A Person Who Should Not Have Appeared

Last one: Eric.

The big man watched his two companions die within seconds of each other, and the last rational thread in his mind snapped.

"Motherfucker!"

He roared, stomping both feet hard against the ground.

The earth trembled. Surrounding rubble, dirt, and chunks of concrete all flew toward him, clinging to his body.

Layer after layer of rock wrapped around him, piling higher and thicker, until he formed into a stone giant over a dozen meters tall.

Same technique as when he'd turned into a dragon earlier — except this time he'd picked a sturdier form.

"I am the Child of the Earth!" Eric roared from inside the giant, his voice amplified severalfold by the rock. "You can't kill me!"

Lin Mo tilted his head up at the towering behemoth, his expression thoughtful.

"Child of the Earth, huh?"

He reached out a hand. The long blade stuck in Sam's body ripped itself free from the ground and flew back into his palm.

"Sorry, but I'm a Communist Successor — I specialize in overthrowing the landowning class!"

The words boomed with conviction, each syllable ringing clear.

Eric didn't understand, but he felt danger.

Lin Mo gripped the long blade tight. Massive amounts of dark crimson blood surged up from the blade's surface.

All the blood converged onto the edge, dyeing the ordinary long knife a deep red.

"Imperial Blood, Heaven-Slaying!"

He swung.

The motion was simple — just a single downward slash.

A blood-colored blade aura tore through the air and silently sank into the stone giant's body.

Eric felt no pain.

He even thought the strike had failed.

Then he looked down and saw a line.

An impossibly thin line running from the top of his head all the way to the bottom of his feet.

The giant's left half began to tilt.

The right half tilted too.

Two different directions.

Eric opened his mouth, trying to say something, but his body had already been split in two.

The giant collapsed with a thunderous crash, debris flying everywhere and dust billowing into the sky.

Lin Mo casually tossed the long blade to the ground. It sank into the dirt and wobbled twice.

To him, that blade was nothing more than a prop for looking cool.

He collected the souls of the three men and headed straight for the command center.

Inside the command center, William was idly chewing gum while watching the motionless figure of Smiling Face, who had transmitted his consciousness out.

The man with the ever-present grin sat helmeted, his body basically no different from a vegetable.

William chewed his gum, running the matter of the Demon Witch through his mind on repeat.

Was the Demon Witch powerful?

The Demon Witch was certainly strong — but that was nothing but self-deception.

At the end of the day, she was just a husk — a shell whose consciousness had been hollowed out, with no room left to grow.

Old America would never do something as shortsighted as drinking poison to quench thirst.

The intelligence from the Psi-Eye Bureau made it crystal clear.

The Demon Witch had originally been a natural Awakener, with talent unrivaled across the whole of the Republic of Korea.

But the folks at the Super Teen Corps had a screw loose — they wanted to control the Demon Witch, to study her abilities.

The Demon Witch chose to resist, which led to the Demon Witch Incident.

A naive young girl — how could she outplay those old foxes? A little trick here and there and she was captured.

After that, the Demon Witch became what she was now.

A soulless husk.

What exactly happened in between — the Psi-Eye Bureau's files didn't say. Probably no detailed record existed, and even if one did, it couldn't be written down.

But one thing was certain: Director Cui and the Shinhwa Society behind him weren't good people either.

Still, none of that concerned William. None of it concerned the Psi-Eye Bureau.

They just executed missions.

This guy called Smiling Face had come to them on his own, bringing a full plan. The objective was clear: kill Director Cui and seize control of the Super Teen Corps.

The Psi-Eye Bureau could cooperate with all of that.

The only thing that gave William pause was that guy — Mo Lin.

Could the Demon Witch's husk actually handle him?

William shook his head. No point thinking about it.

He'd just wait for the result. Overthinking led to baldness.

Footsteps suddenly echoed outside the carriage.

William's gum stopped mid-chew. His entire state shifted in a fraction of a second.

The heavy-caliber pistol was already steady in his hand, barrel aimed at the carriage entrance.

That gun was custom-made. Ridiculously large caliber.

No choice — William's ability leaned toward defense. Offense had always been his weak spot, so he had to compensate with gear.

Usually, with him around, the squad never had to worry about taking hits.

But tonight was different.

Whether it was that corrosive liquid, or that man who shattered his barrier with such ease — both were his kryptonite.

Even now, his body was still numb. First time in his life he'd taken such a beating on the defensive end.

As long as he didn't run into that guy again.

The footsteps drew closer.

The command center's floodlights bathed the corridor in harsh white light. A shadow stretched across the floor, growing clearer by the second.

Not one of his own.

William didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger.

The recoil of the heavy-caliber pistol made his wrist dip. The bullet tore through the air, straight for the figure's face.

"All martial arts under heaven — speed alone conquers!"

A line he didn't understand.

But William's pupils constricted, because he remembered those words. He remembered that move.

Two fingers. Steadily catching the bullet.

Heavy caliber. Custom round.

Caught by two fingers — again.

Before William's brain could even process that, the second line came.

"Nothing is indestructible!"

The voice was calm, like someone reading a script.

Then William was flying.

His whole body crashed backward into the cabin wall. The metal plating behind him bent inward with a jarring crunch.

William hung there on the deformed wall, his gum long gone, black spots swimming in his vision.

His barrier had been up the whole time — in its densest, point-blank form.

It meant nothing.

Still shattered in one blow.

William gasped for air, but he wasn't dead yet. He pressed his earpiece.

"Code red! Code red! You all—"

Before he could finish, Lin Mo raised a hand. An invisible giant force seized William.

"No need to call out. Your friends are all ready to become family in my Emperor's Soul Banner. I'll take you along."

With that, he squeezed lightly.

William was history.

Tossing the corpse aside without a care, Lin Mo turned his gaze to Smiling Face, who sat in the chair.

"Countdown. Three, two, one!"

Smiling Face's eyes snapped open.

He gulped in air, drenched from head to toe like he'd just been pulled out of water.

There wasn't a scratch on him, but he looked like he'd just run a marathon — limbs weak, mind foggy.

He'd forcibly severed his consciousness from the Demon Witch's husk.

"How could..." Smiling Face's voice trembled.

"Even the Demon Witch can't beat him? Impossible — that was the Demon Witch! The strongest superhuman in the whole Republic of Korea!"

He ripped off his helmet. Hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, eyes shot through with blood.

"The military! Call in the military! I refuse to believe one man can slaughter the entire Republic of—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

Because he saw someone.

Someone who shouldn't be here. Someone who should have been dead.

Piao Guochang.