With a crisp "thud," the giant python moved with unimpeded ease, shattering the superhuman's mental energy field as if smashing glass. Then, its long body coiled around the superhuman's body. The superhuman was terrified; the backlash from the mental energy field had just caused his blood to surge and his vision to black out, leaving him unable to dodge. Once the python coiled around him, all his strength instantly dissipated.
Before everyone's eyes, the snake, as thick as a bucket, twisted its body forcefully, and the superhuman's body immediately emitted a chilling sound of bones breaking. To everyone's horror, purplish-black blood gushed from the superhuman's eyes, ears, and mouth, turning him into a blood-soaked figure in the blink of an eye. His head drooped limply, clearly indicating that he had died under the powerful constriction of the giant python.
The giant python, seemingly undeterred, opened its gaping maw, aiming to swallow the superhuman's head whole. Just then, the instructor's light blade arrived, instantly slicing the python in two at its seven-inch mark. The python's head hissed towards the sky, and the two severed pieces instantly transformed into a cloud of black mist, vanishing into thin air. The superhuman's corpse, losing its support, crashed heavily to the ground in front of the crowd, eliciting a chorus of screams of shock and rage.
At the same time, another cold arrow suddenly transformed into a golden bolt of lightning with immense force. The thick arc of electricity slammed into the silver round shield that the superhuman was holding in terror, like a thunderclap. With a deafening boom, the lightning vanished, and the round shield completely disappeared. The superhuman, still holding the round shield, collapsed to the ground, his body charred black, a wisp of smoke rising from his carbonized body.
With a mere flick of his wrist, he killed two experienced superhumans, leaving the instructors and others no time to intervene. A barely perceptible sneer appeared on Oswit's face as he slowly raised his hand and gently blew on it: "Respected Instructor, I have shown you sufficient sincerity. Now, do you have time to tell me my demands?"
Before Fang Taiping could speak, the sallow-faced middle-aged man clenched his fists and strode forward. His eyes were bloodshot, and the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably. These two superhumans were his subordinates, and now they had died tragically before his eyes. As their leader, he couldn't even save them, and his heart was filled with extreme grief and indignation. Without thinking, a silver mental energy field instantly condensed within his body, ready to unleash a powerful attack on Oswit.
Fang Taiping roared, "Chen Wu, what are you doing? Get back to the ranks, that's an order!"
Chen Wu clenched his fist, staring intently at Oswit, the silver light in his hand growing brighter and brighter. His voice, hoarse from the exertion, said, "Instructor, they are my brothers. My brothers are dead. What do you expect me to do?"
Fang Taiping narrowed his eyes: "Chen Wu, they are my brothers too! You are my brother too, but you are the team leader, you must calm down, this is an order!" He suddenly turned his head and shouted at the team leaders: "You guys pull him back and stand in your positions!"
Chen Wu wanted to say something, but several team leaders, including Ye Feng and Xia Lan, rushed forward and forcibly pulled him behind them. Xia Lan gently patted Chen Wu's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Although Chen Wu's face still showed intense grief and indignation, his impulsiveness had greatly diminished, and he nodded slightly. He then began to call upon the ability users in his team.
Fang Taiping glared at Oswit with intense hatred, and said in as calm a tone as possible, "Oswit, you can say whatever you want, but you killed two of our brothers. Even if I, Fang Taiping, and many other brothers were to die here, we would still seek revenge. Even if you escape to the ends of the earth and spend your life hiding in the Tianyan Society, someone from China will personally take your head to appease the spirits of my brothers in heaven."
His words were spoken in a very calm tone, but his tone carried a resolute air of facing death without fear. Even the many powerful officers of the Sky Eye Society couldn't help but feel a slight chill after hearing them.
While Fang Taiping was speaking, several leaders of the superpowered groups began to direct their members. In less than two minutes, despite their large numbers, the group moved through the crowd without any disorder, forming a strange octagonal formation, resembling a bizarre Bagua (Eight Trigrams). Each person released a net-like mental energy field, which intertwined like stars in a game of chess, instantly forming a sea of telekinetic energy.
At this time, Xia Lan had already sent people to carry away the unconscious trainee superhumans, and even the bodies of the two dead superhumans were taken away by several gloomy-faced companions.
Fang Taiping and Zhou Mulong walked a few steps seemingly casually, but they ended up standing right in the center of this strange formation.
As if to coordinate with the formation, the outer defensive barrier displayed a blue light screen for the first time. Dozens of dark blue light pillars, as if pre-programmed, were aimed at the ability users in each position. Above Fang Taiping and Zhou Mulong, who were standing at the center of the formation, were two extremely thick dark blue light pillars with a diameter of five meters. A peculiar and dense aura suddenly emanated from the center of the formation.
