Blood for an Eye, Fire for a Tooth

A blazing sun hung high in a vast, cloudless sky. Under the scorching glare, the streets of Tacheng lay dead silent. Under martial law, downtown Tacheng—once teeming with heavy traffic, bustling crowds, and prosperity rivaling the metropolises of the Federation and the Empire—had abruptly fallen as quiet as a grave. No pedestrian would dare venture out at a time like this; nobody wanted to court their own death. Only armored vehicles rolled along the empty streets. Around checkpoints, heavily armed soldiers in live-fire gear stared coldly at their surroundings. Total military control. Just outside an industrial factory complex, on the surrounding streets, armored vehicles gathered in ever-greater numbers. In the shadows, four strike teams—armed to the teeth with everything from rocket launchers to exoskeletons—had quietly moved into position. Atop a high-rise, snipers lay prone, expertly adjusting their scopes for wind speed and distance, locking onto every entrance and exit of the entire factory. "...I believe it now." Squatting on the roof of an armored car and puffing on a cigarette, Liang Mo, commander of the Quick Reaction Unit at the Federation's Tacheng garrison base, thought back to Tong Shan's earlier description and couldn't help but sigh. "That gutter-born bastard really doesn't do a single thing that even borders on human decency!" Just yesterday afternoon he had been told not to cause trouble, and by nightfall the grandson had already gotten himself bombed. The Evil Transmutation Cult had surfaced in the wee hours of the morning, and before dawn even broke, floating corpses were nearly clogging the sewers solid. And now, barely twenty-four hours after Ji Jue officially set foot on the Mid-Continent, the entirety of Tacheng was on the verge of being swallowed by a raging tempest, with nearly everyone fearing for their own skin. He claimed with his lips to be a law-abiding citizen, yet the moment he lifted a finger, it meant raids and extermination. Even a cesspool like Tacheng could hardly withstand Ji Jue's scorched-earth playbook. There was no helping it; that bastard was truly ruthless, truly merciless. When he took action, he left zero margin—none for others, none for himself. At the first move, he flipped the table, holding all of Tacheng hostage to blackmail them into wiping out his rival. And the worst part was, circumstances were out of their hands—they actually had to cooperate with this dog of a man to butcher an entire family! In name, it was deploying troops to strike and suppress the Evil Transmutation Cult to maintain order and stability. In reality, it was about smothering the unrest, stomping out the flames, and mercilessly eradicating the targets at maximum speed just to turn the goddamn page on this mess! He lowered his head and checked his watch. He listened intently to the commands and latest updates in the channel, waiting for the right moment. "All units, check gear and report positions." He picked up the radio, confirmed every unit was in place, and knocked on the armored hull. Instantly, the doors swung open, and a squad of soldiers clad in armored exoskeletons and visored helmets, bristling with heavy firearms, filed out with murderous aura. Lastly, Liang Mo glanced into the vehicle at the youth seated in a wheelchair. The messenger sent by Ji Jue. "Kid, stay in the vehicle. Don't go wandering off," Liang Mo instructed crossly. "Your boss went on and on telling me to look after you. If you die, who knows what kind of hell will break loose." "Understood." Yan Chang nodded obediently. "Please be careful as well, Mr. Liang." "Careful doesn't mean shit. In a hellhole like the Mid-Continent, opening your eyes every day means going through the wringer." Liang Mo slapped his chest, activated his exoskeleton, spat out the cigarette butt from the corner of his mouth, and pulled down his faceplate. "Life and death are up to fate. Dammit, as long as I retire alive, that's a win." The All-Domain Combat Assistance System fired up. Dense UI elements and real-time parameter briefings projected across his visor, integrating him into the vast network. Once again, he discarded morality and mercy, turning into a cog in the machine of violence. "The people inside seem to be getting desperate enough to jump walls." Just as Liang Mo was turning to leave, he froze at the voice coming from the vehicle behind him. Yan Chang looked up toward the silent factory grounds. Through his