The instant the fist struck him, the system panel silently popped up at the edge of his vision.
[Replicable target detected: Translucent] [Available abilities:] [1. Super Physique LV1] [2. Invisibility LV3] [3. Carbon Skin LV5]
It seemed the system extracted only the mechanics of an ability, rather than wrapping him in that layer of mutated skin. That saved him a lot of trouble. He had no desire to become a conductive living target someday.
"Select carbon skin," Lucian commanded in his mind.
The text on the panel shifted: [Replication started: estimated time, 24 hours.]
The progress bar had barely appeared before Translucent's heavy punch came hurtling toward his face.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three blows in succession. The first landed on his ribs, the second struck his lower back, and the last was a vicious, precise uppercut aimed straight at his chin.
Lucian staggered back several steps, the alloy baton in his hand clattering to the floor. His back slammed into the wall hard enough to send flakes of plaster showering down.
"That all you've got?" Translucent's rough sneer drifted through the air. "Got some tough bones, though."
Another rush of wind came at him. This punch headed straight for his face.
His LV1 super senses instantly went into overdrive. There was nothing in sight, but Lucian clearly heard the fist cutting through the air. He even caught the faint scrape of the other man's foot grinding against the broken glass on the floor.
Lucian jerked his head aside, stepped forward with the motion, and drove his right fist toward the source of the sound, putting the twist of his waist behind it.
A muffled thud sounded.
His fist struck something extremely smooth and hard. It felt like hammering a thick pane of bulletproof glass. The recoil traveled up his wrist, leaving his knuckles numb. Translucent was knocked half a step back, but not even a pale mark remained on his carbon skin.
"You can't get through my defenses, kid." Translucent's voice echoed through the open shop, shifting from left to right, its last notes mocking. "I'm in The Seven! What kind of trash are you?"
Lucian shook out his right hand, his gaze sweeping over the wrecked counters. His ears twitched slightly as he pinpointed the somewhat heavy breathing three meters ahead and to his left.
He took a bottle of mineral water from his pocket and abruptly tightened all five fingers.
Pop!
The plastic bottle burst in his grip. A huge fan of water sprayed wildly forward.
In front of the counter, Translucent took the splash head-on.
Cold droplets clung to his smooth carbon skin and trickled down its contours. A blurry human outline emerged in thin air: a powerful body with broad shoulders and a thick back.
Translucent looked down at the water on his body and cursed aloud.
Lucian casually tossed aside the crushed plastic bottle. He stared at the dripping figure, his voice icy.
"Now I can see you."
Before the words had faded, the muscles in Lucian's legs exploded into action, and he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
His first punch struck the exact center of the abdomen outlined by the droplets.
Translucent tried to dodge, but his reflexes simply could not keep up with Lucian. The explosive strength of an LV3 physique completely overwhelmed this superhuman, who had nothing going for him except tough skin.
Bang!
Fist met flesh with an explosive crack. Translucent doubled over like a shrimp, droplets scattering from his body under the shock wave. He flew backward and crumpled the shelving behind him. Several LCD monitors crashed to the floor, their screens shattering.
Translucent had barely staggered and tried to straighten up when Lucian's second punch arrived.
Straight for the head outlined in droplets.
Translucent instinctively raised both arms to block. A swath of droplets scattered from his arms, and Lucian's monstrous brute strength punched through the protection of his skin, leaving his entire arm aching and weak.
Lucian never paused. Left hook, right swing, front kick!
A rainstorm of heavy blows poured relentlessly onto the human outline. Translucent was driven back again and again, hammered all the way from the counter into a corner. Once his advantage of invisibility was broken, his wild, unstructured punches were riddled with openings in Lucian's eyes.
Translucent gritted his teeth and swung his right arm in an attempt to fight back. Lucian easily tilted his head out of the way, seized his shoulders with both hands, and yanked him down while driving his right knee hard into his chest.
Translucent's back slammed into the load-bearing wall, drawing a muffled groan.
