Annihilation

The moment Utiko finished speaking those words, he hesitated not for a second, crushing the potential-stimulating drug hidden inside his teeth with his tongue. Without needing any order from him, under the spur of mortal danger, his two squad members likewise knew what choice to make, each swallowing down their drugs. In an instant, the skin of all three turned bright crimson, red threads spiderwebbing through their eyes. Their breathing grew ragged and rapid, their emotions whipped into extreme agitation. They felt their strength surging, and their sensory reflexes grew noticeably sharper than before. Utiko stared fixedly at Chen Chuan's figure, gave the short metal truncheon in his hand a twirl, and strode toward him. The two squad members behind him immediately fell into step. Six men had a six-man attack; three men had a three-man method of assault. At that moment, the three appeared to advance in sync, yet the squad members flanking on the left and right were just slightly ahead. That way, when they abruptly accelerated a moment later, they could swiftly form a pincer strike. Utiko's focus was honed to the absolute limit, watching every conceivable movement Chen Chuan might make. The instant they closed to a certain distance, right as his two squad members were about to form the flanking pincer, he suddenly burst forward with a surge of speed, charging in first. This was a maneuver rooted in tactical deception. As long as he tied the opponent down for even a fraction of a second, his teammates could snap into position. In third limit combat, being a hair too slow in reaction or anticipation could instantly put one at a fatal disadvantage. They were thoroughly practiced in this tactic, and repeated trial had proven its efficacy. Yet all of this was predicated on the premise that the disparity between the two sides was not overwhelming. Just as he accelerated forward, Chen Chuan moved almost simultaneously—yet his speed outstripped Utiko's by an order of magnitude. Utiko could only watch helplessly as Chen Chuan flashed past him, his own forward momentum making it impossible to wheel around mid-charge. In an instant, Chen Chuan was in front of the teammate on the right. He didn't even employ any elaborate technique; driven merely by the inertia of his body, his hand lightly drew across the man's neck. Then, spinning his body around, he darted toward the other side. Behind him, a geyser of blood bloomed like a flower bursting into full, violent blossom. Utiko wrenched his body around with all his might. By the time he completed the turn, Chen Chuan was already on the opposite side. His other teammate was on his knees, his head pinned beneath Chen Chuan's hand. With a gentle clench of those five fingers, a crisp crack resounded, and the head collapsed inward by a whole ring. Utiko's lifted foot froze in midair. His breath turned harsh, heavy, and frantic. Chen Chuan released his grip, letting the corpse beneath his palm crumple to the ground. In an indifferent voice, he said, "You are utterly worthless." What these men utilized was nothing more than formulaic military jin. Standardized jin techniques bereft of individuality possessed zero character, offering him no insight whatsoever. The same was true for Utiko; his greater strength stemmed purely from innate talent surpassing the others, not from training in any unique method. Utiko's fists clenched involuntarily, his eyes bloodshot to the extreme. Yet facing an enemy so monstrously formidable, he understood that he had zero chance of victory. Rushing in to fight to the death would lead to nothing other than sharing the fate of his fallen squad members on the ground, while fleeing offered no path of survival either. His expression contorted several times before his knees buckled. First dropping onto one knee, then sinking down onto both, he bowed his head and said, "Your Excellency, I am willing to atone for my offenses. Since setting foot on this island, I haven't taken the life of a single one of your people. Could Your Excellency spare me?" He was no soldier, but an infiltration operative. Integrity meant nothing to him; surrendering when outmatched was not in the least shameful. Besides, he had already been abandoned by the Linakes Federation, so begging for mercy carried zero psychological burden. To prove his worth, he looked up again and added, "I am the point man for the Linakes Federation vanguard team. They are surveying these waters. I can help Your Excellency conceal the situation here." Chen Chuan turned to look at Talu. "What do you think?" Talu replied firmly, "I don't trust him." Chen Chuan nodded. Seeing this, Utiko knew at once that neither of them intended to let him live. But he had been gathering momentum the entire time he knelt. At this moment, he unleashed every shred of power in his body. His jin surged violently as he attempted to lunge forward. Yet he was not aiming for Chen Chuan; he was lunging at Talu. Because he knew the gulf between himself and Chen Chuan was far too vast, leaving zero chance of success. Facing Talu, however, he might just manage to drag her down with him before dying. Yet just as his jin welled up and before it could fully detonate, a violent, wrenching spasm shot through his entire body. His midair frame crashed straight back to the ground. From deep within his body came grinding, snapping noises, as though every muscle, bone, and internal organ were being shredded apart. He watched patches of skin across his flesh split open, blood welling out from the cracks. Not only there—blood streamed