Chapter 335 - Star Python, Explosive, Reverberate

A thin mist began to rise over Fengnan City at 7:30 in the morning.

It slowly spread through the streets like pale white streams. Pedestrians walked through the fog, feeling as if their entire bodies were floating. They felt like they were in a dreamy haze. It was like they were drifting in the clouds.

The Ace of Spades branch was nestled in a private estate in the suburban hills, halfway up the mountain.

Several armed guards dressed in black uniforms scanned the road ahead from the entrance. Dense trees on both sides of the road appeared and disappeared amidst the mist, filling the space like a rolling tide. The open ground in front looked like a lone island in a sea of white.

"Did you guys hear about what happened last night?"

One of the guards spoke quietly, drawing the attention of the others.

"You mean King of Clubs returning with serious injuries?"

Someone well-informed quickly responded.

"Yeah, I heard something went down at Shuiyun Hall last night. They were caught off guard by Duststorm. The losses were severe, and it’s said dozens of our brothers were killed. King of Clubs barely made it out and even lost an arm in the process..."

The first speaker sighed, his tone filled with worry and confusion. Duststorm had clashed multiple times with Ace of Spades over the years, and the tension had only been escalating in the past month. It seemed like a full-scale war was inevitable soon.

And when that happened, everyone would be fighting for their lives.

"Shuiyun Hall! Fuck, I almost got assigned there last week. Lucky for me... Otherwise, I might have been one of the dead ones," one of the guards exclaimed, his face showing a trace of lingering fear.

He had originally wanted to be stationed at Shuiyun Hall because the Fengnan City branch was in a remote suburban area, far from any entertainment. Shuiyun Hall, on the other hand, was located in the city, with convenient transportation that made it easy to visit nightclubs or bars.

All things considered, Shuiyun Hall had seemed like the better assignment. But no one could have expected something like last night’s incident.

The guard felt fortunate for having narrowly escaped disaster.

"You’re lucky indeed." The first guard looked at his companion with a complex expression, speaking in a low voice. "You know, it wasn’t people our brothers faced last night—it was monsters! It didn’t matter if they used pistols, submachine guns, or even heavy machine guns and grenades, nothing worked!"

"One of the survivors said he saw an attacker who was cut in half by machine gun fire with his own eyes. The guy kept dragging his bloody intestines across the ground and continued fighting, using his hands like claws to crawl! There was another whose arm got blown off. He picked up his mangled hand, pressed it back on, and it healed right there!"

"Fuck!" The guards all cursed in unison. They all felt uneasy. After all, everyone feared the unknown.

Having guns gave them some confidence, because deep down, they believed their enemies were flesh and blood, just like them. Killing was just a matter of pulling the trigger a few times.

But now, their enemies weren’t human—they were monsters that couldn’t be killed by bullets. The guards suddenly lost their faith in their firearms, and unease filled their hearts.

"How are we supposed to fight those kinds of monsters?"

"Shuiyun Hall had fifty to sixty elite gunmen..."

"And they were wiped out just like that!"

The guards discussed anxiously, worry evident in their expressions.

Suddenly, the thick white fog on the road ahead stirred, forming a small vortex. Three figures slowly emerged from the swirling mist, walking side by side.

The guards quickly noticed the strange movement in the fog. They turned and shouted.

"Who’s there?!"

"Stop right there!"

The three figures, however, acted as if they hadn’t heard and continued to walk forward. A moment later, they stepped out of the grayish mist.

A young man in his twenties was in front, his hair dyed a deep blue with slightly curled tips that fell onto his shoulders. His features were delicate, with a sharp, almost feminine look in his eyes.

He wore a slim white trench coat that highlighted his tall and slender figure, almost making him seem a bit frail. What was peculiar about him was that one of his hands was bare, while the other was gloved in black, with brass metal plates embedded on the surface.

The glove formed a strange mark in the shape of a hand.

The two people flanking him had similar appearances, with one gloved hand and one bare. A tall woman in black leather pants and a tight jacket walked on his left, her chest so full that it stretched the vest underneath. A diamond earring dangled from her right earlobe, catching the light.

