The Taste of Despair

After Xiao He eliminated the six people on the field, the audience fell silent: Wasn't that a bit of a foul?

Although Xiao He had shown some of his strength in the team competition, this was a 1v6 situation, and it was the semi-finals! In other words, he wasn't facing some weaklings, but a strong team that had made it to the top four!

At that moment, everyone had the same thought: This competition isn't going to be interesting anymore, is it? Yinglong is definitely going to be the champion anyway; he managed to take on six opponents in the semifinals, what's the point of the later matches?

"Well done." After Xiao He returned to the common room, Cui Man patted his head and laughed, "If you ask me, you might as well go to the United Nations as a referee next year."

"If there's another Mutant Competition next year, I'll consider it," Xiao He said with a sneer.

After all, competing is exhausting, and most importantly, his presence affects the suspense of the competition: Oh, Yinglong is participating this year? Let's see which countries will compete for second place this year.

Of course, the competition isn't over yet, and nobody knows the outcome. A tiny bit of people still hold onto a sliver of hope: what if M Country is hiding some secret weapon?

What most people don't know is that the M Country does indeed possess a secret weapon, but it escaped before reaching Dragon Country and is now hiding somewhere in the M Country, ready to go berserk at any moment...

After a short rest at noon, at 2 PM, it was the team match between the Dragon Country and the R Country Team. Because the team match involves three players and is decided in one round, it is different from the arena match. Both the big and small matches are calculated as BO3.

"I'm ready to go anytime," Xiao He said lazily, resting his head on Ye Wanqing's lap on the sofa in the lounge, while Ye Wanqing gently stroked his head.

"No," Cui Man shook her head, "I want to let the others shine first, so that we can show the outside world that the Dragon Country is not only strong with just 'Yinglong', so..." As she spoke, Cui Man turned to the crowd behind her, her gaze lingering on Xia Yu, "For the first match today, Black Tortoise, Bixi, and Gluttonous Beast, the three of you will go first, let them see our two-protect-one strategy."

"Okay, Sister Man!" "Yes!" "No problem, Chief Cui." The three replied and turned to walk towards the elevator.

Meanwhile, Yue Feng rubbed his chin and exclaimed, "Ah... two-on-one, what a dreamlike experience! I wish I could do it again!"

"You'd better practice your boxing first!" Cui Man said irritably.

"Boxing?" Xiao He raised an eyebrow. "These guys have been practicing martial arts lately, huh?"

"Yes," Cui Man said, turning to the group behind her, "Your goal is to survive one round against Yinglong without either side using their Superpower! Only then will I consider letting you participate in the finals."

"It's settled!" Yue Feng roared, then turned to Xiao He: "Everyone, please don't use your Superpower. If I can survive one round, I'll pass, right?! I'll definitely do that before the finals begin!"

Just then, a cheer came from overhead; it must be the contestants from both sides taking the stage.

So everyone turned their attention to the arena, and the host announced the start of the match. As usual, An Xiuru and Han Tianyu buffed Xia Yu first, as Xia Yu was the core of the team.

The opposing team's Ring Hero and Soul Blade immediately targeted An Xiuru and Han Tianyu, the two support characters, and launched an attack. Meanwhile, Shadow Flash began to set up her shadow on the field. This woman could use her shadow to "flash back" to the state and posture of her shadow self, and also allow the shadow to continue attacking. It was a very powerful Superpower, and could be said to be both offensive and defensive.

Ring Hero raised his hands and threw out several Energy Rings. The Energy Rings bounced a few times on the field, separating Xia Yu and the other two. Then he aimed at Han Tianyu and blasted the Energy Rings at him.

Soul Blade, on the other hand, was pressing closely on An Xiuru. His Superpower could ignore the opponent's physical defense and cut through the soul, making it perfect for targeting An Xiuru.

On the other side, Shadow Flash and Xia Yu had already clashed.

Shadow Flash's idea was excellent: instead of engaging Xia Yu in direct combat, he would simply use Flash Shadow to constantly maneuver and buy time until his teammates dealt with the other two from the Dragon Country. Then, the three of them could gang up on Xia Yu, greatly increasing their chances of success.

