“What is it I’m striving for… Bushido? No… Honor? No… What I pursue should be survival, survival alongside those dear to me…” Miyata Kuraki knelt on the deck, letting the rain lash over him. In these brief sixty seconds, he finally understood what power lay beyond his own level. He and his two comrades hadn't even earned the right to fight back—no, not the right, they simply hadn't been given the chance. After only a few exchanges, they were struck down by invisible attacks.

“That’s a decent reason… As you can see, I’m a person without any special abilities. Beyond sheer strength and speed, and the level of genetic lock mastery required to wield them, I have no mental energy strikes, no special techniques, no unique attributes—I have none of those. What I possess is only the fighting style I’ve painstakingly developed, a strength earned between life and death.”

Zheng Zha murmured, “This is my personal experience, offered as compensation for this operation… We are not a charity organization.

So, those who must be killed will absolutely not be spared. If you wish to live on… then become stronger.

Strong enough to protect the beliefs you hold dear…” With that, Zheng Zha looked behind him, toward the entrance of the ship’s cabin.

Zhao Yingkong was there, grinning widely as she held a girl who had fallen unconscious.

“Hee hee, you took your time arriving. You even managed to tear my clothes and let someone look at my chest. You’re a truly irresponsible captain, you know.”

Zhao Yingkong approached with a pace that seemed leisurely but was actually swift, speaking cheerfully as she walked, yet her eyes were incredibly cold.

“How are the rest of the East Sea team members?” Zheng Zha scratched his head.

He had roughly gathered from surveillance what had happened to Zhao Yingkong, so he didn’t press further on that matter, only inquiring about the remaining members of the East Sea team.

“They are all inside practicing ‘Yoga’,” Zhao Yingkong replied with a grin.

“Alright, alright. Even if you’ve twisted them all into human pretzels, you don’t have to be this happy about it… You’ve worked hard, Zhao Yingkong. I’ll have someone move them back to the Central Continent team. You can rest now.”

Zheng Zha let out a breath. He gently took the girl Zhao Yingkong was holding. At the same time, his other hand cradled the back of Zhao Yingkong’s small head. As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Yingkong smiled and closed her eyes; her ‘dominant personality’ had once again slipped into slumber.

Zheng Zha was a safe presence.

Therefore, Zhao Yingkong saw no need for her ‘dominant personality’ to remain active, as it consumed significant mental energy, and the East Sea team currently had no fighting capacity left… The Central Continent team’s surprise assault was a perfect success! . . . Indeed.

I finally understand the composure the Demon Squad displayed when facing our Central Continent team back then.

The disparity in strength was too vast, and their strategic planning was incomparable. So, when the two sides were finally forced into combat, the outcome was already sealed; victory or defeat could be decided with startling ease.”

Zheng Zha stood silently on the deck, actually communicating with Chu Xuan through the silver metallic chip. This battle against the East Sea team, coupled with the memory of fighting the Demon Squad during Resident Evil 2, gave him a strange feeling. Back then, their Central Continent team was utterly inferior to the Demon Squad in both intellect and power… Yes, so unimaginably easily defeated. The Central Continent team back then lacked so much compared to the Demon Squad in both intelligence and strength.

Shortly after the conversation, Hei Long brought Xiao Honglv and the other two to this aircraft carrier. It was fortunate that it was an aircraft carrier; dropping a massive Black Dragon onto it presented no issue. More importantly, the Navy soldiers who dared to attack earlier were now even more hesitant to engage, hiding far off at the edges of the deck or within other ship compartments.

“Imhotep, I need your help. There are many people in the lower cabins whose joints were disabled. Go and sweep them all into the sandstorm, and take them back to our destroyer… Xiao Honglv, help those two onto Hei Long. Be careful not to let them get hurt by stray bullets. I have other matters to attend to; you all head back to the destroyer.”

The group followed orders and busied themselves. Zheng Zha paused in thought for a moment, then walked over to the three members of the East Sea team. “I’m borrowing your psychic controller… I will naturally kill those who deserve death, but I absolutely will not kill those who do not. We will wait for you outside the Diaoyu Islands. If you have any dissent, come find me there.”

