Chapter 6: The Hand? Just in time to lead the way for me.
"They've made their move."
Just as Jean finished speaking, several soft thuds came simultaneously from the warehouse roof.
Several black spheres rolled down from the ventilation duct.
Green smoke quickly dispersed.
Before the seven test subjects could react, Noah had already covered his nose and mouth and stepped back.
"Poison gas!"
Lin Yao waved his hand.
A current of air swept through the warehouse, pushing all the densest poisonous fog toward the roof.
But The Hand was clearly well-prepared.
Red lights lit up outside the doors and windows simultaneously, and dozens of ninja rushed in from all directions. Some held short blades, some raised crossbows, and a few carried suppression devices specifically designed to capture Mutant.
Their target was very clear.
Part of them held Lin Yao back.
The other part went straight for Jean and the seven test subjects.
"Seal the exits."
Lin Yao only said four words.
Jean raised her hand.
Boom!
The iron doors around the warehouse slammed down simultaneously.
The few ninja who had just rushed to the door were pinned against the wall by telekinesis, their bones snapping one after another.
Jean didn't hold back.
She had already seen the mission in these people's minds.
Capture her.
Taking the test subjects alive was best, but if they resisted, sever their limbs.
Standing in the center of the poisonous fog, Lin Yao took a deep breath.
His throat felt slightly numb, but his body showed no other reactions.
The physique of a Saiyan was rapidly decomposing the toxins.
"Ordinary poison."
"A waste of time."
Taking advantage of the moment, a ninja swung his blade from behind.
The blade struck Lin Yao's shoulder, miraculously not breaking instantly, but leaving only a pale white mark on his skin.
Lin Yao glanced back.
"Nice blade."
Just as the ninja wanted to retreat, Lin Yao had already grabbed his wrist.
Snap!
The bones in his hand broke on the spot.
Lin Yao snatched the ninja sword and slashed backhand across the opponent's throat.
Fresh blood sprayed onto the blade, yet left not the slightest trace.
The remaining ninja formed hand seals simultaneously.
Smoke exploded outward.
Dozen of figures lunged at Lin Yao from different directions.
Lin Yao's aura suddenly vanished.
The pupils of the foremost ninja constricted.
The next second, a hand reached out from the smoke, pressed against his face, and smashed him into the ground.
Using his aura to conceal himself, Lin Yao moved within the poisonous fog.
The ninja could neither see him nor perceive his existence.
Whenever someone discovered a fallen comrade, Lin Yaohad already appeared in another direction.
Fists, broken blades, and energy blasts fell in turn.
The screams grew fewer and fewer.
A crossbow bolt bypassed the battlefield, shooting toward the girl hiding behind the shelves.
Jean's gaze turned cold.
The crossbow bolt stopped mid-air, then reversed direction and pierced through the archer's chest.
Taking advantage of Jean's momentary distraction, another ninja activated the suppressor.
Just as the black ripples expanded, a white energy blast had already passed through the device.
Boom!
The suppressor blew up along with the upper half of the ninja's body.
The blast radius was compressed within half a meter, leaving the nearby shelves unaffected.
Lin Yao glanced at his hand.
His control over ki was smoother than before.
Discovering that their mission had failed, the last few ninja immediately scattered and fled.
Jean clenched her fist.
Two of them were dragged back into the warehouse by telekinesis, crashing heavily into each other.
Just as the third person rushed to the roof, Lin Yao had already flown in front of him.
He threw a punch downward.
The ninja plummeted from a height of over a dozen meters and never got back up.
Only the person closest to the east window managed to dash out.
Jean turned her head to look at Lin Yao.
"One got away."
"I let him go."
Lin Yao landed back on the ground.
When that ninja fled the warehouse, he had already left a wisp of extremely faint ki on the inside of the opponent's clothes.
As long as the distance did not exceed his perception range, no matter where the opponent went, he could find them.
There were still three ninja alive in the warehouse.
One had a broken spine, one had lost both legs, and the last one was pinned against the wall by Jean.
"I can dig right into their memories."
Jean walked toward the last person.
There was no fear in the ninja's eyes; instead, they carried a hint of mockery.
Lin Yao stopped her.
"Don't go in too deep."
Jean frowned.
"Afraid I won't be able to control it?"
"The Hand has been passed down for hundreds of years."
Using the ninja sword, Lin Yao flicked open the opponent's collar.
A dark red rune was carved on the back of the neck.
"Since they dared to send people to capture telepaths, it's impossible for them not to put locks on these people's brains."
Jean stared at the rune.
She released a trace of psychic power to test it.
The moment it touched the ninja's consciousness, that rune lit up.
A sharp psychic shock rebounded along the connection.
Jean immediately severed the connection, her gaze turning cold.
"Psychic restriction."
"Forcing a read will at best burn out the memories, and at worst drag the attack straight into your consciousness."
Lin Yao said, "The one outside will go back on his own."
Jean understood.
Lin Yao wasn't restricting her from using her abilities.
Rather, he wouldn't allow her to waste her mental energy on a trap prepared by the enemy.
"What about these three?"
"They're worthless now."
Lin Yao turned around to inspect the ninja sword.
Jean curled her fingers.
The necks of the three ninja snapped simultaneously.
There was no hesitation, nor any pleas for mercy.
The warehouse fell quiet once again.
Lin Yao picked up the ninja sword he had just seized.
