"They're actually using rocket launchers!"
"Boss, we've been ambushed."
At this critical moment, Taruno somehow remained calm.
This raised Chen Qi's opinion of him a little more.
From the moment they entered this road, Chen Qi's Danger Perception had been blaring warnings.
He never expected the final killing blow to be so explosive.
Although the Lanyu Kingdom didn't ban firearms, only the desperadoes active in the Dark Web World would have the guts to use rocket launchers.
"Fuck, is our target Superman? He actually ripped the car door off and ran out."
On the hillside hundreds of meters away, McKenzie, who had thought he could finish the mission with a single shot, was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the floor.
His other three companions, who had already started celebrating, were just as dumbfounded.
What exactly was the target they were supposed to be hunting?
"Get your heads in the game. Prepare for battle."
"If we don't fight for our lives, we're definitely going to die!"
Flette sighed. He knew things wouldn't be resolved so easily.
He could only hope that this guy's strength wasn't too different from what the intel reported.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The heavy machine gun began to roar, occasionally mixing in an armor-piercing round.
Chen Qi and Taruno, who had just escaped the inferno, were instantly caught in a hail of bullets.
Taruno was sure he was a dead man, but to his utter astonishment, his boss effortlessly led him through the storm, dodging every single bullet.
"Stay hidden here. I'll go take care of these annoying pests."
Chen Qi casually tossed Taruno into a small hollow, a spot perfectly shielded from the enemy's line of fire.
As for himself, it was time to charge straight ahead.
"Red Falcon Fist: Skimming Shadow!"
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! Chen Qi's heart began to beat rapidly, like a giant drum.
In the next instant, he was like a fully charged supercar, vanishing from the spot.
A fierce wind howled. Thirty meters per second—this was the effect of Chen Qi's Red Falcon Fist after reaching the [Proficient] level.
His total muscle utilization efficiency had now reached 20%.
He had achieved all this using only his own strength, without activating [Body Control].
"Dammit, what kind of monster is this!"
"McKenzie, use the Tracking Bullets! Quick!"
"Covering fire! Lay down covering fire!"
The mercenary squad was completely terrified by Chen Qi. The speed detector showed that he was moving at an incredible 30 meters per second.
That was twice the speed of a cheetah.
Was that even a speed a human could achieve?
A torrential downpour of bullets created a terrifying curtain of fire, completely cutting off all of Chen Qi's paths forward.
The squad was no longer aiming for accuracy. They just wanted to block the monster's advance and buy themselves a few more seconds.
'I can't slow down. I have to end this quickly.'
By observing the changing impact points of the bullets, Chen Qi immediately figured out his opponents' intentions.
He didn't know what their plan was, but he absolutely couldn't fall into their rhythm.
[Body Control]
A purple light flickered. Five Puppet Threads extended from Chen Qi's left hand and sank into his own body.
In the next instant, his Red Falcon Fist leaped to a new level, reaching Master Level.
SCREE!
A sudden cry pierced the valley. Even amidst the deafening gunfire, everyone could feel the sharp intent within that sound.
"Red Falcon Fist: Floating Light!"
At this moment, Chen Qi's muscle utilization efficiency rose to 25%.
His 629 muscles moved like precisely forged steel components, operating with high efficiency and order.
[Dynamic Capture]
From Chen Qi's right hand, two more Puppet Threads extended, sinking into his Double Pupils.
In an instant, the world in Chen Qi's eyes changed.
The rain of bullets that had been tearing through the air, whistling as it came, suddenly froze in mid-air. Then, like snails, the bullets began to move slowly through the air, which had become as thick and viscous as water.
In a mere 0.002 seconds, Chen Qi's brain had already plotted the optimal path forward.
The next instant, Chen Qi vanished, moving at a speed of 50 meters per second.
"Where'd he go?"
The squad members, who had been firing wildly, saw only an afterimage.
They were so stunned that they even stopped shooting for a moment.
But in the next moment, it was too late to do anything about it.
BOOM!
A black shadow flashed past, and the resulting shockwave tore the squad members to pieces.
They were truly torn to pieces—in fact, they were hacked into eight chunks.
The shockwave dissipated, leaving a thick mist of blood hanging in the air, blanketing an area dozens of meters wide.
"That was a close call. That rocket must have some kind of bio-thermal tracking function, right?"
Chen Qi stood in the center of the blood mist, his eyes fixed on the rocket that was already loaded in McKenzie's launcher.
He was half a second away from firing it.
Chen Qi wasn't entirely confident he could have blocked it head-on. After all, his metal strings were too short, only ten meters long.
At that range, if he failed to shred the rocket, he probably would have been blown to smithereens.
"Captain Flette, all your men are dead. Why aren't you?"
Three metal strings danced between three fingers of Chen Qi's right hand.
Just moments ago, he had used these three metal strings to hack the other four squad members into eight pieces.
The ability to use [Body Control] and [String Strangulation] simultaneously was the latest result of Chen Qi's skill development.
But to Chen Qi's surprise, when the metal strings sliced across Flette's neck, they actually produced sparks.
"I used the Type-3 Body Modification Alloy Solution. It's a failed product from a human modification experiment conducted by some small country."
"The original goal was to grant the human body Steel Bones, but they clearly overestimated their scientific research capabilities."
"The final product was just a metallic coating. Its only effect is that after seeping into the skin, it can make one impervious to blades and bullets."
"You could call it a bionic version of the Golden Bell Shield."
Flette touched the scratch on his neck. For a moment there, he'd truly thought he was going to die.
Fortunately, the intel was correct.
"Incredible. To think something like this actually exists!"
"It seems I've really been in the Lanyu Kingdom for too long. I've become a frog in a well."
ZZZZT! Chen Qi's fingers twitched, and the metal strings once again sliced across Flette's body.
Again, sparks flew. It seemed his Level 1 metal strings couldn't break through the defense.
Flette remained calm in the face of Chen Qi's repeated tests.
He was also testing his own all-around defense. As long as his opponent didn't attack his weak points, Flette simply let the metal strings slide over him.
"It seems you know a lot about my Superpower!"
"Can you tell me which 'old friend' sent you?"
After experiencing the power of this high-tech modification, Chen Qi stared intently at Flette.
Everything was just as he had guessed. The person behind this knew the abilities of [Jomoya Chris] very well.
"Lord Executor, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but I truly don't know."
"For an existence like you, manipulating the fates of us Mortals is all too easy!"
"I had no choice!"
Even though the man before him was an enemy who had slaughtered his entire squad, Flette remained deferential.
This was the humility of a Mortal before Extraordinary Power!
Chen Qi, however, saw a blazing ambition burning in Flette's eyes.
"Heh, since you understand my abilities so well, then let me see the real source of your confidence, the reason you dare to stand before me."
Chen Qi made a grasping motion with his left hand, and five invisible Puppet Threads shot directly into Flette's body.
His bullet-and-blade-proof skin offered no resistance whatsoever.