However... Xia Yu got into position, bent over and leaped onto the ground, then disappeared from the field.

The next second, Shadow Flash screamed and tumbled as he flew out, crashing to the ground and clutching his abdomen in pain.

Xia Yu's figure appeared not far in front of Shadow Flash, maintaining a stance where he had already thrown a straight punch.

But nobody saw her move; no one saw her throw a punch, or even how she rushed out.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ring Hero froze on the spot. "Really? Isn't this supposed to be over in a second? What's the point of dragging it out? At least hold on for a minute, right?"

In fact, what enabled Xia Yu to do this was not Han Tianyu's enhancement, but An Xiuru. Muscle fibers are like springs. When An Xiuru enhanced the toughness of the muscle fibers, Xia Yu could rely on the muscle fibers of his own legs to achieve an explosive acceleration effect, similar to a crouch start.

Similarly, by relying on the compression of muscles to swing the fist, combined with accelerated sprinting, all the power is concentrated in one punch.

However, simply strengthening the toughness of muscle fibers will only make it difficult to move. But at this time, the strength and speed enhancement provided by Han Tianyu, combined with Xia Yu's own 1.5-stage enhancement, can create an explosive effect.

"What a terrifying punch!" Xie Haining said, frowning as he rested his chin on his hand. He was the only one who saw it clearly. "Do you know what? Xia Yu's punch didn't even hit Shadow Flash. She just knocked Shadow Flash down with the impact of the punch... If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that such a thing as 'Fist Pressure' actually existed."

"Fist Pressure? I don't know if I can even manage that..." Xiao He chuckled dryly.

Keep in mind that Shadow Flash is Mutant with a physique of around LV2. A single Fist Pressure could knock Shadow Flash down. If Xia Yu's fist had hit him directly... Shadow Flash's body would probably have been turned into minced meat.

"What's the point of delaying?! It's an instant kill!" Ring Hero said irritably, throwing several Energy Rings at Xia Yu.

But Xia Yu merely kicked the ground lightly, then flashed forward and appeared in front of him in the next moment. Just as Ring Hero raised his hand, a spurt of blood spurted from his forehead, and he tumbled halfway around and fell to the ground.

Xia Yu then turned to the Soul Blade, his hands flashing. "Bang! Bang!" The sound of air being torn apart came, and the Soul Blade, which was still seven or eight meters away from Xia Yu, groaned and was sent flying backward by the Fist Pressure.

Soul Blade quickly steadied himself in mid-air, and after landing, he planted his twin swords in the ground in an attempt to stop his retreat. However, before he could stop, Xia Yu had already caught up again, his hands flashing.

Then, Soul Blade couldn't help but gasp in pain, and the knife slipped from his hand. But Xia Yu's hands flashed again, and the knife magically reappeared in her hands.

Xia Yu smiled slightly and said, "You're Yinglong's friend, I won't hurt you."

"Yes... I lost." Soul Blade sighed helplessly, clutching his arm.

No one expected the semi-final match to be such a one-sided massacre...

Because the team competition had experimented with various combinations, everyone now has plenty of matches. Therefore, Cui Man plans to continue having An Xiuru and Han Tianyu play as a two-protect-one team, but this time the two-protect-one team will be Xie Haining.

"Oh? I've actually managed to eat two for one?" Xie Haining smiled with interest. "Then I'll gladly accept your offer and let me experience the Yinglong Set Meal!"

Because of her lower physical fitness, Xie Haining's two-man defense wasn't as impressive as Xia Yu's, but it was actually quite good.

Old Xie's playing style is such that he can seize every mistake his opponent makes without making a single error of his own. So even if the opponent hesitates for a mere tenth of a second, Xie Haining can turn it into an opportunity for victory.

Xie Haining's victory also helped them secure the first game of the BO3 series.

The first match of the second round was still a two-protect-one situation, but the target of the two-protect-one was changed to Li Zhengliang, and the result was naturally... a crushing defeat.

