"Impossible. No one in this world can bring non-parasitic life from the Other Shore back to Earth—no one, period. If they could, someone would've already conquered the whole planet." The young man boasted, "But the Zade Family has its own methods. Sure, the Tiberius Laboratory has been burning through the budget for years, but it's not like they've got nothing to show for it."
"Patrick Zade, that's classified." Parvis cut him off without hesitation, shooting a cold glance at Cobra. "The only reason he's sitting here today is because of the deal, but he's not on the list for confidential info sharing."
"You don't need to remind me! My clearance is high enough—I can talk about the less sensitive stuff!" Patrick Zade clearly didn't appreciate Parvis's lecture, snapping back before turning to Cobra, "Ever heard of Donald?"
Cobra slapped his palm, "Oh, that guy! Yeah, I've heard of him—Donald Zade, ranked thirty-fourth among Zade Family heirs. Every intelligence agency has him on file. The mess he made on that Pacific island? Legendary. The public doesn't know, but among the world's military and political big shots, it was almost as shocking as the Shanghai incident."
Cobra shifted, propping his chin and teasing, "Man, your Zade Family really is something. Even a random heir can leave a lasting impression on the world's bigwigs. I heard a bunch of U.S. Congress heavyweights were victims in that incident—they've had it out for the Zade Family ever since. Gotta hand it to you guys for holding your own."
"I don't care where you get your intel, but you got one thing right—the Zade Family only wants the best, the perfect heirs. Any one of us is strong enough." Patrick Zade ignored the sarcasm, chin held high with pride. "But Donald isn't in that league. He's a failure. Ran the Tiberius Laboratory for years and still couldn't produce anything decent. Those 'super soldiers' he rolled out? Just picking up the scraps left by a real genius from twenty-seven years ago, and he didn't even do it well."
"A real genius, huh? I heard about her—an unbelievable woman scientist, gone too soon. Never getting to see her experiments or share her research... that's the real heartbreak for a fellow scientist." Cobra glanced at the screen, where the Ironblood Warriors were duking it out with the Chosen Ones, and pointed, "So, these things are Tiberius Lab's bioweapons? Gotta say, they look tougher than your brother's super soldiers."
"That loser doesn't deserve to be called my brother! But you're not entirely wrong—these are a joint project between Tiberius and Manchester Labs. Tiberius provided the bio-template, Manchester contributed tech from their research on unknowable items. From the bodies to the guns and fire-control systems, it's all knockoff tech." Patrick Zade gazed at the screen like a king surveying his realm. "But knockoffs mean mass production. This is the Zade Family's future flagship product."
On the screen, inside a stark white room, the battle entered a whole new phase.
The Ironblood Warriors generally boast Dragon Elephant Third Tier strength and up—some even pushing close to Fourth Tier. Plus, they're packing serious gear: long-range light orb guns, close-quarters alloy spears, and seven places on their bodies where razor-sharp alloy blades can pop out and catch you off guard. The fire-control system on those light orb guns is cutting-edge—lock on and fire in half a second. Fast, fierce, and deadly accurate.
And the self-growth system Donald once tried—and failed—to implement for his warriors? Someone finally nailed it. As the fight drags on and more data gets collected, these Ironblood Warriors move sharper, slicker, and way more dangerous.
Under the control of the thought controller, they know no fear, no fatigue, no concept of good or evil, and never back down. So yeah, they're knockoffs, but aside from missing the super-powered self-destruct bomb, these bootleg Ironbloods are just as good as the originals. Toss them into a pyramid under the Antarctic and they'd flip an Alien nest upside down.
On paper, any one of these Ironbloods is top 2,000 or 3,000 in the world rankings. In a surprise attack, with numbers and stamina on their side, they could wipe out the Chosen Ones squad—especially now that Li Yuncong's heavy firepower is out of commission.
But the real fight? Nothing like the numbers say.
First, Rachel Luo drew first blood—her sword skewered an Ironblood knockoff right through the mask, kicking off the counterattack. Cold steel flashed, the Ironblood toppled backward, hitting the ground with a thud before blood finally began to seep out.
