Number One did not dodge. The white energy beam struck the center of its chest, sending ripples across the surface of its golden skin before being absorbed, dispersed, and neutralized. As the energy dissipated, a faint halo appeared over its chest.
Then Number One moved. Its right fist shot out from its waist, the motion identical to Xu Wuyi's. The sequence of muscle contractions from shoulder to wrist was exactly the same, and even the subtle angle adjustments during the punch were highly similar. The punch was not particularly fast, but its point of impact was incomparably precise, striking the exact center of the crack on the individual's face. The entire body split apart from the middle, gray-white fragments scattering across the ground.
Xu Wuyi stood in the hall, watching the scene on the light screen. After hitting the ground, those gray-white fragments continued to release residual energy slowly, while the faint white glow within their cracks gradually died out. From the individual's distant approach to its destruction by Number One's punch, the entire process had taken less than ten seconds.
He withdrew his gaze and asked, "What was that?"
6
Zero One's voice rang through the hall, lower than before. "Cross-referencing the Star Alliance Archives. A record from more than twenty years ago has been matched. Its contents came from a patrol report at the Southern Boundary Line of the Third Astral Battlefield. The report mentioned an unclassified gray humanoid entity. Its method of appearance, bodily structure, and defensive capabilities were highly similar to the individual Number One just encountered. The garrison responsible for the report labeled it 'Gray Shell.' It never appeared again afterward. The Archives contain only that single record, with no follow-up and no classification."
66
Xu Wuyi stood in the hall, looking at the gray-white