Capsizing

Capsizing

The seven special forces soldiers advanced toward Sub-Nest Six cautiously, covering one another. One of them held a palm-sized detector, watching the points of light on its display.

"Captain, careful. An energy source is rapidly approaching from behind. It's moving very fast." On the small display, a red dot rapidly closed in on the center, which was clearly where the group of special forces soldiers was located.

"Damn it! How did it get behind us? Stay alert, everyone. Pretend we haven't noticed it, but be ready at all times. Attack directly if you get the chance. Fat Pig, fall back and act as bait. Be careful." The captain glanced at the detector and immediately gave his orders.

A large-built special forces soldier immediately slowed down and dropped to the rear upon hearing this. He said nothing.

Hong Mo was rapidly closing in, completely unaware that he had already been exposed. Or perhaps, even if he had known, he would not have cared much. Hong Mo knew his own limits. Before gaining his ability, he had merely been an ordinary college student. Compared with these professional special forces soldiers, trying to track or counter-track them would be asking for a beating. His advantage was speed—speed too fast for ordinary eyes to distinguish.

After several hundred pounds of snake meat had been digested, it was converted by some unknown process into electric current within Hong Mo's body, filling every cell. At Hong Mo's command, the current surged through his body as countless arcs of electricity twisted into a pair of malformed wings.

Instant Activation!

Hong Mo vanished from the entrance to the corridor in an instant. When he reappeared, he had already reached the first metal door.

It's you. Hong Mo fixed his sights on the burly man at the very back—the one being used as bait, "Fat Pig." He drew back his right hand, his five fingers straightened as electric current oscillated rapidly along the edge of his palm.

Too fast—his movements were almost impossible to see. Holding his sniper rifle, the young special forces soldier remained calm. He needed an opportunity, one chance for a killing blow.

With a tearing sound, Fat Pig's outer clothes were easily ripped apart, and Hong Mo's right hand drove viciously into the middle of his back. But instead of the expected spray of blood, Hong Mo let out a muffled grunt. A dull gray garment blocked his hand; even the sharp oscillating electromagnetic blade could not easily pierce it. Worse, Hong Mo had used too much force and twisted his fingers.

With a thunderous bang, an exquisite bullet shot toward Hong Mo's brow.

Missing by a hair, the bullet streaked past Hong Mo's strands of hair, taking a tuft of black hair with it.

The sniper cursed and tightened his grip on the rifle.

"Crossfire!" the captain shouted, taking the lead in attacking. Fierce gunfire erupted at once as countless bullets ricocheted through the narrow room, covering every one of Hong Mo's blind spots. The captain was certain that no matter how fast Hong Mo was, he could not escape this fully covered net of bullets.

Hong Mo had not paused from beginning to end, yet even so, he instantly realized that he could not leave the area controlled by the bullets. As expected of well-trained special forces soldiers, Hong Mo silently praised. But since he had dared to charge straight in, he naturally had some confidence.

As he ran, Hong Mo's eyes suddenly lit up. Ability Field, activate!

Hong Mo's Ability Field currently only extended about ten meters, but that was enough. Every bullet that could possibly harm him was disrupted by electromagnetism and veered off its original trajectory. Even when the occasional bullet struck Hong Mo, its speed had been reduced by electromagnetism, preventing it from having the intended effect.

Countless bullets fell to the ground with a series of clinks and clangs.

The consumption is too fast.

Hong Mo could sense the electric current within his body draining away continuously. The current had not been particularly abundant to begin with, and in this brief time, a third of it had already been used up.

Leaving a white afterimage behind him, Hong Mo lunged at the nearest special forces soldier. It was a young opponent, and a trace of youthful immaturity could still be seen on his face. Yet Hong Mo felt no hesitation. The oscillating electromagnetic blade on his right hand sliced easily across the man's neck, and a head bearing a look of astonishment flew into the air.

"Xiao Fei!" One of the special forces soldiers saw this and roared in fury. He then pulled out a grenade-like weapon from his waist and threw it over.

Dodge!

A violent sense of unease surged through Hong Mo. Without any further thought, he immediately obeyed his body's instincts and retreated at high speed. With a booming explosion, Hong Mo's ears rang, and his head swam uncontrollably.

Without pausing, Hong Mo scrambled up from the ground and ran farther back. Sure enough, several more violent explosions erupted behind him, and intense vibrations could be felt throughout the entire corridor.

"Change ammunition. The enemy's ability seems to be electromagnetism. Metal bullets aren't very effective." The captain stared at the blast site for a moment before suddenly issuing the order. As a special forces soldier under the National Superpower Special Security Department, he had extensive combat experience against superpowered individuals.

Upon receiving the order, the remaining special forces soldiers immediately changed their magazines.

Behind the corner, Hong Mo stuck out his tongue to lick his lips, calming his slightly ragged breathing. Impressive. They really are special forces soldiers. They may all be ordinary people, but combined with high-tech weapons, they can unleash tremendous destructive power.

Several golden bullets rolled before Hong Mo. He gave them a glance.

High-tech weapons, huh!

Come to think of it, an electromagnetic cannon also counted as a high-tech weapon. It was probably far more advanced than these guns. A smile appeared on Hong Mo's lips as he beckoned with his right hand, causing several specially made metal bullets to fall into his palm.

