Su Hao did not infuse any blood qi into the blade. Relying purely on his physical strength, he aimed at the shell armor on Yashan's arm and stabbed down.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out.
The short blade failed to pierce even the slightest bit deeper. It only left behind a faint white mark.
"So hard!"
Su Hao was clearly surprised. The toughness of the shell armor was beyond his expectations.
Although he had not infused the blade with blood qi, his strength was already immense after years of training and accumulating blood qi.
Earlier, when his short blade had been covered in various rune effects, it had pierced through that [Rampager]'s shell armor with ease. At the time, he had barely felt any resistance, so he had assumed the armor was not that tough.
He had not expected it to actually be this strong.
Seeing the surprise on Su Hao's face, Yashan immediately grinned with pride.
Su Hao played with the short blade in his hand for a moment. Then he poured blood qi into it and stabbed again.
Pfft!
The shell armor was pierced instantly.
The short blade sank in for a short distance before hitting bone and getting stuck.
"Aow—!"
Yashan let out a miserable scream, his face twisting in pain.
"B-Boss Wei! Be gentle! Gentle! My arm's gonna break! It's gonna break!"
Su Hao pulled out the short blade. The small bottle beneath it filled up in an instant.
He nodded and praised, "This shell armor's defense is actually pretty good."
Yashan: "…"
Suddenly, Yashan's eyes widened.
He stared at the wound on his arm and muttered, "It feels like… this wound can heal."
Su Hao looked at him in confusion.
Yashan did not say anything. He seemed to be trying hard to control something.
Very soon, the wound on his arm visibly began to close. After the bleeding stopped, the shell armor grew back over it, covering the injury completely.
He and Su Hao looked at each other.
Yashan murmured, "Boss Wei… I think I might really be invincible."
Su Hao said nothing.
He jumped up and punched Yashan flying.
Bang!
Yashan immediately snapped back to his senses.
"As expected, being invincible is impossible!"
…
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Temple Forest City became increasingly chaotic.
At some point, the city nights had stopped being quiet. Every now and then, loud explosions would echo through the darkness, followed by the sound of buildings collapsing. Broken wood and shattered stones often flew through the air and crashed into Su Hao's courtyard.
Fortunately, Su Hao's small courtyard had never been dragged into the fighting. It remained completely intact.
But no one knew how long that would last.
During this half-year, even Yashan, a [Rampager], had suffered serious injuries multiple times. He was no longer as reckless and fearless as before. He had started becoming cautious and timid.
One night, Yashan came to find Su Hao and directly handed him two small bottles.
"Boss Wei, this is the blood of a [Silk Weaver]. And this one is the blood of a Level Two mutant from the [Lightfoot] sequence, a [Wanderer]. I risked my life to get these."
Su Hao accepted them with a smile and put them away.
He happened to be missing the [Wanderer] gene. As for the [Lightfoot] gene, he already had it, but he could still collect another sample and use it for comparison.
Even if the genes were the same, the traits they expressed might not be identical. After all, genes generally expressed themselves selectively.
Su Hao asked, "What's the situation in the city right now?"
Yashan said, "The news has spread recently. Apparently, two mutant gangs, the Divine Light Society and the Heavenly Gate Society, have started fighting. Tsk, tsk. It's brutal."
"They started fighting?"
Yashan nodded and said exaggeratedly, "Apparently, the identities of members from both gangs were exposed. At first, neither side knew the other had already learned their identities, so they started hunting each other down in secret.
"Later, both sides lost someone important. I heard they were the children of the two gang leaders. After that, both sides completely tore off all pretenses and started an all-out brawl."
Su Hao nodded, understanding the situation.
Yashan continued telling him everything he knew.
"The whole city is a mess now. It's no longer just those two gangs fighting each other. Other gangs have also jumped in to fish in troubled waters. They're hunting and capturing mutants in large numbers, and the area affected is getting wider and wider.
"Now, even during the day, everyone is walking around carefully. They're afraid some shameless bastard will suddenly stab them in the back. After all, nobody knows if their identity has already been exposed."
