Qin Annian raised his eyes.
He looked toward the neighboring building, less than an arm's length away.
Concrete walls sliced the sky into pieces, leaving the stairwell dim.
Backlit,
a Mysterious Person stood on the roof of the fourth floor, clad in a pitch-black combat cloak with a mask concealing their features. They held a matte-black sniper rifle in their arms.
The Federation didn't ban guns,
but owning one required a license.
And the only firearms the law allowed civilians to possess were pistols and semiautomatic weapons.
The sniper rifle in the Mysterious Person's hands was the most powerful standard-issue weapon currently available: the Scorpion Type I.
Martial artists with a Life Development Power below one hundred couldn't withstand bullets fired from a rifle like that.
However,
Entry Realm martial artists had already embarked on the path of life evolution, and their sixth sense for danger was exceptionally strong.
Just now,
Qin Annian had retreated a step before the Mysterious Person pulled the trigger, leaving their line of sight.
The Old District was certainly chaotic.
But Taiyu City did a good job enforcing its gun laws.
Even the Blood Blade Gang and the Azure Dragon Society, the two biggest gangs, had no firearms.
Fighting gangs required evidence; fighting terrorists only required coordinates.
If anyone dared to resist with firearms, the Security Bureau's Operations Division would drive Wheeled Combat Vehicles in and trade fire with the gang members.
But it was clear that
some criminals still hid beneath the protection of powerful umbrellas.
"Are you one of the troublemakers lurking in the deep waters of the Old District?"
The Mysterious Person wore a combat mask that concealed their emotions well.
Their defenses were flawless; even an Entry Realm martial artist couldn't identify them from their eyes alone.
As Qin Annian finished speaking,
on the rooftop,
"Troublemakers?"
"You could put it that way."
The Mysterious Person holding the Scorpion Sniper Rifle spoke without a trace of emotion.
"Officer Qin."
"That doesn't belong to you. Please hand it over."
Qin Annian put the Contraband in his hand into his pocket.
"This is evidence of a crime, so of course it doesn't belong to me."
"It belongs to the Security Bureau."
"As for you..."
Qin Annian vanished from where he stood.
"You're illegally carrying a firearm and armed with a weapon you used to kill. You're coming with me, too."
In the blink of an eye,
Qin Annian appeared on the rooftop.
"Officer Qin."
"The Old District has its own order."
The Mysterious Person drew a tactical dagger from their waist and gripped it in reverse, then continued,
"We're willing to help you maintain order in the Old District."
"If you agree,"
"we can guarantee that your Life Development Power will rise above one hundred within a year."
Qin Annian shook his head, looking unimpressed.
"Too slow."
The Mysterious Person paused, then let out a cold laugh.
"Officer Qin, you have quite an appetite."
"As a boxing prodigy, we can offer you a higher price..."
Qin Annian cut him off.
"What I mean is—"
Qin Annian seized the initiative and kicked forward.
"I can surpass one hundred after training for just half a year."
The Mysterious Person froze again.
Then,
his laughter grew even colder.
"So,"
"you're refusing our goodwill?"
Boom!
He raised an arm to block.
The next moment,
his face beneath the mask changed abruptly in shock.
"62 points of combat power?"
How could he be that strong?
"Hah!"
The Mysterious Person grunted, his arm going numb.
"Leg Technique: Mountain-Splitting Axe?"
"Hadn't you only learned the basics?"
With the computer's help, the Mysterious Person recognized the martial technique Qin Annian had used.
Qin Annian raised an eyebrow and pressed forward again.
"You even know what was on my confirmation exam?"
"There really are plenty of moles in the Bureau."
Not many people in the Security Bureau had access to the exam contents.
Sure enough,
the waters in the Old District ran deep.
The Mysterious Person gripped the dagger and thrust it forward.
After creating some distance, he suddenly abandoned his plan to keep attacking.
He fell backward, his figure quickly disappearing from the rooftop.
"That Qin isn't simple."
"The intel was wrong."
Qin Annian hadn't merely just begun learning the Leg Technique: Mountain-Splitting Axe.
"He's already extremely proficient!"
The Mysterious Person's thoughts were in disarray.
He knew that the examiner, Sun Yingyuan, had applied to Ju Zi for anti-cheating measures.
In other words,
before Qin Annian took his confirmation exam, he truly hadn't been exposed to this technique.
Why,
then, could he use it so proficiently now?
A casual kick
had given him such a massive boost in combat power?
The formula for calculating combat power was complex,
but it was usually three to five times a person's Life Development Power.
There were exceptions for certain heaven-defying geniuses.
"Qin Annian's Life Development Power is only 11.7, so his attack power should range from 35 to 58."
So,
it wasn't surprising that Qin Annian had taken down Xu Laosan and Ge Qingwang.
The only thing that didn't make sense was how he'd also taken down so many core members from both gangs.
Now,
Qin Annian had casually kicked with 62 points of combat power.
The Mysterious Person, who had come to test Qin Annian's attitude, felt a trace of unease rise within him.
Just then,
the Mysterious Person felt a chill brush the back of his head.
He tapped his right foot, spun around, and punched.
Boom!
Their fists collided.
The Mysterious Person stumbled backward.
"How is that possible?"
"Your combat power..."
"73 points?"
It was still rising?
Right.
It was his boxing technique!
The Mysterious Person realized he could no longer retreat unscathed.
Just one test, and he'd fallen into such a predicament.
Beneath the mask, his face darkened.
Click!
Qin Annian heard the sound of a mechanical mechanism unlocking.
"Ha!"
The Mysterious Person sucked in a sharp breath, and his body temperature rapidly rose.
"Implanted modifications?"
Qin Annian's eyes narrowed.
The Mysterious Person's aura was rapidly surging.
Boom!
The Mysterious Person stomped on the floor, and the concrete cracked apart.
"Once I activate the Blood Qi Furnace, my combat power can soar above one hundred for a short time!"
His voice turned hoarse, like two panes of glass scraping against each other.
His muscles were twitching beyond his control, making it impossible for him to speak normally.
"You have only yourself to blame for not knowing what's good for you!"
Before the words had even faded,
he charged at Qin Annian like a black Savage Bear.
The air compressed in his wake, letting out a piercing shriek.
"That's more like it."
What the Mysterious Person hadn't expected was that
Qin Annian neither panicked nor tried to dodge.
Instead,
he seemed pleased with his own counterattack?
Then,
a sharp warning came through the tactical earpiece.
"Warning! Warning!"
"Target's combat power is rising rapidly!"
Beneath the mask,
the numbers began at 80 and kept climbing!
Qin Annian stepped forward, his fist drawn back like a cannon.
Boom!
A sonic boom erupted in the alley!
Pfft!
The skin on the Mysterious Person's arm split beneath his combat suit, and scalding blood soaked through the fabric in an instant.
The Mysterious Person was sent flying.
"Danger!"
"Target combat power: 127. Please evacuate immediately."
"Condition of the body:"
"Spleen injured, liver injured, comminuted fracture of the left arm..."
The cold electronic voice sounded in the Mysterious Person's ear.
He stared in terror at Qin Annian as he strode toward him, with only one thought left in his mind:
"Get as far away from this monster as possible!"
"Run!"
He gritted his teeth against the pain.
The Mysterious Person scrambled toward the interface.
"As long as I get past this street,"
"I'll be outside his jurisdiction."
But.
Behind him.
A rush of fist wind closed in at incredible speed.
The Mysterious Person was flying again!
Before you continue