Wanzhang's face darkened as he clenched his fists. The man in front of them was clearly targeting them—but there was no way they would hand over the energy bottle so easily. Not now. Not ever.
"This is impossible!" he growled through gritted teeth.
Zhantu stood beside him, equally stern. "There's no chance I'll give the energy bottle to Beidu willingly," he said coldly.
Gris, standing confidently before them, spoke with a grim tone, "Starting today, we won't harm any ordinary citizens… in principle."
The crowd quieted.
"That is to say," Gris continued, "as long as you stay out of the conflict, nothing will happen to you. But if you step onto the battlefield... then I won't take responsibility for your life or death."
On the other side of the city, Huande was giving orders with urgency. "Send the guards to the TV station!" he shouted.
"Yes, sir!" came the immediate reply.
He turned to Zhantu. "You and your team—go as well. This depends on you!"
Zhantu nodded and began walking. But after just a few steps, Wanzhang leaned in and whispered, "Are you planning to fight with the squeeze driver?"
Zhantu stopped. A faint smile crossed his face. "If you can use it, then so can I."
Wanzhang was moved. He knew Zhantu didn't want him to get hurt. No matter what he said, he was looking out for him.
Meanwhile, Gris was easily overpowering the guards. They had no chance against his strength. He tore through them like paper, knocking them aside with little effort.
At that moment, Zhantu and Wanzhang arrived on the scene.
Gris turned and saw them. He smirked. "I didn't expect you two would come looking for me yourselves."
He held out his hand.
"Now hand over the energy bottle."
Zhantu didn't hesitate. He reached for the driver. But when he tried to transform, arcs of lightning erupted around his body. His transformation failed.
"Are you okay?" Wanzhang asked, deeply concerned.
Zhantu groaned, clutching his chest. "Why can't I use this?"
Wanzhang quickly grabbed the driver from him.
"Wait!" Zhantu warned. "That thing will hurt you!"
Wanzhang looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm doing this for Misora."
"This driver… it's dangerous, right? If anything happens to you, Misora will be devastated. You're all she has left."
He took a deep breath, then stepped forward with determination. "As for me… even if I die, no one would care."
He forced a smile. "So, it's perfect for someone like me to use it."
The crowd across the three realms watching the broadcast was visibly moved.
"What he said... that really hurts," one viewer whispered.
"I feel sorry for Wanzhang."
"No one cares about him…"
"I can relate. I'm in the same situation. If something happened to me, nobody would even notice."
"Same here," another commented sadly.
On the battlefield, Wanzhang engaged in fierce combat with Gris. At the same time, the three Kitado brothers surrounded Zhantu once again.
"This time, we'll be your opponents," they said in unison. "Hand over the energy bottle."
Zhantu reached into his coat and held up the bottle.
"You mean this?" he asked calmly.
He smirked. "Since it's the perfect match, I have no choice but to use it."
"Phoenix!"
"Robot!"
"Best match!"
He raised the driver and shouted, "Are you ready?"
"Transform!"
A blinding light erupted as the transformation completed.
"Eternal Weapon! Phoenix Robot Form!"
On the sidelines, Akabane's face twisted in rage. "You dare use it without permission?!"
After all, those were their energy bottles. Seeing them used by someone else enraged him.
But before he could react, Zhantu soared through the air and launched a series of high-speed kicks at Akabane and the other two.
They didn't stand a chance.
In a flurry of blows, they were each knocked out of their transformed forms, crashing to the ground defeated.
Even Qingyu, who had been silently observing, was stunned. "Is this the true power of Soki?" he muttered in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Wanzhang continued his intense battle. Every strike exchanged was fierce, and after one particularly explosive clash, both fighters were blasted several feet back by the sheer force.
Gris looked exhilarated, eyes glowing with excitement. "Yes! This is it! This is the kind of battle I live for!"
He let out a wild laugh.
But in the end, despite his courage, Wanzhang collapsed in defeat.
Misora rushed to the scene with two more energy bottles in hand. She handed them to Zhantu, who nodded in gratitude.
Gris, still recovering from his battle, suddenly had a moment of realization. He looked at Misora more closely.
"She's the female anchor…" he muttered, his face going red.
"I really like her!"
Elsewhere, Huande confronted Nanba Industries angrily.
"President Nanba, you handed over the squeeze driver to Beidu!" he shouted. "That's a violation of the rules!"
But before Nanba could respond, a man in a black suit and glasses entered the room calmly.
The three realms gasped.
It was Utsumi.
The chatrooms exploded.
"F**k! Isn't that guy supposed to be dead?!"
"Yeah! How is he alive?!"
"This is insane!"
"Unbelievable… What's going on?!"
Even Huande was left speechless. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Utsumi?!" he said. "Why are you here?!"
Utsumi adjusted his glasses and smiled coolly. "Long time no see, Mr. Himuro."
"You're probably wondering why I'm still alive, even though you saw me die."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"Well, it's all thanks to Xueqian. He saved me."
Huande's expression shifted. His confident façade began to crumble.
He slumped into his chair, murmuring, "I had no choice at the time…"
Utsumi sneered. "I'm now the official liaison for Nanba Heavy Industries."
"Fine," Huande snapped. "Then tell me why Faust—an organization that should have been wiped out—is still active."
"Without their tech, you couldn't have created hardened slammers!"
"You revived Faust in Beidu!"
Utsumi sat leisurely on the sofa. "I have nothing to say about that."
Huande slammed his hands on the desk and stood. "Don't mess with me!"
"I created Faust alongside Katsuragi Takumi!"
"I won't allow you to abuse it!"
Utsumi stayed calm. "Please leave."
"What?!"
Back at the research facility, sirens began to blare.
Intruders had arrived.
Zhantu, Wanzhang, and Sento stepped outside immediately.
"What are you doing here?" Wanzhang asked, recognizing the attacker.
Gris stepped forward with a serious expression.
"I came to say hello formally."
"But since you're here, I have a question for you."
"What's your relationship with Xiaomei?"
The audience from the three realms burst into laughter.
"Haha! Of all the things to ask!"
"Gris's tone was so serious, I thought it was a big deal!"
"And then—boom! Romance gossip!"
"Totally unexpected!"
Even the usually serious Kitado brothers looked stunned. They didn't expect Gris to bring that up with such gravity.
And yet… that's exactly what he wanted to know.
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