A chess piece needs to be regularly struck to realize it's a chess piece.
As for Ling Chen possibly being arrested by Qin Weiguo for possessing unknown special abilities? Heh, he was already prepared!
"Ling Chen... don't be afraid..." Chen Xue quickly supported him, silver light flowing in her palm, trying to soothe his "frightened" emotions. But her eyes were also filled with worry and unease as she looked at the suffering Zhou Yunguang.
Just then!
"Uh... Ugh ah—!!!"
A more shrill, more inhuman shriek suddenly exploded from the crowd on the other side of the training ground! Instantly overpowering all the noise!
Everyone turned their heads sharply!
They saw that among the reserve squad, the male student named Wang Hao, who had been constantly sneering at Ling Chen earlier, was now clutching his head, letting out a painful roar like a wild beast!
His body twitched violently, his eyeballs filled with scarlet bloodshot veins! On the surface of his skin, dark green and black blood vessels writhed and bulged madly! Even more terrifying was... his left cheek! At a speed visible to the naked eye, distorted... dark purple blood patterns appeared!
Those blood patterns... were exactly the same as the dark purple blood threads mixed in Zhou Yunguang's vomit!
"Wang Hao! What's wrong with you?!" A nearby classmate tried to step forward in horror to help him.
"Roar—!!!"
Responding to him was an inhuman roar filled with brutality and bloodlust!
Wang Hao suddenly lifted his head! His pupils... had completely turned into a... scarlet red, like a ghoul's! His mouth split into an exaggerated arc, revealing two rows of sharpened teeth! Saliva mixed with dark purple viscous fluid dripped from the corners of his mouth!
He was no longer Wang Hao! But a... monster completely devoured by ability corruption, having lost its sanity!
"Not good! Ability corruption is rampant! He's mutated!" An experienced instructor's face changed drastically, and he roared hoarsely, "Everyone! Retreat! Be on alert!"
But... it was too late!
"Roar—!!!"
Mutated Wang Hao let out a deafening roar! His left arm, covered in dark purple blood patterns, suddenly swelled and twisted! His skin instantly hardened and became covered in black cuticles like metal!
His five fingers transformed into sharp claws shimmering with a chilling blue light! Like an out-of-control beast, he lunged at the student closest to him with a tearing shriek that ripped through the air!
Speed! As fast as lightning! Strength! Unparalleled in ferocity!
"Ah—!" The student was scared out of his wits and had no time to react!
Pfft—!!!
The sharp claws penetrated the student's chest without hindrance! Bringing out hot blood and shattered internal organs! The student didn't even have time to scream before dying instantly!
"Murder... Murder!!!" The training ground instantly erupted into chaos! Screams, cries, and terrified roars intertwined! Students scattered like a frightened flock of sheep, retreating frantically! The scene was completely out of control!
"Fire! Kill him!" Qin Weiguo, who had arrived at some point, his eyes gleaming with cold light, ordered sharply!
The guarding soldiers immediately raised their guns! But... Mutated Wang Hao's speed was too fast! And he was mixed in with the panicked crowd! The soldiers were hesitant and dared not shoot easily!
"Roar—!" Mutated Wang Hao shook off the corpse on his claw, and his scarlet eyes instantly locked onto his next target—Zhou Yunguang, who was sprawled on the combat platform, receiving first aid, and completely defenseless!
Instinct told him! That human radiating weak energy fluctuations... was the most delicious "supplement"!
It let out an excited roar! Its massive body, like a cannonball, slammed through the obstructing crowd! Bringing with it a strong stench of blood and the shadow of death, it charged straight towards the combat platform!
"Protect Instructor Zhou!" The guarding soldiers roared, trying to intercept!
Bang bang bang—!!!
Dense bullets rained down on Mutated Wang Hao! But the bullets hitting its body, covered in black cuticles, actually made a "clinking" sound! Like hitting hard alloy! Leaving only shallow white marks! They couldn't penetrate at all!
Its defense... far surpassed that of ordinary ghouls! This was... an ability mutant!
"Damn it! It's a defense-enhanced mutant! Use armor-piercing rounds!" The guard captain roared!
But... it was too late!
Mutated Wang Hao had already rushed to the edge of the crystal collection platform! Its thick, cuticle-covered legs suddenly pushed off the ground! Its massive body leaped high!
The sharp claws, shimmering with a chilling blue light, with a terrifying might that could tear through anything, fiercely clawed at the defenseless Zhou Yunguang inside the shield!
Zhou Yunguang looked at the rapidly enlarging claws in his pupils, his eyes filled with despair! His ability core had collapsed at this moment, his body was extremely weak, and he could barely move a finger! He could only watch death approach helplessly!
"No—!" Chen Xue let out a heart-wrenching scream! Desperately wanting to rush forward! But she was firmly blocked by the chaotic crowd!
Ling Chen still leaned "weakly" against the wall, his face "pale," his eyes "terrified."
But the cold will of the Soul Jade Physique, like the most precise computer, instantly calculated everything on the field!
Mutated Wang Hao's attack trajectory, the guarding soldiers' interception angles, Zhou Yunguang's desperate position... and... Qin Weiguo's substantial, murderous gaze locked onto him!
Tsk, troublesome, this old geezer actually came. Forget it, I'll pretend.
Just as Mutated Wang Hao's claws were about to tear through the energy shield!
Ling Chen's body was "accidentally" slammed hard by the "panicked" crowd!
"Ah!"
He let out a "terrified" scream!
His body "uncontrollably" stumbled and fell forward! And the direction he fell... was precisely... the control button for the alloy gate on the side of the training ground, which connected to the civilian special operations team's training area!
