"This is the fifth wave, everyone absolutely must not attack, absolutely not, leave this wave to me!" Zheng Zha yelled to those around him, and not entirely reassured, he opened the communicator to repeat the instruction to the two people in Zero Point.

As he spoke, the paper door gradually opened, and behind it, just as they had suspected, a man and a woman were arguing. Then, before everyone's eyes, the scene Chu Xuan had foreseen unfolded: Kayako, the main body of the curse, was brutally dismembered, and the man began advancing toward Zheng Zha, clutching a kitchen knife... No! Even the dismembered Kayako began crawling over, her body grotesquely twisted. The two ghosts advanced toward Zheng Zha, one in front and one behind.

(There really is no premonition of danger; it feels like nothing is around... Time to release the second stage of the Genetic Lock again, I hope my body can hold on!) Zheng Zha's eyes suddenly sharpened. The sensation of unlocking the second stage of the Genetic Lock returned, as if every muscle and bone was being torn apart. The pain came swiftly and departed just as fast. The others only saw him vomit several large mouthfuls of blood before he charged forward.

"Wind... Wind Spirit!" Zhan Lan’s expression suddenly changed drastically. She fumbled inside her clothes and pulled out a small, round glass sphere, then cried out loudly.

Zheng Zha was running when he suddenly felt his body become incredibly light, his speed increasing by nearly thirty percent. By this time, he had already reached the male ghost. He saw the male ghost raise the cleaver and chop down at him fiercely. The instant the cleaver made contact with his chest, the danger premonition flared precisely where the knife touched. Without hesitation, he sidestepped sharply, then struck out with his left hand toward the male ghost's head. The Infinite Ring’s force field fully activated, and in a single instant, the male ghost's upper body was completely blasted apart.

"Good!" Zhang Jie and the others had been nervously sweating; only when the male ghost's upper body was pulverized did the three of them cry out in relief and joy.

Zheng Zha also felt a weight lift from his heart. Although he didn't know why his speed had increased, it was precisely this acceleration that allowed him to instantly evade the male ghost's cleaver attack. Having already shattered one ghost, the remaining one seemed relatively simple to handle.

But before he could turn to face Kayako, the male ghost's upper torso suddenly began to coalesce and reform as if turning into mist. Within seconds, the male ghost was perfectly restored, completely uninjured, and at the same time, the extremely contorted female ghost, Kayako, had crawled right up to Zheng Zha.

(What happened? Why was the attack ineffective? Was Chu Xuan's hint flawed?) Zheng Zha quickly leaped backward, temporarily avoiding a pincer attack from the two ghosts. However, he immediately faced another predicament: the trail had gone cold. Chu Xuan's hints had completely stopped. He didn't know what the Sixth Wave held, but how was he supposed to survive this Fifth Wave? Zheng Zha cautiously moved closer to the female ghost Kayako. The moment she crawled over to touch him, the danger premonition erupted simultaneously. As Zheng Zha dodged to the side, his submachine gun unleashed a barrage of fire toward the female ghost. But just like with the male ghost earlier, the attack was effective, yet she quickly reformed, perfectly whole.

(What now? What should I do? The attack is only effective at the instant they strike, and it seems they must both be shattered simultaneously, or they regenerate... What should I do? In a situation like this... If it were Chu Xuan, what would he do? If it were him...) Zhang Jie and the other two suddenly saw Zheng Zha stop moving. A peculiar sensation emanated from him, as if he had suddenly become utterly calm, or perhaps detached. Then, the three watched as Zheng Zha extended his right arm, standing perfectly still at the central point between the approaching male and female ghosts.

As the two ghosts neared him, the male ghost's cleaver and the female ghost Kayako’s touch both converged on his right arm. At the moment of contact, Zheng Zha didn't retreat; he advanced. His left hand, empowered by the Infinite Ring, ceaselessly gathered internal energy. He drove one punch straight through the male ghost's midsection toward Kayako's head. It happened faster than words could describe; everything unfolded in an instant. When Zheng Zha passed through the bodies of the two ghosts, his right arm and both ghosts vanished simultaneously.

"Uh... so full, I really do like to eat... huh? Like to eat what?" Zheng Zha's expression suddenly shifted. He snapped out of that state of mimicking Chu Xuan and saw Zhang Jie and the other two rushing toward him in joyful surprise. Especially Zhan Lan, the small woman practically collapsed into his arms, weeping and laughing simultaneously.

Zhang Jie clapped him on the shoulder: "That was incredible! You had us all on edge just now, Zheng Zha. When did you get so strong, kid? Good grief, you just abandoned your entire right arm, aren't you scared?" Zheng Zha managed a wry smile and then asked Zhan Lan, "Zhan Lan, what was that Wind Spirit just now? Why did I feel like my speed increased so much?" Zhan Lan let go of him with a slight blush and replied with a smile, "That’s my enhancement track. I specialized toward the Magic Legend genre, but most of that requires branching plotlines, so right now I only have an acceleration spell unlocked. You don't expect me, a girl, to go running around brandishing firearms, do you?" Zheng Zha’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. That familiar sense of danger pulsed again, but this time the premonition wasn't as strong—it was almost excessively faint. He sensed it with great surprise; this didn't feel like an internal attack as Chu Xuan had described; if it were, the danger premonition should have been extremely intense.

"Everyone be careful, I think something is wrong. Does anyone else feel it... Zhan Lan? Zhan Lan!" Zheng Zha was about to caution everyone to watch their bodies when he suddenly saw Zhan Lan's face change. Her entire small face instantly went pale, and blood began gushing from her nose and mouth, mixed with fragments of internal organs... "Zhan Lan! Trust me! None of us will die!" Zheng Zha roared, pulling Zhan Lan into his embrace while channeling all his internal energy into his left fist. With a powerful blow, he punched directly toward her stomach... Jump to