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Dang!

Song Ran deflected the white-clothed man's silver and black curved saber with one hand, sparks flying from his arm.

His left arm had long been transformed into a metallic prosthesis, made of high-grade alloy, which now bore only a slender scratch from the collision with the curved saber.

Within the coconut grove.

The man in white held his saber in one hand and a pistol in the other, his body spinning like a top, constantly turning left and right.

At times he swung the saber, at times he fired the gun.

During close-range gunfire, he didn't aim for Song Ran's vital areas but rather shot at the edges of his limbs, primarily to inflict injury.

This strange fusion of fighting and shooting techniques made it exceedingly difficult for Song Ran to defend.

Who would have thought that just a few minutes earlier, he had been dominating the fight.

But ever since the man in white adopted this combat technique with saber and gun, Song Ran had been caught off guard and sustained injuries to the backs of both legs, limiting his mobility and putting him at a disadvantage.

In the forest, towering coconut trees cast increasingly heavy shadows as the sunlight faded away.

Song Ran stepped back onto a patch of hard soil, throwing off his balance. His expression shifted instantly as he raised his gun to try and push back his opponent.

Bang.

There was a gunshot, but not just one—it was two.

The man in white had fired his gun just a fraction of a second faster than him.

Two bullets flew out in quick succession, Song Ran's gun barrel was knocked askew, the muzzle veered to the right, firing into empty space.

This peculiar shooting style caused his pupils to contract, instantly reminding him of an obscure combat method that had been popular over a decade ago.

"Riga Combat Technique!?" He retreated rapidly, flipping agilely like a monkey and tumbling behind a coconut tree for cover.

Just as he found his footing—

Thump! The coconut tree he was hiding behind splintered as it was hit by three consecutive bullets at the same point, piercing through the tree and nearly striking his forehead.

Song Ran returned fire with two shots, but the other man easily dodged them.

He was stronger than his opponent and a better fighter, but his marksmanship was only average.

'What do I do?' His mind grew increasingly agitated. The longer he was held up here, the more likely trouble would arise at the construction site in the distance.

He had to find a way to break the deadlock!

Distraction cost Song Ran as his shoulder suffered a painful blow—he had been shot again.

Even through the bulletproof vest, he could feel his shoulder rapidly swelling and filling with blood.

With a shiver of apprehension, he used one hand to cover his head while flipping to the side, dashing out from behind the coconut tree and firing mid-air.

He landed with a bang bang, his shots keeping the opponent at bay, followed by a dive forward, a roll, and a leap.

Bang bang bang!

Three shots rang out in a row, hitting him squarely in the chest. Sparks flew from the steel plate inside his bulletproof vest.

But the shooting didn't stop his advance.

Seizing the moment his opponent was changing magazines, Song Ran bent his knees in mid-air and pressed down.

The man in white agilely rolled to the side to avoid being crushed, with his magazine reloaded, he raised his gun to take three point-blank shots.

Bang bang bang.

Seeing the three bullets blocked once again by Song Ran's left arm.

The man in white rapidly retreated to increase the distance. At the same time, his other hand drew a noticeably larger silver-white pistol from behind his waist.

He raised his gun.

Aimed.

Suddenly, a purple shadow flashed by.

Thump!

His wrist was seized by a large purple hand and lifted upward.

The gunshot rang out, the bullet flying into the sky.

The man in white's eyes bulged as he aimed his saber forward with his other hand and thrust.

Dang.

The tip of the saber slid off Li Chengyi's Floral Armor, leaving behind only a faint mark.

"Reinforced Human!!?" The man's eyes turned ferocious. He thrust his knee forward with force, crashing into Li Chengyi's abdomen, but what he felt in return was a sharp pain in his own knee.

Unfazed, the man loosened the hand that had been caught, and the arm automatically detached from the wrist.

The stump of the wrist was raised, aimed, and with a pfft, a gunshot seemingly appeared out of nowhere!

This man had actually hidden a pistol within the flesh of his own forearm!

Several bullets struck Li Chengyi's helmet, igniting sparks and jolting his head backward.

His combat skills were far inferior to his opponent's, and after being struck multiple times in a row, he was just beginning to react.

Even though he knew his fighting skills were only beginning and were at the level of an average person,

being driven back repeatedly still ignited anger in his chest.

He simply stood up straight, ignoring all incoming attacks and continued to advance.

Fireworks of minute sparks erupted where the bullets hit him.

In that second, three more shots were fired.

'Flower Language Technique.'

Li Chengyi, who had grabbed the opponent's wrist, suddenly slapped it to the right, pressing down on the trunk of a coconut tree.

In that instant, the man in white stiffened, his gaze revealing terror.

His body had completely lost control and was now rapidly hurling towards the coconut tree that Li Chengyi was pressing against.

In less than half a second, he was flung into the air, speeding towards the tree.

Before he had even gotten halfway there, a dark purple fist smashed into his forehead head-on.

Thump!!

Everything went quiet.

The man in white was sent flying sideways like being hit by a vehicle, his forehead deeply caved in, blood pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

He lay on his back in the sand, his mouth agape as if trying to say something, but within two seconds, his pupils dilated, and he lost all signs of life.

Li Chengyi glanced at Song Ran behind him, whose expression was heavy with cautious vigilance, then swiftly disappeared into the grove, vanishing into the distance.

*

*

*

Yongnian Town.

A black jeep made a sharp turn and stopped in front of a ten-story silver-white building.

In the gloom of night, the sky was dark.

The vehicle's door swung open with a clang, and a pale-faced man in gray clothing holding a gun stepped out.

He hurried towards the building, and after just a few steps, was about to shout.

Bang.

A gunshot sounded.

