Yet this brown-haired youth was like an amoeba without a body; the wounds on his face and chest began to slowly heal, the surrounding flesh and bone constantly migrating toward those two injuries. Within seconds at most, he stepped down from the streetlamp pole that had been bent around him, though a massive curve seemed permanently set into his back—likely the result of his spine being bent and broken when he struck the pole. The fact that such injuries could recover so rapidly was beyond mere recuperation; compared to this ferocious healing capability, the regeneration of a Great Dragon or even Zheng Zha’s body could only be termed slow, self-healing.

The brown-haired youth slowly touched his body, then abruptly looked up and sneered at Zheng Zha: "Good, very strong… For some time now, I’ve felt my evolution stall because I’m surrounded by useless trash and a horde of low-level beings. Absorbing them does nothing for my body. Without a powerful force for comparison, without a formidable opponent to test me, this perfect form cannot continue to evolve… Hahaha, I misjudged you. You are not a low-level creature; you are a higher life form like myself. Your blood contains the essence of a higher being. That taste is exquisite! Just one breath has already started my body’s evolution and strengthening…" "Become a part of my body. Use your full strength. Let this perfect body, which had stopped evolving, evolve once more!" As the brown-haired youth spoke, he charged toward Zheng Zha. Every step he took caused the concrete ground to crack open, his strength increasing yet again—and it wasn't just strength. His speed had also become startling. Covering the short distance of tens of meters, he reached Zheng Zha in just three or four seconds. Then, dozens of blood vessels erupted from all over his body, stabbing out toward Zheng Zha from every direction, shrouding him like an endless volley of vascular arrows.

Zheng Zha frowned slightly. When he had used his "Explosion" skill earlier, those attacks had been launched with at least seventy percent of his power, yet he hadn't expected this brown-haired youth to rush back completely unscathed. He wondered if this ability only manifested after donning the mask, or if unlocking the fourth level of the Gene Lock guaranteed such resilience. Was it a case of becoming stronger the stronger the opponent? While thinking, Zheng Zha stomped his foot and leaped up. With the combined effect of his Qinggong and the power of "Explosion," this leap easily carried him five or six meters high. Only after those vessels had pierced the space beneath him did Zheng Zha violently drop back down. He stomped down hard on the vessels, putting so much force into the impact that the vessels and the ground beneath them cracked deeply, leaving a pit half a meter deep in the plaza floor.

But before Zheng Zha could press his attack, the small boy cradled in his arms suddenly burst into tears. (Damn it, moving too fast and using too much power will injure this little boy. His delicate body cannot absorb such enormous recoil… Blast it, I can’t fully use the "Explosion" skill in this state!) Zheng Zha cursed inwardly. This creature before him was in no way comparable to him when using "Explosion," but the creature cared nothing for the boy's life and was focused only on attacking at full power. Zheng Zha, however, could not do the same. Setting aside the ten thousand reward points deducted should the boy die, the fact that he was the son of O’Connell and Eve was reason enough to risk his life to protect him. Therefore, he could only curse and flee outward.

The brown-haired man’s strength and speed were still growing continuously, as if engaging him once would trigger constant evolution in his own body to match Zheng Zha’s speed and power when using "Explosion"—this prospect was terrifying. "Zero Point, do you hear me? Blast his legs. It takes time for him to regenerate, and we need to restrict his mobility during that period…" Zheng Zha knew that he couldn't defeat this monster alone right now, especially since he had to ensure the boy’s safety. After some thought, he could only flee toward the edge of the plaza while communicating mentally with Zero Point.

Two or three seconds later, Zero Point’s voice finally came through: "…I can see him, but my movements aren't fast enough. I need you to restrain his speed for one to two seconds…" "Understood! Overlord, can you see us? Once his legs are shattered, use the tubular pulse cannon to shred him. And Wang Xia… I need you to throw the bomb toward me, just toss it up into the air. Set the timer for five seconds, and throw it up just as Zero Point breaks his legs… I am not fighting alone. His physical attributes might be formidable, but we are the combined strength of a team facing him… Shred him!" Zheng Zha continuously linked up with the others mentally. The Mind Chain skill kept the entire team tightly connected, allowing for immediate contingency planning even when combat circumstances suddenly shifted, just like now.

