Volume One, Chapter 20: The First Encounter of the Two Heroes
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The shantytown at the foot of the mountain.
Jia Shuwen mechanically carried the fish that had been cut into pieces, the stench making her retch again and again.
She looked at the core members inside the base, every one of them spirited and standing tall and straight. Then she looked at her own wretched, barely human appearance. Regret and jealousy gnawed at her heart like venomous snakes.
If only back then... If only she had not been so short-sighted, if only she had not betrayed Li Hexuan...
Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this world.
Not far away, Wang Rui performed the dirtiest and most exhausting tasks while keeping his eyes fixed on the villa atop the mountain. His gaze was sinister, and no one knew what he was plotting.
It was the morning of the second day after Li Hexuan successfully broke through.
“Woooo—wooooo—wooooo—!”
A piercing alarm suddenly shattered the silence of Falling Leaves Mountain!
At the lookout post, the survivor responsible for keeping watch struck the alarm bell with all his might, his voice carrying unconcealed terror.
“Enemy attack! They’re Chen Hao’s people! They... they’re coming! So many boats!”
Almost at the same time, Zhou Yong rushed down from another observation post, his face ashen.
“Mr. Li! The waters to the west... that big beast... that thing has been alerted as well! It’s moving toward us at high speed!”
From east and west, two great reapers were closing in at once!
When Zhang Nan heard this, his joints cracked loudly. In a few strides, he reached Li Hexuan’s side.
“Brother Xuan! Chen Hao’s pack of bastards is to the east, and that beast in the water is to the west. Which one do we take down first?”
The excitement of his recent breakthrough was instantly drenched by this sudden double crisis. Li Hexuan’s expression remained impassive, his voice utterly calm.
“Chen Hao’s people will arrive first. We’ll deal with them first. Old Zhou, keep a close eye on that thing to the west. Report to me immediately at the slightest movement.”
“Understood!”
After receiving his orders, Zhou Yong dashed back toward the observation post like a gust of wind.
Li Hexuan looked toward the foot of the mountain. On the eastern waters, more than a dozen boats of various sizes were cutting through the waves. Their bows plowed through the murky water, churning up white spray as they advanced with overwhelming force. The decks of the leading modified fishing boats were packed with dark silhouettes. At a rough glance, there had to be well over a hundred people.
“Hmph. Quite a grand display.”
A cold, cutting smile tugged at the corner of Li Hexuan’s mouth.
Chen Hao’s fleet soon reached the foot of Falling Leaves Mountain, but it did not attack immediately. Instead, the boats docked in an open area below the mountain. Their occupants poured ashore and began setting up camp, moving with swift, practiced efficiency. Clearly, they were well accustomed to usurping other people’s territory.
“Brother Xuan, what the hell are these bastards trying to do? They’re obviously here to steal our nest!”
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Watching the people below busily setting up camp, Zhang Nan began to lose patience.
Li Hexuan said nothing. He merely watched the figures moving around Chen Hao’s camp.
“There are quite a few of them. Looks like he’s absorbed more than a few small factions. I’ll go meet him.”
“Brother Xuan, I’m coming with you!”
Zhang Nan agreed without hesitation.
“Bring Liu Zhong and a few of the sharper ones. Make sure your guns are polished and ready.”
After giving the order, Li Hexuan led the way down the mountain.
A short while later, Li Hexuan, Zhang Nan, and five well-equipped core members appeared at the foot of the mountain. They stood roughly a hundred yards from Chen Hao’s camp, facing one another from a distance.
Chen Hao’s side soon made a move as well. He disembarked from the largest modified fishing boat and, surrounded by a crowd of followers, walked toward Li Hexuan at an unhurried pace.
Chen Hao looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He wore a relatively clean and well-kept combat uniform, and his face bore an intentionally warm smile. If not for the apocalypse, he might have passed for an elegant, refined young gentleman. Beside him walked a tall, lean man with a gloomy presence. He said nothing, yet emanated an inexplicable chill.
