The Resting Mausoleum lay deathly still.
Under the silent watch of rows upon rows of tombstones.
A formally dressed young man faced off against a group of burly men in suits carrying Briefcases.
Before those hulking men, Deputy Han's slender figure and seductive face showed a trace of realization.
"A funeral... I see."
"You came... to avenge Old Liu?"
Glancing at the grave Bai Zhou had crawled out of, Deputy Han narrowed his peach-blossom eyes, instantly piecing together most of the truth.
"You saw what happened just now?"
"How much do you know?"
"Perhaps more than you think," Bai Zhou said.
"But if you give me that Account Book..."
Bai Zhou pointed at the black notebook in Deputy Han's hand.
"Then I'll know even more."
"That joke isn't funny."
Deputy Han's expression cooled as he tucked the Account Book into his coat with one hand.
With his other hand raised, a subordinate immediately stepped forward and placed a silver-white metal case in his hand.
The moment the case reached his hand, Deputy Han seemed to relax completely.
Looking Bai Zhou over, his gaze held a trace of regret, as though he were inspecting the quality of an object.
"Do you know?"
He said flatly, "Only blind eyes do not shed tears, and only mute mouths do not quarrel."
"Only muddled hearts... do not suddenly stop beating."
"Knowing too much may not be a good thing."
"Unfortunately, I had intended to nurture you properly, but now..."
"Stop!"
Bai Zhou raised a hand, cutting Deputy Han off.
"You talk too much nonsense."
He had originally planned to probe the other man for some information.
Instead, the man had rambled for ages without saying anything but muddled nonsense.
Time was tight. Bai Zhou had no time to keep wasting words on Deputy Han.
He glanced at Deputy Han, whose face had darkened after being interrupted.
Then he looked at the Muscular Men behind him and slowly raised the thermos in his hand.
It was 12:10 a.m.
"The auspicious hour has arrived—"
Dressed impeccably, Bai Zhou imitated the officiant from Evening City's "wedding banquet" as he announced it, then hurled the thermos to the ground.
"Let the funeral begin!"
The moment his words fell.
The thermos traced a parabolic arc through the air and flew toward Deputy Han and the others.
"?"
The Men in Suits behind Deputy Han all sprouted question marks over their heads.
What was this supposed to do?
—Was he smashing a cup as a signal?
Yet no eight hundred axemen sprang from the graves to swarm Deputy Han and chop him into mincemeat.
There was only an explosion.
Boom—
Flames shot into the sky as a surging fireball burst apart.
Specially formulated chemicals.
Combined with the miniature Ritual carved into the cup's inner wall—
They formed a bomb with considerable power.
The result of Bai Zhou's long special training rang out in the base for the first time.
"Cough, cough..."
"Bai Zhou!"
Curses and shouts rang out.
The burly men in suits staggered in every direction. The two closest to the blast died on the spot.
The others, their faces blackened by the explosion, glared furiously at Bai Zhou.
"This is what you were relying on? Some petty trick for making explosives?"
Protected by the crowd behind him, Deputy Han stared coldly at Bai Zhou.
"If this is all you have..."
Before he finished speaking.
The explosion of the thermos became the signal for something else, triggering the chain reaction that followed.
Bang, bang-bang-bang—
Before tombstones that seemed to have been silent forever, concrete slabs suddenly burst upward.
A flurry of sharp projectiles shot out like snowflakes.
No one had expected something like that to fly out from the direction of the tombstones.
So no one was prepared.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Only upon closer inspection did they realize those were not arrowheads at all.
—They were sharp fragments of Bench Legs.
Rust and dark stains of sewage, carefully smeared over them, still clung to the pieces.
But by the time people saw what they were, the iron fragments had already sliced through their throats and killed them.
No matter how long one trained their muscles, no matter what kind of tactical training they received...
Life itself was an exceptionally fragile thing.
Never let down your guard, never underestimate your enemy... even if that enemy was merely a newly adult young man standing alone.
This was one of Bai Zhou's preparations.
Perhaps, just perhaps, it was also the response of those long-silent heroic souls to Deputy Han's earlier prayer...
