He stomped on the gas, and the jeep's speed suddenly shot up, eventually stabilizing at 180 kilometers per hour.
His gaze focused. Before long, something unusual appeared on the wide, desolate road through the ruins ahead.
The main road was blocked by countless bits of debris. To get past, he could only detour through the ruins on the right. The building wreckage there was scattered everywhere, and driving in would inevitably cause the vehicle's speed to drop sharply.
They're delivering themselves to me so I can play guerrilla warfare?
Jiang Xiao slammed on the brakes. Origin Data surged into the goggles' terminal, and the detection range, which had been just over two hundred meters in radius, instantly expanded to more than five hundred meters. The components inside the goggles rapidly heated up.
More than a dozen red dots immediately appeared on the radar map.
As expected, they were hiding among the buildings on both sides, waiting for him to drive the jeep into the alleys.
Without even a trace of hesitation, Jiang Xiao decisively raised his sniper rifle and fired toward one direction. The powerful bullet blasted through the wall, and a figure tumbled out in disarray.
A Tier 1 Peak Martial Artist, with an aura roughly equal to that pair of Viper Clan members.
Jiang Xiao made his judgment.
It was also from the Viper Clan.
"Hmph, we've been waiting for you for a long time. Come fight me one-on-one. Let me see what ability those despicable humans have that lets them defeat Iron Fist!"
A one-on-one fight?
Jiang Xiao glanced at the dozen or so red markers that remained motionless and clicked his tongue.
"Waiting for me for a long time? Damn, that's so lame."
They had chosen to ambush and surround him without using ranged weapons. It seemed the other side had no ranged weapon capable of penetrating a Tier 2 defense. In their eyes, he should be a Tier 2 Martial Artist.
Jiang Xiao pondered inwardly, but his expression remained calm. He tossed the sniper rifle onto the jeep, took up two blades, and slowly approached the Viper Clan member in the alley.
"Hmph, a mere Tier 1 Peak dares to boast so shamelessly? I... what?! The Black Mech Gang?!"
Jiang Xiao had been striding forward confidently when he suddenly looked as if he had seen a ghost. His expression changed dramatically as he stared toward the rear of the buildings. At his words, the heartbeat of both the provoking Viper Clan member and those hiding nearby stuttered!
They instinctively turned their heads toward the rear.
In an instant, Jiang Xiao, who had been walking forward, abruptly changed direction and charged into the chaotic buildings to his front right. Origin Data swiftly wrapped around his entire body.
"Hahaha, the Viper Clan really are underdeveloped in the brains department. You actually believed that crap?"
Jiang Xiao's mocking voice came from the distance. The Viper Clan members hiding in the dark and the one who had drawn attention instantly stiffened. Then boundless fury began to burn!
Boom!!
A certain two-story building collapsed with a crash. A figure seemingly burning with a pale-brown aura leaped out and forced several words through clenched teeth. "Chase him! Dead or alive!"
"Yes!"
Jiang Xiao quickly moved through the buildings, then suddenly stopped. After surveying the surroundings, he nodded in satisfaction and leisurely walked into a narrow alley nearby.
"Cat and mouse... I loved playing that when I was a kid."
Chapter 12: Tier 2! Life Ascension!
"Damn two-legged trash! How dare he toy with us like this?"
"Once we catch him, we'll tear his mouth apart!"
Two Viper Clan Martial Artists vigilantly watched their surroundings, their snake tails leaving clear marks on the ground. Their words were filled with fury.
"With Guda here, a Tier 2 prisoner without much equipment certainly isn't his match."
"Mm. But we still have to be careful. The life Source Energy detection terminals issued by the gang only have a range of three to four hundred meters. Be ready to press the alarm at any time. If that human gets close, even Guda won't have time to save us."
"I understand."
The two Viper Clan Martial Artists cautiously watched the terminal panel. If anything seemed amiss, they would immediately press the alarm to notify their comrades.
A short while later, as the two passed a dim alley, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Have you found that human?"
"No, we..."
One of the Martial Artists answered instinctively. Suddenly, he felt heat on his face. He turned his head reflexively, only to see that half of his companion's brain was gone!
Dark-green brain matter and blood sprayed everywhere.
Through the splatter of blood, a brilliant, toothy grin entered his view.
"Can't find me? No matter. I came to find you."
"You..."
The Viper Clan member was utterly horrified. Then his forehead suddenly went cold, and his consciousness swiftly sank into chaos.
Viper Clan Outlaw (Tier 1 Ordinary) killed. Gained 163 Experience Points.
"More than three hundred Experience Points. I'm still short by over a hundred." Jiang Xiao calculated inwardly, then turned and vanished into the ruined alleyways.
Not long after, a rapid sliding sound rang out. Before its figure appeared, a powerful aura had already enveloped the surroundings.
