In fact, Zhou Ziwei did cheat. He didn't actually use any amazing technology to force a call through a broken signal. Instead, he had secretly created an independent soul within the phone that was playing pinball beforehand.
After acquiring an independent soul, the phone that made the pinball ball became something like an intelligent robot. Naturally, it could then control the phone at will, according to Zhou Ziwei's requirements.
In fact, from beginning to end, until Zhou Ziwei hung up the phone, the phone never truly stopped communicating with Zhou Ziwei.
Although Pinball pressed the red button to end the call on the phone, and the phone screen displayed the message that the call had ended, the signal connection was never terminated.
However... all of this is fake. In reality, from the moment an independent soul was generated inside the phone, the pinball had already basically lost its ability to control the phone.
All the phone buttons became mere decorations. When the chubby hand of the pinball pressed them, the phone screen would flash a corresponding change, but... that change was only displayed on the screen for a moment. Whether the phone actually acted according to the instructions input by the pinball was completely out of the unfortunate pinball's control, and was entirely up to Zhou Ziwei.
Even after the cannonball pressed the power button on the phone, the screen did indeed go completely black, as if it had really been turned off.
However, all of this is just a superficial phenomenon. The screen turning black does not mean that the phone has completely stopped working. In fact, the signal connection has not ended.
At this point, Pinball used his powerful hacking skills to infiltrate the mobile network operator's network to check the backend records, only to find that his phone was still in a call state.
As expected, Danqiu kept his word and respectfully addressed Zhou Ziwei as "boss." Although it was unclear whether he was truly convinced, he at least outwardly displayed the demeanor expected of a subordinate. This kind of attitude was something that even Danqiu, a member of the Dragon Group, had never shown before.
While these people were making a noisy bet, she simply sat in her wheelchair and watched quietly, neither joining in nor trying to stop them. She simply continued to wipe her pair of silver-white pistols with a snow-white cloth, just as usual.
The cell phone was silver-white, and so were the pistol bullets. Each of these bullets was specially made for her by the country's military factory. Each bullet had a function far exceeding that of ordinary bullets. Although these bullets looked exactly the same, they actually had extremely subtle differences. In the process of use, these subtle differences could completely exert different powers.
Spider was also not involved in the betting incident. She looked just like a real spider, with a dark face and some pockmarks, making her look very ugly. If observed up close, she would be enough to scare a normal man into having nightmares.
Spider's ugly face always made her ostracized by her companions, even blind children. This was something Spider herself found unbelievable. She couldn't understand why blind children, who couldn't see, seemed to dislike her appearance and didn't want to get close to her. Could a person's ears really be so powerful that they could replace eyes, and even distinguish between a person's beauty and ugliness?
In the entire team, perhaps only the team leader, Bullet, did not show any disgust towards Spider. Perhaps it was because Bullet was the team leader, and even if she also disliked Spider, she could not show it, otherwise she would not be a qualified team leader.
But no matter what... this was the only person Spider could get close to, so naturally... she became a confidante of the equally taciturn Bullet, following him around like a shadow every day, pushing his wheelchair, and watching him clean his pistol and bullets.
Spider could tell that Bullet really liked the weapons in her hands. It was clear from her subtle movements that Bullet treated these weapons like her own children or her own lovers, with such tenderness and affection that Spider even felt a pang of jealousy.
Spider doesn't know if everyone has this fetishistic love for their best weapon, but at least it seems that cannons and pinballs are like that too.
Cannon Barrel is a weapon assembly expert, a very strange profession. Weapon assembly... is the skill of taking different weapon parts apart and piecing them together to create a new, oddly shaped weapon that is at least more powerful than the original.
As a weapons combination expert, the number of weapons that Pao Tong comes into contact with is beyond what others can imagine, from a small pistol or a grenade to large aircraft, cannons, and even nuclear bombs... In short, as long as it is a weapon, then all of these things are within Pao Tong's research scope.
This guy looks like a big, clumsy guy, but his quick wit is actually second to none in the group. If he didn't have such an extremely flexible mind, how could he possibly be able to put together those seemingly unrelated weapon parts?
Because he handles the most weapons, he is also the busiest person in the group, responsible for the daily maintenance of all the team's weapons and equipment.
He cherishes any weapon he comes into contact with like a child, handling it with such care that it seems as if the object he holds is not made of steel, but rather of clay.
