Yang Tianxin is very strong, so he can easily pull a cage that requires two people, just by himself and a chain.
Due to his talent, his muscles and bone density far exceed that of ordinary people. The metallic prosthetics make a slight tremor on the floor as he walks, emphasizing his strength.
The auction scene is like a circular arena resembling the Roman Colosseum, with twenty cages being pushed into the water.
At this moment, the pre-evolved merfolk with high levels of distortion already possess the ability to breathe underwater. The pollutants in the water will assist these individuals in completing their final transformation.
Transformation from human to pollutant.
And as long as the clients are willing, the club can even open the cages, allowing the newly evolved merfolk to engage in combat in the pool.
In preparation for the final feast, the mermaid club has been ready for a long time. The kitchen started preparations half a year ago for the banquet.
Yang Tianxin reached the 7th floor but did not immediately go to the auction.
He dragged Lu Yan into an empty room, then locked the door.
Although Lu Yan is confident in his appearance, he doesn't think Yang Tianxin dragged him into a dark room for anything inappropriate.
The system encourages him: [Be confident. Inappropriate things include not only R18 but also G18, such as waist-cutting, amputation, gutting, and the like.]
It's already late at night, with no lights on, complete darkness.
Yang Tianxin slowly speaks, "I found a golden scale at the bottom of the mermaid bay. I've been working for the mermaid club for 31 years, and I know very well that there are merfolk of all colors here, except gold."
"You're very cautious. You clean your scales every day after waking up. Staff members have sneaked into your room several times without any harvest, and you even caught them. Fortunately, this time the boss only selected 20 merfolk. It was troublesome to find you, as I had to wait for the DNA test report."
Yang Tianxin walked into the cage, squatted down, and looked at Lu Yan's face.
"You're definitely also a Harbinger. At least, you were one before coming to the mermaid island. I don't know how the person who did the screening this time chose the subjects. After this auction is over, I will definitely go and see for myself."
"But I believe your psychic threshold is not very high. Otherwise, you wouldn't have knocked on the door on the first day on the island. You wouldn't have to hide like a rat in the damp and disgusting water pipes."
"The boss likes you very much. If you don't participate in this auction, he will definitely be angry. This makes me a bit distressed. But I've thought of a compromise. Break your arms and legs, then throw you into the pool. This way, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
When Yang Tianxin talks about breaking, he means breaking from the connection point of the limbs, similar to carving into a human pig.
[Yang Tianxin also has night vision. The only weakness is at the connection point of his metal legs. He has already undergone amputation, and if the prosthetics break, he will lose mobility. However, prosthetics produced by the Fifth Research Institute are not that easy to break.]
"Do the Fifth Research Institute and the mermaid club have dealings?" Lu Yan asked.
[As long as there is money or a sufficient price to pay. Buying a metal prosthetic is not a big deal. The Fifth Research Institute may not even know who the buyer is.]
There are thirteen research institutes nationwide, each with a different research direction.
For example, the Seventh Research Institute likes to study agricultural products. The deactivating agent that kills parasitic fish eggs and the pesticide from the Luochuan Botanical Garden are both produced by them.
The Fifth Research Institute is purely focused on functionality, researching how to use thermal weapons to kill pollutants every day.
Although their development in physics couldn't keep up with the speed of biological distortion of pollutants, resulting in their low contribution on the high-end battlefield, some auxiliary devices sell quite well.
Lu Yan knows that pretending won't help now. He opens his eyes and meets Yang Tianxin's crimson eyes.
He grabs the knife hidden in his clothes.
Yang Tianxin's body keeps expanding, and the black wolf hair on his body, like steel needles, pierces through the black uniform.
Talent 311 - Lone Wolf.
[You better pray that he doesn't have a blood-licking habit.] The system's tone is unusually serious, [Your chances of winning against him are already slim. If he drinks your blood and gets strengthened, I'll try to notify your contact person and get you a nicer-looking urn.]
[In addition, even if you tell the truth about the car accident, in your current state, he won't believe it. He might even fall into a rage. After all, your current conditions are not equal, and people will only believe what they want to believe.]
This matter is easy to understand. It's like you're at the market buying vegetables, and a completely unfamiliar person comes up to you, telling you that your biological son belongs to the neighbor, Old Wang.
Even if your neighbor is indeed called Old Wang, would you believe it without a doubt or give him a punch first?
Most people's reactions are probably the latter. They might even complain to friends and family about encountering a lunatic.
Yang Tianxin opens the cage door with one hand.
Lu Yan doesn't dodge but grips the poisonous fang and rushes forward.
After all, this is a C-level psychic weapon that Lu Yan exchanged for ten thousand contribution points.