eyes' observation, restless hues surged relentlessly, clashing, corroding, and subtly opposing one another. "The frenzy and terror are practically overflowing." Yan Chang murmured softly, then marveled, "Ah, they're about to turn on each other. So fast—without a shred of hesitation." Before his words had faded, a fierce burst of gunfire erupted from within Mudahka's stronghold. Instantly, like a poked hornet's nest, the shooting spread rapidly, accompanied by endless shouts and roars. Explosions surged upward, interspersed with curses and accusations in accents from the Federation, the Empire, and across the Mid-Continent. "That gutter-trash Mudahka sold us out!" Over the monitored comms channel, a hoarse voice screamed, "If we don't fucking run now, are we gonna stay here and wait to die with that bastard?!" No wall in the world is windproof. As the blame heaped onto Mudahka grew taller with every party eagerly tossing in extra fuel, his formerly loyal subordinates had gradually sensed something was wrong. Once they realized their surroundings and the increasingly tight cordon closing in, they went completely berserk, breaking into open mutiny and infighting without hesitation. "Don't listen to those supervisors' bullshit!" Amidst the fierce gunfire, someone bellowed hoarsely, egging the others on: "Hurry up! Break out and fight for your own way out!" "Brothers, charge!" "Run! The Empire and the Federation are coming to slaughter us!" Through the smoke of exploding and collapsing factory buildings, disheveled figures burst out, stumbling and careening in every direction like headless flies. Gripped by panic, they didn't even have time to assess the situation, driven purely by the instinct to find a way out alive. "Target lock complete." "Negative, too many targets." "Command, situation has changed! Something's wrong inside—" Reports sounded one after another in Liang Mo's ear, making his expression darken further. The moment he heard that someone was about to slip past the perimeter, there was no room left for hesitation. "Move! Everyone, move! Stop fucking waiting! Seal the cordon, all squads weapons free—" He paused, his stubbled face growing even grimmer as he gave the order: "—Eliminate all targets. Leave no survivors!" The moment the words left his mouth, dense gunfire erupted like popping corn, echoing across the entire cordon. Strike teams in position pressed detonators without hesitation, blasting through the perimeter walls before driving straight in. Raising their muzzles, they pulled their triggers toward every red-highlighted position on their visor displays. Under interlocking crossfire, one red box after another winked out in rapid succession, effortless as a spring cleaning. On the open plaza outside the plant, figures that had been sprinting in frantic hope didn't even have time to turn before collapsing into pools of blood, one after another. Like stalks of straw felled by an invisible gale. Crimson sprayed. Combat boots stamped through puddles of blood as breaching squads advanced in formation at a dead run, leaving behind shattered corpses and carpets of spent casings as they stormed inward. Over the monitoring channels, screams and curses rose incessantly, while wails and pleas sounded repeatedly, only to be extinguished. Sudden explosions roared. The ground jolted violently as manhole covers shot into the air, spewing thick smoke and fire—the bombs in the sewers had been triggered as well. Faced with lethal peril, every mercenary inside the factory cast all caution to the wind, however slim their odds. They didn't even dare dream of winning; they only wanted to escape amidst the chaos and preserve their lives. Unfortunately, their chance was gone. Amidst the fiery glare of rockets, the factory shuddered, and sections of the structure collapsed into flames with a roar. From the deepest core of the billowing smoke, a burly figure loomed, cloaked in blood-red radiance. "All of you, fucking die!" A Swarm Celestial Chosen roared, his eyes crimson with frenzy. He swung chunks of architectural debris in his hands, hurling them like artillery shells. Rebar-laced concrete blocks tore through the air, crushing opponents in their path and slamming into ground and walls along with minced flesh and scrap metal, gouging horrifying trenches. First, he used a surprise assault to destroy the surrounding sniper perches; next, relying on his own horrifying defense, he took the surrounding concentrated fire head-on. His crimson eyes