It was just that a moment ago, he hadn't sensed any killing intent at all, at least not within a ten-meter radius. This meant the enemy had to be further out. At that distance, only specialized skills or ranged weaponry could be employed. Most conventional ranged weapons were useless against him in his current state. Consequently, the opponent was either utilizing some peculiar skill or was an exceptionally powerful individual employing thrown weapons. Regardless of the case, either possibility posed a genuine threat.

Zheng Zha was truly a veteran of countless battles, having constantly navigated life-or-death situations in the horror movie simulations. He had witnessed every manner of overwhelming peril imaginable. Therefore, even though he had been abruptly struck by an unknown force, he displayed not a shred of panic. Having faced scenarios infinitely more treacherous than this, such minor injuries would barely register, certainly not impacting his combat capability in the slightest.

Zheng Zha lunged forward with incredible speed, his momentum amplified now that he was partially outside his Gene Lock state. He bounded across the floor a few times, rapidly darting into the passage alongside the main corridor. As soon as he entered the hallway,

He immediately reached down to touch his injured calf. The wound had stopped bleeding, but the injury itself remained, allowing his fingers to easily trace its shape.

(It feels like a clean slice from something razor-sharp, like a blade, yet nothing tangible touched me. Could the opponent be using legendary techniques, something like sword Qi or blade energy? Damn it, does this team even possess experts of that caliber?) Zheng Zha slowly modulated his condition—regulating his internal energy, the vampire abilities, the flow of his Hunyuan Yi Qi Gong, and the degree of his Gene Lock release. He was tuning everything to its absolute peak. No matter what, the enemy had initiated the attack, and there was no guarantee they wouldn't target the rest of his team next. It was better, as Chu Xuan suggested, to deliver a shock beyond imagination, cementing the image of the Central Continent Team as the most terrifying unit possible, thereby crushing any future audacity for provocation. About seventy meters down the other end of the corridor, a young Black man stood there, gripping a twisted, dark oak cane in one hand and a communicator in the other. He spoke into the device with distinct curiosity: "Hoffer, I definitely used a Wind Blade attack on him. The blade materialized a meter behind him. A normal person would have been bisected, but he actually jumped! So the blade only grazed his calf, and even that didn't sever it. This is bizarre, utterly bizarre..." "...I see it. He must have some kind of protective gear on him. I have a clear view through the communicator. Alright, use one more Fireball spell, then disengage immediately. The resulting explosion should keep him pinned down... It seems the strength of the Central Continent Team isn't all that impressive; it only managed to mitigate the damage. Fine. You can return. We'll just..." The voice on the communicator hadn't finished speaking when a figure suddenly burst from the corridor junction. The speed was so extreme that both the young Black man and the person watching through the communicator couldn't discern the attacker's features, only vaguely recognizing the clothing and height suggested it was the very man the Black youth had just attacked—Zheng Zha.

The Black youth was instantly stunned. The speed of the man before him was terrifying. Although they were a hundred meters apart, in less than a second, the distance had shrunk to less than ten meters. He barely had time to raise his cane and conjure a faint, shimmering Wind Blade barrier between himself and the figure. But the approaching man executed a move that left the Black youth agape.

Zheng Zha roared softly and drove his fist straight into the path of the Wind Blade barrier. He was currently in his "Explosion" state; every step taken against the ground left a subtle imprint on the alloy floor. At this incredible velocity, his "Explosion" state had propelled him to superhuman levels! As the punch flew forward,

The mere concussive pressure made the young Black man gasp for breath. Then came a sharp, brittle sound, reminiscent of shattering glass or fine ceramic. This single punch, powered by pure kinetic pressure, annihilated the Wind Blade into dust. The Black youth never anticipated such a development. In the next second, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as he was thrown backward. However, before he could travel even two meters, Zheng Zha took a massive stride forward, catching the youth by the chest just before he could fly further and slamming him violently into the ground.

