Intrusion

The moment the sound rang out, the two men inside the aquarium moved simultaneously, and the water suddenly surged forth. The spectators' boundary credentials instantly filtered out the churning surges and spray, presenting the combat as clearly and completely as possible. Even so, the eyes of most spectators still could not track their movements until the field overclocking kicked in, finally allowing them to see clearly. The fighter from the Wilderness faction was visibly faster and more proactive. Once in the water, instead of maintaining a standing stance, he shot forward like a fish. The implanted fighter remained where he stood. It was not that he did not know how to maneuver more suitably underwater, but by planting himself on the floor, he could better control his center of gravity and exert force more effectively. Closing in on his opponent, the Wilderness fighter snapped his body taut. He seemed to transform into a straight, sharp arrow, trailing a slender wake of water behind him as he threw a straight punch directly forward! Facing his opponent, the implant fighter did not evade in the slightest. Spreading his feet slightly, he sank his center of gravity, gathered his power for an instant, and likewise punched straight ahead! Their fists clashed in an instant. Then, a shocking scene unfolded—at the point of contact between them, a shockwave ring of water instantly erupted. Both men's arms blew apart at the same time. The Wilderness fighter's entire arm shattered completely, sending bone fragments and shredded flesh scattering outward. As for the implanted fighter, a segment of his forearm flew off, tissue fluid and blood instantly dispersing into the aquarium. The spectating crowd watched dumbfounded. They had never expected the fight to be so explosive right from the start. All the probing, maneuvering, standoffs, grappling, and circling they had anticipated were entirely absent—there was only the purest clash of force! Chen Chuan watched without blinking. This outcome had occurred because both men had coincidentally chosen the same strategy: right from the start, they condensed all their jin into the attack, concentrating it upon their arms and abandoning all defense to gamble on this single strike. This resulted in an unembellished, brutal head-on clash. Perhaps they had even realized what their opponent was doing, but neither had changed his mind, choosing instead to carry out the strike that best aligned with his own conviction and that he believed to be the most correct! Despite the gruesome scene, neither man showed any change of expression, as if their severed limbs were entirely inconsequential. At this moment, only their opponent before them existed in their eyes. While the implanted fighter appeared less severely injured, the jin that had struck into the Wilderness fighter had been neutralized when the latter's arm shattered; conversely, a portion of the jin delivered by the Wilderness fighter had penetrated into his own body. This knocked his center of gravity off-kilter. Even though the water helped buffer him so he would not fall easily, his body still tilted at a slight angle. With just that slight deviation, the Wilderness fighter leveraged his lingering momentum to suddenly close in within striking distance. Using his spine and neck as an axis, he spun in place, and his remaining arm lashed out like a whip, his fingertips slicing across the implanted fighter's chest. As if slashed by a scalpel, a massive gash tore open across the implanted fighter's chest and abdomen, cutting through half the muscles, bones, nerves, and internal organs within. Yet this strike did not produce the expected outcome. Despite suffering such severe trauma, which should have crippled his physiological functions, the implanted fighter remained just as agile. He retreated backward. As he did so, driven by his mutated tissue, the enormous wound across his front clamped tightly shut. Then, dropping into a crouch, he whipped around with a spinning side kick aimed straight for his opponent's neck! The immense force cleaved a wave through the water. Riding the momentum of his swinging arm, the Wilderness fighter drove his body through a half-turn and rammed his shoulder—the one with the missing arm—upward to meet it. A cloud of blood exploded between them in yet another all-out collision. The Wilderness fighter's shoulder shattered and caved in, while the implanted fighter's metatarsals fractured, his toes twisting and snapping until only three remained attached. Furthermore, because of the force he exerted, the tightly clamped wound tore open again. Implant fluids and blood spewed out violently, and through the fissure, the sliced organs and their cross-sections were plainly visible. Both men fell back a short distance. The implanted fighter kicked off with his uninjured foot, proactively charging at his opponent this time. Just as the Wilderness fighter was adjusting his stance to meet him, a hole suddenly cracked open in the floor, and a vortex abruptly formed below. The implanted fighter seemed to have anticipated this; his charge did not waver in the least. His advantage lay in knowing the arena's changes in advance and factoring them in beforehand, making this attack premeditated. Perhaps this was somewhat unfair, but there was never any true, absolute fairness in combat. Since his opponent had agreed to fight here, he should have accounted for the disadvantages of fighting on someone else's home turf. The Wilderness fighter appeared to be affected by the vortex, yet at that crucial moment, his body twisted and drifted with the current. Like a swimming fish, he not only evaded the incoming fist, but also rode the rush of the current, suddenly appearing at his opponent's flank. Because turning underwater was exceptionally difficult, and because the implanted fighter had poured everything into this blow, he only had time to turn slightly aside to protect his head. If nothing went awry, the Wilderness fighter's remaining hand would have plunged into his chest. Yet right at that moment, from the cracked hole, a massive creature suddenly shot out. Countless bristles flailed around its body, and sharp mandibles thrust out from its mouth, snapping down at the nearest target—the