While Pinball doesn't usually like using weapons and even hates touching things that can be used to kill, for this world-class hacker, his laptop is his weapon.
Pinball's affection for his computer reached an obsessive level; he practically cuddled it with him every night to sleep.
Once, while Pinball went to the bathroom, Cannon went to play a game on Pinball's laptop for a while. When Pinball came back and saw this, Cannon went like a madman who had lost his mind. He grabbed a fruit knife and chased Cannon up and down the stairs for more than half an hour until he was too tired to run anymore and finally sat down on the ground.
If the computer is the weapon for Pinball, then the spider is also the weapon for Spider.
Spider kept countless poisonous spiders of all sizes and species. However, unlike her teammates, Spider disliked her weapons. Even she felt disgusted by the ugly appearance of those spiders. If it weren't for these hateful spiders, she might not have become such a monstrous creature. So... she not only disliked her weapons, but also hated them intensely. Every time she went on a mission and someone else's weapon was damaged, she would feel so distressed that she wished she could destroy it along with her own.
The spider, however, is happier the more spiders she loses.
On the contrary, she would be saddened by it.
Seeing Zhou Ziwei walk in from outside, Spider suddenly felt a mischievous urge, because she saw Zhou Ziwei's rosy face and his incredibly good skin, which was like a piece of exquisite porcelain specially crafted by a master potter in Jingdezhen, so smooth and delicate that it made people envious.
Others might be one thing, but Spider truly felt a deep hatred whenever she saw Zhou Ziwei's face. She felt hatred for heaven and earth, hatred for everyone who was prettier or had better skin than her...
Although Zhou Ziwei is a man... oh... or rather, Zhou Ziwei is a little boy, after experiencing that transformation underground, his skin is as smooth and delicate as that of a newborn baby.
Therefore, although Zhou Ziwei's appearance hasn't changed much, his features are still the same as before, only the proportions have shrunk a bit and his skin is better, even if Liu Xiaofei, Wang Xuewei, and the others came and saw him, they would definitely not recognize him as their husband.
The spider had seen many handsome men and cute little boys, but she had never seen anyone with skin as good as Zhou Ziwei's. This made her even more uneasy. So... she quietly reached out and flicked her wrist. A jet-black spider, no bigger than a grain of rice, shot out with a "whoosh" and landed softly on Zhou Ziwei's delicate arm with a "thud." And then...
"Snap—" The black spider, which was about to bite down, touched Zhou Ziwei's clothes. It was as if it had been electrocuted. Its body convulsed for a moment, and then it stiffened and fell off Zhou Ziwei's body. By the time it hit the ground, the highly venomous black spider, which could cause strong corrosion to the human body, had become a specimen.
Zhou Ziwei, like a lion that had been provoked, suddenly turned his head to look at the spider, and then his brows furrowed slightly.
For some reason, when Spider was lightly swept by Zhou Ziwei's gaze, she suddenly felt as if a bright, gleaming knife was held to her neck, giving her an instant sense of fear that her neck was about to be cut off.
Although Spider clearly saw that Zhou Ziwei had no weapon in his hands, and Zhou Ziwei's thin little body looked like he could be easily knocked down by anyone here with a single punch, for some reason, Spider felt a genuine sense of fear, as if he were not facing a five or six-year-old boy, but rather a ferocious and ruthless king of the jungle.
Cold sweat began to trickle down the spider's forehead, down her pockmarked face, and then gently dripped onto the floor, corroding the solid wood floorboards into tiny teardrop-shaped holes.
The immense pressure, seemingly coming from nowhere, was suffocating the spider. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, and her clear black and white eyes revealed a fear as if she were seeing a ghost.
Just as Zhou Ziwei looked over, Bullet, who was constantly wiping his pistol, also stiffened slightly. However, this stiffness only lasted for about two or three seconds before Bullet resumed its normal movements and began wiping the silver pistol in its hand again as if nothing had happened.
Only when the gun was completely clean, free of even a speck of dust or dirt, did the bullet put down the white cloth in his hand, push the magazine back into the chamber, pull the safety off the gun, and suddenly raise his hand to fire a shot into the air.
With a sharp "bang," the silver bullet shot out of the barrel and instantly disintegrated in mid-air, transforming into a powerful gust of air that swept across the air in front of it, like a giant guan dao (a type of Chinese halberd), slashing heavily upwards before crashing into the four-meter-high ceiling with a loud "boom," shattering a large section of the plasterboard.
