We agreed on the twelve zodiac animals, but you've transformed into the Monkey King?

Opening remarks for the Shanghai chapter: This story is entirely fictional; please do not take it personally.

The endless feeling of weightlessness made Wen Xiao feel like she was falling into an abyss.

Just when he thought he would be completely torn apart by the feeling of falling—

"Bang!"

The feeling of weightlessness abruptly ended, replaced by the powerful jolt of my back slamming against the hard bluestone slab.

The fall felt like all my internal organs had shifted out of place.

"puff--"

Wen Xiao spat out a mouthful of dark red blood.

A rough, large hand grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground.

"That's it? What the hell! Have all the bastards in your Hongmen Guild died? You sent some consumptive freak who's coughing up blood and shivering to guard the docks?!"

Curses exploded in his ears. Wen Xiao struggled to open his darkened vision and saw a face covered in scars.

The man was nearly two meters tall, like half a black iron tower. He was shirtless, and dragged a thick-backed, nine-ringed cleaver stained with blood in his right hand.

The Guangdong gang's double-flower red stick, "Crazy Dog Qiang".

All around, the clanging of metal was crisp and jarring, mixed with violent curses like "Damn it!" and "Damn it!", swirling in the river wind.

The Hongmen and Yuemen labor unions have become fiercely competitive in their struggle for the cargo rights of these Jardine Matheson shipments.

Just as the spittle from the mad dog Qiang landed on Wen Xiao's face, a strange stream of data exploded on his retina:

[Sumeru Boat System Log: Year of the Monkey, September 9th - Loading Completed]

[Time: Parallel universes, Chinese and Western cultures separated]

Location: Gonghexiang Wharf Cargo Yard, Lianhe Yangjie, Zhabei District, Shanghai.

[Traveler's Code Name: Wenxiao (Bound Sequence: Shenhou.Jiu)]

[Real-time status: Advanced small cell lung cancer (brain metastasis); 42% risk of sequence loss of control]

[Main Storyline: Earthly Branches Event - The Cry of the Monkey at Sea]

[Objective: Acquire 6 authority points in Shanghai (Current location: Gonghexiang Wharf (0/1) Time limit: 15 days)]

[Survival Rule: Completing the dungeon will allow you to regain your Immaculate Body.]

[Note: You can now use Sequence Power. Using Sequence Power will increase the risk of loss of control.]

Wen Xiao stared at the four words "immaculate body," and a burning desire for life ignited in his dim pupils.

I can live! That monster who called himself the Pig didn't lie to me! As long as I devour this dock and break through this damned Sumeru, the tumor in my brain can be completely removed!

"Brother Qiang! Why waste words with him? Just chop this sick ghost's head off and use it as a chamber pot!" Several Guangdong gang thugs around them sneered and started making a fuss.

Meanwhile, the Hongmen brothers, who were suffering repeated defeats, looked at Wen Xiao, who was being held in mid-air, with expressions of pity on their faces.

"Go to hell, you bastard!" Mad Dog grinned savagely, grabbing Wen Xiao by the collar and slamming him into the ground. At the same time, he raised his heavy 20-pound nine-ringed cleaver high and chopped it down at Wen Xiao's neck!

The blade struck with such force that it scraped the noodles painfully.

Everyone present felt that the youngest member of the Hongmen family, who was dying of illness, would be beheaded in the next second.

"The Monkey King wields power; let us fight!"

Wen Xiao roared inwardly.

[System Notification: The Monkey King Sequence - Battle Authority has been forcibly activated!]

[Enhanced effects: Reduced pain sensation, increased explosive power of muscle fibers beyond critical limits, and enhanced dynamic visual perception!]

[Warning: Risk of loss of control surges to 46%!]

In an instant, a violent surge of heat exploded up the spine, forcibly taking over the dying body.

He could clearly feel as if countless worms were gnawing at his flesh beneath his skin, but what followed was an explosive force that pushed the limits of human endurance.

Close-quarters combat emphasizes "seizing the center and breaking through the opponent's defenses."

Just as the blade was less than half a foot from his shoulder, Wen Xiao, who was about to land, suddenly tapped his right toe on the bluestone slab!

"Crack!" The stone slab cracked.

Using the recoil, Wen Xiao, like a venomous snake slithering close to the ground, burrowed into the inner corner of the blind spot where the mad dog was swinging its knife.

The heavy strike missed its mark, and the immense inertia caused Mad Dog Qiang's body to stagger forward half a step.

Wen Xiao squatted down beside Dian Gou Qiang, clenched his right fist, and strangely protruded the knuckle of his middle finger, and slammed it hard into the common peroneal nerve on the outside of Dian Gou Qiang's left knee!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud was heard. Even the most muscular burly man has a vulnerable nerve plexus. Mad Dog Qiang felt an electric shock as his left leg went numb, and his massive body uncontrollably collapsed to his left knee.

His height advantage, which was almost two heads taller than Wen Xiao, was instantly negated.

On the pier, a figure in a white suit leaned against the railing, exclaiming in surprise, "Such a fine pressure point technique! It's actually the Crane Eye Fist style?"

"You motherfucker—" Mad Dog Qiang roared in shock and rage, trying to turn the knife hilt sideways.

Wen Xiao turned his left hand into a palm, grabbed the mad dog Qiang's chin and pushed it upwards, forcibly exposing the other's vulnerable throat.

His right hand, which had been tightly clenched into a crane-eye fist, suddenly opened, the five fingers bent, and the joints cracked with a crisp sound. With the force of a tiger descending the mountain, it cut into the junction of the carotid sinus and thyroid cartilage of the mad dog Qiang without reservation.

It is precisely the exquisite Hung Kuen style, with its Tiger and Crane dual forms!

"Crack—!"

The sound of a throat bone shattering rang out clearly in the noisy dock.

The mad dog Qiang's roar was abruptly cut off in his throat. His carotid sinus suffered a devastating blow, and the nine-ringed cleaver clattered to the ground.

The burly body, weighing over 200 pounds, fell straight backward like a piece of rotten wood that had been drained of its sap, crashing into a puddle.

From the moment the mad dog raised his knife to kill the traitor, to the moment he was killed in retaliation, the whole process took less than two seconds.

The entire room fell silent.

The wind died down, and the sound of the waves seemed to be shut out as well. The once deafeningly loud shouts and battle cries at Gonghexiang Wharf were now shrouded in an eerie silence.

Whether it was the arrogant and domineering Yuemen or the Hongmen brothers who were already prepared to die, they all looked at the scene in front of them with great fear.

That notorious gangster, Mad Dog Qiang, who swept through Zhabei... was instantly killed by a sick man who couldn't even stand up straight?!

"Cough...cough cough cough!"

Wen Xiao slowly straightened up, his thin chest heaving violently. He used his sleeve to wipe away the black blood he coughed up.

Those bloodshot eyes exuded a morbid ferocity that chilled all the desperados present.

"From now on, you are not allowed to bully our Hongmen Guild anymore."