Aboard the final convoy that arrived, Mr. Zero stood on an open-top off-road vehicle, watching the heated battle below. He said excitedly, "We came right on time! Let's wait a bit and let them fight to the death first, then we'll swoop in and reap the spoils. In this Molan Company shipment, the most valuable items are those high-energy nutrient solutions, and possibly combat mantises. Once we get our hands on them, this haul will keep us set for life."
Right now, high-energy nutrient solutions were selling like wildfire on the black market, the price jacked up to an unthinkable level. Even so, people were buying them constantly, snapped up almost the moment they surfaced.
Once he pocketed this shipment, why would he stay in this remote backwater?
Where couldn't he go?
Previously, he had poured all the operational funds allocated to him by the higher-ups into this intelligence deal. That choice was unquestionably the right one—facts had proven that Antan's intelligence was exceptionally reliable.
He turned around and yelled toward a vehicle behind him, "Xiao Xiao!"
A figure in a smock jumped down and strode over quickly. Beneath the smock, his face had deeply sunken eyesockets, yet his body reeked of murderous aura, and a faint glint flickered in his eyes.
Mr. Zero looked at him with great satisfaction. He had originally thought that after undergoing implant surgery, this young man would last a month or two at most. Who would have thought that he would adapt remarkably well to the implants, successfully completing the entire surgical implantation and tapping into thirty percent of an ordinary human's maximum capacity.
For procuring such an excellent test subject, the company had even commended Mr. Zero, albeit only verbally.
During the raid on the Blood Mark Gang, Xiao Xiao had also performed meritorious service, and through that ordeal, his mastery over his implants had grown increasingly proficient.
However, frequent use also placed a heavier strain on his body. Lately, he often suffered unexplainable aches and pains all over, shouting out for no reason, so aside from daily injections of anti-aberration medicine, he had to take medication just to sleep.
Mr. Zero pointed at the armed squads firing at each other below. "Well? Can you take them?"
Xiao Xiao said with utter confidence, "Leave it to me."
A dozen men stepped up from behind, chiming in, "Brother Xiao, we'll cover you from behind!"
Xiao Xiao was no longer alone; he had assembled an implant team. Some were recruited from defeated wilderness armed bands, while others were youths from Mount Jiao. Having had little prospects to begin with, receiving implants to gain combat power was actually a ray of hope for them.
Xiao Xiao glanced down. Now they just needed to find the right opportunity—wait until both sides crippled each other, then wedge themselves in.
With virtually no cover across the open wilderness, after vehicle tires were blown out one after another, the initial two clashing factions could only exchange fire from behind armored cars. Gunfire thundered across the plains, muzzle flashes flickering everywhere.
The attackers were thoroughly prepared—
These things flew at blistering speed right above the Molan Company team, then burst open overhead with sharp pops, spraying out massive quantities of blue-green liquid. Some splattered across armored vehicles, some hit the ground nearby, and some splashed directly onto Molan personnel.
Soon, the places struck began to corrode, giving off a pungent, acrid stench.
These were small venom dragonflies, also produced by Compound Eye Company. The special venom stored within their bodies was not only highly corrosive, but the vapors they emitted were intensely toxic.
Although a few Molan team members wore gas masks, they had no defense against corrosive liquid. Seeing more dragonflies flying over, many were forced to abandon the convoy under the circumstances. Yet without cover, they had to rely solely on their protective suits to weather the incoming gunfire.
Still, they did not sit waiting for death. They dragged out several crates and released combat mantises that had been injected with high-energy nutrient solutions in advance. The moment the crates were unlatched, the mantises leaped out and, directed by hand gestures, darted rapidly toward the opposing side.
Wings flaring, two combat mantises tore into the opposing ranks within a breath or two. As their scythe-like forelegs flashed, the people in their path were sliced to pieces in an instant.
Xiao Xiao and his men had intended to charge in, but seeing this spectacle, their feet stopped involuntarily. They knew how to fight armed men, but against bio-combat weapons that were blindingly fast and could even fly—how were they supposed to fight something like that?
Meanwhile, on the other side, Old Feng remarked, "A lively scrap." Just then, a reconnaissance team member approached and reported, "Commissioner, we've checked them out. The team on the opposite slope is very amateurish; likely a sponsored private militia."
Old Feng nodded. "Have a few men keep eyes on them for now." He signaled, and the squad beside him dispersed quickly, readying for action.
After watching a moment longer and seeing Molan Company begin to gain the upper hand, he looked at Chen Chuan. "Little Brother Chen, we need a sharp blade right now. What do you think—can you handle it?"
Chen Chuan said, "Worth a try." He had already observed earlier; there were no—
He thrust the Xuejun Saber into the ground, drew a deep breath, and channeled his internal and external breathing techniques together. Then, reaching out, he gripped the hilt and slowly unsheathed the blade.
