VENOM: Venom Mechanism

The humid, hot winds sweeping in from the valley feel like thousands of needles, pricking the skin and causing an itchy, painful sensation.

Meteor didn't dare to breathe loudly, because the scientific research power and the [Daoist magic] displayed by the enemy had exceeded his imagination.

That is a large drone that can be taken off and landed freely by a single soldier. Judging from its flight attitude, its payload limit should exceed 500 kilograms. Judging from the rotor size and the lightweight structure of the whole aircraft, it will still be reliable even after fifty years.

When Daoist Master Ping'an fired a 9mm bullet at the executioner—

--The bullets struck the mesh-like artificial skin, and the ripples emanating from the executioner's body were even more unbelievable to Meteor.

This is a miracle that has never occurred in the Arcane Library or even the entire underworld.

As is well known, the Flash Butterfly Armor can withstand bullets through its special textile structure. This is Xue Ming's understanding of light weapon ammunition, combined with the tailor's skill in creating this armor, which represents the pinnacle of human craftsmanship.

The armor worn by the executioner was far too thin! No material possesses both tensile strength and abrasion resistance simultaneously!

This is a gap in materials science; it's a scientific achievement of Shinto City that is several generations ahead!

Meteor's expression turned solemn as he frantically searched his mental library, trying to find a more reasonable explanation from the physical characteristics of the executioner.

The eyes appear to have two red pupils stuck together, but they are actually two sets of composite sights. To miniaturize and portability these sights and make them part of the prosthetic body, it must have required a huge technological breakthrough in materials science and optical instruments.

But this guy didn't bring any guns; it seems he's planning to capture Brother Ping An alive.

He had sixteen barcodes on him, all from different weapons companies; I only recognized one Mitsubishi logo!

However, the trademark is not the point. The point is that these artificial organs must be compatible, which means they must have a mature, universal modular interface and very advanced production standards. It is likely that the technology tree of Shinto City has already unlocked nanomaterials, and can manufacture organs and prosthetics at the nanometer level.

Having figured all this out, Meteor couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for Mr. Ping An.

At this moment, what stood before the two was not a Homo sapiens, but a super cyborg that had achieved mechanical ascension through psionic science, a violent organization from Shinto City more than fifty years ago.

But the shooting star thought—

--Mr. Ping An is Senior Su Ling's teacher.

Senior Su Ling is one of the top VIPs in the entire railway system. Such an outstanding person must be her master as well.

Before Meteor could finish his thought, a gust of Hot Wind swept over him!

A sweet, metallic smell filled my nostrils, and everything seemed to recede into the distance.

Meteor was almost knocked over by the force of the fight! He rolled several meters away, and only after struggling to his feet from the rubble did he realize that he had suffered abrasions and bruises all over his body, with a dull ache in his body.

He leaned against the old, dilapidated rock, the faint beam of his flashlight illuminating two figures moving swiftly in the darkness.

The survival light on Brother Ping An's body was flashing, but his helmet with a flashlight was nowhere to be seen; only a blurry outline could be seen in the darkness.

Another tall figure, moving with unhurried ease, held a decapitation sword in both hands and repeatedly slashed at the shadows with unimaginable speed.

The whistling wind was mixed with the whistling of blades, and the occasional buzzing of electronic brakes sounded very strange, as if Brother Ping An was fighting a car and a tank.

In the blink of an eye, intense sparks burst forth from the darkness!

Mingde's remains and the execution sword clashed together, each vying for the weak point of the wrist where the sword was held, exchanging blows for more than ten exchanges!

Ping An fought and retreated until Liu Xing noticed a notch in the execution sword and saw a chance for victory in a fleeting flash of light! He almost shouted "Cheers!"

At that very moment, an eerie peach-pink light erupted from the execution sword, its energy filling the blade of the square-headed greatsword!

The originally dim environment became bright, and everything was tinged with the color of cherry blossoms.

The executioner's face was stained crimson with blood, and the shooting star was clearly visible.

