bioinnovel Chapter 333 The Mutant Itoh!
Chapter 333 The Mutant Itoh!
Ito got out of the car.
Zhang Yan saw him from 400 meters away.
No system labeling is needed; it's visible to the naked eye—because Ito's body is glowing.
It wasn't a bright light, but a dark red glow that seeped into the skin's texture, like magma flowing through veins instead of blood.
The system pops up an assessment: The host body is deeply activated by the Void Mark, and its current physical enhancement is approximately equal to the upper limit of a B+ grade familiar, but it lacks the ability to output energy remotely. It can be purified.
It can be purified.
Zhang Yan confirmed this.
Ito walked towards him. His steps were steady and slow. He was wearing a military uniform, but the insignia on his collar had been torn off, and his collar was open.
His face appeared more angular in the dim red light, and there was neither fear nor anger in his eyes.
It's as if it was prepared in advance.
The distance between the two people is getting shorter.
Three hundred meters... two hundred meters.
Ito stopped at 150 meters.
"You are indeed very strong." Ito spoke, his accent heavy in Chinese, but each word was pronounced clearly. "Three subordinates, wiped out in less than three hours."
Zhang Yan stood still, the Thousand Machine Arm not deployed, the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship clenched in his hand, his fingers loose.
“These three were alive before you came,” Ito continued. “I paid a great price to have my master give them to me. Now you’ve destroyed them all.”
He paused for a moment.
Do you know what this means?
Zhang Yan did not respond.
"It means I have no way out."
After Ito finished speaking, the corner of his mouth twitched, but it didn't look like a smile; it was more like some kind of spasm.
He raised his hands, and a dark red glow emerged from beneath his skin, creeping along the veins on his arms like tree roots.
Then he rushed over.
high speed.
He doesn't look like someone in their fifties; he's more like a boxer who has undergone extreme training, with an extremely high stride frequency and almost no sound when he lands.
Zhang Yan unfolded the Thousand Machine Arm.
Itoh's first punch, glowing with a dark red light, struck the defensive surface of the Thousand Machine Arm.
The impact was greater than expected.
The hydraulic buffer of the Thousand-Machine Arm was compressed to the bottom, and Zhang Yan's heel was embedded in the cement ground.
The B+ cap is no joke.
Zhang Yan shifted his body to deflect the force, using the flank of his Thousand Machine Arm to block the second punch. At the same time, he countered with his left hand, striking Ito's ribs with the heel of his palm.
Ito blocked it; his reaction speed, after the brand was activated, was almost superhuman.
The forearms crossed to block, and a thin protective layer of dark red energy formed on the skin's surface.
It's not a shell, it's an energy membrane.
Zhang Yan struck with the heel of his palm, and the other person took two steps back, but was not injured.
He understood.
Ito's current defense is not as good as that A-level lizard, but it is much better than the two B+ level lizards.
The purification pulse from the Heart of Heaven can be effective, but a way to break through that energy membrane must be found.
To use close-range purification, you need to break through his defenses first.
The two exchanged more than a dozen moves on the dock.
Ito's fighting skills are not bad, but his moves are based on the military system—practical, straightforward, and without any fancy moves.
The problem is that his strength and speed have been enhanced to the extreme by the branding, and every punch carries dark red energy, sparks flying when it hits the Thousand Machine Arm.
Zhang Yan didn't engage in a direct confrontation. Instead, he used the agility of his Thousand Machine Arm to block and deflect attacks while simultaneously looking for opportunities to counterattack.
The precision of the Thousand Arms is 0.001 millimeters, which is faster than any human reaction speed, but Ito's strength is too great, and each block consumes the hydraulic life of the Thousand Arms.
In his twenty-third move, Zhang Yan found an opening.
After Ito threw his right fist, there was a very short delay in retracting his hand—a habitual pause in military combat.
Zhang Yan used the Thousand Machine Arm to lock his right forearm, while simultaneously pressing his left hand, the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship, directly onto his right shoulder.
Purification pulse activated.
Ito's body stiffened abruptly.
A small section of the energy membrane collapsed instantly at the point where it came into contact with the Heart of Heaven, and the purification pulse seeped into his subcutaneous tissue through the gap.
But Ito reacted extremely quickly.
He thrust his left elbow backward, slamming it into Zhang Yan's chest with tremendous force. Zhang Yan's body leaned back, and the Heart of Heaven was forced out of contact.
Ito took five steps back, pressing his right shoulder.
The dark red glow in that spot had faded, revealing the normal skin color, as if a piece of paint had been wiped off.
"This thing," Ito said, looking at the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship in Zhang Yan's hand, "is what my master asked me to retrieve."
Zhang Yan did not reply.
"I understand now." Ito lowered his hand from his shoulder, and a dark red glow gathered again in the damaged area, attempting to repair it, but very slowly.