Then Chainsaw Girl went berserk, hogging the enemy's attention and swinging her chainsaw like a maniac. Her attacks had zero strategy—half of it was just venting. But that wild style hit the combat system's Achilles' heel. A flood of useless data overwhelmed the server, and the not-so-smart system couldn't keep up. The Ironbloods hesitated for a split second, and Chainsaw Girl split one right down the middle.
The crazed chainsaw buzzed as Chainsaw Girl sawed an Ironblood Warrior clean in half, splattering bone and meat all over her face and outfit. She looked more like a demon than ever—but honestly, it fired up the team's morale.
Except for Not-a-Husband and Li Yuncong, who were slumped off to the side, Paladin, Jonathan, and even Liu Xiaoying were throwing out serious firepower. Jonathan especially—his style was fierce, ruthless, and all-in. He was on fire today, totally stealing the show.
Paladin was relentless, hammering away at the enemy. Jonathan’s attacks were brutal and daring, and even Liu Xiaoying was stepping up, throwing her strength into the fight. The whole squad was fired up, ready to turn the tide.
For a moment, the Chosen Ones squad was riding high, actually pushing back the knockoff Ironbloods.
In front of the screen, the three watched in silence. After a beat, Cobra pointed at the screen, "So, are these dessert-tier products or flagship-tier? If this is the flagship, it's kinda underwhelming."
Patrick Zade’s face darkened at Cobra’s jab, but he nodded coolly. "Weapons that only win when the odds are stacked in their favor are never reliable. Only harsh conditions and endless adversity can forge true Iron Warriors. These folks are good test subjects, good whetstones—but that's all they are."
"Just like you said, these twelve are only the first batch—strength and gear vary, but most are aimed at the mid-range market." Patrick Zade straightened up, brimming with confidence. "The real flagship, the high-end stuff, was supposed to be tested on Black Death Emperor. But since we're here, let's give them a warm-up—Number Sixteen!"
Patrick Zade barked orders at Parvis like a master to a servant, showing zero respect. Parvis, unfazed, showed no emotion as she activated a mysterious mechanism. Her face didn't change, but who knows what deep thoughts might be swirling behind those blood-red eyes.
At the same time, the biggest safety lock on the screen clicked open, shifting to unlocked mode.
On the screen, a massive white sealed pod hissed out jets of coolant. Seconds later, a huge claw punched right through the special side panel. The dark red claw flexed its carrot-thick fingers, getting used to the movement, then gripped the side panel and tore—ripping the super-material apart like it was paper.
Fragments exploded everywhere as a huge dark red shadow slowly emerged.
The towering figure stood nearly four meters tall, its body massively muscular, skin stretched to the limit. It had a human torso and limbs—and a crocodile-like tail. Four bone spikes jutted from its forehead like a crown. Beneath the crown, its eyes burned with violence and a thirst for blood.
One look at those eyes and you knew—this wasn't some controlled bioweapon.
Patrick Zade seemed infected by its bloodlust, his eyes gleaming as he licked his lips. "This is the Zade Family's next-gen flagship—the Butcher, the new world's heavy assault tank!"
Thud—the floor beneath the Butcher caved in as it vanished in a blur. In an instant, it smashed a smaller white block like a lion flexing its claws. Another crash—the floor dented again as the Butcher charged. This time, its tail whipped another block into the air, shattering it into flying debris.
Beep beep beep—the numbers on the screen spiked, the data off the charts. Thud thud thud—it rampaged from spot to spot, clawing, kicking, swinging its tail, headbutting, smashing everything in sight. It was like a prisoner finally unleashed, itching to break and destroy anything it saw.
But lifeless white blocks couldn't satisfy its raging urge to destroy.
It roared, the sound echoing through the sealed space. It charged toward the source of life energy, spotted the Ironblood Warriors, and smashed three knockoff Ironbloods into pulp with one swipe. Seeing all those living beings made it almost giddy with excitement.
Then it spotted a real eye-catcher—a head of blazing white hair that stood out.
That's the one!