Chapter 99: Blessing from the “Immortal”

It was as if the sky itself wished to add a touch of despair to the set.

A single cold raindrop suddenly fell from above.

Then a second, a third…

Fine winter rain, thin as needles, finally tore through the lead-gray night and came crashing down.

It beat against the rusted rebar, splashed into filthy puddles—
and struck the face of Luo Shaotian, now void of all expression.

The next moment, the body before him—a grotesque fusion of flesh and steel—moved.

No warning.
No roar.

Wu Jianguo’s massive frame suddenly sank down.

His mechanical prosthetics let out a powerful creak.

From beneath the armored plating at his joints, a few scorching sparks burst out—signs of overload.

The next instant, he lunged forward—like a boulder flung from a catapult!

Whooo—!

Luo Shaotian reacted quickly.

He didn’t meet the attack head-on.

The combat instincts forged through a thousand battles ignited instantly.

A twist of the torso, a lowered shoulder, power from the legs—
He slipped narrowly inside the attack line, allowing that iron fist—
carrying a gale strong enough to shear concrete—
to howl past his ear.

BOOM!

A concrete pillar behind him exploded with sound.

Debris scattered as web-like cracks spread crazily across its surface.

“What insane reflexes!”

“He… he dodged that?!”

Gasps erupted from the surrounding thugs.

They clearly hadn’t expected this guy to react so quickly under the master’s attack.

Only one thug—a man closest to them—noticed how Luo Shaotian had dropped his guard to evade. Greed and bloodlust flashed in his eyes.

Thinking this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, he gathered what little strength he had left, raised his steel pipe high, and brought it down toward the back of Luo Shaotian’s head!

“Die!!!”

But before the steel pipe could land—

Wu Jianguo’s next attack had already begun.

He had no mercy for the cannon fodder trying to take advantage.

He didn’t spare them even a single glance.

To him, that thug was no different from a pebble in the road.

Following Luo Shaotian’s movements, Wu Jianguo swept out the same mechanical arm that had just smashed into the wall—
but this time with even more savage force!

WHAM—!!!

A bone-shaking thud.

The thug who tried to sneak attack didn’t even manage a scream.

The sweeping mechanical arm struck him at the waist, sending him flying like a rag soaked in blood. He slammed into a metal barricade with a heavy clang, then slid down limply like wet clay.

A faint twitch—
and then stillness.

“Mother… god!!!”

Someone broke into a shrill, cracking scream.

That scream ignited the others like a fuse touching a powder keg.

“MONSTER!!!”

“Run! RUN!”

In an instant, the thugs’ psychological defenses shattered completely.

They finally understood—
this wasn’t a street ambush.

This was a deathmatch between monsters—
and they had no place in it.

Terror crushed their will.

They dropped their weapons, shrieking and stumbling over each other as they fled.

Within seconds, the battlefield was emptied—
leaving only the sound of rain and the two “monsters” facing one another in silence.

The stage was clear.

But the rain only grew heavier.

Cold raindrops beat against Luo Shaotian’s face, sliding down his sharp jawline.

“They… weren’t with you?”

“Hmph…”

Wu Jianguo let out a disdainful snort from behind his breathing mask.

“Just a bunch of loudmouthed trash.”

“Leaving them here only gets in the way.”

He slowly raised his gleaming mechanical arm—
metal fingers opening and closing as if savoring the memory of crushed bone.

“Killing one? Killing all of them? So what?”

“—Anyone who gets in the way of my revenge… dies!”

In that moment, Luo Shaotian finally understood.

The man before him could no longer be reasoned with.

He was facing a beast—
one living solely for revenge and slaughter.

And as Luo Shaotian’s nerves tightened—

Wu Jianguo moved again.

This time—
faster.
Harder.

Luo Shaotian tried to dodge again, but this time—
he was a beat too slow.

THUD—!

A brutal force slammed into his left scapula.

“Gh—!”

He heard it clearly—
the dull crack of his own bone breaking.

A flash of agony shot through his nerves.

His entire left arm instantly lost sensation, swallowed by pain.

He staggered back seven or eight steps before collapsing against a concrete pillar.

“Ugh—!”

The remaining force smashed through to his internal organs.

A metallic taste welled up in his throat before he vomited out a streak of vivid red—
a line of blood trailing through the rain.

His vision blurred.

The world faded—rain, wind, breathing—
all drifting away.

(Heh… hehehehe…)

But one voice grew sharper than ever within the encroaching haze.

(Weak…)

The voice whispered in his mind, almost tender.

(This is what happens when you try to suppress me.)

(You become that useless trash again…)

“Shut… up…”

Luo Shaotian forced out the words through clenched teeth.
He tried pushing himself upright with his one good arm—

But the agony from his shoulder made his knees buckle.

