The berserker seemed oblivious to the pain; the severe injuries to his hands only fueled his ferocity. Ignoring the tearing pain in his skin, he continued to grip the telekinetic spear, roared, and suddenly charged towards Gu Xiaoru in mid-air. It seemed he intended to use the force of his charge to knock Xiaoru down from the sky.
How could Xiao Rou do as he wished? She thrust her spear forward, and the six barbed tips pierced the berserker's chest without any doubt. Before they even penetrated, she forcefully retracted, and the six barbs opened to their maximum extent. After releasing an electric current to destroy all the berserker's fragile internal organs to the maximum extent, she then deeply pierced the powerfully beating, enormous heart. Finally, she forcefully pulled off all the blood vessels connecting to the ventricles and withdrew it from the body.
The berserker's charging posture froze instantly, as if a giant hand had suddenly descended from the sky and pinned him down. Even in his madness and irrationality, seeing a heart protruding from the opponent's weapon still sent a strange feeling through his entire body. It was just that something was missing; every cell could feel this sensation, except for his own heart.
The berserker couldn't help but look down at his bare chest, then let out a mournful roar. He saw his brother standing behind him through his chest, and there was a bowl-sized, transparent hole in the place where his heart was, clearly running through the front and back.
His eyes widened as he watched in disbelief as the fiery red tassel on the spear held by Xiao Rou, who wore a butterfly mask, suddenly burned his heart to ashes. The berserker couldn't help but tremble as he reached for his chest, trying to patch up the hole in his body. His hand convulsed stiffly for a long time before finally falling backward with a loud crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The berserkers' emotions were ignited once again. Faced with the tragic death of their comrades, what aroused them was not the power of grief and indignation of shared hatred, but the bloodlust stimulated by the bloodshed and slaughter. They surged forward, wanting to grab Gu Xiaorou, who was still floating in the air, tear her to shreds, and then eat her piece by piece.
A berserker leaped into the air, his muscles trembling in waves. Countless vortexes of air appeared before and behind him, rapidly converging into a massive whirlwind that enveloped him. Bathed in the dim, yellowish light, he resembled a silkworm spinning silk to wrap itself, hurtling towards Xiaorou with tremendous force. The edges of the whirlwind gleamed with a metallic sheen, emitting a whooshing sound as it cut through the air. These were wind blades created purely by the force of the wind, their sharpness no less than that of the rhomboid blades of the telekinetic spear.
Several berserkers who were close to him were unable to dodge in time, and even had large chunks of their hair and scalp shaved off by the whirlwind, leaving them covered in blood in an instant.
Xiao Rou stood motionless in mid-air, yet lightly threw a punch at the berserker, as if she were merely swinging her arm casually in the air. However, all the berserkers suddenly felt a darkness before their eyes, as if some enormous creature had suddenly passed by. They involuntarily blinked in unison. But at that moment, Xiao Rou had already withdrawn her fist, as if she had never moved it at all.
Her punches were so gentle that, aside from creating a strange sensation, they didn't even stir up a speck of dust. Yet, her punches were also so powerful that the berserker, accompanied by a whirlwind, felt as if he had been struck head-on by a giant iron hammer while suspended in mid-air. All the whirlwinds vanished in an instant, while the flowing wind blades backfired, piercing deep into his body and instantly cutting him into a bloody mess. Spilled blood fell from the sky, splattering all over the other berserkers.
The thickest and longest jet of blood gushed from his gaping mouth, mixed with shattered internal organs and muscle tissue. Gu Xiaorou's punch in mid-air had completely shattered his internal organs.
A few drops of scalding blood splattered onto Xiaorou's silver battle suit, immediately evaporating into wisps of barely visible blue smoke from the high temperature of her mental field. She suddenly and lightly leaped into the air again, her body never touching anything throughout the entire process.
The berserkers charged forward furiously. Xiao Rou held her silver spear upside down in her left hand, and her incredibly hard silver fist collided head-on with a berserker's fist that was coming at her. Suddenly, the air crackled and popped under the immense pressure, and faint sparks could even be seen flashing by in some places.
