Tianhai City's evening was shrouded in a layer of hazy industrial smog.
The setting sun was like a gigantic, red-hot iron ball, hanging heavily over the western horizon and dyeing the dilapidated factories and rusted pipes of the abandoned industrial district west of the city an ominous blood-red.
The air was thick with the acrid stench of rust, machine oil, and some kind of chemical waste burning.
Lin Xiao walked alone along a secluded path swallowed by massive shadows.
The road connected the school to the abandoned factory deep in the western industrial district where he was temporarily staying. Few people usually passed through here, and now it seemed even more desolate and deathly silent.
The wind wailed through twisted steel frames and broken windows like the cries of vengeful spirits.
His pace was not fast. His right arm was still hidden inside his oversized school-uniform sleeve, and every movement carried a barely perceptible stiffness.
The wound on his back, sliced open by a dart, throbbed faintly under the sweat soaking into it.
Most burdensome of all were the -1.4 that felt like shackles in his mind and the ceaseless, withered low hum deep within his soul.
The mixed energy flowed restlessly through his meridians, bringing waves of heat and stagnation.
Qin Bing's cold, sharp eyes seemed to still be fixed on his back.
The stolen Body Tempering Fluid, the attention of the Special Operations Ninth Division... These were all like invisible threads winding around him, making every step feel arduous.
He had to get Source Energy Points as soon as possible! That "Old Ghost"...
Just as he turned around a corner piled with discarded oil drums—
Whoosh!
Several figures, like hyenas crawling out of the shadows, instantly blocked both ends of the path!
Ahead, three men wearing black tank tops, with bulging muscles and vicious eyes, spread out in a fan formation and sealed off the way forward.
They carried no weapons, but their knuckles cracked loudly as they clenched their fists. A thick killing aura radiated from them, and all three were at least mid-stage One-Star Martial Artists!
They were far stronger than Ah Qi had been!
Behind him, three equally formidable thugs blocked the way back. One of them even carried a short club wrapped in an iron chain and covered in spikes, his eyes like those of a bloodthirsty beast.
Six men in total! They formed a tight encirclement!
Trapping Lin Xiao firmly in the middle!
A killing intent far more intense and violent than any before, like a viscous swamp made tangible, instantly enveloped the narrow space!
The air seemed to solidify!
"Lin Xiao!" A hoarse voice, like sandpaper scraping against rusted iron, carried undisguised savagery and mockery from the shadows beside a pile of discarded machinery.
Scarface Qiang!
He slowly strode out. His towering figure was like a moving iron pagoda, and the vicious scar across his face looked even more ferocious beneath the sunset's bloody glow.
His hands were in his trouser pockets, and his eyes were fixed on Lin Xiao like he was prey caught in a trap, filled with the cruel delight of a cat toying with a mouse.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time." Scarface Qiang bared his smoke-yellowed teeth. "Ah Qi's debt gets settled today—with interest, all at once!"
He gave Lin Xiao no chance to speak. He could not even be bothered with empty pleasantries!
He suddenly waved his hand!
"Get him! Cripple the bastard! Just leave him breathing!"
At Scarface Qiang's cold command, the six thugs, like starving wolves, unleashed fierce light from their eyes and attacked simultaneously!
Their movements were swift and their coordination seamless. They had clearly practiced this many times!
At the very front, one man stamped off and charged forward, his wok-sized fist carrying a vicious gust of wind as it smashed straight toward Lin Xiao's face!
Another lowered his body and swept his leg, lashing toward Lin Xiao's lower body like a steel whip!
The third cut in from the side like a ghost, his five fingers curved into claws. With a sharp whistle that tore through the air, he viciously grabbed at Lin Xiao's injured right arm!
Their target was clear: completely cripple the last of his fighting power!
The three men behind him also pounced at the same time!
The thug wielding the chained club swung the heavy weapon, smashing it toward Lin Xiao's back with a howling wind!
The other two moved in from the left and right, sealing off any space Lin Xiao might use to dodge!
Six powerful martial artists attacking him at once!
Their attacks were like a violent storm, drowning Lin Xiao in an instant! There were no blind spots and not the slightest mercy!
They had come with the sole purpose of beating him into complete ruin!
Lin Xiao's pupils contracted sharply!
An unprecedented sense of mortal danger seized him in an instant! Every hair on his body stood on end!
Dodge? There was nowhere to dodge! Block? His right arm was injured, and two fists could not fight four hands!
Much less six!
Buzz!
At the moment between life and death, Lin Xiao's thoughts shot forward like a burning meteor, erupting with speed beyond their limits as they slammed into the deep-blue light screen in the depths of his mind!
Scan targets! Scan environment! Maximum power! he roared deep within his soul!
The light screen began to fluctuate violently. Its radiance flickered uncertainly, as if it might collapse at any moment! The warning—Source Energy Points: -1.4—rang wildly deep within his soul like a death knell!
Target locked: Six Blood Wolf Gang thugs (Threat level: Medium) Environmental scan: Discarded oil drums (flammable), rusted steel frames (structurally weak), suspended metal beam overhead (connection points severely rusted)... Modifiable elements: ...Severe rust and metal fatigue detected at connection points A and B between the suspended metal beam overhead (type: I-beam, length: approximately 8 meters) and its support frame (critical point)... Force structural-parameter modification? Modification direction: Instantly amplify the effects of rust, causing connection-point failure (estimated result: beam collapse) Required Source Energy Points: 0.3 (Due to core restrictions and target complexity, energy consumption increased by 200%)! Warning! This operation will cause severe Source Energy Point overdraft! Uncontrollable consequences may occur!
