Pretending To Be A Boss

Akasi's respect for Tang Xian had long caught Li Zheng's attention.

Throughout his contemplation process, Li Zheng's expression remained unchanged, just as it always was.

He had reached a conclusion—Tang Xian was very likely the Masked Chopper Hero.

But ultimately, Li Zheng shook his head and said:

"Although I've never seen the face beneath the Masked Chopper Hero's mask, I can be sure it's not Tang Xian. That kid has no talent."

"Really?" Song Que was surprised.

"Really. Before the Trial of the Chosen, we, the Li family, started to keep an eye on him. He is a genius with a wealth of academic knowledge, but sadly, he can't even see life values, so he's not the Masked Chopper Hero." Discover more content at empire

Li Zheng paused, then continued in a very low voice:

"Others may not know, but you should be aware. As one of the top three families, the Evolution Zone has collaborated with us. I was the most obsessed and I had thrown a lot of money into it, only for the Masked Chopper Hero to come and disrupt everything."

"However, I should also thank him for saving your lives."

Song Que did not speak, listening intently.

"The power of a human cannot reach the level of the Masked Chopper Hero and the Blue-Eyed Devil Girl you saw. They destroyed the Evolution Zone, perhaps because they are its most powerful experimental subjects."

Li Zheng concocted a story, a mix of truth and fiction.

He did not want to deceive Song Que, after all, this was his future brother-in-law.

While the existence of the Masked Chopper Hero was not a secret to the Evolution Zone and the top families, his own relationship with the Masked Chopper Hero had to be tightly guarded.

Song Que remembered what the Clown had said.

Before dying, the Clown had expressed admiration for the Blue-Eyed Devil Girl as a true SSS-level entity, and thus, he nodded unconsciously, believing this statement.

"And Tang Xian, for some embarrassing reasons, we have all his X-rays, health records, holographic scans. He is as normal as one can be, and he has always stayed within the Thirty-Nine Fortresses, never leaving."

Song Que nodded and said:

"It seems their similar voices are just a coincidence."

Li Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and changed the subject, "Is there something ahead? They continue to walk deeper; they're not just strolling around on a whim, are they?"

Li Zheng was concerned, especially since Akasi was still inside.

Song Que's response surprised Li Zheng.

"Deep in the Red Clay Forest, there's a calamity-level boss, which is likely the Zudun Sacred Tree. Maybe... they are heading for the Sacred Tree."

…

…

Deeper in the Red Clay Forest.

s004 and the Nvwa Snake were engaged in a fierce duel against Akasi, watched by a circle of beasts.

The trajectory of s004's bullets was so fast that even Akasi could not see them clearly.

The speed of these bullets was frightening!

Amazing speed, and the power was just as formidable. With the boost of telekinesis, a bullet the size of a fingernail could shatter a wall of ice.

But he could not hit Akasi.

Lei Xiao's serum had long since fused into every cell of Akasi's body.

Especially here in the mining area where all of Akasi's talents were awakened, focused entirely on speed.

He was unable to dodge s004's bullets, truly experiencing the strength of a top tier S-level experimental subject.

However, the action of s004 pulling the trigger was enough for Akasi to react and evade.

s004 was alarmed to find that he could no longer follow the silver-haired man's speed with his eyes.

Every time he tried to aim at Akasi, all that was left behind was an afterimage.

This terrifying speed left both Nvwa Snake and s004 helpless.

By continuously creating ice walls and firing bullets, the dual attack of ice and fire greatly hindered Akasi.

But they could not harm Akasi.

He was holding his own against two S-level experimental subjects, whose strength was even beyond that of the initial number one and number two experimental subjects, solely with his speed.

"It's endless like this, the noise from that group of humans seems to have disappeared. Something must have happened," said s004.

Nvwa Snake nodded.

Even though his ice spears couldn't keep up with Akasi's movements, they also prevented Akasi from attacking him and s004.

