Chapter 493: The Final Gamble
After Jiang Nanqiu’s death in battle, Feng Qi noticed many warriors who had come to stop the war had reddened eyes.
This was especially true of the warriors who had graduated from Victory Academy.
Many of them had grown up hearing Jiang Nanqiu’s legendary tales, viewing him as a hero and a role model to emulate.
Seeing Jiang Nanqiu die to prevent the war, they charged at Mu Qing without hesitation.
Facing the figures converging from all directions, Mu Qing’s expression remained calm.
The flowing jade light around her transformed into crackling arcs of electricity, unleashing concentric energy waves that rippled outward.
As the domain warriors closed in, Mu Qing raised her fist and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!
The earth beneath her shattered under the force of her strike, and the released energy, carried by a violent wind, sent the approaching figures flying.
But these warriors who had come to prevent the war were no ordinary fighters.
Among them were elite warriors with distinguished combat records, many of whom Feng Qi recognized from Old Wang’s history textbooks.
Regaining their footing and quickly readjusting their stances, they launched another assault, encircling Mu Qing in layers.
Seeing Mu Qing surrounded, Feng Qi’s heart sank. He immediately turned to the black shadow hovering beside him.
“You seem to be waiting for her to deal with me,” the black shadow said, its gaze meeting his.
“You’ve seen through me,” Feng Qi admitted frankly.
He and the black shadow had clashed earlier.
With his current strength, Feng Qi had no advantage against the black shadow, let alone any chance of killing it.
Only Mu Qing possessed the overwhelming power to subdue the black shadow.
But Mu Qing was now trapped in layers of encirclement, unable to break through in the short term. Feng Qi couldn’t guarantee the black shadow wouldn’t choose to flee in the meantime.
“I’m no match for her. Sorry… I can’t fulfill your wishes!”
The black shadow grinned, revealing blue teeth, and vanished from its spot in an instant, transforming into a streak of darkness that flashed toward the Technology Research Institute Base.
Sensing the black shadow’s trajectory with his keen perception, Feng Qi stomped down with explosive force. The ground shattered as he launched himself forward like a cannonball, hurtling after the fleeing shadow.
As the chase intensified, the black shadow’s speed increased relentlessly.
A body constructed entirely of energy seemed to defy Earth’s gravity, its ghostly movements too swift for the naked eye to follow.
Yet Feng Qi’s gaze remained locked on the black shadow.
This was entirely thanks to the enhancements granted by his Blood Source Form.
The Blood Source Form didn’t just amplify his strength; it provided a comprehensive enhancement.
It was akin to reforging his body with qi blood, granting him a completely new physique.
Strength, defense, recovery, perceptual insight, neural reflexes, physical resilience… When the Blood Source Body was forged, it bestowed upon him a holistic upgrade.
This was why the blood source remained one of the few active skills he had retained to this day.
As he pursued the black shadow, Feng Qi mentally calculated the time.
The Blood Source Form hadn’t been replenished with qi blood during the observation period, remaining in a constant state of depletion.
Once the Blood Source Form dissipated, he would be utterly powerless against the black shadow, let alone able to stall it.
With this realization, a fierce resolve hardened in his heart.
His heartbeat surged violently, and surging qi blood coursed through his veins.
If qi blood were gasoline, the Blood Source Body would be the engine, relying on the fuel’s power to operate.
Under heavy strain, his body resembled an engine with the accelerator floored, the blood surging through his veins with a sound like waves crashing against rocks.
His running speed suddenly surged, allowing him to rapidly close the distance to the black shadow, whose upper body had already entered the Technology Research Institute Base’s main gate.
Just as his right hand was about to grasp the shadow, the shadow’s movement speed abruptly increased.
His hand grazed past the black shadow, missing by a hair’s breadth.
Losing his balance, he stumbled forward and crashed into the Technology Research Institute.
After rolling several times, he sprang to his feet like a hungry tiger and lunged at the shadow again.
With his body pushed beyond its limits, he knew he couldn’t maintain this pace for long.
Now, his only option was to fight with everything he had.
Having come this far, how could he possibly give up halfway?
Following the shadow into the Technology Research Institute, he found himself in a metallic corridor leading deeper into the facility.
The shadow had already reached the middle of the corridor.
As they locked eyes, the shadow grinned, revealing blue teeth, and pointed a finger at the metallic wall.
A black beam of light shot from the black shadow’s fingertip, striking the metal wall.
Instantly, the lights above the metal corridor turned red and began to flicker erratically.
A shrill emergency alarm blared.
The Technology Research Institute Base’s security system activated.
The corridor walls collapsed like stacked blocks, revealing rows of laser cannons.
Facing the impending bombardment, Feng Qi didn’t falter. Gritting his teeth, he kept pace with the black shadow.
After a brief pause, the laser cannons activated instantly.
Amidst the thunderous roar, crimson mist continuously erupted from his body, his advancing form tossed about like a leaf in a raging storm, making each step agonizingly difficult.
By the time he smashed through the security metal door at the corridor’s end, his body was utterly ravaged.
His once crimson flesh had been charred black.
Feng Qi took a deep breath, forcing himself to endure the searing pain.
His powerful regenerative abilities activated, the charred black skin rapidly sloughing off as flesh buds writhed and grew, reconstructing a brand-new, bloody body.
Within a few breaths, his body had fully recovered.
Gazing at the black shadow’s vanished figure, he didn’t hesitate. He immediately plunged deeper into the Technology Research Institute Base.
He was intimately familiar with the internal layout of the Technology Research Institute.
In addition to referencing the internal map provided by Li Xingchen, he had once been a member of the institute himself.
On one particular Sacrifice Line, he had spent a considerable amount of time here.
Everything about this place felt deeply familiar to him.
Therefore, he immediately chose the path leading to the institute’s core zone.
As he advanced, he smashed through one metal door after another with his fists, like a ferocious tiger hunting its prey, relentlessly tracking the black shadow toward the base’s heart.
The Technology Research Institute’s main base covered an immense area, equivalent to two Scarlet Research Institutes.
When the institute was originally established, Future City was still in its early stages of development, leaving vast tracts of wilderness within the city limits available for planning and construction.
As Future City’s second specialized research institute, the Technology Research Institute was allocated a massive plot of land for its scientific research facilities.
This expansive scale was reflected in the institute’s main base building.
The labyrinthine corridors branched off in all directions, each path leading to different research departments. Without his intimate knowledge of the layout, he would undoubtedly have become lost in this maze.
Meanwhile, the security devices along the way proved to be a considerable nuisance.
The black shadow ahead had clearly activated the Technology Research Institute’s security system, subjecting Feng Qi to relentless bombardment from various technological weapons.
In addition to the automated defenses, security robots swarmed to intercept him.
However, these security measures inflicted only limited damage, which he endured through sheer resilience.
Finally, he reached the metal gate guarding the core zone of the Technology Research Institute.
With a furious roar, he swung his fist, the shadow of his punch carrying surging qi blood as it slammed into the metal gate.
The deafening impact reverberated through the corridor, leaving a clear fist-shaped dent on the gate’s surface—yet surprisingly, the gate remained intact.
He recognized the metal’s texture immediately.
It was the same mysterious metal used in the stone tablet of the Star City Shelter, fifteen hundred years in the future.
The very metal Star City had provided to Future City as aid now stood as an obstacle blocking his path.
Feng Qi assumed the starting stance of the Fierce Tiger Fist.
(End of the Chapter)