All Subdued

The three fighters inside the building were abruptly struck by a psychic impact, their bodies freezing for a fraction of a second. All three, however, were black steel-grade fighters of Lianwei Heavy Control Company, and handpicked elites at that. Their status demanded that each possess enough strength to confront and suppress a serving colonel of the former imperial house in the blending grounds, and that was after the colonels had fully undergone shedding. These fighters had cultivated their mental power; a raw psychic blast without specialized psychic techniques was not enough to bring them down. Chen Chuan's strike had not been meant to overpower them, but to confirm their presence and exact numbers. Furthermore, now that their spirits had touched, even if they tried to retreat, he would still be able to sense them as long as they remained within a certain distance. And as his spirit surged forth, he was already closing the distance, arriving within two to three hundred meters of the trio. In the eyes of third-limit fighters, such a distance could be crossed in an instant. The three inside knew that fleeing was out of the question now. Yet they had no intention of retreating anyway; they chose to face Chen Chuan head-on. It was not a bad choice. They had no idea who this intruder was, nor did they know if more people waited outside. Though the newcomer appeared formidable, he was alone. If they concentrated their strength to eliminate him, they could decide their next move based on how the situation developed. Moreover, as long as they were not immediately surrounded by large numbers of fighters and armed personnel, they believed their prowess was sufficient to break out. Because the building interior was too confined to fight freely, they immediately stepped outside and spread out, catching sight of a saber-bearing figure walking toward them from the far end of the street. The short, stout fighter pulled a metal sphere from his waist and hurled it toward the approaching figure. Crossing more than two hundred meters, the sphere arrived directly above Chen Chuan's head and burst open with a bang, unfurling a massive net in midair. At the same time, the other two flicked their wrists, sending two throwing knives flying toward him to cut off his evasion routes. Chen Chuan cast a single glance upward. The Xuejun Saber cleared its scabbard in a flash; with a streak of blade light, the entire net was instantly sliced apart. Riding the descending stroke, his figure bounded forward. One of the oncoming throwing knives slammed into his body, only to be shattered into fragments by the surging jin coursing through him and blasted outward. Chen Chuan had no intention of entangling himself with the three. There were too many residents around, and once third-limit fighters unleashed their full might, both their range and destructive power were immense. This called for a swift, decisive end. Thus, right from the start, he superimposed his second self. Almost the instant the blade light flashed, he appeared directly in front of the short, stout fighter, the Xuejun Saber cleaving downward once more. Though the fighter had braced himself for battle, he had not expected Chen Chuan to be this fast—for a split second, Chen Chuan had virtually vanished from his perception. Sensing that Chen Chuan was coming straight for him, he hastily shifted his body aside, but the movement was still half a beat too late. As the blade light swept through, the man froze in place, his expression turning blank. Brushing past him with that single stroke, Chen Chuan pivoted his long saber, executing a horizontal slash toward the second fighter. This was the gaunt, sinister-eyed fighter seen in the first photograph. His mental power seemed considerable; as the blade swept across, bright light spilled from his eyes, actually managing to track Chen Chuan's exact movements. Yet seeing was not evading. His spirit could react, but his physical body could not mobilize in time. He could only watch helplessly as the blade light slashed across his torso, his defensive metal rod raised only halfway. Refusing to yield, he judged from the cut that he would at most be severed in two without entirely losing his fighting capacity. A hoarse hiss ripped from his throat as he straightened his spine, preparing to muster his strength for another strike. Right then, a hand pressed down upon his shoulder. There was no jin behind it—it simply rested there. Yet that minor gesture instantly shattered his balance of breath, preventing him from releasing any force. He froze stiff on the spot, and a thin line of blood welled from his waist, pooling copiously across the ground in an instant. With one hand still resting on the man's shoulder, Chen Chuan looked up at the final opponent. The tall, muscular woman, built like a bear, stood waiting with a crowbill hammer in hand. Her breathing was deep and drawn out. Her dense, powerful muscles were packed with tough mutated tissue; she was undeniably the strongest of the three. Crouching low, the burly woman sprang forward, moving with remarkable agility despite