--The electronic android's chest armor and helmet were smashed to pieces by Mingde's remains! There were many signs of high-temperature explosions on its nano-armor, as if Mr. Ping An could subdue this beast with just a few taps, agile movements, and superb swordsmanship.

The android did not retreat, nor did it show any signs of pain; its pain receptors had been shut down.

The alloy helmet was cracked by Mingde's remains, leaving a horrific open wound on his chin. However, he showed no sign of backing down and his fighting spirit remained as firm as in the first round, without even flinching.

Besides the light source from the pair of electronic prosthetic eyes, Meteor also saw that near the brainstem center at the back of the android's helmet was a complex exoskeleton mechanism, with orange safety lights flashing continuously, as if the command center and the android were repeatedly communicating, finally unlocking the execution sword's safety lock and beginning to use psionic weapons.

"Criminal suspect, your violent resistance to arrest has violated the highest laws of Shinto City."

The female synthesized voice from the previous alarm message sounded again. The executioner still showed no intention of speaking, relying entirely on the security and police center to relay messages.

"We have unlocked the executioner's high-frequency weapon. This is an ultimatum: surrender or your life will be in danger."

Meteor was shocked. "A high-frequency weapon?!"

High-frequency weapons are weapons that use high-frequency vibrations to cause the material to peel off at the molecular level.

Everything has its cracks—this is the principle proclaimed at the beginning of "The Great Rift of All Things." And in the face of high-frequency vibration weapons, any substance that exists in molecular form on the periodic table will reveal its Gate of Death.

Meteor couldn't understand, and for a moment even thought he was hallucinating. If this android wasn't bluffing and cooperating with the security center to lie and scare people, then the weapon in his hand was indeed more terrifying than most light weapons.

It can easily cut through tank armor, shred concrete, and slice through any material.

Maintaining its weapon form and ensuring its proper functioning requires materials with extremely high strength and toughness. However, Shinto City today seems to have been given a cheat code for psionic power, solving the material science problem of high-frequency weapons.

The execution sword had already developed a nick, but the blade shimmered with light, as if plasma were rotating and flowing at high speed. The blade emitted strong magnetism and electricity, and it seemed that there was also powerful spiritual energy acting as a restraint device, firmly locking this world-shaking divine light onto the blade.

Mr. Ping An drew his sword and attacked again!

Meteor saw it clearly now, and under the eerie cherry blossom light, she saw that Brother Ping An's exquisite and unparalleled sword fighting skills were beyond compare.

He moved with the agility of a nimble ape, swiftly stabbing and dodging the executioner's sword in the blink of an eye. Seemingly wary of the blade's gleam, he lowered his waist like a low-flying swallow, his limbs displaying a flexibility far exceeding that of ordinary people.

One man wielded a heavy sword in pursuit, while another raised a ruler to advance and retreat.

The cat-and-mouse game, in which the two blades never touched, went on for thirty-one rounds. The sound of heavy breathing could be heard in the raging wind, but there was no clanging sound of weapons clashing.

The feeling was extremely strange. In Meteor's eyes, Brother Ping An was in a very sorry state. He did not summon his spirit, but seemed to have merged his spirit and body into one, doing his best to fight against this cyborg whose speed and strength far exceeded the norm.

He was like a bullfighter on the verge of exhaustion, trying to dodge the blade of the executioner's sword, break through the thick nano-armor, and inflict some effective damage; his brain was already working overtime.

Reaching the end of the forty-fourth round, Heian grew increasingly alarmed.

--This cyber demon seems to be getting stronger and stronger. It's learning the sword techniques of the [Rootless Tree] and adapting to the power generation patterns of human muscles! It's starting to predict Heian's footwork path!

The more Meteor looked, the more suspicious it seemed. Brother Ping An's movements and positioning, which initially resembled a dance routine, allowing him to maneuver and fight the android with room to maneuver, were now getting closer and closer to the cliff, heading towards a dead end! Clearly, he had been captured!

Meteor drew his gun, ready to fight! He needed to get his brother out of trouble!

Ping An shouted, "No!"

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Luo Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief, stepped into the Gate of Death of the Escape Technique, and was forced to engage in a duel with the Executioner over the advantage of weapons in the struggle for the center line!