"This was so awesome!" Li Zhengliang exclaimed excitedly after leaving the arena. "Is this what it's like to Yinglong?"

"Right?" Xia Yu laughed happily, "I just... feel like I'm super awesome."

"Ugh, damn it, I really want to experience it too!" Zhang Ming said anxiously, biting his nails.

What is it like to become "Yinglong"... Xiao He pondered to himself, resting his chin on his hand.

"Alright, alright, stop getting so excited, are you like a child?" Cui Man waved her hand to quiet them down. "If we win one more match, we'll make it to the finals. So, the next match..."

All the main DPS players on the scene turned to look at Cui Man expectantly, wanting to go on stage and experience the two-support-one-carry strategy.

"You've all experienced what it's like to be a 'Yinglong,' right?" Cui Man teased, then suddenly turned to Xiao He, "I think everyone's a little curious now, right? If it were a real 'Yinglong,' how powerful would a two-man support team be?"

"!?" Xiao He immediately raised an eyebrow: Could it be...?

"Go!" Cui Man slapped Xiao He on the butt, then whispered in his ear, "Let the enemy experience the taste of 'despair'..."

"...I understand." Xiao He smiled, inwardly sighing: This woman can be quite wicked at times.

Han Tianyu clenched his fist excitedly. "Finally, I can assist Mr. Yinglong!"

"Oh dear, you've made Yinglong hard again," An Xiuru teased, patting Ye Wanqing's head. "Using your Superpower."

"What's wrong with that? I can do it too..." Ye Wanqing muttered softly, a little unconvinced.

Xiao He, Han Tianyu, An Xiuru entered the elevator and prepared to go upstairs.

"Is there anything I should be careful about?" An Xiuru asked with a smile.

"Hmm..." Xiao He thought for a moment and replied, "Try to be careful and don't get caught in the crossfire of my attack."

"Okay, okay." Han Tianyu replied after a moment of hesitation, unsure whether Xiao He was serious or joking.

Once on the field, it was R Country Team's last chance; a loss would mean elimination. Therefore, they fielded their final trump card: Charge Hero, Shadow Flash, and a rookie named "Iron Smith."

This guy called "Iron Smith" was a tall, wild-looking middle-aged man who had never been on the field before.

"Sending them out at this time, are they trying to turn the tide?" Xiao He wondered to himself.

"Hephaestus's Flame!" The Iron Smith raised his hand, and a flame ignited from it, transforming into a slender and sacred longsword.

Xiao He recognized the weapon at a glance. "Excalibur!?"

"Hmph, it's not over yet." The Iron Smith said, raising his hand again. Flames formed a shield in his hand, the very shield held by Captain America!

"So this guy's ability is to turn 'fictional' weapons into physical form?" Xiao He wondered, resting his chin on his hand. "I wonder if he could conjure up the Infinity Gauntlet?"

Thinking about it this way, this guy must be pretty powerful. After all, there are so many powerful weapons and armors in various movies and TV shows. If they could be Replication with their original attributes, then everyone who equips such weapons would be Mutant.

However, the Iron Smith did not equip his teammates with weapons, which suggests there were some restrictions.

However, while the Iron Smith was forging the weapon, An Xiuru and Han Tianyu had already completed the enhancement for Xiao He.

"Alright, Mr. Yinglong." Han Tianyu nodded.

Xiao He tried to move around a bit, then turned to An Xiuru and said, "It should be possible to strengthen it further."

"Are you sure? If your muscle fibers are over-strengthened, you'll find it very difficult to move," An Xiuru warned.

"It's nothing," Xiao He said with a nonchalant smile. "Just strengthen it a bit more."

So An Xiuru continued to strengthen Xiao He's muscle fibers, while at this moment the Iron Smith had already raised the Holy Sword Excalibur high above his head and then brought it down forcefully. "Ex... Curry Stick!"

A dazzling shockwave came head-on, engulfing the figures of Xiao He, Han Tianyu, and An Xiuru.

"Will it go that smoothly?" Shadow Flash frowned and muttered to himself.

