Chapter 494: Reaching the Core Zone
After a brief moment of focused concentration, his qi momentum surged, and the fiery fist intent blazed within him.
As his right fist shot forward, his left followed in swift succession… In an instant, countless fist shadows rained down like a storm, relentlessly pounding the metal gate.
The metal gate instantly became covered in fist marks.
Roar!
With a furious roar, he accelerated his punches.
Feng Qi had become a human artillery turret, his fists like cannonballs slamming into the gate. Each impact left a fist mark before dissipating into crimson mist.
Under his relentless assault, the metal gate finally buckled, hairline cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the gate shattered, sending metal shards flying.
Without hesitation, he leaped through the breach into the core zone of the Technology Research Institute.
He had assumed the black shadow would have already reached the Top Secret Zone, the institute’s most mysterious area. But as soon as he crossed the core zone threshold, he saw the black shadow hovering nearby. With a flick of its hand, a dark flash sliced a mechanical warrior blocking its path in half.
Around the black shadow lay a pile of completely dismembered mechanical warriors.
Seeing this, Feng Qi immediately realized it must be Li Xingchen’s plan.
Before his death, Li Xingchen had not only helped the Dawn Army breach the South Gate but had also planted an informant within the core zone.
He waited for the black shadow to arrive.
While deeply moved, his resolve to kill the black shadow only hardened.
Getting the black shadow to reveal its secrets truthfully was no longer realistic.
The black shadow, who had betrayed the Spirit Energy Clan long ago, was clearly a ruthless character who would never compromise or confess the truth.
Now, the only way to uncover the secrets about Little Black and Mo was to protect the crucial data stored within the Technology Research Institute and then review it.
If he allowed the black shadow into the Top Secret Zone, it might choose to go down in flames, destroying all critical data before escaping the Technology Research Institute.
Knowing the black shadow’s nature, it was entirely capable of such an act.
Especially the information related to Little Black—the black shadow’s ultimate trump card for controlling the future and fate—it would never allow such knowledge to fall into outside hands.
Without hesitation, he lunged at the black shadow.
Faced with his attack, the black shadow still refused direct confrontation, immediately drifting toward the Top Secret Zone.
The black shadow moved with astonishing speed, like a wraith, its form flickering as it instantly covered great distances.
If one were to freeze-frame and slow down the black shadow’s movements, they would see its body contract into a tight ball before abruptly launching forward, briefly reaching maximum velocity.
Only when the explosive force subsided would the black shadow reappear, repeating its previous movements.
This created a flickering, stop-and-start rhythm as the black shadow advanced.
During its advance, the black shadow passed through the first security door leading to the Top Secret Zone and activated the security system using the same method as before.
Once again, Feng Qi refused to stop.
He stubbornly pressed forward, enduring the laser radiation.
Thanks to his powerful regenerative abilities, the surface wounds on his body rapidly healed as he moved.
However, his internal qi blood was being violently depleted.
Realizing he couldn’t sustain this much longer, Feng Qi roared in fury and smashed through the closing second security door, seizing the black shadow once more.
But the black shadow suddenly accelerated, drifting toward the third security door.
As he watched the third security door closing, Feng Qi’s eyes swirled with crimson light, and his qi momentum surged relentlessly.
He reached out and violently grabbed at the distant black shadow.
This action nearly exhausted his mental energy, causing a sharp pain in his head and momentarily blurring his vision.
The innate abilities granted by the faith connection had a critical flaw: simultaneously using two abilities made them extremely unstable.
Through years of faith-connected meditation, this flaw had diminished, but it still persisted.
Activating telekinesis while maintaining his Blood Source Form nearly caused the form to collapse.
Fortunately, his gamble paid off.
The black shadow’s movement abruptly slowed under the telekinetic resistance.
Seizing the opportunity, Feng Qi leaped forward like a hungry tiger, seizing the shadow with a fierce grip.
Before the shadow could recover, Feng Qi’s resolve hardened. A purple sigil materialized on his palm, pulsing with an eerie, dark light.
Just as the shadow prepared to dissolve its energy body, intending to reform after breaking free, it was startled to discover that the areas touched by the purple sigil could no longer be reconstructed.
A savage grin spread across Feng Qi’s face.
He might not excel at fighting elemental lifeforms, but he possessed an innate ability that was a true bane to energy itself.
This ability, ranked even higher than his Blood Source, grew exponentially stronger with time.
It was none other than “Purple Soul.”
Now, Purple Soul energy surged from his palm, spreading across the shadow’s surface.
Wherever the purple energy spread, the chaotic flow of energy instantly stilled.
Activating the Purple Soul’s power while in his Blood Origin Form pushed his Blood Source Body to its limits. Blood mist erupted from his skin, threatening to disintegrate him at any moment.
Seizing the opportunity before his Blood Source Form collapsed, Feng Qi swung his right arm and struck the black shadow’s cheek with brutal force.
Slap!
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the tunnel as the black shadow’s face caved in. The force sent it hurtling against the metal wall.
Feng Qi closed in, his clenched fist slamming into the black shadow’s abdomen.
Under the Purple Soul’s “Demon Suppression” effect, the black shadow’s internal energy flow slowed, preventing it from freely dissolving and reforming its body as before.
Facing Feng Qi’s powerful punch, the black shadow took the full force of the blow.
The fist intent now enveloped the black shadow.
Staring down at the creature before him, Feng Qi grinned savagely.
“After being bullied by you across so many timelines, it’s time to repay the favor!”
As his words faded, a crimson fist intent domain instantly engulfed the black shadow. Countless fist shadows materialized, raining down like a storm of blows upon its body.
Feng Qi’s expression was manic.
Countless lives had been sacrificed for this moment.
He carried the hopes and ideals of all his comrades. He couldn’t fail now.
With a roar, the number of fist shadows surged, pummeling the black shadow’s body like a torrential storm.
Mysterious black symbols materialized on the black shadow’s surface, enveloping its form in an attempt to repel the onslaught.
But under the influence of the Purple Soul, the flickering symbols moved sluggishly, crumbling and dissipating under the relentless assault.
With the final punch, all the symbols shattered.
The black shadow’s flickering form turned toward the gate at the end of the corridor.
Just a little further.
Several unused secret weapons remained there.
The black shadow collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Huff!
With an exhale, Feng Qi’s flesh and blood dissolved into a swirling blood mist.
Unable to maintain his Blood Source Form any longer, he reverted to his Bone Man Form.
His situation was dire.
The intense battle had left his skeletal surface riddled with cracks.
Feng Qi glanced at the black shadow, now slumped against the wall, and flipped it the middle finger.
The black shadow wasn’t dead yet, but it was powerless to resist.
Feng Qi turned and, his body trembling, slowly walked toward the gate at the end of the corridor.
He desperately wanted to push it open and uncover the black shadow’s greatest secret.
The Black Reaper Project? Mo?
Answers that had eluded him across countless timelines might finally be found within.
(End of the Chapter)