Chapter 14: Pushed Beyond Endurance

Green Hair and Bucktooth exchanged bewildered glances, utterly at a loss. Just a moment ago, that little bastard had been five meters away—how had he closed the distance in the blink of an eye?

Must be the booze. They’d both clearly drunk too much earlier, that's all.

“You little bastard, I’ll nail you to the ground!” Bucktooth roared, hefting a plank studded with rusty nails and swinging it straight at Chen Mo’s head.

He truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned street thug—his strike was swift, vicious, and precise, landing squarely on the back of Chen Mo’s skull.

“Haha! You’re done for now, brat! Dead for sure!”

Crash!

The plank shattered into splinters, the nails bending and clattering to the floor.

Unhurried, Chen Mo turned to face them, his eyes cold and indifferent, as if gazing upon a corpse.

Bucktooth trembled from head to toe, feeling as though a demon from the depths of hell had fixed its gaze on him. Impossible! He’d hit that brat square in the back of the head—how could he be completely unharmed?

“Useless fool! Watch me!” Green Hair whipped out a knife, flourishing it theatrically in the air. “Kid, you’re dead! I’ve trained for this!”

Swish—

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Green Hair lunged, aiming the blade directly at Chen Mo’s heart. Perhaps he really had trained—this strike was clearly meant to kill.

Yet, even under the onslaught of five rampaging gorillas, Chen Mo could dodge for several seconds; how could a move this sluggish, from a mere mortal, possibly threaten him?

Chen Mo shifted his body ever so slightly, effortlessly evading the thrust.

Green Hair, misreading the dodge as cowardice, grew bolder. “Well, look at you, brat! Dodged it, did you? Lucky this time—next time, you won’t be so fortunate!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Green Hair stabbed, slashed, hacked, and sliced in a wild flurry, but Chen Mo moved like smoke—each attack missed as if he were made of air.

“Damn you, brat, how can you dodge so well? Try not dodging if you’ve got the guts!” Green Hair panted, already exhausted from wielding his knife.

Chen Mo’s voice was icy. “You said it yourself.”

Suddenly, he stepped into the path of the knife.

Green Hair’s eyes lit up. Here was his chance—die!

Squelch!

Blood sprayed. He’d hit! Blood gushed from the wound!

Wait—why did his own chest hurt?

Green Hair’s wide, startled eyes dropped to his chest—his own knife was buried there.

Chen Mo’s agility and speed, both at sixty, made his movements as swift as the wind. In the blink of an eye, he’d seized Green Hair’s wrist, reversed the blade, and plunged it into his attacker's chest. Green Hair was so slow, he hadn’t even felt the pain before the blood burst forth.

“Aaah!” It took a full three seconds for the agony to register, and then Green Hair screamed, hysterical.

“No! No, you’re not Chen Mo! You can’t be!”

In Green Hair’s memory, Chen Mo had always been an orphan to bully and humiliate at will—how could he suddenly be so terrifying? Only this afternoon, he’d pinned him to the ground with ease—this couldn’t be real.

Heh.

Chen Mo’s smile was merciless. “You’re right, I’m not Chen Mo. I am the Demon King! Die!”

No fear, no hesitation—he’d rehearsed this moment in his mind countless times. He’d waited so long for this day.

Die!

Bang!

Just one punch. So simple. So direct.

Chen Mo’s fist obliterated half of Green Hair’s head, spraying blood and gore everywhere.

He had already prepared a curtain to shield himself, ensuring none of the blood splattered onto his body.

Bucktooth, witnessing this horror, forgot any notion of brotherhood. He scrambled and crawled desperately, trying to flee, but terror had numbed his legs; he couldn’t even stand. On his hands and knees, he dragged himself across the floor, urine dripping from his trousers.

Chen Mo was in no hurry. He savored Bucktooth’s terror, just as they had relished his, five years before.

“Please, I beg you, spare me, little… I mean, big brother, father, grandfather—whatever you want, I’ll do it, just spare me!”

Chen Mo’s tone was almost casual. “Oh? Is that so? Then lick your own piss off the floor.”

Bucktooth recoiled, but then, gritting his teeth, humiliated and desperate, he lowered his head and actually began to lick up his own yellow puddle.

[Fear +1]

[Fear +2]

[Fear +10]

A series of numbers appeared above Bucktooth’s head, all of which Chen Mo absorbed into his mind. He wasn’t sure what these points of fear could be used for, but he didn’t care for now—he was relishing his tormentor’s terror.

“Sorry, but you still have to die,” Chen Mo said, raising his fist.

Bucktooth’s bulging eyes almost popped from their sockets as, with his last breath, he pleaded, “No! You promised—you said you wouldn’t kill—”

Bang!

Another punch—simple, brutal.

Chen Mo smashed Bucktooth’s skull.

“The Demon King keeps no promises,” he said flatly.

Meanwhile, Liu Kunlong, sensing things had gone awry, had already slipped out the back door.

With his mental strength at one hundred, Chen Mo entered a state of deep focus, his consciousness expanding outward, locking onto Liu Kunlong.

Like the countless runs he’d made in Temple Escape, Chen Mo became a gust of wind, giving chase.

…

The abandoned shantytown was a wasteland of crumbling walls and rubble.

Liu Kunlong moved with surprising agility, darting through the ruins.

But a gust of wind, thick with dust, swept up behind him.

“Run! Go on, run faster! Heh!” A deathly, mocking voice whispered in Liu Kunlong’s ear.

No matter how Liu Kunlong fled, Chen Mo remained at his heels, a cat toying with its prey, savoring the hunt.

At last, Liu Kunlong could run no more. He stopped, panting, face twisted in a snarl. “You little bastard! Don’t push me too far!”

Chen Mo tipped his head back and laughed coldly. “‘Push you too far?’ Ha! The infamous Brother Dragon complaining about being pushed too far? How ridiculous!”

Staring at the utterly transformed Chen Mo, Liu Kunlong suddenly understood. “Now I get it. No wonder you, the orphan, are suddenly so powerful. You must have entered the Sphere of Evolution—you’ve gained the power of evolution!”

Chen Mo’s voice was icy. “That’s right. Heaven gave me this chance. For five years, I’ve dreamed of killing you. Now the opportunity is here!”

“Hahahaha!” Instead of cowering, Liu Kunlong burst into wild laughter. “Oh, Chen Mo, you’re far too naive. Did you really think you’re the only one who’s entered the Sphere of Evolution? I’d hoped to keep my strength hidden, but you stubbornly chose hell over an open road to heaven. Fine, I’ll send you to the underworld myself! Role switch!!”

Buzz! Buzz!

A silvery light erupted from Liu Kunlong’s body—he was suddenly clad in a suit of silver armor, wielding a silver longsword, silver boots gleaming on his feet. His bearing was utterly transformed; the craven thug was gone, replaced by a commander with the presence of a general leading a thousand troops.

A Novice Set?!

Chen Mo was stunned. Out of over ten million participants in the Chinese Region, barely a hundred had cleared the Sphere of Evolution, most failing even to reach a thousand meters. To collect the full Novice Armor, Sword, and Boots—that marked someone as the elite among evolvers.

Seeing Chen Mo’s momentary shock, Liu Kunlong raised his sword high and mocked him savagely. “What’s wrong, orphan? Scared now? Too late for regret. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your little sister after you’re dead!”

His lewd laughter echoed through the night, unbroken and obscene.