[Combat Suit Buffering—Buffer Load Too High—Activating NanoArmor Defensive Mode—Nanoparticle Restructuring Successful, Defense Increased by 300%]
The NanoArmor’s defense is insane. Flip on armor mode and it can take direct hits from a heavy machine gun, no sweat. But it’s not just brute force—any impact on the suit’s surface gets bounced, rippled, and broken up by endless chains of nanoparticles, until it just disappears.
But when that punch slammed in, alarms blared inside Zhu Ming’s head.
[Unknown Error Detected, Buffer Rate Too Low—Self-Diagnosis—Unable to Resolve—Error, Error!]
Using the Nano Core way beyond his own limits, Zhu Ming started trusting the data more than his own body. So when that alarm screamed in his head, his first instinct was to order the Nano Core to fix it. But before he could finish the thought, his chest seized up and—bam!—he flew straight into the black battle van’s door.
“No way!” Zhu Ming screamed inside, but couldn’t actually shout—the hit left him gasping for breath. He snapped his head up. Across from him, Jack Young looked icy, eyes a little red, but weirdly spaced out. For a moment, he didn’t even come in for the follow-up.
If Jack Young hadn’t been so out of it right then, he would’ve finished Zhu Ming off with that punch.
[Intelligent Mode Activated, Exiting Armor Mode, Switching to Speed Mode. Escape Immediately.]
“No speed mode! Switch to strength mode!” Zhu Ming shouted. “Nano Core—boost, simulate, battle evolve!”
Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz, bzzz—four electronic beeps buzzed through him, and Zhu Ming, wrapped in NanoArmor, bulked up instantly. Gear and muscles swelled and knotted. Running three Nano Core functions at once was brutal on his body, but right now he didn’t care. Showing off NanoArmor in front of everyone? He was way past worrying about that.
Under some weird supernatural influence, he’d lost all sense of reason.
“Ahhh!” Zhu Ming roared, stomping the ground and launching himself sky-high, swinging a heavy punch down at Jack Young’s head. With NanoArmor in strength mode, his attack packed at least Tier 4 Dragon Elephant power—plus Nano Core boost, it was fierce and deadly. But spaced-out Jack Young just stepped sideways, his left hand vanishing for a second, then reappearing to smack Zhu Ming right in the gut.
Boom—Zhu Ming went flying again, slamming into the black battle van, making the whole thing shake.
“Screw you, you—!” Zhu Ming yelled, charging again. His eyes under the NanoArmor helmet were streaked with black. This time he’d learned—no jumping, just a straight-up angry bull rush. Maybe he even powered up a little.
But Jack Young’s face was still weird—a mix of rage and confusion. The side effects of forcing down his emotions hit faster than expected, and his patched-up thoughts started cracking. Two mental circuits fought it out, and you could see it all on his face. Far off, people were yelling, calling for help, running over, ready to break up the fight.
Actually, nobody—including Zhu Ming—realized the only reason no one had died yet was because Jack Young’s sanity was barely holding on. Plus, the memories flooding his mind weren’t the kind that drove him totally nuts. Really, if Zhu Ming just backed off and hid, things would cool down on their own.
But nope—thanks to all kinds of reasons, the more they fought, the hotter it got.
On the distant rooftop, Blankface’s expression stretched ninety-five centimeters. His hands trembled, but his voice stayed calm: “Oh wow, he’s actually using his emotions for self-hypnosis—breaking out of a mental trap by turning force against force. If he never studied this, then he’s a total genius.”
Yep, Jack Young’s fighting was intense, but the real battle was inside his head.
But now, there was finally a glimmer of hope.
When you’re burning up with rage and about to lose it, how do you calm down? Easiest trick: think of something good. Right then, Jack Young started to get the hang of it.
That day, he was riding his bike and nearly caused a disaster he couldn’t take back. The guilt ate him alive. But he remembered—the girl was comforting him the whole way. They pushed the bike back to the apartment, her knee still bleeding, but she kept cracking jokes and teasing him.
“Look, we wiped out hard, but even the eggs in the basket survived!”
“Wow, check it out! Not fair—grapes and tofu are fine too!”
“Huh? I checked everything—looks like nothing’s broken, awesome, dinner’s saved. But I need Daisy to help tonight… What, you want to cook? Your skills are strictly for washing dishes after!”
They pushed the bike up the slope, out from under the bridge’s shadow, and back into the golden sunlight. Was that memory bitter or sweet? Hard to say—maybe a bit of both. But the main feeling was guilt. He didn’t blame anyone else, just himself. And when you’re guilty, you’re not about to lash out and hit someone.
So Jack Young stopped fighting the guilt, and tried to accept it—using that guilt to smother the weird fire burning in his heart. Soaking in guilt didn’t feel great, but with his inner demons roaring, he had no choice but to give it a shot.
(This chapter’s not over yet~.~ Click next page for more!)
Luckily, it worked.
Back in the real world, Jack Young’s eyes flashed, snapping out of his daze. Instantly, he grabbed Zhu Ming’s arm, twisted and pinned him to the ground, left foot planted on Zhu Ming’s shoulder armor, locking him down tight.
“Don’t move!” Jack Young just wanted to calm things down—even if it meant getting hauled off to the police station. Anything to stop losing control.
But Zhu Ming wasn’t having it. He braced his other arm on the ground and roared—all his gear buzzing with electronic noise. Muscles bulged, like he could bench-press a truck. But he missed his mark; Jack Young’s foot vanished and Zhu Ming launched himself into the air with his own push.
Next thing he knew, a flying left foot slammed right into his face.