The blade was lighter than ordinary steel, yet its hardness far exceeded alloy.
The fact that it didn't roll its edge when it struck his shoulder earlier meant it at least had the potential to harm ordinary superheroes.
Noah walked out from behind the shelves, staring at the blade.
"It's ringing."
"What do you mean?"
"This metal is different from the ones in the warehouse."
Noah raised his hand and pointed at the hilt.
"There's a small piece of something inside, looks like a locator."
Lin Yao crushed the hilt and extracted a rice-grain-sized chip.
Aside from The Hand's logo, the chip also bore a string of DODC internal shipping numbers.
Jean walked over.
"Why would a weapon from The Hand have a DODC serial number?"
"Because Metzger has already started supplying them."
Lin Yao put the chip away into his system space.
This sword was not just loot.
It was also evidence of the trade between DODC and The Hand.
Jean looked outside the warehouse.
"The person who escaped is moving southeast."
"His thoughts are chaotic."
"He thinks we aren't chasing."
Lin Yao closed his eyes.
Within his aura perception, the life fluctuation he had marked was rapidly moving away.
The opponent wasn't heading toward the city area.
Instead, bypassing the highway, he entered an abandoned industrial zone.
That place was less than five kilometers away from DODC Pier 7.
"He'll lead us back to their stronghold."
Jean took the initiative to ask, "Chase them now?"
"No."
Lin Yao looked at the corpses littering the ground.
"Clean up the warehouse first, and let him run a bit further."
"If the people from The Hand find out he returned too quickly, they'll suspect someone is following."
Jean nodded.
She began moving the corpses and damaged equipment using telekinesis.
The seven test subjects also walked out from their hiding places.
Just now, they had seen with their own eyes how Lin Yaoand Jean cleared out all the intruders.
No one doubted anymore whether these two people could protect them.
Half an hour later, the warehouse returned to basic order.
Lin Yao put on a black jacket found from a supply box and strapped the special ninja sword onto his back.
Jean stood by his side.
"I'm going with you."
"Someone needs to stay here."
"Noah can sense metal, and the others already know the escape route."
Jean looked at Lin Yao.
"The Hand came for me."
"I'm not planning to hide behind you forever."
Lin Yao didn't refuse.
"Stay close."
The two of them left the warehouse.
The marker in his aura perception had stopped.
The location was right beneath the abandoned industrial zone.
Not only was the ninja who had escaped earlier there,
but there were also over a hundred life auras suppressed to the extreme,
as well as several transport trucks that had just driven out from the DODC base.
Lin Yao looked into the distance.
"Found you."
A chill flashed in Jean's eyes.
"How many should we leave this time?"
"Let's see how much they know first."
Lin Yao walked forward.
"As for the rest, leave none alive."
Chapter 7 Jean's First Class
The ninja marked by Lin Yao's aura eventually sneaked into an abandoned textile factory.
There was a whole different world beneath the factory.
Hundreds of life auras were scattered across the three underground floors, with a portion of them gathered in the warehouse area, alongside several DODC transport vehicles parked nearby.
Lin Yao did not make a move immediately.
He and Jean hid above the ventilation shaft, waiting for that ninja to enter the deepest part before locking onto the real command room through the aura.
"The shipping records are inside."
Jean closed her eyes.
"Someone else knows the location of Tombstone's warehouse."
"Seal the exits first."
Just as Lin Yao was about to go down, the sound of webbing sticking to steel frames suddenly came from above.
Spider-Man flipped in through the ventilation opening.
"I had actually already left."
Peter lowered his voice.
"But my Spider-Sense kept reminding me that people are going to die here."
Lin Yao glanced at him.
"Since you're already here, don't hold us back."
The three of them dropped into the underground stronghold simultaneously.
Jean raised her hand and closed all the alloy doors.
Lin Yao blasted through the alarm with an energy blast.
As for Peter, he swung across the top of the warehouse, his webbing continuously sealing the crossbolts and suppression guns in the ninjas' hands.
"Intruders!"
Dozens of The Hand ninjas rushed out from both sides.
Jean was responsible for blocking the paths.
Peter rescued the two test subjects locked in the iron cages.
Lin Yao went straight for the command room.
A ninja swung a special long blade, the edge brushing past Lin Yao's neck and leaving only a white mark.
Lin Yao countered, seized the blade, and directly pierced the opponent's chest.
A second person pounced from behind and was kicked straight into the wall by him.
Jean's side was even faster.
Over a dozen ninja blades hung suspended in mid-air, then reversed their directions all at once.
Screams rang out one after another.
These people were planning to capture her back to make a psychic weapon, so naturally she wouldn't hold back.
Just as the three of them were gradually gaining control of the stronghold, a harsh high-frequency sound suddenly echoed underground.
Peter's body suddenly stiffened.
The footsteps, heartbeats, and the sound of blades cutting through the air from the surrounding ninjas flooded into his mind all at once.
His Spider-Sense went out of control.
"Peter!"
Just as Jean spoke, a ninja had already swung a blade from behind.
Peter spun around abruptly.
Webbing that hadn't gone through a shooter shot out from his wrist, sticking to the opponent's chest.
He gave it a hard yank.
The ninja was pulled right in front of him.
Peter's fist came down immediately.
Bang!
The opponent's head crashed into the wall, losing all breath on the spot.
Yet Peter didn't stop.
