Inside Dr. Burstein's laboratory.
Wenwu was steadily releasing his own "Chi" into a specially made transparent container.
Dr. Burstein stared intently at the fluctuating data on the screen, devoting all his effort to analyzing this mysterious energy.
"Mr. Wenwu, this energy of yours is indeed human bioenergy, but it's countless times more concentrated and powerful than ordinary bioenergy, with many unusual, unknown properties. Synthesizing it artificially would be extremely difficult... but I can give it a try!"
After a long period of analysis, Dr. Burstein looked up and spoke, a fanatical gleam in his eyes.
"All right. Go ahead and try."
Wenwu patted his shoulder and encouraged him. "I'll also give you the cultivation method for this secret art to study. If you really can synthesize it, that will be a major achievement. You'll certainly have a share of the credit for the future Ten Rings Empire!"
"Yes, sir! I'll give it everything I have!" Dr. Burstein promised excitedly.
Recently, Wenwu had occasionally revealed some of this world's hidden truths to him, such as sorcerers, demon gods, otherworldly deities, and interstellar civilizations in the universe. These beings beyond conventional understanding made Dr. Burstein yearn for unknown powers.
When he learned that Wenwu intended to establish an empire someday, venture into the cosmos, and contend with those interstellar empires, that anticipation and yearning reached their peak.
Just then, a subordinate strode into the laboratory and reported quietly, "My lord, Ulysses Klaue has appeared!"
Wenwu's gaze shifted slightly. Without further delay, he turned and left the laboratory.
An abandoned shipbreaking yard on the coast of South Africa.
The night was ink-black, and fierce winds swept the salty tang of the Atlantic Ocean along the desolate coastline.
On this forgotten coast, a tall, straight-backed man in a black trench coat and hood walked across the soft sand, approaching an abandoned shipyard step by step. Behind him, two hundred fully armed Ten Rings elites followed like ghosts.
"Damn it! All of you, be careful! If anything goes wrong with this shipment again, I'll blow your heads off!"
Inside the dilapidated warehouse, a man with dreadlocks and a brutish face was raging. He was Ulysses Klaue, and he was currently hurling abuse at several of his men. Behind them stood stacks of weapons crates, ready for a deal with a local armed group that night.
Bang!
The heavy iron door fashioned from a ship's hull suddenly twisted with a teeth-grating screech. Then the entire door, weighing hundreds of pounds, was torn away like a rag by a terrifying force and slammed into the pile of cargo in the middle of the warehouse, sending dust billowing everywhere!
"Who's there?!"
Klaue paled in shock and instinctively drew the custom pistol at his waist. Behind him, a dozen or so fully armed mercenaries instantly raised their automatic rifles, aiming squarely at the dust-filled doorway.
Ratatatat-!
Without a word or warning, the mercenaries pulled their triggers. A dense hail of bullets poured into the doorway like a metal storm, shredding the nearby wooden crates into flying splinters.
Yet when the gunsmoke cleared, the mercenaries' pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
Amid the dust, the man in the black trench coat still stood quietly where he had been.
Before him, ten bronze rings glowing blue and gold whirled at speeds almost too fast for the naked eye to follow, forming an impenetrable shield of blue-and-gold light. Every bullet was deflected the instant it touched the shield.
"You... who the hell are you?!" Klaue's voice began to tremble. The web of firepower he took such pride in was nothing but a joke before this man.
"A buyer."
Wenwu slowly raised his head, his eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation. He lifted his right hand slightly and gently pointed his index finger forward.
Whoosh-!
One of the ten rings instantly became a bolt of blue-and-gold lightning, tearing through the air with a piercing sonic boom!
"Aah!!"
The two mercenaries at the front did not even have time to scream before two clouds of blood burst from their chests. The immense kinetic force sent them flying backward into the ship's wall, killing them on the spot!
"Fire! Open fire!!" Terrified out of his wits, Klaue roared hysterically.
"Too slow."
Wenwu shook his head slightly, a trace of boredom in his voice. He thrust both hands forward, and the ten rings on his arms erupted with dazzling light, all shooting into the crowd.
Boom-!!
The ten rings unleashed an overwhelming shock wave of energy that exploded outward!
Every mercenary on the ship's bottom level was flung away, guns and all, by that terrifying force like fallen leaves swept up by an autumn wind, slamming hard into the surrounding walls.
The sound of breaking bones echoed through the cavernous warehouse. Not a single one could stand again.
The mercenaries on the second floor were also blasted apart one after another by the flying rings, dying on the spot!
In less than ten seconds, the battle was over.
In the vast warehouse, Klaue was the only one left alive.
Yet just as Wenwu thought he had dealt with everything, a dark figure suddenly lunged down from the steel framework overhead.
"Aah-!"
A terrifying sonic wave erupted from the dark figure's mouth.
Wenwu frowned and lowered his center of gravity.
Hum!
A blue-and-gold energy barrier spread around Wenwu's body.
Boom!
The terrifying sonic wave struck Wenwu's energy barrier head-on. As though struck by a heavy hammer, he involuntarily staggered back several steps.
Wenwu's brows knitted tightly. His head buzzed slightly. This sonic wave was immensely powerful. Without the ten rings' energy protecting his body, his eardrums would surely have ruptured.
He looked up and saw that the dark figure overhead was a tall, thin Black man with a pair of enormous bat wings growing from his back.
"A Mutant!"
Wenwu was startled.
After the Alcatraz Island incident, large numbers of Mutants had been wiped out by the darkened Jean Grey. Very few Mutants remained in the public eye, yet he had encountered one so easily!
"Haha! Well done, Becky! Kill him! Hurry!"
Seeing the Mutant Becky make his move, Klaue immediately went from fear to excitement, loudly ordering him to kill Wenwu quickly.
"Yes, Mr. Klaue!"
Hovering in midair, Becky immediately answered. He had previously been severely wounded while being hunted by the military, and Klaue had happened to save him. From then on, he had followed Klaue with unwavering loyalty. To repay his benefactor, he would absolutely eliminate the threat before him!
"Aah-!"
Another tremendous sonic blast surged from his mouth.
But a cold smile appeared on Wenwu's lips. He had merely been careless and driven back a few steps just now, and they thought that meant they could handle him?
He was only a mere level-three Mutant!
"Break!"
Of the ten rings whirling around Wenwu, one instantly turned into a blue-and-gold arrow and hurtled toward Becky in midair.
Boom!
The ring's energy tore through Becky's sonic wave with unstoppable force and struck him hard in the chest!
"Pfft!"
Becky spat out a mouthful of blood and screamed as he was sent flying backward. He finally crashed heavily to the ground, struggling for a long time without the strength to get up.