instantly locked onto the commander at the outer perimeter—Liang Mo! "Fuck me!" Liang Mo froze for a split second, a chill running through his entire body. He instinctively raised his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Too late. A blood-shrouded javelin had already been hoisted in the Swarm Celestial Chosen's hand. Hurled with all his might, it traversed the vast distance in a thunderous boom, tearing through the air! Liang Mo felt everything go black before his eyes. Literally... black! A tremendous crash. The Enhanced Riot Cat Custom guarding beside Yan Chang abruptly catapulted forward. Propelled by its thrusters like a charging truck, it slammed into Liang Mo and knocked him clear of the spot. Immediately afterward, it raised the massive shield in its grip, placing it in the path of the blood-flame-wreathed javelin. Amidst a succession of ear-splitting shrieks of friction, the Riot Cat slid back over a dozen meters, smashing through two layers of walls. The massive shield in its hand twisted entirely out of shape. Its surface coating peeled away, exposing the dense, layered crystalline structure beneath. The blood-flame spear had pierced through, breaching the shield and embedding itself in the Riot Cat's reinforced arm, throwing off showers of sparks and leaking engine oil. Yet an all-out strike approaching the Regeneration tier had actually been stopped! "Holy shit?" Tumbling to the ground, Liang Mo stared in disbelief, forgetting for a moment the Celestial Chosen who was glaring back at him with malicious intent from within the encirclement. Not that it mattered anymore. At that very instant, high in the sky over central Tacheng, a speck of light silently detached from a colossal airship, gliding toward the site. Then, flames erupted into a blast, instantly generating pale Mach rings as it surged forward like an arrow! BOOM! Beneath the trampling force of the Meteor Maneuver, before the Swarm Celestial Chosen could even dodge, he was crushed into a lump of pulp. Blood splattered in every direction—he hadn't stood a ghost of a chance. Like stomping a rotten persimmon flat. Viscous crimson slid slowly down the steel. In the crater carved into the ground, a mirror-smooth painted coating reflected the blazing sun, glinting with metallic chill. The Qiongqi-type power armor had descended from the heavens. The blood-stained visage of the mythical beast scanned its surroundings, locking through the wall onto an eight-legged combat vehicle inside the storehouse before it could even start up, along with its contorted driver. Threat target confirmed. Then, she raised her arm. A scorching jet of vaporized metal ripped through the air. Tearing through the wall with unstoppable momentum, it acted like an invisible blade, bisecting the eight-legged vehicle and its driver inside, burying them in metallic vapor and explosions. Finally, after a glance at the Riot Cat shielding Liang Mo, the knight gave a nod in Liang Mo's direction and took to the skies once more. Returning to formation. Yet in midair, the Qiongqi armor paused slightly and looked toward the direction that had triggered an alert—a crimson streak of light hurtling from the port outside the city and carving across the firmament. In mere moments, it was nearly out of sight. So fast! In the radar lock, the target enlarged rapidly, revealing a bizarre design and an unfamiliar contour. What was that? As if sensing her scrutiny, the blood-wreathed armor turned slightly, four eyes glinting with cold light. Soon, however, it pulled back its gaze with utter disinterest. It pressed onward, accelerating— "Command, visual confirmation of an unidentified flying object. Suspected Imperial armored weaponry. Requesting permission to intercept and shoot down." "Negative. Stand down alert and disengage targeting," the reply came over the channel. "Base air traffic control just cleared it. Serial identification updated—it's friendly." "Never seen this model before," the knight asked curiously. "Is it some company's fifth-gen prototype test flight?" "Unit specs aren't on file here, only a registration code from Haichao Armaments. Ah, wait, it just updated—what the fucking hell?!" A pay-docking expletive came over the control center channel. The operator didn't even care about the slip-up, sputtering in disbelief, "The database just told me this thing is classified as a 'heavy industrial exoskeleton'—" "An exo-what now?!" The knight was stunned, almost laughing out loud. "You're