Crush Your Faith

Tie Dun lay sprawled on the ground like a heap of mud. Every breath rasped like a broken bellows, and his chest heaved as though it might stop beating the next second.

His weathered face was filled with disbelief and... a trace of fear he was doing his utmost to hide.

He raised his head and stared fixedly at Lu Chen, who stood nearby, with an almost desperate gaze. His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper scraping. "How could you... how could you possibly be this strong?"

An amused smile curled at the corner of Lu Chen's mouth. He slowly crouched down and reached out to pat Tie Dun's dusty, bloodstained face with a hint of mockery.

"Because what you believe in is a dead thing, while I..." He paused. "

Those words struck Tie Dun's heart like a thunderbolt.

The "Steel Judgment" he had always believed in, the "absolute defense" he had taken such pride in, had proved utterly helpless before Lu Chen.

What he believed in was nothing more than a pile of cold steel, while Lu Chen possessed absolute power capable of easily crushing that steel.

It was the collapse of his faith, and an overturning of his values.

Xiaoyu knelt beside her brother, her hands trembling violently. She wanted to stop Tie Dun's bleeding, but found she had no idea where to begin.

Those gruesome wounds, like a demon's claws and fangs, had mercilessly torn into her brother's body.

Seeing this, Lu Chen pursed his lips and thought, Tch, this old cliché about a brother and sister's deep bond... Still, it's not completely useless.

He said nothing more, merely glancing at Xiaoyu before, with a thought, directly copying a base doctor's B-rank [Trauma Repair] talent.

B-rank? Tch, the rank's a bit low, but after upgrading it, it should be enough.

Once the talent had been copied, a warm current instantly surged into Lu Chen's body. He raised his hand and gently pressed it against Tie Dun's mangled wound.

A miracle occurred.

The blood that had been pouring out stopped instantly, as though by magic.

The wounds, so deep that bone was visible, also began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Tie Dun's breathing, which had been rapid and weak, gradually grew steady.

Xiaoyu looked up in astonishment. She could hardly believe her eyes.

Her brother, who had been at death's door just moments ago, had stopped bleeding and even begun to recover in just a few seconds?

"This... what on earth is going on?" she murmured, looking at Lu Chen with shock and confusion.

Just then, several soldiers arrived, escorting Old Lei, the gunner, whose face was battered and bruised.

Old Lei's face was filled with resentment and anger.

He glared viciously at Lu Chen and said through gritted teeth, "You... you won. But you wouldn't understand. We established order to protect the weak!"

Hearing that, Lu Chen threw his head back and burst out laughing, as though he had just heard the greatest joke in the world.

"Protect the weak? Establish order? Hahaha... how utterly ridiculous!"

He abruptly stopped laughing, and his gaze turned cold and sharp in an instant.

"Your so-called order is nothing but violence in disguise. Your so-called protection is just an excuse to satisfy your own selfish desires."

He walked up to Old Lei and looked down at him.

"Your 'Steel Judgment' is nothing but a farce. And you're nothing but a bunch of self-important clowns."

With that, he kicked Old Lei's shackles off without ceremony and said coldly, "Get lost. I don't want to see you again."

Lu Chen's kick sent Old Lei staggering back several steps, nearly knocking him to the ground.

Clutching his chest, he shot Lu Chen a vicious glare, then ran off without looking back.

Tie Dun looked weakly at his sister and forced out the words, "Xiaoyu... go... don't... don't follow him..."

His voice grew fainter and fainter until he finally passed out completely.

Xiaoyu fell silent.

She looked at her brother lying on the ground, his life or death uncertain, then at Lu Chen standing nearby, his gaze deep and mysterious. Her heart was full of conflict.

But could she really abandon her brother and escape on her own?

Her gaze fell on Lu Chen once more.

This man was powerful, cold, and mysterious, as though he possessed omnipotent power.

If she could follow him, perhaps... perhaps she could change this cruel apocalypse and protect herself and her brother.

She took a deep breath, as though she had made a decision.

"Brother... I'm sorry."

She murmured softly, then slowly turned to face Lu Chen.

"Can... can I stay?" she asked, summoning her courage. "I want... I want to learn your ability."

Her voice was quiet, but full of resolve.

She knew this was a risk, perhaps even a gamble.

But she was willing to stake everything on it for her and her brother's future.

Lu Chen did not answer immediately.

He simply walked slowly over to the wreckage of the armored vehicle he had reduced to scrap with a single punch, then raised his foot and stomped hard on its front end.

"Crack..."

With a grating crunch, the armored vehicle's sturdy steel front end was smashed to pieces beneath Lu Chen's foot.

What was he thinking? What decision would he make?

Lu Chen did not answer immediately. Instead, he walked over to the wreckage of the armored vehicle, now a pile of scrap.

That thing had once been overbearing and rampant, but now it was no different from a tiger with its teeth pulled out.

He raised his foot and stomped hard-"crack." The steel let out a desperate groan, and the front end instantly became a pile of twisted fragments, like a flatbread run over by a steamroller.

Only then did he turn around, a cruel curve to his lips, looking just like one of those wickedly charming anime villains.

"You want to learn my ability? Sure." His voice was as calm as if he were remarking on the nice weather. "But first you have to learn to kill before you can talk about saving people. In this apocalypse, a saint won't survive."

Xiaoyu felt uneasy under his gaze, but she gritted her teeth and nodded anyway.

She knew Lu Chen was telling the truth. To survive in this hell, kindness was worthless.

Lu Chen smiled in satisfaction and swept his gaze toward the distance, deeper into the city ruins.

"Let's go. No point wasting time." He stretched and loosened his muscles, his joints cracking.

"Next, we're going to find more... geniuses. Only by gathering them together can we pull off something big."

"Geniuses?" Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.

"The kind of people who think differently and have extraordinary talents, of course." A meaningful smile appeared on Lu Chen's face, as though he could already see his prey falling into a trap.

"Only geniuses can help us... create a miracle."

With that, he paid Xiaoyu no further attention and walked straight into the distance.

Each of his steps was firm and powerful, as though the ruins of this apocalypse were an empire he was about to conquer.

"Keep up, little girl." He waved without looking back, his voice echoing through the ruins.

"Otherwise, you'll miss this... show."

Night fell, and Lu Chen's figure gradually disappeared into the darkness.

Only the armored vehicle, stomped to pieces, remained to silently tell of everything that had just happened.

The roar of an engine tore through the night sky. In the distance, a man was wiping the katana in his hand...