Oswit glanced at Fang Taiping without showing any emotion. Having killed countless people in his life, he naturally wouldn't take the threats from two mere instructors to heart. However, seeing the strange formation the group had formed, a hint of surprise flashed in his clear blue eyes. It seemed he hadn't expected the barrier of the Chinese Supernatural Abilities Headquarters to have such an effect.
"Don't be angry, Instructor Fang," Oswit said slowly. "Many people want to kill me, Oswit, but so far, I am still alive and well. If anyone in your department has the ability, I will welcome them. It would be an honor for me to die at the hands of a strong person."
Seeing that everyone had taken their positions, Fang Taiping immediately felt relieved. He glanced at Zhou Mulong. Zhou Mulong understood and secretly gave the group leaders a few headquarters-specific hand gestures behind his back. At the same time, his hands moved nimbly, and his fingertips transformed into a silver light, becoming a three-dimensional light image that flashed behind him and disappeared into the pillar of light above.
“My request is simple. I just need Instructor Fang to give me the key to your department’s SkyNet barrier. I have no interest in seeing the structure and features of your SkyNet, so I only need the key,” Oswit continued, seemingly oblivious to the actions of everyone at headquarters. The officers behind him remained motionless, like stone statues.
Fang Taiping stared calmly at Oswit, his eyes seeming to twitch slightly, before finally saying, "I don't have any keys. I don't know where you heard that Skynet has keys. Skynet is an automatic barrier program; there are no keys at all."
Oswit's eyes suddenly turned cold, and an extremely chilling aura emanated from his body: "Instructor Fang Taiping, your uncooperative attitude infuriates me. I'll say it one more time: hand over the key, and I'll let you go. If you don't, I'll kill everyone here and then use the Soul Searching Technique to extract your memories. Don't delude yourself into thinking your head instructor will return in time. We've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. The combined strength of all of you here is far inferior to ours. Do you really want to fight a losing battle? My suggestion is to give you a choice. Isn't living a better chance than holding out to the death? I'm not insulting you. If I were in your shoes, I would definitely make the right choice."
Fang Taiping's face revealed an even more mocking smile, and his brief reply made Oswit frown: "No."
Oswit sighed softly, seemingly reluctantly, "Kill them all." With that, he quietly stepped back behind the officers.
A dozen incredibly powerful, enormous silver beams suddenly shot out from the hands of the officers who were poised to attack, hurtling towards the formation where everyone was like missiles.
Fang Taiping and Zhou Mulong stood solemnly upright, their spiritual energy fields emanating from their bodies and instantly forming a bright silver ball of light. They shouted in unison, "Zhou Tian Defensive Array, activate!"
Chapter 181 A Surprise Attack
Upon hearing the instructor's command, each superhuman immediately unleashed their full mental energy field without reservation. In an instant, the Zhou Tian defensive array was enveloped in a thick, shimmering silver light, with silver waves rising and falling like the ocean.
Guided by the command, the eerie blue pillar of light above everyone's heads suddenly descended, perfectly enveloping each person. The eerie blue energy halo and silver-white spiritual field intertwined, instantly merging into a light body that alternated between silver and blue. Like a massive, three-dimensional octagonal pillar of light, it shot straight up from the plaza, extending tens of meters into the sky, merging with the highest outer wall of the barrier.
Dozens of superhumans occupied an area of several hundred meters in radius. From a distance, the octagonal pillar of light resembled a colossal pillar reaching to the heavens, connecting the thick gray clouds at the horizon and supporting the heavy earth below. It was like the most awe-inspiring phenomenon in the world.
Each ability user's location is a structural point within this towering pillar of light, and each position plays a role in stabilizing the whole. The integrated power of the Zhou Tian defensive array is not simply the sum of the individual abilities of each ability user, but rather it utilizes a clever array combined with the abilities of each ability user to maximize the use of the barrier's energy. If used properly, it can unleash tremendous power, far exceeding the combined power of numerous ability users.
Fang Taiping focused intently on communicating with the barrier's defensive program through his mind. As the core of the Zhou Tian defensive array, he and Zhou Mulong were responsible for integrating all the power and defending against attacks. They could not be careless in the slightest, otherwise the array would malfunction.
Only the two instructors, a few group leaders, and more than half of the ability users remained in the headquarters. With that little strength, they wouldn't be enough to be swallowed whole. The two instructors could at most handle two lieutenant colonels; the outcome was uncertain. Meanwhile, the remaining officers of the Sky Eye Society, plus the two lowest-ranking captains, could easily wipe out all the group leaders and ability users in a short time, not to mention that Major General Oswit, the strongest member, hadn't even made a move yet.
A direct confrontation is definitely not an option, otherwise everyone would be wiped out here, which would be a heavy blow to the Superpower Headquarters. As for handing over the Skynet key, that's out of the question. Even if they all die here, they can't possibly relinquish control of Skynet. Besides, even the instructors can't possess the most crucial key. Only the head instructor has it.