The effects of the purification pulse are irreversible—the cleared portion cannot be refilled.
Ito knew this.
His expression changed.
It was no longer the composure it had shown before, but rather an eagerness.
He had to defeat Zhang Yan before the purification spread throughout his body, otherwise he would weaken with each contact.
He charged forward again, this time even faster than before.
The brand was imprinted on the overloaded operation, pushing his body to its limits.
Zhang Yan went to greet him.
This time, he no longer focused on defense.
With the Thousand-Arm operating at full speed, the Heart of Heaven in his left hand was ready to make contact at any moment. He only needed to make contact three more times—each time for two to three seconds.
the first time.
Ito's left fist was deflected by the Thousand Machine Arm, and Zhang Yan's left hand pressed against his left side.
Purification pulse.
two seconds.
Ito forced a distance away with a knee strike.
The dark red light on his left side faded.
the second time.
Ito unleashed a flurry of punches, and Zhang Yan retreated two steps. As Ito threw his third punch, Zhang Yan sidestepped and struck from behind, pressing the Heart of Heaven's Craft onto Ito's back.
Purification pulse, three seconds.
Ito sprang up, his body involuntarily arching into an arc.
The purification spreads to the vicinity of the spine, where the control of the branding is most concentrated.
Ito knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his hands.
His breathing was rapid, and at least half of the dark red glow had faded.
The remaining light was concentrated between the eyebrows and the chest, flickering rapidly like a lamp with unstable voltage.
"This is the third time." Zhang Yan stood in front of him, the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart in his left hand emitting a steady blue-white light.
Ito looked up at him.
His eyes changed.
When the dark red light faded from his eyes, it revealed the eyes of a soldier in his fifties.
There was fear, exhaustion, and something very complex, like someone who had just woken up recalling what they had done.
"I saw it," Ito said, his voice now back to a normal hoarseness. "When it was being branded... I saw its eyes."
Zhang Yan walked over and pressed the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship between his eyebrows.
the last time.
Ito offered no resistance.
The purification pulse pierced through his entire head, and the mark beneath it disintegrated. The dark red light was gradually drawn away from the mark between his eyebrows, like peeling silk from a silkworm.
Seven seconds.
Ito's body went limp, and he fell sideways onto the concrete floor. The mark between his eyebrows had completely disappeared, leaving only a faint, light-colored scar on his skin.
System notification: Purification complete. The integrity of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart has increased by 0.5%, currently at 98.1%.
Zhang Yan looked at the number and did some mental calculations.
98.1%.
He put aside his ambition, squatted down, and reached out to check Ito's carotid artery.
He's still alive, his pulse is weak but steady, but he's passed out.
Zhang Yan stood up and took out his phone.
He first sent a message to Qin Xiao: "In Yokosuka, Ito has been purified. He's still alive and needs to be taken away. I'll send you the coordinates so the military intelligence department can send someone to pick him up."
Qin Xiao replied quickly: "Received. Just confirming—have all his non-human subordinates been eliminated?"
"all."
"Understood. The coordination team will handle the follow-up."
After sending this message, Zhang Yan paused his phone briefly before opening his chat window with Nie Qingcheng.
At 3:40 a.m., she was most likely asleep. But he still sent a message.
"It's over. Everything's been taken care of."
He put his phone back in his pocket and looked up at the sky.
The port area was too brightly lit; you couldn't see the stars, only a backdrop of orange light.
The sea breeze was blowing, carrying the debris and ashes left from the battle on the docks onto the sea.
The cross-section of the container still emitted a faint, residual red glow.
My phone vibrated.
He pulled it out and looked at it. It was Nie Qingcheng's reply.
"real?"
His lips twitched. She wasn't asleep.
"Really. Not a single hair fell out."
Nie Qingcheng did not reply immediately, remaining silent for about fifteen seconds.
Then came a voice message.
Her voice was muffled, as if she had just been pulled out of bed; it wasn't clear, but every word was audible.
"—I counted. It's been thirty-one hours since you set off."
It stopped for a short while.
"Come back quickly. There's nothing left in the fridge."
Zhang Yan locked the screen.
Ito was still lying on the dock, but he ignored it; Qin Xiao's men would come and deal with it.
He walked towards the guesthouse, and after a dozen steps, he remembered something and looked back at the system panel.
The completeness of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart: 98.1%. Four Spirits Cooperative Sealing Mode: Unlocked.
Countdown: Seven months and sixteen days.
enough.
He continued walking, the port lights behind him scattering into a blurry glow.
He wasn't in a hurry; there was still Nie Qingcheng's last voice message in his phone pocket that hadn't finished playing.
Go back and broadcast it.
He believed that the refrigerator was empty and that he would buy groceries first when he got back.