Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Blade for a Teeth - Chapter 95: The Visitor (Part 1)
Zhang Lei has been feeling extremely frustrated lately. If the previous period after the explosion of vital energy was an adaptation period, during which humanity was growing rapidly and steadily, then now it's practically growing insanely.
Zhang Lei himself did manage to get on this bandwagon, but his growth rate was actually slower than that of the average person, which was what frustrated him.
Self-examination is never wrong, Zhang Lei knew clearly that this was not an illusion. He also knew that it wasn't that heaven was deliberately targeting him, but simply because his body had already been strengthened, his progress seemed slower in this era of universal advancement. In reality, no matter how fast others were moving, most were still chasing after him.
What's giving Zhang Lei a headache is this second ability. These people are progressing very quickly, and even some of his subordinates have developed a second ability. It seems that the nourishing effect of ten times the vitality will continue.
If the second superpower is a combat superpower, then its effect is extremely powerful. However, Zhang Lei's second superpower is that he has no combat ability at all. After so much research, if he had it, he would have figured it out long ago.
If Zhang Lei wanted to maintain his advantage, he could only use his body and internal energy to counteract the other person's second superpower. However, Zhang Lei's internal energy was the kind that had little effect no matter how hard he tried. Zhang Lei should now say that he had completely entered, or even surpassed, the innate realm. Even if he focused on circulating his internal energy, he could not make the absorption of internal energy much faster. The slight inefficiency made Zhang Lei feel embarrassed.
"Sir, look, my second ability has also been developed!" Wu Chen was the first to run over to congratulate Zhang Lei. His second ability was wind-based, and the effects were not yet visible, but combined with his first ability, it was definitely a master at releasing poison. The original weakness of not being able to reach too far had also been greatly overcome. No wonder this kid was so proud that he actually ran to Zhang Lei to show off.
From any perspective, this shows that he considered Zhang Lei as one of his own. Zhang Lei patted him on the shoulder, "Not bad, not bad! Hehe!" This was Zhang Lei's limit. Zhang Lei was filled with jealousy. Even if his ability couldn't be directly inherited from the number one ability, it would be good if it had some combat effect. But it turned out to be such a useless ability.
Zhang Lei couldn't figure out how useful this superpower could be. Using it to secretly learn martial arts would only result in grasping the form, and it wouldn't necessarily be much better than a camera. Zhang Lei thought its most useful application might be for passing exams, but unfortunately, he was no longer a student, and it was impossible for him to go back to school just to make this superpower work.
Zhang Lei looked at the framed graduation certificate from a second-rate university on the wall, gave a wry smile, and said, "Let it hang there. It's a memento of a period of time."
"Practice hard! Your second ability is quite good, especially when combined with your first ability. It actually produces a result greater than the sum of its parts. That's very rare, you know? You need to practice a lot. Who knows, you might become a world-class expert in the future!"
Zhang Lei was trying hard to overcome his jealousy. At the moment, Wu Chen was his most reliable subordinate, and Zhang Lei didn't want to kill him because of a momentary emotional outburst. Of course, this also depended on Wu Chen's sensible decision to step down quickly.
Zhang Lei kept his second superpower a secret. Rather than letting people know it was a useless ability, it was better to keep it hidden and keep it a mystery to others.
On this day, Zhang Lei was listening to a report from his pirate crew. Many pirates were afraid of death, but Zhang Lei had managed to recruit some of them as his subordinates. Now, Zhang Lei was one of the largest and most mysterious pirate leaders in the vicinity of Africa.
Furthermore, Zhang Lei took advantage of the significant price reductions in weapons to amass a large quantity of munitions. On the sea, his individual role was no longer so insignificant. Even Zhang Lei himself, when faced with a small boat with only two machine guns, had to first throw Wu Chen aboard to hold it off. Therefore, piracy still held considerable potential; it was just that the methods of robbery needed some adjustments.
Now, let's talk about his pirate fleet. If we were to gather them all together, although the ships were of varying quality, they would still be quite impressive.
"We'll use your method, sir. First, we'll fire cannons to threaten them into stopping their ship. Then, we'll send a helicopter or small boat with a few men to collect their cargo. If they resist, we'll completely sink their ship and give them no second chance. Now that we've made a name for ourselves, robbing them is much easier!" The pirate reported the robbery process in detail to Zhang Lei, who had been quite bored lately.
There are many things he can do, but Zhang Lei is too lazy to do them. And when he's too lazy to do them, he gets bored. That's life, a life that almost everyone goes through.
"However, other pirates saw that our method was effective, so they are also learning to use it. Now there are more pirates, and too many of them will attract the attention of the regular armies of various countries!"
The few who went up were naturally in great danger. Other pirates would not consider their lives if they opened fire, but if they could come back alive, they would naturally get the most spoils. Moreover, now that the rules had been spread, they did not encounter danger very often. Instead, it was a highly sought-after job.