After saying that, he sighed.
"This world is getting harder and harder to survive in. The old days were better!"
Su Hao smiled.
"When was it ever easy to survive? If you're strong, anywhere is easy. If you're weak, everywhere is the same."
Yashan thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
"That makes sense! I need to work hard and accumulate energy. I have to advance to Level Three as soon as possible."
Su Hao asked, "Do you know where to find the Level Three mutant [Counterthorn Beast]?"
Yashan scratched his head awkwardly.
"Not yet. But I'll find out eventually."
Su Hao said, "Since there's nothing you absolutely have to do, there's no need to rush. Things are too chaotic right now. For the time being, focus on protecting yourself."
Yashan nodded.
"Understood, Boss Wei."
Su Hao could clearly sense that Yashan did not take his warning seriously, but there was nothing he could do about it.
He had already given the reminder. Whether Yashan was willing to listen was not his concern.
After collecting some more blood samples in the city, Su Hao returned home.
"I'm almost seven years old."
Su Hao had a feeling that his genetic research would soon achieve a new breakthrough.
One month later.
Night quietly descended.
On the surface, Temple Forest City was silent. But beneath that silence, undercurrents surged. The atmosphere in various parts of the city gradually became restless.
The [Rampager] Fude knocked on a door and entered An's study. He walked to An's side and said, "Leader, the Divine Light Society and Heavenly Gate Society have gathered their people. I'm afraid they'll start fighting tonight. The other gangs have also come out to watch the show and see if they can pick up some benefits."
An was not the only person in the room.
There was also the [Entangler] Charlie, the [Tracker] Yi, and the [Loner] Alai.
An stood up.
His entire body looked tall and thin, but his two legs were strangely thick and muscular. His walking posture was extremely odd, as if with every step, he had to forcibly suppress the urge to launch himself forward.
An took a letter from his coat and placed it on the table.
Then he took out a candle and lit it. Beneath the candle, he tied a rope soaked in grease. He connected the rope to the envelope, then poured some oil onto the envelope as well.
After finishing all of this, he walked toward the door and said, "Let's go. Tonight, our Six Star Group will return with a full harvest.
"After that, I'll take all of you away from this little place."
Everyone followed him.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after listening to his subordinate's report, the leader of the Divine Light Society, [Speed Demon] Fei Lun, revealed a faint smile.
He casually put on his mask.
His tall figure blurred.
He actually vanished from where he stood.
In the next instant, he appeared at the doorway.
None of the people present could clearly see how [Speed Demon] Fei Lun had disappeared from his original position and appeared by the door.
Fei Lun revealed his sharp fangs and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Someone wants me to fight that fellow [Bone Demon], huh? Are they craving my flesh and blood? Hehehe! Since they went through so much trouble, I might as well put on a show for them.
"Hehehe! I'm truly curious. Just who could it be?"
With another flash, he disappeared from the doorway.
When he appeared again, he was already standing on a rooftop.
His subordinates immediately followed after him, rushing toward the designated location.
[Speed Demon] Fei Lun led seven subordinates toward the edge of the city.
These seven mutants were already all the remaining members of the Divine Light Society. The weakest among them were Level Two mutants from their respective sequences.
Among them were also two Level Three mutants.
One was a Level Three mutant from the [Power Man] sequence, the [Burst Beast].
The other was a Level Three mutant from the [Silk Weaver] sequence, the [Cutter Beast].
Generally speaking, within the same organization or gang, only one mutant from each sequence would be recruited. Because of this, most gangs did not have many members.
A gang's true strength depended on the strength of its leader.
So, to [Speed Demon] Fei Lun, his subordinates were nothing more than people who did chores, boosted morale, and cleaned up the battlefield.
As long as he remained invincible, no number of small fry would matter.
Fei Lun suddenly stopped and waved his hand.
His seven subordinates immediately scattered in all directions, each using their own methods to vanish into the darkness.
He had already seen [Bone Demon].