Guda looked at the two corpses, his gaze pausing briefly on the smooth cuts. In a low voice, he said, "That human has a way to block detection. From now on, split into two groups. Two Tier 1 Peaks will lead six gang members. The moment you encounter him, press the alarm.
I'll act alone."
"U-understood!"
The four Tier 1 Peak Martial Artists answered at once. The other Tier 1 Elite and Ordinary Martial Artists clearly showed nervousness and unease in their eyes.
Guda snorted disdainfully.
As expected, these natives were all useless. They were already this frightened over such a situation. Back when he had been a space pirate, charging into an encirclement against a Tier 4 powerhouse had been nothing special.
Guda left the area decisively without sparing the corpses on the ground another glance.
He wasn't worried that Jiang Xiao would leave the buildings. Without the cover of the structures, the high-altitude surveillance cameras around Sin Capital's television tower could easily detect him. At that point, a private message from the gang would naturally appear.
Watching Guda's departing back, the other Viper Clan Martial Artists could only force themselves to split into two groups and search the buildings cautiously.
Jiang Xiao, who was lying in hiding, sensed his remaining psionic energy. After confirming that Origin Data could still be maintained for some time, he immediately moved in the opposite direction from Guda.
The pressure of a Tier 2 Martial Artist was simply absurd. It was completely beyond comparison with a Tier 1 Martial Artist.
That Source Energy Aura, almost solid in nature, made Jiang Xiao certain that even if he enhanced his sniper rifle and attacked head-on, he might not be able to penetrate the defense. Overclocking, however, might have a chance.
As expected, he still had to kill one more person and advance to Tier 2.
By then, whether he relied on his datafied body to clash head-on with the opponent or forced his way out, neither would be a problem!
But how was he supposed to kill one?
A team of two Tier 1 Peaks and six Tier 1 Martial Artists, armed with large-caliber ranged firepower, could hold out for a short while even against an unequipped Tier 2.
Suddenly, Jiang Xiao had an idea.
He took out the network terminal he carried with him and found the livestream with the highest current popularity—the link broadcasting footage of him being hunted down.
He clicked into it, opened the comments, and began typing.
#I just saw it! A shadow flashed across the tallest building in the cluster!#
He then rapidly spammed the message dozens of times.
Without hesitation, he hurried to the alley near the tallest building and quietly waited.
Before long, Guda and a Viper Clan team arrived one after another and charged straight into the building, which had only half its structure remaining.
Jiang Xiao immediately sneaked to the vicinity of the building's entrance.
Not long after, the other team arrived quickly and entered the building one after another.
Just as the last Viper Clan Martial Artist was about to enter the building, Jiang Xiao gathered all his strength and suddenly rushed out, killing him with a single slash.
He turned and retreated into the buildings in the distance.
Hearing the furious curses behind him, Jiang Xiao could barely contain his excitement as he weaved and maneuvered through the buildings and narrow alleys.
He eventually found a large interconnected underground shopping-mall ruin. Only after finding a corner did he open the panel.
Viper Clan member... killed. Gained 210 Experience Points.
He put it all into Source Energy Intensity!
The surroundings fell silent. Jiang Xiao frowned slightly when he didn't feel anything different. Then, all at once, countless currents of warmth erupted from every part of his body.
They rapidly converged toward his internal organs.
An unbearable heat suddenly exploded from within. His blood vessels bulged as if they had been struck, like magma surging and roiling inside them.
The player has advanced to Tier 2 Martial Artist. Source Energy Intensity confirmed to have reached 50 points. Confirmed. Life Ascension conditions have been met. Life Ascension is about to begin. Please select a Life Ascension direction: Current stage — Ordinary Human · Basic Pan-Human (the basic sentient life form throughout the entire universe) Evolution paths → (Based on genetic potential, there are three routes in total) 1. Sub-Spirit Human (Primary Pan-Human): Psionic talent moderately increased; gains Talent Value related to psionics. 2. Sub-Source Human (Primary Pan-Human): Source Energy talent moderately increased; gains Talent Value related to Source Energy. 3. Primary Starry Human (Primary Pan-Human): Psionic and Source Energy talents slightly increased; gains Talent Value related to psionics and Source Energy; vacuum adaptability increased (vacuum survival capability).
Jiang Xiao endured the discomfort and froze slightly.
He hadn't expected the system to have this function as well.
Origin Data surged, and Jiang Xiao's mind quickly returned to calm. He ignored the interference caused by the discomfort.
The first two offer a substantial increase to one aspect of talent, which is indeed useful. But in the early stages, I rely on the panel, so the difference in talent probably won't matter much. Balance is the most important thing. Besides, I'll have to escape Prison Star in the future. Vacuum adaptability might come in handy...
Judging by the panel, he should have more chances to ascend in the future, so Jiang Xiao stopped thinking about it.
"Primary Starry Human!"
Confirmed · Primary Starry Human
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