Zheng Zha walked on, no longer hiding the fury in his heart. His pace was measured, and anyone passing him felt a strange, oppressive weight, instinctively moving away from his vicinity. He only stopped when he turned into the corridor leading to Ling Xun’s office, where the guards at the junction entrance finally barred his way. “Apologies, but you must present your pass!” Several guards blocked Zheng Zha, one of them speaking directly.

Zheng Zha quietly gauged the time, then smiled at the guards. Before they could react, a flash of crimson light erupted from his hand. The guards watched in horror as their torsos slowly separated, and Zheng Zha strode past their falling bodies. “I said it,” Zheng Zha muttered through clenched teeth, “everyone here… every last one of you will die!” He gripped the Hu Po blade and continued toward the executive offices.

A palpable killing aura enveloped him—a rare sight for him, but one that guaranteed the situation would not end simply. As he moved, Zheng Zha cut down anyone he saw with a single stroke. Equipped with the Hu Po blade, his destructive capability had soared once more. Especially its invincible blade aura; so far, he had only witnessed the transparent Sword of Oath and Victory capable of countering it.

Otherwise, this energy blade formed from internal power could sever anything. It was only after Zheng Zha had slain the twenty-seventh person that the entire research facility erupted with shrill alarms. He was now merely dozens of meters from the main office door. At the end of the corridor stood a large, red wooden door.

Zheng Zha had entered the unlocked state of the Gene Lock; by sound alone, he could discern at least dozens of guards behind that door—their breathing, their heartbeats, even the faint friction of their movements betrayed their positions. Zheng Zha smirked as he fastened the Dragon Crystal Necklace around his neck. Then, gripping the Hu Po blade, he pushed the door open and entered. As expected, dozens of guards waited behind it.

They were clad in full-body armor resembling gas masks, and every assault rifle was aimed squarely at the newly entered Zheng Zha. “Clack, clack, clack.” Behind the formation of guards, an elderly man in casual attire sat calmly. He began to clap, smiling faintly. “Impressive.

Your combat prowess is remarkable; I saw it all along the way… A curious question, though: where did you acquire that weapon? In the surveillance footage, it simply materialized in your hand. Oh, and those four silver rings appeared just as suddenly.” Zheng Zha sneered. “I have no obligation to answer you, but considering what you’re about to do for me, I might as well indulge you… This is my weapon.

Both the weapon and these four rings are stored within this ring, which you confiscated. Now it’s your turn to answer: where is the surveillance footage?” The old man’s face shifted to one of surprise. He actually peered intently at the storage ring on Zheng Zha’s hand. After a long moment, he chuckled.

“If you’re telling the truth, then we truly committed a foolish act, returning a ring more precious than yourself. But fortunately, this ring still exists… By the way, the surveillance feed is right behind you.” He gestured toward the wooden door behind Zheng Zha. Zheng Zha turned his head. Sure enough, he saw several screens embedded above the wooden door, positioned perfectly for the old man to view from his seat.

These screens displayed the corridors he had just traversed, littered with the bodies of those he had slain. “Oh, then… you are all useless.” Zheng Zha spun back with a cold smile. He swung the Hu Po blade horizontally. As his long sword moved, the guards simultaneously opened fire.

Dozens of assault rifles unleashed a torrent of bullets, riddling the wall behind him with impact holes and instantly tearing the wooden door to shreds. Simultaneously, Zheng Zha’s Hu Po long blade finished its arc. Everything in the blade aura’s path was severed cleanly in two. The guards who were jerking from firing staggered, their upper bodies sliding to the floor; for those who had stood rigidly, their torsos only dropped two or three seconds later.

This slow, sequential cascade of falling upper halves was enough to terrify any ordinary man. A translucent shield shimmered around Zheng Zha. Every bullet from the assault rifles struck this barrier. The Dragon Crystal Necklace completely shielded him, and Zheng Zha emerged from the hail of machine-gun fire entirely unharmed.

