Chapter 233: A 50/50 Split. If Not... Snatch and Run.

Central City. Bruce gazed upon the mansion that had once been his, his heart completely still.

The once magnificent central district was now nothing but black crystal as far as the eye could see.

This was not his first return, nor his first failure.

The sheer number of Wasteland Kings had made every step a struggle, until, after numerous attempts, he finally succeeded in modifying a Fire Seed.

He made the Fire Seed emit an aura that drove all Wasteland Kings into a frenzy—an aura that could spread.

Anyone who stepped into the Triumphant Eden would attract all the Wasteland Kings.

By the same token, he created an inverse aura, making a Fire Seed that the Wasteland Kings would ignore.

The former was in Qi Suian’s possession, while the latter was in his own.

He had to do this, of course, because the thief who had stolen his power could now control Wasteland Kings using a Fire Seed Source Fragment.

"You’ve returned, Yu Shijin." In the heart of Central City, a massive Black Crystal Giant spoke.

The name it called out, however, was not Bruce, but a Chinese one.

Embedded in the Black Crystal Giant’s forehead was a skeleton, missing its skull and right arm.

This was the legendary Fire Seed Source... Fragment.

Because the skull and right arm were in his possession.

And sealed within the Black Crystal Giant’s neck was a person—a human from the Wasteland World.

The figure was curled into a ball, and the surrounding patterns made it look like a flickering black flame.

"Yu Shijin... To be honest, Bruce, I almost forgot who was who."

"You forcibly merged us, jumbling my memories with yours until I actually thought ’Bruce’ was my name."

"Too bad this power of radiation was never truly yours," Bruce—or rather, Yu Shijin—said mockingly, tapping the skull he held.

"Did you really think luring my troops away would make you my match?" The true Bruce, the Black Crystal Giant, completely dismissed his words. "I possess the power of both a lord and a hero."

"Even if I can’t unleash it completely, it’s more than enough to deal with a homeless cur like you."

"By my command, black crystals!"

At the Black Crystal Giant’s command, all the black crystals within the Triumphant Eden began to move.

They converged endlessly upon the giant’s body.

But Yu Shijin just shook his head. "You have no idea what it means to be a lord."

"You’ve never acquired a panel, never had a class."

"Everything you have is a clumsy imitation, a mere castle in the sky."

"The very fact that I am standing here means your defeat is already sealed." As Yu Shijin’s words fell, the black crystals under the Black Crystal Giant’s command instantly slipped from its control.

Control over them returned to Yu Shijin, and in an instant, they engulfed the massive Black Crystal Giant.

The black crystals meant to be its source of power had now become the giant’s prison.

Meanwhile, Yu Shijin walked slowly toward the restrained Black Crystal Giant, stepping on a path of black crystals that formed beneath his feet.

"By reclaiming the skull, I may not have regained all my strength, but I have grasped the very source of this radiation power."

"Therefore, I only need one more part of my body to unleash its essence as the power of a lord and his domain."

"And that fool Fos provided the perfect opportunity to make it happen."

"It wasn’t that I couldn’t deal with those shoddy troops you created; I simply didn’t want to put you on alert."

"In the Triumphant Eden... damn these jumbled memories... in my Black Crystal City, you are nothing but a thief. You can never control its true power."

With that, Yu Shijin stood between the Black Crystal Giant’s brows, reaching out to touch his own skeleton.

But before he could make contact, he snatched his hand back.

A beam of dark energy had nearly struck his hand.

"Jack, you intend to make an enemy of me?" Yu Shijin turned to see the Armored Man hovering at the same altitude.

This was unexpected. Jack should have been tied up with the Wasteland Kings.

He never thought Jack would be able to break free.

Then he saw them—the Wasteland Kings, swarming in a mad pursuit right behind Qi Suian.

Qi Suian hadn’t escaped them at all; he had merely led them here.

"We split it down the middle."

"Bruce... no, wait. It should be Yu Shijin."

"We’re supposed to be allies, at least on the surface. Trying to keep all this for yourself... are you looking down on me?" Behind Qi Suian, all his Floating Cannons materialized.

They aimed directly at the skeleton on the Black Crystal Giant’s forehead.

One wrong move, and they would blast the Fire Seed Source Fragment into dust.

"’Split it down the middle.’ A fine proverb."

"Of course. I only want my skeletal remains. The rest is all yours," Yu Shijin said dismissively.

Seeing his attitude, Qi Suian had one of his Floating Cannons fire a Dark Energy Beam at a Wasteland King.

The Dark Energy Beam disintegrated the Wasteland King on the spot. Despite its massive size, it collapsed into countless particles before their very eyes.

From its torso down to its root-like appendages, every part of its body was annihilated.

After that demonstration, Yu Shijin’s tone became more subdued.