With that, Zheng Zha said no more and flew off with Imhotep, who had already transformed into a vortex of sand, leaving the three immobilized figures kneeling below.

“Spare her! Kill me if you must! Why take her captive! Let her go!” Miyata Kuraki desperately tried to stand, but Zheng Zha’s application of force was incredibly precise. Although he hadn't inflicted true harm, he had utterly exhausted them, leaving them with no strength to rise. At this moment, Miyata Kuraki strained with all his might to stand, but being completely weak, he could only manage to raise himself halfway up before his wrist popped with a sharp crack, and he collapsed back onto the deck, his head striking the ground, drawing blood.

“Let her go! Let her go…” That roar traveled far into the distance. Even as Zheng Zha and the others flew toward the destroyer, the sound seemed to linger in their ears…

“The Japanese… they have good people too,” Zheng Zha murmured to the others while sitting in the main hall of the conference room. “There are no inherently bad races, only bad individuals. That statement is indeed true. The captain of the East Sea team is quite respectable; he possesses a spirit of a scholar, the very spirit that ancient China has always promoted.”

“Nevertheless, we won this team battle. We can afford not to kill some people, but we cannot discard the surplus reward points and side missions… Chu Xuan, you allocate who among the East Sea team members should be killed. Ensure everyone can exchange for their desired advancement attributes, so the Central Continent team can fight with their utmost effort in the final battle.”

They had captured ten members of the East Sea team this time. Excluding the psychic controller who couldn't be killed, the remaining nine East Sea members were all viable candidates for execution. According to surveillance, these nine members seemed to have already broken ties with the East Sea team and were the most fanatical antagonists; killing them was entirely justifiable.

In other words, regardless of any side mission details, the extra reward points alone exceeded ten thousand. Such a massive team score was a first for the Central Continent team. At this point, they finally understood why certain Reincarnation Squads could achieve such high-level attribute and skill enhancements—A-rank, S-rank, it was truly a massive harvest from one team battle.

——————Zheng Zha paid no mind to how the nine members were allocated; he only turned to Chu Xuan and asked, “The psychic controller has been captured. Can we wake them now?”

“Yes. Because you previously elevated their consciousness to the intermediate subconscious level, the success rate for the psychic controller waking them has significantly increased. However, there is one issue… When the psychic controller enters their consciousness, they absolutely cannot receive even the slightest disturbance. They are not like you, who have overcome their inner demons and unlocked the fourth stage of the genetic lock. To be precise, their psychic consciousness bodies are incredibly fragile. Especially at the subconscious level, the tiniest external movement can be fatal. Therefore, during the process of waking the two, they cannot tolerate any external interference.”

Chu Xuan nodded and stated.

Zheng Zha paused, surprised. “Haven’t we already dealt with the East Sea team? They won’t be able to launch an attack on us in the short term, and we crippled the US Pacific Seventh Fleet. Are more enemies expected to appear?”

“That’s right. Precisely because we exhibited too much overwhelming power, it will attract more trouble… Those national fleets will target us. If even national fleets cannot counter us… what action do you think a nation will take when it deems us a significant threat that it cannot handle?”

“You mean… nuclear weapons?” Zheng Zha exclaimed instantly. He immediately unlocked the third stage of his genetic lock, speaking as he pondered, “This possibility cannot be dismissed, especially after we defeated the US Pacific Seventh Fleet using powers not of this world. Information about us will surely be taken with extreme seriousness by various countries. Now, they don’t just want our weapons anymore… From our trajectory, they should deduce that we are heading toward the Asian continent. Do you know the consequences of reaching that conclusion?”

Zheng Zha nodded solemnly. “They will believe we are attempting a landing, or at least attempting to infiltrate the population. Consequently, if national military power cannot defeat us, and nuclear weapons cannot be used within their own densely populated areas, the first conclusion they reach will likely be to hope they can destroy us at sea—even if it means using nuclear weapons… Is that the gist of it?”

“Precisely. Even though this stormy weather provides us with cover, if these nations disregard everything else, our situation could very well fall into danger again…”

“…Understood. Contact the fleet commander of the US Pacific Seventh Fleet for me. I need to speak with him.”

Jump to