Miao Jia coughed, covered in dust, and scrambled to his feet. His prosthetic limb fell to the ground, but he disregarded it, eyes fixed dumbly on the blown-out wall of the second-floor corridor.
The wall had a gaping hole. Could anyone survive this?!
"Bro Wen!!!" Miao Jia shouted heartrendingly.
*Cough, cough, cough!* Liu Zhao rubbed his eyes, the dust making it harder to keep them open.
Wu Shan remained prone, muttering, "How could this happen? Why did it explode?"
The three stood still, clueless. After a while, Fu Shiwu rushed over.
"Why did it explode?" Miao Jia, bewildered, gazed at the exposed wall. "We found the prosthetic already."
"He wouldn't—wouldn't leave us. He just wanted to tell us this..." Fu Shiwu's voice quivered with grief. "He won't—won't go with us, as long as we find the prosthetic or wheelchair."
"I think I understand Wen Zhaoming's idea." Horn Ting admired, glancing at the half-ruined corner. "As long as the bomb on him exists, we'll always be under threat from Shi Zheng. He sacrificed himself to improve our survival chances."
Horn Ting left out one thing: the self-blame after being humiliated and burdening a companion. If he were in that situation, he might've chosen this extreme method too.
"Wen Zhaoming..." Wang Dan gazed at the corner with complex emotions.
"What's happening? Why are you all standing here like fools? Don't you know this commotion might attract Shi Zheng's attention?" Tang Xuhai, accompanied by Liu Peiqi, arrived and exclaimed immediately.
"Brother Hai!" Miao Jia couldn't hold back tears. "Bro Wen, he... the bomb exploded, Bro Wen, himself..."
Miao Jia's words jumbled up, displeasing Tang Xuhai. "Speak clearly!"
*Sob...* Miao Jia couldn't utter more, tears streaming down his face.
His face, head, and body were covered in explosion residue, tears forming tracks amid the white dust, a tragic and absurd sight, but no one could find it funny at this moment.
"Wen Zhaoming detonated the bomb on himself. He committed suicide," Olande said.
"What did you say?!" Tang Xuhai stared in disbelief at the fallen concrete slabs and bricks. "Wen Zhaoming!! Why would he do this?!"
Tang Xuhai's expression was terrifying at this moment. Liu Zhao swallowed hard, unable to bear it. "To prevent us from being threatened by the bomb controller Shi Zheng, Mr. Wen..."
Tang Xuhai snapped out of it, noticing Fu Shiwu's rigid figure. He approached, placing a hand on his shoulder, teeth clenched. "Old Wen was killed by Shi Zheng! I must avenge him!"
Fu Shiwu trembled, finally regaining composure. He nodded solemnly. "Yes!"
"Someone's coming!" Liu Peiqi, at the rear, heard the commotion first.
Initially drawn by the girl's screams, two groups had come here. However, after the deaths of these groups, a new type of alien creatures had emerged outside the prison walls tonight. Their allure was stronger, awakening even the sleeping aliens, besieging Pingnan Prison. Shi Zheng was momentarily occupied and couldn't detach his manpower to investigate.
When the massive explosion occurred here, Shi Zheng worried about the impact on his arrangements. He disregarded everything and hurried over, accompanied by a few of his henchmen.
"Shi Zheng!!! I'll take your life—arghhh!" The quiet girl suddenly went berserk, rushing towards the front. Wang Dan swiftly grabbed her.
"It's you?" Shi Zheng's attention was immediately drawn to the girl's frenzied appearance. "Crazy woman!" His face filled with disgust, aggravating the girl, almost making it difficult for Wang Dan to restrain her, and Miao Jia rushed to help.
"You used my classmate as bait and now you won't leave my female classmate alone! You promised me her safety, why let your men mistreat her?!"
Shi Zheng tutted, looking at the girl with amusement. "Naive. When I promised safety, it was for those capable, not necessarily including your female classmate."
"Beast! Inhuman! Liar! Scoundrel!" The girl struggled frantically, reminded of her friend's dying moments, wishing to tear him apart and drink his blood!
She took a deep breath, silently sending soundless sonic waves "Woom!" into the air in front, charging towards Shi Zheng.
Anticipating her ability, Shi Zheng felt surprised. A life-threatening sensation made him swiftly pull someone in front.
That person spat blood, eyes bulging, and suddenly collapsed.
Shi Zheng's face darkened, waving his hand. His men with guns immediately aimed at the girl.