Without showing himself, Hong Mo used his Ability Field, reduced to roughly ten meters, to monitor the other side of the corner. Heavy pressure silently spread through the corridor, and everyone felt incomparably oppressed.

"The target is still in the same place." A special forces soldier checked the small detector again. Clearly, it was an instrument designed specifically to detect the locations of superpowered individuals.

"Captain, should we toss a big one over?" a special forces soldier cautiously suggested.

After hesitating for a moment, the captain nodded, then shook his head. "The enemy is very fast. A direct attack probably won't be very effective. Use some other attack as a feint first and draw his attention."

"I'll do it. Maybe I can hit him directly." The sniper carrying the high-energy rifle stepped out from the shadows and raised a hand.

"M175 Biobullet?" Though the captain phrased it as a question, he was clearly certain.

"Yeah. The issue quantity of this ammunition is restricted, but I think we should use it when it's time to use it. There's no point in saving it." The sniper answered. Clearly, the M175 Biobullets were valuable, and only a limited number had been issued.

"Night Cat, after Owl attacks, throw a big one over."

Night Cat waved to show that he understood, then pulled a pineapple-sized object from a simple backpack behind him and began setting it up. Meanwhile, the sniper took a sturdy box from his backpack. When he opened it, three long, exquisite bullets could be seen inside.

Behind the corner, Hong Mo had no idea what the special forces soldiers on the other side were preparing. But he could clearly sense that something was off. After hesitating briefly, Hong Mo remained quietly where he was.

After Owl loaded the M175 Biobullet, he made an OK gesture with his hand. The others also indicated that everything was ready.

With a thunderous bang, Hong Mo felt an immense force strike him from behind. Caught off guard, his entire body was hurled away by the tremendous impact. A dark red bullet punched through the solid wall and struck Hong Mo's shoulder blade.

Almost instantly, a massive tearing force spread from his shoulder blade, shredding Hong Mo's entire right arm. Before he could react further, he saw a pineapple-shaped weapon land right in front of him.

Damn it!

Hong Mo only had time to curse inwardly before a violent shockwave erupted.

The entire underground special research institute trembled slightly. Luo Meiyue looked uneasily toward the source of the tremors. That was Sub-Nest Six. Such violent vibrations—could they have used some powerful high-tech weapon? How was Hong Mo doing?

After throwing the pineapple-shaped weapon, the prepared special forces soldiers had already found cover and lay prone on the ground. Though the vibrations were intense, they were not greatly affected. After a while, once the shaking subsided, the captain climbed to his feet and made a gesture. The group then cautiously moved forward to inspect the aftermath of the explosion.

Hong Mo lay motionless in the ruined passageway, his body curled up. His right arm was gone, while his remaining left hand and both legs were twisted at unnatural angles.

A special forces soldier fired three short bursts from his submachine gun into Hong Mo. Snow sprayed up, but Hong Mo did not react at all.

Was he dead?

After cautiously approaching, one of the soldiers examined Hong Mo's condition.

"He's still alive, but barely. He must have curled up at the last moment and used his arms and legs to shield himself from the blast." They were all professionals and quickly judged what had happened.

One soldier aimed his gun at Hong Mo's brow. It was easy to imagine that one shot would finish off the unprotected Hong Mo for good.

"Wait." At that moment, the special forces captain stopped him. Without hesitation, the soldier took a step back.

Although their orders had been to kill the target at any cost, the captain knew that, generally speaking, a living test subject was more valuable than a dead one. Since this target could no longer resist, there was no harm in sparing his life for now. As for whether the higher-ups would still insist on killing him later, that would no longer be their concern.

"Take him into custody. I'll report to headquarters."

"Yes, Captain." Upon receiving the order, several special forces soldiers immediately acted.

The captain connected to an encrypted communicator. After a while, a voice came through. "This is Command Center. Respond."

"Reporting: Team 107 has completed its mission. The target has been captured. Awaiting instructions."

Captured? Hadn't the order been to kill him? Well, that was fine. A living one was more valuable than a dead one, the command officer who answered the call thought.

"Bring the target back to headquarters."

"Yes." The captain answered and saluted.

On their way up from the Northern Institute Research Center, the team ran into Luo Meiyue, who was coming out. Unsurprisingly, Luo Meiyue was captured as well, though she was luckier than Hong Mo. The special forces team did not make things difficult for her, merely putting a pair of ordinary handcuffs on her.

Just after leaving the elevator, Hong Mo slowly regained consciousness. Carried in someone's grip, he felt as though the entire world was swaying, while intense pain from every part of his body flooded his mind.

Ugh!

With a faint groan, Hong Mo closed his eyes. This time, he had truly fallen hard. Sure enough, just as Luo Meiyue had said, with superpowers becoming reality, the state had likewise lifted restrictions on many weapons. For now, superpowered individuals did not possess any absolute advantage.

"The target is awake." The soldier carrying Hong Mo noticed his condition.

"Give him some medication and keep him quiet. I don't want anything unpleasant happening on the way back," the captain ordered.

A vial of colorless, transparent medicine was injected into Hong Mo's body.

My fate...! Hong Mo's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they finally closed slowly.