The old priest couldn’t see a thing, and he was a few beats too slow to even turn his head—he just felt the wind whipping his silver hair into a wild mess. But Qi Meng’s eyes were blazing, catching every detail. The figure was sent flying, sure, but their reaction speed was insane.
She couldn’t make out his exact features, but those eyes were like a pair of crazed, icy hawks. Even airborne, he seized the moment, stretching his hands forward in a quick motion. A gust of wind swept a pile of papers from the archive, chasing after him with a whoosh down the corridor.
Meanwhile, in the archive, Yang Qi’s right hand flashed gold, snatching up as many files as she could. Then, turning into a streak of red light, she sprinted off in the direction the figure flew, scooping the old priest onto her shoulder as she went.
“After him!”
Sprinting at full speed in such a cramped space was like playing Pac-Man at 30x speed—everything whizzed by in a dizzying blur. The guy recovered his invisibility fast, moving like the wind through Tiberius Laboratory, racing for the surface.
Yang Qi stuck close behind, never losing sight—after all, she’d landed a solid kick on him just moments ago. That kick sent force rippling from skin to core, leaving his outer layer cracked, no longer completely colorless or scentless.
“Damn, this guy’s fast!” It took twenty minutes to sneak in, but only half a minute to run wild without a care. In the blink of an eye, the chase had looped back to the elevator shaft. The guy leapt up through the shaft, and Yang Qi stomped her feet, launching herself skyward after him.
Boom! The elevator shaft at the surface was ripped open by an invisible figure, bursting apart as if blown up from the inside. The guy smashed through the alloy shaft, rocketing straight up into the sky without looking back. He didn’t even seem to need a boost—looks like he’s got full-on flight powers. Yang Qi was hot on his heels, chasing him step for step.
Thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and the storm raged. The guy rode the wind straight into the clouds. At his command, tornadoes spun toward them, twisting through the air. Up here, there’s nothing to push off—if you get caught in a twister, you’d be lucky to use even a fraction of your strength.
But Yang Qi didn’t change course—she barreled straight into the tornado. With so many important files swept away, there’s no way she’d let him just walk off! She took a deep breath and roared, her Lion’s Roar cracking like thunder: “Zha!” The shout was louder than lightning, sending shockwaves in all directions and stopping the sky-high wind column dead in its tracks, before it crumbled away like a sandcastle.
Her blazing eyes were like swords, and golden mist shimmered around her legs. With a drumbeat of thuds, Yang Qi stomped on thin air, climbing up into the churning storm clouds.
But Qi Meng, looking up at the sky from the surface, didn’t seem too optimistic about Yang Qi. After all, Yang Qi couldn’t really fly—without the Shadow Dragon Jet, even five steps of midair sprinting was her limit. Plus, that guy’s invisibility was tough to deal with, and in his stormy home turf, he had all the advantages.
Yang Qi chased relentlessly, even hauling the old priest with her straight into enemy territory—she was exposing her own weakness just to force the guy into a fight. If he turned to brawl, they might stand a chance. But if he was a real big shot, willing to cut his losses and just escape, catching him in five steps would be nearly impossible.
Honestly, the guy was no pushover—unless he did something dumb, he wasn’t going down easy.
She’d called it right. Moments later, Yang Qi dropped from the clouds, landing on the ground with a thud. The fierce wind blew, and that scent was gone.
Qi Meng floated down and landed next to Yang Qi, who was staring seriously up at the sky. “That guy’s got a ton of powers, he’s ruthless, and he knows when to cut and run. He’s a real tough opponent.” Hand-to-hand, she could handle even a storm-powered freak, but his invisibility and flight were just way too annoying. Maybe if she could open her third eye, she’d see through his tricks.
Yang Qi glanced at Qi Meng—wondering if maybe she could see through it, too.
In some ways, Qi Meng was even better suited to handle this kind of enemy. If she made a move—even just nocking an arrow and pretending to shoot, or just putting on a show to scare him—the guy would never have gotten away today.
But now, the guy had already vanished into the void, taking a mountain of files with him.
Under Yang Qi’s gaze, Qi Meng felt a little guilty and dodged her eyes, but quickly turned back, staring wide-eyed in return. They’d already agreed Qi Meng wouldn’t get involved—no need to feel sorry about sticking to the deal.
“Shall we go?”
“One more thing before we leave.” Yang Qi turned and headed for the busted elevator shaft. “We’ve come this far—might as well go all out. Let’s flip this place upside down, smash the mainframe, wipe our tracks, snag any black-tech hard drives, and scour every nook for backup files. Who knows if the stuff that guy grabbed is what we’re actually after?”