fucking telling me that thing—bristling with threat markers, weighing at least three times more than me, yet boasting instantaneous acceleration and agility that outclasses the Chongming—is an exoskeleton? Then what am I? A motorized wheelchair?!" "Believe it or not, that's what it says," the voice in the channel sighed helplessly. "Also, shift your position and gain altitude. You're about to collide with a strike trajectory—" "What strike? What trajectory? Why haven't I received any ping?" The Qiongqi pulled up hundreds of meters, still looking curiously toward where the crimson armor had vanished. Only when she noticed streaks of iron light surging up from the port, venting plumes of flame as they streaked past below, did she suddenly realize: "Wait, doesn't the agreement with the Empire prohibit guided weapons inside Tacheng?!" Muffled shouting and curses filtered through the comms channel. The operator's voice grew weary, as if they had lost all will to live. "Who said these are guided weapons—" "Then what are they?" "Uh, let me see... Heh." Driven beyond exasperation, the operator let out a dry laugh at the text on the screen. "Fuck me, if I said these are artificial cloud-seeding rockets, would you believe it?" BOOM! Alongside streaks of iron light searing across the sky, pale contrails spanning all of Tacheng unfurled and dispersed like scars. As countless people looked up in dazed bewilderment, they heard a roar like rolling thunder. Immediately following, out in the suburbs, Mudahka's stronghold built over many long years—Locust Tree Manor—was engulfed in a sudden torrential downpour! As shell after shell of rain rockets detonated in midair, an inky blackness spread across the firmament in a heartbeat, expanding rapidly until it fully blanketed the sprawling, luxurious estate. A silver downpour fell from the heavens. Within the living clouds, lightning sparked continuously. Vast volumes of quicksilver churned and surged through the vapor, like countless hands reaching down toward the earth. Reaching everywhere, covering everything. Sharp silver filaments cut through the air like blades, bypassing the servants fleeing in terror and the domestic helpers who had no idea what was happening, darting straight for their targets. Under the curtain of rain, everything blurred. The armed guards stationed before the storehouses, barking orders at workers to load crates onto trucks, felt a sudden chill. Instinctively looking up, they watched the newly loaded heavy transport crumble inch by inch before collapsing into ruins. Before they could even register the sight, their hands felt abruptly light. Severed weapons dropped to the ground along with hands cleaved cleanly from wrists. Then, the world spun. One guard after another disintegrated under the piercing deluge, crumbling like statues made of sand and dissipating into the howling gale and rain. Only thick, viscous blood snaked silently across the earth. Unseen death swept over target after target, strolling like the Grim Reaper, casually casting all into the abyss. In the dead silence, only the panicked shrieks of maids and servants rang out as they scrambled frantically in all directions. "Enemy attack!" In the storehouses beneath the manor, the Celestial Chosen supervising the evacuation of supplies sensed danger and screamed in alarm. But the moment he turned his head, he heard the roar of the tide from the garage exit. A silver surge rushed in. In the blink of an eye, a torrential flood of quicksilver cascaded inward like a waterfall, sweeping and expanding, swallowing every living thing in its path. In a flash, the two subordinates before the Desolate Ruins Celestial Chosen were dragged by grasping limbs into the living quicksilver, vanishing from sight. A succession of scalp-prickling crunches followed. Soon, the screams cut off abruptly, leaving behind nothing but a negligible wisp of crimson amidst the silver sheen. Before the Desolate Ruins warrior could get far, darkness enveloped his vision as he was entirely submerged. All he could hear was a thunderous roar, muffled reverberations, and hallucination-like screams and wails. "Help! Save me—is anyone there?!" He struggled with all his might, gritting his teeth in resistance. After who knew how long, he finally managed to shake off the quicksilver clinging to him. He didn't even dare look back, fleeing blindly and wretchedly in panic. When he finally burst through the soil and crawled out from the underground storehouse, he