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The gunman fell forward, and blood slowly seeped from his back.

"Who's there?!"

"Armed! Call the patrol!!"

Woo!

The shrill alarm sounded rapidly.

The security guards around the building immediately sensed something was wrong and reacted.

Someone quickly pulled out a handgun from their waist and aimed it this way.

With a dull thud, a purple shadow burst out of the jeep, charging toward the building.

A guard standing in the way of the purple shadow opened his mouth to shout, but with a bang, his head was struck with such force that it rotated three hundred and sixty degrees, he stood still for a moment, then toppled over onto the ground.

Thud.

The main entrance of the building was half-open, the glass door shattered by the purple shadow, knocking out the axis and flying out, hitting two security guards running out to intercept.

Li Chengyi stood inside the doorway, looking up to see about a dozen black-clad guards, some with guns and some with knives, rushing out chaotically.

He grabbed a blue and white porcelain vase, taller than a man, from the right and hurled it forward.

Thud!

The nearly two-meter vase spun and smashed hard into the center of the group of guards, exploding on impact.

Shards embedded into their flesh, and in an instant, the air was filled with cries of pain.

Without delay, Li Chengyi stepped forward and charged up the stairs.

In his Floral Armor, his speed, strength, physical condition, and defense were all greatly enhanced.

At this moment, after a series of assaults, the surrounding dense malice had just begun to manifest when it was violently crushed by that forceful smash.

The Evil Thoughts dissipated into invisible breaths, absorbed into the Floral Armor.

Before long, following the gunman's confession, Li Chengyi arrived on the ninth floor.

In the spacious lounge.

An old man with completely white hair was holding a slender blonde woman on a sofa, his other hand clutching a freshly drawn silver handgun.

"You?!" The old man's gaze was horrified, fixated on Li Chengyi who had suddenly appeared at this level, clearly not expecting him so soon.

Rapidly, he raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

Bang bang bang bang bang!!

The automatic firearm spat out a dense spray of bullets, hitting Li Chengyi precisely in the chest, head, shoulders, and limbs.

But it was pointless.

Sparks flew as the purple-black shadow flickered.

Boom!!!

The old man was knocked back against the window behind him, along with the handgun.

The window shattered, glass shards scattered all over with a crash.

Struggling weakly, eyes filled with despair, he was knocked out of the window, falling from the height of the ninth floor.

Plop.

A muffled thud was heard.

Li Chengyi stood by the window, looking down to see the old man in a twisted position lying on his back on the lawn, blood oozing slowly from the back of his head like tomato sauce.

He turned and calmly left, disappearing into the stairwell.

The blonde woman beside him only just came back to her senses, her face pale with terror as she let out a scream.

*

*

*

At the construction site.

Song Ran spat on the ground and squatted down to check the body of a little yellow hat.

There were four bodies of little yellow hats on the site, all of which he had dragged over and lined up together.

"Sorry," Song Ran sighed; he knew that these were just ordinary people.

They had come here to do an ordinary job, not expecting to lose their lives in the process.

Standing up, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

"How's the situation?" Xindela's voice, tinged with a trace of fatigue, came from the other end of the line.

"Several are dead, there are a lot of them, and they're locals. We couldn't hold out. One of them is at least a Riga Combat Technique high-level expert; I was tied up for a while," Song Ran answered in a low voice.

Xindela fell silent.

"Compensate with three times the severance... I didn't foresee such strong resistance."

"After all, the company's headquarters aren't here. This is Yi Country, can't beat the locals, no other way," Song Ran said.

"If it wasn't for your equipment not being allowed in..." Xindela didn't finish, sighing deeply. "What about Li Chengyi and Ding Chongyi?"

"Ding Chongyi withdrew in advance, and Li Chengyi... he must be hiding," Song Ran was also unsure.

He had just done a sweep of the construction site without finding anyone, and then went to the tunnel entrance, where he saw that the cover had been opened. Inside there was only a detached automatic rope with no one there.

So he guessed Li Chengyi must be hiding.

"He's a smart person; he wouldn't do anything foolish. He must be hiding," Xindela said.

"If he's dead, we'll have to focus more on the other side," Song Ran said gravely.

The company's influence in Yi Country was too limited, and many Blind Spot Individuals had died from a lack of preparation for various reasons. This frustrating feeling was much harder than the time in White Star.

"Ash Real Estate, right? I will send someone over later, but too many people are watching me now; I can't make a move openly," Xindela said.

"So we just wait for them to move on us?" Song Ran asked.

"No worries, if we can't move, we can find someone who can," Xindela responded.

After hanging up, Song Ran sighed and looked at his feet riddled with bullet holes.

The tops of his feet showed traces of his silvery-white metal composition.

The lower half of his legs had been mechanically augmented, only partially organic. After an injury, the injectors hidden in the metal layers would automatically apply hemostatic gel and antibiotics to prevent the wound from getting infected.

The metal structure would then autonomously bear more of the load, aiding his walking.

That was why he was still able to move freely.

"Brother Song?" Just as he was about to find an intact AR to contact Li Chengyi,

a familiar sound suddenly came from behind.

Song Ran quickly turned around and saw a figure emerging from the woods.

On closer inspection, it turned out to be Li Chengyi.

He was unharmed, pale, with a forehead and temples covered in sweat, looking very tired.

"You're okay?!" Song Ran's heart eased, and he hurriedly approached.

"After hearing Expert Ding's notification, I immediately climbed out and hid. I didn't dare to come out until it was over," Li Chengyi said in a low voice, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Good to hear you're fine, the others are already in transit. Did you find any clues?" Song Ran quickly asked.

"I found some."

"That's good, let's leave immediately, back to Suiyang!" Song Ran decisively proclaimed.