Chapter 75: Electric Surge

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Electric Surge

Gu Qing sprinted in a straight line.

In less than ten minutes,

he was the first to reach the edge of the forest, and from a distance, he spotted the high platform the staff had mentioned.

The platform looked unremarkable.

From afar,

it looked as crude as an oversized ping-pong table.

Gu Qing took a step, leaped into the air, and landed steadily in the center of the platform, standing there quietly.

Once ten minutes were up,

he would be the champion of today’s recruitment test.

’Speaking of which,’ Gu Qing suddenly wondered, ’since the Night Court arranged such a competitive recruitment test, is there any reward for the person who takes first place?’

This thought suddenly occurred to him.

Logically, there should be.

But from start to finish, the staff had only explained the rules of the test, not mentioning a single word about a reward.

’It’s possible there’s really nothing.’

’The Night Court is an Extraordinary Organization. Their base is huge and beautiful, so they obviously have plenty of funding. They can’t be so stingy that they wouldn’t even offer a reward.’

Gu Qing comforted himself with this thought.

He was confident he had first place in the bag.

If there was no reward in the end, it would be a huge loss.

’Yep, not earning is losing. That makes perfect sense.’

As Gu Qing was lost in these idle thoughts,

several sturdy, emerald-green vines emerged eerily from the bushes. Like dormant vipers, they silently crept up the high platform and wrapped around his ankles.

’Hmm?’

Gu Qing’s senses were extremely sharp, and he instantly detected the vines behind him. ℯℯ𝑙.

’Is this Liu Yue’s Spiritual Control?’

’Or one of Wu Jiahao’s plant-based gene abilities?’

Gu Qing pondered this.

He allowed the vines to quietly coil around his ankles.

The moment the vines suddenly tightened with force,

Gu Qing viciously swept his leg forward, intending to use the massive pulling inertia to drag the person controlling the vines out from their hiding spot.

Unfortunately, he didn’t succeed.

The other end of the vines wasn’t connected to a person.

He only managed to pull out a snapped vine.

Gu Qing turned around, his gaze fixed on a patch of bushes directly in front of him, trying to spot the Extraordinary Awakened hidden within.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

A series of sharp whooshes cut through the air.

Several sharp pieces of gravel, breaking the sound barrier, shot out from the bushes, aimed straight for the vital points of Gu Qing’s lower body.

With Gu Qing’s Physical Strength, he could have easily tanked the shots from these gravel pieces.

But a man’s instinct is bone-deep, and he still dodged to the side subconsciously.

’You’re aiming for my family jewels?’

’You’re asking for a beating!’

Enraged, Gu Qing immediately leaped and dove headfirst into the bushes in front of him.

In just a few seconds, he dragged out the hidden Liu Yue.

He hauled Liu Yue out of the bushes, stared at that annoying ABC face of hers, and raised a fist to smash it.

Liu Yue shrieked in panic, "No, no, no! I’m a girl, don’t hit my face!"

Gu Qing ignored her.

’You were vicious enough to aim rocks at my little brother down there.’

’So what if I punch you in the face?’

BAM! BAM!

Gu Qing punched both sides of Liu Yue’s face, swelling it up like a pig’s head.

He showed not a shred of pity for the fairer sex.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP—

A crisp round of applause rang out.

Wu Jiahao emerged slowly from behind a tree like a final boss controlling everything from the shadows. Brimming with style, he clapped while remarking with a playful smile:

"What an exciting little squabble between rookies."

"..."

Gu Qing dropped Liu Yue and turned to look at Wu Jiahao approaching from the side.

Liu Yue, her face swollen like a pig’s, scrambled up from the ground in a sorry state. Showing no resentment, she made a proposal to Gu Qing:

"Wu Jiahao’s Physical Strength isn’t as good as yours, but he’s fused with multiple highly lethal genes. His overall combat power is far above yours or mine."

"How about this: we team up to take him out first. Afterward, you can take first place, and I’ll take second."