The old man was clearly stunned into silence, never anticipating such a turn of events. Since Zheng Zha was at least seven or eight meters away from the guards, even a swift dash wouldn’t allow him to outrun bullets; this was why the old man had remained so composed. But contrary to his expectation, Zheng Zha needed no close approach. He simply flicked the crimson greatsword, and the guards seemed to be cleaved by invisible blades.

Furthermore, a protective layer, something only seen in science fiction films, had materialized around him. This reality shattered the limits of the old man’s imagination. For a long moment, he stared at Zheng Zha with his mouth agape, as if seeing him for the first time. Zheng Zha ignored the old man, turning his attention instead to the surveillance monitors above the wooden door.

As he watched, he spoke, “Switch the feed. Show me Alice’s location.” The old man flinched violently, snapping back to reality. This member of the Umbrella Corporation’s board was clearly terrified of death. He hastily grabbed a small remote control and pointed it at the screens.

After a few flickers, the repair center where Alice was held appeared. The center was in shambles; researchers lay groaning on the floor, including the middle-aged man who was struggling to rise but seemed too battered to coordinate his limbs. (Has she woken up?) “Continue switching,” Zheng Zha commanded immediately. “Show me the corridor leading from the repair center to the research base entrance.” The old man obeyed obediently, manipulating the remote control.

After several switches, the screen settled on the entrance to the research base. There, a blonde beauty stood—the movie’s heroine, Alice. Before her, over a hundred guards held rifles pointed directly at her, a scene eerily similar to Zheng Zha’s own reception: an instant confrontation with an overwhelming hail of gunfire upon exiting a doorway. At that moment, a black sedan approached from a distance, stopping just outside the perimeter of the guard encirclement.

A man and a woman stepped out. They were Carlos and Jill Valentine. Carlos immediately produced a document and handed it to the guard captain upon exiting the car. Jill Valentine bypassed the guards and moved straight to Alice’s side, whispering a few words before pulling her toward the sedan.

Only after both women were seated did Carlos open the door and get in. The black car then turned around and proceeded toward the checkpoint at the base entrance. Zheng Zha watched everything silently. Only when the sedan reached the checkpoint did he turn to the old man.

“Call them. Tell them to grant passage.” The old man didn't reach for the phone this time; instead, he sighed in relief. “Grant passage? Are you joking?

Do you think they can safely pass that checkpoint? I guarantee their documents will be problematic. They can enter, but leaving won't be so simple… Yes, I can let them go immediately, and I can guarantee their safety. But what about my safety?

I don't think you’ll let me go. Until my safety is assured, I won't make the call. Killing me is useless; I’m dead either way, so why be used by you before I die?” Zheng Zha laughed in turn. He removed the Dragon Crystal Necklace from his neck and tossed it onto the old man’s desk.

As the man curiously picked up the necklace, Zheng Zha snatched an assault rifle from the floor and unleashed a volley—pop, pop, pop—directly at the old man. This sudden shift terrified the elder to the core, and he went pale and rigid until he felt the protective shield materialize around him. “Is your security guaranteed now?” Zheng Zha said coldly. “This Dragon Crystal Necklace generates a shield potent enough to protect you.

You are safe now.” The old man peered at the necklace for a moment, then pulled a handgun from his pocket—he was thoroughly cautious. Raising the gun, he fired directly into his own palm. Clack! The bullet was blocked by a semi-transparent shield.

Only then did he relax, snatching the phone and quickly dialing. Zheng Zha paid him no mind, turning back to the monitors. The screen showed the black sedan halted at the checkpoint. From the distance, the guards seemed to receive a call, waving the vehicle onward.

Once the sedan had driven far out of sight, Zheng Zha coldly turned back. “My apologies, I lied to you…” Zheng Zha made a slight gesture with the Hu Po blade. The old man’s head slowly slid across the desk, its expression frozen in sheer terror. “This Dragon Crystal Necklace only blocks high-tech weaponry.

The Hu Po blade is not high-tech.” Zheng Zha took the necklace from the desk and put it back around his neck. He then retrieved the Scorpion King’s bracelet from his storage ring. “Let’s begin… everyone here dies today!” He jumped to