I slowly turned my gaze to Su Rui. "The farce is over. Now it's time to settle our score."
Su Rui's ferocious grin vanished completely, leaving only uncontainable fear. He finally realized his proud A-rank hellhound was nothing before me.
"Impossible. I'm an A-rank awakened. I'm invincible."
Su Rui went completely berserk. He let out a beast-like roar at the sky. The clothes on his back instantly exploded. A spectral shadow of a three-headed hound over five meters long, wreathed in dark burning flames, manifested behind him. Su Rui's body swelled, muscles bulging high. His hands transformed into sharp wolf claws. He charged at me with suffocating sulfurous fumes.
"Die."
Su Rui's central dog head opened its maw, spewing a torrent of searing black flame.
Facing this seemingly grand attack, I couldn't even be bothered to dodge. An A-rank before me is less than a dog.
I took a deep breath. The blood and flesh in my body, transformed by primordial power, roared and surged like a mighty river. I didn't activate a single totemic manifestation, relying purely on raw physical strength. My right fist pulled back sharply, then shot forth like a cannonball, smashing into the mass of black flame.
Boom.
The terrifying fist wind tore the black flame apart. My fist, without any flourish, slammed into Su Rui's proud wolf claws.
Crack.
The sickening sound of bone breaking echoed. Su Rui's right arm snapped instantly. The immense force carried on, smashing brutally into his chest. Su Rui vomited blood violently. His massive body was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, impacting heavily on the ground.
"Impossible. He didn't even use his dharma form. How is he this strong?"
Su Rui clutched his collapsed chest. Deep fear finally surfaced in his eyes.
"Because you're too weak."
I walked up to him step by step, looking down at him from above.
"Chen Lie, I was wrong. Please spare me."
I looked at him. Not a single ripple in my eyes. "In my past life, you pushed me into the beast tide."
A flicker of hope flashed in Su Rui's eyes.
"Because that would be letting you off too easy."
I slowly raised my hand. The phantom of Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin manifested behind me. The black coffin opened slightly. A pitch black chain extended out. It instantly pierced the three-headed hellhound tattoo on Su Rui's back.
Su Rui screamed out. The three-headed hellhound tattoo on his back struggled frantically, but it was firmly suppressed by the nine black dragons.
Crack.
A crack appeared on the surface of the tattoo. The aura of Su Rui's supernatural power receded like a tide. His body rapidly shrank back to its original state, turning back into a scarred, powerless ordinary person.
"My power. Chen Lie, give me back my power."
"Didn't you like being a dog? From today on, you're not even as good as a dog."
The thugs looked at Su Rui, who had lost his power. Their gazes gradually changed. In the apocalypse, the weak have no dignity, especially since Su Rui, on the way here, had used countless people as bait. Now retribution had come.
Screams soon rang out. I didn't look anymore. Not long after, Su Rui's voice completely vanished. Only a dim level one crystal core remained on the ground. I casually put it into my companion space.
The rival who pushed me into the beast tide in my past life, in this life isn't even qualified to make me use my full strength.
Right at that moment, an earsplitting roar suddenly came from the sky. A gale howled, dispersing the surrounding black fog.
I looked up. A dark green military armed helicopter was circling above the air raid shelter. The helicopter slowly descended. The hatch opened. Two columns of fully armed special forces soldiers quickly jumped down, lining up on both sides, securing the perimeter.
A high-ranking commander, surrounded by several guards, walked over briskly.
"Mr. Chen, hello. I am Lei Jian, deputy commander of the Eastern Theater Command. By order of the Supreme Commander, I have come specifically to visit."
"Commander Lei, you've had a tough journey, with aberrant beasts running rampant outside. For you to find this place shows the command center is still doing its utmost to maintain order."
Hearing this, a flicker of surprise passed through Lei Jian's eyes. He had originally thought someone like me, a terrifyingly powerful awakened, would hold some contempt for the military. But I understood clearly. In the apocalypse, the military is the last bastion for ordinary people. Without them holding the front lines, Jiangzhou would only collapse faster.
Lei Jian took a deep breath. "Mr. Chen, we saw your footage of killing the S-class blood python via drone. Your power far exceeds the known awakened system of the command center. The commander wishes to establish the highest level wartime cooperation with you. We are not forcing conscription, nor do we require you to hand over Blackstone Base. We only hope that when the Dragon Nation faces a major disaster, you can lend a hand within your capabilities."
"Agreed."
Lei Jian's eyes lit up.
"I can cooperate, but I'm used to operating independently. I'm not suited for the regular command structure. Blackstone Base can serve as an independent cooperative outpost. The military maintains order, evacuates survivors and establishes defenses. I provide intel, and when necessary, eliminate high level aberrations. We share resources and intel. That's the most efficient way."
"I will convey your proposal verbatim to the Supreme Commander, Mr. Chen."
"Since it's cooperation, I'll give you some intel first. At two in the morning, three days from now, the first large-scale oceanic aberration tide will erupt in the east sea. A level five sea overturning bone dragon will lead a hundred thousand sea beasts to land in Jiangzhou City. Without deploying heavy firepower defenses in advance, Jiangzhou City and the entire eastern theater will suffer heavy losses."
"What?"
Lei Jian's face paled, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. He stared at me intently, trying to find any hint of a joke on my face, but all he saw was calm.
"Mr. Chen, is this intelligence reliable?"
"I wouldn't joke about the lives of three million people."
Lei Jian took a deep breath. "I'll report to the Supreme Commander immediately, mobilizing the entire eastern theater for defense."
"Also, I need a batch of heavy military-industrial equipment. High precision machine tools, special alloy materials, ten sets of naval grade automated close-in weapon systems, and a batch of thermobaric infantry rockets. I want to take these for free. In exchange, intelligence regarding high level aberrations from now on will be prioritized for the military."
"These are strategic materials. I need to request permission from Marshal Long. But personally, I believe this trade is worth it. Agreed, Mr. Chen. Thank you for your willingness to cooperate."
"The military holds humanity's line. I'll handle the monsters you can't yet deal with. Each has their role."
"Mr. Chen, I will convey those words to the Supreme Commander."
Watching Lei Jian's hurried figure board the departing aircraft, my gaze darkened.
A level five beast king. It's precisely the key to unlocking the first chain of the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin. The sea overturning bone dragon's core will be mine.
Three days passed in a flash. During these days, the military kept their promise. Several heavy transport helicopters delivered the special machine tools I needed, the close-in weapon systems and the thermobaric rockets, to outside the bunker. Seeing the massive claw marks still on the helicopter fuselages, I knew what it took to escort the shipment through aberration infested airspace. The military must have lost many ace pilots.
As for the remaining strategic supplies, Lei Jian sent word. They'd be transported in batches. I'm not pushing. Battles are raging everywhere outside now. The fact that the first batch arrived shows the military's good faith.
I stored all these supplies in the companion space. The air raid shelter's defense level skyrocketed again.
Two in the morning, the fourth day. I sat in the large leather chair in the monitoring room, holding a steaming cup of black coffee.
"Brother Lie, it's pouring rain outside. And why is the rain black?"
Su Xiaodao stared at the screen, his brow furrowed.
I took a sip of coffee, my gaze profound. "It's begun."