Iron Curtain and Might Supremacy!

Below the North Wind Consortium headquarters building.

Two figures moved as swiftly as flashes of light, leaving afterimages in their wake.

The entire fight looked like a special-effects movie. Even if it had taken place in an arena, ordinary spectators wouldn't have been able to follow the pair's movements or appreciate the details of the battle.

A violent collision sent a rippling wave of air bursting out between them.

An iron-colored figure was sent flying backward, smashing into the distance and shattering a statue in the plaza in front of the North Wind Consortium headquarters.

The dust slowly settled.

Inside a three-meter-deep crater, the scarlet electronic eyes of the combat robot known as Steel Gale rapidly went dark. Its body was so badly damaged that it had been forced to shut down.

The other figure revealed his true appearance.

It was the Lion King, Luo Qi.

His clothes were intact, without so much as a speck of dust on them, and there wasn't a bead of sweat on his forehead.

Dealing with an SSS-rank combat robot was as easy for him as eating and drinking.

Just then, applause rang out.

A young man who looked much like Suzuki Wan began clapping a short distance away.

"Your divine might hasn't diminished in the slightest, Lion King."

He was Suzuki Hui, the eldest young master of the Suzuki Consortium.

Unlike his twin sister Suzuki Wan, Suzuki Hui had inherited not only the Suzuki family's good looks, but also its intelligence and boldness.

By now, Suzuki Hui was already second-in-command of the Suzuki Consortium, ranking only below the head of the Suzuki family, Suzuki Shinto.

When the Lion King turned his gaze toward him, Suzuki Hui's smile remained unchanged. He merely stopped clapping and said,

"That Explosive Bomb Fist in there didn't just wipe out the North Wind Consortium. He also killed my sister."

"As soon as I heard the news, I brought Steel Gale here to avenge her."

He spread his hands and asked in puzzlement, "So what exactly is Aoluosi trying to do now?"

Luo Qi spoke in a low voice. "Nothing much. I just wanted to test Steel Gale's abilities."

"The result was disappointing..."

He shook his head, then added, "As for that little thief who broke the rules, I already took care of him."

After Luo Qi said that, several burly men in white coats emerged from the building.

They carried a naked Xia Lin over to Luo Qi and threw him unconscious onto the ground.

"There. Take him back with you."

"No need to thank me."

With that, Luo Qi turned and left without waiting for Suzuki Hui's reaction.

Meanwhile, inside the North Wind Consortium headquarters building.

The real Xia Lin stood in front of a one-way window, watching everything that had just happened.

He raised an eyebrow.

"A clone?"

Aoluosi's voice came from the phone.

"That's right."

"I made him using your hair. What do you think? Pretty convincing, isn't he?"

Xia Lin nodded. "He's practically identical."

Aoluosi Pharmaceuticals could be trusted when it came to biotechnology.

That had to include some technologies that went against ethics and common decency.

"In any case, this matter has come to an end for now. From today onward, Explosive Bomb Fist is dead."

"Wait there a while. Luo Qi will come pick you up and take you to Aoluosi headquarters, where you'll wait for the day the mission begins."

Xia Lin nodded lightly.

Then he began reviewing the earlier system notifications.

First came the notification from when he had destroyed the North Wind Consortium.

[You have destroyed the North Wind Consortium, activating a clearance mission.]

[Clearance mission: Iron Curtain.]

[Fierce Martial City, dominated by consortiums, appears prosperous, but is actually filled with all manner of injustices and unreasonable rules.]

[Those in power act as they please, deciding the lives, deaths, and even destinies of ordinary people. Yet few resist, and those who do meet miserable ends.]

[Technological development has nothing to do with ordinary people. The upper limit of this world has been artificially sealed off by the consortiums and those in power.]

[For ten years, twenty years, and even the foreseeable future, this city and this world will maintain the same rules and perpetuate the same order. It will not get better, only worse!]

[Under the Iron Curtain, there is no future.]

[Because you successfully destroyed any one consortium, this clearance mission has been activated.]

[Iron Curtain: Destroy more than half of the consortiums, including the three major consortiums, while ensuring that more than half of this world's population survives.]

[Mission reward: Clearance! Clearance rewards will be issued in the Settlement Space.]

[Penalty for mission failure: None.]

Clearance missions were all like this.

They were extremely difficult, making them a kind of hidden Easter egg.

Success brought enormous rewards, but failure carried no penalty.

The Ash Zone System evidently wanted Ash Zone Walkers to take on difficult challenges, or at least give them a try, but it didn't force them to do so.

That was why there was no option to accept or decline a clearance mission.

Xia Lin briefly scanned the mission description, then turned his attention to the second notification.

This notification had only been activated after Aoluosi finished explaining the conflicting relationships between the three major consortiums.

[You have understood the logic behind Fierce Martial City's operation, activating a clearance mission.]

Another clearance mission!

The same Ash Zone had different clearance missions!

[Clearance mission: Might Supremacy.]

[Fierce Martial City is divided among three powers.]

[However, as everyone knows, no one is willing to share power with others. No one!]

[Each of the three major consortiums harbors ambitions of its own, but their mutually assured destruction has allowed them to maintain a rare peace.]

[But this is unlikely to last.]

[Once someone chooses to overturn the table, the entire world will teeter on the brink of mutually assured destruction!]

[There is, in fact, another solution to this...]

[Turn three into one.]

[Might Supremacy: Join any one of the three major consortiums and destroy the other two without triggering mutually assured destruction!]

[Mission reward: Clearance! Clearance rewards will be issued in the Settlement Space.]

[Note: It has been detected that you have activated two clearance missions. Iron Curtain has been assessed as more difficult than Might Supremacy, so the reward for Might Supremacy will be slightly lower than that for Iron Curtain.]

[Note: You cannot complete both clearance missions.]

[Penalty for mission failure: None.]

Xia Lin hadn't yet decided which of the two missions to pursue.

Nor did he need to decide.

It would depend on the circumstances and the timing.

Completing one would be ideal, but there was no penalty for failure, so it didn't matter.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Lin looked at the third notification.

This notification had been activated after Aoluosi extended his invitation.

And Xia Lin's "I accept" had already made his choice clear.

[Side mission activated.]

[Side mission: Backlash of Ambition.]

[The Suzuki Consortium has crossed a line and brought backlash upon itself. You have accepted Aoluosi Pharmaceuticals' invitation and become part of the effort to destroy the Suzuki Consortium.]

[Mission objective: Destroy the Suzuki Consortium.]

[Mission success reward: 2,000 Ash Zone Points. Rapid Healing Potion ×10 (B-rank item), Angel of Death Potion ×3 (A-rank item), Divine Might Potion (S-rank item), Ascension Potion (SS-rank item).]

[Note: You may seek out Aoluosi to claim the potion mission rewards in advance.]

[Penalty for mission failure: All attributes halved.]

Below this notification were detailed descriptions of the mission rewards.

Looking at the attributes and effects of the various potions, Xia Lin couldn't help narrowing his eyes.

This Ash Zone had some interesting things.