Don't Shoot, It's One of Us

Jiang Ran looked at the prompt on the panel and slowly rose to his feet.

He walked over to the wall and lightly threw a punch at the blue-brick wall of the tomb chamber.

Humm...

Faint golden patterns surfaced over his knuckles.

Dragon-Form Aura and the Tiger Fiend Phantom coiled around his arm at the same time. The instant his fist touched the wall,

it punched through without a sound.

The edges of the hole were smooth. The surrounding bricks crumbled to dust and pattered to the ground.

"So this is the qualitative change after the Dragon-Tiger Fist's evolution..."

Jiang Ran looked at his fist and murmured.

"Armor-Piercing Dragon Aura" specialized in breaking all kinds of defensive techniques and tough armor.

"Mountain-Crushing Tiger Malice" sent the force of a punch through the body, shattering organs and bones.

Combined,

against a Transcendent at the same level, Jiang Ran even felt...

he could beat them as easily as a child.

Just then,

a faint knocking came from outside.

The rubble blocking the stone door was cleared away. Zhou Yuan stood in the doorway. When he saw the pure-black Faceless mask on Jiang Ran's face, he couldn't help pausing in surprise, but quickly recovered.

"The way out is clear. We're preparing to withdraw. We'll have professional researchers come in later to explore the site at their leisure..."

He paused and looked at Jiang Ran. "What would you prefer?"

Jiang Ran considered it for a moment, then said quietly, "I'll go with you."

There was no point staying here.

He had already taken what he needed and killed everyone he needed to kill.

A hint of delight crossed Zhou Yuan's face. He nodded. "All right."

By the time the two returned to the main group, the team had already assembled.

Seventy or eighty people had entered. Now, only a little over forty remained.

Their losses weren't small, but considering that nearly all of Qian Laojiu's group had been wiped out, their survival rate was far better than expected.

The team silently followed the cleared passage out.

On the way, Manager Sun approached Jiang Ran with a smile.

"Hello."

Jiang Ran turned to look at him, his gaze calm behind the mask.

Manager Sun cleared his throat. He didn't seem embarrassed as he lowered his voice and asked, "I was wondering if you might be willing to sell the Seed of Return to Void you have?"

He paused, then added, "I know this isn't the most convenient place to discuss it. If you're willing, we can find somewhere more suitable to talk... I guarantee I'll offer you the highest price currently available on the market."

Zhou Yuan heard him from up ahead but didn't intervene. He merely slowed his pace a little.

Jiang Ran was somewhat baffled.

Where had he gotten a Seed of Return to Void?

And how did the other man know about it?

Seeing that Jiang Ran hadn't answered, Manager Sun reminded him, "Qian Laojiu's group killed a corpse in one of the tomb chambers at the start. One of his men found a Seed of Return to Void."

Only then did Jiang Ran understand.

He took out the odds and ends he had looted from Qian Laojiu and the others' Heavenly Net Pouch.

Sure enough, he found a Seed of Return to Void inside a small leather pouch.

Manager Sun's eyes lit up. He immediately said, "To be frank, these are so rare that there's no set price. A single seed can often sell for over ten million... sometimes even more. But it's no longer any use to you."

Jiang Ran nodded slightly.

The man was right.

Each person could use a Seed of Return to Void only once. Since Jiang Ran had already used one, there was no point in keeping another besides looking at it.

But... to someone else,

it was still a ticket to becoming a Transcendent.

Jiang Ran put the Seed of Return to Void back into his Heavenly Net Pouch and said quietly,

"Sorry, I'm not selling."

Then he quickened his pace and walked on, leaving Manager Sun no chance to say anything more.

Manager Sun stood where he was, watching Jiang Ran's back as he let out a quiet sigh.

A Seed of Return to Void was certainly valuable...

But his main reason for approaching Jiang Ran wasn't the seed itself.

He had hoped to use the opportunity to make a connection.

Now it seemed this mysterious expert had no interest in working with him at all.

When Jiang Ran reached the front of the group, Zhou Yuan turned around and took a business card from his pocket.

"Mr. Jiang."

He chose his words carefully. "If you ever decide to take a position with the Federation, feel free to contact me."

Jiang Ran took the card.

It had a black background and silver lettering. Zhou Yuan's name was printed on it, along with a phone number and an emblem beneath: a sword crossed with an olive branch, surrounded by stars.

"At present, we've established several organizations for Transcendents," Zhou Yuan explained. "The Fire-Kindling Academy mainly handles training and education. The Deep Realm Inspection Team is my department; we're responsible for exploring the Abyssal Void in depth. The Abyss Hunting Committee deals with aberrant beasts and extreme threats. The Order Purification Center handles major incidents in Safe Zones and the ordinary world..."

He paused, his tone earnest. "There are plenty of flexible positions in these organizations, specifically for talented people like you.

"You wouldn't need to work regular hours. You'd only help with missions when necessary.

"The pay and privileges are quite good."

Jiang Ran nodded. "I'll consider it if the opportunity comes."

He put the card away and said no more.

The team soon emerged from the tomb passage.

They returned to the foot of Cuiping Mountain.

It was nearly dusk. The setting sun had dyed the mountain ridge gold and crimson.

Several military off-road vehicles were parked at the temporary command post.

Zhou Yuan invited Jiang Ran to ride back to the Safe Zone with them.

Jiang Ran had to go back to find Wang Zhenguo anyway, so he accepted.

