A Sure-Kill

Jack's movements were very fast. However, after his drawn-out sentence, a foreboding feeling had already welled up in Lin Ke. Thus, he immediately retreated while taking the opportunity to reload along the way in the meantime.

"Impressive, you're very quick to react. I'm becoming more and more reluctant to kill you now!" A hint of delight flashed across Jack's eyes, and his words gave off a feeling of 'appreciating talent.'

Lin Ke was very quick to react and could read the enemy's movements before they acted. Together with his special ability to control small living organisms, with some guidance, he'd definitely be able to make a name for himself in Sand City in the future.

It was just a pity that… He was going to be a dead man very soon.

Lin Ke swore mentally. As expected, every man named Jack was scum! Despite verbally claiming to be reluctant to kill him, every move of Jack's was becoming more and more vicious!

Another Power Punch blasted toward Lin Ke from afar. Lin Ke could even feel the air around Jack's fist form a whirling vortex that vaguely carried a wave of suction force.

Whistle!

With a whistle from Lin Ke, the flying ants flew toward them again.

Lin Ke had smartened up this time. Instead of ordering the flying Silver Army Ants to group together, he had them spread out into a large net to attack from the back.

Lin Ke's speed didn't match up to the other party's. Hence, the only way he could put some distance between them was to coordinate with the flying ants and attack as a team.

Whiz, whiz, whiz!

He fired his pistol successively, all the shots connecting with Jack. However, Link wasn't able to aim accurately because he was in the middle of retreating, causing all the bullets to land on Jack's bulletproof vest.

However, that wasn't what surprised Lin Ke the most! Jack had not avoided the bullets nor bothered himself with the flying ants behind him. Instead, he was hell-bent on charging toward Lin Ke, intending to restrain the enemy with a single punch!

The ammo in Lin Ke's pistol ran out, and he swiftly brandished an old-fashioned revolver from his gun sling with his other hand.

Bang, bang, bang!

The revolver had a total of six bullets. Just like before, Lin Ke still couldn't raise the gun in time to take good aim. Hence, all the bullets ended up hitting the bulletproof vest.

In an attempt to interrupt the other party's attack, Lin Ke hurled the revolver at Jack with all his might. But even so, Jack still didn't make any other movements, allowing the revolver to smash against him.

Jack merely continued charging forward with his Power Punch, responding to all changes with one constant.

In a split second, Jack had reached him—Lin Ke was ultimately still a notch too slow to escape.

Just as the Spiked Boxing Gloves—which carried sharp tips and were enveloped in great, forceful energy waves—were about to smash into Lin Ke, he turned around in the nick of time. Planting both feet against the ground, he then leaped off the floor.

Lin Ke's whole body hurtled through the air thanks to the strong inertial force that came from running. At the same time, Lin Ke fished out another weapon from underneath his flax clothing—the Bezos T1 tactical machine pistol!

Without a second word, Lin Ke aimed the tactical machine pistol right at the other party's forehead.

All the lights inside the hall had gone out, but with the help of the moonlight, Jack managed to glimpse the tactical machine pistol's pitch-black muzzle nonetheless.

"Ha!" As Jack let out a thunderous roar, his aura suddenly erupted explosively, and his speed increased by a few notches.

At the same time, Lin Ke also pulled the trigger.

The bullets began to spray forth from the tactical machine pistol.

Bam!

With a dull thud, Power Punch's single-minded, unchanging force landed fully on the soles of Lin Ke's shoes.

Lin Ke was subsequently thrown out like a kite with broken strings, and he fell onto the floor.

[You've been hit by Jack's [Power Punch Lv3] and lost 53 Health Points.]

[Your legs have suffered an attack, resulting in a 20% reduction in speed of movement. Effect will last 10 seconds.]

[You've fallen from a high altitude. Your Endurance has resisted the resulting damage.]

The punch had directly cut down Lin Ke's HP by one-third. Had the hit landed on his abdomen or his chest, the Power Punch definitely would've caused even more irregular status effects.

Jack stood where he was, his entire left arm covered in blood and hanging at the side. Through the moonlight, one could see that the flesh on his arm had split open, and there were at least three to four holes from bullet hits.

Blood flowed from his wounds and trickled down the intertwining muscles on his arm to his fingertips before dripping on the floor and producing pattering sounds…

Shooting the tactical machine pistol's entire ammo clip just now had taken away at least 100-odd HP from Jack.

Lin Ke laid on the floor, the corners of his lips curling up into a smile. Receiving a speed reduction status effect in exchange for ruining one of the other party's arms—I've earned a huge profit in this transaction! Moreover, the battle hadn't ended yet!

The flying ant troops at the back spread out into a large silver net and flew toward Jack from the back, covering every inch of space as they did so.