froze in his tracks. The once-magnificent manor was gone. In the silver rain, nothing remained but a ruined wasteland. Crimson flames danced over shattered walls, and mangled corpses lay scattered across scorched earth. From the deepest part of the flames, the shrill screech of grinding steel rang out continuously. Coiled around the clock tower, a metal centipede dripping with blood and shredded flesh threw back its head, opened its maw, and swallowed a shrieking guard whole, chewing with relish. Amidst billowing smoke, hideous shadows of all sizes—mechanical beasts shrouded in blood-red flames—prowled in packs. Ignoring the laundry maid sobbing on her knees in terror, they dragged out the butler cowering behind her, and the screaming old man was swallowed by cold glints of metal. The beasts swarmed over him, feasting greedily. A scene straight out of an apocalypse unfolded before his eyes. The Desolate Ruins Celestial Chosen's face went deathly pale. He instinctively tried to burrow back into the earth to flee for his life, but at the final moment, a sharp screech echoed from the depths of the flames. A blade dragged across the ground, kicking up sparks of blood-red fire. Pan Ying sang. Like an iron giant, the Dragon Mountain armor slowly turned, its gaze settling on the dumbfounded Desolate Ruins Celestial Chosen behind it. At that moment, the corners of the ferocious metal visage seemed to curl into a grin. A ravenous smile. And after that, there was no after. In a mere three minutes, the manor, reduced to rubble, returned to utter silence. Aside from the grating of metal, only a single voice remained. "A bit more to the left, a bit more to the left—yes, right there!" Standing at the highest point of the manor, a youth held a hand-drawn blueprint, directing the mechanical beasts as they dragged and hauled wreckage and corpses together, arranging them in overlapping piles according to the markings on the paper. Thus, crimson blood spread across the black ash until it traced two intersecting lines across the earth. Resembling a giant "X." A frantic rush against the clock. Soon, with the final task completed, the eyes of the mechanical beasts dimmed rapidly, reverting to their original forms. A mass of the Lord of the Flies' Spirits of Creation gathered into the youth's hands. Sealed away in a bottle. Yan Fei raised his head toward the gloomy heavens, then looked down at the time on his phone. Checking the time once, twice, repeatedly. Until the final second of eleven o'clock slipped quietly past and "12:00" lit up the screen. Without a second thought, the youth pressed the detonator he had been fiddling with in his other hand. Pop— Through the cloud cover came a dull sound, like the uncorking of champagne. Then, the clouds swirling with silver light churned violently, as if a colossal behemoth were plummeting from above. As streamers of silver light parted to either side, an airship spewing thick smoke plunged from the sky alongside the midday sun. There were no wails, nor any roars. Only the shrill whistle of the airship plunging through howling winds. Trailing plumes of fire that gushed from its mangled hull, it keened, tilting and plunging toward the earth. The airship that had taken off only moments ago was returning its master to his sweet home in the most unexpected way imaginable. Unfortunately, there were no warm smiles or welcoming cheers from servants and subordinates awaiting him. All that remained were crumbled walls, utter devastation, and a final greeting traced across the earth in blood and corpses. Inside the cabin filled with swirling flames and the stench of burning, shrill alarms wailed. Strapped to his seat, a dying Mudahka struggled, his one blood-smeared eye wide with terror as he gripped his pistol, desperate to make a final stand. Yet as he stared wildly around, he found no enemy. At the very end, he looked up, gazing past the shattered hull. Through the howling wind and parting clouds, he saw the manor reduced to rubble, and everything turning to ash in the roaring flames... As if he finally understood what Ji Jue meant. "Petty bastard..." Coughing violently, he couldn't help a self-deprecating laugh. "Was it really worth all this just for blowing up one of your offices?" Pity that no one answered. Amidst the roar of destruction, he watched the intersecting lines on the ground grow larger, larger, and larger—until hitting the bullseye dead-center! Darkness and fire surged in, swallowing everything. BOOM!