Caught in a Crisis

One-Eyed Dragon quickly stood up when he saw Lin Jie.

His face had been twisted with pain, but now he began to chuckle.

"Lin Jie, at least you know what's good for you."

"You finally came out on your own."

"Come on, come with us."

"We won't treat you badly."

Lin Jie frowned deeply, the gun in his hand still aimed squarely at One-Eyed Dragon's head.

He said, "Have you gotten something wrong?"

"When did I ever say I was going with you?"

One-Eyed Dragon froze. "What do you mean? You came forward yourself, didn't you? Wasn't that to surrender?"

He grinned. "Don't tell me you intend to resist?"

The lackeys all around burst out laughing.

"Boss, he's hilarious!"

"Lin Jie's just a newbie. He probably doesn't even have a Mutation!"

"And he wants to resist? Our boss has a top-tier Mutation among those from blue rings!"

"The boss could crush every last one of these people with a flick of his finger!"

One-Eyed Dragon stepped forward and stood opposite Lin Jie.

Lin Jie did not lower his guard in the slightest, keeping his pistol raised.

One-Eyed Dragon raised his left hand, revealing the ring on it.

The blue gemstone on it sparkled.

"See that, Lin Jie? I've got a blue ring."

"The strength of my Mutation is beyond your imagination."

He looked at Lin Jie's finger, and his laughter grew even more arrogant.

"A green ring? Hahaha..."

The lackeys around him laughed along.

"Honestly, for a newbie who just arrived here, upgrading to green so quickly already counts as exceptional talent."

"Unfortunately, even a green ring rarely triggers a Mutation, and even if it does, its strength is far too limited."

"Compared to my blue ring, it's not even close."

However, the ring Lin Jie wore was only Zhao Tian's ring.

The real black ring was still in his pocket.

Lin Jie remained silent and continued watching One-Eyed Dragon put on his show.

"Lin Jie, I wasn't ready just now, so you got lucky and hit my palm."

"Now I'll offer you my head myself."

As One-Eyed Dragon spoke, he pressed his forehead against the barrel of Lin Jie's pistol.

He laughed playfully. "Come on, shoot! Kill me!"

Lin Jie's gaze was icy. "As you wish!"

He pulled the trigger in an instant.

Yet at that very moment, One-Eyed Dragon jerked his head aside, actually dodging the bullet!

He moved so fast that only an afterimage was visible.

Lin Jie was startled for only half a second before quickly regaining his composure and pulling the trigger repeatedly.

But it was useless. One-Eyed Dragon's head was like a fan, rapidly dodging left and right.

He avoided every bullet.

"See that, Lin Jie? Even when I give you a chance, you're useless!"

"Even when I hand you my head, you still can't kill me!"

"Have you seen how powerful my Mutation is? It's a top-tier speed-type Mutation among blue rings!"

"As long as I'm on guard, no attack can hit me!"

The lackeys around him cheered:

"Boss, you're fucking awesome! You're fucking awesome!"

One-Eyed Dragon looked at Lin Jie mockingly.

"What, nothing to say? Be good and come with us!"

Lin Jie remained silent, his gaze cold and dark, his thoughts unknown.

After a long while, he spoke. "Then can you dodge this punch?"

One-Eyed Dragon was puzzled. "What punch?"

Suddenly, he felt a rush of wind beside his ear.

"Boss, look out!" the lackeys around him cried out.

He quickly turned his head and saw a burly man swinging a fist straight at his face!

He hurriedly activated his Mutation, but he was still a little too late. The fist struck his ear.

"Ah!" He fell to the ground, clutching his ear, blood seeping through his hand.

It was Zhou Yun. While One-Eyed Dragon's attention was entirely on Lin Jie, he had quietly approached and launched a surprise attack.

"Damn you! You dare ambush me! Boys, pin him down!"

The lackeys dressed entirely in purple quickly advanced as well, attacking Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun swung his fists, repeatedly striking the purple-armored soldiers around him.

The remaining white-armored soldiers also dragged their wounded bodies forward to join the fight.

But there were simply too many enemies.

Soon, they were all defeated.

Lin Jie quietly observed from the side.

He had already discovered One-Eyed Dragon's weakness.

His speed-type Mutation was an active skill that could only be triggered when he was on guard.

When his attention wandered, a surprise attack could succeed.

While One-Eyed Dragon was suppressing Zhou Yun and the others, Lin Jie quickly closed in and launched a flying kick.

However, One-Eyed Dragon swiftly dodged.

"Hehe, Lin Jie, you didn't think I'd fall for that twice, did you?"

"I've been keeping my attention on you all along!"

The purple-armored soldiers nearby approached, surrounding Lin Jie completely.

"Stop struggling." One-Eyed Dragon crossed his arms and whistled.

By then, the Realm of Life's soldiers had been completely subdued, and Zhou Yun was firmly pinned to the ground as well.

Lin Jie was surrounded, with no possibility of escape.

Lin Jie could only ask helplessly, "What will happen if I go with you?"

One-Eyed Dragon was in high spirits. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you. Our boss specifically told us to take you alive."

Lin Jie extended a hand. "Then what about them? The Realm of Life's soldiers?"

One-Eyed Dragon's tone was arrogant. "Naturally, we'll kill them all."

At those words, Lin Jie's expression instantly turned vicious.

One-Eyed Dragon spoke mockingly. "Why the ugly look? What, are you close to them?"

Although this was Lin Jie's first day dealing with the Realm of Life, the soldiers had just stood united to protect him, and not one of them had yielded.

No matter what, Lin Jie could not abandon them.

He shook his head firmly. "No, not unless you promise to let them go too."

"Then I'll be willing to go with you."

One-Eyed Dragon threw back his head and laughed, pointing at Lin Jie as he turned to the lackeys.

"Look, this kid doesn't understand the situation. He's still trying to negotiate!"

He turned back to Lin Jie. "Are you confused? When I said I was taking you away, that wasn't a request."

"It was an order!"

"Even if you're unwilling, we can just knock you out and carry you away."

"After all, our boss only said he wanted you alive. He never said we couldn't beat you half to death."

He pointed toward the white-armored soldiers beside them. "As for them, the boss said to kill them on sight. No survivors!"

"Understand?"

Lin Jie frowned. "No matter what, you're going to kill the people from the Realm of Life?"

One-Eyed Dragon nodded. "Of course. What can you do about it?"

Lin Jie suddenly lowered his head without a word.

An eerie silence followed.

His hair hid his face, leaving no one able to make out his expression.

"Heh, let me ask you. Do you know why the Realm of Life would risk their lives to protect me?"

"Do you know why your boss is so fixated on me when I'm clearly just a newbie?"

Seeing Lin Jie like this, One-Eyed Dragon suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Our boss only said you were important. He didn't say anything else."

"You're still just a newbie, aren't you? It's only a green ring. No matter how important you are, you can't make any waves."

Black smoke suddenly began to surge around Lin Jie.

He slowly raised his head and held his left hand high.

"Open your damned eyes and take a good look! What color is my ring, really?"

When everyone saw Lin Jie's finger, they all let out cries of varying degrees of shock.

Pinned down nearby, Zhou Yun clutched his wound, his eyes widening. "What?"

The lackeys' voices trembled. "Boss, what's going on?"

One-Eyed Dragon's smile suddenly froze. His expression was horrified, and an exclamation escaped his lips involuntarily:

"Holy fuck!!"