The rain of projectiles passed.
Corpses carpeted the ground.
In the blink of an eye, only Deputy Han remained standing alone.
Only this... Mechanical Monster.
Bzz—
The soft hum of machinery operating sounded especially piercing in the cemetery.
The Mechanical Briefcase had long since disassembled, countless precise mechanical parts covering the entire left half of his body.
Hardened armor plates protected his left chest, left shoulder, and left arm, while a mechanical exoskeleton covered his left leg.
Faint blue energy flowed through the gaps in the armor like blood, occasionally letting out restless hums.
A Mechanical Half-Body of peerless technological beauty and violent aesthetics—
Presented itself before Bai Zhou.
"Bai Zhou... you've exceeded my expectations somewhat."
A scarlet-glowing Mechanical Prosthetic Eye and an ordinary flesh-and-blood eye sat on either side of his face as a graceful smile surfaced on his sickly features.
An overwhelming pressure bore down on Bai Zhou as the Mechanical Monster moved his massive mechanical left arm.
The heavy symphony of turning metal joints and hissing hydraulics carried a strange rhythm, as though Deputy Han were tuning an instrument.
When he spoke, the electronic effect made his voice especially cold.
"But no matter how many tricks you have, the gulf between ordinary people and extraordinary beings—"
"Is beyond anything you can imagine!"
Before his words were finished, the wind howled.
The Mechanical Monster attacked.
He was on an entirely different level from Section Chief Liu's mechanical arm. Even the "Doctor" from Hengtan Elementary School was nothing like him.
It was hard to imagine how much kinetic force the Mechanical Half-Body provided him...
Flames blasted from behind him, and in the blink of an eye, he erupted before Bai Zhou, kicking up dust that filled the sky.
The giant mechanical fist descended from above. Its howling force carried unimaginable weight, falling like an iron hammer, like Mount Tai pressing down, intent on smashing Bai Zhou into pulp.
—He was strong!
Now Bai Zhou understood what Ya meant by Deputy Han being "rich" and "strong."
As the direct person in charge of the "transaction," one could imagine how much money Deputy Han had spent to forge the Mechanical Briefcase to this extent.
There was no need to compare it with the pitiful mechanical arm Section Chief Liu was so proud of.
Even the Doctor, another Level Two extraordinary being, in front of Deputy Han with the Mechanical Briefcase activated...
The so-called Three Year Cicada could only be a cicada, destined to be slapped to death in one blow.
This was a pure numerical crushing advantage. That was the significance of the Mechanical Briefcase.
At the critical moment—
Bai Zhou leaned back to evade, his body folding smoothly backward.
With his head below and feet above, his inverted posture caught everyone by surprise. Then he kicked upward, striking Deputy Han squarely beneath the chin.
Bang!
A dull thud rang out, as though he had kicked raw iron. Bai Zhou rolled away, barely dodging Deputy Han's relentless iron fists.
—Well, those were iron fists in the truest sense.
"Are you scratching an itch?"
Deputy Han smiled, but his eyes were dark and sinister.
"You really should have endured a little longer... until you became an extraordinary being."
"Otherwise, how long will I have to wait before I find another you?"
"You've disappointed my great expectations. Even the Major will be disappointed because of this. Tell me... shouldn't you die?"
"Speak!"
He shouted harshly.
His eerie, shrill voice mixed with the electronic effects and was instead neutralized into an ordinary male voice.
—Perhaps this was his complete form.
Too lazy to respond, Bai Zhou straightened up, let out a soft breath, and slowly drew from behind his back...
A pitch-black Fire Poker.
"What is that?"
Deputy Han could not help freezing for a moment.
But in that instant of distraction, Bai Zhou had already closed in. He raised the rod and smashed it down—
BANG!!!
With a thunderous impact, the Short Club brutally struck Deputy Han's barely raised mechanical arm.
A tremendous force surged through the iron rod, hammering a visible dent into the mechanical arm.
—That was his answer.
"An extraordinary being!"
Deputy Han's pupils constricted as he finally realized the problem.
