His gaze locked onto Lin Cheng and Hongshao, who sat casually on the bench smoking.
Hongshao glanced lazily at the men. Her blood-red lips parted slightly. “Do you love me?”
“Love!”
Like a cult compound, every man before them answered in perfect unison. The scene was utterly eerie, as if they’d all turned into marionettes on a stage, performing mechanically from a script.
“Then kneel.”
In an instant, every man in sight dropped to his knees.
Hongshao turned her gaze to Viper’s leader and said coolly, “He’s a good friend of mine. My good friend killed your son. Can you… forgive him?”
“I forgive him.”
“Good, good. Then that’s settled. Your son’s dead, and good riddance—he should’ve died long ago.”
“You’re right,” Viper’s leader replied mechanically.
“Let’s go.” Hongshao patted Lin Cheng’s shoulder lightly and stood up.