"Bullying women is for the incompetent. Shi Zheng, your opponent is me!" Tang Xuhai stepped forward, shielding the girl.
"Tang Xuhai?" Shi Zheng glared darkly. "You have some tricks!"
Seeing Tang Xuhai with a massive sword, Shi Zheng understood. Tang Xuhai had feigned weakness before. Then, when he was locked up, he took advantage of the distraction caused by the aliens and escaped.
"To deal with someone as ruthless as you, preparation is necessary." Tang Xuhai squinted, gripping the sword handle tightly. He only wore combat boots, flaunting his muscular legs. To mock him, his pants and belt were not returned.
"Your appearance is truly ridiculous. Soon, you'll join your brothers. Want a picture for your comrades? Wouldn't that be interesting?" Shi Zheng pressed a button on his remote, regret evident on his face.
"It's a pity you won't get that chance." Tang Xuhai's voice fell, and slowly, steel armor began emerging from his ankles, encasing his legs from the waist down!
Shi Zheng's pupils constricted, amazed. What ability was this?!
"Feng Zhuoming!" Shi Zheng shouted sharply, swiftly retreating.
Feng Zhuoming stepped forward, grinning arrogantly at Tang Xuhai. "Kid, using metal armor against me? You're truly out of your league! Let this old man teach you how to wield metal abilities properly. You're riddled with flaws."
Clearly another metal-based ability user, Feng Zhuoming extended his hands, looking smugly at Tang Xuhai.
Tang Xuhai sneered, swinging his massive sword.
The atmosphere was tense as Fu Shiwu casually extended his hand, while Tang Xuhai stood on guard. After a while, despite Fu Shiwu maintaining the same expression and posture, Tang Xuhai grew somewhat puzzled, thinking that Fu Shiwu had been posing as a statue for too long.
Tang Xuhai impatiently glanced at him, remarking, "Is this your only skill? Pretending like this? Shi Zheng, get this useless guy out of here!"
Fu Shiwu's forehead started sweating profusely. Deep down, he couldn't believe it. Why was the metal on Tang Xuhai's body not under his control?
The showdown between metal ability users involved seizing control of metal. Fu Shiwu had encountered opponents on par with him or even stronger, but none had been this silent!
Being called useless by Tang Xuhai made Fu Shiwu's heart race. His boss had a severe distaste for incompetence.
He looked back and caught Shi Zheng glaring at him malevolently.
Fu Shiwu, refusing to believe it, tried again, but there was still no response. Terrified, he thought his ability had malfunctioned. He hurriedly tried to manipulate the other metal objects around him.
Meanwhile, Tang Xuhai, wielding a massive sword, charged towards Shi Zheng.
"Fire!" Shi Zheng commanded.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Sharp sounds echoed as bullets aimed at Tang Xuhai were deflected by his spinning sword.
Shi Zheng cursed, "Useless." He took a large step diagonally, bending to grab a thick, sturdy tree from the greenery.
"Attack!!" Shi Zheng's body surged with veins as he exerted force, swiftly uprooting the massive tree and hurling it toward Tang Xuhai.
The tree's dense foliage and branches made it impossible for Tang Xuhai to evade entirely. He sidestepped to avoid the trunk, roaring as he swung his sword with full force, creating a massive gash in the thick canopy.
The impact made Tang Xuhai's wrist ache, but he nonchalantly adjusted it before striding through the shattered branches, gripping the sword firmly.
Meanwhile, Shi Zheng, with one hand, hoisted another similarly thick tree, waiting for him.
"Shi Zheng! Face your end!" Tang Xuhai's sharp gaze fixed on him as he charged with the sword raised!
Meanwhile, under Fu Shiwu's anxious manipulation, metal window frames on nearby buildings rattled and shattered.
Relieved, Fu Shiwu confirmed his ability was still intact.
Glaring at Tang Xuhai, he controlled the metal debris falling from above, shaping it into sharp, piercing metal rain around him.
Fu Shiwu, seeing the threat posed to Tang Xuhai, raised his gun and aimed at Fu Shiwu.
"Click." Swiftly reacting, metal shards around Fu Shiwu intercepted the bullets.
Seeing the bullets inches from his forehead, Fu Shiwu broke into a cold sweat.
"You have the audacity to shoot at a metal ability user! You don't know your place!" Fu Shiwu seethed, the metal shards trembling with his anger.
Olande, at this moment, raised his gun and fired, but Fu Shiwu controlled the bullets, preventing them from approaching within a meter.
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