"The leader said that Akasi was the only experimental subject who had compressed all his attributes into a single one. It seems now, while he may have a big weakness, it has placed him in an invincible position. Continuing like this will only waste our time," remarked Nvwa Snake, his eyes emitting a dim silvery-grey.

"Hold him off for a while for me."

s004 did not speak; he concentrated his energy, aiming at Akasi with even greater speed.

The sound of gunfire became more intense, yet not a single shot touched Akasi's shadow.

Several times, without the help of the Black Snake, he nearly let Akasi break through to him.

"What a tough guy."

Facing Akasi, the usually calm s004 started to feel somewhat frustrated.

It was like a game where against someone who didn't care about winning or losing but pursued some extreme attribute, so they put all their skill points into fleeing and dodging—the trickster.

Obviously weak, yet frustratingly untouchable.

Even in the absence of some kind of suppression, s004 felt Akasi's dagger almost pressing against him several times.

This situation didn't last too long. After holding Akasi back for a short while, a huge ice wall rose from the ground with impressive momentum.

Akasi quickly retreated.

The expression on Black Snake's face showed weakness; releasing such a massive ice wall had almost drained half his strength.

Akasi's eyes widened as he looked at the ice wall that seemed endless at a glance, a scene that could almost be comparable to the icy breath he faced when confronting the Nvwa Snake.

Akasi stood on the outside of the ice wall.

While Black Snake and s004 stood on the inside.

They did not delay at all, the huge ice wall spurred the scattering of numerous beasts, and the Golden Fierce Birds in the sky finally felt the polar cold, so they flew even higher.

Akasi began to run around the ice wall, trying to get to the other side.

But the ice wall was like a massive gate.

It sealed off all the possible gaps leading to the heart of the Red Clay Forest.

He raised his dagger and struck the ice wall fiercely, but even so, the effect was minimal.

The ice wall was terrifyingly thick.

It seemed to completely isolate the deepest part of the Red Clay Forest.

"An S-class subject, actually able to release such a terrifying elemental force."

Akasi felt a little scared; had he been hit by that bald man even once, he would have been dead.

But he was not planning to retreat to Li Zheng's side.

"Knowing that there are endless fierce beasts inside, these two are still heading to the deepest part; it seems there is something inside that they must obtain no matter what."

"I need to think of a way to get in."

Stroking his chin, Akasi began to ponder how to break through the ice wall.

But before he could think much, he immediately became alert.

He didn't have Tang Xian's sense of smell, but Akasi's senses were far superior to ordinary people.

He assumed a defensive stance.

Not until he saw the figure of the person who had come did Akasi stiffen, his eyes brimming with surprise and joy, and his hand holding the dagger began to tremble.

"Don't point the dagger at us; your girl is even stronger than you now,"

Tang Xian appeared with Tang Suoye.

After Tang Xian had caught Akasi's scent, he had led Tang Suoye straight to where Akasi was.

Just as they were about to meet Akasi, Tang Suoye took off her glasses.

Tang Xian looked at the tear-filled eyes of Akasi and Tang Suoye and could imagine their excitement. This was the first time they had appeared in the mining area with their freedom since both had been fully conscious.

Underneath the mask, Tang Xian's face rarely showed a hint of a proud smile.

It was a matter of pride to have rescued two subjects who had escaped from the evolutionary area and who had been dependent on each other since childhood.

Although it was a pity that Tang Suoye couldn't speak, and even Tang Xian was not sure if Tang Suoye would be able to speak in the future,

a man like Akasi would only be gentler to this girl.

Tang Suoye rushed into Akasi's arms, her blue pupils full of mist.

"Alright, we may be just the three of us, but no one is a burden. On the other side of the ice wall, there are countless elite and perfect level creatures, including forty perfect level bosses,"

"And there is one extremely weakened calamity level boss seedling. This is also the most vulnerable calamity level boss creature we are likely to encounter at this stage."

Tang Xian arrived in front of Akasi, ruining the mood as he continued:

"So cut the lovey-dovey, you can hug all you want once we're back. Since you're here, we can't return empty-handed."