Rustle!

The flying ants successfully flung themselves onto Jack, almost completely covering his back. They then started to devour the clothes on his back at a visible rate. Some of the flying ants that had clung onto his skin also began to tear at his skin…

"Destroy!" Jack let out a great shout as he tried to endure the intense pain all over his body.

Right after his shout resounded, a powerful wave of energy surged out of his body and visibly knocked off all the flying ants on him.

Lin Ke climbed to his feet and got off the floor. As he reloaded, he also took the opportunity to remark, "What impressive judgment! To think you could actually endure the pain and wait for all the flying ants to fly onto you before using Protective Aura to knock them all out in one go. Such boldness of spirit, and such clever means!"

The flying ants fell and scattered all over the floor, every one of them in a weak, sluggish state as though they were drunk. All of them had been knocked dizzy by Protective Aura, so they wouldn't be able to engage in battle for a short while.

Admiration filled Lin Ke from the bottom of his heart. To think the Jack Gang's leader actually had such boldness of spirit. If he had used Protective Aura to knock away some of the flying ants early in the beginning, he would've had no way out after the rest of the flying ants flung themselves at him.

Protective Aura—a Fighter's rudimentary mental cultivation technique.

Practicing battle techniques externally, cultivating mental techniques internally, and combining both external and internal techniques into one—this was a Fighter's approach to cultivation.

At a low skill level, one could discharge aura waves with Protective Aura. At a high skill level, one could form an energy barrier over the surface of their body to resist damage. It was a move that directly discharged one's energy outward. Therefore, using it would take a huge toll on the user. Low-level Fighters could only use it once per day.

This was why Jack's only option was to wait for all the flying ants to land on him before he knocked them out in one go!

With the ability to make the best decision during a time where every second mattered, thereby successfully countering Lin Ke's move—this man was indeed a tough nut to crack!

Previously, Jack had expressed his admiration for Lin Ke several times. As the saying went, 'Every dog has its day.' Now that Lin Ke also had the chance to evaluate the other party, he paid back the condescension and passing of judgment from earlier to Jack in full.

The analysis might sound very wordy, but in truth, only two to three seconds had passed.

Jack closed his eyes and took a breath as he tried to suppress the pain in his body. A brief moment later, his eyes abruptly shot open, and he pounced toward Lin Ke once more.

"Stalling for time? Dream on!" Jack had already seen through Lin Ke's tactics—it was nothing more than just talking to stall for time.

Jack's Power Punch—which had landed on Lin Ke's soles just now—had caused Lin Ke to be unable to stand properly at the moment, let alone move.

Now, Jack would use his next punch to send Lin Ke on his way!

"Damn! He's seen through me!" Lin Ke gritted his teeth, but he didn't counter by firing. Instead, he bent over and dragged his numb left leg along the floor as he ran toward the outside, limping as he did so.

Had it been any other time, perhaps ten seconds wouldn't have been enough for one to do much. However, ten seconds was an extremely long and slow period of time at the moment, enough to reverse the entire battle's outcome.

Another Power Punch blasted toward Lin Ke. This time, Jack aimed for the spot on Lin Ke's back where the heart was.

Should the punch connect, the inner might contained within the punch would allow Jack's fist to punch right through Lin Ke's flesh to reach the heart directly—it was a punch that would definitely kill once it hit the target!

Lin Ke's legs were numb, and he limped as he fled. Even his breathing was becoming increasingly heavy.

Jack's lips involuntarily curled up with a hint of a smile. He then said one last line, "You can already be proud of yourself for driving me this far!"

However, Jack had only just spoken when he suddenly felt his body becoming lighter. His expression dramatically changed at once—the bulletproof vest he was wearing had suddenly come off!

Jack lowered his head to discover that yet another batch of Silver Army Ants had somehow gotten onto his body again at some point in time. It was exactly these same army ants that had bitten his bulletproof vest into bits and pieces.

All the steel plates, ceramic components, and advanced composite materials inside the bulletproof vest fell out of it.

Lin Ke, on the other hand, had already turned around in the midst of his running at this point. He held the fully-loaded tactical machine pistol in one hand as bullets burst forth from it like a heavy downpour.

The bullets landed on Jack.

Without the bulletproof materials inside, the bulletproof vest was nothing but just an undershirt at best.

The bullets passed through the bulletproof vest effortlessly, embedding themselves in Jack's flesh audibly. Upon entering Jack's body, the strong kinetic force that these bullets carried began to explode.

The bullets continuously pierced into his body, grinding his intestines into pulpy bits. It was as if a juicer's propeller blades had been installed inside his body.

Clack, clack!