He panted heavily, his eyes locked onto every moving person around him; even the test subjects who had just been rescued were judged as threats by his Spider-Sense.
Lin Yao appeared in front of him in an instant.
Peter threw a punch at him.
Lin Yao grabbed his wrist, pressed down on his shoulder with his other hand, and forced him directly into the ground.
"Look at me."
Peter was still struggling.
Lin Yao raised his hand and punched him.
It wasn't heavy, but it was enough to make his chaotic consciousness pause for a split second.
"The only one here who can threaten you is me."
"Push all the other voices down."
Peter clenched his teeth tightly.
After a few seconds, his tense body finally slowly relaxed.
He turned his head to look at the corpse by the wall, his breathing stopping for a moment.
"I killed him."
"He was a ninja who came to capture Jean and the test subjects."
Lin Yao let go of his hand.
"I won't feel sorry for him."
"But just now, you couldn't even tell your own people apart."
"The next time someone stands in front of you, it might be those kids."
Peter didn't retort.
He took off his mask, his expression very ugly.
"My Spider-Sense and my powers are both becoming abnormal."
"I've been suppressing them with a suppressor."
"But lately, it's been getting more and more useless."
Lin Yao looked at his wrist.
"We'll talk about it back there."
The remaining ninjas had already been cleared out by Jean.
In the command room, the three of them found DODC transport records, two warehouse numbers belonging to Tombstone, and a batch of mental suppression devices.
The special ninja blade Noah mentioned also came from this batch of transported supplies.
Lin Yao stored the files into his system space, then destroyed the stronghold's core with an energy blast.
After returning to the safehouse, Peter did not leave.
Lin Yao cleared out an open space at the back of the warehouse.
"Since neither of you can control your powers well, let's practice together."
He set a goal for himself first.
He couldn't crash into and damage the warehouse while flying.
After concealing his aura, he had to evade Jean and Peter's perception.
The explosion range of the energy blast had to be controlled.
Lin Yao raised his right hand.
A white energy blast quickly formed.
According to its original power, this strike would be enough to blow up half the warehouse.
He continuously compressed his aura until the sphere of light shrank to the size of a marble.
The energy blast was fired.
There was no explosion.
The steel plate in front only gained a smooth round hole, and the wall behind it remained completely intact.
Peter walked over and took a look.
"The power hasn't decreased, it's just concentrated on a single point."
"Now that's what you call control."
Lin Yao turned to Jean.
"Your problem isn't that your power is lacking."
"It's that once your emotions get messy, everything becomes a target for attack."
Jean's training was divided into three steps.
Controlling ten items of different weights simultaneously.
Only sensing the emotions of people around her without reading specific memories.
Finally, maintaining the barrier under psychic interference.
The first two tasks went very smoothly.
Until Lin Yao turned on the psychic device brought back from The Hand's stronghold.
A sharp sound rang out.
In Jean's mind, the image of Sarah collapsing in the laboratory flashed once more.
Her telekinesis erupted instantly.
All the tools, steel plates, and shelves in the warehouse floated up.
The seven test subjects shrank back into the rest area in fright.
Just as Peter was about to step forward, Lin Yao had already walked into the range of the telekinesis.
The invisible force continuously crashed against him, yet it couldn't make him stop.
Raising her head, Jean saw him, and a flash of panic crossed her eyes.
"Don't come over!"
"Look at me."
Lin Yao walked up in front of her.
"Sarah is already dead, and losing control won't bring her back."
These words were heavy.
Jean's face instantly turned pale.
"What you need to do right now is decide who this power lands on."
"Breathe."
"Exclude the people who shouldn't be attacked."
Jean stared into his eyes, her breathing gradually slowing down.
The floating pieces of metal dropped down one by one.
Only a faint flash of crimson light flickered behind her, quickly vanishing.
The psychic barrier stabilized once again.
Lin Yao nodded.
"Again."
Jean did not refuse.
She realized that when Lin Yao pressed forward against her telekinesis, there was no fear in her heart.
Instead, it felt like she had grasped a fulcrum that wouldn't be easily pushed away.
Finally, it was Peter's turn.
Lin Yao had Jean create emotional interference, while he himself tossed out metal parts from different angles.
Peter had to judge when his Spider-Sense was overloaded, figuring out which ones were real attacks and which were just noise.
For the first two times, he still subconsciously relied on the suppressor on his wrist.
Every time the device activated, his Spider-Sense would actually become even more chaotic.
Lin Yao suddenly called a halt.
He took out a black module from the equipment brought back from The Hand and tossed it in front of Peter.
"Recognize this?"
Peter picked it up, and his expression changed.
"It looks a lot like the core of my suppressor."
"It doesn't just look like it."
Lin Yao pointed at the serial numbers on the two parts.
"It's the same batch of DODC technology."
Peter was silent for a moment, then pulled out the structural diagram he had drawn himself.
The suppressor was originally intended only to lower neural reactions.
But the feedback circuits within it would constantly stimulate the spider genes, causing the body to continue evolving in order to break through the suppression.
"The more you suppress it, the faster it evolves."
Lin Yao said.
Looking at the structural diagram, Peter finally took off the suppressor.
"Then what should I do?"
"Learn to control it."
"Not lock it away."
In the training that followed, for the first time without relying on the device, Peter successfully locked onto the real attack from amidst the chaotic perception.
The coordination of the three of them was also gradually taking shape.
