Chapter 41: The Answer

Shen Ji immediately shot a friendly national gesture toward his opponent with both hands.

Seeing the two middle fingers raised high, Subject 001 instantly flew into a rage.

With a wave of his hands, blue flames began to condense, eventually forming a complete fireball that he hurled toward Shen Ji.

“Holy crap!” Shen Ji exclaimed.

He began to flee at high speed as if his feet were greased.

However, the searing fireball was just as fast, flying past Shen Ji’s scalp.

He could even smell the scent of toasted protein from his singed hair.

Using a magnified Barrier beneath his feet, Shen Ji barely managed to steady himself before pouring another bottle of blood plasma down his throat.

With a sudden clench of his hand, a sword made of Barrier gradually took shape.

Seeing his strike miss and Shen Ji approaching him from a bizarre angle, Subject 001 didn’t panic.

Instead, he condensed a Barrier sword of his own and dove straight toward Shen Ji.

A crisp clashing sound echoed from above.

Liu Yao’s sweat-drenched palms clenched involuntarily.

She had personally witnessed Shen Ji’s state during his Third Evolution.

This was clearly no different from the newly appeared King Seed; he could manipulate a certain Talent at will and showed no concern for consumption when releasing it.

A question mark appeared in her mind: Does Shen Ji… still have a chance of winning?

“Liu Yao, send me up there.”

Ye Xi’s tone was firm as she continued, “I won’t let him lose.”

Liu Yao shook her head.

“You should have seen Shen Ji’s Third Evolution too. Even if you go up, it won’t increase the odds much. You might even become a burden to him.”

An anonymous fire surged in Ye Xi’s heart.

The feeling of helplessness—being unable to do anything—was agonizing for her.

“Doesn’t your Inspection Team have any other weapons!?”

Liu Yao froze for a moment before something clicked.

Right!

They still had their issued firearms!

Usually, the Blood Race looked down on such things due to their superior physical fitness and Talents.

While it might not be lethal now, it could certainly serve as a distraction to increase Shen Ji’s chances.

Liu Yao shouted into her walkie-talkie, “Xiao Jiu, go get the sniper rifle from the car.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

A moment later, Xiao Jiu appeared, carrying a weapon case taller than herself.

Her eyes never left the two blue figures clashing in the sky.

“Big Sister, isn’t it true that only one King Seed appears in each era? Now…”

Liu Yao spoke while assembling the sniper rifle.

“I don’t know, but Shen Ji must survive.”

Just then, a figure appeared out of thin air behind them.

It was the Yun family Old Ancestor.

Ye Xi’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Old man Yun, hurry up and go help Shen Ji!” she urged.

The Old Ancestor stumbled.

‘No one has dared to call me that in years,’ he thought.

Although they were partners, it didn’t mean she could just order him around, right?

The Old Ancestor struck a profound pose.

“There is indeed only one King. There is only one possibility now: one of them must be a False King.”

Pausing for a moment, a strange light flickered in his eyes.

“That is why I would rather see which one is the true King.”

Ye Xi’s expression turned grim.

Currently, she was the only one who knew Shen Ji was actually a Human.

It was obvious who the False King was.

But could she stand by and watch Shen Ji fail?

No. He hadn’t given her his answer yet.

Even if he was a False King, if the True King died, wouldn’t he become the real one?

Ye Xi instantly entered her Blood Tribe Form.

She snatched the newly assembled sniper rifle from Liu Yao, looked through the scope, aimed, and pulled the trigger in one fluid motion.

The massive recoil slammed Ye Xi halfway into the concrete ground.

She let out a triumphant smile.

As expected, this rifle was specifically designed against the Blood Race.

The sound of the bullet breaking the air caught the attention of both Shen Ji and 001.

As they turned their heads, a bullet grazed Shen Ji’s ear and landed accurately in 001’s eye socket.

Shen Ji instinctively touched the back of his ear.

His hand came away stained with bright red liquid.

If Ye Xi had been off by even a fraction, his head would have exploded!

‘I know you have a grudge against me, but you can’t take revenge like this!’

Having been hit, the bullet tore through 001’s skull, sending a spray of eerie blood into the air.

His body began to plummet uncontrollably.

