Chapter 866: Advance to Retreat

Beep—

While the others stood paralyzed, Liao Liao lunged for the emergency door release. As Gao Yang's flames gathered, one thought blazed through her mind:

Fuck, I'm not dying here!

The metal doors parted with a hydraulic hiss. Through the first crack, Liao Liao's throat convulsed as she unleashed an otherworldly cry.

"Yiyayiyayiya..."

The sound pierced their skulls like needles, flooding their minds with chaos. Even Gao Yang's concentration fractured, his wing of flame wavering and dissipating.

Gao Yang's features tightened as he fought to stabilize his energy flow, determined to complete the Fire Punch. He knew Disorientation could disrupt a Talent but couldn't silence it completely like Mute or Wave of Serenity.

Reading his persistence, Liao Liao instantly switched tactics. Her hands became a blur as she drew her guns, firing six shots in rapid succession. Black Gold bullets, each enchanted with poison, paralysis, and weakening power, streaked toward Gao Yang's vital points—forehead, eyes, throat, and heart.

Forced to abandon his Fire Punch, Gao Yang diverted his power to Absolute Defense, armoring himself against the enhanced bullets.

"Please have mercy! Don't kill me!"

In the same breath, Liao Liao dropped to her knees, kowtowing as Follow Heart took effect. Despite himself, Gao Yang's resolve wavered. For a crucial moment, his target transformed from an enemy into a helpless creature, like a pregnant kitten abandoned in the wild.

Though Psychic Armor quickly stripped away the manufactured sympathy, that split-second hesitation was enough. The air around him turned lethal.

Spatial Blender!

Recognizing Sir Jiang's signature move, Gao Yang teleported sideways—directly into Qin You's trap. A dozen vines erupted from the ground, having anticipated his escape route.

Liao Liao's desperate gambit to save herself had snapped everyone back to reality. They poured out of the laboratory, fighting for their lives.

Gao Yang's hand traced an arc of flame, incinerating the reaching vines as he teleported again, this time to the ceiling. His feet locked onto the surface, suspending like a gecko.

Bang, bang, bang!

Liao Liao's guns thundered, but Gao Yang became a blur of motion, running along the ceiling and walls in the dim underground space. He was so incredibly agile that Liao Liao couldn’t aim at him properly.

Moreover, Gao Yang was hurling small fireballs like burning darts with incredible speed. Every fireball triggered a small explosion.

"Dimensional Storage!"

0618 thrust both hands forward, tearing open a polygonal portal that swallowed the fireballs into subspace. Sir Jiang tracked Gao Yang's movements, searching for an opening to unleash Heartstealer—then froze as realization struck.

Gao Yang possessed Absolute Defense. He shouldn't fear their attacks, yet he dodged with such effort. He wasn't fighting to win—he was stalling!

"That's a double!"

Sir Jiang saw through the trick. Gao Yang’s target had never changed: Dr. Jia!

The laboratory door slammed shut with a finality, trapping Dr. Jia inside—and leaving his watch dogs stranded outside.

Gao Yang's entire performance had been orchestrated with a double, while his true self waited in the shadows for precisely this moment. When the six defenders rushed out of the unsealed laboratory, the real Gao Yang had teleported inside and sealed the door, buying precious seconds before those on the outside broke in.

Those seconds would be enough.

"Dr. Jia, come out now!" Gao Yang called out.

Two seconds later, Dr. Jia emerged from behind a machine near the petri dishes, clutching his fat gray parrot. When he'd first seen Gao Yang's attack, he'd grabbed his pet and taken cover, hoping to at least preserve his companion's life. But it turned out that he lived, and Gao Yang had somehow gotten into the laboratory and shut the door.

Dr. Jia was a genius after all, and he quickly came to a realization. Gao Yang had gone aggressive in order to take the nonaggressive path. It was an intimidation tactic!

"Gao Yang, at last!" Dr. Jia's eyes lit with pleasant surprise. "I've missed you!" The prospect of studying the Divine Scion's vital energy made his hands tremble with anticipation.

Ignoring the scientist's enthusiasm, Gao Yang verified Dr. Jia was within his Absolute Defense’s range before bringing his hands together and reaching toward the ground. The full picture of his plan was thus revealed.

Gao Yang had known the Union would protect Dr. Jia, but he'd calculated that anyone short of Qilin, Surnamed Li, or half the Union's forces would be manageable. When the bridge battle drew away their strongest defenders, he struck.

The true challenge wasn't defeating the guards—it was preventing them from killing Dr. Jia in desperation. While Dr. Jia's death would be acceptable, it wasn't optimal. A living genius could become a powerful asset against the Union.

So Gao Yang had advanced to retreat, attacked to defend. He showed up openly and pretended that he was going to kill everyone with his attack.

Indeed, people could rarely think rationally when survival instincts kicked in.

Liao Liao's defensive reaction had catalyzed the others, none able to see past their immediate peril. Gao Yang’s double managed to draw them out, allowing his true self to slip inside.

What he had to do next was simple: conjure a small Absolute Barrier to protect Dr. Jia. The man would be safe for certain in the next ten minutes unless he suddenly committed suicide for whatever reason.

During those ten minutes, Gao Yang could focus on going after the enemies outside.

Sir Jiang and Qin You had to die. The others might be spared if they surrendered sincerely. Gao Yang was confident he could eliminate them without depleting his power, then, if possible, he would conceal Dr. Jia before rushing to support his allies at Qingyang Bridge. Despite their contingency plans for escape, the battlefield was ever-changing, and things could derail easily. Gao Yang couldn’t stop being concerned.

Clap

. His hands met the ground, but no energy manifested. No golden telebooth appeared.

The silence from beyond the door grew oppressive. Why weren't they trying to break in?

What's happening?

A shudder ran through Gao Yang as the air around him stilled. An invisible forcefield materialized, its presence solemn, dignified, cold, and sacred. The energy signature sparked recognition—he'd felt this before.

The realization hit like a physical blow.

Judge's realm!