425: Chapter 422 The main characters' activity map is going to get bigger.

[Real World · Unknown Location]

Lu Jianchuan rolled to the side as the spike grazed his shoulder and nailed into the wall behind him, sinking in completely and leaving only a finger-thick hole.

He didn't stop; exerting force with his feet, he shifted his body to the other side as a second spike flew past his waist.

The third one.

The fourth one.

He maneuvered and dodged amidst the dense volley of spikes. Those spikes were incredibly fast, but his neural reflections in Explosive Combustion Form allowed him to barely evade every time. The walls and floor were riddled with holes.

Closer.

Even closer.

He suddenly accelerated and slammed a punch into Li Jianguo's face!

Bang—!

That punch landed solidly. Li Jianguo's body leaned back, and he staggered two steps, but he didn't fall.

Moonlight shone through the broken window, falling upon him.

He no longer looked human.

The shape of his legs had completely changed—they were no longer human legs, but backward-curving appendages covered in dark silver chitinous shells, like some kind of giant insect. His limbs had become more slender, with hideous bone spurs protruding from the joints.

The tail behind him was also longer and thicker than before, its trifurcated tip slightly open, revealing new spikes growing inside.

Most striking were his shoulders—two massive spikes, like the legs of an arthropod, extended diagonally outward from his shoulder blades, their tips glinting with a cold light. Like the tail, they were lethal weapons.

He stood there, the dark silver carapace shimmering with a faint, eerie light under the moon, like something that had crawled out of a nightmare.

In the distance, Shen Mingyuan knelt on one knee, the muzzle of his black and red sniper rifle aimed this way.

Charging.

Locked on.

Bang—!

The muzzle spat out a blinding light.

Li Jianguo didn't even turn his head; he just tilted his body slightly, and the bullet grazed his chest plate, exploding into a scorched pit on the wall.

"I've really had it!" Shen Mingyuan stood up with his gun, his face darkening. "The shots that can break his defense won't hit, and he doesn't even bother dodging the ones that can't—how are we supposed to fight this?!"

He propped his gun up again, but this time he didn't bother charging or aiming; he just rushed forward with the gun in hand.

"I can't take this anymore!"

Lu Jianchuan glanced back at him: "What are you doing?!"

Shen Mingyuan didn't answer. He rushed into the fray, clapped his hands together, and the sniper rifle disassembled, transforming back into the two black and red twin stars—then he used the guns like clubs, bashing them down toward Li Jianguo's head!

Bang bang bang bang!

The two guns struck the dark silver carapace, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Li Jianguo was momentarily stunned by the assault—these attacks indeed couldn't break his defense, but they were annoying.

He whipped his tail, the tip lunging toward Shen Mingyuan!

Shen Mingyuan dodged to the side, but the two spikes behind Li Jianguo's shoulders stabbed forward simultaneously, one from the left and one from the right, cutting off his retreat—

A hand reached out from the side and grabbed those two spikes.

Lu Jianchuan.

He gripped the two spikes tightly, his knuckles turning white as the Bioelectricity from his palms surged up the spikes, crackling loudly!

The electricity exploded across Li Jianguo's body, making him shudder and freezing his movements for an instant.

Just that one instant.

Lu Jianchuan kicked him in the chest, sending him flying!

Bang—!

Li Jianguo's body slammed into the wall, causing a massive web of cracks to explode outward. He remained embedded there, motionless for a long while.

Lu Jianchuan steadied himself, watching the figure as he pried himself off the wall.

"Stop struggling, you've already lost," he said, his voice not loud but exceptionally clear in the empty space. "By the way, do you even still have a human consciousness?"

Li Jianguo didn't respond.

He simply stood up silently and cracked his neck, the two spikes behind his shoulders swaying slightly. On the dark silver carapace, the cracks from Lu Jianchuan's kick were slowly healing.

"His defense is really high," Lu Jianchuan clicked his tongue.

The hum of gathering energy came from behind.

Shen Mingyuan raised his sniper rifle again, aiming the muzzle at Li Jianguo and beginning to charge. Black and red light flowed along the gun's body, growing brighter and brighter.

"Damn it..." Shen Mingyuan gritted his teeth. "If I can't hit him from afar, I'll do it in close quarters!"

Lu Jianchuan glanced at him.

"Beyond seven steps, the gun is fast. Within seven steps—" He chuckled. "The gun is both accurate and fast?"

Shen Mingyuan was taken aback.

"Fine." Lu Jianchuan turned back and flexed his wrists. "I'll buy you some time."

He exerted force with his feet, and his silver-white figure charged toward Li Jianguo once more!

The tail spike arrived first.