"You can't kill me!" Translucent screamed, though his voice now carried panic he could not suppress. "I've got carbon skin! I'm bulletproof!"
"I know." Lucian's voice was frighteningly calm.
He seized Translucent's wrist and twisted sharply, wrenching his entire arm behind his back. Planting a knee against his lower back, he pinned him against the wall.
"That's why I wasn't planning to punch you to death."
Lucian freed his left hand and looped his arm around Translucent's neck like an iron band, clamping down hard on his windpipe.
Rear Naked Choke.
However hard his carbon skin was, he still needed oxygen. Ordinary people could neither see him nor muster the strength to hold him in place, but the man acting now was Lucian, whose strength utterly surpassed his.
Translucent began struggling wildly.
He could not match Lucian's strength, but his skin was too slippery to grip. He twisted desperately and slammed his head backward, catching Lucian squarely on the chin.
A dull ache shot through Lucian's jaw, but his arm did not loosen in the slightest. Instead, it tightened further. His muscles went taut as steel cables, squeezing the air from Translucent's lungs little by little.
Translucent's struggles visibly weakened. Leaking, wheezing hisses came from his throat, and the droplets around his neck were squeezed out of shape.
Sprawled on the floor, Hughie widened his swollen, reddened eyes and clamped a hand over his mouth, watching that arrogant superhero hang against the wall like a dead dog.
Just as Translucent's eyes rolled back and his body was about to go completely limp, a burst of scrambled static suddenly flickered across the computer screen on the checkout counter.
Then an extremely faint, high-frequency buzz pierced the silence of the rainy night. The small Electromagnetic Pulse Device attached to the electrical box in the alley behind the shop roared to life.
Bzzzt!
Every light tube in the electronics shop burst with blue-white sparks at once. The security cameras' red lights instantly went out, and wisps of acrid black smoke rose from several televisions on standby.
The shop fell into deathly still darkness. Only a little light filtered in from the streetlamps outside.
A second later, a sharp metallic snap came from the back door's lock.
A cylindrical Tactical Flashbang rolled across the floor, coming to a stop exactly three meters from the two men.
Lucian's gaze sharpened. His super senses caught the faint burning of the pyrotechnic delay fuse.
He decisively released the limp Translucent, drove off with his legs, and rolled hard to the side, ducking straight behind the toppled metal counter. He covered his ears with both hands and shut his eyes.
BANG-!!!
A deafening blast erupted inside the cramped shop. Blinding white light instantly flooded every corner.
Translucent had barely drawn half a breath when the flashbang's brilliant light and thunderous noise hit him head-on. He clutched his ears and screamed in agony, lost his balance completely, and crashed into the broken glass on the floor, curling up in pain like an overturned beetle.
Hughie was also knocked flat, his head buzzing.
The heavy smells of gunpowder smoke and scorched plastic spread through the wrecked shop.
The crunch of leather shoes crushing glass came from the back door. It was quiet, but exceedingly steady.
A burly man wearing a signature knee-length black trench coat stepped out of the darkness. Carrying a heavy crowbar, he walked up to the flash-blinded Translucent and stopped.
Butcher. Billy Butcher.
He did not look down at the troublesome man writhing in pain on the floor. Instead, he lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at Lucian behind the counter.
The corner of Butcher's mouth curled into a unruly, almost-smile.
"Oi." He drew out the sound, speaking in a thick accent. "Sorry for making an even bigger mess of your little shop, but looks like I picked a good time to step in."
Lucian stood up from behind the counter and brushed the dust off himself, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowbar in Butcher's hand.
"If you'd come two minutes later..." Lucian pointed at Translucent on the floor. "This piece of trash would already be stinking."
Butcher raised his eyebrows. His intensely aggressive gaze traveled up and down the Asian youth before him. This kid had reacted to the flashbang faster than trained special forces soldiers.
He gave a low chuckle, prodded the still-twitching Translucent with his crowbar, and tipped his chin at Lucian.
"Got a temper on you." Butcher grinned, showing stark white teeth. "But I like it."
Before you continue