The Chrysanthemum Queen's Sneak Attack
Qinggu City, Zhao Family Manor.
Zhao Yuanyi usually got up promptly at seven, but this morning, he was woken by a call from the Pebble Prison Warden at six.
"Minister Zhao, your son's autopsy report is out. Can you explain when he became a Pupal stage lifeform?" The voice on the other end carried obvious anger, as if saying, I'm cleaning up your mess, Zhao Yuanyi, and you still dared to hide things from me?
Zhao Lingxiao had still been a Mortal Lifeform when he entered prison, yet the autopsy showed that he had already completed his first evolution. There was clearly a serious problem here.
Zhao Yuanyi was stunned for two or three whole minutes. His expression shifted from calm to grim, then from grim back to calm. He took a deep breath and said, "I'll send someone to retrieve the body immediately."
"No need. The disturbance in the prison yesterday was too great and already alerted King Mu. To avoid leaving any clues, I had the body cremated."
Zhao Yuanyi had not expected Pebble Prison to act so quickly. Once he realized that the one who had died in the prison was his son, his first thought had been to extract the skill Divine Grace of Evolution from Zhao Lingxiao's corpse. However, the body had already been reduced to ashes, so extracting Evolution Substance was clearly impossible.
He immediately called Zhang Fantie. He suddenly remembered that the impostor had also mastered Divine Grace of Evolution!
In Zhao Yuanyi's eyes, his son was already dead. Avenging Zhao Lingxiao was secondary; obtaining the godlike skill Divine Grace of Evolution for himself was what truly mattered.
Zhao Yuanyi was only in his forties. Even if Zhao Lingxiao was dead, he could always have another son. As long as he possessed Divine Grace of Evolution, raising another genius would be easy.
However, Zhao Yuanyi also remembered that Su Ze, this clone, probably had not yet completed his first evolution. An unevolved lifeform could not yield Evolution Substance for making an extract, which was why he had instructed Zhang Fantie over the phone to capture him alive!
He wanted Su Ze to complete his first evolution before killing him and making an extract.
Standing beside Zhang Fantie, Su Ze clearly heard the conversation between him and Zhao Yuanyi.
In an instant, Su Ze's expression changed drastically.
It was over!
My dad was dead!
And now I was going to die too!
Su Ze made his decision immediately. He activated Rhino Charge, the second skill he had copied from Zhao Lingxiao. His speed surged, and his entire body became a white afterimage as he shot more than ten meters away in an instant.
Rhino Charge: Launch a short-distance charge forward. During the charge, speed increases drastically, defense rises greatly, and the user becomes difficult to hit.
Rhino Charge came from the Unicorn Rhino, one of the stronger Tier 1 Exotic Beasts. It was its signature skill, useful in every aspect—capable of attacking when advancing and defending when retreating. It was absolutely a top-tier godlike skill among skills of the same rank.
After all, Tier 1 skills had their limits.
Of course, it still could not compare to a bugged skill like Divine Grace of Evolution.
Other than Divine Grace of Evolution, the other two skills Su Ze had copied from Zhao Lingxiao were also top-tier Tier 1 skills. After all, they had been custom-built with Money ability. They could not possibly be poor.
Divine Grace of Evolution, Rhino Charge, and another skill called Ant Strength, the famed skill of the Giant Strength Ant, known as the powerhouse among Tier 1 Exotic Beasts.
Ant Strength: Gain a twofold burst of strength for 1 second. The duration and strength increase depend on the user's physical condition.
Su Ze's skill loadout could be called absolutely luxurious, but when facing a Butterfly Transformation Stage expert like Zhang Fantie, it was useless. An absolute gap in rank could not be erased by a few skills.
Butterfly Transformation Stage experts were rare even across the entire Mu Kingdom. If Zhang Fantie were willing to join the Mu Kingdom military, he could easily become a general.
Su Ze knew his chances of escaping were slim, but he was unwilling to give up without trying. After using Rhino Charge to widen the distance between himself and Zhang Fantie, he headed straight for the taxi by the roadside.
Zhang Fantie was actually still somewhat muddled and had not sorted out the situation. He still held his phone, instinctively hesitating over Zhao Yuanyi's order from the other end.
But when he saw Su Ze running away, he reacted as well. He lunged forward in a single stride, overtook Su Ze, and blocked his path.
Su Ze slammed on the brakes and shouted in a moment of inspiration, "He's beating me! Help!"
Although this was not a busy district, it was still outside the Five-Star Grand Hotel, with quite a few people coming and going. Su Ze's shout drew many gazes, and two hotel security guards hurried toward him.
Zhang Fantie's expression changed slightly. It would not be good if too many people gathered to watch. He grabbed Su Ze, lifted him up, opened the rear door of the taxi behind him, and stuffed Su Ze inside.
Just as Zhang Fantie was about to get into the car himself, three black shadows suddenly shot out from the surrounding crowd like lightning. The fastest was an Old Man with an ashen face—the very same one who had clung outside the hotel window last night.
The moment the three men in black appeared, a foul stench filled the street. Many pedestrians began retching uncontrollably.
When Su Ze saw the three men in black, delight flashed through his eyes. The more chaotic the situation became, the better his chances.
With a grim face, Zhang Fantie told the driver, "Drive!"
But the driver hesitated. He could not make sense of the complicated situation and did not know whether he should start the car.
During that delay, the three men in black had already closed in. The foul-smelling Old Man reached out with both hands like iron hooks and grabbed at Zhang Fantie.
Zhang Fantie raised both fists and collided with the foul-smelling Old Man's hands, producing a metallic clang. The Old Man's hands were like two pincers, clamping tightly around Zhang Fantie's fists and pulling him out of the car.
The other two men in black seized the opportunity and attacked from both sides, targeting Zhang Fantie's kidneys.
Zhang Fantie's skin hardened all over his body, as though covered by a tough shell. Ignoring the attacks of the other two men in black, he focused all his strength on wrestling with the foul-smelling Old Man. Among the three men in black, only the foul-smelling Old Man was a Butterfly Transformation Stage expert on his level. The other two were merely at the Cocoon Breaking Stage and could not pose much of a threat to him.
Zhang Fantie wanted to break free from the foul-smelling Old Man's grip, force the three of them back, then leave in the taxi. Naturally, the three men in black had no intention of letting Zhang Fantie go, and both sides entered a pure contest of strength.
Sitting in the back seat, Su Ze looked at Zhang Fantie's back through the open door, and a bold thought surfaced in his mind.
Ant Strength!
With a thought, Su Ze activated Ant Strength. A surging sense of power arose from every cell in his body, and the muscles across his body seemed to swell by a full size.
His heartbeat quickened, his blood raced, his pupils dilated, and even his breathing grew heavy.
Excitement. Thrill!
What followed was an unparalleled sense of strength, as though he could hold up the sky even if it collapsed.
"Here you go!"
Su Ze shouted, raised his leg, and kicked Zhang Fantie squarely in the ass with twice his normal strength.
Zhang Fantie, who was wrestling with the foul-smelling Old Man, had never expected that kick from behind. Or rather, he had never imagined Su Ze would dare to ambush him like this. Yet that kick was like the final straw that broke the camel's back, shattering the balance of power between Zhang Fantie and the foul-smelling Old Man.
Zhang Fantie staggered several steps forward.
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