The vehicles rattled along the mountain road.

Jiang Ran sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting.

His hand traced out a name as he pondered the shifting nature of Lotus Brilliance.

When he had fought the old man, he'd tried to concentrate all his qi and blood into a single point and blast it out like a cannonball.

But it was obvious that this approach was wrong in close-quarters combat. The shock wave from the explosion would severely rebound on him.

Then perhaps the correct way to use it while locked in close combat was...

to make Lotus Brilliance's energy erupt toward the target in a more focused way?

Like compressing an explosion's spread from all directions into a single direction?

He imagined the flow of his qi and blood. A faint red light flickered at his fingertips.

The driver up front was already sweating profusely.

He kept catching glimpses of the unsettling red light flowing around Jiang Ran's hand in the rearview mirror, and his heart raced.

He was terrified that Jiang Ran might lose control and send the whole vehicle, driver included, flying into the sky.

Just then...

"Whoosh!!!"

The roar of a fighter jet suddenly sounded ahead, growing louder as it approached.

A moment later, Zhou Yuan's voice came over the vehicle's radio, urgent and sharp.

"Stop! There's fighting up ahead!!"

The driver slammed on the brakes!

The tires scraped against the road. Jiang Ran pitched forward slightly and came out of his train of thought.

He raised his head and looked ahead.

A hundred meters away, dust filled the street. Gunshots and explosions rang out without pause.

Several armored vehicles were chasing two figures sprinting away. Fully armed soldiers on the vehicles were firing at them.

Two attack helicopters circled low overhead, their cannons spitting fire now and then and blasting craters into the ground.

As for the two being chased...

One was tall, with black hair covering his entire body. He was the same kind of Hairy Person Jiang Ran had killed in the basement.

The other was covered in green hair. Gray-black qi wrapped around him as he ran at incredible speed, barely dodging the hail of bullets.

The troops were chasing Hairy People?

A sense of absurdity rose in Jiang Ran's heart.

But Jiang Ran wasn't the only one who found it ridiculous...

The two fugitives were nearly at their breaking points, too.

The Green-Haired Hairy Person's expression was hideous.

He rolled clumsily to dodge a burst of cannon fire, then growled at the black-haired Hairy Person beside him, "What are these things?! Why are they completely different from the weapons of mortals described in the books?!"

He meant the black wooden sticks in the hands of the soldiers on the armored vehicles, which spat fire, and the iron birds overhead that could fly and shoot pellets.

Not a word about these things appeared in the records.

The black-haired Hairy Person was already wounded in several places. Panting hard, he replied, "I'm sorry, Young Master... Before Bo died, he didn't send back any information about this world's weapons."

The Green-Haired Young Master's eyes darkened as if they might drip with venom.

They had tracked Bo's aura here by special means. Their plan had been to make a Jingguan through blood sacrifice and force the killer of Bo to reveal himself.

Who could have guessed that the moment they showed themselves, they'd be attacked by a group of mortals wielding strange weapons?

Those little stones flew incredibly fast and packed quite a punch. Some of the stranger ones could even explode!

And the two iron birds overhead...

They couldn't afford to waste any more time.

His eyes swept over the road ahead, where he saw the vehicles had stopped.

A vicious glint flashed in the Green-Haired Young Master's eyes. He hissed, "Grab some people!"

As luck would have it, Jiang Ran had chosen the first vehicle to save time.

When the Green-Haired Young Master's gaze met that pure-black mask, his heart gave an inexplicable jolt.

That pure-black mask...

It made him uneasy.

But there was no time to think. Gray qi burst around him, and he sped up, charging straight at the first vehicle.

Seeing the other man's qi, Jiang Ran was completely certain...

This was a Hairy Person.

And probably a high-ranking one.

Perfect. He could put the new idea he'd worked out for Lotus Brilliance on the drive to a practical test.

He unfastened his seat belt, pushed open the door, and nimbly leaped onto the hood, facing the Green-Haired Young Master as he charged over wrapped in ferocious qi.

Jiang Ran slowly drew his right fist back to his waist and took a quick breath. His scarlet qi and blood began to surge and gather.

Lotus Brilliance appeared over his knuckles once more.

This time, however, the tightly furled blossom was pressed close to his fist, its sharp, gathered force aimed straight ahead.

As the Green-Haired Young Master roared and charged right up to him,

Jiang Ran exhaled sharply, twisting his waist and driving his hips forward.

He punched straight ahead with his right fist.

The blood-red Lotus Brilliance on his fist burst into full bloom a mere foot in front of Jiang Ran the moment he threw the punch, following the motion of his fist!

Boom!!!

In an instant, the red light swallowed the Green-Haired Young Master, who was already right in front of him.

Its force didn't let up. It continued spreading behind him,

swallowing the black-haired Hairy Person following close behind, his face frozen in horror.

The red light surged farther still,

washing over the storefront windows and walls along the street. Glass exploded and bricks flew everywhere.

The light lasted for several seconds before slowly fading.

Where the Green-Haired Young Master had stood, only a charred body remained.

Farther away, the street-facing sides of the shops were left in utter ruin.

Jiang Ran slowly lowered his fist and stood on the hood, looking somewhat pleased.

Not bad...

So this was the right way to use a finishing move in close combat.

After a brief silence,

Zhou Yuan's voice immediately rang out from the back of the convoy.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!!"

"He's one of us! They're all one of us!!!"