Huang Wen glanced down at the grotesque, mangled corpse of the Scarred Man beside him. The Scarred Man's death was instantaneous, but the violence of the punch had been extreme. A brief flicker of genuine nausea crossed Huang Wen's face before he ruthlessly suppressed it.
This answers that question, he thought grimly. It's the sheer destruction. Benson was clean. This is... messy.
He forced himself to focus on the twelve terrified, living men huddled near the opposite wall.
Goren, the leader, despite the adrenaline-fueled massacre he had just witnessed, seemed to possess a criminal's natural survival instinct. He took a deep breath, forcing a semblance of calm.
"Benson's disappearance—you did that too, didn't you?" Goren's voice was surprisingly steady. "I admit, I didn't expect a Chinatown kid to have access to this level of technology. That suit is impressive, but it's just bulletproofing..."
"It's not just the ballistic weave, boss," the man standing directly behind Goren interjected, his eyes narrowed and analytical. He was the quiet one, the one who didn't look like a bodyguard. "A normal man, even a fighter, couldn't inflict that kind of damage with a punch. The suit is clearly augmenting his strength significantly."
Huang Wen frowned, his Extraordinary senses immediately spiking a vague, low-level warning from the quiet man. He felt no physical pressure, but an undeniable sense of danger. This man was different.
"Fist Stone," Goren looked from Huang Wen back to the man, his voice a tight command. "Can you handle this... technician?"
A confident, almost contemptuous sneer spread across the man's face. "No problem, Boss. He's just a regular guy with a very expensive tailor. Wing Chun parlor tricks? Bulletproofing? That's kid stuff."
Before Huang Wen could react, the man—Fist Stone—tore his suit jacket off.
RIP!
The sight that met Huang Wen's eyes made his pupils shrink. Fist Stone's arm was no longer flesh. It was suddenly sheathed in a layer of dark, granite-like substance. His hand ballooned into a colossal stone fist, easily the size of Huang Wen's entire head.
The process was rapid, seamless, and completely unnatural. The transformation spread slightly, covering his thick pectoral muscles, groin, and even his throat in a tough, flexible layer of rock skin.
Geomancer? A Mutant!
The realization hit Huang Wen like a physical blow. He had just confirmed the existence of Mutants yesterday, and here he was, facing a fully evolved, operational one. Fist Stone's control over the petrification was fluid, indicating long experience with his X-gene ability.
Huang Wen quickly scanned the mutant's body. Critically, Fist Stone's head and face remained flesh. Perhaps the X-gene mutation is incomplete, Huang Wen theorized quickly. The spine can't handle the weight of a solid stone skull? Or maybe I just found his weak spot.
Whatever the reason, this was a weakened Stone Golem. He had a chance.
WHOOSH!
Fist Stone moved. He was powerful, relying entirely on the devastating weight and hardness of his attack. The stone fist shot out with incredible force, the displaced air whistling past Huang Wen's ear.
Huang Wen knew better than to trade bone for rock. Instead of a direct Wing Chun Centerline counter, he chose a defensive, yet aggressive Gaan Sau (Deflecting Hand) maneuver, turning his body and meeting the massive fist not with his hand, but with a reinforced Elbow Strike.
KRAKOW!
A sound like two boulders colliding echoed through the room. Fist Stone's body jolted, and the momentum of his punch was momentarily broken, his arm deflected. But the sheer counter-force of the mutant's attack hit Huang Wen like a truck.
He felt himself flying backward. The Tuxedo's A.I. immediately assisted, but even with the suit's dampening field, the force was immense. Just as he was about to smash through the drywall behind him, Huang Wen pressed both feet against the surface.
CRACK!
Two clear, deep footprints were imprinted in the wall. Huang Wen instantly dissipated the remaining energy, landing lightly on the floor, his face grim. His elbow throbbed painfully, but his Extraordinary recovery rate was already cycling to repair the damage.
"Your little jacket is impressive!" Fist Stone grunted, shaking his massive stone fist. "Most people who take that blow are flying straight through that wall. It must be more than just bulletproof."
Huang Wen knew he had to confirm. The suit had absorbed some force, but the mutant was telling the truth: normal human resistance, even doubled, would have resulted in serious compound fractures.
"He's right. I can't exchange blows," Huang Wen's internal assessment was brutal and quick. "The only advantage I have is speed and precision. I must attack his unprotected vitals."
WHOOSH!
Fist Stone charged again, the heavy stone fist tearing through the air. Huang Wen didn't bother to deflect. He exploded into motion, far faster than the lumbering mutant, darting past the incoming fist and closing the distance instantly.
He drove a powerful, concentrated Centerline Punch directly into Fist Stone's unprotected abdomen.
THUD!
Fist Stone's massive body flew backward, skidding across the polished floor and slamming into the far wall. The impact jarred the entire room.
However, the result was not what Huang Wen expected. The punch, which had just pulverized a normal human's chest, failed to end the mutant.
Fist Stone was winded, gasping for breath, but he was not dead. Even without the stone armor covering his midsection, his innate Mutant Physique—his raw, baseline toughness—was far superior to any ordinary human.
"Fist Stone!" Goren screamed, fear lacing his voice. If his bodyguard failed, they were all doomed.
"Don't worry, Boss!" Fist Stone climbed painfully to his feet, rubbing his stomach, his eyes burning with fury and cold focus. "You've pissed me off, kid!"
With a roar, Fist Stone adopted a crude, powerful Karate stance, charging Huang Wen. The move made sense; they were in a dojo, and the mutant clearly had some basic combat training to augment his raw power.
The problem for the mutant was the same as before: his attack was slow and heavy. The petrification gave him strength, but it imparted rigidity. His massive, rock-covered arms couldn't execute the fast, winding motions of a true close-combat fighter.
BANG! Fist Stone's punch hit empty air.
Huang Wen had already slipped inside the centerline, delivering a quick Palm Strike to the mutant's exposed chin. The blow snapped Fist Stone's head back, but Huang Wen immediately felt a jarring numbness shoot up his arm.
He followed with an Elbow Strike to the mutant's stomach, another clean hit—and another non-lethal impact.
Huang Wen was not just fighting; he was provoking.
He watched with grim fascination as Fist Stone's rage boiled over. The mutant's ability began to respond to the stress. Other areas of his body—his shoulders, his legs, his remaining exposed skin—began to visibly crust over with a thin, stone-like film.
"What in the hell is this freak doing?" Huang Wen cursed under his breath. The mutant was getting stronger, activating an innate defensive layer in response to the Wing Chun assault. The defense he already couldn't break was now becoming exponentially stronger.
"This is cheating! This is absolutely ridiculous!" Huang Wen fumed.
The only sliver of good news was that as the stone skin thickened and spread, Fist Stone's movements became noticeably more rigid. The sudden increase in his own power seemed to be overloading his physical control, sacrificing speed and flexibility for brute, unyielding defense.
He's hardening, but he's slowing down. He's turning himself into a statue.