Jean was responsible for perception and containment.
Peter was responsible for high-speed rescue.
Lin Yao was responsible for frontally eliminating the strongest targets.
By the time the training ended, it was almost dawn.
Peter put away the structural diagram.
"I need you to help me judge my bodily changes."
This was the first time he had actively handed over his problems to someone else.
Just as Lin Yao was about to speak, he suddenly raised his head.
The sound of a missile tearing through the air came from the distance.
Peter's Spider-Sense exploded instantly.
A missile pierced through the night sky, heading straight for the warehouse.
Lin Yao looked at the green figure trailing behind the missile.
"Scorpion is here."
Chapter 8: Scorpion Thought He Surrounded Me
The moment the missile slammed toward the warehouse, Lin Yao had already risen into midair.
He smashed a punch into the side of the warhead.
Boom!
The missile was forcibly redirected and exploded a hundred meters away.
As soon as the explosion flared, a second black warhead split open above the warehouse.
There were no flames.
A ring of sharp psychic fluctuations pressed down from the sky.
Jean's face turned pale, and the metal shelves inside the warehouse vibrated simultaneously.
Peter had it even worse.
After losing the suppressor, his Spider-Sense was already in a sensitive state.
As soon as the psychic interference fell, muzzles, footsteps, and heartbeats from all directions drilled into his mind simultaneously.
"Evacuation protocol initiated."
Lin Yao dropped back to the ground.
Without paying attention to the enemies outside, he first pushed the table away, revealing the entrance to the underground maintenance line.
"Peter, take the others and go."
"Jean, hold the passage and block the psychic interference by the way."
Peter gritted his teeth to suppress his headache.
"You're staying behind alone?"
"They came specifically for me."
Lin Yao looked outside the warehouse.
Dozens of armored vehicles had already sealed off the highway.
DODC Special Operations Forces advanced from the front, while The Hand ninjas scattered on both sides. Further away, a green figure stepped on anti-gravity thrusters and landed on top of a container.
Scorpion's new armor was thicker than in the footage.
The mechanical tail stinger on his back was fully five meters long, with blue electric light flashing at the tip.
"Lin Yao!"
Mac Gargan laughed loudly through the megaphone.
"Come out!"
"Aren't you quite the fighter?"
Lin Yao opened the warehouse gates.
"All of you, retreat into the passage."
The seven test subjects entered the underground one by one.
Noah stayed until the last and suddenly pointed outside the wall.
"There is also metal underground."
"They buried something near the exit."
Lin Yao closed his eyes.
Ki perception passed through the ground.
At the end of the maintenance line, eight DODC Agents were indeed ambushed there, along with a power suppression device.
"Peter, three hundred meters to the west."
"Eight people, one set of equipment."
Peter put on his mask.
"Leave it to me."
"Don't lose control again."
Lin Yao only reminded him with a single sentence.
Peter didn't retort and led the group into the passage.
At the other end of the underground passage, eight Agents had already activated the suppression device.
Peter didn't rush over head-on.
He first used web-shooters to snap the power cord, then dropped from the ventilation shaft behind the enemy.
As three Agents just turned their guns, they were dragged onto the wall by web-lines.
The remaining few still wanted to detonate the passage.
Jean raised her hand from hundreds of meters away, and the controller flew straight out of their palms, smashing into pieces.
Peter endured the noise in his Spider-Sense and pressed the last person into the ground.
His fist stopped right in front of the other's face.
Remembering the ninja who died at his hands just moments ago, he abruptly reined in his strength.
"Passage cleared."
Peter said while panting.
Jean didn't praise him, only continuing to hold up the gravel constantly falling from overhead.
"Take them and go."
"Leave the outside to Lin Yao."
Jean stood at the entrance, raising both hands.
Thick steel plates sealed the upper part, and a psychic barrier covered the seven test subjects simultaneously.
"I can hold on."
"Go do what you need to do."
Lin Yao nodded and walked out of the warehouse alone.
Scorpion looked down at him.
"Where are the others?"
"Does it have anything to do with you?"
"Of course it does."
Scorpion grinned.
"Metzger wants Jean, and Tombstone wants those kids."
"As for you—"
The mechanical tail stinger suddenly stabbed down.
"I want your life!"
Lin Yao didn't dodge.
The tail stinger hit him squarely in the chest.
Blue electric current and venom were injected simultaneously.
Inside the DODC command vehicle, the technicians stared intently at the data.
"High-voltage hit!"
"Neurotoxin injection complete!"
"Vital signs are not dropping."
"What?"
Scorpion also noticed something was wrong.
Lin Yao stood in place, leaving only a faint mark on his chest.
After the toxin entered his blood, it was quickly suppressed by his Saiyan body.
The high-voltage current could only make his muscles briefly numb.
"The toxin is mediocre."
Lin Yao grabbed the mechanical tail stinger.
"The voltage is not enough either."
Scorpion immediately activated the laser module.
Two red lights shot from the shoulder armor, hitting Lin Yao's upper body squarely.
A layer of ki defense emerged in front of Lin Yao.
The laser struck the invisible barrier, split to both sides, and left two scorch marks on the ground.
"Is there any more?"
Scorpion finally realized that Metzger's warning to him was not an exaggeration.
"Open fire!"
The DODC on-site Commander immediately gave the order.