"You became an extraordinary being... so quickly?"
Bai Zhou said nothing. He simply raised the Short Club again.
Spirituality surged as he wielded it like a blade, slashing down—
Bang!
Bang!
BANG!!!
Sparks flew wildly as the shockwaves transferred into both their bodies.
More and more dents appeared in the mechanical arm, while Bai Zhou's palm split open from the impacts.
Crimson blood stained the Short Club red, making it faintly glow.
"What a wonderful melody!"
Deputy Han's voice grew increasingly delighted.
After the brief shock, immense joy rose in his heart.
An extraordinary being! He had become an extraordinary being so quickly, so easily?
Sure enough, Bai Zhou was a true Genius!
This was... wonderful!
It had not been too early after all. The fruit had merely ripened ahead of schedule.
Harvesting it now was perfect!
"Let me hear the final movement you play with your life."
His electronically distorted voice carried terrifying pressure and sickening fervor.
"—Make it louder!"
Metal collided with the Short Club, the thunderous crashes unending.
They roared as they fought.
It had to be admitted that, just as Ya had predicted, Deputy Han was terrifyingly strong.
Even with Bai Zhou giving it everything he had, he remained at an absolute disadvantage.
That mechanical left arm was absurdly nimble. It even counterattacked on its own, guarding Deputy Han from head to toe without a single gap.
The power it carried was even more outrageous. As long as one solid punch landed on Bai Zhou, it could decide the battle outright.
Anyone standing here could see that Bai Zhou's defeat was likely only a matter of time.
—This had been an unfair fight from the start.
On one side stood Deputy Han, who had piled up money and crushed others with equipment, allowing him to run rampant among Level 2 Extraordinary.
On the other stood Bai Zhou, who had only become a Level 1 Extraordinary a few days ago.
This kind of oppression, this kind of unfairness, was much like Bai Zhou's experiences all along.
The intense tension he had felt upon first arriving at the base from Evening City, or the immense helplessness he had felt upon learning the truth about "eating people."
It seemed that ever since arriving here—or perhaps even earlier—Bai Zhou had always been cast as the weak, the lowly.
The world would not prepare an evenly matched opponent for you.
If you wanted to fight against the world, you had to be ready to challenge the Demon King the moment you stepped out of Novice Village.
Even so—
The world would never lack Brave Ones who set out on the road of adventure.
No matter how rotten the world overhead was, no matter how suffocating it became, there would never be a shortage of rebels willing to speak for others.
And the moment you decided to speak up, you had to remember to bring a loudspeaker—just as you had to bring your sword before deciding to enter the Jianghu.
Since he had resolved to leave Novice Village, then even if a dragon truly guarded the Village Entrance...
—He could only slay gods that blocked him and kill Buddhas that stood in his way.
Just like now.
For Section Chief Liu, for every victim in the Resting Mausoleum behind him...
And for himself.
Like a mad dog, Bai Zhou let the wounds on his body multiply, yet his momentum only grew fiercer as he tangled with Deputy Han in a desperate fight.
"Super Agility" micro-Ritual, activated.
"Overload Power Burst" micro-Ritual, activated.
"Adrenaline Boost" micro-Ritual, activated.
"..."
Activate! Activate! Activate them all!
Half his spirituality erupted at once, operating in an overloaded state!
"Boom, boom, boom..."
The longer they fought, the more Deputy Han felt that something was wrong.
It was difficult to describe Deputy Han's shock at that moment.
Because this had completely exceeded his understanding.
...Did this brat really drink the Magic Potion I gave him?
Could this be someone who had only just become Extraordinary?
—Impossible!
Bai Zhou had to be a Level 2 Extraordinary, perhaps even a weaker Level 3 Extraordinary!
The custom contraband Deputy Han had painstakingly built for himself—the Mechanical Half-Body—was already powerful enough to let him challenge some weaker Level 3 Extraordinary.
How could he possibly need to exert this much effort against a brat who had only just become Extraordinary?
And why did this brat seem to be getting stronger the more they fought?
Had he been pumped full of stimulants or something? Did he not get tired at all?