The berserker's fist shattered instantly, bones, nerves, and tendons mixed with flesh and blood into a blurry, indistinguishable mass. Then, the silver light continued to push upwards relentlessly until it completely shattered the berserker's arm. Finally, a powerful punch landed on his forehead, which gleamed with a bluish-black sheen.
The berserker's head flew off instantly. Before the headless, gigantic corpse could even fall to the ground, its head collided with the head of another berserker who was rushing forward. Both heads shattered, and large amounts of blood mixed with brain matter splattered everywhere. The berserker whose head had just been blown off was truly formidable; his headless body charged forward several steps, unleashing countless powerful punches in mid-air before slowly collapsing.
Unfortunately, his desperate counterattack struck the wrong target. An unsuspecting berserker became his last victim, turning into a pile of rotten flesh under the force of nearly a thousand punches. The berserker's attack is far stronger than its defense, which is one of the main reasons why they choose to charge forward without hesitation after going berserk.
Two sharp, resounding cracks, like leather being crushed, echoed as two fists struck Xiaorou's mercury-like battle suit with crisp, violent blows. Xiaorou's body trembled involuntarily. The berserker's immense strength was no joke; even with the strongest mental energy field protecting her, she couldn't help but sway before this pure external force. Without the mental energy field, she would likely have been seriously injured immediately.
But Xiao Rou's counterattack came immediately. With her left hand, she held the spear upside down and plunged it deep into the chest of a berserker. With her right hand, countless silver threads suddenly shot out from her palm and pierced through the body of the berserker who had just attacked her. With just a gentle pull, the berserker didn't even have time to scream. His burly body suddenly became shriveled up, as if some invisible monster had suddenly devoured all his life essence.
The moment the heart was pulled from the berserker's chest, before the spear could even be retracted, it transformed into a silver light, and suddenly, a perfectly round, bright red ring of fire appeared. The nearly thousand-degree heat instantly turned the several berserkers who rushed up into thick torches.
With a tap on the head of a berserker already engulfed in flames, Xiao Rou used the momentum to leap up again. Her streamlined psychic armor suddenly sprouted countless sharp spikes and blades, making her look like a formidable humanoid weapon. While in mid-air, she suddenly swooped down, swiftly tracing an arc of silver afterimage through the air, refracting among the numerous berserkers.
The berserkers were originally no less agile and swift than the superhumans, but the confined space restricted their movements. They were not as agile as the relatively petite Gu Xiaorou. Caught off guard, the sharp spikes and blades passed by quickly and deeply grazed their bare upper bodies.
The telekinetic spear pierced a berserker's chest for the third time, but this time, Xiao Rou didn't pull the spear out. Instead, she carried the struggling berserker forward until, with a thud, she pinned him hard against the earthen wall of the underground bar.
Xiao Rou gently turned her head and looked at the dozen or so berserkers who looked like wooden or stone sculptures. Suddenly, half of her exquisite silver butterfly mask opened, revealing a pair of breathtakingly beautiful eyes that silently watched them.
A moment later, the berserkers fell one after another, but they did not fall as a whole body. Instead, they suddenly broke into several pieces, with limbs and severed hands scattered all over the ground.
Xiao Rou suddenly raised her head, her eyes looking towards the exit of the barrier, where an invisible ripple was spreading, indicating that someone was about to walk in from outside the barrier.
Chapter 237 Resignation
Behind him came Yang Ling's eerie, sinister laughter, like a chilling demon from hell, its claws tearing cruelly at Matsumoto Tomoki's chest, ripping apart his still-beating heart.
No, this can't be right! Matsumoto Tomoki desperately clung to his last shred of consciousness, struggling to unleash a powerful roar within his heart. How could he have suddenly lost his superpowers? And who gave Yang Ling the audacity and the noose to dare kill him in the conference room in front of so many shareholders? Unless he's gone mad, and the fact that everyone present showed no sign of panic, instead watching calmly and indifferently, was utterly insane. The whole world had gone mad.