"What do you think?"

With her current combat power, Liu Yue couldn’t defeat either Gu Qing or Wu Jiahao.

If she didn’t want to settle for third place, her only choice was to pick one to partner with, team up against the other, and secure second place for herself.

Between Gu Qing and Wu Jiahao, she chose Gu Qing without a second thought.

Even though Gu Qing had just swollen her face, she chose to forgive him on account of his good looks.

As for Wu Jiahao...

Never mind that he hadn’t hit her; even if he stood still and let her hit him, she still wouldn’t choose him.

’Getting beaten up by a handsome guy is better than beating up a basic, overconfident guy.’

’As long as a guy is handsome, even a fist to the face counts as intimate contact.’

’I, Sister Yue, am just that obsessed with looks!’

Faced with Liu Yue’s proposal to team up, Gu Qing refused in a flat tone:

"I’m not interested. I can deal with him myself."

At his words, Liu Yue raised an eyebrow, finding him even more charming.

’A confident man is so handsome!’

’Well, except for Wu Jiahao. He’s just a basic, overconfident guy.’

Liu Yue, with her daily dose of disdain for Hao.

"Well, now..."

Wu Jiahao laughed. "You’re just a brute with no Superpowers. Your body is just a little more developed than average. Where do you get the nerve to be so arrogant?"

As soon as he spoke, he activated his Chameleon Gene, and his figure began to shimmer and fade before their eyes.

In a moment, his body completely merged with the surrounding light and shadows, vanishing on the spot into a state of perfect invisibility.

’He can even turn invisible?’

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly. ’No wonder this community college guy is so full of himself.’

He immediately pushed his five senses to their absolute limit, entering his Lightning Reflexes mode and paying close attention to the slightest disturbance in his surroundings.

Hidden in plain sight, Wu Jiahao lightened his steps and circled behind Gu Qing, closing in silently.

’Super strong body?’

’Can take a punch and dish one out?’

’What’s the use?’

’He’s just a dumb brute.’

’Watch how Brother Jiahao toys with him.’

’I’ll even give his little head a condescending pat.’

Wu Jiahao’s eyes were filled with contempt. He casually picked up a rock and tossed it into a patch of grass to Gu Qing’s side.

RUSTLE!

The rock landed in the grass, making a crisp sound as it rustled against the leaves.

Gu Qing instinctively turned his head toward the sound.

’Now’s my chance!’

Wu Jiahao seized the opportunity to strike.

He pushed off hard with his feet.

In a single dash, he was behind Gu Qing.

Then, the five fingers of his right hand transformed into a powerful eagle’s claw.

He viciously swiped at the back of Gu Qing’s head.

’Time to give his skull a shocking wake-up call.’

Just as Wu Jiahao’s fingers were about to land—

WHOOM!

A sudden roar cut through the air.

Without any warning, Gu Qing shot his left arm backward, his fingers bent like iron hooks. In a reverse Dragon Claw Hand, he clamped down hard on Wu Jiahao’s head, lifting him right off the ground.

"H-How is this possible?!"

Wu Jiahao’s face was a mask of disbelief.

’I was clearly invisible, and my footsteps made no sound. How could he pinpoint my position so accurately?’

’Was it my scent?’

’Or are his reactions just that fast?’

Wu Jiahao couldn’t make sense of it.

But his current predicament didn’t allow him time to think.

Without the slightest hesitation,

he immediately activated the Mutated Electric Eel Gene in his body.

The next second,

an azure light erupted from his body. Countless blue arcs of electricity surged from his skin, striking at Gu Qing with terrifying power.

BZZZZT—!

With a crackle of surging electricity,

a massive man-made current shot up Gu Qing’s five-fingered Dragon Claw Hand, coursing up his left arm and into his body, instantly engulfing him.

Caught off guard by the electric shock, Gu Qing’s body twitched involuntarily, and his black hair stood on end.

...