The long dagger deeply pierces into Yang Tianxin's arm, and blood gushes out like a fountain.
The toxin attached to the C-level psychic weapon "Venom Fang" makes Yang Tianxin's movements gradually slow down as the poison spreads.
Lu Yan knows that he can't win against Yang Tianxin with strength alone. The opponent's strength and speed are much stronger than his.
So, his tactic is to exchange injury for injury.
Injuring the enemy by five hundred, self-harming by a thousand.
While his dagger cuts through Yang Tianxin's arm, Yang Tianxin's fist heavily strikes Lu Yan's abdomen.
Although his scales appear in time at the point of impact, he still retreats several steps, spitting out a mouthful of blood with some internal organs, "Wow."
"Exchanging injury for injury?" Yang Tianxin shakes his arm; the toxin has slightly paralyzed it. "This is not a fight that can be won by willpower alone."
Although it looks like he got more injured, Lu Yan is not worried.
He has the talent of regeneration. It may seem like a disadvantage, but as long as he doesn't die, it's a win.
Lu Yan isn't afraid of pain. He learned how to stay conscious even under extreme pain since childhood.
In the room, there are not many coverings for him to evade.
The marble table is smashed by Yang Tianxin's punch, making considerable noise, but because the location is remote, and most of the security forces are concentrated in the auction, there is still no third person joining the battlefield for now.
[A somewhat fortunate thing. The news of you being taken away by Yang Tianxin has been transmitted back to the seabed by the
merfolk. So, Xu Guanyue decided to bring the fish people ashore in advance.]
The mermaid club has been established for half a century and has never been in such chaos.
Although these fish people are Harbingers, their psychic thresholds are not high because they have been deprived of their talents. Their strength lies in their large numbers.
The rare secondary evolution, extremely difficult to achieve in the outside world, unexpectedly appears in some elderly fish people.
They couldn't find an opportunity before and could only hide in the depths of the red seaweed, barely surviving. These fish people are well aware that a part of their souls died 15 years ago when they killed their kind. What kept them alive until now is the most unforgettable hatred.
The fish people climb ashore along the water pool, biting towards the staff. They plan to attack from the first floor to the seventh floor.
Many tourists are frightened by this scene, hastily retreating into rooms. However, some dream-experienced guests seem dazed, as if recalling something.
The lower levels are completely chaotic.
The boss listens to the reports with a dark expression.
His gaze scans the wealthy businessmen sitting in front of the round table who are still oblivious to the situation.
Waiters bring out exquisite dishes.
Towards the end, the dishes are no longer hiding their humanoid pollutant nature.
Over the years, the most popular dish in the mermaid club is the mammalian organ of a humanoid animal, using organs from 14 to 16-year-old pigs. It is coated with honey made by bees that have become pollutants and baked at a low temperature for six hours. The taste and flavor are exquisite, giving a heavenly feeling.
The auction is an hour away from starting.
According to the data from previous years, each auction brings in billions of profits for the mermaid club. Sometimes there are even more valuable things, far exceeding the value of money.
"Boss, should we go to the cruise ship first?" The manager's expression on the phone is anxious and uneasy.
The boss whispers, "What are you afraid of? It's just a group of fish people with psychic thresholds not exceeding 1000. We could kill them once in the past, and now we can kill them again. Let the security bring guns."
His blue eyes, as clear as seawater, contain deeply suppressed anger. However, the smile on his face becomes even gentler, "The pre-evolved merfolk haven't fully evolved yet. Don't worry."
After saying that, he hangs up the phone and sighs helplessly to other wealthy businessmen, "A gold-tier member from previous years called and wanted to reserve a mermaid. He insisted that I help him bid for one."
The faces of the wealthy businessmen show cheerful smiles, "That won't be cheap. Let him prepare more. For an off-site auction, according to the rules, he has to pay a 10% premium."
...
...
After paying the price of having his arm torn off, Lu Yan successfully used a dagger to cut a deep, bone-visible wound in Yang Tianxin's abdomen.
It's now 11:15 at night. The room is pitch black, covered in wolf fur and bloodstains, even severed limbs.
【Talent 167 - Regeneration】
This is Lu Yan's first time using this talent to restore a severed limb.
Muscle fibers extend from the cross-section of the arm, twisting into one. The broken bones squirm and grow; in just half a minute, a new arm emerges.
This arm is as white as jade, with skin as tender as a newborn baby. But if someone were to touch it, they would find that the texture is more like smooth fish skin than human skin.
A layer of golden scales reappears on the skin.
Yang Tianxin's eyes light up: "Interesting. This is at least the fourth time I've broken your arm. But you can still regenerate. What's your talent? Phoenix?"