Link Ke's tactical machine pistol produced jamming sounds once he finished firing all the bullets.

However, unlike what Lin Ke had imagined, Jack didn't stop in his tracks. On the contrary, he transformed into a primal beast and delivered a Power Punch toward Lin Ke with a deafening roar.

Is that guy a mutant?! Lin Ke hastily crossed his arms in front of him in a panic, trying to block the attack.

The force of the punch was as though a racing ox or a train had rammed into Lin Ke. It directly blasted Lin Ke out, sending him crashing into a small hill-like mound of sand and earth.

[You've been hit by Jack's [Power Punch Lv3] and lost 58 Health Points.]

[Your left arm has suffered an attack and entered a Numb state. Effect will last 15 seconds.]

Lin Ke laid on the sand mound, panting heavily. His entire left arm felt as though it had been struck by lightning and millions of insects were biting at it; he couldn't move it at all.

Jack held his abdomen with his left arm—which had been pierced by bullets—while he smacked the remaining army ants off his body with his right. He then stumbled toward Lin Ke..

Blood and bits of flesh flowed through Jack's fingers with every step he took. The skin and flesh on his left forearm had split apart and curled outward. Under the frosty moonlight, the redness of his blood and flesh appeared savage and horrifying.

Jack's eyes bore into Lin Ke—he wanted to burn Lin Ke's face into his memory. He had never ever thought there would come a day where a 'teenager' would force him into such a pathetic state…

"How did you get those army ants?" Jack still asked the final question in his mind before he killed Lin Ke.

He had clearly waited for all the army ants to climb onto his body before he knocked them away with Protective Aura, so why were there still army ants on him? Not to mention that they had even bitten through and damaged his bulletproof vest without anyone realizing…

Lin Ke—who was lying on the sand-dirt mound—cast a glance at the high-rise building in the distance. He then replied, "Hurhur, the first wave of flying ants was just a feint meant to trick you into using Protective Aura. The ones that really attacked were the worker ants and soldier ants—which had secretly climbed onto you from your feet after you knocked the flying ants away."

"So the reason why you fled the whole way without firing was that you were waiting for the bulletproof vest to fall off?"

Lin Ke nodded in response to Jack's question and replied, "Evidently, I've succeeded."

Jack raised his right fist and gathered the last wave of energy in him. He then said, "However, that's all there is to it. You may have won the battle, but I won the war!"

Jack took step after step toward Lin Ke.

There were only two to three meters between the two of them. Additionally, Lin Ke could also sense that the other party had poured all his energy into his fist—this was Jack's final punch!

Lin Ke had a very calm and peaceful expression on his face. As the other party closed in on him, the corners of Lin Ke's lips even curled up into an indescribable smile slowly.

"Sand Condor, now!"

During the two's conversation just now, Sand Condor had already received Lin Ke's command and was currently swooping down from the top of the building silently.

Jack swung his head behind him, only to see a large condor near the top of his head.

Right on the heels of it, a narrow-range sandstorm swept through the Jack Gang base's open-air lounge beside the river and enveloped Jack within it.

With the combination of the night's darkness and the sandstorm, Jack's visibility of his surroundings dropped nearly to zero right away.

Bracing himself against the violent winds, Jack gritted his teeth and continued to advance, only to find that Lin Ke was no longer in sight.

Fifteen seconds later, the sandstorm abated, and Sand Condor fled into the sky.

The whole base was as quiet as a graveyard.

The sand mound was still the same as ever, but Lin Ke—who had been lying on top of it—had already vanished.

A layer of fine sand covered the ground, yet there were no footprints whatsoever. It was as if the man had vanished into thin air.

"Damn! I let him get away!" Jack cursed as he loosened his fist. The breath of air he had been keeping in also escaped, and his entire self suddenly turned weak and powerless from exhaustion.

Flop!

Out of strength, Jack dropped onto one knee on the floor, propping his intact right arm against the floor to support himself. The pain from his left arm and abdomen assailed his senses, and perspiration drenched his forehead.

Right at this moment, the sand mound on the floor suddenly moved.

A gun barrel poked out of the sand mound, and two pitch-black muzzles took aim at Jack's head.

"I'm the one that has won in the end!"

Bang, bang!

Lin Ke fired the shotgun twice in rapid succession, blowing Jack's head apart instantly. The bullets' powerful inertial force sent Jack's body flying. Before it landed on the ground, it rolled and overturned quite a few rounds. Then, it finally came to a stop.

Jack's whole body looked as if it had been directly ripped apart by some kind of great force from the neck down. Blood was also spurting everywhere.

Neither could it hold the internal organs in the stomach any longer; they spilled all over the floor just like oden1, messy and forming a sight unbearable to behold.