endlessly from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, swiftly pooling across the ground. This... Had he been struck by jin?! When? Utiko suddenly recalled: earlier, when Chen Chuan flashed past him, he had seemed to lightly brush past him. Could it have been then? What kind of jin was this?! As more and more blood poured from his body, he felt his consciousness dimming. Yet he refused to simply surrender, trying once again to stand, desperately marshaling the power inside his flesh. By this point, he knew he posed no threat to anyone, but he could not accept falling like this. Yet just as his mutated tissue mobilized once more and finally drew together a surge of jin, he suddenly clapped his hands to his skull, sheer terror dawning on his face—for he felt that power break free of his control, threatening to burst out from the inside. In the very next instant, with a sharp pop, his head burst open, tissues and gore splattering across the ground. The headless corpse swayed twice before toppling sideways onto the ground. Chen Chuan withdrew his gaze. Just now, he had merely tested Chen Bitong's String-Void Jin. However, this type of Mind Jin was a fusion of spiritual power, so combining it with his own spiritual power had yielded a different result. It could be considered an attempt that was neither a total failure nor a complete success. Still, observing Utiko's final display—both expected and unexpected—he pondered it and felt there was indeed merit worth drawing from it. Standing to the side, Talu had watched the entire battle unfold, unable to hide her admiration. What caught her attention was not the gruesome, bloody scene, but Chen Chuan's mastery over jin and rhythm. Even if she could not clearly track everything due to the vast disparity between them, that fleeting glimpse had conveyed the sheer beauty of power and technique. She performed a Danliu School salute to Chen Chuan and said solemnly, "Thank you, Mr. Chen." Chen Chuan said, "It's nothing. As I said, since I am here, I will face external enemies alongside you." He took a few steps over to Utiko's headless corpse. These men appeared to be First People; the Linakes Federation was indeed fond of using them to infiltrate Great Shun and the Outer Ocean. At that moment, he noticed a waterproof document pouch at Utiko's waist. Bending down, he unfastened it, took it out, opened it, and pulled out a stack of documents and reports. Flipping through them, he found records and reports concerning the surrounding waters. They detailed the ecological environment around Feiguang Island, the frequent anomalies, and the presence of the Danliu School, positing that a permanent fissure existed here. It seemed these men had indeed come for the fissure. However, the documents were fragmented, clearly not issued from a single command, but rather pieced together from various other sources. Deep in thought, he scanned further down, but then noticed a spot on Utiko's body that looked somewhat unnatural. Squatting down, he reached out to examine it, and soon felt an item concealed beneath an implanted flap of skin. The outer packaging was made of some specialized biomaterial. Wiping away the bloodstains, he unwrapped it. Inside were documents recorded on specialized paper, the handwriting minute yet distinct. Flipping through, he found records pertaining to the man's identity and past missions. Comparing them with the earlier documents, he formed a rough assessment. Looking up at Talu, he said, "These men are from the Linakes Federation, that much is true. But from the looks of it, their arrival here wasn't sanctioned by their superiors. It's very likely they were working off the books." Talu asked, "Will the Linakes Federation send more people, then?" "Hard to say, but unlikely." Chen Chuan said, "With the Ferris Wheel Company wiped out, the Linakes Federation has lost its greatest foothold in the Outer Ocean. Even if they covet this fissure, taking it doesn't mean they can hold it. So after these men, no one else should be coming. "However, it's best not to let their identities or deaths leak out. We should act as if this never happened, or it could invite unnecessary trouble." Talu did not grasp these tangled intricacies, but she knew what course of action to choose. She said, "Understood. If Mr. Chen has no interest in these belongings, I can hand them over to Uncle Gan. He will know how to handle them." Chen Chuan nodded. "Then let the elder handle it." Even as an Investigation Supervisor of Center City, his jurisdiction didn't extend to the Outer Ocean. Besides, he was in the midst of cultivation and had no inclination to meddle in such affairs. Talu said, "Mr. Chen, I need to go back and check on things." Chen Chuan nodded. "I'll go up with you." He and Talu emerged from the fissure and returned to the cliff terrace. Fortunately, all was well; everything on the surface was normal, and the village had suffered no attacks. Following the tracks, they also found the gear the six had left behind by the seashore. This proved that aside from these six, there had been no one else involved in the operation. This was only logical. With six third limit fighters, ordinary people could never serve as their teammates; even if forced together, their coordination would fall completely out of sync. Seeing that all was peaceful above and Talu was more than capable of handling the rest on her own, Chen Chuan did not linger and headed back down. Yet no sooner had he reentered the fissure than he discovered that the corpses of the six men had vanished without a trace. ……