(Why shut me out? I’m helping you, Luo Shaotian.)

(You hate this feeling, don’t you?)

(Watching evil roar in front of you while you can do nothing— wasn’t that you, once?)

The seductive whisper cut through him like a heated blade.

“I…”

(Let go…)

The voice coaxed him gently, like a demon singing a holy hymn.

(Stop resisting.)

(You’re no longer a police officer bound by rules.)

(You were chosen by me.)

(Remember the joy of snapping bones one by one… the blood pooling beneath your feet…)

(The way criminals sobbed before you…)

(That is justice. That is the real you.)

(Embrace me, Luo Shaotian.)

(Embrace the power that lets you deliver justice yourself…)

“Hah…”

Finally, Luo Shaotian exhaled.

That breath carried away the last trace of “human warmth” within him.

Crack… craaack…

A sickening sound came from his dislocated arm.

The shattered scapula began to heal—
visibly, impossibly fast.

“Oh?”

For the first time, Wu Jianguo sounded surprised.

Luo Shaotian snapped his head up.

His eyes were no longer human.

An abyssal black had swallowed both pupil and sclera.

“…Ah…”

He let out a low, satisfied moan.

“…So this is how it feels.”

(Yes… that’s it…)

(This is the real you.)

“Heh… hahahahahahaha—!!!”

Mad laughter burst from his throat, drowning out the storm.

He moved.

No dodging.
No blocking.

He charged straight in like a beast freed from every shackle.

BOOM—!!!

Flesh and steel collided head-on.

Wu Jianguo’s punch—powerful enough to crack concrete—
slammed into Luo Shaotian’s chest.

But instead of bones shattering and a body flying backwards—

Luo Shaotian merely took half a step back.

His shirt exploded, revealing torn flesh—
but he didn’t fall.

Instead, he pushed forward with the borrowed force—
his right hand turning into a spear thrusting toward Wu Jianguo’s face!

Wu Jianguo instinctively raised his other arm to block—

SPLCH—!

Blood sprayed.

Luo Shaotian’s fingers punched straight through Wu Jianguo’s flesh-and-blood arm—
bones, nerves, tendons bursting from the other side.

“ROAR—!!”

Wu Jianguo howled like a beast.

But before he could counterattack—

Luo Shaotian’s blood-smeared face twisted into a wild grin.

He opened his mouth and—

bit down savagely on Wu Jianguo’s shoulder!

RRRIP—!!!

A chunk of flesh tore free—
along with several snapped conduits.

Black machine oil mixed with red blood spewed wildly.

“Maniac… you MANIAC!”

Completely enraged, Wu Jianguo roared.

He activated his mechanical prosthetic leg and kicked Luo Shaotian with brutal force.

Luo Shaotian was blasted backward, tumbling through mud and water—
but within moments, he lunged forward again.

Rain and blood mixed, spreading across the ground.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Steel and flesh collided again and again.

With his mechanical strength, Wu Jianguo hurled Luo Shaotian away repeatedly.

But each time—
Luo Shaotian rose, even more feral, carving new wounds into him.

And his own wounds—
healed.

The mangled flesh on his chest stopped bleeding—
fresh tissue sprouting rapidly.

His cracked finger bones snapped and reformed, growing harder each time.

“You…”

After kicking Luo Shaotian away once more, Wu Jianguo staggered, gasping.
The respirator hissed erratically.

He stared at the “monster” crawling out of the mud.

For the first time—
fear crept into the heart built of steel and hatred.

This recovery…
was beyond human.

Even the junkies doped up on the strongest “Immortal Dust”
could never achieve something like this.

“…Your Immortal Dust…”

Wu Jianguo rasped out, voice trembling.

“…just how much did you take…?!”

Luo Shaotian tilted his head, childishly confused.

“…Immortal Dust?”

He licked the blood on his lips, voice hoarse and filled with dark pleasure.

“…That garbage? I’ve never touched it.”

“…What?”

Wu Jianguo froze.

Never touched it?

Impossible.

Without massive doses of Immortal Dust, how could a human possess this kind of power?

Unless…

Unless…

A ridiculous possibility surfaced.

He remembered an old underworld rumor.

“…Immortal’s Blessing?”

Wu Jianguo murmured in a daze.

Only that could grant power without Immortal Dust.

But…

But…

Why?!

Why did he have to sacrifice everything to gain strength—

While this bastard—
this useless piece of trash also betrayed by “order”—
received divine power so easily?!

“—WHY!!!”

His roar was full of venomous hatred.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH—!!!”

He screamed, raising his intact mechanical arm.

Inside the limb, every safety limiter disengaged.

BZZZT—!

Red arcs of electricity danced wildly.

High-pressure steam burst from the joints.

“—OH GOD, OHHHH GODDAMN IT ALL—!!!!”