A man in a black suit walked on his right. He had a monocle perched on his nose, and a wide-brimmed hat covering part of his forehead.

All three gave off a faint but palpable aura of danger. The young man in the white coat had an air of superiority in his gaze. His eyes were filled with contempt as he glanced at the Ace of Spades gunmen pointing their weapons at them. A sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth, dripping with disdain.

"So, this is how Ace of Spades welcomes guests? Get out of the way!"

The young man in white didn’t stop walking, and the trio moved forward in unison.

Click Click. Click.

The guards' fingers twitched as they prepared to pull the triggers, but they suddenly found themselves unable to do so!

They tried to move their bodies, but their limbs had become impossibly stiff. It felt as though they were trapped in air, with every joint compressed and immobilized. The invisible force holding them in place was overwhelming, like walls of liquid restricting their movements.

"Damn it, what the hell is this..."

One of the guards gritted his teeth, using all his strength. His forehead bulged with veins, sweat streaming down his face, but it was all in vain. He watched helplessly as the three figures drew closer. Then, he noticed the young man in white raise his empty left hand, making a claw-like gesture.

"Such weak mortals. You can’t even resist basic psychokinesis. No wonder you couldn’t handle those bio-humans. In the end, you had to call us, the Psychokinesis Association..."

The young man gestured to the side. The air rippled, and it felt like two invisible hands pushed the four to five guards standing at the entrance aside. They remained frozen, yet their feet slid eerily across the ground.

It was as if they were ice skating. In an instant, a path opened up leading into the estate.

"Let’s go meet the underground forces of these mortals. It’s been a long time since I’ve bothered with such low-level mortal disputes. So boring, no thrill at all..."

The young man in white shoved his hands into his pockets as he lazily led the way. The other two followed closely behind.

Five minutes later, Ace of Spades and King of Spades, each the leader of their own branches, met with the trio and offered their apologies. They had been too busy since dawn broke as they tried to contact the various Ace of Spades outposts in Beiliu County, hoping to gather enough force to gain the upper hand against Duststorm.

That was why they hadn’t been able to greet the trio personally. Besides, the guards had been on edge after the previous night’s events, which had led to the earlier misunderstanding.

Inside a brightly lit, simple yet elegant office.

The leaders of both Ace of Spades divisions now spoke with a more humble tone, having just witnessed the trio’s power. The young man in white had paralyzed all the top executives in the room with just a wave of his hand.

The King of Spades had personally seen his gun float into the air, aimed at his own forehead, and watched the trigger be pulled. He had closed his eyes in fear as light flashed, but when he opened them, he saw a bullet suspended less than half a centimeter from his nose.

In that instant, he fully realized the immense strength of the master that Deputy Leader Black Joker had spoken of. Truly, someone wielding supernatural powers was in a league of their own.

King of Spades thought for a moment before speaking. "I don’t know if Deputy Leader has told you three about the characteristics and strength of Duststorm’s bio-humans. If not, I can have someone explain it to you in detail..."

"No need. Just follow your original plan. As for those so-called undying bio-humans, we’ll take care of them. It won’t take much time. Let’s wrap this up today. I have no interest in wasting an entire day in the dull squabbles of mortals..."

The young man in white leaned back lazily on the sofa, resting his head on a pillow as he casually crossed his legs.

"Understood." Ace of Spades and King of Spades exchanged glances, feeling fully confident in the trio invited by Deputy Leader. They immediately continued with their plans.

"We’ve already sent people to the train station to meet with the gunmen from the antiques and assassination departments. Once they’ve met with reinforcements from nearby outposts and our own assassins, we’ll launch a three-pronged attack to retake Shuiyun Hall!"

"The plan is as follows..."

Ace of Spades continued to lay out their strategy.

***

Fengnan City, early morning on a train station platform.

A dozen or so passengers waited for the train. Some wore coats to keep warm, while others, unfazed by the cold, stood in just a T-shirt.

Chooo~

The distant sound of the train's whistle pierced through the morning mist.

Soon, a steel train sliced through the fog, barreling into the station like a massive serpent. The wheels screeched as the train slowly came to a halt.

