Third Tier
"Nonsense."
Chen Fan gently ruffled her hair, his voice calm:
"In my past life... back in my hometown, there was a mad dog barking at the doorstep. We just broke its legs. Have you ever seen a family move out of their house to freeze in the fields because of a barking dog?"
Chen Xi was stunned, looking at her brother with teary eyes.
"Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up."
Chen Fan looked directly into her eyes, his tone calm yet carrying immense weight:
"Whether it's the Upper City or Prometheus, if they dare to lay a hand on me, I'll chop their claws off at the roots. Stay put and wipe your tears."
The moment the words left her lips, the fear that was on the verge of collapse in Chen Xi's heart was soothed by an indescribable sense of security.
She sniffed hard, gripped Chen Fan's clothes, and nodded emphatically. "Yes! I won't cry, I'll listen to you, brother!"
The purest form of dependence and trust transformed into an invisible, milky-white rainbow that pierced through the Void and entered Chen Fan's brow.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, the long-dormant Red Dust Dao Seed trembled violently.
A surge of Pure Yang Life Force poured forth from the Dao Seed of the Dao Seed, flowing like a warm spring through Chen Fan's entire body.
The skin wounds that had been pierced by the Black Python's Bone Spikes healed at a visible speed under the influence of this life force, leaving not even a trace of white residue.
Chen Fan turned and walked to the window.
Downstairs, Zhang the Lame, who had lost a leg, was leaning on his crutch, trembling as he directed a dozen or so vagrants from the Black Street who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
These people, who were once like ants at the bottom of society, now looked at the figure on the second floor with eyes full of sincere awe and fervor.
"Zhang the Lame," Chen Fan said.
Zhang the Lame shuddered, threw down his crutch, and knelt on the ground with a thud. "Master Chen! What are your orders!"
"Clear away the corrugated iron sheets outside and block the alleyway. Anyone who dares to approach within a hundred paces of the building will be killed on sight."
"Yes, sir! I will defend to the death!"
Zhang the Lame kowtowed fiercely.
Chen Fan withdrew his gaze, closed the window, and casually dumped all the spoils seized from the Iron Wolf's secret room, as well as the supplies looted from the special operations armored vehicle, onto the wooden table.
Two metal syringes gleaming with a faint golden light— Third-Tier Strength Enhancement Serum (Internal Test Type).
Three high-purity energy cores pried off from the core hub of the Yaksha Mecha.
For ordinary Esper, using this type of internal test drug requires a large amount of saline solution and Genes stabilizers, and seven days of bed rest in a specialized Life-Support Pod to barely absorb 30% of its potency. The slightest mistake could cause their blood vessels to rupture and turn them into mutants.
Chen Fan remained indifferent as he reached out and grabbed a metal vial.
He didn't use a needle; he just applied slight pressure with his thumb.
Click!
He forcefully crushed the outer shell, made of Alloy and special crystal, into two pieces.
Under Chen Xi's astonished gaze, Chen Fan tilted his head back and poured all the scalding golden liquid from the tube into his stomach.
Not only that, with his other hand he simultaneously grabbed the three Mecha energy cores that emitted a faint blue glow, and without even looking at them, he threw them directly into his mouth, chewed them up, and swallowed them.
Savage, brutal, and utterly unrestrained.
Boom!
The extremely powerful radiation energy and Genes mutation factors instantly exploded into a scorching lava storm in Chen Fan's stomach.
If it were an ordinary Second Tier Mortal Body, its internal organs would have been burned to ashes by now, turning into a pool of pus and blood.
However, just as this destructive torrent surged into his meridians, the black and white Tai Chi Millstone deep within Chen Fan Dantian began to spin wildly.
"Guixu."
Chen Fan silently recited two words in his mind.
The Taiji symbol reverses, separating life and death.
The violent impurities and Deathly Stillness True Meaning, enough to cause Third Tier Esper to explode and die, were crushed to Millstone and turned into nothingness the moment they hit the outer edge of the Taiji.
Stripped of all side effects, the purest power of heaven and Origin Source transformed into a golden torrent that surged back into Chen Fan's spine.
Crackling and popping!
Chen Fan's joints emitted a rapid-fire series of popping sounds.
The Third Tier Origin Source energy accumulated from devouring the Black Python, mixed with this vast essence, was like an invisible giant hammer forged from divine iron from the heavens, slamming fiercely into the indestructible invisible chain in the middle of Chen Fan's spine.
The Third Genes Lock!
The third gate to the human body's treasure trove locks the gateway for the Mortal Body to transform into a non-human being.
In the Genes of the Apocalypse, breaking this lock requires years of arduous training and countless brushes with death.
But in Chen Fan's eyes, this was nothing more than a thin layer of paper.
"Open it!"
A wisp of the True Spirit of Middle Martial God suddenly pressed down along with his Qi and Blood.
Click!
A crisp, cracking sound erupted from deep within Chen Fan's limbs and bones.
A visible, violent shockwave exploded from beneath his feet, tearing the hard wooden floorboards apart inch by inch. Chen Fan transformed into a dazzling little sun, with faint grayish-white flames emanating from every pore of his body.
The skin, which was originally rough and sallow, quickly shed its old skin in just a few breaths, revealing a new skin membrane underneath that was as clear and translucent as cold jade.
Her skin was like solidified fat, and her bones like refined steel.
20,000 jin... Thirty Thousand Jin...
Finally, the power flowing within his body steadily surpassed the 40,000-jin mark!
The Third Genes Lock has been shattered!
Officially entering the Third Tier!
Chen Fan exhaled a long, white breath, which shot out three meters like an arrow, piercing a smooth, round hole through the solid wood wardrobe opposite him.
He slowly opened his eyes, and in the depths of his pupils, a gray and white Taiji fish flashed by before disappearing completely into the stillness of an ancient well.
With 40,000 jin of pure physical strength, combined with the Hidden Force of Guixu Taiji, Chen Fan was confident that he could tear a heavy main battle tank to scrap metal with his bare hands, even if it collided head-on.
"Brother... you've become more handsome."
Chen Xi, sitting on the corner of the bed, was somewhat stunned. Although Chen Fan was still wearing those coarse clothes, his entire demeanor seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, exuding a profound and domineering aura.
The Third Base City is located three thousand meters underground.
Under the stark white light of the high-energy fluorescent lamps, the giant shock-absorbing ring slowly rotated, emitting a low, piercing mechanical hum.
In the center of the culture chamber, which was filled with various deformed organs, a high-level biochemical prosthetic body with a streamlined, matte black finish severed the nerve fibers.
The hatch opened, and coolant gushed out onto the floor.
Doctor Chu moved the brand-new bionic cervical spine, and the microspectral sensors in the eye sockets rapidly calibrated. The last images and combat data transmitted back by Divine Child Number Four were transforming into a dense stream of data that was scrolling across the depths of his retina.
He crushed the Gauss Vibration Short Blade with his bare hands, shattered the Titanium Alloy hydraulic bearing from the front, and crushed the high-strength Alloy skull into powder with a single kick.
"Pure kinetic energy exceeds 40,000 jin... without relying on any exoskeleton or hydraulic mechanical structure, purely relying on the explosive power of biological muscle fibers?"