Seven Killings and Broken Army

Chen Guan's pupils contracted.

Barely a dozen minutes had passed since the explosion.

They had fled the scene and slipped underground, thinking they had gone completely unnoticed. In reality, they had been under the enemy's watchful eyes the entire time.

"What's wrong?"

Long Ao noticed the shift in Chen Guan's aura and leaned in closer.

When he saw the contents of the phone screen, his expression darkened as well.

"Have they caught up?"

"It's not that they caught up," Chen Guan said, turning off his phone and stuffing it back into his pocket. "It's that we never escaped in the first place."

Before he even finished speaking, he grabbed Long Ao's arm and sprinted into the depths of the tunnel.

"Go!"

Long Ao didn't ask any questions. His body's instincts reacted faster than his brain, instantly keeping pace with Chen Guan.

The very next second after they left their spot.

Boom!

The load-bearing pillar they had just been leaning against, along with the dome above it, was blasted straight through from the surface by an indescribable, massive force.

Rubble and steel rebar rained down like a torrential storm, and thick dust instantly filled the entire tunnel.

A burly figure descended from the sky, landing in the pile of rubble and kicking up a visible shockwave of air.

It was Pojun.

He glanced around and didn't spot his targets. A voice crackled from his muffled communicator: "They ran. Heading east."

"Copy that," a soft, effeminate voice replied.

Pojun bent his knees slightly, the ground beneath his feet cracking inch by inch. Like a fired cannonball, he launched himself in the direction Chen Guan and Long Ao had fled.

...

"They can lock onto our position!"

Long Ao shouted as he sprinted, the wind howling in his ears.

Deafening sounds of collapse echoed continuously from the tunnel behind them. That destructive aura followed them like a shadow, in relentless pursuit.

"I know."

Chen Guan's voice remained perfectly steady amidst the rushing wind.

His brain was working at an unprecedented speed, his mental energy highly concentrated. Everything around him was being constructed into a 3D model within his mind.

The enemy's tracking ability had exceeded his expectations.

He rapidly pondered the possibilities.

Was it that black box?

It was possible, but unlikely. It carried Baal's aura. Unless the enemy's rank was high enough to completely ignore Baal—which was obviously impossible. Even though Baal wasn't exactly serious, His status was already incredibly high. To be higher than Him would mean the Creator Himself had arrived.

That left only one possibility: the enemy's superpower was a special type specifically meant for tracking.

This kind of enemy was the most troublesome to deal with.

[Damn it! What's going on! How did they get found so fast?]

[Is this Tier Seven? This is a missile, chasing them down like a demolition crew. Did they even pay the demolition fee?]

[Pay what? Fine wine in luminous cups, sending both people and houses flying into the sky.]

[Brother Guan! Forget about Long Ao, run by yourself! This is Long Ao's spin-off, he can't die.]

[Screw you, is my Brother Guan the type to abandon a teammate? Who are you insulting? He'd rather die himself than leave Long Ao behind.]

The bickering in the bullet comments did not affect Chen Guan's judgment.

Abandon Long Ao?

What a joke.

Long Ao was currently his crucial screen-time trigger.

From a practical standpoint, Long Ao's value was greater than a gold mine.

From a personal standpoint, Old Long was truly loyal and a great guy to be around.

The two dashed out of the other end of the tunnel, arriving at Jiangcheng's old industrial district.

Abandoned factory buildings, crisscrossing pipes, and towering smokestacks cast massive shadows under the midnight neon lights.

The complex terrain made it a perfect location for urban warfare.

Without any hesitation, Chen Guan led Long Ao and plunged headfirst into this steel jungle.

He used illusions to continuously create false sounds and visual disturbances, attempting to delay their pursuers.

However, it was useless.

No matter how they changed directions or used the terrain for cover, the oppressive presence behind them would always recalibrate its direction within seconds and charge straight at them.

Boom!

A wall they had just vaulted over was smashed to pieces by a fist wrapped in black-and-red energy.

Pojun's figure appeared in the breach, his eyes beneath the metal mask exuding a cruel, murderous intent.

Meanwhile, atop the pipes ahead of them, another figure quietly emerged.

The person was entirely shrouded in a black robe, with a tall and slender physique. It was Qisha.

"Game over, little mice."

Qisha's voice echoed directly in both of their minds, carrying a bone-piercing chill.

An invisible mental force field expanded outward, and all the illusions Chen Guan had created instantly dissipated.

Caught in a pincer attack, there was no way up to the heavens, and no door down into the earth.

Long Ao stopped in his tracks, panting heavily, and entrusted his back to Chen Guan.

"One for each of us," he said in a deep voice.

"You can't beat him." Chen Guan's tone was very calm; he was referring to Pojun.

A Tier Seven of the Enhancement system possessed pure strength that had reached an inhuman realm. Long Ao's Tier Three was no different from paper maché in front of him.

"Even if I can't, I still have to fight!" Long Ao let out a low roar, his fists tightly clenched as the light of his Enhancement ability began to glow around his body.

Qisha did not give them any more time to talk.

"Take out the mental-type first."

His voice echoed in Pojun's mind.

The next moment, a majestic mental shockwave morphed into an invisible, sharp awl, bypassing Long Ao and stabbing straight into Chen Guan's sea of consciousness.

This was the full-force strike of a Tier Seven mental-type powerhouse, enough to leave an opponent of the same tier in a mental daze. For a "Tier Three" like Chen Guan, it was an absolute kill shot.

However, right at the moment the mental shockwave was about to hit, Long Ao moved.

He didn't try to block it, nor could he.

He made the most direct and utterly fearless choice.

He took a fierce step forward, using his own body to shield Chen Guan, while simultaneously throwing a punch at the oncoming Pojun.

He chose to use his flesh and blood to intercept the ultimate strike of a Tier Seven Enhancement-type, all to buy Chen Guan a moment to breathe.

A cruel smile appeared on Pojun's face.

Overestimating his own strength.

His fist didn't pause for even a fraction of a second as it collided with Long Ao's. He didn't mind killing one of them first.

Crack!

The sound of shattering bones was clearly audible.

Long Ao's entire right arm twisted at a grotesque angle, and the glow around his fist instantly dimmed.

Pojun's punch didn't lose its momentum, landing heavily on Long Ao's chest.

Pfft...

Long Ao's body bowed like a shrimp as blood sprayed from his mouth, drawing an arc in the air.

His body flew backward, crashing into Chen Guan, and the two of them tumbled to the ground together.

Meanwhile, the mental shockwave aimed at Chen Guan, having lost its target, struck the metal pipes behind them. Dense dents instantly appeared on the pipes, emitting a teeth-grinding sound of twisting metal. The mental attack had actually manifested physically.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Long Ao lay sprawled on the ground, bloody foam bubbling from his mouth with every breath he took.

The clothes on his chest were completely dyed red with blood, and his aura had grown extremely weak.

Taking a punch head-on from a Tier Seven powerhouse without dying on the spot was already a testament to the toughness of his Enhancement ability and physical constitution.

Chen Guan supported him, able to feel his life force rapidly slipping away.