Chapter Sixty-One: The Metal Madman (Unleashed)
Chapter Sixty-One: The Metal Madman
The man leapt lightly from the railing, landing directly in front of Chen Xiao.
He was tall and slender, his long hair giving off a slightly disheveled, decadent aura. His eyes were blue—clearly not of Asian descent—and within them lingered a subtle melancholy. In terms of appearance, he was the very model of the brooding, handsome type. Yet the cigarette he held between his fingers, and the faintly indifferent smile at the corner of his lips, left Chen Xiao feeling deeply uneasy.
“Call out your companion!” Chen Xiao tightened his fists cautiously. “What, planning to pull the same trick, ambush me from the shadows?”
The man burst out laughing, his laughter tinged with a touch of absurdity. “A newcomer—definitely a newcomer. You probably don’t even know who she is, do you? I wonder how the Service Club trains its rookies. Even a clueless greenhorn like you gets sent out on missions?”
He flicked the cigarette away with a snap of his fingers, exhaled a long plume of smoke, and fixed his gaze on Chen Xiao. “That woman’s name is Alice. Her alias is Viper. Hey, rookie, of all the people you could have provoked, you just had to pick her. She’s the most petty, vindictive person you’ll ever meet. You’d best sleep with one eye open from now on!”
Chen Xiao snorted and was about to charge forward when, suddenly, a flash of cold light shot straight at his face! Looking closely, he realized it was the metal lighter the man had been holding.
Instinctively, Chen Xiao raised his hand to deflect it, but in that split second, he caught a glimpse of the man’s mocking smile—something was wrong!
His hand half-raised, Chen Xiao swiftly changed tactics. He covered his head with both arms and hurled himself sideways—
Behind him—BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted, the shockwave lifting Chen Xiao’s prone body clear off the ground.
A bomb?!
The man’s lazy voice floated over, tinged with amusement. “Not bad. Let’s see what you’re really made of.”
As he spoke, he crossed his hands, each finger gripping three or four lighters. With a flick of his wrists, several projectiles shot toward Chen Xiao!
With a desperate effort, Chen Xiao smashed his fist into the ground. There was a muffled thud as the rooftop terrace shattered under his monstrous strength. Using that momentum, he propelled himself backward several meters, grabbed the fallen door from the terrace, and hoisted it up as a shield.
BOOM!
In the fiery blast, Chen Xiao felt himself thrown into the air, the shockwave slamming him violently away. The thick wooden door in his grasp splintered into pieces.
Bang! His back struck the wall, and a searing pain ripped through his arms. Looking down, he saw his forearms covered in bloody, mangled wounds.
Raising his head, he met the man’s mocking gaze. Rage boiled up within him. He reached for the terrace railing, and under his immense strength, a two-meter section—stone casing and steel rebar both—was ripped free with a screech of tearing metal.
He hefted it, then hurled it with all his might at his opponent.
The man still wore that taunting smile, making no effort to dodge. With a casual flick, he tossed another lighter. The little device collided with the chunk of cement midair, erupting in a blast of flame. The windows on both sides of the terrace shattered, stone chips flying, smoke billowing everywhere.
Through the dust, the man’s cold voice drifted over. “It’s useless. C-rank is C-rank. With your power, come challenge me again in ten years.”
His figure emerged from the swirling haze, step by step approaching Chen Xiao.
“Don’t expect Zhu Rong to save you. One of my secondary abilities is environmental manipulation—right now, I’ve turned the corridor into a maze. Zhu Rong’s still wandering in circles.” He stopped in front of Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao, gasping for breath, could hardly lift his arms from the pain.
“It must hurt.” The man stood over him, looking down. “Relax, I don’t particularly like killing. Besides, killing rookies isn’t my style.”
He gripped Chen Xiao’s neck and, without effort, hoisted him into the air.
“Remember my advice, kid! Don’t think a bit of strength will get you far in this world. In the realm of espers, brute force isn’t worth much.” Still holding Chen Xiao by the throat, he continued, “We don’t want a war with the Service Club. This was just an accident. But our concession ends here. Next time, we won’t be so merciful. Even respect for the old and young has its limits.”
With that, he released his grip. Chen Xiao crashed to the floor.
“You… you…” Chen Xiao glared up at him. “Who are you?”
“I…” The man frowned, giving Chen Xiao a long look. “You really are a stubborn rookie. Fine, my name is Qiu Yun—‘Qiu’ as in autumn, ‘Yun’ as in meteor. If you want revenge, make sure you train hard first!”
With that, he vaulted onto the railing. “See you around, rookie.”
Chen Xiao watched as he disappeared over the edge. Anxiety surged within him; he struggled to his feet, staggered to the railing—then everything went black. He swayed and collapsed…
The section of railing he’d torn off earlier left nothing to break his fall. As Chen Xiao toppled, he plummeted straight off the terrace.