“Heh heh, I presume you must be Li Hexuan, leader of the Thunder God Base? Indeed, you are young and accomplished. Meeting you in person is even better than hearing of your reputation!”
Chen Hao stopped ten paces away from Li Hexuan and spoke with a genial smile. His voice possessed a distinctive magnetism that made people instinctively want to draw closer to him.
Li Hexuan remained expressionless, his voice cold as shards of ice.
“Chen Hao, get to the point. Spare me the roundabout nonsense.”
The deliberately cultivated smile on Chen Hao’s face did not change, as though he had not heard the sting in Li Hexuan’s words.
“Brother Li, I like people who speak frankly. In these times, monsters run rampant and the human heart is impossible to fathom. If we humans want to survive, we must unite and pull together. Only then will we have strength.”
He paused, casually sweeping his gaze over the obviously reinforced fortifications of Falling Leaves Mountain before continuing.
“From what I can see, Falling Leaves Mountain occupies an excellent defensive position, and you’ve managed it quite well. As for me, Chen Hao, I’ve had the good fortune to gather a number of people over in Linjiang City. Why don’t our two forces join together and build the strongest survival base in Jiangbei? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
Zhang Nan curled his lips as he listened, thinking that this bastard could make even the sweetest song sound like a lie.
Chen Hao continued, his tone now carrying an unmistakable air of command.
“When the time comes, I’ll serve as supreme commander and coordinate all resources and manpower. Brother Li, you’re young, capable, and powerful. You can be my deputy and assist me. With the two of us working together, what great undertaking could possibly fail?”
“Supreme commander?”
A mocking curve appeared at the corner of Li Hexuan’s mouth, and his voice grew even colder.
“Falling Leaves Mountain belongs to the Li family. I call the shots here. If you want cooperation, show me your sincerity. If you want to swallow us up, first consider whether your teeth are hard enough!”
The hypocritical smile on Chen Hao’s face finally faded a little. The chill emanating from the gloomy man beside him grew even stronger.
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“Brat, don’t get cocky! Our Brother Chen respects you, which is why he’s giving you a chance!”
A burly man with a face full of coarse flesh could no longer hold back and stepped forward. Faint flames flickered around him, clearly marking him as a low-level fire-type ability user.
“Don’t be ungrateful, you piece of—”
Before the man could finish speaking, he abruptly raised his hand. A fist-sized fireball howled through the air toward Li Hexuan’s face!
“You’re courting death!”
Zhang Nan roared and moved to step forward.
Li Hexuan merely snorted and remained where he was without moving. He did not even look at the fireball. Instead, he extended his right hand toward the heavy cleaver hanging from the fire-type ability user’s waist and made a casual grasping motion through the air.
Clang!
A piercing metallic shriek rang out!
Before the fire-type ability user could react, the heavy cleaver at his waist suddenly leaped from its sheath and shot into the sky, completely beyond his control!
Almost the instant the cleaver left his body, a concentrated azure arc of electricity burst from Li Hexuan’s fingertips. It tore through the air and struck straight toward the man’s chest!
“Gaaah—!”
A shrill scream split the air.
The flames around the man exploded apart. A tremendous force sent him flying backward, and he crashed heavily onto the ground. His limbs convulsed while white foam spilled from his mouth and nose.
The ferocious fireball, deprived of its source, wavered in midair before dropping to the ground with a soft thud, leaving behind only a few feeble sparks.
One hand to seize a blade from afar, the other to kill with a bolt of lightning!
The crowd behind Chen Hao fell utterly silent. Every one of them stood frozen in place.
Such an unbelievable technique was something they had never seen or even heard of before!
Chen Hao’s heart shook violently. Never had he imagined that Li Hexuan’s ability would be so overbearing and bizarre.
How could this be a mere strength-awakened ability user? He was clearly an extremely troublesome and formidable enemy!
Yet the deliberately crafted smile remained on Chen Hao’s face. Only the corner of his mouth twitched unnaturally.
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