Free Web NovelBook 3, Chapter 339: Water Way
Since Chen Chuan no longer had a ton of armored cars following him and Clear Road Transport was leading the way, he didn’t stand out. They were able to travel smoothly through the lower city district.
Lan Shennan said, “While United Might’s motorcade has been taking a lot of detours, based on the direction they’re headed to, I think they’re going to an old emergency tunnel of Clear Road Transport.
“Only a handful of people know about it. Even I only learned about its existence from Lao Bian.
“And it was all thanks to you. If you hadn’t scared him so thoroughly, he wouldn’t have told us things like that.”
Chen Chuan thought about what Lan Shennan said. “How many people know about this tunnel?”
“Not many. Lao Bian said that only a few former executives of Clear Road Transport know about it. Not even those from the Iron Fist Gang know. That’s why we suspect that the person serving as their guide is a familiar face,” Lan Shennan said.
Chen Chuan nodded at that. He was certain that United Might hadn’t decided on this operation on a whim. They should have planned this and set things up a long time ago.
But that had nothing to do with him. He didn’t have to figure out the entire story behind their actions. All he needed to know was where they were and how he was going to take them down.
***
Che Gaoyi led the team to the checkpoint blocking their way. After ordering his men to wait for him, he got out of his car and walked to the blockade.
Among the guards at the checkpoint was a Third Limit martial artist.
Since the two motorcades had split up, with the bigger group going to the other side, Che Gaoyi had no other choice but to take matters into his own hands.
The Sun Vine’s light was shining on the barricades and lit up the Resolution Department officers standing behind them armed to the teeth. The Third Limit martial artist stood at the very front. He wore a zipper jacket, and his pants were part of the Resolution Department’s uniform.
His hair was dyed gold, and he was chewing on gum as he sat on a barricade. When he saw Che Gaoyi walk over, he said, “Oh? You want to fight? Here’s a warning. The road ahead isn’t going to be easy. You can still turn around.”
Che Gaoyi didn’t stop. He continued walking to the Third Limit martial artist.
“Looks like you won’t give up, then.” The Third Limit martial artist jumped down and cracked his knuckles. Cracking sounds were heard by all present.
The Resolution Department had sent the Third Limit martial artist a brief description of Che Gaoyi. He was skilled in Sanshou and grappling, but his strength lay in kicking. Even though the information didn’t give him everything he needed to know about Che Gaoyi, that was enough. At the very least, he had some understanding of him.
In the beginning, Che Gaoyi walked quite slowly, but then, he started speeding up. As the two sides drew closer, Che Gaoyi threw the first punch. The Third Limit martial artist spat out his chewing gum and threw a punch as well.
The moment their fists clashed, a surge of refined force charged into Che Gaoyi’s body. Before he could completely negate it, the martial artist waved his elbow, thrust his shoulder forward, and another wave of refined force charged into Che Gaoyi, forcing him back a few steps.
Che Gaoyi knew a chained sequence of attacks that could let him deliver a continuous stream of offensive refined force, but the Third Limit martial artist had forced him back and prevented him from being able to use it.
The Third Limit martial artist stayed rooted in place. His hands were spread as he lowered his body and thrust his lowered arms outward. Explosive sounds came from within him, and wind howled around him. Cracks even began to form on the ground.
“The Grand Relay Force...” Che Gaoyi immediately recognized it. This was a famous refined force in the northern region of the Great Shun Empire during the old era. It allowed the practitioner to connect all of their refined force and even borrow some from other parts of the body. Once a practitioner achieved mastery, they could stack refined force together to achieve incredible power.
Che Gaoyi stared at the Third Limit martial artist for a bit. Truly, those from the Resolution Department weren’t to be underestimated.
He shook his fists a few times before charging at the Third Limit martial artist again. Just like before, he threw a punch.
“Still won’t admit defeat? We’ll do this again, then!”
The martial artist threw a punch as well.
Bam!
Their fists collided. This time, when the Third Limit martial artist released his refined force, Che Gaoyi pulled back while keeping in contact with his refined force. The Third Limit martial artist touched nothing when he released his refined force, and it made him feel uncomfortable.
With a shout, he regulated his breathing. At the same time, he gathered his refined force.
This sequence kept repeating itself. For a time, Che Gaoyi could only defend himself, but after exchanging more than ten attacks, things started changing.
The Third Limit martial artist realised that he was unable to land a solid hit. Every time, Che Gaoyi was able to neutralize his attack, and it was beginning to become hard to overpower him.
