Desperate Mercenary Tao

The sea wind grew fiercer, whipping up broken waves that slapped against the reefs with sharp splats.

Mercenary Tao retreated more than a dozen steps, his shoes leaving two deep prints in the wet, sticky sand. He stared fixedly at Chen He, the cigarette hanging from his lips glowing and dimming. Even his right hand, hidden within his sleeve, trembled beyond his control.

"Kid, it seems Commander Black's offer was too low."

Mercenary Tao snorted and spat out his cigarette. He knew he had encountered the toughest opponent of his life. No longer holding back, he kicked off the ground and shot forward close to the surface, kicking up a trail of sand. Both hands came together in a finger strike aimed straight at Chen He's throat.

"Divine Finger Technique!"

This attack gathered all of his qi. His fingertips screeched sharply against the air, and even the rain passing through their path instantly evaporated.

Chen He remained where he was without dodging. He merely watched coldly as the figure—faster than lightning in an ordinary person's eyes—charged toward him.

Under the crushing pressure of six times gravity, his movements were indeed half a beat slower than usual, but that did not make him a living target. Just as Mercenary Tao's fingertips were about to pierce his throat, Chen He suddenly twisted aside and swung his right fist in a heavy, powerful hook, smashing it solidly into Mercenary Tao's ribs.

Bang!

The dull sound of bones breaking rang clearly through the crashing waves.

Mercenary Tao had not even seen how Chen He attacked. He only felt a burst of agony beneath his ribs before he was sent flying sideways like a cannonball. He crashed through two coconut trees thick enough to encircle with both arms, then slammed into a patch of mud and vomited a mouthful of blood.

"Cough... cough, cough..." Mercenary Tao struggled to get up, but every movement drove his shattered ribs deeper toward his organs. The arrogance and indifference in his eyes had long vanished, replaced by a ghostly terror.

The strength of this kid was not something a human should possess.

"Too weak."

Chen He walked toward the muddy pit, his feet splashing through the sludge. Looking down at Mercenary Tao from above, his eyes held not the slightest ripple, as though he were looking at an ant crushed beneath a wheel.

"With skills like that, you call yourself the world's greatest assassin?"

"Y-you, don't come any closer!" Mercenary Tao clutched his chest and shuffled backward. Suddenly, his right hand flicked up like lightning, sending several poison-coated darts shooting toward Chen He's eyes.

At the same time, he used the force of that motion to leap backward. Reaching to his waist with his right hand, he somehow pulled out a round military grenade, bit off the fuse, and hurled it at Chen He's feet.

"Die!"

Chen He did not even blink. He simply tilted his head, letting the darts graze past his ear. As for the grenade that landed beside his feet, he did not even glance at it.

Boom!

Flames erupted across the beach, and a storm of mud and sand completely swallowed Chen He's figure.

Mercenary Tao did not wait to see the result. Enduring the pain, he turned and ran, his toes tapping rapidly over the ground as he rushed toward the pink stone pillar planted in the sand. His only thought now was escape—escape back to Red Ribbon Army headquarters, or simply disappear and live under another name.

"Whoosh—"

However, before he could reach the stone pillar, a violent gust of pressure slammed down directly from above his head.

Chen He descended leisurely from the sky and landed steadily atop the pink stone pillar. His black training uniform was only slightly damaged, and not even a speck of black soot stained his skin. His undershirt gleamed faintly in the cold and sea wind, making his nearly terrifying aura all the more horrifying.

"Where do you think you're going?" Chen He asked, hands in his pockets as he looked down at Mercenary Tao.

"You monster..." Mercenary Tao's legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees on the beach with a thud. After decades in the underworld, he was learning for the first time what true despair meant.

Chen He could not be bothered to listen to any more nonsense. He leaped down from the stone pillar, a blinding white qi blast having somehow gathered in his right palm. The condensed force pressed the surrounding air until it crackled.

"W-wait! The Dragon Ball! The Dragon Ball at Red Ribbon Army headquarters is in the Commander's office! And their deployment map..." Desperate to live, Mercenary Tao completely abandoned an assassin's professional integrity and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I know."

Chen He's voice was as still as a pool of dead water. He pressed his palm downward, and white light instantly swallowed Mercenary Tao whole.

Rumble!!

The massive explosion gouged out a crater more than ten meters wide on the beach, while the violent shockwave shattered several nearby reefs. When the light faded, only a charred patch remained in the muddy crater. The so-called greatest assassin on Earth had not even left behind a single intact bone.

[ Ding! Killed top underworld assassin Mercenary Tao. Additional points reward obtained. ]

[ Points obtained: +2000! Current total points: 6050! ]

Hearing the voice in his mind, Chen He dispersed the lingering force in his hand and let out a long breath.

"Chen He! You're incredible!" Goku ran over carrying the Power Pole, staring at the huge crater with shining eyes. "That guy was so fast, I could barely see him, but you flattened him with one slap!"

Chen He turned his head, looked at Goku, then at his own palms, which were faintly numb.

Bursting forth under six times gravity still placed no small burden on his body. Yet as he felt his Saiyan blood begin circulating faster on its own due to the slight damage to his cells, a satisfied curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Pick up the ball, Goku."

Chen He brushed the sand from his clothes and turned toward the edge of the beach.

"Red Ribbon Army's trump cards are all dead. Next, it's time to go to their headquarters and collect the rest of what they owe."