Once the Xuejun Saber cleared the scabbard, his hand stroked the back of the blade. This time, under the effect of his breathing technique, the bloodline along the spine instantly turned vivid crimson.
His eyes fixed ahead, he stepped forward. The ground beneath him abruptly fractured, and all around him, everything seemed to slow down.
In Old Feng's eyes, Chen Chuan had been standing right there a moment before, but in the next instant, he vanished into thin air. Only a gust of wind remained, sending his scarf fluttering.
Chen Chuan plunged down from the high ground, arriving at the battlefield in mere moments. Adjusting his stance, he held the Xuejun Saber at his side, then surged forward violently.
The combatants on both sides only felt something like a gust of wind sweep past. Several men had been firing forward when, in the blink of an eye, their upper torsos slid cleanly off their waists.
One of them was clearly—
Meanwhile, the two released combat mantises, which had been carving up their targets, seemed to sense a threat. Whirling around, they charged straight at Chen Chuan.
Yet in the instant they crossed paths, both mantises were severed into multiple sections in midair, tumbling to the ground one after the other.
Chen Chuan's gaze remained utterly placid. The two he had encountered back at the old factory had fought him evasively, making them extremely troublesome. But these two had evidently been ordered to launch an aggressive frontal assault, abandoning their advantages to clash head-on. In that case, there was nothing more to be said—he could dispatch them in a single clash.
To the onlookers outside, a silhouette seemed to flicker across the field a few times, and then a swath of cleaved corpses hit the ground. Even the two combat mantises were minced to pieces in a split second. The dense gunfire nearby thinned to scattered pops, then died out entirely.
Then everyone saw a blade-wielding figure emerge in the center of the field, pacing forward step by step. Beneath the summer night of the wasteland, the crisscrossing headlights illuminated him, revealing a black trench coat and a scarf concealing his face. Only the long saber held at his side reflected a chilling gleam, exceptionally sharp and dazzling.
Someone finally reacted, crying out in terror, "It's—"
The Antan Company members who had been watching from afar suddenly paled.
Up on the high slope, Mr. Zero's expression turned exceedingly grim. Xiao Xiao and the others stared blankly, the scene on the field far beyond their comprehension. What on earth was this?
They simply hadn't charged down yet. If they had been down there just now, would they have ended up in pieces too? At that thought, their faces turned pale and their bodies trembled slightly.
Chen Chuan turned his head, looking in the direction where Antan Company was fleeing. At this moment, only a burly, bear-like man stood there.
He could sense that during his charge, this man's gaze had been fixed on him the entire time, clearly tracking his movements. Yet strangely enough, Chen Chuan did not get the same impression from him that Tan Wang had given off.
The burly man swiftly pulled out a syringe and jammed it into his neck, then tossed it aside. In the blink of an eye, a flush of crimson welled in his eyes, his breathing grew heavy and ragged, and his frame seemed to visibly swell a size larger.
Seeing this, the State Administration Bureau team captain immediately said, "Commissioner, that should be the new 'Violent' agent developed by Antan Company. By stimulating mutated tissue, fighters of special constitution can gain a temporary combat boost.
"This man must have exceptionally developed neural reflexes and coordination like Little Brother Chen, though he hasn't yet reached—"
Old Feng knew Chen Chuan had taken no drugs, but he did not stop his subordinate from assuming so.
Chen Chuan strode up to the burly man. The latter drew a pair of knives from his waist that looked exceptionally sharp. After a brief standoff, both men suddenly lunged forward!
Mid-stride, Chen Chuan brought his long saber down first. The burly man tilted his head and met the blow with his shoulder, letting the saber strike into his flesh. But as the blade cleaved in, it met a layer of resistance.
Chen Chuan's eyes flickered slightly. Previously, when he cut down foes in protective suits or equipped with implants, a single strike would sever them cleanly. This situation was—
A savage grin spread across the burly man's face. His footing quickened, and leveraging his momentum, he thrust both knives directly toward Chen Chuan.
Watching him charge, Chen Chuan flicked his sword hand upward, resting the spine of the saber on his shoulder and angling the hilt forward. At the same time, he drove his shoulder forward; before the enemy's knife points could reach him, the pommel jammed hard into the man's shoulder, rocking him backward.
Leveraging the recoil of that impact, Chen Chuan checked his momentum and stepped back. In the same motion, twisting his waist, his wrist rolled again, dragging the blade in a downward diagonal slice. In a flash, it swept cleanly across the burly man's neck. With a crisp shhk, the head flew off to the side, tumbling to the ground and bouncing several times before coming to rest.
Chapter 197