Impact

Sister Huan snapped her gaze forward, staring fixatedly at the figure rising to his feet. The bullet had clearly struck his head, yet it had not left even the slightest scratch. External conditioning of this caliber sent an involuntary chill straight through her. And then there was... She looked down at the mangled corpse on the ground. Much as she disliked Jiang Huowang and detested his refusal to obey orders, she had always acknowledged his combat prowess. Yet Chen Chuan had dispatched him with such effortless ease—and over the course of just two exchanges. Jiang Huowang’s regenerative ability was exceptional, but with his head pulverized to mush, there was no way he was getting back up. The assault team members stared in equal shock at the sight. Jiang Huowang had indeed been notorious for springing surprises on people, but this was too shocking, leaving them completely unable to process it. Their plan had been to use Jiang Huowang to pin Chen Chuan down—or at the very least, wear out his stamina. Now that he was dead, what were they supposed to do? For a moment, none of them moved, waiting instead for a new order across the boundary credential to tell them what to do next. Sister Huan knew full well that no battle ever unfolded strictly according to prior simulations; no plan could account for every variable. Yet she had never imagined an outcome like this. The target’s combat prowess had vastly exceeded their initial projections, surpassing every estimate they had made. Should they retreat now? Or press on? If they fell back, with the sheer power and speed Chen Chuan had just displayed, they would have to leave people behind as a rearguard no matter what. That would mean throwing lives away for nothing—and would the rest of them even be able to get away? Furthermore, she had poured most of the squad's operational funds into this battle and borrowed heavily from outside. If the mission failed, the Ferris Wheel would never step forward to shield them. Even if they withdrew, where could they possibly run? That left only one choice. She gritted her teeth and transmitted an order through the boundary credential. "Everyone, Plan Three. Attack!" With that, she leaped straight down from the pillar. She had originally intended to wait for the crucial juncture, seizing the perfect moment to deliver a fatal strike, but with their plan shattered, her only option now was to enter the fray prematurely. Upon receiving the order, the team members immediately scrambled toward their assigned positions as practiced, while those in charge of the main assault charged Chen Chuan en masse. Coordinated team warfare differed from single combat. It harnessed the power of the collective. Consequently, they had not entirely lost their confidence, and as soon as they began moving, they slipped naturally into their rhythm. Chen Chuan watched the attackers bearing down on him. The use of special medicine had granted him a remarkable enhancement, and once a fighter reached a certain plateau of strength, even the slightest upward climb represented a profound leap forward. Compared to two months ago, the power he could unleash now belonged to an entirely different tier. In his perception, everyone’s movements slowed to a crawl. Even the trajectories of the Third Limit fighters rushing him were laid bare in stark clarity. He raised a hand and curled his fingers into a fist, white vapor steaming off his body. In genuine combat, being just a fraction faster was enough to bridge the divide between life and death. The attackers stared intently at him, but in the very next instant, he vanished from where he stood. With a thunderous crash, a violent tremor erupted from the side. A team member who had vaulted into midair, preparing to strike Chen Chuan, was smashed straight out of the sky into the bridge deck, cracking the pavement into a web of fractures. He sprawled amid the rubble, his spine twisted at a grotesque angle, clearly rendered incapable of fighting on. Before anyone could even register what had happened, another deafening impact rang out nearby as another forward-charging operative was hurled into the overpass railing. Chen Chuan stood before him, one hand pressed against the man's chest. The operative’s back was driven almost entirely into the rail, and he appeared to have lost consciousness. Terror seized the remaining members of the assault squad, the battle lust that had just surged within them doused once more like cold water poured over an open flame. Though their individual combat prowess was not extraordinary, their strength lay in coordination; combined, they could bring down conventional powerhouses. Yet that hinged on their ability to pin the enemy down and land blows. If they could not even follow his movements with their eyes, coordination was impossible, and any notion of surrounding him was out of the question. The Third Limit marksman was drenched in cold sweat. Though he could not track Chen Chuan's movements either, his ability meant he did not need to aim; he could hit targets purely by instinct. Yet after firing two consecutive shots in pursuit of Chen Chuan, both rounds seemed to have vanished like pebbles tossed into an ocean, having accomplished nothing at all. Right then, the hairs on his neck stood on end. He snapped the barrel around, aiming at an empty spot, only to feel a hand suddenly come to rest upon his head. "Hah!" a fierce shout rang out nearby. Chen Chuan glanced over to see Sister Huan charging his position, her paired thrusting spikes lunging straight toward him, looking as though they would impale him in the very next breath. She seemed barely able to keep up with his pace, so without sparing the marksman another glance, he raised his Xuejun Saber and swept it outward. Sister Huan adjusted her technique in the nick of time, raising both spikes to form a cross-block. She did not need to land a hit on Chen Chuan; she only needed to rescue her comrade. Yet the moment their weapons met, the monstrous jin surging from the sheathed saber nearly tore control of her body away from her. The concussive shock sent her staggering backward until she executed a midair flip, only then shedding the remainder of the force. When she looked up, she noticed that Chen Chuan had not even drawn the saber from its scabbard. *Because he didn't need to...?