Don't Even Think About Turning Me! I'm a Patriot!

The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned. For a moment, their minds went blank. Where had this hidden Spy come from, trying to steal the simplified Human Martial Arts research? And what was the deal with the powerful intruder standing before them?!

As the hidden Spy sprinted for the exit with startling agility, the researchers' faces changed.

"Oh no! All the research data from the computer simulations is on that storage device!"

"Security! Stop him! Don't let him get away!"

"Get the storage device back! We can't let him take it! Everything we've accomplished lately is on there!"

A few researchers standing nearby couldn't hold back. They rushed forward to stop him.

But how could researchers who spent most of their time in a lab and rarely exercised stand against an elite Spy?!

The hidden Spy reacted in a flash. He knocked one researcher blocking his path to the floor, then tossed two miniature smoke grenades. Thick, choking smoke billowed through the room.

Hiss...

Gu Chen raised an eyebrow. He had only come to see how the official laboratory combined science with Science-Martial Arts Integration. He hadn't expected another Spy to be hiding here. Hadn't he just handed the man the perfect chance to steal classified research? He had no intention of taking the blame.

Without another moment's hesitation, he drove a foot into the floor and shot after the spy like an arrow loosed from a bow.

National Martial Arts might have been a low-level Cultivation System, but its training of the mind was extraordinary. Gu Chen had reached Shattering the Void and attained Seeing the Divine, a state of mind bordering on the mystical. Once he set his mind on hunting someone down, they could flee to the ends of the earth or hide deep underground; as long as they lived, they could hardly escape his mental lock. Only death would break it.

Wang Hong's face darkened with fury as he watched the Spy flee. First, an intruder had defeated him with ease. Then another Spy had stolen the storage device right under his nose. It was as though they had grabbed him by the collar and slapped him in the face.

As a Hidden Strength special-operations soldier selected and trained at considerable expense, he had duties beyond assisting the researchers with their experiments. He was also responsible for protecting the lab's work. Now such a serious breach had happened on his watch. Disciplinary action was certain to follow.

"This is outrageous..."

Once the dense smoke had thinned a little, Wang Hong charged after them, his anger still boiling.

Elsewhere, the hidden Spy left the inner laboratory and slipped into a restroom off the corridor. He gripped the high-tech synthetic skin beneath his neck and tore it away, revealing a different face. Then he pulled off his wig and put on a pair of glasses.

In little more than ten seconds, he looked like another man entirely. He walked out as though nothing had happened.

He had taken only a few steps when he stopped short. A masked man stood in the corridor ahead. It was the expert who had fought in the lab, the one who seemed to be a Pillaring Grandmaster.

"You're quick. A whole new face in no time. Spies sure carry plenty of high-tech gear these days..."

The Spy's expression stiffened. How on earth had Gu Chen recognized him?

Fighting him was out of the question. The Spy was capable in close combat, but against Central Province's National Martial Arts experts, he stood no chance.

With that in mind, the Spy raised both hands. A smile spread across his face as he tried to talk his way out.

"My friend, we're both after Central Province's research. Once we're out of the lab, why don't we each make a copy of the data? Then we can both go back with something to show for it..."

Gu Chen raised an eyebrow and cut him off. "Shut up! Don't even think about turning me, Spy! I'm a patriot! You think that feeble pitch will shake my resolve?!"

A patriot?!

The Spy's eye twitched. He nearly spat blood. The man had sneaked into a classified national laboratory and beaten up a whole group of security guards. If that made him a patriot, then the Spy himself was one of Central Continent's ten outstanding young citizens.

The alarm ringing through the research institute made the Spy anxious. If this dragged on, Central Continent's security personnel might catch him. He couldn't afford to fail his mission.

"Ten million US dollars if you agree! The moment we leave the institute, I'll contact my superiors and have them transfer it!"

Wang Hong, racing toward them from down the corridor, paled. If the Spy escaped overseas with the lab's research, the consequences would be disastrous.

At the mention of ten million dollars, Gu Chen raised an eyebrow. He stepped forward, covered more than ten meters in a blink, and struck the Spy with the back of his hand. The man flew backward, coughing blood. Gu Chen declared with righteous conviction,

"Don't try to corrupt me with capitalism's sugar-coated bullets! I told you, I'm a patriot, and spies like you are what I hate most! You think you can buy me? You've got the wrong man!"

The Spy, still coughing blood where he had landed, had no words. He wanted to seize the intruder by the collar and demand, What the hell is wrong with you? We both came to steal the research. Why are you pretending to be a patriot?!

Wang Hong reached the other end of the corridor and stopped, utterly bewildered.

This powerful intruder, who seemed to be a Pillaring Grandmaster, was calling himself a patriot?!

Breaking into a classified national research institute, looking at state secrets, injuring security personnel... Any one of those offenses could put him behind bars for years. Yet he called himself a patriot and claimed to reject capitalism's sugar-coated bullets? What a load of bull!

Still, the man had broken into the institute and then helped capture the foreign Spy who had stolen classified data. Wang Hong couldn't make sense of it. What exactly was this apparent Pillaring Grandmaster trying to do?!

"If you're a patriot, why not join the Central Province Official? Then you could examine our research openly instead of sneaking in..."

Before Wang Hong could finish, Gu Chen waved a hand and flashed away. Without looking back, he sped toward the exit and vanished from sight.