Mutual Destruction

Night fell,

Lin Jin walked out of his rental apartment and strolled slowly down the street. That lunch with Su Qianxue at noon was not bad at all, but as the afternoon passed, his stomach started growling again.

He remembered the noodle shop Zhou Yan had been rambling about a few days ago, which was supposedly newly opened and tasted pretty good, so he decided to check it out.

Crossing two streets, he turned into a side alley. This path led to the old district, which was crowded during the day but grew deserted at night.

The streetlights were dim, flanked by aged residential buildings and shops with lights on occasionally.

When he reached the side of a secluded park, Lin Jin stopped in his tracks.

Twenty meters ahead, two figures emerged from the tree shadows and blocked his path.

Lin Jin's gaze narrowed slightly.

Both wore dark casual clothes, but a pattern was vaguely visible on their chests-the emblem of a Black Moon, which he had seen in the Paranormal Bureau's files that Zhou Yan had brought back.

He remained composed, secretly using the Investigation Technique on the two of them.

[Target: Dark Moon member (Codename not displayed)]

[Strength: Early Source Energy Stage]

[Danger Level: Low]

[Target: Dark Moon member (Codename not displayed)]

[Strength: Mid Source Energy Stage]

[Danger Level: Low]

Two Source Energy Stage practitioners.

With this level of strength, they could already be considered team-leader-level figures capable of handling things independently in the Paranormal Bureau.

It looked like this Dark Moon Organization meant trouble.

"Mr. Lin Jin, right?" the tall and thin one on the left spoke, his voice hoarse. "We've been waiting for you for a long time."

Lin Jin said nothing, merely watching them quietly.

The shorter and sturdier one on the right grinned. "Don't be nervous. We mean no harm; we're just here on behalf of the organization to have a chat with you."

"Chat about what?"

"Chat about your future." The tall and thin one took two steps forward, his attitude seemingly casual, but Lin Jin could sense that the energy inside his body had already begun to circulate, ready to strike at any moment. "A person like you shouldn't stay in that crappy little rental apartment, nor should you hang out with those trash at the Paranormal Bureau."

Lin Jin still said nothing.

The tall and thin one continued, "According to our investigation, you possess multiple superpowers such as flame, wind-element, teleportation, and that pair of eyes... Do you know what this means?"

"What does it mean?"

"It means you are not an ordinary Awakened at all." A trace of greed flashed across the tall and thin one's eyes. "You are a Bloodline Inheritor, and a very rare one at that. The bloodline within you is of immeasurable value."

The short and sturdy one chimed in, "Therefore, we sincerely invite you to join our Dark Moon. You can obtain things you cannot imagine: resources, cultivation techniques, status, and... eternal life."

"Eternal life?" Lin Jin finally showed a hint of interest.

"That's right." The tall and thin one nodded. "Why are anomalies powerful? Because they have transcended the limits of humanity."

"Our organization's philosophy is to acknowledge the anomalous resurgence and accept the arrival of a new era. In this new era, humans can also gain eternal life and power that transcends limits, just like anomalies."

He spread his arms, his tone growing fanatical. "Join us, and you can obtain all of this. Your bloodline will completely awaken under the organization's cultivation. By then, not to mention the Source Energy Stage or Domain Stage, even the Transcendent Stage or the Divine Domain is not impossible!"

After listening, Lin Jin remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he spoke, "Your philosophy is to defect to the anomalies?"

"Defect?" The short and sturdy one laughed. "No! This is evolution!"

"Anomalies are the future of this world. The fragile human body is merely a transitional product, and we have simply chosen the correct side."

Their words reminded Lin Jin of the Akatsuki in the Hokage world.

Although those people were paranoid, at least every one of them had their own beliefs. They fought for peace; even if their methods were extreme, their original intentions were not bad.

As for the two people before him, their eyes held only greed and a craving for power.

They treated anomalies as the direction of evolution and humans as transitional products.

Such people were not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Akatsuki.

"I'm not interested," Lin Jin said indifferently.

The tall and thin one's smile froze on his face.

The short and sturdy one's expression also sank.

"Are you sure?" The tall and thin one's voice turned cold. "Lin Jin, we came with sincerity. Don't be unappreciative."

Lin Jin glanced at him and turned to leave.

"Stop right there!"

The short and sturdy one flashed forward, blocking his path. The smile on his face had completely vanished, replaced by an icy killing intent.

"Kid, do you really think that because you killed a B-Rank Skin-Shedding Ghost, you're actually that impressive?" he sneered. "The Skin-Shedding Ghost's strength is merely of a medium level among B-Ranks; any of us could easily solve it. Refusing to join the organization makes you our enemy."

The tall and thin one also closed in from behind. The two of them, front and back, sealed off Lin Jin's retreat.

"Since you are unwilling to join our organization, to prevent the organization from having an extra Bloodline Inheritor as an enemy in the future, we have no choice but..." Cold light flashed in the tall and thin one's eyes. "...to ask you to die."

Before his voice faded, the two of them struck simultaneously.

The tall and thin one waved both hands, and a dozen wind blades slashed toward Lin Jin from all directions.

He was a wind-element Awakened at the early Source Energy Stage, and the power of his wind blades was enough to cut through steel-reinforced concrete.

The short and sturdy one rushed directly toward Lin Jin, his hands covered in a layer of metallic gloss.

He was a strengthening-type Awakened, and specifically a defense-oriented type.

The two coordinated tacitly, clearly not killing people together for the first time.