* Her gaze shifted behind Chen Chuan, where the marksman still stood. Despite having been rescued, the man had failed to take the opportunity to pull back and was standing there completely motionless. A surge of irritation rose within her. Yet just as that thought surfaced, a soft crack sounded. Under everyone's horrified gaze, the marksman’s skull split apart without warning, a plume of scorching heat steaming out from within—yet his body remained standing there, rifle still gripped in his hands. The surviving members of the assault team ground to an involuntary halt. In truth, they had virtually no fighting spirit left. They had originally been a seven-man squad, eight counting Jiang Huowang, and now half their number was gone. Before coming here, their contingency projections had promised an eighty percent chance of success within ten minutes; past ten minutes, that probability would plunge below fifty percent, degrading further the longer the fight dragged on. In reality, the target bore no resemblance to what the projections had assumed. They had walked into a one-sided massacre. Only about two minutes had elapsed since combat began; let alone ten minutes, they might not even survive five. Sister Huan realized this as well. Yet having resolved to charge into the fray, she had cast aside all extraneous thoughts, leaving only the singular purpose of eliminating the target. Fixing her eyes on Chen Chuan, she barked through the boundary credential, "Plan Four." The three surviving operatives exchanged glances, then simultaneously pressed their tongues against a tooth, crushing the hollow capsules inside. The stimulating drugs surged rapidly into their systems. These stimulants overdrew their latent potential, endlessly wringing out vital essence to fuel an explosive surge of combat capability. Once the effects wore off, they would enter an extended period of profound debilitation, leaving virtually no hope of making it out alive. Chen Chuan had not attacked while they conferred. But he had not remained idle either; instead, he had projected his field outward, spreading it over the four remaining enemies. Through the contact and feedback of his field, he instantly grasped their current physical states and distinct traits. Turning his head, his gaze locked onto one burly figure. A sudden jolt of danger struck Sister Huan, and she shouted a warning, "Lao Si!" Before the words left her mouth, Chen Chuan vanished from his position, reappearing instantly before the massive operative and launching a kick. This time, however, the man was not as utterly defenseless as before. He brought a thick arm up, catching the blow with a resounding crack against his leather armguard. His blood-red eyes glared at Chen Chuan as if spitting fire, while his other hand raised an axe to cleave downward. Yet despite holding the weapon aloft, the blow failed to descend. Though he had blocked Chen Chuan's kick, the sheer force had inevitably knocked him off balance. Without a solid stance beneath him, he had no way to channel power into his strike. In that exact split second, Chen Chuan snapped out another kick, slamming it heavily into the man’s cheek! It was a double kick! With a resounding crash, the burly man’s jaw and teeth shattered together. His entire body was sent hurtling sideways by the force of the strike, his eyes rolling back in midair as he lost consciousness completely before his battered face struck the pavement. Chen Chuan smoothly held the finishing posture of the kick. Though the man had ingested the drug, the explosive surge in strength and speed was not something he was accustomed to. Before he could fully adapt, it had merely created larger openings. At that moment, a continuous roar of gunfire erupted from behind. Sister Huan had ordered the operatives closest to them to ignore the corporate security forces for now and unleash a volley directly at Chen Chuan. Even if standard rounds posed little threat to him, they could still disrupt and hinder his movements. As the fusillade erupted, Sister Huan was the first to charge forward. She could not allow Chen Chuan to keep picking off her team members one by one. She had to step in to buy them time to adapt to their power and create an opening for them to join the fray. Rather than charging in a straight line, she relied on the power in her toned legs to trace a zigzagging diagonal path, shifting positions continuously. To anyone watching from behind, her rapid movements blurred into an afterimage trailing in her wake. Facing the incoming gunfire, Chen Chuan did not bother to dodge. He merely raised a hand slightly to shield his face, letting the bullets pelt harmlessly against his outer protective suit while keeping his gaze locked on Sister Huan through the gaps between his fingers. The moment she shifted to the side again, he suddenly stepped in that direction. His form flashed forward, bridging more than ten meters in a heartbeat to intercept her path. Raising his blade, he swept it downward, the still-sheathed Xuejun Saber instantly unleashing a ferocious howl through the air!