The warning tone carried a sharpness that seemed on the verge of collapse!
0.3 points! Deducting another 0.3 from -1.4 would make it -1.7! A severe overdraft!
But at this moment, Lin Xiao had no choice!
The falling beam was his only chance to create chaos and break out of the encirclement!
Otherwise, he would be torn to pieces in the next second!
"Modify! Break, damn you!" Lin Xiao let out a hysterical roar deep within his soul!
Command received! Source Energy Points deducted: 0.3!
Source Energy Points: -1.4 - 0.3 = -1.7
Modifying parameters... (Light screen flickering and warping violently!)... 1%... (Extremely slow)... 20%... (Warning! Core overload!)... 50%... 100%... Modification complete!
The notification tone carried an almost destructive heaviness!
The instant Lin Xiao's thoughts confirmed the command!
An indescribable, immense emptiness originating from the deepest part of his soul, along with tearing agony, suddenly surged through him!
His vision instantly turned blood-red!
He felt as though a piece of his consciousness had been forcibly torn away!
In the real world, the passage of time seemed to stretch out.
The rust-covered I-beam suspended seven or eight meters above everyone's heads seemed to be touched lightly at its two critical connection points, A and B, by an invisible, icy hand from the level of the rules—a hand that plucked the already taut, cracked "string."
Buzz!
A faint metallic groan, so slight it was almost overlooked!
Then—
Crack! Crack!
Two scalp-prickling snaps, like rotten wood breaking, suddenly rang out overhead!
Under Scarface Qiang's astonished gaze, at the instant the six thugs' savage fists and weapons were about to strike Lin Xiao—
The heavy I-beam, like a guillotine whose suspension cables had been severed, tore through the air with a terrifying shriek and incomparable weight as it collapsed! It smashed straight down onto the battling crowd below!
"Look out!" Scarface Qiang's eyes nearly split open as he let out a distorted roar!
The six thugs surrounding Lin Xiao were completely focused on the prey before them. None of them had expected such a catastrophe to descend from overhead!
Hearing Scarface Qiang's roar and the terrifying pressure of the wind above them, the vicious grins on their faces instantly turned into utter horror!
Rumble—!
A thunderous boom like the collapse of heaven and earth!
The enormous I-beam, carrying tons of dirt, rust, and shattered concrete, crashed into the crowd like a hammer of divine punishment!
Dust soared into the sky! Chunks of stone shot out like bullets!
"Ah—!"
"My leg!!"
"Someone save me—!"
Shrill screams instantly replaced the killing intent from before!
Of the six men surrounding Lin Xiao, two reacted too slowly and were directly crushed beneath the heavy beam!
Their flesh was mangled beyond recognition!
Although the other four desperately dodged on instinct as martial artists, they were still violently flung away by the flying debris and massive shock wave!
Like torn sacks caught up by a gale, they slammed into the ground more than ten meters away, each vomiting blood with broken bones and ruptured tendons!
The instant the beam broke, Lin Xiao used the last shred of his strength. Ignoring the agony in his right arm, he suddenly threw himself face-first onto the ground while curling up and tightly shielding his head with both hands!
The massive shock wave and flying debris struck his back and arms like heavy hammers!
The pain made his vision go black. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood!
But he clenched his teeth and forcibly held it back!
The main body of the beam landed less than half a meter behind him, while the scattered debris pelted him like rain!
Dust filled the air, blocking his vision.
The entire ambush site was a complete wreck, as though it had been shelled!
Moans, groans, and the sound of rolling rubble blended together into a symphony from hell!
Lin Xiao struggled to raise his head from the rubble and dust. Mud and blood covered his face, blood streaked the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were shot through with red from the overdraft and agony. They brimmed with bestial ferocity and the madness of surviving a near-death experience!
He had won the gamble!
But the price was enormous! Source Energy Points: -1.7!
The soul-tearing sensation caused by the severe overdraft was stronger than ever before!
It was as if his entire consciousness were burning and dispersing, while his body felt as though it had fallen apart, every bone groaning in pain!
The dust gradually thinned.
Scarface Qiang stood more than ten meters away, having avoided the center of the collapse.
The scar across his face twisted like a living thing from his extreme fury and disbelief!
He stared fixedly at the wreckage, watching the carefully arranged killing trap he had prepared get smashed to pieces by a beam that had come down for no apparent reason!
Watching his elite subordinates either die or suffer grievous injuries!
And the prey that should have been torn apart—Lin Xiao—was actually struggling to stagger to his feet from the ruins!
Although he was disheveled and covered in blood, those bloodshot eyes fixed on Scarface Qiang like those of an injured lone wolf, filled with provocation and madness!
"Lin! Xiao!"
Scarface Qiang's voice was the roar of an injured beast, filled with savage killing intent!
He was utterly enraged! Su Qingxue? The Special Operations Ninth Division?
At this moment, he only wanted to tear the bastard who had ruined his plans time and again, an unkillable cockroach, into pieces with his own hands!
He suddenly stepped forward, his burly body stirring up a vicious gust of wind!
Yellow-brown True Qi suddenly blazed across his body, far denser and more violent than before!
The powerful aura of a peak Two-Star Martial Artist erupted like a savage beast awakening!
It locked firmly onto the tottering Lin Xiao!
"I'll personally send you to the grave today!"
Before you continue