Deputy Han had a Mechanical Half-Body himself. Could it be that Bai Zhou had one too, hidden beneath his skin?
—And that Short Club!
—Especially that Short Club!
What exactly was that pitch-black Short Club?
It was heavy and hard, leaving his mechanical armor covered in dents and nearly making him cough up blood from the force, yet not a single mark had been left on the club itself?
Could it be...
An Extraordinary weapon?
"I understand now... You're a Blood Worship Cult spy!"
"A Blood Worship Cult officer going to such lengths to disguise himself as a child and infiltrate this place—you must be plotting something big!"
Deputy Han suddenly understood.
He understood everything now!
"Was it the Dead Sea Scrolls, or was Major Chong behind this?"
"Or perhaps... you want a share too? You want to meddle in our supply chain?"
There was absolutely a dangerous Blood Worship Cult officer behind this "Bai Zhou."
—What the Blood Worship Cult excelled at most was "disguise"!
Suddenly, Deputy Han shuddered.
He looked at Bai Zhou with danger in his eyes, but the urge to retreat had already risen in his heart.
"You couldn't wait to reveal yourself now... Are you planning to kill me, then disguise yourself as me?"
"—Do you have others lying in ambush here?"
Deputy Han suddenly panicked.
His calm and composed demeanor vanished without a trace.
He tried to negotiate with Bai Zhou.
"...Perhaps we can still discuss this. There's no need for it to come to this, don't you think?"
Bai Zhou could not understand what Deputy Han was babbling about.
But he remembered every word Deputy Han said.
And Deputy Han losing his composure was always a good thing.
—His movements had slowed!
"I'm nobody else."
His gaze locked firmly onto his opponent, Bai Zhou slipped aside with a sliding step.
"I am Bai Zhou. I came from Evening City to avenge Brother Liu."
He raised his head and looked at Deputy Han with calm eyes as he spoke.
"How could that be...?!" Deputy Han's eyes widened, his crimson mechanical left eye flashing incessantly.
Bai Zhou shook his head.
"Your long-winded nonsense has exhausted every last bit of my patience. As a speech, it was outrageously awful. As a last will, it wasn't much better."
"This farce should end now."
"—Under 'their' gaze."
Standing before the rows of tombstones, Bai Zhou drew back his club and put it away.
As though sheathing a blade.
He focused, bent forward, and assumed a sword-drawing stance.
"Watch closely!"
"This next blade—"
Bai Zhou shouted in a low voice.
Deputy Han shuddered and hurriedly focused his eyes, muscles tensed and alert to the extreme.
A blade?
Where was the blade?
Though doubt filled his heart, Deputy Han's gaze remained fixed on Bai Zhou, not daring to shift even a fraction.
At the same time, a few mocking laughs rose in his mind.
What era is this? He still has to loudly announce himself before using a secret technique.
What kind of warrior are you? Or one of those pedantic "gentlemen" from a thousand years ago...
Isn't this just warning others to prepare?
What a joke.
Now he was starting to believe that Bai Zhou was not a Blood Worship Cult officer in disguise.
No matter how incomprehensibly talented he was, he was still just a child...
Then—
At the moment Deputy Han's eyes widened, Bai Zhou silently stirred the Sea of Ignorance within him.
His lips moved slightly as he softly recited that mysterious yet simple Curse:
"Light—"
A sun rose before Deputy Han's wide-open eyes.
"Ah, you—"
Deputy Han, who had been tensely watching Bai Zhou, was instantly left staring into a vast blank whiteness. He could see nothing at all.
Where had that eighty-thousand-lumen glare come from?!
What happened to the blade?
Despicable!!
He panicked completely and wildly swung his heavy mechanical arm.
As booming sounds rang from his arm, his body staggered backward again and again.
But then, an unusual sound of a blade being drawn reached his ears.
It was like a flame being ignited.
At the same time, a boy's whisper, like a death warrant, sounded out:
"Moon Ember—Sacred Oath Slash!"
Another new sun rose before Deputy Han's eyes—
"Slash!"
Before you continue