The manner of attack appeared mechanical and stiff, yet to Fang Senyan’s eyes, it could only be described by two words: first, unexpected, and second, fast. Astonishingly fast.

Yet, after this dagger flashed across, stirring an indescribable shimmering pattern even in mid-air, the blade emitting a gruesome "creak-creak" sound, the enemy before him remained utterly unharmed.

Fang Senyan was now seated on a nearby stone, while Android Unit One patiently scraped away the necrotic flesh from his wounds, applied medication, bandaged him, and spoke in a raspy, muddy voice:

“Based on the data in my offline database, these individuals facing us should be defective products from the Ten Strongest Program. What sets them apart from other test subjects is that their cells barely managed to adapt to the immense power of the Ten Strongest, allowing them to survive instead of exploding into a pile of debris like a balloon.”

“However, their misfortune is that they neither meet the standards of the Ten Strongest, losing their research value, nor can they ever regain freedom due to their superhuman strength, forever cut off from a normal life. These few likely managed to escape the research base back then, and very unfortunately, they were targeted by the Iron-Blooded Aliens.”

“So they aren't the Ten Strongest?” Fang Senyan asked coolly.

“Not even close,” Android Unit One rasped. “They can at best be called semi-finished products; 'test subjects' is a more appropriate term. However, judging by what happened when that Berserker test subject transformed just now, he was able to invoke the power of spacetime to protect himself during the transformation, ensuring it wasn't interrupted. Thus, among the surviving test subjects, their abilities rank quite high—this is likely why they could escape the research facility.”

“Hadrik understood the positioning of most of us quite well. The previous Fool was clearly designed to counter my high defense, and this Berserker, judging by the name, suggests a Berserker type, subtly countering someone like Ronnie who specializes in assassination. So, what is the specialty of the remaining woman?”

“If I am not mistaken, she must possess a very strong counter against magic-based abilities, which is why she is so confident about defeating us? It seems the mysteries of the Void are truly like a drop in the ocean to us; so difficult to explore.”

“Hahahaha!” It was hard to believe Mengo could lose control like this, letting out such an astonishing, wild laugh. But that was indeed the reality. The bald man had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown for days, and being alone, letting out a maniacal laugh after tearing off his mask and breaking his shell was entirely understandable.

“My life—no, my career is finally safe. Even if the old man treats me as a disposable pawn, being able to establish a connection with the Empire’s ‘Big Ben’ Research Institute means they can certainly protect me. My decision was absolutely right! To hell with Major General Fei Ji and the old man—all of them can just die!”

The Empire's "Big Ben" Research Institute was the pinnacle of biological weapon research within the Empire. As of now, the Institute had extended the life of the Imperial Emperor by a full seventy years, whereas the rare congenital genetic disease afflicting the Emperor, if suffered by anyone else, would result in immediate euthanasia upon diagnosis.

Furthermore, the Institute had achieved considerable success in the field of gene warriors; at least millions of bio-soldiers were produced annually under their guidance. Their position within the Empire was therefore incomparably supreme.

The Institute was named "Big Ben" because its first director was the head of the Royal Academy of Sciences in old Earth's London. To commemorate his homeland, he had the Institute’s main structure, the research tower, built in the likeness of London's Big Ben. Over time, the name was simply inherited.

General Mengo, now processing the information gathered through Android Unit One's eyes regarding the Berserker and Fool test subjects, could confirm that both names were listed on the "Galaxy Slaughter Bounties" released by the "Big Ben" Research Institute for five consecutive years, indicating the Institute’s determined pursuit of them.

Mengo was aware that for the "Big Ben" Institute, no Imperial citizen who hadn't committed an egregious crime like 'treason' was beyond retrieval. Defying orders or regulations was utterly trivial to them.

After all, no Imperial official was willing to offend an organization that might one day save their life. More importantly, the supreme leader of this institution had the honor of dining with His Majesty every single day... a privilege not even afforded to the Empress or the Imperial Princes.

Mengo swiftly intercepted the signal transmitted from Android Unit One, packaged it, connected it to his private line, and transmitted it to the "Big Ben" Research Institute headquarters on the Imperial Star at the fastest possible speed, naturally including his name, address, and contact details. Once this was done, Mengo felt a profound sense of relief and collapsed onto his chair, drifting into sleep.

