Your opponent is me.

Since childhood, An Yi had clearly understood one thing:

If you lack strength, don’t act tough!

So, after two probing moves, he knew he was no match.

When Butcher swung his blade at him again, An Yi didn’t hesitate. Gripping the tangled, rusted pipes overhead, he swung lightly and leaped onto them.

Butcher glanced at Lin Chen, who was locked in combat with Viper, and smirked disdainfully. "Buying time? Fine, I’ll play along!"

Suddenly!

Butcher lunged into the air like a diving hawk, his short blade slicing through the obstructing pipes as he charged straight at An Yi.

Watching the blade loom closer, An Yi’s pupils constricted.

No way!

Meanwhile, Lin Chen and Viper had already engaged in battle.

If there was one thing Lin Chen excelled at, it was close-quarters combat.

He wielded no weapons—because he himself was the weapon.

Fists, shoulders, elbows, palms, knees…

A master of all fighting techniques, he now faced an unexpected challenge.

The woman before him seemed boneless, her body unnervingly supple, living up to her name—Viper.

In their initial exchanges, both had merely tested the waters, but Lin Chen gained no advantage. If anything, he was at a disadvantage.

"Don’t underestimate a woman. I’m quasi-S rank!"

Viper’s thick lips curled into a cold smile.

Stomping the ground, Lin Chen whipped his leg like a lash toward Viper’s face.

Yet Viper bent her waist into an impossible arc, evading the strike effortlessly.

Open-hand thrust!

Lin Chen unleashed a flurry of punches.

But Viper dodged them nimbly, countering with a vicious kick to his chest.

Though she appeared soft, the force behind that kick was terrifying. Lin Chen felt as if his heart had been jolted out of place.

Yet in that split second, he seized Viper’s ankle.

Bone-breaking strike!

Lin Chen drove his elbow toward her knee.

But Viper’s leg bent like rubber, rendering the attack useless.

Instead, she coiled around him like a serpent, her legs locking around his waist as her hands snaked toward his throat.

"Strong men… I like them," Viper purred, though her actions were anything but affectionate. A steel needle flicked from her sleeve, aimed at his neck.

Suplex!

In a flash, Lin Chen hurled them both into the wall.

The brutal impact forced her to drop the needle.

"Same outcome," Viper hissed, tightening her grip on his throat while her legs twisted his waist sideways.

The pose might’ve looked intimate, but all Lin Chen felt was death’s approach.

The black woman’s hands were vise-like, unyielding no matter how he struggled—only squeezing tighter.

She was using jujitsu.

Jujitsu was a revolutionary combat style.

Countless fierce, hard-hitting martial arts had fallen to its unorthodox techniques.

Lin Chen knew this woman was a jujitsu expert. Once entangled, he was already half-defeated. If she took him to the ground, it’d be a death sentence.

"Haah!"

With a roar, Lin Chen charged like a raging bull toward the wall, twisting at the last moment.

Viper, still clinging to him, took the brunt of the impact. Blood sprayed from her mouth, her face paling.

Yet she seized the chance to slam Lin Chen onto the ground.

The moment they hit, Viper flipped their positions, pinning him beneath her.

Lin Chen struggled.

Now, he truly felt like a python had coiled around him, slowly crushing his bones. Breathing grew labored.

Viper didn’t look too good either.

She had underestimated Lin Chen's strength. The earlier collision had cracked several of her ribs, leaving her looking pale and weak, her strength nearly sapped.

Lin Chen was still struggling, and for a moment, the two of them were locked in a tug-of-war. Whoever ran out of stamina first would be the loser.

However, just then, a series of sharp whistling sounds cut through the air.

Several silver needles embedded themselves into Viper's spine.

In that instant, her entire body went limp.

"Cheap shot! Sneak attack!"

Viper's icy gaze fixed on An Yi, who stood not far away.

It was him—his needles had struck her back.

Now, no matter how hard she tried, her arms felt weak and powerless.

An Yi scoffed. "Idiot, this isn’t a martial arts tournament. Who has time to solo you?"

From what he’d seen, Lin Chen was at best evenly matched with that jiu-jitsu woman. Even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

And right now, he was still being chased down by Butcher!

So, from the start, An Yi had come prepared.

His Nine Yang Divine Needles—this was the first time he’d used them in actual combat.

But judging by the results, they worked just fine.

Lin Chen seized the opportunity, twisting Viper’s arm behind her back and slamming her face into the ground.

Crack!

Viper lay motionless, her fate unknown.

Lin Chen gasped for breath, his eyes shifting to An Yi, who was still locked in battle with Butcher.

The silver needles in Viper’s back were clearly An Yi’s doing.

But in that split second of distraction, Butcher’s blade sliced into An Yi’s shoulder, leaving a bloody gash.

Relentless attacks had left An Yi covered in cuts, his white shirt soaked with blood.

"Save Qin Yao first!"

An Yi clutched his wound, panting heavily.

The chase had drained much of his stamina, while Butcher still looked unfazed.

"Watch yourself!" Lin Chen said grimly.

For the first time, Lin Chen felt something like respect for this cocky bastard.

The priority was Qin Yao. Once she was safe, they could make their escape.

"Viper!"

Butcher’s eyes locked onto her motionless body.

Rage boiled inside him.

Viper had been taken down by these two brats!

"You’ll pay with your life!"

Butcher’s strikes grew even more frenzied.

An Yi barely managed to block with his dagger.

Clang!

The dagger was knocked from his grip.

Cold sweat beaded on An Yi’s forehead. Butcher was serious now—his strength had clearly leveled up.

How much longer could he hold out?

Lin Chen reached Qin Yao and tore off her blindfold.

"Lin Chen, you—"

Her voice trembled.

"No time to talk," Lin Chen cut in.

His fingers traced the wires as he prepared to disarm the bomb.

But then his expression darkened, sweat rolling down his forehead.

The bomb’s wiring was different—he couldn’t disarm it.

"Still not done?!"

An Yi had lost his dagger and could only dodge Butcher’s attacks desperately.

Lin Chen gritted his teeth. "Can’t disarm it. We have to cut the wires."

He isolated three of them.

His hands hesitated. They only had one shot.

"Moron! Don’t cut any of them! Unless you want us all to die here."

Butcher’s voice was cold.

He immediately shifted his target.

An Yi was nimble, and the factory’s maze-like layout made him hard to pin down.

But Lin Chen and Qin Yao were easier prey.

Just as Butcher turned—

A shockwave blasted toward him like a hammer, slamming into his back.

In an instant, his shirt shredded, leaving a dark purple bruise.

With the mace (sneak attack) amplifying the force by 150%, the impact was devastating—even Butcher couldn't ignore it.

"Who the hell told you to go over there? Your opponent is me!"

An Yi declared arrogantly, assuming the opening stance of his Qi Control technique.