The So-Called Fate

Without a doubt, Xia Lin, who had injected the Angel of Death and gained the Complete Form Lifeform buff, had become a natural disaster in human form.

His East Wind Divine Fist was unquestionably a devastating attack.

Given enough time, he was fully capable of tearing down the entire First Research Institute. With even more time, destroying all of Fierce Martial City would no longer be out of reach.

The tremors from the violent bombardment traveled all the way down to basement level 100.

Yet no one on level 100 had any attention to spare for the fighting elsewhere.

Because the battle here was even fiercer!

In the dim corridor, Luo Qi, the Lion King, stood motionless in the middle of the passage.

A closer look would reveal that Luo Qi was no longer breathing, and his life force had vanished.

He was dead.

His fatal wounds were two scorch marks on his chest and over his heart.

And not far from Luo Qi,

Ye Chen, the elderly Martial Ancestor, was half-leaning against the steel wall, half his body shattered. His eyes were wide, and he gasped desperately like a fish out of water, unable to draw in any oxygen.

Just two seconds later, Ye Chen stopped twitching. His head tilted, and he breathed his last.

Farther ahead,

A continuous din rang out.

The roars of Augustine, the fifth-generation Fierce Martial King, the labored breathing of Yi Tian, the second-generation Fierce Martial King, Aoluosi's wild, unrestrained laughter, and Huaxin's icy killing intent surged back and forth.

"Die!!"

The sword Qingjue streaked through the air like a bolt of silk, piercing straight into the space between Suzuki Shinto's eyebrows.

The seventy-two-year-old man, with his aged face and eyes gleaming with wisdom, let out a desperate roar, but could no longer turn the situation around.

A class holder's strength was not, in fact, strictly tied to their class.

As the saying went, it was not the class that was strong, but the person.

Suzuki Shinto was a genius, but ultimately not one who surpassed his era.

As a native class holder, his skill combinations were merely conventional. Even with the home-field advantage, he still could not fight six enemies at once and turn the tables against Huaxin and Aoluosi's assault!

Sword qi erupted between his eyebrows, rapidly destroying Suzuki Shinto's brain.

Yet in the final moments of his life, Suzuki Shinto felt a trace of amusement and pride.

You want to kill me? It won't be that easy!

Under the class holder system, different classes had different areas of focus.

Huaxin's Sword Hero class, for example, focused on killing power, while the breathing techniques of martial-path classes were highly effective at extending life.

Aoluosi's Viral Biologist class, on the other hand, leaned toward research and support, and likewise had ways to extend life with drugs.

Mechanics had fewer methods of extending their lives than those two, and Suzuki Shinto had no ability to keep his body from aging.

But Suzuki Shinto had one ultimate trump card-Consciousness Upload!

It sounded impressive, but to put it plainly, the method transferred one's consciousness into a mechanical creation, granting a permanent lifespan at the cost of abandoning everything one had once possessed.

To be honest, the method had its advantages and disadvantages.

Without a body, one lost the pleasures of being human.

Turning into a cold machine could indeed keep one's consciousness alive, but class, power, status, rights, and everything else had to be abandoned.

Yet in one respect, Suzuki Shinto was indeed a genius.

He had found an inventive way to use the Consciousness Upload skill.

One second before his brain collapsed, mechanical power surged through Suzuki Shinto's body.

Through his connection to Watanabe Munen, his primary consciousness rapidly flowed into Watanabe Munen's central processor, wiping out Watanabe Munen's self-awareness in the process!

This was how Suzuki Shinto used the skill!

Watanabe Munen was Suzuki Shinto's backup body!

And this was the fate Suzuki Shinto had spoken of to Watanabe Munen earlier!

Sending Watanabe Munen away in advance had been a precaution to save his own life.

He had sent Watanabe Munen to the power room to deal with Xia Lin.

He himself would face the enemy on basement level 100.

Winning would be best. If he could not win, he would upload his consciousness, take over Watanabe Munen's body, and flee.

The strategy had its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage was that it gave Suzuki Shinto a way out.

The disadvantage was that it weakened the fighting strength of Suzuki Shinto's side!

Given Suzuki Shinto's personality, he had always been inclined to choose this approach—he did not have the courage to fight with his back to the wall.

Xia Lin's appearance had only strengthened Suzuki Shinto's decision.

Martial Artists Do Not Die from Gunfire countered mechanics and mechanical martial artists.

But the problem was that Xia Lin had high defense and low offense, and the power of his East Wind Divine Fist was only so-so.

If Watanabe Munen fought Xia Lin, there was no chance he would lose.

In fact, Suzuki Shinto judged that Watanabe Munen should be about to kill Xia Lin.

If he chose to upload his consciousness at this point...

Xia Lin would die just as the Life-and-Death Arena disappeared, and he could flee immediately, preserving himself for future changes in the situation...

And even if Aoluosi and Huaxin pursued Watanabe Munen, they would not give it their all.

After all, Suzuki Shinto was the core of Suzuki.

And Huaxin had already killed him with a single sword strike.

There was nothing wrong with the idea.

But the instant Suzuki Shinto fully took over Watanabe Munen's body and opened his eyes, he realized that something had gone wrong with the one carrying it out, Watanabe Munen.

Before him, Xia Lin grinned fiercely as he pressed an East Wind Missile hard against his face, then detonated it with a thunderous blast!

The already dim lights went out one by one.

Suzuki Shinto's eyes widened in bewilderment as his mechanic class skills began taking control of Watanabe Munen's body.

But the warning that rang in his ears sent Suzuki Shinto's heart plummeting.

[Energy depleted!]

For this plan, Suzuki Shinto had modified Watanabe Munen in advance without his knowledge.

Divine Machine's power system was connected to the backup generator room.

As long as the backup generator room had reserve energy remaining, Watanabe Munen's body would not be damaged.

The energy supply was not infinite, but it was immense.

This was a mechanic's home-field advantage!

Yet Suzuki Shinto had never imagined that even such an immense energy supply would be exhausted by one East Wind Divine Fist after another from Xia Lin!

"Boom!"

The energy ran out, and the defense system failed.

This time, before Xia Lin's eyes, Divine Machine Watanabe Munen's entire body exploded, blasted into a rain of parts by the East Wind Divine Fist!

"Hahahaha!!"

Xia Lin's wild laughter rang through the warped and deformed basement level 55!

He had won!

He had won again!

He had kept on winning!

Although he had the help of an external aid like the Angel of Death, and overpowered skills like Martial Artists Do Not Die from Gunfire and East Wind Divine Fist, his opponent had also been the renowned third-generation Fierce Martial King.

This victory had given Xia Lin's confidence an enormous boost.

And greater still were the tangible gains!

[Side quest, Backlash of Ambition, completed!]

[You claimed the potion rewards in advance. You have received 2,000 Ash Zone Points!]

The quest had not been easy.

But the rewards were generous.

The potions needed no further mention; every one was rare and precious, and 2,000 Ash Zone Points was also a huge sum.

But the next notification interrupted Xia Lin's wild laughter and left him somewhat confused.