Chapter 230: Chu Shang Ambushed Twice in a Row

Duanmu Qing shook her head. "It's no trouble at all. Whenever I think about how the company poured a massive amount of wealth into brewing these potions, only to get absolutely nothing in the end, I don't feel tired in the slightest. Once the delivery date arrives, Chu Shang's time as the branch manager will be over.

"The total value of these potions easily equals the branch's revenue for the past several years. Chu Shang is finished."

"He's more than finished. He's going to die."

Duanmu Qing's eyes lit up, a hint of excitement flashing across her delicate face. "Mr. Su, are you going to..."

Su Mu smiled faintly. "Just wait for tomorrow's show."

...

...

The next day.

In a good mood, Chu Shang descended to the third underground level. Today was the day to unlock Lin Canyang's collar and siphon his spiritual energy—one of his few actual responsibilities.

As the branch manager, he didn't have much to do on a daily basis besides making a few decisions. His main priorities were enjoying life, attending parties, and networking with the nobles of the Chiyan Empire.

Thinking about how he had just sold off all the Transcendent Potions in the safe and received the final payments from the major nobles, he couldn't help but beam with joy, despite being a Gold tier powerhouse.

After all, those weren't cheap potions circulating on the open market. Every single bottle was a premium product unavailable to the public, supplied exclusively to the nobles.

Aside from the lifesaving Divine Healing Potion, the nobles' absolute favorite was the Life No. 1 Potion for its lifespan-extending properties. Orders for Life No. 1 were already backed up into next year.

If he hadn't captured Duanmu Qing, he wouldn't have been able to brew these batches of Life No. 1.

With this performance record, he was guaranteed a seat on the headquarters' board of directors by the end of the year.

After passing through layers of security checkpoints, he soon arrived alone at the cell where Lin Canyang was held. Lin Canyang's existence was a closely guarded company secret, so Chu Shang was the only one authorized to come near him.

Staring into the dark, enclosed cell, Chu Shang frowned and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to cover his nose and mouth, trying to block out the rotting stench inside.

He glanced casually at Lin Canyang, finding the man looking like a corpse, just as he always did. Lin Canyang didn't even react to his arrival.

Chu Shang noticed nothing out of the ordinary; this was how things had been for years. At the very beginning, he had still felt some desire to converse with Lin Canyang, but as time passed, it had devolved into a mechanical chore. Now, he just wanted to finish the job as quickly as possible and leave this hellhole.

Chu Shang opened the cell door, lifted the hair at the nape of Lin Canyang's neck with disgust, and reached out to touch the collar.

With a click, the collar came off.

At that exact moment, Lin Canyang, whose head had been drooping, violently snapped his eyes open. They were completely bloodshot, glaring like a devil opening its eyes in Hell!

"Go to Hell!!"

With a furious roar, the Gold Law, Giant Demon, instantly activated. Lin Canyang's skin turned crimson as his previously shriveled body rapidly expanded with surging, bulging muscles. The Mithril steel needles that had been driven deeply into his wrists, ankles, and every other joint were violently forced out by the expansion.

They shot out like bullets, hammering against the walls of the cell in a rapid clatter.

In a split second, Lin Canyang formed a fist with his right hand. Veins bulged across his crimson flesh as he punched out savagely, surrounded by countless streams of scorching air.

Chu Shang paled in terror. He had been completely off guard. The shock had just begun to surface on his face before it froze.

The straightforward punch slammed directly into his chest. A faint light flared—the glow of an Artifact.

The Artifact's light formed a protective barrier around his entire body. But under the weight of Lin Canyang's hate-filled punch, the barrier shattered instantly.

The fist ultimately struck Chu Shang's chest, caving it inward with the sickening crunch of shattering bone.

"Ah!!"

Letting out a miserable, bloodcurdling scream, Chu Shang was sent flying backward.

Bang!

He crashed into the Mithril Alloy wall, denting the incredibly hard Mithril into a deep crater.

Pfft...

Scarlet blood spewed from his nose and mouth. He stared in horror at Lin Canyang, who had fully stood up and now looked like a vicious ghoul.

"You! That's impossible! How can you use your powers..."

Lin Canyang's eyes had turned entirely blood-red. Wisps of black mist steamed off his body, making his skull-like face look even more terrifying.

"Take that question to Hell!"

Bang!

Lin Canyang kicked the cage that had imprisoned him for years. The heavy cell door tore free and hurtled toward Chu Shang like a cannonball.

Ultimately, Chu Shang was still a Gold tier powerhouse. Although he had been caught by surprise, the completely exhausted Lin Canyang couldn't draw out his full strength either.

Dragging his heavily injured body, Chu Shang shifted sideways in a bizarre maneuver, dodging the flying cell door. Without a second's hesitation, he fled out the doorway and ran toward the exterior.

Lin Canyang immediately gave chase. The intense exertion drew tortured groans from his ravaged body, but he didn't care; his eyes were utterly consumed by vengeance.

"Quick! Stop him!" Chu Shang screamed. Years of living in luxury had dulled many of his combat instincts, which was why he hadn't reacted properly the moment he was ambushed.

The Artifact he carried had bought him a brief moment, but the body operated on a simple rule: use it or lose it. Even a professional athlete accustomed to high-intensity training would suffer a drop in reaction speed after a long period of inactivity.

Piercing alarms blared throughout the base. Countless fully armed soldiers wearing Mithril armor rushed out, led by several formidable Transcendents.

Seeing his subordinates, Chu Shang rejoiced. "Quick! Open fire! Don't shoot him in the head, take him alive!"

Even now, he was still fixated on Lin Canyang's value.

The clatter of countless rounds being chambered rang out. Chu Shang took the opportunity to pull out a bottle of Divine Healing Potion; as the branch manager, he naturally possessed such a precious Gold Potion.

Just as he brought the Divine Healing Potion to his lips...

Bang, bang, bang...

A dense volley of gunfire erupted. However, the speeding Mithril Bullets weren't aimed at Lin Canyang. They were aimed at... Chu Shang!

Chu Shang's face instantly twisted in shock as he violently threw himself to the side. Even so, several Mithril Bullets struck his body, and the tiny bit of Divine Healing Potion that had just entered his mouth was blasted away, the crystalline liquid splattering across the floor.

He was completely stunned. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would be ambushed twice in such a short span of time!

Truth be told, with his strength, he could have easily dodged both sneak attacks, but he hadn't. Living in luxury was part of the reason, but more importantly, he never could have anticipated either of these attacks; they were completely out of left field.

He never dreamed that Lin Canyang—imprisoned for years and drained of his blood and spiritual energy every day—still had the strength to launch an ambush. It was like a vegetative patient who had been bedridden for years suddenly jumping up and slapping you in the face. It was impossible to guard against.

Nor could he have ever imagined that his fiercely loyal subordinates would actually open fire on him at such a critical moment!