Chapter 89 - 88: The Strongest in History vs. The Modern Strongest

Chapter 89: Chapter 88: The Strongest in History vs. The Modern Strongest

The great battle was over.

He Haikun, carrying a barely-breathing Huang Xiaoyue, emerged like a phantom from the shadow at Gu Qing’s feet.

He casually tossed Huang Xiaoyue to the ground, then raised his eyes to Gu Qing and asked in a calm tone,

"Did you cripple this Ratman?"

"I did."

Gu Qing nodded.

He Haikun asked again, "All by yourself?"

"That’s right."

Gu Qing nodded once more.

He Haikun fell silent.

Then, his gaze turning scrutinous, he began to carefully size up Gu Qing.

’The Ratman who could easily crush Lin Tianyang and his partner was crippled by this Extraordinary Contactor in his early twenties, all on his own?’

’And he even deliberately left her alive?’

’He should know that crippling an enemy and leaving them alive is far more difficult than killing them outright.’

’To dare leave someone alive means your own strength completely surpasses your opponent’s, to the point you have no fear of a final, desperate counterattack.’

’It seems the real strength of this university student, this Extraordinary Contactor named Gu Qing, is far greater than what he showed during the recruitment test.’

’Thinking about it, this kid might be the strongest Extraordinary Contactor I’ve seen in all my years in the Extraordinary Realm. No one else even comes close.’

’Yes, no one else.’

’He’s even stronger than the Mad Woman was back before she Awakened.’

’After all, this university student is probably only twenty-one or twenty-two, which would make him several years younger than the Mad Woman was before she Awakened.’

’Unfortunately, no matter how strong an Extraordinary Contactor is, it’s all for nothing if they never Awaken.’

’Give it enough time, and they’ll eventually be reduced to nothing more than a stray dog on the street.’

’By then, any decently developed Extraordinary Awakened from the same generation could easily kick them to death.’

As He Haikun was lost in his thoughts, the roar of a motorcycle engine suddenly echoed from the nearby road.

"VRRROOOM—"

A short while later, Lin Tianyang arrived at the scene in a hurry, accompanied by several men in black.

Lin Tianyang was taken aback to see that He Haikun was also there.

The other men in black were also surprised, but they didn’t ask any questions. They simply shouted in unison with respect,

"Captain He!" x4

"Hn."

He Haikun grunted in acknowledgment, then looked at the group and ordered, "The situation is resolved. Take this half-dead Ratman back to base. Send her to the interrogation room for some... intense questioning."

The moment he finished speaking, He Haikun’s figure flickered. He casually slipped into the shadow of one of the men and vanished without a trace.

Gu Qing watched this magical feat of appearing and disappearing without a trace, feeling a little envious.

’That ability to freely travel through other people’s shadows looks pretty slick. I want it too.’

’Speaking of which, why is the label floating above that sunglasses guy’s head [Traitor], and not something like [Shadow Assassin] or [Lord of Shadows]?’

’What factors determine the labels that appear above everyone’s heads?’

’Also, can the labels change?’

’For example, when I was weak, the label I saw above Ningyu’s head was [Corpse]. What about when I’ve developed further and become so strong that I don’t even need to eat beef anymore?’

’At that point, will the label I see above Ningyu’s head still be [Corpse]?’

’Wait, that doesn’t seem right.’

’The [Feces] label above Huang Xiaoyue’s head, for instance, hasn’t changed at all since it first appeared.’

’My strength now is more than enough to crush her easily. There’s no way she could swallow me whole and turn me into her... feces.’

’But the label floating above her head is still that unbearable [Feces].’

’So... ’

’once a label appears above someone’s head, it never changes?’

’Or... ’

’is there just some kind of delay?’

’Hmm, I’ll have to pay close attention to this from now on.’

’This label cheat has too many confusing aspects that need further investigation.’

Gu Qing was once again lost in thought, pondering his label cheat.

Just then, Lin Tianyang turned to Gu Qing. Noticing the ghastly, bloody hole in his arm, he said at once,

"That wound doesn’t look good. Use this ointment to stop the bleeding for now. I’ll take you back to the base later for professional treatment at the medical building."

As he spoke, he took out a small bottle of ointment he carried with him from an inner pocket of his black windbreaker and handed it to Gu Qing.

Gu Qing took the bottle and said, "Thanks."

Without a second thought, he twisted off the cap, carefully squeezed a little of the milky-white ointment onto the wound, and slowly spread it with his hand.

Within seconds, a refreshing, cooling sensation spread through the wound.

The piercing pain rapidly faded.

The redness and swelling around the wound also began to subside at a speed visible to the naked eye.

’What kind of ointment is this?’

’How can its effects be this powerful?’

’This is almost on par with the Immortal Elixirs of legend!’

Gu Qing was astonished.

He then handed the ointment back to Lin Tianyang.

Lin Tianyang took the ointment and said,

"Right, give me a brief rundown of everything that happened tonight."

"..."

Gu Qing gathered his thoughts for a moment, then quickly gave a summary:

"Tonight, I invited a younger female student from my university out to dinner. Uh, that would be the Ratman on the ground there."

"After dinner, she deliberately lured me to this secluded, deserted forest. She opened a massive, bloody maw like an alligator’s and tried to swallow me whole."

"But her strength was no match for mine, so I turned the tables and beat her until she was on her last breath."

"Then, a masked man who could also transform into a Ratman suddenly appeared. His strength was far greater than mine, and he said he was going to capture me and use me as a guinea pig for his research."

"I knew I couldn’t beat him, so I decisively fled."

"Finally, Captain He suddenly emerged from my shadow, engaged the masked man, and forced him to retreat. Shortly after that, you arrived with your people."

"..."

Lin Tianyang nodded after listening.

Then, his gaze fell upon the half-dead Huang Xiaoyue on the ground.