Desperate Straits! The Might of Dodon Ray

The hovercar's engine let out a desperate shriek as it swerved and bucked through the narrow, dilapidated alleys of the old district like a headless fly.

The vehicle's body was covered in shocking scratches and dents, the result of being clipped by the shockwaves of the energy blades Mercenary Tao flicked out with casual ease. The onboard alarm wailed incessantly, and the screen flashed with frantic red error messages.

"Warning! Power system at 37% damage!"

"Warning! Rear-right stabilizer wing failed!"

"Warning! High-energy signature detected approaching rapidly!"

Lin Fan's face was deathly pale, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He had pushed his Wind Control Art to the absolute limit—not to fly, but to predict the trajectory of the next strike from the death-dealing phantom behind him.

His spiritual sense was draining at an unprecedented rate; his temples throbbed violently, sending waves of needle-like pain through his head.

He could no longer remember how many crude Illusion Talismans and Trap Talismans he had thrown.

Those little tricks, infused with his meager True Qi and spiritual sense, were like soap bubbles under the sun when faced with Mercenary Tao's absolute power. They burst at the slightest touch, at best buying a fraction of a second of hesitation from that white-clad reaper, or earning him an even more impatient snort.

The gap in strength was simply too vast!

It was a desperate, insurmountable chasm!

"Dead end ahead! Dead end ahead!"

The onboard AI assistant issued a cold, robotic prompt.

Lin Fan jerked his head up, his heart skipping a beat!

The vehicle was barreling toward a cul-de-sac blocked by massive abandoned pipes and collapsed buildings!

On both sides stood towering, smooth metal walls—there was nowhere to hide!

"Turn! Turn around!"

Lin Fan roared.

Screech—!

Another condensed energy blade, sharp as a reaper's scythe, whistled precisely over the top of the car, slicing through the crisscrossing overhead cables in one clean sweep!

Burning wires and leaking fluids rained down like a torrential storm, hammering against the roof with a deafening clatter!

The hovercar slammed into a sharp drift, the tires screaming against the filthy ground and kicking up thick smoke, coming to a halt just inches from the ruins, wedged sideways in the middle of the road.

It's over!

The thought had barely crossed Lin Fan's mind when a dull thud echoed from the roof!

It felt as if something incredibly heavy had landed on top of it.

The entire roof buckled downward in a terrifying arc!

The bulletproof glass windows groaned under the strain, cracks spreading across them like a spiderweb in an instant!

Lin Fan snapped his head up, meeting a pair of cold, indifferent eyes devoid of any human emotion through the shattered glass.

Mercenary Tao stood on one foot atop the car, looking down at him slightly, as if observing a bug pinned to a specimen board.

"A bug is just a bug."

"No matter how much you struggle, you cannot change the fate of being crushed."

His voice pierced through the metal and glass, reaching Lin Fan with the calm finality of a death sentence.

Inside the car, the red alarm lights flashed frantically, casting a look of utter despair over Lin Fan's bloodless face.

There was no escaping!

Lin Fan gritted his teeth, a flash of resolve in his eyes!

He kicked the door open and lunged out like a leopard, his hands forming seals at top speed!

The True Qi of his peak Qi Refining stage surged out without reservation!

At the same time, he pulled out several alloy plates he had swiped from Bulma's lab—engraved with basic defensive runes—along with his remaining stock of failed, barely functional Diamond Talismans, and flung them forward as if they were worthless scraps!

"True Qi Shield!"

"Diamond Talisman! Activate!"

"Defend!"

He let out a hoarse roar, stacking every defensive measure he possessed in front of him in a single instant!

A distorted, nearly transparent barrier formed from highly condensed True Qi materialized directly before him!

The alloy plates and talismans simultaneously flickered with dim light, forming two or three thin membranes of energy that layered behind the True Qi shield!

This was the most powerful defense he could muster—he was pushing himself harder than he had even when resisting Tien Shinhan's Tri-Beam!

Yet, Mercenary Tao, standing on the roof, didn't even spare a hint of mockery for this death-defying display.

He simply raised his right hand slowly, his index finger pointing straight at Lin Fan, who had just managed to steady his stance.

At his fingertip, a point of intensely condensed white light, radiating an aura of destruction, suddenly ignited!

The light was not dazzling, yet it carried an extreme sense of danger that made the surrounding air freeze and tremble!

"Dodon Ray."

Mercenary Tao spat out the three words indifferently.

Whoosh—!!!

A beam of white energy, condensed to the absolute limit, erupted from his fingertip like the finger of Death itself!

It was silent, yet faster than the limits of visual perception!

Wherever it passed, space itself seemed to be pierced and twisted!

Lin Fan's pupils shrank to pinpricks!

In his perception, that beam transformed into the only existence in heaven and earth, carrying an irresistible will of death!

The next moment!

Puchi—!

The seemingly sturdy True Qi shield was pierced through instantly and effortlessly by this condensed Dodon Ray, like a hot knife through butter!

It didn't even manage to delay it for a tenth of a second!

Immediately after, the faint light-film formed by the glowing Diamond Talismans and alloy plates was like paper; it vanished and vaporized silently the instant it touched the white beam, without even making a sound!

The Dodon Ray's speed did not slow, its power did not weaken, and it continued to shoot precisely and coldly toward Lin Fan's chest!

"Urgh—!!!"

Lin Fan only had time to let out a short, pained grunt!

He couldn't even see what had happened; he only felt an indescribable, terrifying force, sharp to the extreme, instantly pierce through his body!

It felt as if he had been stabbed through by a red-hot branding iron!

All the defenses he had stacked before him were rendered useless in the face of the world's number one assassin's ultimate technique!

Bang!

Lin Fan's body was sent flying backward as if hit head-on by a high-speed train, slamming heavily into the pile of abandoned pipes and reinforced concrete rubble blocking the road!

It emitted a teeth-grinding, heavy thud!

Pfft—!

A mouthful of scalding blood sprayed uncontrollably from his mouth, carving a glaring crimson arc through the air. On his chest, a shocking, charred hole appeared; the edges of his clothes and flesh were instantly carbonized, emitting eerie wisps of smoke.

Agonizing pain flooded his consciousness like a tidal wave!

His vision went black, golden stars danced before his eyes, and his ears were filled with a buzzing sound as the world seemed to drift away from him.

The strength in his entire body vanished like a receding tide, making it incredibly difficult to even lift a finger.

In his blurred consciousness, he saw Mercenary Tao's figure land lightly from the top of the wrecked sports car, walking toward him with unhurried, measured steps.

Those cold eyes still held no emotional fluctuation, as if he were merely finishing a trivial cleanup job.

Am I... going to die?

Lin Fan's consciousness drifted in an abyss of pain and cold despair.

An unprecedented sense of powerlessness gripped his heart.

Is this... the gap in absolute strength...

Mercenary Tao stopped a few meters in front of him, looking at Lin Fan, who lay in the ruins with his chest pierced through and only half a breath left. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly confirming the result.

Then, he slowly raised his finger once more.

At his fingertip, that despair-inducing white light began to gather again.

The finishing blow.

The world's number one assassin never gave his targets any chance of survival.

The shadow of death completely swallowed Lin Fan.