Mingde's remains clashed violently with the executioner's sword!

This is the first and the last time!

The executioner's sword passed through the ruler almost without resistance, slicing open Mr. Ping An's right side of his torso; the executioner had deliberately avoided vital organs.

--Until the ruler lost its power, becoming a crippled arm that flew out of the body, and half of the steel rod flew out lightly.

Ping An's face was deathly pale. The moment his spirit dissipated, a horrifying charred wound was left on his right torso. The cut on his shoulder and neck was smooth, without a drop of blood flowing out. The arm with the soul power that had been attached to his body just a second ago had now vanished without the support of his spiritual essence, disappearing like dust without a trace.

Blood gushed from Mr. Ping An's throat, and the words "Night Patrol" on the executioner's forehead turned even redder.

Executioner: "Farewell, soldier!"

The high-frequency vibration weapon stopped working immediately, but Mr. Ping An's fighting spirit was not completely extinguished!

His legs trembled, and he almost knelt down, but he forced himself to stand up and raised his left fist to meet the enemy.

"Young man, cough cough cough"

"I'm sorry, you had to see this funny. You've made a fool of yourself."

More and more blood was gushing from the corner of his mouth; his injuries were too severe, and his cardiopulmonary system had suffered serious damage.

"But I don't want to surrender... cough cough cough."

"Looks like we've hit a brick wall."

The executioner ignored Luo Ping'an. He slowly walked towards Ping'an's severed arm, picked it up along with half of his torso and shoulder, and tossed it into the drone's payload bay. He needed to take the criminal to trial and collect evidence.

Luo Ping'an staggered forward a few steps, then finally knelt on one knee, unable to support himself any longer.

"I'm afraid I don't have the ability to help the souls in these tombs find peace."

Meteor held his breath, only hearing the heavy thud of Brother Ping An's knees hitting the ground as he knelt down. That godlike man had now lost consciousness.

As the earth trembled, the stone tablets that had been chopped to pieces by the execution sword finally slid off their bases and shattered on the ground under the powerful force, leaving smooth, mirror-like cuts.

"Mission accomplished." The executioner, one hand clutching the exoskeleton nerve center on his neck, reported the mission status to the security network center, glancing at the shooting star.

"There's also an accomplice."

"Hmm? Doesn't that count as being an accomplice?"

"He can't exchange the money?"

"Then kill them."

Meteor was still in a state of great shock and found it difficult to take any practical or effective action.

Luo Ping'an's defeat terrified him—judging from past combat records, his brother Ping'an's overall combat ability far surpassed that of his brother Xue Ming.

Even if the Summoning Bell is effective, and the nameless people arrive here to face the executioners of Shinto City, they dare not say they have an absolute chance of victory.

In a battle of heavy firepower with modern weapons, the city is guarded by an unknown mountain god who can cut off transportation and logistics.

The broadcast announcements from the security center have revealed a lot of information: there used to be Kyoraku Special Squad, medical rescue and insurance teams, and other violent agencies here.

The executioner must be an elite unit of the Night Patrol Special Operations Group. A cyborg like this is only fit to remain as a sheriff around Stone Hill Town. The real leader of the Night Patrol has not yet shown up, but with his technology and ruthlessness, he has defeated the top combat force of the railway system.

This sense of frustration almost drove Meteor to despair.

What could he do? At this moment, a profound sense of powerlessness enveloped him.

"Yes, they didn't mean to attack me. But..."

The executioner was still bargaining, trying to extract some benefits from the security center.

"But he doesn't have Venom—he's a beast."

"Such an untamed beast will cause even bigger trouble sooner or later."

"A baby? He's not a baby!"

"Okay, I understand. I will not disobey the will of the gods."

The executioner approached Meteor, who had already forgotten to run away.

The strong android sheathed its execution sword, carried the greatsword on its back, its eyes devoid of sorrow or joy, and prepared to imprison Meteor.

At that moment, the meteor tried to fight back, a part of its spirit emerging from its body to deliver a fierce punch to the invading enemy!

