Chapter Nineteen: The Awakened

"Ah!"

Lin Xian let out a roar. Adrenaline surging, he charged headlong into the hail of gunfire.

Boom!

Facing the high-speed impact of a 200-ton heavy-duty gas turbine locomotive, the thin-skinned sedan blocking the tracks was pulverized in an instant. Sparks showered everywhere as wreckage flew. Inside the cockpit, Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan felt only a slight jolt before they barreled through.

It was as easy as driving over a discarded cardboard box.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Rain-like bullets poured onto the all-metal hull, leaving nothing more than tiny white pockmarks. Ironically, one ricocheted off the frame and punched clean through the thigh of one of Liu Wei's henchmen.

"Agh!"

The man clutched his leg in agony.

In a split second, the train roared past. Seeing the scene, Liu Wei felt his authority trampled and flew into a rage. A sickly green light flashed in his eyes; his jacket burst open, and four dark green tentacles erupted from his back. They lashed out, pulling him along the tracks with the rapid, jerky movements of a spider.

These four tentacles possessed immense strength, capable of lifting tons, and were incredibly agile. Through practice, Liu Wei found that his strength and speed continued to improve, so he arrogantly dubbed himself the "Four-Winged Heavenly King."

Thud!

Just as Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan thought they had broken through the blockade, a strange sound erupted on the roof of the train.

Lin Xian’s expression tightened. He immediately throttled down the speed and reached for his short blade. He had to slow down; otherwise, he wouldn't have the focus required to handle a crisis.

Thump, thump, thump!

Something was crawling on the roof. Chen Sixuan curled into a ball, terrified. As Lin Xian listened to the sounds, he backed away sharply, just as a middle-aged man with tentacles appeared before the windshield.

"Not bad, kid! You've got guts to crash through my blockade!"

Seeing that the person in the cabin was just a youth, Liu Wei sneered, but then his gaze swept over to the cowering Chen Sixuan, and his eyes lit up.

"Oh? And there's a pretty girl too."

Chen Sixuan turned pale as she stared at Liu Wei’s writhing tentacles. With his glowing green eyes and four grotesque appendages, he looked exactly like a monster from a horror film.

An Esper!?

Lin Xian’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected to encounter an Esper among the ambushers. This was his first time meeting one, and it was nothing like he had imagined. After all, he hadn't expected people to sprout tentacles—was this a superpower or the result of nuclear radiation?

Thud!

Without a word, Liu Wei slammed a tentacle into the windshield, spiderwebbing the glass instantly.

Lin Xian was shocked. The windshield was at least 10-15 millimeters of high-strength glass; rifle bullets barely left a scratch on it. To think this man could crack it with a single blow—what terrifying strength!

Liu Wei was equally stunned. He knew the power of his tentacles well, and the fact that he hadn't shattered the glass immediately suggested the train's defensive rating was quite high.

"Damn it!"

Lin Xian’s expression turned cold. He slammed on the emergency brakes, bringing the train to a rapid halt.

Liu Wei, not expecting the train to stop out of nowhere while Lin Xian moved away from the control panel, was caught off guard and thrown by the sudden inertia.

"Keep the door locked!"

Lin Xian brushed past Chen Sixuan, grabbed his short blade, and opened the door at the rear of the cabin.

Seeing him stop the train, Chen Sixuan asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"

"Butchering him!"

Bang!

Lin Xian vaulted out and slammed the iron door shut. He knew that if an Esper like Liu Wei could catch up to the train and break through its defenses, cowering inside was just waiting for death. Rather than letting him smash the windshield, it was better to take him out directly. If the glass shattered, repairs would take hours, and if he were exposed in the darkness, he might end up even worse off if he encountered the monster from the previous night.

Liu Wei scrambled up from the ground, furious, but seeing the youth descending from the train with a steel blade, he couldn't help but laugh.

"What? Playing the hero to save the damsel, brother? Haha!" He sneered, his tentacles spreading out to look immense. "Too bad. I’m taking your life today, I’m taking your train, and I’ll be sure to take good care of your woman for you."

Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed. Without a word of wasted breath, he raised his hand and unleashed a concentrated Wind Cannon at Liu Wei’s face!

Whoosh!

A sharp spear of wind blasted forward. Liu Wei, seeing Lin Xian raise his arm, tried to react, but felt as if his forehead had been struck by a heavy hammer. He was sent flying backward.

"Crap! An Esper!"

Liu Wei was horrified. He immediately realized the opponent was just like him. Having awakened his powers only recently, he had no combat experience. Caught off guard by the sneak attack, he broke into a cold sweat.

However, since his awakening, his physical stats and reaction time had improved drastically. Even while flying backward, he instinctively lashed out with a tentacle, lightning-fast, and coiled it around Lin Xian’s ankle.

Beside the tracks was a steep ravine. Liu Wei, airborne, tried to use his other tentacles to stabilize himself, but instead tore through the wire fencing along the tracks. He dragged Lin Xian down the slope with him as they tumbled.

Lin Xian hadn't expected Liu Wei’s bulky-looking tentacles to be so fast, nor that his own point-blank Wind Cannon would only knock him back and leave a shallow hole in his forehead—the Esper’s durability was terrifying.

With his ankle bound, a massive crushing force clamped down, making him hiss in pain. If not for his own augmented strength and defense, his ankle would have surely shattered.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The world spun. Along the way, Liu Wei’s tentacles snapped several shrubs, but their momentum didn't stop. Lin Xian abandoned his short blade, covered his head with his arms, and was dragged all the way down to the riverbank at the bottom of the ravine.

Agony pierced his heart.

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but when Lin Xian managed to force his eyes open, pain racked his entire body. He searched the area with his eyes and soon saw Liu Wei, his tentacles still flailing, struggling to crawl up from the ground nearby.

Because Liu Wei had been in front, his massive, tentacled body had taken the brunt of the rocks and brush. He was covered in blood, looking utterly wretched.

"Ugh! Damn it all!"

Though his defense had increased, Liu Wei’s back was torn to shreds, and a joint in his leg was dislocated. The pain was so intense it felt like his molars were about to shatter.

Burning with rage, Liu Wei looked at Lin Xian, whom he had dragged down with him. He no longer dared to show any contempt; he couldn't fathom what kind of power allowed someone to knock him back with their bare hands. In this situation, he had to fight for his life—he had to strike first!

But when he focused his gaze on the lying Lin Xian, he saw that the youth had already opened his eyes, and one finger was pointed directly at his forehead.

*Damn it, again!*

Liu Wei, having been burned once, felt his heart skip a beat and immediately raised his four tentacles to shield his face.

But the anticipated attack didn't come. Instead, the movement ripped open the bone-deep wounds on his back again, causing blood to gush out and nearly knocking him unconscious.

A feint?

Liu Wei couldn't even cry out in pain. As he opened his tentacles, he saw the youth scrambling to his feet like a hound, sprinting at him with lethal intent, unleashing a punch aimed directly at the face he had just uncovered.

Boom!

Lin Xian’s full-force punch shattered Liu Wei’s nose. Darkness flooded Liu Wei’s vision, and his tentacles lashed out blindly, but they all struck empty air.

He hadn't expected a young man like this to be so vicious and skilled at feinting. This was far beyond the reaction capability of a middle-aged man who spent his days in the vegetable market.

Having suffered two blows in a row, Liu Wei began to feel fear. His convoy had only been out for one day, and he could already smell the scent of death closing in.