Chapter 36

Angus was thrown by the shockwave, as if caught in a tornado, completely disoriented. It wasn't until the first wave subsided that he was slammed into a tree trunk, spitting out a large mouthful of blood. Subsequent shockwaves swept over him, and Angus clung tightly to the sturdy tree roots to avoid further injury, though he was still severely hurt, with internal organs likely ruptured.

Even someone on the periphery was in such a state, let alone those at the center of the explosion. However, Angus was so focused on himself that he didn't worry about Chu Ci and Bond.

There was no need to worry. The three of them had spent half an hour digging a blast pit with ample tools and energy, which was certainly enough to protect them from the core of the explosion, unless the two of them hadn't taken cover.

Of course, Angus had brought this upon himself. After seducing Yin Yihan, his task was to return and bring Cheng Rui out, but he had slacked off and stayed put, resulting in him being caught in the blast.

"Damn, these guys are ruthless!" Angus pressed his chest, trying to determine which organ was damaged, gritting his teeth and groaning, complaining about the two men who wouldn't even spare themselves.

Bond's plan was meticulously crafted. He only told the other contestants about the steel cable and electric grid trap, keeping the large-scale cluster bomb a secret. He only told Hao Jun about a detour, trying to deal with Yin Yihan first and then him. He told Angus that the bomb had another remote control to prevent external interference. Only Chu Ci knew the true core plan: the generator was linked to the bomb cluster, to prevent Yin Yihan from acting rashly and to guard against other contestants and cycle participants. No matter what these people planned, one bomb would send them all to the sky!

"Damn! I really lost out!" As expected, Chu Ci was unharmed, crouching in the blast pit with Bond. Apart from being knocked down once by the explosion's shockwave and being buried under a layer of dirt, he was basically uninjured.

But the situation was not optimistic. Chu Ci was very clear that this explosion was a loss.

Yin Yihan, hanging in mid-air, electrocuted by the steel cable and electric grid, and hit directly by the explosion's shockwave, was certainly dead. But what about Ye Jun?

Chu Ci excluded his own heart and the thirteen hearts that were likely reduced to mush, leaving only eighteen hearts in the implant space. Seven belonged to contestants, one to Hao Jun, one to Yin Yihan, and the other nine were probably Yin Yihan's stock. If Ye Jun were dead, there would be no way he would have only this much loot.

Ye Jun wasn't dead!

If the explosion hadn't continued, Chu Ci would have rushed out to check. How could a mere mortal like Ye Jun survive when even the steel and iron-strong Yin Yihan was dead?

Chu Ci was heartbroken, shouting about the loss, while Ye Jun was bleeding internally. He had painstakingly cultivated the Pride Hunter, which had already leveled up five times since its summoning, just one level away from awakening its ultimate skill, 'Hunting Rhythm.' It had taken all the damage to protect him, turning into a cold, lifeless corpse.

Regardless of whether he could summon another Pride Hunter, the emotional bond he had formed made it impossible for Ye Jun to accept this!

"I'm going to kill you! Newbie!" Ye Jun's roar cut through the dust and dirt, and his chanting began without restraint.

"Damn, interrupt his casting!" Even though he didn't understand what Ye Jun was doing, the enemy's actions were what they needed to stop. Chu Ci pulled out two guns, threw the M4A1 to Bond, and took the AK variant, both of them firing continuously in the direction of the sound.

"Summoning... armed..." Ye Jun's incantation was summoning his second creature. Once the incantation began, it was automatically protected by a spell, and only a more powerful magic could interrupt it.

Bullets appeared in front of Ye Jun but were blocked by the massive spell array rising from his feet, hovering in mid-air and causing no damage.

"...with violent force" Ye Jun's incantation was nearing its end, and a larger creature's shadow began to appear. If Ye Jun could lock the spatial coordinates, this creature would completely wipe out Chu Ci and the others!

The mantis catches the cicada, but the oriole is behind!

Another person joined the fray!

"Die, you scum!" It was Pei Yang! The seemingly weak and unsatisfied cycle participant! The silent and unseen veteran! The man who had been suppressing his rage, waiting for the perfect moment!

A scroll appeared in Pei Yang's hand, and he tore it, causing a twisting disturbance! No light, just a tremor in the space!

"Pei Yang, you're dead!" Ye Jun saw Pei Yang and the scroll in his hand, instantly enraged. The summoning spell array in front of him began to tremble, affected by the spatial interference scroll.

The summoned creature, not yet locked onto coordinates, was hit by the spatial tide, emitting a silent, agonized cry. As the spell array dimmed, the creature's shadow faded and disappeared.

Summoning failed! And the creature was severely injured, drifting into an unknown space.