The armored vehicle's heavy artillery, armor-piercing shells, and sniper rifles locked onto Lin Yao simultaneously.
In his ki perception, the positions of the twelve snipers were extremely clear.
Lin Yao raised his hand.
Twelve small ki blasts shot out simultaneously.
The firearms in the distance exploded one after another.
Several snipers were blown off high places by the explosions and never got back up.
The heavy artillery fell shortly after.
Lin Yao charged against the artillery fire, rushed in front of Scorpion, and smashed a punch into the chest of the armor.
Bang!
Scorpion flew backward, crashing through the first armored vehicle.
Just as he crawled out from the wreckage, Lin Yao had already grabbed the mechanical tail again.
"You were having quite a fun time smashing earlier."
"Now it's my turn."
Lin Yao swung Scorpion around.
Boom!
The first armored vehicle was smashed flat.
Boom!
The second armored vehicle flipped over a dozen meters away.
As the third blow landed, the shoulder modules of Scorpion's armor completely fell off.
Scorpion coughed up fresh blood inside the cockpit.
"Stop!"
"I can—"
Lin Yao didn't stop.
Since he took the initiative to come and kill him, he should be prepared to be killed.
He raised his foot to step on Scorpion's chest, reaching out to tear open the back of the armor.
A blue energy core was exposed.
A black data module was plugged in next to the core.
Lin Yao first pulled out the module and stored it in the system space.
Just as he was about to crush the cockpit, the distant command vehicle suddenly began to retreat.
Finding that Scorpion had failed, the on-site Commanderimmediately ordered a retreat.
The special operations forces fought while retreating.
Lin Yao didn't chase those soldiers fleeing in all directions.
It wasn't letting them off.
Rather, the grunts had lost their value; the truly useful people were inside the command vehicle.
He flew across the battlefield in an instant and landed in front of the retreating vehicles.
The command vehicle sharply changed direction.
Lin Yao stamped down with one foot.
The front of the car sank directly into the ground.
Two guards pushed the doors open and started shooting, only to be casually dealt with by him.
Just as the on-site Commander was about to swallow the poison sac, Jean's telekinesis suppressed his jaw from a distance.
She returned from the underground exit with Peter.
The seven test subjects had already entered another safe passage.
"Don't let him die."
Lin Yao pulled open the car door and dragged the Commander out.
"The things in his brain are valuable."
Jean directly invaded the other's surface consciousness.
Metzger's voice was soon played from the command vehicle's recorder.
"No matter the cost, Jean Grey must be brought back."
"The other test subjects can be used as bait."
"If Lin Yao resists, execution on the spot is authorized."
The complete order was saved.
Jean continued rummaging through the memories.
"He knows the reinforcement count."
"Over three hundred more people are approaching."
Peter looked at the now-empty warehouse.
"We can't stay here anymore."
"We never planned to stay in the first place."
Lin Yao glanced at the battlefield.
Scorpion thought that surrounding the warehouse meant trapping them.
In reality, the seven test subjects had already relocated along the maintenance line.
This place was Lin Yao's designated battlefield from the very beginning.
Peter finally understood why Lin Yao made them leave first.
It wasn't that they couldn't win.
Rather, it was to avoid having his power restricted by hostages.
"You are indeed better suited for command."
Peter admitted it quite straightforwardly.
"But those people outside are still gathering."
"Then we'll clean them all up at once."
Lin Yao turned around and looked at Scorpion.
Mac Gargan inside the armor was still alive.
It wasn't that Lin Yao was soft-hearted.
That small energy core was still overloaded, and he needed to figure out the blast radius and structure first.
On a rooftop in the distance,
a man wearing black body armor with a white skull printed on his chest lowered his binoculars.
Frank Castle had observed the entire battle.
He originally thought Lin Yao was just an out-of-control superpower user.
Now it seemed things were far from as simple as DODC announced.
Footsteps sounded around the battlefield once more.
Over a hundred The Hand ninjas emerged from the woods.
More DODC soldiers blocked the road.
The number was still increasing.
Jean stood beside Lin Yao.
Peter put his mask back on properly.
A system prompt sounded in Lin Yao's mind.
[Large-scale siege event detected.]
[Event check-in conditions met.]
Chapter 9: Once Conquerors Haki Unleashed, the Entire Field Kneels
The footsteps in the woods grew denser and denser.
DODC soldiers pushed forward from the front, while The Hand ninjas circled to both flanks.
Armored vehicles blocked the highway again, snipers occupied distant high points, and drones ascended above the warehouse.
The number of personnel exceeded three hundred, and vehicles continuously approached from even further away.
Metzger's goal was very clear.
Since the Scorpion couldn't beat him, they would stall for time with human lives.
As long as Lin Yao was trapped here, another team could follow the underground passage to catch up with the seven experimental subjects.
"I'll go chase the evacuation team," Peter said.
"It's too late."
Lin Yao looked toward the northwest.
Over a dozen high-speed moving auras had already appeared over there.
Although the underground passage was concealed, it wasn't safe forever.
They had to end the battle here as soon as possible.
The system prompt sounded again.
[Sign-in conditions for the large-scale siege event have been met.]
[Do you want to sign in?]
"Sign in."
[Sign-in successful.]
[Obtained ability: Conquerors Haki.]
A massive amount of information flooded into his mind.
This was neither mind control nor telekinesis.
Rather, it turned one's own will into real pressure, directly crushing those with weak wills.