her massive frame. A glint of light flickered in Chen Chuan's eyes. He saw clearly that the charging figure was actually a simulated psychic projection, while her true body had gathered force a beat later and was rushing right behind it. Because the psychic form and physical body were separated by so little distance and moved at blistering speed, even someone with stronger mental power might struggle to distinguish them in time. A misjudgment of attack distance would throw subsequent moves into disarray, potentially even allowing the attacker's strike to land. Facing such an assault, Chen Chuan took a step back. That retreat placed him just outside her intended landing point—she could still reach him, but could not bring her full power to bear. Seeing his new positioning, the muscular woman felt thoroughly constrained. She made a minor adjustment mid-charge, extending her frame in hopes of generating better leverage. Yet at that exact instant, Chen Chuan stepped forward, returning to his original spot, and unleashed a kick riding the momentum of his advance! This retreat and advance completely threw off her rhythm. With no time left to adjust, she could only watch as the swift, vicious kick flashed near and slammed into her chin with a resounding crack. The ground beneath Chen Chuan shattered under the force of the strike, and the impact detonated with an ear-splitting shockwave. The woman's chin snapped violently upward, stretching her throat taut. In that moment, Chen Chuan pivoted on the spot and planted another kick squarely against her chest. With another booming blast, her heavy frame went flying laterally, crashing through a wall with a thunderous roar. She slammed into a heap of broken masonry, making not another sound. Chen Chuan slowly lowered his leg. His other hand still rested on the gaunt fighter's shoulder, where he could feel a faint tremor vibrating through the man's body. He had neutralized all three in mere moments, and had wounded them without killing them—a feat far more difficult than simply slaying an opponent. He could achieve this because, upon superimposing his second self, his speed and strength completely overwhelmed them. Under his formidable mental power, the pathways of their force generation were laid bare, virtually transparent to him. Yet his gaze flickered slightly. He could tell that Lianwei Heavy Control Company relying on these three to venture into the blending grounds was far from sufficient. Among them, only the muscular woman had barely brushed the threshold of Mind Jin. Pioneer teams capable of braving the blending grounds were composed of fighters who had mastered Mind Jin—figures like Chen Bitong, Old Hu, and Yang Shen. Furthermore, they required tight coordination, which these three lacked entirely. From this perspective, there were very likely other members beyond these three. Setting that aside for now, the priority was bringing these three in for interrogation. Touching his boundary credential, he spoke to his team members outside. "Situation handled on my end. Someone warned them before I arrived, so they likely have people stationed around the perimeter. Numbers unknown for now; stay alert on your end." With so many civilians nearby, he could not unleash a wide-range psychic blast, so some fish would inevitably slip through the net. Leaving them to the team outside was sufficient. Glancing up at Chaoming circling in the sky, he released the fighter's shoulder and walked toward the building the three had occupied. The fighter remained frozen, daring not move an inch. He could feel a pocket of jin lurking within his body; with the slightest movement, it could surge straight into his skull, killing him in gruesome fashion. Stepping inside, Chen Chuan swept his gaze across the room. Most of what lay around were their training equipment and gear. A map of Center City lay on a table, with a radio beneath it and several scattered tubes of nutrition paste nearby. He walked toward the back room. At the very rear, he spotted a metal crate standing half the height of a person, though it was completely empty, its original purpose unclear. Approaching it, he rested his hand on his boundary credential and said, "Andun, take a look. What is this?" "Analyzing... Based on crate dimensions and residue on the interior walls, it is determined to have housed a large combat organism not in commercial circulation." A large combat organism? Chen Chuan looked at it again. The crate was half the height of a man, and combat organisms were typically kept in a curled, dormant state during transport. One could imagine that once fully unfurled, it could indeed be massive. He asked, "Andun, can you tell how long ago it left?" "Trace analysis suggests between three to five hours ago." Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. Three to five hours ago meant sometime this morning, yet Huang Weiyi's surveillance personnel had noticed nothing. A creature that large could not possibly move without making a sound. Which meant... He reached out and casually shoved the metal crate aside. Beneath it, a deep pit was revealed. ... ...