[Regeneration is not a "Phoenix," the number of limb regenerations is limited. With your current psychic energy threshold, you can probably use it one more time.]
Lu Yan grips the dagger tightly, calmly responding: "It's enough."
The spread of neurotoxins has made Yang Tianxin's attacks less powerful and swift.
If not for the regeneration talent and the system's assistance, Lu Yan might have been killed long ago.
There are clearly visible blood holes on his shoulder. The wolf claws broke his scapula, and the regeneration speed can't keep up with the rate of injury. The newly grown body parts also feel unfamiliar.
But Yang Tianxin's condition isn't much better.
He pants heavily, the wolf fur on his body has fallen off, and he is returning to a more human form.
Yang Tianxin opens his mouth, saliva mixed with blood flowing uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth.
All of this is not the focus. The focus is on his metal prosthetic, which, under Lu Yan's continuous attacks, has become less sharp.
The metal skin peels back, revealing several damaged bioelectric wires.
"I admit, you're the most troublesome opponent I've encountered," Yang Tianxin lifts his arm, wiping the blood from his face.
[His combat talent is quite strong. But after awakening, he's been working as a security guard at the Mermaid Club. What a waste.] The system comments, [If he joined the Special Operations Department, he could have reached Bai Qiu Shi's level. Comfort makes people fall behind!]
Lu Yan has no strength left to answer him.
Exhausted physically and mentally, his psychic energy threshold depleted, he looks like he was pulled out of water.
[System: Although you're in a sorry state now, fortunately, the opponent is also on their last legs. Do you want to take a gamble?]
"Gamble on what?"
[Gamble on how much your eldest loves you.]
Almost as soon as the system's words fall, Yang Tianxin suddenly bursts forth, brandishing sharp wolf claws, rushing towards Lu Yan.
[Downwards, the neural center of his prosthetic is in the lower abdomen.]
This angle exposes the vulnerable neck of a human.
But Lu Yan still does it because it's his only chance to take down Yang Tianxin.
Yang Tianxin's expression is almost ferocious; he grabs Lu Yan's neck with both hands, and then violently pulls! Lu Yan's head and neck instantly tear apart under the tremendous force, the bones connecting them break, and even the features deform slightly, the eyeballs almost popping out.
Blood spills on Lu Yan's collar, staining it red.
With his head severed, there's no way he looks like he can survive.
Yang Tianxin doesn't even care that Lu Yan's dagger is stabbed into the neural center of his prosthetic.
At most, he won't be able to move. Anyway, Lu Yan is dead. They can just install a new one later.
He collapses to the ground, revealing a content smile.
However, the next moment, Yang Tianxin's pupils involuntarily contract.
From the severed part of Lu Yan's neck, white threads suddenly grow out.
These are threads used by kingfishers to feed.
The white threads, like hands, swiftly reach out, tightly grabbing Lu Yan's still falling head, then forcefully pulling it back, reattaching it to the neck.
Regeneration indeed cannot give Lu Yan another brain.
But if it's just repairing the neck and broken vertebrae, that's still doable.
Lu Yan sincerely says, "Thank you, but you put my head on backward."
He lowers his head, seeing his own buttocks.
Surprisingly, they look quite perky.
"..."
The white threads emerge again, laboriously lifting Lu Yan's head, then slowly rotating it 180 degrees, a crisp "click," and the head is back on.
Yang Tianxin's expression turns desperate: "How is this possible!"
Even though he knows contamination diseases and talents are very unscientific, at this moment, he feels a sense of "this is just too unscientific." It makes him want to curse loudly.
If he had Lu Yan's talent, why would he need a metal prosthetic?!
The newly attached head is a bit dizzy. Lu Yan twists his neck, the place where Yang Tian broke it burns.
"Nothing is impossible."
Lu Yan bends down, picks up the dagger but doesn't finish off his opponent.
He just cuts Yang Tianxin's deltoid, showing considerable mercy.
Yang Tianxin can't lift his arm and can't stand up; he has completely lost his fighting ability.
Lu Yan opens the door, and the light from outside shines in, casting a glow on his flawlessly proportioned face.
As if remembering something, he turns around: "Oh, by the way, the car that hit you initially, the license plate number is Yin A998. The driver's name is Shen Chenyang."
Yang Tianxin's expression instantly stiffens. He stares wide-eyed, his teeth making a creaking sound, even twitching slightly.
"Impossible!" He lets out a low roar.
"There's nothing impossible. Whether you believe it or not is your business. I'm just informing you," Lu Yan smiles, "Now, you all call him the boss."
He closes the door.
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