Wham! Zhu Ming spun through the air. His tactical helmet cracked and fell apart, and when he hit the ground, it shattered, revealing his twisted face.
[Warning, Warning: System Overload. All functions disabled.]
Just seconds ago, Zhu Ming was wild enough to wrestle a tiger. Now, endless exhaustion flattened him. He struggled on the ground, eyes red, teeth clenched, and finally staggered to his feet—still glaring at Jack Young like he might attack any second. That look could freak out any normal person.
But Jack Young wasn’t fazed. His eyes flashed cold as he pointed at Zhu Ming and snapped, “Cheap shot? If you hadn’t swerved and slowed down, I would’ve knocked you out! Sit tight and don’t push your luck!” When the crash almost happened, the black battle van dodged too—that’s why Jack Young held back a little, even subconsciously.
“Swerved? Slowed down? Heh, ha, ha ha ha!” Zhu Ming suddenly burst out laughing, then roared, “What right do you have to say that? Qi Xi—she’s my fiancée! She’s mine, mine!”
“Yours? Ha! What a joke!” Jack Young’s temper flared again—his hair practically stood on end as he stepped forward. “I don’t care what tricks you pulled two years ago, or how she left me. I’ll make sure she comes back the same way!”
“Two years? Tricks?” Zhu Ming froze, then grinned a weird grin. “You pathetic loser! Two years? What, did you lose your memory, or did she just never tell you?”
“Tell me? Tell me what?” Jack Young suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, like something was about to burst out. The feeling ticked him off—he took two steps forward, grabbed Zhu Ming’s shoulder, and snapped, “What are you trying to say?”
Their faces were less than half a meter apart, each seeing their own twisted reflection in the other’s eyes. Zhu Ming smirked and said slowly, “If she never told you, listen up: Qi Xi is my college junior. She’s been my girlfriend for five years—five years! We’ve been through everything together, and now we’re finally getting married! And you, you random bastard who just showed up—what do you even want?!”
Five years?
Five... years?!
Jack Young’s eyes went wide, his mouth dropped open, his gaze darting everywhere. He wanted to shout, 'You’re lying!' but something weird inside kept him silent. He looked back—Qi Xi and Daisy Summers were sprinting over, yelling as they ran.
His eyes landed on the scars on Qi Xi’s left knee and right elbow, and the memories rushed in. He’d seen this before—back in the Death God World lockup, during his meditation.
He saw Daisy Summers scolding him while tending the wounds: “Dummy Jack, you really blew it this time. Because of you, Xixi’s gonna have two scars every time she wears a skirt or short sleeves. That’s a lifetime sentence for a beauty—your crime is huge!”
He saw his own hand freeze, eyebrows furrowed, guilt so deep he couldn’t say a word.
He saw Xixi comfort Daisy Summers, then turn to him: “Alright, Daisy, let it go—today was just an accident. Hey, Dummy Jack, is this your permanent mark on me?”
“Whew—” The boy took a deep breath, wiped away every negative expression, and smiled: “Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility for life.”
“Ha, you make it sound so dramatic!” Daisy Summers grinned and patted his shoulder. “Just get rid of the scars, that’s all you’re responsible for. Don’t forget—even out of town, a girl’s still got—”
The scene started to shake, blur, and freeze like a busted old TV. In the Death God World, the memory cut off, like something was blocking it from playing further.
But right then, on a rooftop far away, someone stretched their hand a full meter. Power surged uncontrollably; his hand trembled, but his face was pure joy and madness: “I see it—the biggest crack’s appeared! Yes! Yes! Yes! This is the perfect chance! Give me some fun—blow up his heart! Mind Cannon Sniper!”
Whoosh—his right hand released. Invisible psychic waves gathered, crossed space and time, and slammed into Jack Young’s heart. Crack—the memory scene shattered, the block broke, and the conversation continued.
He saw Daisy Summers say those three words: “She’s got... a boyfriend...”
“Boy... friend...” Back in the real world, Jack Young let go of Zhu Ming, stumbling back two steps, staring at his hands as memories flashed through his mind.
But that’s impossible!
Deep inside, a familiar voice kept repeating the same thing:
Jack Young... I like you...
The words echoed like ripples, bouncing endlessly—not fake at all!
“No way! Absolutely not!!” Jack Young clenched his fists, eyes blazing, hair standing on end: “This is fake, I refuse to accept it!” But by the end, his voice faltered. No matter how extreme his feelings, Jack Young was still Jack Young—he couldn’t twist his memories and lie to himself.
“If—if this is true, then—all those memories, all those moments, and that one line, what do they mean?! If it’s all true, then I...” Jack Young looked back at the people running over, at that one wind-blown dumb hair, and his vision blurred: “Everything I’ve held onto, everything I’ve chased, everything I’ve done—what does it even mean...”
Crack—the ice lake in his mind shattered. Jack Young’s main consciousness fell into the abyss. He hit the water, and the memory-water turned from yellow to deep red. This time, his reason didn’t even struggle—he just sank, like a drowning man who’d given up.
Suddenly, wind whistled past his ear—he turned to see Zhu Ming grinning and swinging a punch at him. But Jack Young didn’t want to dodge or fight back. He just watched the punch, moving so slow, and didn’t feel like doing anything.
But then a strong fist slammed into Zhu Ming’s chest—Jasper Xiao, sprinting in from the stands, sent him flying. When Jasper Xiao turned to Jack Young, he looked just as serious, warhammer in hand.
Jack Young twisted his mouth, not sure if he was crying or laughing, not sure what expression he had: “Go ahead.”
Wham—a clean, heavy blow from the warhammer smashed into the back of Jack Young’s head.