………………
In everyone's eyes, when Ling Yun finished asking Matsumoto Tomoki to leave, Matsumoto Tomoki's expression changed drastically. His eyes suddenly became fixed, his expression turning incredibly strange, as if he had witnessed the most bizarre thing in the world. He displayed an extremely eerie yet intense expression, and then, with trembling steps, he walked towards the meeting room door. Each step seemed to consume immense strength, his movements incredibly labored. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans dripped from his forehead, and his face became dark and contorted; in just a few seconds, he appeared to have aged more than ten years.
Everyone stared at him blankly, each feeling astonished. They all wondered if the Yang Group had stopped cooperating with the Matsumoto Group, it shouldn't have been dealt such a blow. Did the Matsumoto Group have to collapse without the Yang Group as a client? Otherwise, how could the once shrewd and capable person in charge suddenly become so despondent, looking like it was the end of the world?
Yang Ling stared blankly at Matsumoto Tomoki walking slowly, instinctively feeling a strong sense of panic. Even though what Ling Yun had shown shattered all his schemes and plots, Yang Ling still felt resentful. His greatest reliance was not on himself, but on this Japanese man with special abilities. Even if he became a controlled puppet head of the Yang family, Yang Ling was unwilling to see Yuqi take over the Yang Group and keep him away from the edge of power. Of course, more importantly, if that happened, he would lose his usefulness, and it was uncertain how the Japanese would deal with him.
If worldly means fail, then one must consider the inhuman power of the Japanese. At most, they could use mind control; surely that would make the little girl and her boyfriend obedient? Moreover, he could remain the behind-the-scenes power holder, without stepping into the limelight or drawing attention. But judging from Matsumoto Tomoki's current state, something was clearly amiss. Yang Ling, however, had no idea what the problem was, and his anxiety was burning. He desperately wanted to stop Matsumoto Tomoki and ask what was going on, but he hesitated, and could only watch helplessly as Matsumoto Tomoki walked out of the conference room.
Ling Yun coldly watched Matsumoto Tomoki's retreating figure. Although there hadn't been any formal communication, the Japanese's intentions were clear: to control the Yang Group by supporting Yang Ling, turning it into a puppet in their hands. Their purpose was self-evident—to gain greater benefits in China or perhaps have other ulterior motives. Moreover, the Japanese were backed by the forces of the indigenous Wu tribe. When did ninjas start colluding with the descendants of Lao Hei? These were completely unrelated organizations, or… was there a third-party organization behind the Japanese, brewing an even larger conspiracy? Ling Yun pondered deeply.
The instant Matsumoto Tomoki mentally controlled him, Ling Yun launched a counterattack. This counterattack stemmed from his unparalleled mastery of ninja manipulation techniques. After long-term optimization through the replication of his supernatural abilities, Ling Yun's understanding and mastery of manipulation techniques had reached a completely new level. As his power grew stronger, the casting of manipulation techniques became increasingly silent. Unlike Lin Nami, who needed to set up a manipulation barrier beforehand for the techniques to take effect, Ling Yun could now cast manipulation techniques completely silently. Unlike other attacks that had a warning gesture, this resembled witchcraft—silent and invisible, making it difficult to defend against.
If Matsumoto Tomoki had left the meeting room without looking back, he would have truly been strangled to death by Yang Ling's rope within the illusion. The terrifying aspect of illusion magic lies in this: it creates a virtual illusion entirely based on the victim's inherent weaknesses, then forces the victim to kill themselves. With skillful illusion magic, even a private could potentially assassinate a lieutenant-level expert. This is the fundamental reason why Matsumoto Rie, despite her weak mental field, could trap Ling Yun with her lustful illusion magic. Unfortunately, Ling Yun's illusion magic was superior to hers, thus breaking through her spell. This again raises the issue of skill versus power in two similar supernatural arts.