With all escape routes blocked and no other options available, the only remaining path was to activate the Zhou Tian Defensive Array. This purely defensive array was created by the first chief instructor, Lu Ximing, by modifying the Yin-Yang Zhou Tian Defensive Array, a secret technique passed down in his family. Since the establishment and continuous improvement of the Heavenly Net Barrier, the Zhou Tian Defensive Array had never been used except in exercises. Moreover, with the Heavenly Net in place, the defensive array seemed somewhat redundant. However, Lu Ximing added this layer of protection to the barrier just to be on the safe side. Unexpectedly, fifty years later, someone finally activated the array.
It is said that once the defensive array is activated, it can withstand attacks five times the combined strength of all superhumans. However, even Fang Taiping and Zhou Mulong are unsure of its true defensive capabilities, let alone the young team leaders like Xia Lan and Ye Feng.
While releasing her mental energy field to the fullest, Xia Lan looked nervously at her younger sister, who was inside the same energy pillar. Although the little girl had adjusted her emotions, she was still somewhat dazed. If she were to stand alone, it might affect the integrity of the Zhou Tian defensive array. Therefore, Xia Lan and Xia Lan stood together in one spot. Both girls were slender and delicate, so standing in one pillar of light did not feel crowded.
Xia Lan's mental field is powerful, and Xia Zhen's strength is comparable to that of a private. The two also come from the same family, and their telekinetic powers are perfectly integrated, making their energy beams much thicker than others.
Xia Zhen glanced at Xia Lan, her mind still wondering when Ling Yun would finally break free. But she quickly reminded herself not to be distracted, and tightly held Xia Lan's hand, continuously channeling her mental energy into her delicate body.
With a deafening roar, the combined, all-out attack of the nine officers struck the pillar of light of the Zhou Tian defensive array without reservation. The moment it hit, the octagonal pillar of light was instantly engulfed in a layer of pale white flames, a phenomenon caused by the high temperature generated by the extreme friction of the air. Within a radius of tens of meters around where the force was concentrated, a dark spatial band appeared. This was a vacuum space created by the vaporization of all matter by energy and its forced expulsion, where even light was repelled by the immense force.
Even if Lu Ximing were alive today, he would probably have to temporarily avoid the sharp edge of such power and dare not confront it head-on.
The beam of light was like a telephone pole in a category 12 hurricane, constantly vibrating and shaking even though it was only tens of meters in diameter. The entire earth was churning as if it were an earthquake. The soil several meters deep underground was impacted by the aftershocks, pushing aside the heavy bluestone bricks paving the square and gushing up like a fountain. In just an instant, the surrounding area had become a chaotic construction site, a world of clods of earth and broken bricks.
The silver and dark blue light flashed alternately, and many superhumans turned pale. The combined attack from nearly ten powerful officers was no less than being hit head-on by a heavy iron hammer.
Fang Taiping and Zhou Mulong were both deathly pale. Being in the center of the formation, they were the ones who would withstand the heaviest impact. However, they felt a sense of relief. The Zhou Tian defensive formation was indeed effective; it had actually blocked the attack and even seemed to have some strength left.
Oswit's face darkened. He suddenly realized he had made a foolish mistake of underestimating his enemy. He had assumed that there weren't many superhumans left at the Superhuman Headquarters, with the strongest being only two instructors in charge of back-end control. He thought they could be easily taken down without any effort, so he had even been in the mood to make a joke when he first entered.
Little did anyone know that these two instructors, whose strength was only equivalent to that of a lieutenant colonel or major, could command those pitifully weak superhumans who could only be used as cannon fodder to move around in a few positions, forming a strange square formation. Combined with the barrier, it actually had such a strong defensive force that it could withstand the combined attack of all the officers. It was truly astonishing.
Had he known this would happen, he should have launched an attack immediately, taking out or imprisoning those two instructors first, so they wouldn't have time to activate this strange formation. A moment of regret flashed through Oswit's mind, but without hesitation, he immediately made the decision to launch the next attack.
Before coming, Oswit had some knowledge of China, knowing that this ancient and mysterious Eastern country possessed various incredible secret arts and supernatural powers, especially its dazzling array of strange formations. Combined with certain secret techniques, these formations could produce extraordinary effects. However, Oswit was confident in his strength, and given the weakness of the Supernatural Abilities Headquarters—with several deputy chief instructors and other powerful figures out on the streets—he planned to take advantage of the situation. As for why he only wanted the key to the Skynet control center of the Chinese Supernatural Abilities Headquarters instead of completely destroying the place, even Oswit himself didn't know.
When General Kleist assigned him this task again, he didn't say anything, only instructing him not to mess it up, and that other matters would naturally be handled by others.
Looking back now, I realize I was indeed a bit careless.