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The thick fog rolled slowly through the forest, like the ebb and flow of the tide.

A pungent smell of blood spread with the mist.

"boom!"

The dull thud of flesh colliding echoed in the darkness.

Ma Dong-hyuk was like a giant sandbag, crashing heavily into the muddy ground covered with fallen leaves.

His right leg was twisted at an angle, the white bone fragments piercing through the camouflage fabric and exposed to the cold, damp air.

"Cough...Ptooey!"

Ma Dong-hyuk struggled to prop himself up, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Those copper bell-like eyes stared angrily ahead, their depths filled with arrogance.

Less than two meters away from him, Hou Peng knelt on one knee, his left hand covering his right shoulder.

There was a sharp weapon piercing through him, and blood was gushing out from between his fingers, staining most of his body red.

Hou Peng's chest heaved violently, his protruding ears trembled slightly, as if he were searching for an escape route, his eyes revealing an undisguised despair.

A tall, slender figure stood in front of the two.

He was a man wearing a black trench coat, the well-tailored hem fluttering in the night wind.

Her long, silvery-white hair cascaded freely over her shoulders, fluttering in the wind.

He also wore a strangely shaped bronze mask on his face, with intricate and twisted patterns engraved on its surface.

Only a pair of exceptionally bright eyes were visible, revealing an indifference that viewed all living beings as ants.

Right behind the white-haired masked man, Gray Eagle held an assault rifle he had picked up from somewhere, pointing it at Ma Donghe on the ground.

"Old Ma, don't push your luck. If you don't confess honestly, I'll poke a bloody hole in your head right now!"

Gray Eagle hurled vicious curses at Ma Donghe, then hunched his back and gave the masked man a fawning look:
"It's an honor for an official to ask you a question. Just who is this kid named Fang Cheng?"

"What level of boundary-breaking artifact is he carrying that can ignore radiation energy and pass directly through that spatial barrier?"

The gray eagle, which had been terrified just moments before, now resembled a fierce dog protecting its master, looking quite smug.

Ma Dong-hyuk grinned, revealing a cold smile through his blood-soaked mouth:
"A boundary-breaking artifact? I'll break your grandma's leg!"

"You spineless stray dog, why weren't you so arrogant when you were kneeling and begging for mercy in front of A-Cheng? Now that you've found a new master, you're barking like this again?"

"Hahaha—I'm not going to tell you, what can you do to me?"

After giving a good scolding, Ma Donghe burst into wild laughter in a hoarse voice.

He laughed too loudly, which aggravated his fractured right leg, causing him to wince in pain.

Gray Eagle was hit where it hurt, and his face instantly turned purplish-red, his facial muscles twitching slightly.

His eyes hardened, and he suddenly raised the butt of his gun, about to smash it down on Ma Donghe's head.

"Go back."

A metallic voice came from beneath the bronze mask.

The voice, processed by a voice changer, sounded extremely hoarse, yet it conveyed a strong sense of pressure.

Upon hearing this, Gray Eagle shuddered, and the butt of his rifle, which he had raised high, abruptly stopped in mid-air.

"Yes, yes, sir."

He quickly withdrew his hand, bowed and scraped as he retreated to the side and behind the masked man, not daring to even breathe loudly, just like an obedient servant.

Because the person in front of them was the mastermind behind recruiting Gray Eagle and others to infiltrate the examination hall and search for the entrance to the ruins.

The masked man ignored Gray Eagle's ugly behavior.

He slowly took long strides, the thick soles of his military boots making a "smack" sound as they stepped on the rotting, withered leaves.

The masked man stopped in front of Ma Donghe and looked down at the man who was struggling to stay upright.

"The bones are quite hard."

The masked man's tone held no anger, only the cold indifference of someone sizing up prey.

"However, in the face of absolute power, sticking your neck out will only make your death more painful; there is no other benefit."

As he spoke, the masked man raised his right hand, gloved in black leather, and slowly smoothed out a wrinkle on the cuff of his trench coat, his gaze still fixed on Ma Donghe:

"I'll ask one last time, what's that person's name, and which wealthy family or organization in Xia Kingdom does he/she belong to?"
"Is what he's holding the latest high-dimensional energy anchoring device developed by the special search team, or an ancient relic that has been circulating from the black market?"

As soon as the interrogation ended, Ma Donghe suddenly straightened up.