This little ambush had left Yang Qi pretty annoyed. With a final burst of thunder, the storm burned itself out in just a few minutes—the clouds and rain vanished, all the energy spent.
But as the natural storm faded, the real storm was just getting started.
Yang Qi clenched her fists with a crack, lightning flashing in her eyes, her face set and determined. She hoped the files she got would have enough info—otherwise, she’d chase that guy to the ends of the earth to drag him back.
On the road to saving her cousin, a powerful rival had appeared. In every way, she was almost certain this guy was the self-proclaimed second-best poser in the world: [God].
“Second-best in the world? Hmph!”
Three days later.
In a lavish room, Patrick Zade and [God] were back on a video call.
“Nicely done—Tiberius is in complete chaos now. I love your style, and your power’s even better.” Patrick Zade raised his glass in salute. “I’ve got people sorting through the files now. Shouldn’t be long before we decode Tiberius’s exact location. Once I control that lab, I’ll give you what you want. At that point, forget second-best—you’ll be number one, no problem.”
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But the man on the other end of the video call wasn’t basking in the praise—his tight lips just got even more severe.
Patrick Zade only knew part of the story, but as the guy who lived it, he couldn’t forget. For three days, every time he tried to meditate, that short clash replayed in his mind. The whole battle was a test of brains and guts, but they only traded one real blow. Still, he’d never forget how that white-haired woman crushed him with unstoppable force.
If you’re going to negotiate with a tiger, you’d better be a tiger yourself—and never show a hint of weakness. If he hadn’t needed to recover from that hit, there’s no way he’d have waited this long to meet Patrick Zade. He’d never believed anyone could take him down in one move, or that he could lose so cleanly in close combat. At least, not on Earth.
But now he realized—Earth’s waters run deeper than they look. If a so-called dragon tried to stir up trouble, another dragon might just bite its throat.
A fighter that strong couldn’t be some nobody—they had to be a big deal.
But who was this woman, anyway? Which one of the top eight on the Sky List was she?
The hype from the World Observation Bureau’s website had gone up in smoke after that move, leaving him clear-headed about his own shortcomings. He glanced at Patrick Zade, then at the rack of test tubes beside him. Seven tubes—now just four left. The first three had already transformed him, but if he got all seven…
“Let’s skip the small talk—this is the fourth time.” [God] spoke, his hawk-like eyes boring into the screen. “I want my reward.”
“No problem.” Patrick Zade slapped the test tube rack—four colors left: orange, yellow, green, and purple. “Pick whichever you want.”
“I choose—” [God] subconsciously touched his chest, where it still ached faintly. His eyes flashed with killing intent—on the road to godhood, there’s no room for failure. In any competition, it’s kill or be killed!
“Yellow.”
Buzz—the screen went dark, ending the call.
“Yellow?” Patrick Zade drained his glass, anger flickering in his eyes. “What an arrogant bastard, acting like that with me. He really thinks he can become a god? Once I get to the heart of Tiberius and break that curse, how could some lowlife from a Baghdad slum ever compare to me?”
“Please, sir, don’t be angry. That lowlife can’t hold a candle to you.” The old butler appeared at his side, bowing low. “We’ve started decoding everything—should have results in two days. Plus, Miss Paphis just took over, and the Tiberius Lab got wrecked under her watch. I doubt she’ll last as executive.”
“Hahaha!” Just mentioning it put Patrick Zade in a good mood, grinning like a cocky, raging lion. “I’d love to see the look on that bitch’s face right now!”
But if you rewind three days, back when those two monitors were screaming for help, nobody knew that thousands of kilometers away, a little tablet was streaming the lab’s chaos in real time. Rampaging test subjects, dead researchers, and the whole lab under siege—every bit of it, clear as day.
A red-haired, red-eyed daughter of Zade watched it all with eerie calm. She should’ve been furious, but her face was cool—maybe even a sly, secretive smile, like everything was going according to plan.
Creak—the door swung open and a star-covered general swaggered in, dropping into the seat across from Paphis. “I’m short on time. Since we’ve always worked well together—and since you’re just some rookie—you’ve got two minutes to state your business, Zade.”
“General Ross, I’ll keep it simple—” Paphis hid her tablet, her voice turning cold and steely. “Help America. Catch the Black Death Emperor.”
“Help? America’s your homeland—you’re supposed to fight for it! But—” General Ross folded his hands under his chin, sitting up straight. “Now you’ve got ten minutes.”