Chapter Twenty-Nine: Evil, Defying All Rules!

"Hahaha..."

Split-Tooth laughed wildly, his body shifting between the floor and the walls. He defied gravity, twisting and turning at will, attacking with all four limbs. Every strike came from a treacherous, unpredictable angle. The onslaught was fierce and unrelenting!

"Die, die, die! No one survives this move. This is my true form! Hahaha..."

But it was useless. No matter how fast, how bizarre, or how cunning his attacks were, Su Cheng always seemed to anticipate them—dodging or countering with ease. Moreover, Split-Tooth’s weaponry was inferior to Su Cheng’s, and as the fight dragged on, he found himself accumulating more and more wounds.

Gradually, Split-Tooth realized something was wrong. He was supposed to have the upper hand, so why was he the one constantly getting hurt? It was too eerie!

"Damn you! Did you install a cybernetic implant? Is this its ability? Even high-end implants can't trigger abilities this frequently. Who the hell are you?"

Split-Tooth watched in shock as Su Cheng dodged another strike and severed one of his arms with a single blade stroke. His composure shattered.

A flicker of murderous intent appeared in Su Cheng’s eyes. "I told you, I came here to kill you!"

He lunged again. Split-Tooth scrambled to the ceiling to escape, then kicked off with both feet, hurtling back down like a spinning top. Su Cheng fixed his gaze on him, but as he tracked the trajectory, his right eye began to blur. He had only just broken through the first gene sequence; he had pushed his limits too many times today.

He barely managed to arch his back, the mantis blade grazing his hairline. He could clearly see his own reflection in the edge of the weapon.

*Boom!*

Split-Tooth crashed through the floor, vanishing into the level below. Su Cheng steadied himself, rubbed his eyes, shook his head, and drew his kinetic pistol, firing blindly into the hole.

"Damn it! I’m going to skin you alive, then steam and braise you!" Split-Tooth roared from below. Suddenly, he burst back through the floor, his three remaining mantis blades slashing viciously at Su Cheng.

Su Cheng fired continuously, forcing himself to activate "Insight" once more. The world slowed to a crawl. He adjusted the angle of his pistol, and a single bullet tore through Split-Tooth’s shoulder. Simultaneously, he backflipped, hurled his particle-cutting blade, and kept firing.

Suddenly, the world went black. His right eye went blind for an instant, and the agony forced him to shut it tight.

"H-how is this... possible!"

The particle-cutting blade plunged into the top of Split-Tooth’s head, impaling him through the torso. In the chaos, his other head was pierced by a kinetic bullet.

He stared wide-eyed, unwilling to accept his fate, looking at the panting Su Cheng. It was a blind-fired ambush, but it was as if he had run straight into the flying blade himself. Losing one body wouldn't have been fatal, as he had the other, but luck wasn't on his side. The momentum of his charge had driven him directly into the path of the bullet.

*Thump!*

Split-Tooth slumped to his knees. "Dammit... I’ve crashed and burned... *cough*..."

"Hoo... hoo..." Su Cheng gasped for air. This guy was incredibly strong—the toughest enemy he had faced yet. His fighting style was unique, his speed was blistering, and the erratic nature of his mantis blades would have made him impossible for anyone else to read. If Su Cheng hadn't unlocked the first gene sequence and gained the "Insight" ability, he would never have won.

Su Cheng gritted his teeth, walked over, pulled out his blade, and severed the rest of Split-Tooth’s arms.

"Why... why did you come specifically for me..." Split-Tooth’s eyes drooped. There were so many other marauders downstairs, yet Su Cheng had hunted him down.

Su Cheng didn't answer. He used his blade to push aside the hair at the back of Split-Tooth’s neck, where the skin had fused together. The original letter "Y" had been altered into an "X".

"So that’s what this was about." Split-Tooth smiled weakly. "I didn't think you bastards still remembered us."

Su Cheng crouched down, staring coldly at the dying man. "Of course. I’ve seen C and Z."

"Haha, *cough*..." Split-Tooth began to laugh, but soon spat out a mouthful of black blood. "C? No, you couldn't have. Z, that weakling, died a year ago. You’re lying to me."

Su Cheng grinned. "Just because you haven't seen him doesn't mean I haven't. I killed Z. I saw C eight years ago. But I haven't seen you—are you actually a member of their group?"

"I am, you bastard!" Split-Tooth hissed. "You don't know anything. I am a member of 'Evil', it’s just that C is ranked—"

He stopped mid-sentence, forcing a grin. "You’re clever, trying to provoke me? Heh. Let me guess—you sound young. If it was eight years ago, C must have killed someone important to you, right? *Cough*, you want revenge on C, so you chased me down the moment you saw the tattoo. Revenge? You’ll never succeed in this lifetime!"

Su Cheng’s expression turned stony. He stood up slowly, a web of red light flashing across his vision.

Split-Tooth’s smile froze. Fissures appeared across his face, and both heads crumbled into debris, scattering across the floor. Su Cheng took a deep breath and tapped the metal chip behind his ear.

"What is it?" Yang Siqi pouted, holding a stylus. "Need my help?"

"Can you hack a cyborg’s brain?" Su Cheng set down the head he had only half-severed.

Yang Siqi’s brows knitted together as she tilted her head. "Theoretically, yes. But if there’s a firewall, it might be difficult."

"Try it." Su Cheng removed the chip and inserted it into Split-Tooth’s brain-computer interface. As a technician, he knew the anatomy of a cyborg perfectly; he had been precise enough not to damage the port.

"Hold on." Yang Siqi’s fingers flew across her keyboard.

Just then, footsteps echoed from downstairs. Remi and the others were coming up.

"Damn it! You gave me a marauder’s brain—is your head rusted? What were you thinking? Their brains are fried, totally broken! You idiot, the external interface you gave me is ruined too, there’s a 'Black Death' virus on it... wait, huh?"

She paused. "Interesting. I downloaded something fun. This is interesting! The external interface is useless, and his brain is indeed fried—it self-destructed upon death. A secondary protection mechanism. But remember to bring the chip back to me; don't lose it, and definitely don't use it. It’s toxic."

Su Cheng glanced at the stairwell and nodded. "Got it."

He cut the connection, tucked the chip into his pocket, and Remi’s group walked in.

"Phew, thank goodness you're okay. Why did you run off like that?" Remi walked to his side and glanced at the corpse on the floor. "Looks like he made you angry."

Su Cheng waved a hand. "Hurry, there’s only one floor left."

Remi shook her head. "No need. The bounty is already complete."

Su Cheng looked at the others. "Complete?"

Remi nodded. "That's right. Check your hunter card; the information should be there. The Wasteland Arena has already sent people to take over the scene."

Su Cheng pulled out his hunter card. Sure enough, it showed completion, with all participants' point weights recorded. The card was linked to the brain-computer interfaces; although Su Cheng hadn't authorized the link, the others had, so the entire bounty mission was logged.

"Good."

Suddenly, Su Cheng hurled his blade!

The group gasped, their eyes widening in shock.

"!!!?"

Chen Ze’s eyes drifted upward in disbelief; the particle-cutting blade had pierced his forehead.

"You... you broke the rules... you... you will be wanted...!"

*Thump.*

Chen Ze collapsed limply to the ground. Su Cheng walked over, retrieved his blade, snatched Chen Ze’s hunter card, and crushed it. He looked calmly at the others. "You all saw it. He was killed by a marauder."