Spar

"Quit joking around, will you?"

Seeing Xie Lan's gloomy expression, Ye Xiu burst out laughing.

"Just lightening the mood. Don't take it to heart."

Of course, he knew armor of that caliber was impossible to make.

Tyrant's physical strength ranked among the very best even among fourth-tier mutant zombies.

Not to mention, even when Ye Xiu, at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, drove the Burning Soul Art with all his strength, the Soul-Reaping Thorn could not even break through its defenses.

That said a great deal.

Armor capable of withstanding Tyrant's attacks head-on had to be at least on the level of a one-man tank.

If Xie Lan could really make something like that, she would not still be scraping by in the lower district.

Watching Ye Xiu laugh things off and brush the subject aside before turning to inspect the other equipment in the laboratory, Xie Lan let out a soft sigh.

"Ye Xiu, I'm a straightforward person, so I won't stand on ceremony."

"This new material you brought really is good stuff. I'm confident that once we thoroughly understand it, it can take our research to the next level. But if that was all, there'd be no need for you to force your way in here, would there?"

"If you want deeper cooperation, we first need to establish who takes precedence."

"With the strength you've shown on the surface, you're not qualified."

Xie Lan's words brought Ye Xiu, who had been examining the entire research institute, to a halt.

He had thought she would take longer to notice his intentions. He had not expected Xie Lan to lay everything out in the open the moment he entered.

Then again.

For a woman to carve out such a large foundation for herself in the Azure Prefecture shelter, Xie Lan could not possibly be useless.

Especially after she had come into contact with Xu Hualing, more than half of Ye Xiu's outward disguise had already fallen away.

Given her status as the local snake, after so many days, it was impossible for Xie Lan not to have caught even the slightest rumor.

Even setting all that aside, how could a second-tier esper on the surface maintain a villa in the middle district, let alone casually hand over huge quantities of materials for Xu Hualing to use?

"Then what proof does Sister Lan want?"

Ye Xiu casually pulled over a chair and sat down, a relaxed smile appearing on his face. Yet Xie Lan felt as though the aura around him had become that of a completely different person.

An inexplicable sense of danger rose in her mind. There was clearly no sign of any ability being activated nearby, yet Xie Lan constantly felt as though something had fixed its gaze upon her from the unseen.

"In this apocalypse, strength naturally does the talking."

Xie Lan lightly clapped her hands. In an instant, massive quantities of weapons flipped out from the walls around the laboratory.

Dozens of gleaming gun barrels aimed at Ye Xiu at once, sealing off nearly every route of escape around him.

"Wildfire Gang didn't get where it is today by talking."

Xie Lan's voice suddenly seemed to grow distant. Ye Xiu looked ahead, only to discover in astonishment that Xie Lan, who had been standing before him a moment ago, had somehow appeared dozens of meters away.

Teleportation? Or an illusion?

Ye Xiu did not know what Xie Lan's ability was, but it now seemed that letting him enter so easily had not been carelessness on her part. On the contrary, she had long since calculated the consequences if they came to blows.

"The bullets in this batch of guns can punch through even third-tier zombies. If you admit defeat now, we can still talk things over properly. Otherwise, if you die for nothing, we won't be responsible."

Though dense ranks of firearms stood behind her, the sense of danger in Xie Lan's heart never faded.

To be honest, if she could avoid it, she did not want to fight Ye Xiu. But the forceful attitude Ye Xiu had displayed, along with the gazes of the people beneath her in the research institute, left her no choice but to settle who was superior and who was inferior now.

In Apocalypse World, there had never been such a thing as peaceful equality. The strong naturally possessed more rights!

Ye Xiu waved a hand noncommittally, reached behind him, and gripped a short weapon tightly in his hand.

"Fire!"

The next moment, at Xie Lan's command, the barrage erupting from the surrounding gun barrels completely swallowed Ye Xiu.

Boom, boom, boom...

The unending roar of gunfire made everyone in the factory set aside what they were doing. The large central screen clearly displayed the situation inside the laboratory, but amid the dense rain of bullets and the spreading Ice Dance, the onlooking Wildfire Gang members could only make out two figures moving rapidly within.

"What's going on? Why did the boss suddenly start fighting someone?"

Someone who did not know the situation asked, and guards who had witnessed everything immediately stepped forward to explain.

"Seems like he's someone the boss just met. The moment he got here, he wanted to head straight for the laboratory. He was probably planning to get a hand in it."

"You know the boss's temperament. If you want a say, you have to take it with your own hands."

Hearing the explanation, the confused researchers finally understood.

This was not an uncommon occurrence in the wasteland. It was only natural for capable people to want more. Quite a few people present had originally come with thoughts of annexation themselves, only to be beaten into submission and stay behind to follow along.

"I wonder how long this kid can hold out. From what he's shown, he's at least at the level of a third-tier esper, right?"

Although the exact situation on the large screen remained unclear, the range of the gunfire was visibly compressing the space occupied by the icy mist. Judging from that alone, Ye Xiu's defeat was only a matter of time.

"Of course. The boss is a fourth-tier esper. That newcomer is bound to lose. Everyone should start thinking about how to make the new guy treat us."

A researcher's words won everyone's agreement. They stared eagerly at the screen above, beginning to enjoy the show in earnest.

Inside the laboratory, however, the situation was nowhere near as one-sided as those outside imagined.

Xie Lan used her ability to control the vast number of firearms. She appeared to be pressing Ye Xiu relentlessly, but in truth, as the Ice Dance domain shrank smaller and smaller, its obstruction of the bullets became stronger and stronger.

After the bullets near Ye Xiu's side were slowed, before they could even approach him, they were snapped apart by the Soul-Extinguishing Dagger swinging in his hand.

Is this kid looking for a pattern?

Though she held the initiative, this absurd thought inexplicably rose in Xie Lan's heart.

Alarmed, she abruptly exerted force, and the gunfire burst forth all at once.

"Close one."

Ye Xiu turned sideways, and a bullet grazed past the edge of his clothes.

"Just a little more effort, and I would've lost."

Seeing the teasing smile on Ye Xiu's face, a surge of anger rose in Xie Lan's heart for no reason.

To keep things from looking too ugly, her deliberate restraint had instead become the confidence he relied on.

Then let him see the gulf between the fourth tier and the third tier.

With a snap of her fingers, the gunfire that had just subsided erupted once more.

Ye Xiu continued using the Ice Dance at his side to block it. As if the earlier move had allowed him to determine Xie Lan's limits, the icy mist around him shrank inward several more inches, nearly pressing against his body.

Clang, clang, clang...

The sound of metal striking metal rang without end.

Xie Lan's suppression grew fiercer, but even in the end, she failed to truly injure Ye Xiu.

"What a pity. Still just a little short."

After one round passed, Ye Xiu noticed the gunfire weakening and smiled at Xie Lan.

But what answered him was a sudden eruption of gunfire.

"Don't look down on high-tier people, kid!"

Xie Lan drove her ability to erupt with all her strength, and faint phantom outlines of gun barrels even appeared around her body.

How will you take this one, kid?