With precise enough control, it could also avoid designated targets.
Lin Yao raised his head.
The on-site deputy Commander of DODC had already given the order.
"First group, stall the target!"
"Second group, attack Jean Grey!"
"The Hand, cut in from the flanks!"
Dozens of ability-suppressing bullets rose into mid-air.
Jean's eyes turned cold, and just as her telekinesis was about to activate, Lin Yao raised his hand to stop her.
"Stand behind me."
Jean did not argue.
She knew Lin Yao wouldn't talk nonsense at a time like this.
But Peter clearly felt that something was wrong.
Even though Lin Yao hadn't moved at all, his Spider-Sensebegan to issue frantic warnings.
It wasn't because of an attack.
Rather, his bodily instincts were telling him that the person in front of him was becoming dangerous.
Lin Yao took a step forward.
"Too many people?"
"Then fall together."
Conquerors Haki was instantly released.
There was no explosion, nor was there any energy light.
An invisible pressure swept across the battlefield with Lin Yao at the center.
The bodies of the front-row DODC soldiers stiffened.
Before the guns in their hands could even be raised, they collapsed with rolled-back eyes.
The second and third rows lost consciousness right after.
As soon as The Hand ninjas leaped down from the trees, their bodies slammed into the ground as if they had lost control.
The distant snipers didn't have time to pull the trigger before their foreheads crashed against the scopes.
The drivers inside the armored vehicles slumped over the steering wheels.
The drone operators passed out simultaneously, and the out-of-control devices automatically entered hover mode.
In just a few seconds, the encirclement of hundreds of people collapsed in batches.
No one rushed in front of Lin Yao.
Not even a single attack was completed.
Peter stood behind Lin Yao, and the expression under his mask completely changed.
At that moment just now, he felt like he was standing beside a giant beast; if his will had been even slightly weaker, he wouldn't even have the qualification to stand.
Jean's experience was clearer than his.
She didn't detect any mental intrusion.
Lin Yao hadn't touched these people's consciousness, let alone altered their memories.
He merely used his own will to forcibly crush their resistance.
"This isn't psychic ability."
Jean said in a low voice.
"He didn't enter anyone's head at all."
Peter looked at the soldiers littering the battlefield.
"Just relying on will?"
Jean did not answer.
Because Lin Yao's Conquerors Haki was not over yet.
There were still a dozen people standing within the encirclement.
They were all DODC elites and elite jonin of The Hand, and their wills were far stronger than ordinary people.
One of The Hand ninjas bit the tip of their tongue, forcibly keeping themselves awake.
"Kill!"
The moment he took a step forward, a compressed air bullet pierced through the center of his brow.
The remaining ninjas launched an attack simultaneously.
Lin Yao raised his hand.
A dozen air bullets shot toward different directions respectively.
There was no large-scale explosion.
Each and every one only resolved a single target.
In the blink of an eye, everyone still trying to resist fell down.
Lin Yao withdrew his Conquerors Haki.
The forest grew quiet once again.
Jean looked at his back, and the emotion in her eyes was no longer just trust.
She had never imagined that solely based on one person's will, hundreds of armed personnel could be stripped of their combat capabilities.
Lin Yao turned back to glance at her.
"What are you spacing out for?"
Jean quickly put away her emotions.
"I'm wondering what exactly Metzger is preparing to deal with you."
"He will continue to up the stakes."
Lin Yao swept his gaze across the battlefield.
The people who fell weren't alive because he was soft-hearted.
Ordinary soldiers had already lost their threat, and finishing them off one by one would only waste time.
After these people woke up, they would bring today's fear back to DODC.
What truly needed to be dealt with were the command personnel hiding in the rear and the heavy equipment still operating.
Lin Yao raised his hand, and several air bullets flew out.
The remaining armored vehicles, mental interference devices, and drones exploded one after another.
DODC's second layer of encirclement completely failed.
On a distant rooftop.
Frank Castle knelt on one knee, one hand bracing against the railing.
When the Conquerors Haki swept over, his vision went black, but he held on through sheer willpower.
He raised his head, looking at the soldiers unconscious all over the ground, and then at Lin Yao.
"This is not a dangerous experimental subject from the DODC report."
Frank put away his rifle.
"This is a war-grade target."
At the same time, inside the DODC temporary command center, hundreds of life-monitoring signals turned yellow simultaneously.
The operator's voice trembled.
"The second echelon has completely lost consciousness."
"No obvious external injuries, brain electrical activity is normal."
"Only seventeen high-will targets are dead."
Metzger stared at the screen.
"Did Jean do it?"
The technician confirmed:
"No mental intrusion, the source of the shockwave is Lin Yao."
The conference room fell into silence.
Metzger ordered in a deep voice.
"Update the threat level."
"Ordinary troops are not allowed to make contact alone."
"All operations targeting Lin Yao must be equipped with high-level superpower units and long-range heavy firepower."
The technician typed a line of red text into the assessment report.
[The target cannot be dealt with by conventional armed personnel.]
On the battlefield, Peter also received news from the underground passage.
The seven experimental subjects had already entered the next exit and were temporarily safe.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"You could avoid designated people just now?"
"Yes."
"So we weren't affected?"
"Jean wasn't."
Lin Yao glanced at Peter.
"As for you, I just turned down the pressure."
The corners of Peter's mouth twitched.