As the bullet passed through, the spider, which had been seemingly held tightly by an invisible hand and unable to move, shuddered and collapsed onto the floor. It then slumped down, completely exhausted.
"Is this marksmanship?" Zhou Ziwei never imagined that someone could break through his wind energy binding force with a single bullet. Bullets... so that's how they can be used.
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 496: Dragon Five
Zhou Ziwei was considered a skilled gun user. He hadn't intentionally studied any gun techniques, but many of the souls he absorbed had been assassins, mercenaries, or professional soldiers in their previous lives. The gun-using experience of so many skilled gun users was combined by Zhou Ziwei to form his unique gun skills.
However, no matter how skilled Zhou Ziwei was at marksmanship, he could only use it to shoot objects with a solid shape; he had never heard of a pistol bullet being able to disperse a gust of wind.
This woman is quite extraordinary... to be able to handle guns to this level is truly eye-opening for Zhou Ziwei.
No wonder this woman nicknamed "Bullet" was able to become the leader of the Dragon Group despite being crippled in both legs; it turns out she really does have some real talent...
"Fighting among team members is strictly prohibited, and violators will be severely punished!" Zidan was a proud woman, and proud women naturally tend to be sparing with their words. So after saying these words to Zhou Ziwei, she shut her mouth.
"Oh... Our Dragon Group has such a rule, that's great... I was worried that as a newcomer, I would be bullied if I joined the group... Since there is such a rule, then group leader, please punish the spider severely! She just released such a poisonous spider to try to harm me. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would probably have died from the poison."
As Zhou Ziwei spoke, he bent down and picked up the small, black spider that he had just knocked to the ground. He glared at the spider angrily and said, "I didn't know her at all before today, and I don't know what I did to offend her. She just inexplicably threw poisonous insects at me to ambush me... I think this behavior is more serious than a fight between team members, right? Team leader, how are you going to punish her severely?"
Upon hearing this, Zidan was slightly taken aback. She had only intended to give Zhou Ziwei a hint, telling him not to bully the veteran members of the Dragon Group. However, she did not expect that Zhou Ziwei would seize on this remark and force her to severely punish Spider.
To be honest, Bullet wasn't really fond of this kid who had been inexplicably sent to the Dragon Group. He knew that this kid would only be in the Dragon Group for a few days, accompanying them on a mission abroad. After the mission was over, this little brat would automatically leave the Dragon Group.
It was precisely for this reason that from the very beginning, Bullet never truly regarded Zhou Ziwei as a member of the Dragon Group, nor as one of their own, and naturally, it was not Bullet's place to protect Zhou Ziwei's interests.
This kind of thing seemed perfectly natural and second nature to Zidan, so when the spider launched the black spider to try and kill Zhou Ziwei, Zidan frowned slightly, thinking that if the spider really poisoned Zhou Ziwei to death, it would be a big problem.
However, when she realized that the black spider wasn't the kind of highly venomous spider that could kill a person with just a drop of venom, and that Zhou Ziwei wouldn't die even if he were bitten, she automatically ignored the matter, as if she hadn't seen it at all.
In fact, Bullet also felt that this new kid was not only the youngest, but also had the biggest temper. He was so arrogant that he didn't know any limits. He even dared to say some disrespectful things to the old leader. He was really a little brat who didn't know the immensity of the sky and the earth. It would be good if he was taught a good lesson after entering the Dragon Group.
However, now that Zhou Ziwei was questioning her with such words, Bullet was speechless. She couldn't very well say that she had never considered him a member of the Dragon Group, could she? Moreover, through the strange and mysterious methods Zhou Ziwei used to pressure Spider, Bullet had already realized that Zhou Ziwei was not just an ordinary member with only X-ray vision; his combat power was also quite terrifying. Bullet dared not be negligent towards such a Dragon Group member, even if he was only a temporary one.
However, if Zidan were to punish Spider because of Zhou Ziwei's words, Zidan naturally wouldn't want to. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke, "I'm sorry... The spider she released to attack you was poisonous, but not fatal, so... she probably just wanted to play a joke on you and didn't really mean to hurt you. Please forgive me. Of course... I was fully aware when she released that spider, but I didn't stop her. So... I'm the one most responsible for this. I didn't genuinely accept you from the beginning and didn't treat you as a member of the Dragon Group. I formally apologize to you here. Oh... of course... an apology only represents my attitude and doesn't have any real meaning. If you're still dissatisfied, you can make your requests or conditions to me, and I will try my best to meet them."
