The Opening of Battle

The Opening of Battle

Lei Ao's brains splattered across the ground, yet he was not completely dead. After Hong Mo removed his right hand, Lei Ao's body twitched faintly as he stared fixedly at Hong Mo with his intact left eye. The vitality of espers was truly astonishing.

In that wide-open left eye, Hong Mo saw deep unwillingness and confusion.

Hong Mo looked at the man who still refused to accept it and ultimately could not bear to leave him hanging.

"Electromagnetic principles." Hong Mo offered an explanation, but Lei Ao still appeared not to understand.

Illiterate? Hong Mo sneered inwardly. He had no intention of explaining further. Gently pressing his index finger against Lei Ao's forehead, he heard a soft puff as a brilliant bolt of electricity shot from his fingertip.

Not far away, the passengers who had been screaming because of the car accident now clamped their hands over their mouths, trembling all over like cicadas in winter. How could modern people living in a peaceful society ever have seen such violent, bloody scenes?

The once-noisy city suddenly seemed utterly deserted, falling deathly silent. Centered on Hong Mo, an eerie pressure spread over everyone nearby.

Looking at the blood dripping from his hand and the brains splattered on the ground, Hong Mo unexpectedly felt a strange thrill rise within him. Without realizing it, his eyes reddened slightly, his body trembled faintly, and his mouth split into a wide grin.

This was not fear, but excitement. Why was he excited? Hong Mo did not know. Perhaps there had always been a wild streak in his blood.

His blood-dripping right hand curled into a claw. Amid flickering electric light, the blood broke down into faint wisps of blue smoke. Moments later, his hand was clean once more. Only after taking a deep breath did Hong Mo regain control of his emotions and return to his usual calm demeanor.

After Hong Mo left, the silent street slowly regained its bustle. Yet that bustle now carried a measure of caution.

"I know who that was. That was Cannon Bro!" a voice suddenly called out.

"Cannon Bro? What Cannon Bro?"

"You don't even know Cannon Bro? Go look at the news online more often." A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy looked disdainfully at the middle-aged man beside him. These people had all been hiding in the supermarket earlier.

"Pengfei, let's go. I know this guy. His son spent just a few days online, and he sent him to internet addiction rehab. The kid was nearly beaten to death, and when he came out, he was practically an idiot." Another boy whispered into the first boy's ear.

Unfortunately, he spoke rather loudly, and nearly everyone present heard him clearly.

"Tch, another parent like that. Disgusting... But A-Chao, what do you think Cannon Bro's ability is? Do you think we could learn it...?"

"How would I know? I'm jealous as hell too..." As the two walked away, their voices gradually faded. The people still inside the supermarket all stared at the middle-aged man strangely. Unable to control his own son, he had sent him to internet addiction rehab, only for the boy to come back an idiot. How pathetic.

After Lei Ao died, the four esper fields at the police station underwent unnatural fluctuations.

"Lei Ao... is dead!" Mao Shaohui, the leader of the group, said in a daze. He truly could not understand it. This was not the first time they had recruited civilian espers. Every time before this, once their targets heard that they could join a state organization and enjoy numerous privileges, they had fawned over them eagerly.

This was the first time someone had directly killed a state agent.

At the final intersection before the police station, Hong Mo stopped because he spotted a familiar figure.

"Yo, long time no see." Hong Mo raised a hand in greeting. Sure enough, he had run into Mu Siyu. It seemed she had not yet made contact with the state agents.

"Long time no see," Mu Siyu replied flatly.

The two walked side by side toward the police station as though they were out for a stroll. "Why did you take things this far?" Mu Siyu asked softly.

"Huh? What?" Hong Mo thought he had misheard.

"Our relationship wasn't worth it. They represent the state."

"I seem to remember you saying that you couldn't accept the idea that only certain people could represent the state." Hong Mo thought for a moment, then smiled. "I've discovered my true nature. I find challenging something this enormous very interesting."

"Is that so? Do whatever you want." Mu Siyu appeared completely unconcerned.

"Ah, right. Don't accept their summons. You'll die. It's a trap." Hong Mo seemed to have suddenly remembered something. After hearing this, Mu Siyu looked at his back thoughtfully.

In the square before the police station, Hong Mo and Mu Siyu encountered the four espers affiliated with the state. None of the usually busy police officers were around, nor was there a single ordinary person.

Hong Mo was stunned when he saw the people opposite him. He had not expected the fat man to be there too.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Mao Shaohui, the leader, pushed up his glasses and pointed at Hong Mo with a sternly righteous expression.

"What?" Hong Mo scratched his head sheepishly, looking as though he truly had no idea what he was doing.

"You are opposing the people and society—you are betraying the state."

"Don't pin such a huge label on me, all right? I admit that what I did violated the law, but it hasn't risen to the level of betraying the state. As for opposing society, do I look like some lunatic who kills people for no reason? And everyone knows what the law really is. It's merely a tool used by the ruling class to preserve its rule." Hong Mo replied calmly.

"You!"

"I'm not wrong. If you don't believe me, look it up on Baidu." Hong Mo spread his hands.

Mao Shaohui took a deep breath before speaking. "Let the past be the past. After all, you possess extraordinary power. The world is changing, and the state needs talented people like you. If you choose to join the state, your past actions will not be pursued."

"Where is my younger sister?" Mu Siyu suddenly asked.

"Don't worry. She's perfectly safe. As long as you join us, you can be reunited with her."

Before Hong Mo's warning, Mu Siyu might have agreed just like that. Although she did not know where Hong Mo had gotten his information, she was willing to trust him.

"Actually, you never intended to let me live, did you?" After studying Mao Shaohui carefully for a few moments, Mu Siyu spoke leisurely.

Mao Shaohui froze when he heard that. His family truly had made such plans, especially his stepmother. Since her son had died, she had been clamoring to have Mu Siyu torn to pieces. But Mu Siyu should not have known about this.

I guessed right? Seeing the look on his face, Mu Siyu thought to herself that Hong Mo had not lied. With that, she slowly raised her right hand.

At Mu Siyu's movement, Mao Shaohui and the other espers were instantly horrified. In the video, after Mu Siyu had raised her right hand like this, she had frozen everything within a five-kilometer radius. Was she planning to do that again here?

"Cold Current!"

As Mu Siyu held her right hand level, frigid air and water vapor surged forth from before her. Countless ice crystals instantly condensed in front of her.

Of the four people opposite them, three swiftly retreated. Only a disheveled-looking man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth remained behind. But since he dared stay where he was, he surely had something to rely on.

"Ah... what a pain!" Muttering to himself, the disheveled man flicked the cigarette in his hand into the air, then suddenly thrust out his right hand. With a bang, the cigarette erupted into a fierce blaze that rapidly spread, forming a wall of fire over two meters tall.

Fire?

So that was it. After all, this was the state. Naturally, they had selected an esper suited to dealing with Mu Siyu. Fire and frost could be said to counter each other, though which one countered the other was difficult to say.