"It's alright. Don't try to eat alone. It's fine to let them share a cup. Just be careful not to get too arrogant. I don't want any country's fleet to come out and wipe out the pirates. I haven't had enough fun yet!" Of course, this was Zhang Lei's requirement for others. When he himself went out, he always couldn't help but eat alone.
“Yes, sir, we…”
Zhang Lei raised his hand to interrupt him, "It's been a long time since anyone came. Someone's come to play with me, but I don't know where they came from!"
"You can go now. Just do things as usual. My share will be transferred to a different card this quarter. You can get the card number from Liu Ning later. Tianxiao is going through a crucial period these days, so don't bother her."
Zhang Lei stood up, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "As for me, I'll go play with them! I'll show them who really owns this forest!"
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Blade for a Teeth - Chapter 95: The Visitor (Part 2)
"Investigate? Investigate my ass! If you ask me, we should just ask directly. Rabbit's abilities are all mental; no one can lie to him!" Fu Ao complained.
"Can't you use your brain? Is it filled with Chinese tofu pudding?" It wasn't just Fu Ao who liked to target Shi Rui; Shi Rui also liked to target him. The two of them were like natural enemies.
Mosquito, their captain, nodded and said, "Shirui is right. Although it doesn't sound very nice, we need to conduct a secret investigation this time. It's best not to be discovered by them before we get the answer. Even if they are discovered, we must not have any evidence that they can confirm. Of course, if the investigation finds that it is true, then that's another story!"
"Damn it, I don't like this, it's too troublesome!" Fu Ao listened to the mosquito's words, as long as he hadn't turned into a mosquito.
On the way, Fu Ao had already taken on one challenge, and the result was that he was still fourth, so he still had to be called Fu Ao.
"What can we do? We'll just do whatever the boss says!" Rabbit was a rather handsome young man of mixed yellow and white descent. He kept his exact bloodline a secret, and no one else knew.
“The higher-ups don’t give us that much money every month for nothing. Besides, how much of the materials you need for training could you find on your own? Isn’t the point to have us carry out these kinds of troublesome missions when needed?” Mosquito waved his hand. “Hurry up and catch up! According to the information, the mine he’s in shouldn’t be far away!”
“Let’s go over the division of labor again. Once we get close, Rabbit and I will be in one group, and Shirui, Fu Ao, and Fu Aiwu will be in another. Today we’re just scouting. It doesn’t matter if we don’t find anything. The most important thing is not to expose ourselves. Do you all understand?” Mosquito’s voice was a little louder.
"Understood!" came five different voices in response.
"Who goes there?" There were only five people in the team, so Mosquito wouldn't answer his own question. The voices that came out were obviously not from their group.
"Who it is, you'll have to guess!" The voice was faint and indistinct, making it impossible to tell how far away it was.
The five people formed a plum blossom shape and moved towards the direction from which the sound came. There was nothing there but trees; perhaps they were hiding inside that large tree that could be embraced by a person.
Mosquito looked at Rabbit, who shook his head. Both of his abilities were mental, and he couldn't sense any mental fluctuations from anyone there.
However, at this point, Rabbit's senses could no longer be completely trusted. Usually, because of Rabbit's special ability, the task of guarding was always Rabbit's responsibility, but this time, being forced into such close range meant that the other party likely had a way to deal with it.
"Ding!" The Japanese longsword in the mosquito's hand was slightly pushed away by his thumb.
Without any apparent effort, he suddenly appeared in front of the tree, as if he had been there for a long time.
Twisting his waist, drawing his sword, turning around—all in one fluid motion—a swaying blade flashed across the tree. Mosquito, clearly a Caucasian, was able to wield his sword technique so skillfully.
The tree was instantly cut in two. Although this is the tropics and the trees are usually not very dense and strong, it is not easy to cut a tree that can be embraced so easily with one stroke.
It's important to understand that with the change in the concentration of vital energy, it's not just humans who benefit. All living things in nature are strengthened without even realizing it. Even inanimate matter will change under much higher concentrations of vital energy, albeit more slowly.
The long sword in Mosquito's hand had stopped, and the swaying tip had stabilized. Only then could it be seen that what he held in his hand was not a sword, but more like a Western-style dagger, only with a Japanese-style scabbard.
Inside the scabbard, the sword undergoes a slight deformation, and the scabbard latch tightens, allowing the mosquito to draw its sword faster. When the mosquito pulls the sword out instantly, it straightens instantly, producing a violent back-and-forth sway, further increasing its unpredictability and power.
The sword in the mosquito's hand was fast, but because of the trembling of the blade, the crack in the tree was not smooth. Before his sword had completely stopped, the tree had already begun to fall.
However, as the tree fell, what gushed out was not bright red blood, but rather a yellowish-brown liquid.
Crops grow well thanks to fertilizer, and trees also need fertilizer to grow well. What's sprayed out here is undoubtedly the best and most natural farmyard manure.