Matsumoto Tomoki is actually the strongest ninja after the elders of various clans. His strength is no less than Ling Yun's. He is the highest-ranking ninja among those who came to China. If he were to have a formal duel with Ling Yun, it would be uncertain who would win based on strength alone. However, Matsumoto Tomoki was too careless in the conference room. Under the cover of the Eye of Illusion, he never thought that Ling Yun was a superhuman. This information asymmetry caused him to suffer a great loss at the beginning of the contest.
Ling Yun directly imbued the straight line formed by his mental control with a powerful illusion technique, which was then silently transmitted back. Caught off guard, Matsumoto Tomoki was immediately plunged into an illusion.
One step, two steps, three steps, Matsumoto Tomoki's footsteps had reached the door of the conference room. He reached out his trembling hand, ready to pull the bronze doorknob. Once he pulled it open and stepped out, there would be a bottomless hell outside.
All eyes were on him. Apart from Ling Yun, no one could understand what Matsumoto Tomoki was doing. A sense of absurdity suddenly arose in everyone's mind. Did this Japanese man have a mental illness? That would be a real joke.
Ling Yun suddenly sighed softly. His Eye of Illusion had already seen through Matsumoto Tomoki's performance in the illusion. It seemed that a single surprise illusion technique was not enough to completely trap this Japanese ninja. If it were a deserted wilderness or a barrier, Ling Yun could follow up with an attack and kill Matsumoto Tomoki. But now, under the watchful eyes of everyone, how could he expose his special ability?
Sure enough, Matsumoto Tomoki's hand suddenly fell down, his body jolted violently, as if he had just woken up from a dream, the ashen and dejected look on his face disappeared, and his complexion returned to normal.
He turned around abruptly, looking at Ling Yun with resentment, and said, word by word, "Your methods are indeed impressive. I suppose you were behind the hospital incident as well? So the Yang family has already found accomplices. Mr. Ling Yun, I believe we will meet again."
Ling Yun smiled nonchalantly: "I've been looking forward to it, Mr. Matsumoto. Please take care, and don't bother seeing me out!"
Matsumoto Tomoki, his face ashen, strode out of the conference room. This was the first time in his life he had suffered such a loss. If he hadn't also been a ninja skilled in illusion techniques, he would likely have died at Ling Yun's hands. Although furious, Matsumoto couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. This young man was too strange; not only was he completely unpredictable beforehand, but his illusion techniques were also incredibly advanced, even surpassing his own abilities. Why had he never seen this unfamiliar young man before? Did the Yang family also have a powerful psychic as a backer?
As Matsumoto Tomoki walked away, lost in thought, he suddenly seemed to remember something, his body jolted again, and he froze in his tracks, slowly turning back to look at the conference room door that had already closed automatically!
"Deceptive arts!" The two words formed a huge question mark in his mind. Deceptive arts themselves were nothing, but the problem was, how could Ling Yun possess deceptive arts? And with such powerful strength? Could it be... could it be... Matsumoto Tomoki's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and his vest was soaked with sweat. He dared not think any further and hurriedly left.
The meeting room remained silent. Everyone felt a strange unease. Fortunately, the Japanese man who seemed to have a mental illness left; otherwise, his eerie expression would have given them the creeps.
Even though Yang Wei was still confused, he had already figured out what was going on. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and said coldly, "Fourth brother, what's going on here? This mentally unstable Japanese man you hired is the head of the Matsumoto Group? Look at him, does he look like a CEO of a wealthy company?"
Yang Ling was at a loss for words, unable to explain himself. He couldn't understand why Matsumoto Tomoki had suddenly become so strange, making a fool of himself in front of everyone and losing face in the process. All his advantages had vanished, and even his powerful backer was now being treated like a lunatic. With a mournful face, he said, "Brother, I don't know what happened... Mr. Matsumoto is indeed the president of the Matsumoto Group, I swear to God, but today he might... might... might not be in the right state of mind." Although he wanted to defend Matsumoto Tomoki, his explanation was too weak. A simple "not in the right state of mind" was not enough to dismiss everyone; these weren't children.