For him, this moment felt like a gambler who had staked everything on ten lottery tickets, won back his investment on the fifth, and could now relax, awaiting further pleasant surprises without any pressure.

In stark contrast to Mengo’s relief, Ronnie was now like a small tree shrinking and wilting in a fierce gale.

The Berserker test subject before him wildly brandished his bone twin axes; the form of the blades was impossible to discern. His advance was like a sudden tempest sweeping through, carrying countless axes.

The osseous twin axes occasionally clashed, emitting a shrill noise that, each time it sounded, pierced the eardrums of nearby people like a needle, before the axe would swing down with a powerful "Hoo!"

Even when blocking with his dagger, Ronnie suffered gashes from the incomparably piercing axe-wind. His Blood Fury ignited, forming great clouds of mist in the air. The sound of bones cracking was piercingly gruesome.

Blood sprayed onto the enemy’s face, followed by a long, wild laugh and deep gulps. With every step he took, a terrifying explosion erupted where his feet landed. Yet, Ronnie was certainly not without counterattacks; one could even see the Berserker’s appearance was hideously distorted:

One eyeball had been gouged out, leaving red and white tendons dangling several centimeters out of his face, swaying loosely. His chest bore several ghastly gashes, with intestines even spilling out, and the partially digested contents of his stomach were seeping out, constantly oozing brown liquid. But these wounds seemed to have been inflicted upon someone else entirely.

Only the two savage axes remained as sharp and ferocious as ever!

Suddenly, Ronnie flickered continuously, generating a full seven duplicates in an instant, surrounding the Berserker test subject from all directions, and then converging violently toward the center.

The Berserker test subject let out a long, wild howl; the seven duplicates instantly annihilated, spraying a fountain of blood into the air. Ronnie himself was cleaved backward; if he hadn’t managed to cross his dagger just in time at his waist, he would have been cleanly bisected by that chilling bone axe. Even so, upon landing, blood immediately soaked the ground. After one roll, he stood up, panting heavily, light flickering around his body—clearly, he had used an Elixir of Honor.

Meanwhile, the Berserker test subject’s heart, throat, and the area around his one remaining intact eye were all pierced with a deep, black hole.

A bloody hole.

Fist-sized, deep holes were gurgling blood outwards.

Such a brutal exchange!

Although it seemed a winner had been decided, the Berserker test subject brought both axes down hard onto the ground.

Waves of bloody energy emanated from his body, forming a semi-circular shield enveloping him.

Intense killing intent, like an invisible ripple, radiated ceaselessly from the seemingly dying Berserker. He suddenly let out a long roar to the heavens. In the eye sockets that had lost their globes, only two terrifyingly deep, black holes weeping blood remained. Even more bizarrely, deep fissures began to appear on his skin. The wounds rapidly scabbed over, and the skin started to crack and peel.

From within the wounds covering his already scarred and broken body, solid, bronze-colored healthy skin was revealed, feeling as if a snake were shedding its skin. All his injuries seemed to be squeezed into the discarded layer of skin, and the feeling the Berserker now projected was more akin to a maddened bear.

“This guy truly lives up to his reputation as the leader of these challengers,” Fang Senyan narrowed his eyes. “He seems to have two very powerful abilities. The first is likely similar to Berserk, greatly increasing speed while also making him immune to any crowd control/abnormal status effects.”

“The second ability is probably to absorb life force from the damage he inflicts on enemies and store it internally, then release it when needed to heal his body. The Berserker truly has the foundation for being berserk. However, a defective product is still a defective product. It looks like both sides have to start over now, but your transformation time should be running out, right?”

Fang Senyan’s assessment was entirely correct. Since Ronnie had suffered a disadvantage in a direct clash just now, he naturally switched to a kiting style, a tactic utterly familiar to an assassin type like him.

More importantly, it seemed the Berserker test subject’s speed-boosting 'Berserk' ability was either on cooldown or currently unusable. Therefore, the only means he possessed to threaten Ronnie was by throwing the deformed bone axes growing from his arms. (Your support for this site is my greatest motivation.)