The enormous head jutted forward, and a rolling sound of phlegm came from its throat.

Then, with a "pui" sound, he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva at the masked man.

The saliva didn't get on the trench coat; the masked man tilted his head slightly and dodged it.

The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to drop to freezing point instantly.

Upon seeing this, Gray Eagle's eyes twitched involuntarily.

Although he disliked this rude man, he couldn't help but admire his courage.

The masked man remained silent for a few seconds before slowly retracting the five fingers of his right hand, which was suspended in mid-air.

The leather gloves immediately emitted a subtle, muffled squeaking sound.

He clenched his fist, seemingly ready to punish the audacious individual who dared to offend him.

"and many more!"

Hou Peng was startled. Enduring the sharp pain in his shoulder, he quickly interrupted, saying:

"Sir, we really didn't lie, we really didn't know Fang Cheng's background!"

Upon hearing this, the masked man shifted his gaze to Hou Peng, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

Hou Peng swallowed hard and explained very quickly:
"We've only known Fang Cheng for a little over two days. We just temporarily formed a team in the Special Search Team's testing room."

"He usually keeps a low profile, and it wasn't until he took action against the mutated old dog that we realized how terrifying his skills were."

"As for how he passed through that golden barrier... he just walked right in; we didn't see any magical artifacts!"

"Just walk in?"

The masked man narrowed his eyes slightly behind the bronze mask, a hint of mockery flashing in his pupils.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Gray Eagle jumped up and down, pointing at Hou Peng's nose and cursing:
"That golden light could instantly melt even my assassins into blood. How could a mortal body possibly withstand something more potent than nuclear radiation?"

"You two bastards, you're about to die and you're still trying to cover for us!"

The masked man raised his right hand, which was covered in a black leather glove, and waved it slightly.

Gray Eagle's voice stopped abruptly, and he quickly shut his mouth tightly, fearing that saying another word would offend the other party.

"In this world, no carbon-based life form's body can withstand the energy radiation emitted from the world's barriers."

The masked man said with certainty:

"Even I couldn't stay inside for long without sufficient preparation."

He paused here, seemingly feeling that explaining this to two ants was completely unnecessary.

He then raised his right hand, his gloved fingertips tracing a casual arc in the air.

call--

The thick fog around us suddenly seemed to be violently stirred up by an invisible hand.

An immense, almost tangible pressure descended from nowhere, like an invisible mountain crashing down on Ma Donghe and Hou Peng's shoulders.

"Crack!" Hou Peng's already severely injured left knee slammed into the mud, and his kneecap made a crisp sound.

He was pressed to the ground, and even lifting a finger became incredibly difficult.

Ma Donghe was so overwhelmed by the force that his chest caved in, his ribs groaned in pain, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Since you are of no value to me, then become nourishment for this forest."

The masked man spoke calmly, as if he were simply deciding to crush two ants blocking his way.

He raised his right hand, and a dazzling, eerie blue electric light faintly gathered in his palm.

The smell of ozone in the air instantly became extremely strong.

The destructive energy clearly contained within that bolt of lightning caused Ma Donghe and Hou Peng's pupils to contract abruptly.

The shadow of death loomed over the two once again.

At this critical moment.

"Chichi-"

A loud thud, like cold water being poured onto a red-hot iron plate, suddenly came from the depths of the thick fog, dozens of meters away.

The sound was very faint, but it could not escape the notice of someone with a high level of spiritual perception.

The electric light gathering in the masked man's hand suddenly stopped.

He turned his head, and his eyes, hidden behind the mask, pierced through the thick fog, gazing in the direction from which the sound came.

Gray Eagle no longer cared about pointing his gun at Ma Donghe. He turned around in terror, swallowed hard, and stared intently into the darkness.

The golden barrier that had once separated the present world from the unknown was now violently rippling.

The high-dimensional radiation energy churned wildly like boiling water, bursting out large plumes of pungent white smoke.

A pure golden flame pierced the barrier like a red-hot blade.

Immediately afterwards, more and more flames surged outwards, tearing a crack open from inside the light curtain.

The extreme heat instantly dispelled the surrounding chill, and even the air itself underwent a severe visual distortion due to the heatwave.

Under the watchful eyes of Ma Donghe, Hou Peng, Gray Eagle, and the masked man.