"My skeleton is indeed the Fire Seed Source, that’s true. But I can’t give it to you."

"Name your price," Yu Shijin said gravely.

He knew that Qi Suian’s Floating Cannons didn’t even need to hit the skeleton directly; a strike on the Black Crystal Giant would be enough to damage it.

"Let’s start with your first-grade Fire Seeds as a deposit," Qi Suian said.

Without a second thought, Yu Shijin took out all of his Fire Seeds and tossed them to Qi Suian.

This included the specially modified one.

As soon as Qi Suian got his hands on them, he immediately tossed them all into the Melting Furnace.

’Who knew what tricks he might have pulled? Better to use them as fuel than to risk keeping them.’

In that brief moment of distraction, the Black Crystal Giant managed to break free, sweeping a massive crystal palm toward both Qi Suian and Yu Shijin.

"Die, Demon Lord from another world!!!"

The Black Crystal Giant’s roar thundered.

The attack was not small in the least; it was vast and powerful.

But it had absolutely no effect.

The Tai Sui God easily dodged the attack using its Wind Master flight system.

Yu Shijin, on the other hand, didn’t even bother to dodge.

Countless black crystals formed a massive shield. The Black Crystal Giant’s palm couldn’t break through, striking it like it was an iron wall.

The shield held, but the giant’s arm shattered on impact.

’A perfect chance!’ Qi Suian was ecstatic, and his onboard A.I. immediately understood his intentions.

The Tai Sui God seized the opportunity, charging straight for the Black Crystal Giant’s brow.

The goal was simple: just break off a piece of Yu Shijin’s skeleton.

His target was clear: the sternum.

It was a single, complete piece, and it protruded slightly.

If he could just get a grip, the chances of yanking it free were high.

Yu Shijin sensed Qi Suian’s plan. With a wave of his hand, the black crystals morphed into a dense storm of sharp blades.

"Take what’s yours and I’ll let you leave Black Crystal City alive," Yu Shijin said.

Qi Suian was one to take advice, but not from an enemy.

’Why would an enemy ever give him good advice?’

With his Floating Cannons clearing a path with Dark Energy Beams, he easily grabbed the sternum.

But before the Tai Sui God could apply any force, the skeleton’s left arm moved.

With blinding speed, it pierced the Tai Sui God’s shield and shattered the arm gripping the sternum.

"You don’t seem to realize... *it* is *me*." Yu Shijin had somehow closed the distance to the Tai Sui God, and his White Bone Right Arm smashed its head to pieces.

For the Tai Sui God, however, this was actually less severe than losing an arm.

After all, the Tai Sui God was just a suit of armor, not a living creature.

Seeing this, Qi Suian didn’t hesitate to have all his Floating Cannons unleash their Dark Energy Beams.

His target was neither Yu Shijin nor the skeletal Fire Seed Source, but the massive Black Crystal Giant itself.

"Insolent brat! You dare!" Yu Shijin roared, forcibly using his skeleton to make the Black Crystal Giant turn its body aside.

The Dark Energy Beams struck the Black Crystal Giant directly, and disintegration began at once. In a mere moment, its body dissolved into countless particles, no longer able to support its own form.

At this point, Yu Shijin could think of nothing else. He forced his way forward and, heedless of the cost, began tearing his skeleton free.

Meanwhile, Qi Suian wasn’t idle either. He used his Evil Dragon and Evil Tiger to blast open the Black Crystal Giant’s neck. With his newly-repaired right arm, he reached in and pulled out the person curled up inside.

’Well, since I’m already here, might as well grab a souvenir.’

’If I can’t get the Fire Seed Source Fragment, the person inside the giant’s neck must be valuable too.’

From their conversation, it was clear this young man, Bruce, was the creator of the Fire Seed technology.

’As for his youth? That didn’t matter. Qi Suian was young, too.’

’And look at all the bizarre things he’d managed to create.’

Before the Black Crystal Giant completely dissolved into particles, both Qi Suian and Yu Shijin had secured their prizes.

"A year from today will be the anniversary of your deaths!" Yu Shijin’s voice, having retrieved his skeleton, was laced with pure killing intent.

He wanted nothing more than to slice Qi Suian into a thousand pieces.

Clearly, forcibly retrieving his skeleton had come at a great cost.

Still, a heavy price was better than a total loss.

Qi Suian, meanwhile, was already holding the real Bruce and urging his A.I. to open an escape route.

"Farewell!" Before Yu Shijin could make another move, Qi Suian escaped the Triumphant Eden through a portal generated by the Fire Seeds.

Yu Shijin froze when he saw this. He never expected Qi Suian to be able to open a portal as well.

Fortunately, he could close it, but he was a step too late.

He only managed to close the portal after Qi Suian was already gone.

"Do you think you can escape? Once I’ve recovered my strength, you will all die!" Yu Shijin roared in fury.