One Punch

On the tracks several kilometers outside Gu City, a train was moving forward through the darkness.

There were few people on board, and the seats were plentiful.

A handsome man in monk's robes was meditating in his seat, a piece of yellowed, tattered linen cloth laid out on the tray table before him.

On the linen was a strange pattern composed of eight circles and over a dozen tentacles.

It looked as though it had been passed down for a very long time.

The handsome man pressed his crossed hands against his chest, chanting toward the pattern on the cloth.

Only after finishing his practice did he open his bright eyes, carefully putting the cloth away and tucking it close to his body.

The train passed a bend, offering a side view of the brightly lit Gu City.

The man looked toward Gu City, his face filled with yearning.

Suddenly, the lights in the center of the distant Gu City dimmed, and the dark clouds in the sky plummeted downward, like ink about to drip.

Bloodshot veins instantly appeared in the handsome man's eyes.

Yet, an expression of excitement and even greed appeared on his face; he stood up abruptly, pressing against the window to look toward Gu City.

Following that, his expression turned devout; he pressed his palms together and bowed deeply toward the direction of Gu City.

A milk tea shop over a hundred meters outside the Silver Glow Cinema Subway Station.

The members of the Dissection Department were placed in chairs one by one, either lying back with their heads tilted or slumped over the tables, still in a state of unconsciousness.

After all, their mental strength was only slightly higher than that of ordinary people, nowhere near the level of an Awakened; the powerful mental shock from earlier had injured them to varying degrees.

It was estimated they would remain unconscious for some time.

Old Chen sat to the side, bored, checking on the Dissection Department members, waiting for the moment anyone woke up so he could give them a punch and knock them out again.

After sending the Dissection Department members out through a passage that hadn't yet closed, Old Chen realized with embarrassment that he couldn't get back in.

That ghostly underground palace had completely sealed shut, and the entrance was nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, the Collector had already said that the Dissection Department was a crucial part of the infiltration plan and must be protected well.

With the world in chaos outside, the best protection was, of course, to let them stay here obediently.

So, whoever woke up would be knocked out immediately.

However, Old Chen had clearly overestimated the strength of the Dissection Department members; he waited for a long time and not a single one woke up.

He couldn't help but start to analyze calmly.

Since the Dissection Department was an important part of the infiltration plan, the Collector's goal was obvious: to gain the recognition of the Dissection Department members through meritorious service and then quickly rise in the ranks.

Therefore, rescuing these people from danger was the greatest merit and the best way to gain everyone's approval.

And not only did he have to save them, he had to take good care of them.

Not just take good care of them, but be thoughtful about it.

Thinking of this, Old Chen immediately ran to the bedding shop next door, grabbed a pile of blankets, and covered the unconscious Dissection Department members one by one.

Afterward, he used the materials from the milk tea shop to make cup after cup of heartwarming red bean and blood glutinous rice milk tea, stuffing them into the hands of the unconscious group.

After finishing all this, Old Chen thought for a moment, then took a marker and wrote a few words on the milk tea in Ke Ke's hand:

"Don't be afraid when you encounter difficulties; there is a rainbow after the rain—Fan."

He thought about it and felt it wasn't enough, so he found a piece of paper, wrote "I'm going to continue saving people; everyone must be careful and don't run around—Fan," and stuck it in the most conspicuous place on the table.

Old Chen nodded with satisfaction.

By doing this, the Collector's goal would surely be achieved.

He hadn't helped the Collector solve many problems during this time other than acting as a driver, so this was a very good opportunity.

It was just a pity he didn't know when the Collector would kill that bastard from the Unity Society; he imagined it should be soon, right?

Just as Old Chen was thinking this, a roar came from underground, followed by a violent mental shock that caused his expression to change drastically. He rushed to the door and looked toward the subway station.

He saw what looked like a funnel appear on the ground, whipping up gusts of wind that led straight to the underground!

He also felt as if a peerless, ferocious beast had appeared beneath the earth!

Inside the underground palace, Li Fan's eyes lit up with a scorching glow as he swept his gaze forward.