When the conductor called out, passengers began pouring out like sardines from a can. A large group of men, all dressed in black uniforms with an imposing and cold demeanor, stepped off the rear carriages.

They silently gathered in one corner of the platform, parting the crowd and leaving a straight, clear path. A few seconds later, senior members of the antiques department and assassination department emerged, and White Bird glanced behind him.

A blond man, clad in a black trench coat, stepped onto the platform. A gentle breeze swept by and outlined his strong, well-proportioned physique. His expression was cold, and a commanding aura seemed to envelop him. It felt like he existed in a completely different world from everyone around him.

"Wind Elephant... you’ve changed so much..."

White Bird muttered to himself. He could hardly recognize Cassius anymore. It was as if the man had undergone unprecedented growth in an instant.

He was a completely different person from the Wind Elephant of the past.

Cassius had even gained some strange ability. Though it had only been two days since he had started training, White Bird could already sense the terrifying strength and potential of the Covert Martial Arts seed within him.

Now that Cassius had set his sights on the Ace of Spades organization, it seemed inevitable that he would take over. Any attempt to resist would be futile.

"The transport and sales departments have likely already sent people to meet us. Let’s go," White Bird said as he snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the other senior members.

A group from both departments immediately left the platform and headed out of the station.

Sure enough, a row of black cars was parked on the wide, empty street to the right of the station. All of them were part of the Black Cloud series. The windows were shut tight, adding to their air of mystery. Clearly, these were the people sent by the organization.

"There are quite a few cars; they’ve thought this through..."

Wealthy Heir, dressed like a playboy, mumbled before walking ahead of the group. He had several friends in both the sales and transport departments and wanted to chat with them.

Wealthy Heir approached the leading black car, reached out, and knocked on the driver’s window.

"Open the door, this time..."

Squeak.

The window suddenly rolled down. A blood-soaked man grinned wickedly and reached out for Wealthy Heir. It was so fast and unexpected that Wealthy Heir, a senior executive who had never trained in combat, didn’t have time to react.

Smack!

But the man’s hand was caught by another hand!

It was rough, thick, and strong, like an iron slab as solid as a brick.

The bloody man was stunned, and a startled Wealthy Heir quickly moved aside, revealing a blond young man who had reached out.

The young man’s face was indifferent, and his pupils were slightly tinged with red. It was unclear if there was something wrong with his eyes, but the blood-soaked man saw the air around the young man distort like it was being warped by intense heat.

An overwhelming sense of dread, like that of a predator closing in, washed over him. The way this young man looked at him was the same way he looked at humans when he was hungry. It was deeply unsettling.

"Are you full yet?"

Suddenly, a voice reached the bloodied man’s ear. He saw the blond youth glance at the corpses of the gunmen inside the car.

The young man’s lips parted slightly, as if asking him a question.

"Full... I’m full..." The bloody man stammered. Despite his own grotesque appearance, he felt an overwhelming terror when he looked at this blond youth, to the point where he forgot to run or even fight back. He had instinctively answered the youth’s question.

"Good. Since you’re full, it’s my turn to eat..."

Boom!

The moment the words left his mouth, there was a loud explosion on the street. The blood-soaked man, along with the entire car door, was ripped out.

The blond youth was too fast and inhumanly strong. The man’s arm instantly snapped, leaving a bloody mess. His body was flung into the air, his scream echoing as he soared through the sky.

His skin began to crack, his flesh bloated and swollen.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Ahhhh!"

His body exploded, transforming into a massive cloud of blood. Pieces of flesh rained down like a light drizzle.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The doors of the cars in the convoy burst open as members of the Blood Spirit Society shot out one by one. Their aura was fierce, their eyes blood-red, and their hands were wrapped in a bloody energy.

"Kill the humans! Tear them apart!"

A wave of shadows surged toward Cassius.

"A bunch of low-grade Dead Blood, the filthiest of pests. You’re not even worth testing my Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist's Reverberating Force. How boring. But I suppose you’ll do for now..."

Cassius slowly raised his right hand into the air. A series of sharp, crackling sounds erupted from his palm, followed by waves of explosive shockwaves.

"Southern Dipper Star Python, Southern Dipper Explosive, Southern Dipper Reverberate..."