Three spikes shot forward in a triangular formation. Lu Jianchuan dodged, ducked, and leaped—three consecutive movements, evading them all. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he hooked a fist-sized stone with his toe, caught it, and hurled it fiercely at Li Jianguo!

Li Jianguo tilted his head to dodge, while simultaneously stabbing the two spikes behind his shoulders into the ground and flicking them upward. Two larger stones flew up, which he then threw back with a backhand motion!

Bang! Bang!

Lu Jianchuan shattered the stones with two punches, sending stone chips flying. Before the dust could settle, Li Jianguo had already rushed in front of him—swinging a punch!

Lu Jianchuan raised his fist to meet it!

Boom!

The two fists collided, and a shockwave exploded outward.

Bang bang bang bang!

They traded punches in a rapid succession, too fast to see clearly, with only the dull thuds of flesh hitting flesh echoing through the space. The tail spike attacked from the side, but Lu Jianchuan dodged and delivered a sweeping kick, which Li Jianguo blocked with his arm. He took the opportunity to grab the blocking arm and exerted force with his waist, trying to pin Li Jianguo to the ground—

Li Jianguo dropped his entire body and rolled, escaping his control and flipping back onto his feet.

Lu Jianchuan pursued, slamming down a punch!

Li Jianguo raised his hand, and their fists collided again. He was shaken back two steps, and several more cracks appeared on his dark silver carapace.

In the distance, the light on Shen Mingyuan's sniper rifle was already blindingly bright.

He didn't charge it any further.

Holding the gun, he rushed straight over.

"Get out of the way!"

Lu Jianchuan flashed to the side, and Shen Mingyuan had already reached Li Jianguo—not to fire, but using the gun as a club, slamming the butt of the rifle into his head!

Bang!

Li Jianguo's head snapped to the side, and before he could recover, a second and third strike followed in quick succession. Shen Mingyuan was like a madman, raining blow after blow upon him, the black and red gun body striking the dark silver carapace and sending sparks flying.

Li Jianguo was enraged.

His tail swept across!

Lu Jianchuan grabbed the tail and delivered a spinning kick right into Li Jianguo's chest!

Bang—!

Li Jianguo was sent flying horizontally, crashing into the wall. The entire wall collapsed with a roar, half-burying him in broken bricks.

Shen Mingyuan pursued.

He knelt on one knee beside the figure half-buried in the rubble, pressing the muzzle against his head.

The charging had been completed while he was rushing over earlier, and the energy had been held within the barrel.

"Goodbye."

Bang—!

The black and red plasma bullet pierced through the skull.

Li Jianguo's body twitched once, then went completely still.

"Finally—"

Shen Mingyuan stood up, looking at the motionless corpse on the ground, and let out a long breath. He shouldered his gun and sighed toward the sky.

"I finally hit! My Piercing Bullet!"

He paused, then rolled his eyes at the air.

"This damn author never lets me hit. Finally—this is the only time I could actually land a shot."

Lu Jianchuan walked over and kicked his heel.

"Alright, stop lamenting. Let's go, let's head inside and take a look."

The two turned and rushed into the building behind them.

Inside was a dim corridor with a slightly ajar iron door at the end. Lu Jianchuan kicked it open, and the two burst in—the room was empty, with a few instruments still showing standby lights, overturned chairs, and several wires scattered on the floor.

The place was deserted.

"Damn it," Shen Mingyuan gritted his teeth. "They still managed to get away."

Lu Jianchuan didn't speak and began searching the room.

Drawers were pulled open—empty. The filing cabinet was opened, leaving only a few insignificant manuals. The computer's hard drive had been removed, leaving only an empty shell. Most of the paper documents had been taken, leaving only some experimental equipment that couldn't be moved—incubators, centrifuges, and a few dusty monitors.

Shen Mingyuan crouched beside an instrument and flipped through a folder that had fallen on the floor.

Empty. Only a single photograph remained inside.

He froze for a moment, then pulled the photo out.

It was a child's face. Looking about seven or eight years old, wearing blue clothes, eyes staring straight at the camera with a hollow expression.

Shen Mingyuan's fingers tightened around the edges of the photo.

"Xiao Hui..."

Lu Jianchuan leaned in to take a look but said nothing.

The background of the photo was blurry, but a window could be seen. Outside the window were words—a neon sign in English. Several large letters spelled out a place name.

Los Angeles.

Shen Mingyuan flipped the photo over; on the back, a line of scrawled words was written in marker: Stage 1 complete. Moving to Stage 2. Location confirmed.

"Abroad," Lu Jianchuan stared at those letters. "The United States."

Shen Mingyuan put the photo in his pocket.

"That guy... how on earth did he do it? He's already fled abroad?"