Just by being brushed by this light, burns appeared on the surfaces of both Huo Lei's and the Faceless One's bodies!

Fortunately, the light was fleeting.

Li Fan, who had previously been slumped on the ground, was now standing, as if nothing had just happened.

In Li Fan's consciousness, Eight-Heads, having just arrived in reality, was unable to suppress the ecstasy in its heart and was frantically buttering him up:

"Lord of the Prison, you have truly opened the passage to reality! How could Eight-Heads be worthy of such mercy from the Lord of the Prison, to actually have the chance to enter reality? I am truly moved to tears and can hardly contain myself! I only wonder what orders the Lord of the Prison has?"

Li Fan's consciousness said:

"My power is too immense to descend directly into reality; I shall temporarily borrow your meager strength to accomplish a few things."

Eight-Heads suddenly realized:

"Of course! If your power, Lord of the Prison of Suppression, were to descend into reality, it would be enough to cause the collapse of reality itself! Tsk tsk, and especially within such a frail vessel—it wouldn't even be enough to contain one ten-thousandth of your power!"

He then fawned like a sycophant:

"As expected of the great Master of the Dream Territory, the cunning and cruel Lord of the Prison of Suppression, to toy with this lowly human so, and even manage to hide your great power and will within this pathetic human body!"

"Tsk tsk, this body is truly like trash, frail and powerless, humble and weak—it doesn't even compare to the vermin of the Dream Territory. That you can conquer reality and dominate everything through this speck of dust... please allow me to offer my highest respects to your greatness!"

"This pathetic human, haha, how could such a pitiful creature exist..."

Li Fan said coldly:

"Shut up!"

Eight-Heads immediately clamped his mouth shut, while greedily sucking in the psychic energy drifting in the surrounding air.

He was truly too famished, too desperate for this psychic energy.

He could no longer remember how long it had been since he last tasted the fragrance of fear.

At the same time, he felt deeply grateful in his heart that the Lord of the Prison of Suppression had given him this opportunity.

The members of the Cleaning Association stared at Li Fan, their faces filled with shock, unable to believe their own senses.

The feeling the Collector gave them now was like a mountain; that terrifying psychic energy was almost tangible, causing their bodies to instinctively recoil in fear, unable to move a single inch!

Was this the true strength of the Collector?

Was the injury from just a moment ago merely a test for the Faceless One?

They had previously felt that their own strength was not weak, that they could even see the back of the Collector, but now they understood that the gap between them and the Collector could only be described as heaven and earth!

They even saw the terrifying psychic energy condensing around the Collector into eight visible, bubble-like orbs of light, bobbing up and down.

On the altar, the faces on Tai Sui revealed expressions of surprise, anger, and cruelty. Huo Lei said coldly:

"Hiding your strength? But in front of an anomaly of the monarch level like King Dian Li, you will realize that everything is futile. Those who do not respect the monarch shall be minced!"

The outline of anger traced itself upon the Faceless One's face as he pointed at Li Fan, his voice resounding in everyone's minds:

"Those who do not respect the monarch shall be minced!"

The punishment of mincing was to hack a person into meat paste.

At that moment, Li Fan immediately felt a stinging pain throughout his entire body, as if his flesh were about to turn into meat paste!

Yet Li Fan did not care in the slightest; he grinned, and the light orbs around his body spun violently, instantly erasing the abnormal status.

He looked at the Faceless One and said coldly:

"Is that the power of rage you are using? In that case, let's see if you are angrier, or if I am more furious!"

As he spoke, one of the light orbs beside him merged into Li Fan's head, becoming one with him.

Rage—an unprecedented rage—surged from Li Fan's heart.

His breathing grew rapid, and his eyes turned blood-red.

He looked up at the Faceless One in the bronze coffin, feeling that for every point of rage he felt, his power increased tenfold.

It was a rage that wanted to tear the entire world apart, let alone this lowly anomaly before him!

Li Fan stepped forward, stomped hard, leaped, and threw a punch!

His body pierced through the wind!

Almost instantly, he appeared before the Faceless One, his fist, filled with rage, slamming into the Faceless One's chest.

One punch.

Torn to pieces!