A tall and imposing figure emerged from the deepest darkness with steady steps.

As the man took a step forward, the golden flames covering his body immediately receded rapidly inward, like the receding tide.

In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the skin, flesh, bones, and muscles.

The remaining golden barrier closed again, separating the present world from the other world once more.

Ma Dong-hyuk lay prone in the mud, and upon recognizing the person who had approached him, a look of wild joy instantly spread across his face.

But upon spotting the masked man poised to attack, he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Acheng, watch out!"

"Click".

Gray Eagle immediately released the safety on his rifle, instantly turning the muzzle to aim at the approaching figure.

The clanging of metal gun bolts sounded particularly jarring in the deathly silent forest.

The masked man did not immediately launch an attack.

The eerie blue lightning that had gathered in his palm gradually faded, and his eyes, hidden behind the bronze mask, were fixed on Fang Cheng like radar.

There were no mental fluctuations, no energy leakage, and even the frequency of breathing was perfectly steady.

Fang Cheng stopped and stood still.

After coming out, I took a deep breath of the slightly damp and chilly air in the forest, twisted my neck, and made a crisp cracking sound.

He was still wearing his training uniform, with a pack on his back, his left hand in his pocket, and a coarse cloth bundle casually held in his right hand.

Thick, dark red blood dripped from the bottom of the package, splashing onto the fallen leaves and creating tiny blood flowers.

If you ignore the eerie and terrifying surroundings and the palpable sense of impending doom.

His composed demeanor made him look just like a college student who had just finished a spring outing and was about to take a ride home.

But if you look closely at that blood-stained package, you can't help but suspect that he is a serial killer disguised as a law-abiding citizen.

Seeing this, Hou Peng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his tense body instantly relaxing.

For some reason, whenever he saw Fang Cheng's calm and composed demeanor, even the biggest worries in his heart would subside.

"It was...it was him! Sir, he's the one who killed Old Dog and the others!"

When Gray Eagle saw Fang Cheng walk out, his legs instinctively trembled and he took a small step back.

But the thought of the unfathomable master standing beside him made him straighten up, raise his rifle, and shout loudly, trying to intimidate others.

The masked man ignored Grayhawk's display of loyalty.

His gaze swept over Fang Cheng from head to toe three times, like a radar.

No high-energy technological artifacts were discovered, nor were the spell array fluctuations that could withstand high-dimensional radiation sensed.

Even the breathing and heart rate of this young man in front of me were no different from those of an ordinary person, shockingly stable.

"To be able to conceal the energy fluctuations of a magical artifact so perfectly..."

The masked man's eyes narrowed slightly as he silently drew a conclusion.

That is definitely a high-grade spatial artifact.

He absolutely did not believe that a carbon-based life form could traverse the barrier between the two worlds using only its physical body.

The only explanation is that this person possesses a high-level treasure that can perfectly conceal their aura.

Fang Cheng ignored the masked man's scrutinizing gaze and strode forward at a leisurely pace.

"Clap."

He casually tossed the blood-stained package next to Ma Donghe.

The heavy weight slammed into the mud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Fang Cheng crouched down, his gaze sweeping over Ma Donghe's twisted right leg and Hou Peng's pierced shoulder.

He didn't offer any words of comfort, but instead pulled two rolls of military first-aid bandages and a bottle of hemostatic powder from the side pocket of his pack and tossed them into the arms of the two men.

"Can you handle it yourself?"

Fang Cheng asked in a calm tone.

"I won't die, Acheng. I'm tough as nails. Even the King of Hell wouldn't bother with these minor injuries."

Ma Donghe grinned, revealing a rugged and tough smile, and picked up the hemostatic powder with his undamaged left hand.

"Bear with it for now. I'll set your bones after I'm done."

Fang Cheng nodded and stood up again.

Only then did he turn his head and finally focus his gaze on the white-haired man wearing a bronze mask.

The moment their eyes met, a barely perceptible glint of something unusual flashed in Fang Cheng's eyes.

Although the other person stood quietly a few meters away, with almost no breathing, the air around them subtly showed a sense of distortion caused by the force field.

That lurking, yet palpable, danger was like facing a killing machine ready to be activated at any moment.

They are far superior to those so-called black market mercenaries.

He's a real tough nut to crack.

Fang Cheng silently made an assessment in his mind. (End of this chapter)