The hotel was built halfway up the mountainside. Beneath the terrace, the slope dropped away steeply. Chen Xiao tumbled headfirst, crashing into the undergrowth below.
He broke countless branches as he rolled down the slope, bouncing and crashing all the way, until finally, battered and bleeding, he lost consciousness completely.
…
When Chen Xiao awoke again, he was staring up at a bright morning sky. He tried moving his neck; pain shot through every part of his body, nearly making him faint again.
After several long breaths, Chen Xiao managed to stagger upright. His clothes were in tatters, hanging off him like mop strings.
Before him stretched a hillside, a dirt track about three or four meters wide. He lay in the bushes beside it.
He crawled out with effort, raising his head just as a rapid, rhythmic sound came from the left along the road…
Rain? No… it was the sound of hoofbeats!
Hoofbeats?! In this day and age, someone out riding horses in the wild?!
The next moment, Chen Xiao was left dumbfounded.
A horde of mounted riders came charging down the dirt road, all clad in the armor of ancient soldiers, with gleaming blades in hand, shouting as they galloped.
To Chen Xiao’s utter dismay, each of these “cavalrymen” trailed a long queue down their backs.
Wait… wasn’t that only a hairstyle from the Qing Dynasty?
Chen Xiao’s face turned pale. He finally dragged himself out of the bushes just as the riders drew up, reining in their horses and staring at him, eyes full of suspicion and bewilderment.
Could it be… that tumbling down the mountain… he’d…
He’d actually traveled through time? To ancient China?
Chen Xiao felt on the verge of losing his mind. He struggled but couldn’t move, so he managed a pained smile and asked, “Excuse me… where is this? What dynasty is it? Who’s the current emperor?”
Inwardly, he cursed: Time travel? It’s actually bloody time travel?!
Just as he was about to break down, an enraged, nearly hysterical shout came from the right.
“CUT!”
Turning his head, Chen Xiao saw, atop the opposite slope, a large crew—giant cranes with cameras, tracks for the camera dolly, a man with a bushy beard and sunglasses under a sun umbrella, vest pockets bristling, waving a megaphone and jumping up and down in fury, howling, “Who the hell is that?! Where’s the crew?! What are you idiots doing, letting random people onto the set?! Do you have any idea how much a reel of film costs? How much we pay for the horses every hour?!”
At that moment, one of the “cavalry” dismounted beside Chen Xiao. He noticed the man’s queue was fake, tucked under a hat.
“Buddy, you’ve read too many time travel novels,” the “cavalryman” said with a wry grin. “We’re shooting a movie.”
…
No harm done—though the director was furious at Chen Xiao’s intrusion, once they saw his appalling injuries, they realized he must be a tourist who’d accidentally fallen down the slope. They kindly called the police.
About half an hour later, Young Master Xu arrived with his men and the police, and Chen Xiao was quickly loaded into an ambulance and taken away.
“My god, I thought you were dead!” Young Master Xu tried to sound cheerful in the ambulance. Chen Xiao, lying there, asked, “How’s your father?”
“He’s out of danger, nothing serious.” Xu sighed, glanced around—this was a Xu family vehicle, with only their own people present, so he spoke freely. “You ran off after them yesterday, and that woman wreathed in flames followed you out, too… Not long after, a man with long hair stormed into the hall. He left a vial of antidote, said it would cure the poison. He also said…” Xu’s expression turned strange as he looked at Chen Xiao, “He said it was giving the Service Club some face, that this time courtesy came before force… I have no idea what that means. And that woman on fire—Chen Xiao, I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems all this has something to do with you?”
Chen Xiao forced a bitter smile—there was no way to explain it. The rest could be glossed over, but how could he account for Zhu Rong, who could set herself ablaze and throw fireballs as if she were a fire mage?
“Xu, this is complicated. I’ll explain everything to you in time. Just… trust me, if you’re a friend.”
“Of course I trust you,” Xu replied bluntly, then frowned. “That woman disguised as a doctor at the party, and then the one who appeared wreathed in flames… they aren’t human, are they?”
“They are human—just a special kind,” Chen Xiao replied after a pause. “The woman on fire is my friend. She came to help us.”
Chen Xiao sighed. From what Xu described, the antidote must have come from “Qiu Yun.”
As for “giving the Service Club face, courtesy before force”—what did that mean?
Xu was silent for a moment, then smiled awkwardly. “Also, your friend—the one who can throw fire. She’s got a temper. When we couldn’t find you, she almost lost it. If I weren’t your friend, she might have burned down the hotel… And when we got to the terrace, it was a total wreck! What happened? Did someone set off a bomb? The place was nearly blown apart…”
…
The car drove directly to a private hospital in K City, also owned by the Xu family. Chen Xiao was taken to a VIP room. Before the doctor had finished examining him, Zhu Rong burst in, accompanied this time by Lao Tian.