The civilian special operations team was above the student reserve team, mostly ordinary people with abilities rescued from the apocalypse, who had also received training, and their psychological quality was much stronger than that of students.
Bang!
His body slammed heavily into the control button!
Buzz—!!!
A piercing alarm sounded! The heavy alloy gate... instantly opened!
"Roar—!!!"
Almost simultaneously! A more violent, more powerful roar! Like a clap of thunder from a clear sky! Came from behind the gate!
Immediately after! A towering figure like an iron tower! Carrying an aura as steady as a mountain, yet full of explosive power! Like a cannonball fired from a barrel! Rushed out from behind the opened gate!
It was Lei Zhan!
The captain of the civilian special operations team! A retired special forces soldier with an A-rank Electromagnetic Pulse ability!
He had clearly heard the chaos and alarm from the training ground! The moment he saw Mutated Wang Hao lunging at Zhou Yunguang! His eyes gleamed with cold light! Without the slightest hesitation!
"Scum! Get out of my way!"
Lei Zhan roared! His right fist clenched! On his fist! Dazzling blue electric arcs instantly condensed and compressed like wild lightning snakes! Forming a dazzling thunderball like a small sun, radiating destructive power!
Hmm, it seems he has already cultivated to the peak of the Spirit Awakening Stage, and his ability talent skills are quite refined.
Electromagnetic Pulse Fist!
Boom—!!!
The thunderball, with a shriek that tore through the air! Arrived later but struck first! It fiercely slammed into Mutated Wang Hao's back!
Bang—!!!
A muffled, extreme thud!
The violent electromagnetic pulse energy instantly exploded! Countless bluish-green electric arcs, like venomous snakes, frantically surged into Mutated Wang Hao's body!
Its proud black cuticle defense layer, in the face of the electromagnetic pulse, was as fragile as paper!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!
Mutated Wang Hao's body stiffened abruptly! The black cuticle layer covering its entire body instantly became covered in spiderweb-like cracks!
The dark purple blood patterns flickered wildly, appearing and disappearing! It let out a distorted, shrill scream! Its forward momentum was abruptly cut short!
He was sent flying by a huge impact! Slamming heavily into the alloy wall in the distance! Creating a deep dent! Debris flew everywhere!
It lay limp in the dent, its body twitching violently! Electric arcs crackled across its body! Large patches of black cuticle peeled off! Revealing dark red, burnt-like flesh underneath! Clearly... it was severely injured!
One strike! Severely injuring a defense-enhanced mutant!
Lei Zhan stood like an iron tower in front of the combat platform, blocking Zhou Yunguang and the medics.
He slowly withdrew his fist, tiny electric arcs still leaping on its surface.
He coldly glanced at Mutated Wang Hao twitching in the dent, then at the chaotic training ground, and finally... his gaze fell on Ling Chen, who had crashed into the control button and was now "struggling" to get up.
His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, with a hint of scrutiny and... an imperceptible doubt.
"Civilian Special Operations Team! Take over the scene! Clear the area! Save the injured!" Lei Zhan's voice was deep and authoritative, instantly suppressing the chaos in the arena.
Following his command, from behind the gate, dozens of civilian special operations team members, dressed in uniform gray combat suits, with steady auras and sharp eyes, quickly poured into the training ground!
Their movements were efficient, and their coordination was seamless! Some quickly formed a defensive line, their guns vigilantly pointed at Mutated Wang Hao in the dent and the surrounding chaotic crowd! Others quickly evacuated students and rescued the injured!
The chaotic scene... was instantly brought under control!
Qin Weiguo looked at Lei Zhan's steady, mountain-like figure, a complex light flashing in his eyes. He waved his hand, signaling the guarding soldiers to retreat.
His gaze swept over the "still shaken" Ling Chen again, then over Mutated Wang Hao, who had been severely injured by Lei Zhan's punch, and finally landed on Zhou Yunguang on the combat platform, who was still painfully twitching but temporarily out of life danger.
Doubt... like a vine, grew wildly in his heart.
Mutation... ability corruption rampant... Zhou Yunguang's backlash... Ling Chen's "accidental" opening of the gate... Lei Zhan's timely appearance...
All of this... was too coincidental! So coincidental... it was like a meticulously designed script!
He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the training ground's dome, as if looking in a certain direction. There... was the special squad's station.
"There's no other way... Chu Hang..." Qin Weiguo murmured, his voice cold and resolute, "It's your turn... to take the stage."
In the corner of the training ground.
Ling Chen, supported by Chen Xue, "struggled" to his feet.
His face was "pale," and his body trembled slightly, as if he had not yet recovered from the fright. He looked "gratefully" in Lei Zhan's direction, then "fearfully" lowered his head.
But no one saw it. Beneath his lowered eyelids, a cold, faint glow flashed in his bottomless dark eyes.
Wang Hao's mutation... was caused by the dark purple corrupted energy he had planted, which was prematurely detonated by the energy resonance generated during Zhou Yunguang's ability backlash! That energy imbalance was merely his carefully calculated detonation point!
Opening the gate? Naturally, it was an "accident."
Lei Zhan's timely appearance? It was the Soul Jade Physique's precise calculation of the civilian special operations team's patrol routes and reaction time!
Everything... was under control.
Chaos... was the best cover. And also... the best stage to bring out the "protagonist," that guy who shone brightly in the previous life during the battle for Gilgamesh's Treasury in the City of Gilgamesh! And his bug-level ability!
His thoughts stirred slightly.
The cold will of the Soul Jade Physique, like invisible tentacles, quietly extended towards the entrance of the training ground.
There... an extremely special will fluctuation, with a kind of almost "brutal" power, as if it could distort the rules of reality... was slowly approaching.
Chu Hang... had arrived.