Wilderness fighter. This unexpected disruption caused the Wilderness fighter's movement to deform slightly. Taking advantage of this, the implanted fighter smoothly turned and evaded the strike. The two grazed past each other in an instant, and from the outside, a thin wake of water could be seen slicing across his front. The implanted fighter should have capitalized on his opponent's missed killing blow to launch a counterattack—and that had been his intention. But in that instant, he suddenly froze and turned his head to look outside. The Wilderness fighter looked outside as well. Out on the walkway beyond the aquarium, at some unknown point, a tall figure had begun walking steadily toward them. Standing roughly 1.9 meters tall and appearing in his thirties, he had slanting brows, a straight nose, a square jaw, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist—a commanding, heroic figure. A hammer hung at his waist, and he wore a belted blue robe. In the seating area, the Gong family's steward gave a start and pointed. "Young Highness, it's Wei Wusheng!" "What?" Gong Zhanyi shot to his feet, staring fixedly at the man. The spectators outside found this man odd. They were enjoying the show, so why was he walking over there? The security guards posted on both sides immediately moved in to block him; they would never allow an outsider near the combat grounds. Yet with a blur of his figure, the man bypassed the guards in an instant. With the swish of his long robe, he arrived right before the glass aquarium tank, fixing his gaze upon the two fighters inside. The two inside looked back at him. He looked at the aquarium and said, "A duel between fighters—how can it be bound by something like this?" Reaching down, he drew the hammer from his waist. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he raised it, pivoted his body, and slammed it down with ferocious power! The security guards behind rushed forward to stop him, but it was already too late. As the hammer smashed heavily against the glass wall with a resounding clang, cracks immediately surfaced beneath the hammer's head. Accompanied by loud cracking sounds, fractures spread rapidly in all directions. The fighters throughout the arena realized something was wrong, standing up at once and starting to retreat toward the exits. However, those who moved fastest discovered that the outer doors were locked tight, catching them all off guard. At that moment, a thunderous boom erupted behind them as all the water inside poured out, sweeping across the entire venue like a tidal wave. The nearest guards were instantly swept off their feet and blasted away. In the main deck cabin, Senior Sun and numerous cruise management personnel watched this scene as well. The manager beside him asked, "Mr. Sun? Should we open the doors and let the guests inside out?" Senior Sun stared at his boundary credential and said solemnly, "We can't open them. Immediately activate the regional bio-field interference, and inform everyone outside that due to a disruptor, the duel is temporarily suspended." "Understood." "Also, look into that man's identity." Right after he gave the order, the boundary credentials of all spectators went pitch black, showing nothing more. A moment later, another notice arrived, stating that security was dealing with an uninvited disruptor and that the duel was temporarily suspended until further notice. To compensate everyone for the inconvenience, all fees for the cruise tour and activities over these three days would be waived. Most people who could come here were not short on money, but the owner of this cruise ship was Canglong Company, one of the megacorporations within Great Shun. No one dared cross them lightly. Since the company had extended face and courtesy, the guests did not dare complain openly and could only grumble privately. "We found him, Mr. Sun. The man is Wei Wusheng of the Tianshu Gang." Senior Sun's eyes flickered. "The Tianshu Gang..." As for how the man had boarded the ship, he did not ask. Every invited fighter could bring one to three guests; someone had undoubtedly invited him aboard, and pursuing that was pointless. "Mr. Sun, confirmed: because the water wall ruptured, 'Duomu's' biological field has already begun spreading outward..." another manager reported nervously. Senior Sun said in a deep voice, "Sealing off the combat arena promptly was the right call." The manager said uneasily, "But the fighters inside might be affected..." Many of the fighters who had come aboard to watch were prominent figures with influential backgrounds. If something happened to them, it would be anything but good. "Also, we discovered that Gong Zhanyi of the Gong family is in there as well..." Mr. Sun immediately took note. "Gong Zhanyi? Why is he in there?" Over the years, the various island nations had been relentlessly infiltrated by Canglong Company, leaving them no choice but to pool their strength and back Ferris Wheel to contend with them. The Gong royal family was well aware of Canglong Company's actions; while appearing exceedingly deferential on the surface, they usually kept their distance. He keenly sensed there was more to this, and it might well be connected to what was happening today. He said, "Have people investigate this thoroughly at once. Also, pacify 'Duomu' and do your best to calm it down." Inside the arena, the Wilderness and implant fighters stood up from the water. They continued to gaze at each other before the former spoke: "Gao Qiu." The implanted fighter paused for a moment, realizing the other had stated his name. He answered in a deep voice, "Lu Shiqi." "Sixty-seven? Interesting." The two looked over. Wei Wusheng stood firmly in place. Wisps of white vapor rose from his body as his thoroughly soaked clothes gradually dried. He looked at the two and said, "I believe your duel isn't over yet. You should keep going." Gao Qiu shook his head. "The duel has been disrupted. It can't go on." Lu Shiqi merely watched him warily. Wei Wusheng said nonchalantly, "That doesn't matter. Either you two fight each other, or you fight me. Don't think about leaving—the outer doors are locked tight, and no one is coming in right now." He looked at the two of them. "Today, only one person walks out of here standing."