The fists stopped halfway, gripped tightly by the executioner's armored fists.

--Meteor felt an unbearable, tingling electric pain in both arms, and gritted his teeth as he threw a punch.

The fist slammed into the executioner's steel chin, but instead slashed A Xing's arm, leaving bloody wounds.

With a "click!"

A Xing's spirit right arm was actually crushed by this android!

The moment the spirit vanished, a piercing pain struck, but Meteor was not resigned to it! The pain seemed to ignite the wolf's ferocity, and its weak arms pulled out Rose Shining Stone from its backpack, intending to put on the golden mask.

The moment the bright red pyroxene shone, the executioner's expression changed.

Originally, this electronic android had no emotions, but now it carries a hint of cruelty.

He crushed the meteor's spirit's left arm, then tore the beast's physical body apart as well—he grabbed A Xing's weak and powerless arm and performed his signature move.

A Xing was in too much pain to think; he didn't quite understand what had happened at that moment.

It's likely that Brother Ping An told him not to resist.

--But the people of Shinto City didn't seem to regard Bu Liuxing as a human being, but rather as an animal, as an infant in need of education.

He didn't know how to defeat these minions of the gods. Perhaps he would have to do what they did, obtain the Venom Machine, put on a layer of nano armor, and replace it with a prosthetic body to have even a slight chance.

All he knew was that his right hand was grabbed high by a monster, and his entire body was lifted into the air!

The Rose Shining Stone seemed not to respond to him; perhaps at that moment, he had lost all his courage.

His right arm was also severed from his body, with the ruptured tendons and elbow joint exposed to the air, and blood cascading down like a waterfall from the wound.

He finally saw that the bright red pyroxene had cracked open; it was his favorite red stone, just like the one his teacher, David Victor, had made.

He quickly lost consciousness.

I don't know how much time passed.

"First injection, saline solution."

"Second injection, anesthetic."

"Third injection, muscle relaxant."

In a daze, Meteor slightly opened her eyes.

He felt short of breath, as if he were lying on an operating table.

[Hey kid! Wake up!]

Wake up!

[Kid!]

A voice echoed in his mind, a tone that seemed familiar.

Under the influence of the anesthetic, he struggled to maintain his senses, and his memories became fragmented.

[Hey kid! Hey kid!]

Wake up!

He instinctively raised his arm and saw his right hand come into view—

--But this arm has become a little strange.

Unlike normal humans, its original flesh-colored skin has disappeared, revealing pale muscles underneath, much like the pale muscles exposed all over the body of an executioner before being covered with armor.

"He's awake. Increase the anesthesia dosage."

"He's working against the [Ascension Module], and we can't access his central nervous system."

"He was unwilling to accept Venom's modifications."

"Then where did his VENOM come from?"

"I don't know. The executioner broke his arm—it seems the module's Universal Elixir stress response was activated when he was brought here."

"Will his VENOM pass certification? What the hell is that?!"

"No."

"So, those idiots on the Night Patrol sent us a guy with an illegal module installed?"

[Hey kid! Wake up!]

They're going to brainwash you!

"You fucking..." Meteor mumbled, still half-asleep, "Who the fuck are you? Why... why can you talk inside my head?"

My name is [Hot Wind], raise your arm and take a good look!

The meteor looked up in response--

--The exposed skin on the forearm has hexagonal boxes embedded in the flesh.

"What the hell is this thing? Venom? Where did it come from?!"

The magnetohydrodynamic readings showed Meteor's heart rate; due to the injection of muscle relaxants, he was having difficulty breathing, and even trying to move his throat muscles to speak was extremely difficult.

[Hahahaha! How should I know! Anyway, I survived! I came back to life!]

[Hey kid! Listen up! Whatever you're thinking! We're in the same boat now!]

[Say hello using your brother Ping An's words!]

[If you could live your life again, what would you choose!?]

Meteor struggled weakly, and her arm eventually fell back onto the operating table.

"I need to find that guy."

The image of the executioner flashed through his mind—

--A deep-seated, unforgettable hatred.

"I'm going to get my revenge on him!"