Hearing Zidan's sincere words, the murderous intent and resentment that had been rising in Zhou Ziwei's heart vanished instantly.
Zidan didn't consider him a member of the Dragon Group. Zhou Ziwei had already figured this out even without Zidan saying it. And it was clear that Zidan wasn't the only one who thought this way; the others also had this idea to varying degrees.
It's normal for existing members of any group or organization to feel a sense of exclusion towards newcomers. Zhou Ziwei hadn't planned to stay in the Dragon Group for long anyway, so he wouldn't care too much about other people's attitudes, much less go back to complain to the old leader like a wronged wife.
However, the spider suddenly released its poisonous spider attack at him, which enraged Zhou Ziwei.
When Zidan told him that although the poisonous spider was venomous, it wouldn't kill anyone, Zhou Ziwei's anger subsided by half. Then, seeing Zidan take all the blame upon herself and willing to accept Zhou Ziwei's punishment, Zhou Ziwei no longer felt the urge to vent.
It seems this female team leader is not only very capable, but also very responsible... When something went wrong, she didn't push all the responsibility onto others, but took full responsibility herself... Nowadays, such responsible leaders are long extinct in society, and to meet one here naturally makes Zhou Ziwei quite admire her. Even though Zhou Ziwei still has some anger towards that Spider Woman, out of respect for this team leader, Zhou Ziwei is too embarrassed to go too far.
"Forget it...forget it..." Zhou Ziwei could only wave his hand helplessly and say, "Let's just let this matter go for now! But I have to make it clear beforehand, this is the last time...if anyone attacks me again...I won't care if they're joking or not, don't blame me for killing them on the spot—"
Zhou Ziwei's last words were delivered with a resounding force, carrying a chilling murderous aura that instantly penetrated everyone's hearts, like an invisible sword that sent shivers down their spines without them even realizing it...
"Um... this... short guy... isn't what you're saying... a bit too arrogant?"
At this moment, a thin man, probably only about twenty years old, slowly walked out from the crowd. He stopped about 1.5 meters away from Zhou Ziwei, his face as cold as ice, and said, "I'm not here to fight you privately, nor am I here to ambush you. I am a recognized expert in combat within the Dragon Group, and I want to spar with you on martial arts techniques. I don't have a name... because in the Dragon Group, I'm ranked fifth in terms of age, so... everyone calls me Dragon Five!"
"Pfft—" Hearing this guy say such awesome words... Zhou Ziwei almost reflexively fell to the ground.
Long Wu... that's the name of a movie character Zhou Ziwei greatly admired in his previous life... I never expected... this guy who's practically skin and bones would dare to use such a name, he really doesn't know his own limitations...
"Hmm...you mean...you want to spar with me?"
Zhou Ziwei looked Long Wu up and down a few times, his eyes filled with a chilling intent and a powerful sense of oppression. Just that one glance made Long Wu feel uneasy all over.
"Yes... if you're a man, then don't back down!" Long Wu was not intimidated by Zhou Ziwei's gaze; instead, his fighting spirit soared even higher. It seemed that if Zhou Ziwei didn't spar with him today, he wouldn't consider it over.
Zhou Ziwei scrutinized Long Wu with considerable interest until Long Wu felt uneasy under his strange gaze, even wondering if Zhou Ziwei had developed some kind of peculiar fondness for him. Only then did Zhou Ziwei nod slightly, turn to Zidan, and ask, "Respected team leader, a direct challenge like Long Wu's shouldn't be considered a private duel among team members, right? Um... if I accept the challenge, will I be violating any team rules?"
Bullet frowned slightly and said, "If one member of the group challenges another in public, it's considered normal teamwork training and won't violate any rules. Of course... you can choose to accept or not. If you don't want to accept the challenge, no one will force you."
"Oh...Is that so..." Zhou Ziwei chuckled and scratched his head, saying, "But if it's just a dry fight, it doesn't seem very interesting. I wonder...when I agree to his challenge, could I add a little something extra...hehe...like just now, I won't bet anything else. If he loses to me, he has to call me 'Big Brother'...or 'Boss' when he sees me in the future. On the contrary, if I lose, then Brother Long Wu, you'll be my boss from now on. Hehe...How about it, Long Wu, are you brave enough to bet?"