Just as Ye Xi and the others breathed a sigh of relief, the Old Ancestor said calmly, “Do you really think a King Seed in the Mad King state is that easy to kill?”

As soon as he finished speaking, 001, who was lying in a cloud of dust on the ground, began to twitch.

He slowly stood up within the smoke, a single eerie blue eye flickering.

Ye Xi’s face was cold, her killing intent surging.

“If one shot doesn’t kill him, then how about another?”

She felt for the bolt, ejected the casing, and reloaded.

The moment she aimed, 001’s figure blurred.

In a series of rapid lunges, he closed the distance toward Ye Xi.

The Old Ancestor stepped back as if it were none of his business and vanished into thin air, leaving the two girls behind.

‘Crap,’ Shen Ji thought.

He dissolved the Barrier beneath his feet and dove at full speed toward Ye Xi.

“Run!”

Shen Ji practically roared the word.

Ye Xi didn’t move an inch, but a beautiful curve formed at the corners of her mouth.

‘Shen Ji, you really do care about me after all.’

Seeing 001 about to reach Ye Xi before Shen Ji could, an explosion erupted behind Shen Ji, boosting his speed once again.

Yun Hai, supported by the Old Ancestor as he stood up, muttered to himself, “This is as much as I can help you. I hope you can hold on.”

Dust and debris flew everywhere.

Liu Yao was blasted outward from the center.

But Shen Ji and Ye Xi were nowhere to be seen.

“A Ran betrayed us?”

Ye Hai’s voice was icy, his calm face masking a brewing storm.

Shadow knelt on one knee, trying to remain as composed as possible.

“The King Seed discovered our plan long ago. Mu Qingxin was killed by him, and…”

“And what?”

“And he has completed his Third Evolution. His talent is Mu Qingxin’s [Barrier].”

Ye Hai rubbed his temples irritably.

“Go on.”

“The blood plasma was plundered by them, and now they’ve sabotaged the experiment relocation plan ahead of schedule. So…”

“So our plan was sabotaged from the very beginning?”

Shadow nodded, then shook his head.

“No, Master. Our plan was fine. It was A Ran’s incompetence that led to our failure.”

Ye Hai took a deep breath, almost whispering to himself, “Am I being forced to make an early appearance?”

“No, Master, you can’t! The people above are still watching you. If you use your abilities, they will definitely find you!”

Ye Hai pondered for a moment before saying gravely, “Take me there first. We just need to get the key figures out. Our plan cannot end here!”

In the center of the dust, inside a semi-circular barrier.

Shen Ji pulled Ye Xi into his arms, shielding her tightly.

He didn’t have time to enjoy the feeling of the soft girl in his embrace; the harsh scraping sounds against the outside of the barrier told him exactly how dangerous their situation was.

“Xiao Jizi, you were actually pretty cool just now.”

Looking at the smiling Ye Xi in his arms, something in Shen Ji’s heart settled down.

“You idiot, I told you to dodge. Why didn’t you leave?”

“Because I believed you cared about me.”

Shen Ji let out a helpless laugh.

“The answer you wanted… I have it.”

“Don’t talk.”

“Mmph…”

Ye Xi kissed him again, just like the night they first met.

Only this time, Shen Ji was no longer entirely passive; he began to return the kiss, turning defense into offense.

As they pulled apart, Ye Xi said with a rare blush, “Shen Ji, we’ll definitely make it out alive, right?”

Shen Ji squeezed her hand.

His eyes were more determined than ever.

“Let’s show him what a real King looks like!”

The black barrier shattered.

The mindless 001 was like a rabid dog seeing food; a strange red tint seeped into his glowing blue eye.

Shen Ji stepped in front of Ye Xi.

The black barrier transformed into physical armor, spreading from his arms to cover his entire body.

“Ye Xi, I’ll tie him down.”

Ye Xi’s eyes shifted as a blood-red mist began to spread.

Every time 001 tried to target Ye Xi to eliminate the source, Shen Ji would rush out to intercept him.

001 let out a furious roar.

Lacking reason, he was now governed only by anger.

His sole goal was to completely eradicate the two people before him.

Blue flames spread from 001’s body once more.

The blood-red mist, which had been in an aggressive posture, was vaporized into nothingness the instant it made contact.