This rapid sequence of strikes left the young Black man completely unconscious. His physical conditioning was perhaps twice that of an ordinary person, meaning even without activating his "Explosion" skill, Zheng Zha could have easily killed him. Ten times the strength of a normal human was no joke. Combined with the kick and the slam delivered while using the "Explosion" skill, the young Black man suffered severe internal injuries; blood was already welling from his orifices—he was clearly near death.

The entire process took barely two or three seconds, from Zheng Zha emerging from the passage to extinguishing the Black youth. Within those brief moments, Zheng Zha displayed a terrifying level of raw power. By the time Zheng Zha retrieved the communicator from the floor, no sound emerged from it. However, the device still indicated that the person on the other end was watching and could still hear the events unfolding.

Zheng Zha stared blankly at the communicator, pointing one finger toward his own eyes. "You should understand what this means. I won't say much more... You have just forfeited 2000 points..." With that, Zheng Zha crushed the communicator into powder with a gentle squeeze of his hand.

Only then did Zheng Zha pull himself out of the "Explosion" state and deactivate his Gene Lock release. He glanced at the Black youth on the floor, who was barely clinging to life, then slowly raised his fist and brought it down hard onto the man's heart. With a dull thud, the young Black man was utterly finished on the floor. Simultaneously, Zheng Zha received the "Main God's" notification: Killing one enemy team member grants the team +1 point, and he had received the execution reward points for this individual. This person was clearly not a Gene Lock member.

(For a mere warning, perhaps I don't need to use the "Destruction" state, do I? That level of power is excessively extreme, and using "Destruction" inside this spacecraft... I wonder if it would damage the hull at all... The "Explosion" state should suffice for now, shouldn't it? ...And then... how should I address the Luo Gandao issue?) Zheng Zha lapsed back into deep contemplation, then silently turned and walked further down the deserted passage... On a nearby battleship, two stout men, one white and one black, trembled uncontrollably. Their faces were ashen as they stared at each other. After a long silence, the Black man finally spoke, "Ho, Hoffer, we’ve run into a terrifying team. The Central Continent Team is vastly superior to us. Could they be the Demon Reincarnation Squad or the Heavenly God Reincarnation Squad that the 'Main God' mentioned? No, we will certainly die fighting such a team. I don't want to fight them!" The Black man, who had just been struck hard by the stout white man, roared almost hysterically, "Calm down! Damn it, calm down! Think about it carefully. How could everyone on that team be so overwhelmingly strong? Wait, I accidentally targeted their captain. Yes, this must be the captain and the strongest person on the Central Continent Team. This power is terrifying. If we encountered him, our entire team combined probably wouldn't stand a chance against him. Therefore, he must be an anomaly—a singular peak powerhouse..." The struck Black man was dazed, and after a long pause, he muttered, "What about the rest of the Central Continent Team? They can't be much weaker than him, right? They are all on the same team, and the Central Continent Team has four known members; the other three don't look easy either... Don't fight them, Hoffer! The Central Continent Team is far, far stronger than us; we can't afford to provoke them!" The stout white man delivered another vicious slap. He continued to shout, "Damn it, be calm! I said calm down! I know we can't afford to provoke the Central Continent Team, and I never intended to provoke them... Yes, we must not provoke them. But the decision-making authority isn't solely mine. Although I'm the captain, Neos can overrule the other three, and the remaining two follow our orders... Right! Neos can certainly analyze the strength of this man. Let's go find Neos!" The Black man, unfazed by the slap, quickly grabbed the stout white man's arm. "But didn't Neos tell you not to seek him out after you left? He said any contact might expose his identity. Is it really okay to do this?" The white stout man struck him again, leaning close to the Black man's ear and yelling, "Damn it, calm down! We are only going to ask him a few things, alright? I admit that kid is much smarter than us, but aren't we on the same team? Isn't it useful to consult him when we run into trouble? Besides, he was the one who wanted to annihilate the Central Continent Team! We only made the opening move for him. Even though one person died... we meant well! In any case, let's go back and find Neos first!"