"Ahem!" His throat took a heavy blow, but only a fraction of the force broke through the protective layer. Patrick Zade forced his eyes open, blocking with all his might, his arms moving at lightning speed. Thanks to his magical equipment from Master Nature, his hand speed was way above normal. Even though he was just flailing wildly, he still managed to grab Jonathan Black's arm with a slap, and with his other fist, he punched hard: "It's useless! I have magical gear from Master Nature! Prepare to die, all of you!"
Thud! The punch landed on Jonathan Black's abdomen, the magically enhanced strength reaching the fourth tier of Dragon Elephant.
Jonathan Black's abs twisted and caved in, his face twitching—then shifting to a look of all-or-nothing resolve.
"You've got gear, I've got a promise. I said I'd protect Aunt Joan! So even if I get smashed to pieces, even if my genes collapse, I will protect her!" The blood energy gathered in his lower abdomen exploded with sheer willpower, turning Jonathan Black's whole body bright red. The fist buried in his belly felt a scorching heat, then was suddenly bounced back—smacking Patrick Zade right in the face and making stars dance before his eyes.
Muscles bulged and then tightened. The sixth layer of Dragon Elephant's brute force woke up deep inside Jonathan Black, and he smashed a heavy punch into Patrick Zade's chest.
Bang! The magic array shattered first.
Crack! Patrick Zade's ribs snapped one by one.
Jonathan Black's fist plunged deep into Patrick Zade's chest, blasting his back outward and sending his body flying high.
"Ah—!" Time was short, so Jonathan Black went for the kill. He shoved his hand into Patrick Zade's mouth, grabbed his upper jaw, and swung him in a decisive finishing move toward the Starlit Passage—BOOM! Crack-crack! Patrick Zade's magical gear exploded, his spine shattered, and the so-called perfect man could never stand again.
"I'm... the most perfect..." Patrick Zade wheezed, barely breathing.
"Go be perfect in hell!" Jonathan Black locked his arms in a ring and twisted hard. There was a nasty crack as Patrick Zade's head was wrenched clean off. Blood sprayed high into the air. Thud—the head was tossed aside. Jonathan Black was burning up, panting heavily, and finally staggered a couple of steps.
His face flickered red and white, his heart rate spiking and dropping—the gene collapse had already begun.
"Go!" Susan Morrow grabbed Jonathan Black, ready to teleport.
But...
"So, you guys have backup too, huh?" The infuriating voice was closer than ever. Overlord Golem breached the dimensional barrier: "Holding back and then suddenly exploding with power—was that all for me? Not bad, very patient, but unfortunately I've got more cards to play. And now, you're out of cards."
"Hah!" Crack—Jonathan Black stomped the ground. The Starlit Passage didn't budge, but his own leg bones twisted and snapped under the force.
But he was way past caring.
Hair and beard bristling, eyes blazing red, Jonathan Black swung his left fist at Overlord Golem's last remaining head.
But in the next instant—crack! Overlord Golem's last tentacle and Jonathan Black's left fist both shattered. Gene collapse had begun; Jonathan Black's body couldn't handle its own existence, his strength and fragility showing at once.
Racked with pain, Jonathan Black couldn't help but grunt. Then a giant stone hand grabbed his neck and lifted him off the ground.
"An ordinary Earthling, but with physical stats way beyond human limits—you're a real specimen. Your very existence overlaps with my 'Chosen One Reverse Parasitism' experiment." Overlord Golem lifted Jonathan Black to eye level, scanning him with its last eye. "As far as I know, the Zade Family made a bunch of enhanced humans, that kid just now was one of them. But he was worthless. You're different. Don't tell me... were you personally created by the legendary Sophia?"
Personally created?
That phrase stirred up waves in the sea of memory.
This time, the static memories came first.
—Buzz. April 1987.
"Collapse? Or genetic collapse?" Adam Zade stared at the pile of debris in the lab, breathing hard, his pale face tinged with red, eyes wild and unfiltered. He looked at the researchers like a venomous dragon baring its fangs: "After all this time, it's still genetic collapse! What are you people even doing?!"
"S-sorry..." The researchers trembled.
Adam Zade roared, "Sophia's side can keep mammals stable for four weeks now, and you guys can't even last a minute before turning to ashes! What use are you to me?! I took huge risks to get you all these live subjects for experiments, spent a fortune on research, and this is what I get?!"
"So sorry, boss, we... we'll keep trying." The researchers were drenched in cold sweat.
"No, no, I get it now. It's not about effort." Adam Zade took a deep breath, his face shifting between bitter and ruthless. "You're not making progress, not because you aren't trying, but because you're nowhere near her. You're no match for Sophia."
"Uh..." The researchers glanced at each other. The team lead whispered, "Actually... that's true. She's a genius. We're just—"
"Just what? Ordinary people? That's right, you're just ordinary. But there are ways to deal with ordinary people. If normal effort can't match a genius, then we'll just have to go beyond normal." Adam Zade's face went cold. He waved to the side: "Use him for the experiment."
"Huh?" The lead researcher didn't even have time to react before Parker Peterson, who'd been standing there scowling, led a team to grab him.
The lead researcher screamed, begged, and struggled, but was still pinned to the lab table and forcibly injected with gene serum extracted from the Superhuman Key.
Splash—the team lead wet his pants, staring in despair at his colleagues. They stared back in horror, and right before their eyes, thick veins crawled all over him. The veins spread fast, covering his whole body in less than a minute. Then, like a shattered porcelain doll, he collapsed, turning to dust.
"Tsk..." Adam Zade took a deep breath, his face crazed: "From now on, if you don't give me results every month, I'll randomly pick one of you for experiments. Know your place—a genius is one of a kind, but none of you are worth walking on eggshells for."