Holding the crying boy with one arm, Zheng Zha swung his other hand back and struck fiercely at the brown-haired youth behind him. With a dull thud, their hands collided violently. The youth’s arm immediately fractured and broke, but the immense force actually managed to push the "Explosion"-enhanced Zheng Zha back a single step. This brown-haired youth’s strength kept increasing, and his speed accelerated, but more bizarrely, fine scales were beginning to appear on his skin, and two subtle bone protrusions were emerging along his spine. This monster was evolving continuously even while fighting.

After Zheng Zha shattered the youth's arm with a punch, the youth’s other hand lashed out toward Zheng Zha from a distance. His fingertips suddenly burst open, shooting out five blue tendons that coiled and wrapped toward Zheng Zha’s head. At the same time, Zheng Zha remained firmly planted on the ground. "Now… Zero Point!" "Boom!" With a massive sound, the brown-haired youth was blown down onto the ground. An entire thigh was blasted into a messy pulp; the immense power of the Gauss sniper rifle was something his flesh could not withstand. After the gunshot, before the blue tendons could pierce Zheng Zha’s head, the brown-haired youth had already rolled to the ground. Simultaneously, Zheng Zha stomped his foot hard and leaped nearly ten meters away. One second after he jumped clear, rapid gunshots erupted—pa-pa-pa—shredding the brown-haired youth and the ground beneath him. Over a hundred meters away, Overlord was continuously firing the tubular pulse cannon in their direction. In mere seconds, the brown-haired youth was completely atomized into fragments.

Zheng Zha had no time to spare. As he jumped away, he pushed off again, soaring another six or seven meters into the air. This time, it wasn't to evade an attack but to catch the timed bomb that had just been thrown overhead. He lightly tossed the bomb backward, then enveloped the boy tightly in both arms, entering his "Destruction" state at that instant. "Shave!" The speed of "Shave" was incredibly fast; Zheng Zha instantly reached the edge of the plaza. It was only then that a deafening explosion erupted from the center of the plaza. The intense shockwave began sweeping outward, shattering countless central decorations and streetlamp poles, some ripped entirely from their foundations, rushing toward the plaza’s perimeter.

Zheng Zha could only clutch the boy tightly to his chest, standing motionless with his back to the shockwave. The Dragon Crystal Necklace activated at this moment, easily blocking incoming high-speed particulate matter like shattered stones and debris outside his body with a semi-transparent protective layer. When the shockwave finally subsided, Zheng Zha turned back to look at the plaza behind him. The area was unrecognizable. The center had been blasted into a massive crater, about ten meters wide, while the surroundings were leveled flat. Black smoke and fire still billowed up across the plaza—the sheer destructive power of the ultra-high-explosive shell was undeniable.

(…I haven't received confirmation of completing the side plot. Is that monster still alive? Or has he escaped?) Zheng Zha hastily contacted Zhan Lan mentally: "Zhan Lan, scan the entire plaza and the surrounding area… You don’t need to lock onto that man with psychic power; just scan the environment to see if there’s anything moving that lacks psychic energy?" Zhan Lan was silent for a moment before replying, "There are still many zombies around; they don't possess psychic energy. Scanning the entire plaza area instantly revealed them. I’ll transmit the scan results to your consciousness…" Zheng Zha closed his eyes and accepted the psychic scan results. After a long moment, he sighed softly. Because many zombies remained, and the man’s psychic signature was undetectable, the overall scan couldn't confirm whether he was alive, had escaped as fragmented pieces, or had managed to slip away entirely unharmed… Jumping to...