"Obviously not..." Charge Hero raised his fist and frowned.

Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, a Perfect Cube protected Xiao He and his two companions, who were unharmed. Xiao He raised his hand and waved it, and an even larger Perfect Cube appeared, enveloping the entire arena.

"Don't misunderstand, I was just worried about hurting the audience," Xiao He explained, then stepped out from the small, Perfect Cube protecting the three of them.

With each step he took, he could feel his muscles cracking, clearly indicating that they had been strengthened to a considerable degree of rigidity.

Xiao He bowed slightly, and with a loud "boom!", the ground erupted in a cloud of dust as if it had been hit by a missile.

The next moment, Xiao He appeared behind the Iron Smith, about seven or eight meters away.

Xiao He scratched his head and muttered to himself, "This is a bit hard to control..."

"Too fast!" the Iron Smith frowned, raising his hand again to summon the Hephaestus's Flame, which transformed into a Thunder God's Hammer Thor in his hand. But Xiao He leaped lightly to his side and raised his hand.

"Hiss!" The Iron Smith felt a chill run down his spine. He raised his shield to protect himself, and Xiao He gently tapped the shield as if knocking on a door.

"Clang!" The sound of a bell rang out, but the impact did not spread because the shield could absorb kinetic energy and resist high pressure and high temperature, as well as radiation and electromagnetic wave spectrum, making it "almost" indestructible.

With a crisp "crack," a small crack appeared in the center of the shield.

"Phew, this level of damage is alright..." the Iron Smith thought to himself with a sigh of relief.

However, the cracks quickly spread, and the shield in his hand shattered into pieces with a loud "crack!" The Iron Smith was stunned. Seeing this, Shadow Flash rushed forward, grabbed him, and pulled him back, saying, "Let's create some distance! Can we have your weapon?"

"It's possible, but the weapons are rated, and you can't use them if your physical fitness isn't up to standard!" the Iron Smith explained.

Shadow Flash said irritably, "Just play a couple of rounds! It's already this late!"

Xiao He stood still, not pursuing further. He clenched his fist, feeling his own strength, then nodded. "Let's give it a try."

After saying this, Xiao He assumed a punching stance and muttered to himself, "I wonder if I can land Fist Pressure?"

"What's this guy trying to do?" Charge Hero asked Xiao He curiously. "He's more than forty meters away from us."

Xiao He simply threw out his right fist, and the next second everyone in the arena felt their brains explode with a "buzz!" The smoke and dust instantly engulfed the entire arena. Fortunately, Perfect Cube covered the outside of the arena, preventing the shockwave from reaching the spectators in the stands.

"What happened?" "What's going on?" "Did Nuclear Bomb explode inside?" The audience whispered among themselves.

Only when the smoke and dust slowly dissipated did everyone understand what had happened.

Xiao He stood there, his posture changed, his fist already thrown out. A fan-shaped dent spread out in front of him, as if someone had scooped it up with a spoon. The dent grew deeper and larger, stretching all the way to the edge of the Perfect Cube before stopping. If it weren't for the Perfect Cube, this blow would probably have dug a hole in the arena...

This scene instilled a deep-seated fear in all the participants and even the spectators: this was merely the Fist Pressure of a punch; if that punch landed on the ground, would the earth itself shake?

If "despair" had a specific form, it would certainly be this scene before us.

Of course, what no one knew was that at this moment, Xiao He was indeed a being who transcended natural disasters.

Are there truly Mutant capable of confronting such a force? Can armies, weapons, or even Nuclear Bomb contend with it?

"Oh no, I've gone too far..." Xiao He thought to himself, withdrawing his fist.

He had only entered this state before when fighting Earthquake, but at that time his mission was to stop the Earthquake, not to actually attack them, so he was unaware of his power in this state...

To put it bluntly, they have no self-awareness whatsoever.

"I... I surrender..." The Iron Smith put down Thor's Thunder God's Hammer, for he no longer had the strength to lift it. He raised his hands and shouted, "I surrender! I surrender!"