His legs had almost gone weak just now, and that was still called lowered?
Jean heard another layer of meaning.
Lin Yao had just obtained this ability, yet he was already able to exclude her alone.
This kind of control was even more terrifying than the large-scale clearing itself.
Lin Yao closed his eyes and re-experienced Conquerors Haki.
Combined with aura perception, he could also distinguish between friend and foe in advance and precisely release coercion.
The threat of ordinary armies to him had basically vanished.
[Completed a large-scale clearance using Conquerors Haki for the first time.]
[Ability proficiency increased.]
[world-line deviation value increased.]
Lin Yao opened his eyes.
"Let's leave this place first."
Peter pointed at the Scorpion, who had been smashed into the wreckage of the armored vehicle.
"What about him?"
"Take the core and the armor."
Lin Yao walked toward the Scorpion.
"This person is still useful."
Metzger invested a lot of resources to upgrade the Scorpion's armor; it definitely hid DODC's latest technology inside.
A living Scorpion could also provide intelligence on the transactions between Tombstone and Metzger.
As for when to kill him, it depended on when his value was exhausted.
Just as Lin Yao walked up close, Mac Gargan inside the armor suddenly opened his eyes.
Conquerors Haki had knocked him out for a moment.
After waking up, the first thing he saw was the soldiers collapsed all over the ground.
Fear rapidly turned into madness.
"You all want to use me as a tool..."
"Then let's die together!"
The Scorpion forcefully pressed a hidden button.
The sound of mechanical locking came from inside the armor.
The previously stable blue energy core rapidly turned red.
Lin Yao grabbed the mechanical tail, attempting to rip open the armor.
However, the energy on the surface of the core was already beginning to collapse inward.
Peter's Spider-Sense instantly surged to its limit.
He abruptly turned his head.
"Get away from there!"
Jean also sensed something was wrong.
"The energy is going out of control."
The Scorpion's laughter came from inside the armor.
"Once the core is activated, no one can turn it off."
"The explosion radius is at least five blocks."
The energy readings rose frantically.
There were only ten seconds left until the explosion.
Chapter 10 Kamehameha Illuminates New York
"Ten seconds!"
As Peter's voice fell, the energy core on Scorpion's chest had already turned from blue to red.
A harsh alarm sounded from inside the armor.
Jean raised both hands, her telekinesis firmly pressing down on the core's outer shell.
But the energy inside the core was still continuously collapsing.
"It can't be stopped."
"It's not a mechanical failure; it's a pre-written self-destruct program."
Scorpion lay in the armor's wreckage, blood covering the corners of his mouth.
"It's useless."
"Metzger said that as long as the mission fails, no one is allowed to take the armor away."
Lin Yao looked at him.
"You knew beforehand?"
"I only knew the armor had a last resort."
Scorpion grinned.
"I didn't expect him to calculate me into it as well."
The countdown jumped to eight seconds.
Peter shot out a web, entangling Scorpion's armor.
"I'll take him to high altitude!"
"It's too late."
Lin Yao looked at the energy core.
Its energy had already spread to the entire set of armor.
Even if Peter ascended at full speed, it was impossible to get away from New York within eight seconds.
More importantly, Scorpion couldn't die right now.
It wasn't because he was worth saving.
Rather, a living Scorpion was much more valuable than a corpse.
The armor's data module was encrypted using the pilot's nerve signals.
Once Scorpion died, the core data would be automatically wiped.
He had also met Metzger in person and participated in the transactions between DODC Headquarters, Tombstone, and The Hand.
As long as they pried open his mouth, Lin Yao could get complete evidence of the tripartite cooperation.
And this self-destruction.
Only with Scorpion alive could it be proven that the program was planted in advance by Metzger.
Otherwise, DODC Headquarters could completely pin the casualties of several blocks entirely on Lin Yao.
"He has to stay alive."
Lin Yao grabbed Scorpion's mechanical tail.
Peter looked at him.
"You want to save him?"
"I want his confession, his neural key, and the transaction list in his brain."
Lin Yao stared at Scorpion.
"After his value is squeezed dry, we can talk about whether he lives or dies."
Scorpion's smile froze.
The countdown: six seconds.
Lin Yao exerted force with both arms, directly swinging Scorpion along with the multi-ton armor.
"Jean, let go!"
The moment the telekinesis was withdrawn, Lin Yaofiercely hurled Scorpion toward the sky.
The green armor rushed into the clouds like a cannonball.
Five seconds.
The system prompt suddenly rang out.
[The host is dealing with a city-level energy explosion.]
[Special event check-in conditions met.]
[Do you want to check in?]
"Check in!"
[Check-in successful.]
[Ability acquired: Kamehameha.]
The circulation method of Qi instantly flooded into his mind.
Lin Yao raised both hands, his palms coming together at his waist.
The Qi in his body began to converge toward a single point.
Jean turned her head sharply.
She could feel that the energy on Lin Yao was compressing at a terrifying speed.
Unlike the previous energy blasts.
The power gathered this time was enough to level the entire warehouse along with the nearby blocks.
"Lin Yao!"
"I know."
Lin Yao did not release it immediately.
Scorpion was tumbling in high altitude.
The energy core was closely connected to the cockpit; a direct hit to the front would also evaporate Scorpion.
He had to first pierce through the outer layer of the armor, and then let the beam of light pass between the core and the cockpit.
Four seconds.
