The explosion that buried the bunker sent a tremor through the Dark Forest that was felt miles away.
On the ridge overlooking the collapse, the Council Enforcer lowered his detonator. He was a tall man in a pristine white suit, wearing a golden mask that hid everything but his cold eyes.
"Structure collapse confirmed," he spoke into his comms. "Target Jiang Chen is buried under ten thousand tons of rock. Probability of survival: Zero."
Below him, on the muddy slope, the survivors of Team Zero were in shock.
Fatty Wei was on his knees, clutching the Black Box like it was a lifeline. Gu Linger was floating a few inches off the ground, her daggers trembling.
Lin Qingxue stood frozen. She stared at the cloud of dust rising from where the vent used to be.
"He... he threw me out," she whispered. "He stayed behind."
"Target the survivors," the Enforcer ordered his remaining squad of Heavy Troopers. "Retrieve the box. Leave no witnesses."
Six troopers leveled their mag-cannons.
"No..." Lin Qingxue's grief snapped into rage. Her blue aura flared, turning the rain into hail. "You bastards!"
She raised her sword to charge, a suicidal glint in her eyes.
THUMP.
A sound came from the earth.
It wasn't an explosion. It was a heartbeat.
A deep, resonant vibration that shook the mud on the hill.
THUMP.
The Enforcer paused. "Seismic aftershocks?"
THUMP.
"No," Gu Linger whispered, her pink eyes widening as she sensed the psychic pressure. "That's not the earth. That's him."
Inside the crater of the collapsed bunker, the pile of rocks began to shift.
A massive slab of concrete, weighing at least five tons, trembled.
[System Alert: Host Critical Condition.]
[Life Support Failing.]
[Option: Consume 'Demon Fragment' energy to force survival?]
Under the darkness, crushed by the mountain, Jiang Chen's consciousness flickered.
"Yes."
[Acknowledged. Releasing Restraints.]
[Taboo Physique: Void Body... Hungry.]
CRACK.
The concrete slab split down the middle.
A hand punched through the rock.
It wasn't a human hand anymore. It was covered in jagged, obsidian armor that pulsed with red veins. The Netherworld Armor Fragment had expanded, fusing with his flesh to keep him alive.
"He's alive?!" The Enforcer gasped. "Open fire! Bury him again!"
The troopers unleashed a barrage of energy beams into the crater.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rocked the debris. Smoke filled the air.
"Did we get him?" a trooper asked.
From the smoke, a shadow leaped.
It didn't climb out. It erupted.
Jiang Chen landed on the edge of the crater. He was a vision of ruin. His shirt was gone. His right arm and half his chest were encased in the black Demon Armor. His heavy sword dragged in the mud behind him.
He didn't look at his friends. He looked straight at the Enforcer on the ridge.
His eyes were pitch black. No whites. No pupils. Just the abyss.
"You..." Jiang Chen's voice was a guttural rasp, overlapping with the scream of a thousand dead soldiers.
He raised his armored hand.
"You interrupted my looting."
The Enforcer stepped back involuntarily. "What are you? That armor... that's not Federation tech!"
Jiang Chen didn't answer. He bent his knees.
CRACK.
The ground beneath him shattered.
He launched himself at the ridge. He wasn't running; he was a cannonball.
"Stop him!" The Enforcer screamed.
Three Heavy Troopers stepped forward, deploying energy shields. "Wall Formation!"
Jiang Chen hit the wall.
He didn't use a technique. He didn't use a strategy. He used his shoulder.
SMASH.
The energy shields shattered like glass. The three troopers were blasted backward as if hit by a train. Their armor crumpled, and they flew off the ridge, screaming.
Jiang Chen landed in front of the Enforcer.
"Monster!" The Enforcer drew a shimmering, high-frequency vibration blade. "I am a Qi Gathering 8th Stage Elite! Do not think you can—"
Jiang Chen swung his heavy sword.
One hand. Horizontal slash.
The Enforcer tried to parry.
CLANG.
The vibration blade snapped in half. The force of the blow drove the Enforcer into the mud, burying him up to his waist.
Jiang Chen loomed over him. The black armor on his arm hissed, venting steam.
"8th Stage?" Jiang Chen tilted his head. "I killed a Beast King in my head this morning. You are just a snack."
He grabbed the Enforcer by the golden mask.
"Who gave the order?" Jiang Chen asked. "Who ordered the death of the 104th?"
The Enforcer choked, clawing at Jiang Chen's armored hand. "You... you can't stop it... The Council... The Jiang Clan... they are inevitable..."
"Jiang Clan?"
Jiang Chen froze. The name triggered a flash of memory—the library archives, the soldier's diary.
Jiang Tianhao.
The Enforcer took the opening. He pulled a pin on his vest. Suicide Charge.
"Die with me!"
Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed.
He didn't retreat. He shoved his armored hand directly into the explosion as it detonated against the Enforcer's chest.
BOOM.
The blast was contained by the Void Body. Jiang Chen absorbed the fire, the force, the energy.
When the smoke cleared, the Enforcer was gone. Vaporized.
Jiang Chen stood there, his armor glowing red from the absorbed heat.
He turned slowly to look down at Team Zero.
Lin Qingxue was staring at him, terrified. Fatty Wei had wet his pants. Gu Linger was hiding behind a rock.
They didn't see their friend. They saw a Demon.
Jiang Chen blinked. The blackness in his eyes faded, returning to normal brown. The armor retracted, sinking back into his skin like a tattoo.
He coughed, spitting out black blood. He stumbled, using his sword to hold himself up.
"Hey," Jiang Chen rasped, grinning weakly. "Did anyone grab the loot?"
Lin Qingxue let out a sob and ran up the hill, tackling him into a hug.
"You idiot! You absolute idiot!"
Jiang Chen winced. "Ribs... broken..."
Fatty Wei scrambled up, holding the Black Box. "I got it! I got the box!"
"Good," Jiang Chen slumped against a rock, exhaustion finally hitting him.
He looked at the darkening sky. The rain washed the blood off his face.
"We have the evidence," Jiang Chen whispered. "Now we just need to survive the trip back to the city."
He closed his eyes.
Inside his head, the System pinged.
[Achievement Unlocked: First Demon Transformation.]
[Sync Rate: 15%.]
[Warning: Excessive use of Demon Armor will erode sanity.]
Jiang Chen ignored the warning.
He had found the name of his enemy. The Jiang Clan.
"One down," he muttered in his sleep. "A whole clan to go."