"Lei Fang! Stop, you monster! Today, your end is certain!"
Huo Long's roar pierced through the cold winds of the island. His face held more than just anger; it carried a deep-seated hatred—the kind that stems from centuries of vengeance. "You are a curse upon this earth, upon humanity! Your very existence is a sin!"
Another thunderous sound echoed through the atmosphere—BANG!
Ling Yue had fired. The sound was so deafening that the onlookers' ears went numb. Smoke, death, and the bitter stench of gunpowder filled the air, stinging their lungs. Standing before them was a legion of elite soldiers, the nation's 'Top Forces.' They were trained never to fear death, yet today, visible lines of terror were etched onto their faces.
"Everyone, seize him! He must not escape at any cost!" a female soldier screamed, her hands trembling.
Suddenly, Zi Yan—the captain of this elite force and the nation's 'Iron Lady'—took aim. Her mind was as cold as ice. She fired, and the bullet tore through the air, sinking straight into Lei Fang's right leg.
Lei Fang felt the sharp, piercing agony. But he didn't stop; not even a whimper escaped his lips. The warm blood flowing from his leg was washed away by the light rain, leaving red trails on the ground as if nature itself was recording his sins.
Zi Yan, severely wounded with blood seeping from her shoulder, looked at Lei Fang with pure loathing. More than half of her men had been killed trying to capture this one man. The dangerous beasts of the jungle and Lei Fang's cunning 'Tactical Traps' had broken the back of the elite army.
"Finish him!" Zi Yan commanded, hurling a grenade.
BOOM!
The explosion went off right next to Lei Fang's last remaining companion. Lei Fang was thrown through the air, a sharp 'beep' ringing in his ears. When he opened his blurry eyes, he saw that his men had been reduced to ashes.
But Lei Fang felt no anger, nor sorrow. He had grown accustomed to this over the last 42 years. He looked at his right arm—it had been blown off in the blast. Blood was gushing out like a fountain.
Regaining consciousness, he somehow stood up and fled into the depths of the jungle. He was surrounded. Above him was the terrifying roar of helicopters, ahead lay a deep abyss, and behind him were soldiers in the uniform of death. Another bullet struck his chest, the impact pushing him to the very edge of the cliff.
Zi Yan arrived at the scene with her remaining wounded soldiers. Everyone had their guns aimed.
"Demon! Your end is certain today!" Zi Yan declared, aiming her weapon.
A faint smile appeared on Lei Fang's blood-stained lips. He laughed—a laugh that sounded like the haunting silence of a graveyard. Seeing him laugh, some soldiers stepped back in fear, fearing a new ploy. But in Lei Fang's eyes, there was only a strange sense of 'Satisfaction.'
Internal Monologue: 'Finally... I have lost. After years of hunting, today I have become the prey.' His 42-year journey—the betrayals, the murders, the loneliness—flashed before his eyes like an old film. Zi Yan ordered them to fire, but Lei Fang didn't give them the chance. He plunged backward into the abyss. Even as he fell, his sharp mind looked for an escape. He collided with the branch of an old tree, slowing his momentum, but his leg bones snapped with a sickening 'crack.'
He landed in the deep shadows at the bottom. With no life left in his body, he looked up at the blue sky and hummed the poem that was his pride:
"I have set out beyond this emptiness,
Leaving behind the world of false relations...
There is no joy, nor any fear of death,
For 'Zero' is now my true home."
Just then, a hungry tiger, lured by the scent of blood, approached. It dragged Lei Fang's mangled body into its dark cave. Inside, there stood a Mysterious Stone Statue. It belonged to neither god nor demon—tears fell from one eye while blood dripped from the other. It had a single broken wing, holding a human skull in one hand and an ancient weapon in the other.
The tiger sank its teeth into Lei Fang's neck. With one jerk, his head was severed. Lei Fang's warm blood splattered directly onto the face of the statue... and everything went dark.
Rebirth: A New Hell
Lei Fang snapped his eyes open. The first thing he felt was a searing, burning pain—but it wasn't the pain of a bullet. It was a pain rising from his legs that felt like a centuries-old injury.
"I... I'm alive?"
He immediately placed his hand on his neck. It was intact. He wasn't in a jungle, but lying on an old wooden bed. The room was filled with smoke and the stench of cheap medicine.