One Punch

Several kilometers outside Gu City, a train rolled through the darkness along the tracks.

There weren't many people aboard, so there were plenty of seats.

A handsome man in monk's robes sat meditating. On the table in front of him lay a worn, yellowed piece of burlap.

On it was a strange pattern made up of eight circles and more than a dozen tentacles.

It looked like it had been passed down for a long time.

The handsome man crossed his hands over his chest and chanted before the pattern on the cloth.

When he had finished his prayers, he opened his bright eyes, carefully folded the cloth away, and tucked it close to his body.

The train rounded a bend, offering a clear view of Gu City, ablaze with lights.

The man gazed at the city, his face full of longing.

Suddenly, the lights in the heart of Gu City dimmed. Dark clouds overhead sank low, like ink about to drip from the sky.

Blood vessels appeared in the handsome man's eyes.

Yet his face lit up with excitement, even greed. He sprang to his feet and pressed close to the window, staring toward Gu City.

Then his expression turned devout. He clasped his hands together and bowed deeply toward the city.

A bubble tea shop a hundred meters or so from Silver Glow Cinema Subway Station.

The members of the Dissection Department had been laid out on chairs, some reclining with their faces turned up, others slumped over tables. They were still unconscious.

After all, their mental strength was only somewhat greater than that of ordinary people. They were nowhere near awakened, and the powerful psychic shock just now had left them injured to varying degrees.

They would probably remain unconscious for a while longer.

Old Chen sat off to the side, bored, keeping an eye on the members of the Dissection Department. He was ready to punch anyone who woke up and knock them out again.

After leading the Dissection Department members out through a passage that hadn't fully closed, Old Chen had awkwardly realized that he couldn't get back in.

That damned underground palace had completely sealed itself up, and he couldn't find the entrance.

Fortunately, the Collector had already said that the Dissection Department was a key part of the infiltration plan and that they had to be protected.

With chaos raging outside, the best way to protect them was to keep them right here and make sure they stayed put.

So if anyone woke up, he'd knock them unconscious again.

But Old Chen had clearly overestimated the members of the Dissection Department. He waited for ages, and not one of them woke up.

He began to think it through calmly.

If the Dissection Department was an important part of the infiltration plan, then the Collector's goal was obvious: earn their approval through meritorious service, then rise quickly through the ranks.

Rescuing them from danger would be the greatest possible achievement and the surest way to earn their approval.

And he couldn't just save them; he had to take good care of them, too.

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

With that in mind, Old Chen immediately ran to the bedding store next door, grabbed a pile of blankets, and covered each unconscious member of the Dissection Department.

Then he used the ingredients in the bubble tea shop to make cup after cup of comforting red bean and black glutinous rice milk tea, placing one in each unconscious person's hand.

When he was done, Old Chen thought for a moment, then picked up a marker and wrote a few words on the cup in Ke Ke's hand:

"When things get tough, don't be afraid. After the storm comes a rainbow. —Fan"

After a moment's thought, he decided that wasn't enough. He found a sheet of paper and wrote, "I'm going to keep rescuing people. Everyone, stay safe and don't wander off. —Fan," then stuck it in the most conspicuous spot on the table.

Old Chen nodded with satisfaction.

This way, the Collector's goal would surely be achieved.

Aside from driving, he hadn't done much to ease the Collector's burdens lately. This was a great opportunity.

He wondered when the Collector would kill that bastard from the Unity Society. It had to be soon, right?

As Old Chen pondered, a roar came from underground, followed by a violent psychic shock. His expression changed. He rushed to the door and looked toward the subway station.

The ground seemed to have turned into a funnel, whipping up gusts of wind that plunged straight underground!

He could feel it, too: as if a peerless beast had emerged from beneath the earth!

In the underground palace, Li Fan's eyes blazed with dazzling light as he swept his gaze ahead.

The instant the light passed over them, burns appeared on Huo Lei and the Faceless One's bodies!

Fortunately, the light vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

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

Inside Li Fan's consciousness, Eight-Heads, who had only just arrived in the real world, could hardly contain his joy. He showered Li Fan with flattery:

"My Lord, you truly have opened a passage to the real world! How could Eight-Heads deserve such mercy from you? To be granted the chance to enter reality—I'm overwhelmed with gratitude! Pray tell, what task do you have for me?"

Li Fan's consciousness replied:

"My power is too strong for me to descend directly into reality. For now, I'll borrow your meager strength to take care of a few things."

Eight-Heads suddenly understood:

"Of course! If your power descended into reality, it would be enough to bring about its destruction! Tsk, tsk. And this frail body could never contain even a ten-thousandth of your power!"

Then he praised him like a toady:

"As expected of the great Master of the Dream Territory, the cunning and ruthless Lord of the Prison of Suppression! You've toyed with this lowly human so brilliantly, even concealing your mighty power and will inside his insignificant body!"

"Tsk, tsk. This body is trash—frail and powerless, insignificant and weak. It's not even as good as the bugs in the Dream Territory! And yet you've used this speck of dust to conquer reality and rule over everything. Allow me to offer my most humble reverence for your greatness!"

"Pitiful human. Ha ha! How could such a wretched creature even exist..."

Li Fan said coldly:

"Shut up!"

Eight-Heads immediately fell silent, all the while greedily sucking in the psychic energy drifting through the air.

He was starving, desperately in need of that psychic energy.

He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had last tasted the fragrance of fear.

He was also deeply grateful that his Lord had given him this opportunity.

The members of the Cleaning Association all stared at Li Fan in shock, unable to believe what they sensed.

The Collector now felt like a mountain to them. His terrifying psychic energy seemed almost tangible, and their bodies instinctively cowered before him, unable to move an inch!

Was this the Collector's true strength?

Had he only been injured earlier because he was testing the Faceless One?

They had thought their own strength was considerable, that they could even glimpse the Collector's back. Only now did they understand that the gap between them and the Collector was vast enough to span heaven and earth!

They even saw his terrifying psychic energy condense around him into eight visible, bubble-like orbs that bobbed gently in the air.

On the sacrificial altar, the faces covering Tai Sui's body showed surprise, anger, and cruelty. Huo Lei said coldly:

"You were hiding your strength? But before King Dian Li, a monarch-class anomaly, you'll learn that everything is futile. Those who disrespect the king shall be minced!"

A furious outline took shape on the Faceless One's face. He pointed at Li Fan, and his voice rang out in everyone's minds:

"Those who disrespect the king shall be minced!"

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

Li Fan immediately felt a stabbing pain spread throughout his body, as if he were about to be minced into meat paste!

But Li Fan didn't care in the slightest. He grinned as the orbs of light around him suddenly spun, instantly dispelling the anomalous effect.

He looked at the Faceless One and said coldly:

"What you're using is the power of rage? In that case, let's see who's angrier—you or me!"

As he spoke, one of the orbs beside him merged into his head, fusing with him.

Rage—rage unlike anything he had ever felt—surged through Li Fan.

His breathing quickened, and his eyes turned blood-red.

He looked up at the Faceless One inside the Bronze Coffin. With every bit of anger he felt, his strength seemed to multiply tenfold.

It was a rage that wanted to tear the whole world to pieces. What's more, the puny anomaly before him deserved it!

Li Fan took a step, pushed off hard, leaped, and threw a punch!

His body tore through the wind!

In an instant, he appeared in front of the Faceless One and drove a punch brimming with rage into its chest.

One punch.

It shattered into pieces!