Lin Jin stood in place, watching the incoming wind blades and the rushing short and sturdy one. His eyes instantly turned scarlet.

Three tomoe slowly emerged, rotating in his pupils.

Sharingan,

open!

The next moment, his figure vanished from where he stood.

The wind blades all missed, slashing into the ground behind him and leaving deep gouges.

The short and sturdy one lunged at empty air, barely able to check his momentum.

"It's teleportation!" The tall and thin one turned quickly, searching for Lin Jin's position. "Watch out for his teleportation!"

Lin Jin appeared under the streetlight ten meters away.

The two immediately locked onto him and pounced again.

The tall and thin one formed hand seals; Awakened in this world also possessed combat techniques similar to ninjutsu.

A dozen denser wind blades wove into a net, covering all of Lin Jin's possible dodging directions.

The short and sturdy one circled to the side, preparing to deal a fatal blow while he dodged.

Lin Jin vanished again.

This time, he appeared under the tree shade twenty meters away.

"Damn it, this teleportation is really annoying!" cursed the short and sturdy one. "Block the area so he can't run!"

"Relax, he can't run."

The tall and thin one pulled a compact device from his bosom and pressed it.

A faint layer of energy ripples spread out, instantly enveloping a fifty-meter radius around them.

"Spatial Lockdown Device," he sneered. "Though it can only lock down for thirty seconds, it's enough. Now, your teleportation is useless."

The two pounced again.

Lin Jin indeed did not use Teleportation again.

He stood in place, watching the two rushing toward him, the three tomoe in his scarlet eyes rotating slowly.

The short and sturdy one reached him first, his metal-glossed fist driving straight toward Lin Jin's face.

Lin Jin sidestepped to avoid it, simultaneously raising his hand as a ball of scorching flame condensed in his palm, striking the short and sturdy one's chest.

The short and sturdy one neither dodged nor parried, taking the blow head-on. The flames exploded on his chest, yet only burned a hole in his clothes, leaving his skin merely slightly flushed.

"My defense can withstand even the attacks of a B-Rank anomaly!" he grinned hideously, throwing another punch.

Lin Jin dodged.

Behind him, the tall and thin one's wind blades had already arrived.

Lin Jin dodged again, but the wind blades were too dense; one grazed past his arm, slicing an opening in his clothes.

"Haha, he's injured!" shouted the tall and thin one excitedly. "He's not that hard to deal with after all!"

The two pressed their offensive even harder.

Under their pincer attack, Lin Jin parried and dodged in a panic, looking disheveled.

His flames struck the short and sturdy one with limited effect, his teleportation was locked down forcing him to rely on taijutsu to dodge, while the tall and thin one's wind blades grew increasingly dense, leaving a series of tiny wounds on his body.

"A Bloodline Inheritor? Is this it?" The short and sturdy one sneered. "And here I thought you were something special!"

"Don't get careless!" shouted the tall and thin one. "Those eyes of his haven't used Black Flame yet!"

The short and sturdy one felt a jolt in his heart, slightly reigning in his contempt, though his offensive remained fierce.

Another round of tempestuous attacks ensued.

Lin Jin was driven into a corner with no way out.

The tall and thin one's wind blades blocked all of his dodging space, and the short and sturdy one's fully powered fist drove straight toward his chest.

"Die!"

The short and sturdy one's fist blasted out, striking dead-center on Lin Jin's chest.

Yet at that exact moment.

The short and sturdy one suddenly felt a flash of distortion before his eyes.

He saw Lin Jin's figure twist in front of him and then vanish.

Replacing him was the tall and thin one's astonished face.

His fist smashed solidly into the tall and thin one's chest.

"How is it you?!"

The short and sturdy one froze.

The tall and thin one froze as well, looking down at the sunken fist-print on his chest as blood gushed from his mouth.

"You... you motherfucker-"

He stared in disbelief at the short and sturdy one, then abruptly swung the wind blades in his hand.

A dozen wind blades slashed across the short and sturdy one's body.

The power of those wind blades was stronger and fiercer than when they had dealt with Lin Jin earlier, without holding back in the slightest.

The short and sturdy one's strengthened defense could indeed withstand a B-Rank anomaly's attack, but those wind blades came from the full-force strike of a fellow Source Energy Stage Awakened, and that too in a completely unprepared state.

The metallic gloss on his body shattered instantly, blood spurting out.

"Bastard, are you out of your mind?!"

The short and sturdy one roared, but his body had already been slashed by the wind blades into a dozen bone-deep wounds.

Instinctively counterattacking, he threw another punch at the tall and thin one.

The tall and thin one was sent flying backward, snapping the tree behind him, his chest completely caved in.

Yet as he lay in a pool of blood, he was still laughing.

"I... I get it..." he muttered. "It's Genjutsu... those eyes of his..."

His gaze passed the short and sturdy one, looking behind him.

Lin Jin had stood in place from start to finish.

He simply stood there, his scarlet eyes quietly watching them the entire time.

As for the two of them, from the moment his scarlet eyes opened, they had already fallen into Genjutsu.

From start to finish, they had been fighting one of their own.

Those scenes of Lin Jin dodging in a panic, those moments when Lin Jin was hit, those scenarios where Lin Jin was driven into a corner-they were all illusions woven by Genjutsu.

They had attacked each other for a full thirty seconds.

Every single wind blade, every single punch, had landed solidly on their teammate.

The short and sturdy one slowly turned around, looking at the figure that had stood in place the entire time, his eyes filled with endless resentment and fear.