Che Gaoyi’s greatest strength wasn’t his refined force, but his observational prowess. Whenever he fought against someone and saw their techniques as well as the unique characteristics of how they generated their refined force, he could swiftly find a strategy against it and locate his opponent’s weaknesses. It could be said that he was a martial artist relying solely on technique to win.
The Third Limit martial artist began feeling frustrated. Even though Che Gaoyi wasn’t as strong as he was, he found openings and critical points to prevent the Third Limit martial artist from being able to unleash his attacks and refined force. Because of it, he had to increase the intensity of his attacks. While he achieved some results with this, he also ended up exposing his weaknesses even more.
They fought for another half a minute or so before Che Gaoyi reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“Huh?”
The Third Limit martial artist’s expression froze. Usually, once grappling experts were able to seize their opponents, they could make them unable to fight back. But things were different for the Third Limit martial artist. The Grand Relay Force could fight against grappling-type refined forces. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
With a shout, he released his refined force to bounce off the fingers on his wrist, but Che Gaoyi seemed to have predicted it. He let go, then put his hand on the Third Limit martial artist’s wrist again.
The martial artist’s eyes widened. He wanted to release his refined force again, but Che Gaoyi didn’t give him that chance. Che Gaoyi poured out his grappling-type refined force and captured the man.
The Third Limit martial artist activated a second wave of refined force to fight against it, but Che Gaoyi didn’t let go. He held onto the Third Limit martial artist’s wrist tightly and brought his leg up to jab it at the Third Limit martial artist’s neck.
The kick was completely silent and happened in an instant. The moment the Third Limit martial artist was hit, his eyes bulged out, and his face turned red. He wanted to cough, but couldn’t. Another kick hit his neck, and with a loud snap, his neck bent. The Third Limit martial artist collapsed on the ground.
Che Gaoyi pushed his dislocated arm back in place. The Third Limit martial artist’s raw strength was greater than his, but raw strength wasn’t the deciding factor on who won in a real fight. Battle performance was.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots came from the area ahead. The Resolution Department officers behind the barricades started firing at him once they saw that things had gone downhill.
Che Gaoyi jumped and charged toward them despite the shower of bullets. As he weaved around them, the gunshots soon completely disappeared.
He took a look around. When he saw that no one else was standing, he returned to the motorcade and ordered, “We’re continuing onward. I’ll stop all pursuers.”
“M-Mr. Che, w-what about me?” Mr. Pan peeked out of the car. Suddenly, he found himself seized by panic.
Che Gaoyi cast him an unimpressed glance before saying, “You’re coming with us.”
Mr. Pan sighed in relief and quickly got out to enter another car.
Che Gaoyi watched the cars leave before heading to the main car. After just a few steps, he felt a pressure on his chest, and he slammed his hand on the car as blood trickled down the corners of his mouth. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
This was the result of fighting against the Grand Relay Force. His organs had suffered great impact, the effects of which had only made themselves known now. Before this, he hadn’t even noticed.
This would have been fatal in the fight, but now, as long as he didn’t die from it, he would be fine. He regulated his breathing and quickly recovered.
Che Gaoyi wiped off the blood on the corner of his mouth and went to the back of the car to open the trunk. In it was a heavy box. He yanked off the chains on it, gripped the edges, and tore off the cover. Inside it was a bulky man wearing black protective clothing.
Once light shone onto him, the man’s eyes flew open, and he sat up staring at Che Gaoyi.
“Let’s go, Nine,” Che Gaoyi ordered.
Nine stood up from the box. Since he was more than two meters tall, he was even taller than Che Gaoyi. When he moved, his footsteps were light, making him appear nimble.
Nine was a high-grade combat puppet United Might had ordered from Proto Being. The original was a famous Third Limit martial artist who had signed a deal with Proto Being to go through biomodification to pay off his debts.
Not only did he retain his original strength, but Proto Being had also implanted a lot of mutated tissue into him. Nine didn’t have any emotions, so he would fight until he died.
Che Gaoyi returned to the car. After Nine joined him, he did a U-turn and returned to the place where the scout car had stopped to observe the checkpoint.
Upon parking there, Che Gaoyi got out, walked up to a wall, and punched it. With a rumble, the wall collapsed, and a raging underground river appeared behind it.
When he was passing by, he had heard the faint sound of rushing water. Based on his experience and the flow of the river, it should lead outside the city.
But the water seemed quite contaminated. All sorts of suspicious, unidentifiable things were floating in it.
Che Gaoyi returned to the car, took out a protective mask, grabbed a briefcase from the backseat, and jumped into the water to walk in the direction of the river flow.
There was a splash behind him. Nine had jumped in without batting an eyelid to come with him.