Ye Jun spat out a mouthful of blood, glaring at Pei Yang with venom. "You treacherous little man!"

"Yes, I'm a treacherous little man, but I'm better than you, scum!" Pei Yang laughed maniacally, having been suppressed for so long, almost thinking he would go mad. Now, fully releasing his emotions, the feeling was incredible, so much so that Pei Yang didn't care that Ye Jun was only suffering from magical backlash and was otherwise unharmed.

"Hmph! I see, so you remember that slut." Ye Jun thought for a moment and quickly recalled the incident. How long ago was it? Including the time in the cycle world, it had been about half a year, but it felt like much longer.

"Yes, I can't forget. I want to eat your flesh and drink your blood!" Pei Yang's eyes were bloodshot, his fists trembling, and a stream of blood gushed from his clenched fists.

"Die!" Pei Yang didn't give Ye Jun a chance to catch his breath, stepping forward with a space-distorted punch that whistled toward Ye Jun's head!

Ye Jun's internal magic was in chaos, even affecting his other system's power. He barely dodged, avoiding the punch, but the space distortion grazed his head, tearing off a fist-sized chunk of flesh, including his left ear, which disappeared into the distorted space, blood gushing like a broken faucet.

Ye Jun screamed, kicking Pei Yang in the waist and using the momentum to jump back. He pulled out a high-tech healing pack from his spatial item, slapping it on his face. The healing pack scanned the wound, reshaped, and filled it, stopping the bleeding and repairing the damage.

Pei Yang, unfazed by the kick, followed up, forming his palm into a blade and aiming for Ye Jun's heart. "Today, I will dig out your heart to honor Xiaoxuan's spirit!"

"Get lost!" Ye Jun roared, pulling out a clearly non-ordinary dagger from his spatial item and slashing with his off-hand.

Pei Yang retracted his hand and twisted Ye Jun's arm outward, closing the distance and kneeing him, followed by a kick. Ye Jun took two heavy hits, one of which landed on a sensitive area.

Before Ye Jun could recover, he saw Pei Yang's veins bulging, knowing he was about to use his spatial ability. Ye Jun, despite the pain, reared back his head and headbutted Pei Yang, both of them suffering, and interrupting Pei Yang's spatial distortion ability.

The two of them grappled, rolling on the ground, trading blows. Although Ye Jun had the hunting dagger, Pei Yang, who had specialized in combat skills, had the upper hand in close combat. If not for his lower stats, he would have already taken Ye Jun down.

Injured beasts! This was the only way to describe Ye Jun and Pei Yang. Ye Jun's face, still bleeding from the earlier wound, was torn open again, blood streaming down, making him look like a terrifying demon. Pei Yang was no better, having lost half his teeth, his mouth a mix of blood and saliva, which he spat onto Ye Jun's face.

"This... This situation seems off, do you know what's going on?" Chu Ci, crouched at the edge of the blast pit, was secretly observing the brutal fight less than two hundred meters away.

"Yeah, it's a bit off, I don't know either." Bond was equally puzzled. He was an agent, not omniscient.

Chu Ci rubbed his chin, sensing a tragic or melodramatic story, likely centered around a woman, with the two men as opposing sides.

Chu Ci had avoided the trouble. If he were a normal new cycle participant, he would have joined one of the two sides at the beginning, learning the backstory through various means, and then either joining Ye Jun's tyrannical force or supporting Pei Yang's resistance. But Chu Ci chose to go solo from the start, creating an opportunity for the deeply aggrieved Pei Yang to take the lead in resisting the tyrannical force, while Chu Ci became a spectator.

"This stuff is hard to eat!" Bond held a handful of sunflower seeds, failing to crack several, and dumped them into Chu Ci's palm, spreading his right hand.

"What a waste." Chu Ci carefully collected the seeds, then took out cigarettes, cigars, and a pack of spicy beef jerky from his implant space, resuming his eating and drinking.

Pei Yang and Ye Jun fought for a long time, wondering why the newbie hadn't come to help. When he finally glanced over, he nearly spat blood.

Chu Ci and Bond, with a cigarette in one hand and a piece of beef jerky in the other, sat on a stool, with two opened bottles of black beer at their feet, the perfect spectator stance.

Pei Yang's distraction gave Ye Jun an opening. Switching the dagger to his left hand, he caught Pei Yang off guard, slicing a large gash in his chest, cutting off several pounds of flesh.

"Don't get distracted! Hit him, punch his face!" Chu Ci was immediately dissatisfied, shouting from the sidelines.

"That won't work. Use a palm strike to his wrist to disarm him." Bond had a different opinion, also shouting from the sidelines.

Pei Yang: "..."

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