When the two entered, Young Master Xu’s face went pale at the sight of Zhu Rong—he clearly found her intimidating.
“Xu, could you step outside for a bit? My friends have something to discuss with me,” Chen Xiao said awkwardly.
Xu merely smiled. “No need to be so polite. If you hadn’t reacted so quickly yesterday, my father…”
He hurried out. Zhu Rong’s face was cold, but Lao Tian nodded at Chen Xiao, kindly.
“Tell us what happened,” Lao Tian said, coming to check Chen Xiao’s arm. “This time, it wasn’t really aimed at Lu Bancheng, was it? And I ran into a real expert… got my ass handed to me.”
“It was Qiu Yun,” Lao Tian said seriously, examining Chen Xiao’s wounds. “You’re lucky. These are blast injuries, but he held back—otherwise, at your current level, if he’d wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“He’s that strong?” Chen Xiao frowned, then sighed. “Yes, he really is formidable.”
“Formidable, my ass!” Zhu Rong muttered. “We just weren’t prepared!”
Chen Xiao heard the indignation in her voice. Lao Tian smiled and explained, “Zhu Rong has known them a long time, and has a personal grudge with one of them.”
“Grudge? That Viper woman is my defeated foe! She hates me; I don’t care about her!” Zhu Rong retorted defiantly.
Lao Tian coughed and then grew solemn. “Chen Xiao, the one you met is called Qiu Yun—a renowned figure in the international esper community. He’s affiliated with a small organization called ‘Black Knights.’”
“Black Knights?” Chen Xiao found the name odd.
“Not the medieval kind. They’re more like mercenaries—small in number, loosely organized, no strict structure. Like mercenaries, but even more specialized, and more powerful. They call themselves Black Knights for two reasons: first, they aspire to follow their own code, like knights, and are sticklers for rules. Second—ironically—they never consider the consequences of their actions. As long as the client pays enough, they’ll take any job. I can’t really describe them… Put it this way: if the price is right, they’ll be peacekeepers for justice—or, just as easily, transform into a band of ruthless terrorists!”
“So they’re… both good and evil?” Chen Xiao frowned.
“Exactly.” Lao Tian smiled bitterly. “There are many such groups in our world. Even us old-timers, taking on jobs, are a sort of small mercenary outfit. But we’re all retired from the Service Club, and have our principles. We don’t take just any job. But them? They’re different.”
“I see.” Chen Xiao nodded.
“Black Knights are a pretty famous group, and Qiu Yun is a real handful! He’s an A-rank esper, and his main combat ability is ‘Metallic Molecular Detonation.’ Anything metallic that passes through his hands, he can rearrange the molecular structure and detonate it. In other words, if he wants, he can turn any metal object he touches into a bomb!”
Metal… bombs? That was a terrifying ability!
In modern society, metal is everywhere—phones, lighters, jewelry, household appliances, cars, even buildings, all packed with steel!
In other words, Qiu Yun was a walking weapon of mass destruction.
“His secondary ability is in the mental domain—he can create illusions. But according to records, his mental powers are only at C-rank. In the esper world, most people only have one kind of ability—for example, all of us are combat types. Qiu Yun is rare, having both offensive and support abilities.”
“Hmph. If I were better at mental abilities, I wouldn’t have gotten trapped in his maze,” Zhu Rong said, a trace of frustration in her voice.
“So… their target this time was to assassinate Lu Bancheng and Xu…?”
“That’s unclear for now,” Lao Tian shook his head. “But I don’t think it was an assassination. If it was, Viper would have poisoned all three long ago; there’d be no need to disguise herself as a doctor. My guess is, they intended to kidnap them.”
Lao Tian’s logic was sound. Chen Xiao frowned. “But they brought back the antidote themselves…”
“It’s an international custom,” Lao Tian explained, not sounding pleased. “In the international esper world, there’s an unwritten rule: if, during an operation, you encounter another group’s members, both sides back off in the first round. Then, with cards on the table, the real fight begins.
“It’s a sort of fair-competition spirit. I have to admit, the Black Knights behave outrageously, but they do stick to these traditions.”
“And Viper? Who is she?”
“She…” Lao Tian glanced at Zhu Rong before replying. “Alice, alias Viper. Her primary ability is toxin manipulation. Actually… she’s a rather pitiful woman.”
Pitiful? Chen Xiao was surprised.
“She’s a born esper—her abilities manifested at birth. All her bodily fluids are highly toxic: saliva, blood, everything. All of it’s deadly.”
A venom woman?
Chen Xiao was at first bewildered, then realized what Lao Tian meant by “pitiful.”
Imagine—a woman whose entire body is poisonous, every fluid lethal. She would be utterly alone. How could she ever find love? Even kissing would be fatal.
“Pitiful, my ass!” Zhu Rong suddenly snapped.
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