Suzuki Shinto

With a boom, the truck's cargo compartment was blasted apart.

It abruptly twisted and warped before being torn open.

Flames and steel erupted from within like a volcano, shattering the peace of the First Research Institute's underground parking garage.

It was like a signal.

The doors of several trucks behind it opened in unison, and more people stepped out. They varied in appearance, clothing, and build, but all looked strong.

The twenty-one top-tier Fierce Martial Arts fighters split into three groups of seven and dispersed in different directions.

Xia Lin, Luo Qi, and Augustine strode straight to the elevator.

Luo Qi took a keycard from his pocket.

He swiped it, and the elevator opened.

Once inside, Luo Qi pressed the button for floor -55, and the elevator descended rapidly.

Xia Lin raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"Easier than going home."

He muttered, drawing a quiet chuckle from Luo Qi.

"Of the three major consortiums, Huaxin and Aoluosi are evenly matched. Suzuki is the weakest, but they're the most unruly."

"Now they've even crossed a forbidden line and committed a taboo."

"They don't know what kind of power Huaxin and Aoluosi can unleash together... So you're not wrong to say it's easier than going home."

"We've long since infiltrated so many parts of this institute that it's full of holes."

A decapitation strike sounded simple, but it was difficult. The hardest part was actually the preliminary preparation.

The sensation of dropping quickly came over them.

They soon reached floor -55.

As the elevator doors opened, a brightly lit power supply room came into Xia Lin's view.

Luo Qi nodded to Xia Lin.

"Go on."

"Do what you do best."

Xia Lin grinned and raised his fist.

The Suzuki First Research Institute was diamond-shaped.

Half the building was buried deep underground.

There were a hundred floors above ground and a hundred below.

The crucial sections were all underground.

For example, Firmament's production and assembly workshops.

And the power supply room!

Suzuki had started out with combat robot technology and gradually grown into a giant in mechanical manufacturing.

In this Ash Zone, however, the expert in energy development wasn't Suzuki, but Huaxin Technology.

For various reasons, the Suzuki First Research Institute wasn't equipped with Huaxin's most advanced power supply facilities, leaving the entire power supply room unusually sprawling and massive.

That also made it the perfect target for Xia Lin!

He punched!

Then came the missiles!

Xia Lin's fists were like launchers.

As he punched and stirred up a blast of wind, missiles that had grown almost as tall as a person shot forth and exploded with a roar!

As flames erupted, Luo Qi even ducked behind Augustine.

Shrapnel, flames, and shock waves hammered against the iron plates on Augustine's body, making them clatter, but they couldn't hurt him in the slightest.

Xia Lin saw this out of the corner of his eye and gained a rough understanding of a Fierce Martial King's strength.

He was no one to be trifled with.

But that wasn't the point right now.

The point was that, with just a few strikes of the East Wind Divine Fist, Xia Lin had reduced the entire power supply room to a shambles!

The lights went out instantly, only to come back on shortly afterward.

The main power supply room had failed, and the backup power system had kicked in.

The backup system, however, couldn't meet the energy demands of heavy industry.

Suzuki's next move was therefore predictable.

On the hundredth basement floor, in the deepest part of the First Research Institute.

The lights here were dim, not because of insufficient power, but simply because it was Suzuki Shinto's peculiar preference.

He didn't like brightly lit places.

Wherever he was, the lights had to be set to their lowest level.

Deep in the gloom, an aged voice suddenly rang out.

"Huaxin and Aoluosi are here."

Anyone from the Suzuki Consortium would have recognized the voice as Suzuki Shinto's.

He continued.

"But that's no surprise... Since I was preparing to take that step, Huaxin and Aoluosi were bound to come after me."

"I just didn't expect them to have infiltrated the First Research Institute so deeply... The outer defenses did nothing at all."

Suzuki Shinto was an old fox himself.

How could he not have anticipated the consequences of his decision?

But some things left a person caught in a dilemma.

Without developing Firmament, he would be helpless against the threat of destruction, have little say, and never be able to sit at the same table as Huaxin and Aoluosi.

Developing Firmament meant going to war with Huaxin and Aoluosi head-on.

Between the two choices, Suzuki Shinto had chosen the latter.

"In any case, now that I've taken this step, there's no point dwelling on it."

"Once again, I'll have to rely on you... Munen."

As Suzuki Shinto's voice faded, a clear male voice answered.

"It is my mission, sir."

"So, do you need me to stay by your side and protect you, or do you need me to kill every last one of them?"

Suzuki Shinto pondered for a moment. "Go to the power supply room."

"Go there and meet your destiny..."

"...Destiny? Sir, I don't quite understand that word."

"It's all right. You'll understand when the time comes."

A moment later, faint footsteps sounded, and a slender figure swiftly passed through the dim light.

The figure disappeared from floor -100.

More and more clicking sounds spread from underground, continuing without pause.

The shock waves from the explosions surged through floor -55, gradually subsiding.

Before they faded, however, the East Wind Divine Fist had already destroyed everything in sight.

Generators of various models had been twisted into scrap metal, and sparks leaped from cables with sharp crackling pops.

Half the emergency lights embedded in the alloy walls had gone out, while the other half provided a little light.

In the dim glow, Xia Lin slowly lowered his fists and felt the medicine pouch hanging at the back of his waist.

It was completely undamaged.

I wonder what this thing is made of... If only I could make myself an outfit out of the same material...

It had to be said that Xia Lin really did think a little differently from ordinary people.

Even in the current situation, Xia Lin was still in the mood to think about clothes.

Then Luo Qi's voice sounded behind him again.

"He's here."

Just as the words left his mouth, the wall opposite Xia Lin abruptly split open, revealing a hidden elevator door.

The elevator doors opened, and a slender figure slowly stepped out, arriving before Xia Lin and the other two.

"Watanabe Munen."

"Long time no see."

Luo Qi spoke in a low voice, and Xia Lin narrowed his eyes.

The top-tier Savage Martial Arena tournament thirteen years ago had produced an extraordinary man who stood above every fighter of his generation.

His nickname: Divine Machine!

His name: Watanabe Munen!

That had also been the first time Mechanical Martial Arts appeared on the stage of a top-tier Savage Martial Arena tournament, seemingly heralding the evolution of the times.

The combination of technology and martial arts had been extremely eye-catching-roughly as much so as Xia Lin's Explosive Bomb Fist.

People always liked new things.

After becoming a Fierce Martial King, Watanabe Munen had announced his retirement on the spot, never to enter the arena again, just like the first and second generations, and even the fourth and fifth generations who came after him.

His story became a legend.

He was twenty that year.