Lin Yao closed his eyes.
Qi perception locked onto Scorpion's life.
The armor's energy was like a fireball in the dark night.
The two constantly overlapped and separated at high altitude.
Lin Yao adjusted the angle of his hands.
"Peter."
"Here!"
"When the armor shatters, catch him."
Peter immediately shot out webs, rushing to the high place by utilizing the remaining buildings.
Three seconds.
Blue-white light overflowed from between Lin Yao's fingers.
The rubble on the ground began to vibrate.
The DODC Headquarters soldiers who had not completely retreated in the distance turned back, and seeing the light in Lin Yao's palm, their expressions instantly changed.
Frank on the rooftop also raised his binoculars again.
"This guy still has a trump card?"
Two seconds.
The energy core on Scorpion's chest turned completely red.
Lin Yao opened his eyes.
"Ka — — me — — ha — — me — — ha — —!"
Both hands pushed forward fiercely.
Boom!
A blue-white beam of light soared into the sky.
The night sky was instantly illuminated.
From the suburbs of New York to the direction of Manhattan, almost everyone who looked up saw that beam of light piercing through the clouds.
The beam of light did not engulf Scorpion head-on.
It cut in from the right side of the armor, first shattering the shoulder guard, and then piercing through the energy core grazing the edge of the cockpit.
One second.
Before the energy core could explode, it was completely evaporated from the inside by the Kamehameha.
The green armor disintegrated at high altitude.
The Shockwave tore through the clouds, but did not fall toward the city.
Peter swung into mid-air, his web entangling the falling Mac Gargan, pulling him toward the nearby building.
The two smashed a billboard and finally landed on the roof.
Scorpion passed out cold.
But he was still alive.
On the ground, Lin Yao withdrew both hands.
His palms still retained the scorching heat brought by the energy.
[First time using the Kamehameha to complete city-level crisis handling.]
[Kamehameha proficiency increased.]
[world line deflection value increased.]
Jean stood beside him, looking up at the gradually dissipating beam of light.
She had always known that Lin Yao was strong.
Until this moment, she understood that in every previous battle, Lin Yao had been holding back his own power.
If that blow just now had landed on the ground, the entire DODC Headquarters force would have vanished.
"How many more abilities do you have that you haven't used?"
"You'll slowly see them in the future."
Lin Yao flew up to the rooftop.
Peter was checking Scorpion's vital signs.
"Four ribs are broken, internal organs are damaged, but he won't die."
Lin Yao tore off Scorpion's tattered chest armor.
The data module was still there.
After the armor lost its energy, the module automatically entered a locked state.
The screen displayed:
[Pilot neural authentication required.]
Peter saw it too.
"Is that why you wanted to keep him alive?"
"That's one of the reasons."
Lin Yao grabbed Scorpion's wrist and pressed the neural interface against his skin.
Authentication passed.
The data module unlocked.
Inside were saved the armor test records, DODC Headquarters authorization codes, transportation routes provided by Tombstone, and the backend commands for Metzger to start the self-destruct program.
The evidence was complete.
Lin Yao put the module into the system space.
"What about the second reason?"
"He knows Metzger's base, Tombstone's warehouse, and The Hand's contacts."
Lin Yao looked at the unconscious Scorpion.
"Third, he is a very useful decoy right now."
"DODC Headquarters won't let him fall into outside hands."
"As long as the news is released, the people coming to save him will show up on their own."
Peter was silent for a moment.
"Are you planning to kill him after the interrogation?"
"It depends on how much value he has left."
Lin Yao did not give a guarantee.
Peter also knew that he couldn't change Lin Yao's way of doing things.
But at least this time, Lin Yao sparing Scorpion wasn't out of mercy, but for evidence and the next step of action.
In the distant blocks, someone had already raised their phone.
The video of the Kamehameha was spreading across the internet at the fastest speed.
"Golden beam of light pierces the night sky."
"Mysterious superpower user stops armor explosion."
"Spider-Man teams up with an unknown powerhouse."
Various headlines quickly appeared.
Someone filmed Lin Yao's figure standing under the beam of light.
The moniker of the Golden God of War also appeared in the comment section for the first time.
At the same time.
Inside Banner's laboratory, all energy monitoring equipment sounded alarms simultaneously.
Bruce Banner pulled up the satellite records.
On the screen, the energy data of that beam of light far exceeded conventional weapons.
Even stranger was that the explosion range was controlled extremely precisely.
"It's not gamma rays."
"Nor is it like any known technology."
Banner zoomed in on Lin Yao's figure.
"How did he do it?"
DODC Headquarters.
Metzger looked at the video on the internet, his expression growing uglier and uglier.
Scorpion failed.
The armor's self-destruction was also destroyed head-on by Lin Yao.
More troublesome was that the core data module and Mac Gargan himself had both fallen into Lin Yao's hands.
"Revoke all of Gargan's permissions."
"Notify the media that the beam of light came from an out-of-control attack by a dangerous experimental subject."
The technician said in a low voice:
"There are too many on-site videos."
"Spider-Man also saved Gargan."
"It's hard to pin all the blame on Lin Yao."
Metzger stared at Jean in the screen.
After a moment, he opened another encrypted project.
On the screen appeared the neural sample number of a red-haired woman.
Sarah Grey.
"Since Jean refuses to create chaos."
Metzger pressed the start button.
"Then let her sister do it for us."