"What... you want me to call you, this little brat, 'boss'?" Upon hearing this, Long Wu's eyes widened immediately, as if Zhou Ziwei's words had greatly insulted him, and he wished he could immediately slap this ignorant brat who dared to offend him to death.
Zhou Ziwei was naturally not intimidated by Long Wu's fierce appearance. He simply snorted, rolled his eyes, and said, "If you can't even beat a little kid like me, then what's wrong with calling me boss? If you can defeat me, then you'll be the boss. Of course... if you think you're bound to lose... then don't gamble!"
"Haha... I think you're crazy, little brat. How could I, Long Wu, lose to a little brat like you... Haha..." Long Wu seemed to have heard the most ridiculous joke in the world, laughing so hard that his bones were cracking and popping.
"Alright! Since you want to gamble, then I, Long Wu, will gamble with you. If you can really beat me, then what's wrong with me, Long Wu, acknowledging you as my boss from now on?"
"Very good... then... let's begin!"
Seeing that Long Wu had agreed, Zhou Ziwei didn't want to waste any more time. He immediately stepped back a few feet and stood in the open space in the middle of the small conference room, waiting for Long Wu to come over.
"Here? Isn't this a bit too cramped?" Long Wu looked around in confusion. Although the space here was more spacious than a typical house, it was still an indoor space, and not the kind used for sports. Fighting here would probably be too cramped!
“That’s right… right here!” Zhou Ziwei sneered and said, “As a special forces soldier, you naturally have to get used to any kind of combat environment. You have to know that the enemy will not give you a chance to choose the battlefield in advance.”
"Fine, here it is!" Long Wu glared at Zhou Ziwei with fierce eyes and said, "Want to teach me a lesson? You'd better beat me first!"
After saying this, Long Wu suddenly leaped into the air, his legs slightly bent. While still in mid-air, he exhaled and launched a powerful punch, which turned out to be the Arrow Fist from Wing Chun.
The onlookers had never personally experienced the pressure brought by Zhou Ziwei's aura, so most of them still regarded Zhou Ziwei as just a child with a kind of X-ray vision ability.
At this moment, seeing that Long Wu, as a fighting expert in the Dragon Group, not only took the initiative to challenge Zhou Ziwei, but also seemed to be going all out against such a five or six-year-old child, he seized the initiative and launched a full-scale attack.
That's just a child... a preschooler. It's already wrong for a kung fu master like Long Wu to fight a child, let alone try to take the initiative. That's even more outrageous. Where is the demeanor of a master? Looking at Long Wu's fierce punch, everyone shook their heads inwardly, even worrying that Zhou Ziwei might be smashed into a pile of minced meat by Long Wu's punch.
However, just as a few soft-hearted people were about to cry out in alarm, they saw the little boy standing there, who was not even as tall as Long Wu's thigh, suddenly shout in a deep voice, "Well done!" Then, instead of retreating, he advanced, taking a step forward to meet Long Wu's crazy punch coming down from above. He then put one hand on his waist, stretched out his left hand, and gently waved it in front of him, drawing a circle in the air, just like a fish swimming in water, stirring up ripples.
The air trembled slightly with Zhou Ziwei's hand, instantly transforming from invisible to tangible, exerting a mysterious influence on the surrounding space.
With a whooshing sound, Long Wu's unstoppable punch crashed down from mid-air. As soon as it landed within the area created by Zhou Ziwei's hand, he was instantly pulled into the whirlpool like a large fish caught in a whirlpool. Although he tried to struggle, the powerful suction of the whirlpool was far beyond his ability to resist. Before he could react, his entire body was involuntarily sucked into the whirlpool...
"Hey—" Long Wu didn't know why such a terrifying vortex suddenly appeared in the air for no reason. Although he saw that Zhou Ziwei seemed to have drawn a circle in the air, no matter how rich his imagination was, he could hardly imagine how a five or six-year-old child could draw such a powerful and awe-inspiring aura by casually drawing a circle in the air.
With a roar, Long Wu landed firmly on the ground as if rooted to the spot. Then, all his strength suddenly shifted from his right fist to his left hand. In a flash, he unleashed a whip-like sweeping motion, the force of which was completely opposite to his previous punch. It struck the invisible void in front of him with tremendous force, actually hitting his own right hand instead.