Su Kai moved.
He moved rapidly like a true phantom, hugging the shadows along the edge of the factory area.
His footsteps were light, making almost no sound upon landing; the stealth ability of the Nether Mantis allowed him to blend almost perfectly into the darkness.
Two burly men on patrol, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, sauntered past about a dozen meters in front of him.
Their flashlight beams swept around aimlessly, not once looking in his direction.
“Damn it, this ghost town doesn’t even have a ghost in sight,” one of the burly men grumbled.
“Save your energy.
The boss said to keep a low profile these few days; the shipment just arrived,” the other replied, yawning.
The two chatted as they walked away.
Su Kai waited until they turned the corner before immediately accelerating, reaching the side of the factory building in a few quick strides.
Sure enough, there was a rusted, loose ventilation grate left slightly ajar.
He reached out, gently pried it open, and slipped inside sideways.
A mixture of machine oil and dust immediately hit him in the face.
It was a utility room piled with discarded parts, devoid of any lighting facilities.
Su Kai did not linger; following the internal structural map scanned by the Void Jellyfish, he crept toward the west side.
The corridor was long and dark.
Occasionally, the sound of snoring drifted out from the gaps in the doors of adjacent rooms.
He moved quickly, each step landing precisely where it wouldn’t make a sound.
The Nether Mantis armament seemed to absorb even the sound of his movement, making him terrifyingly quiet.
Passing a half-open door, he saw a TV flickering inside.
A guy with a thick head of curly hair was slumped on the sofa, asleep, still clutching a beer can.
Su Kai didn’t even glance at him, passing by directly.
Soon, he arrived at the area on the west side.
A reinforced iron door appeared at the end of the corridor, with an electronic lock on it flashing a faint red light.
Sure enough, a guard was slumped at the entrance, hugging his gun, his head nodding as he dozed off.
The storeroom was behind that door.
Su Kai stopped in the shadows and communicated with the Void Jellyfish again.
“Scan the structure of that door and the electronic lock.
Find the most effortless way to crack it.
Don’t trigger the alarm.”
The Void Jellyfish necklace heated up slightly.
A more refined perception focused on the iron door and the electronic lock.
The internal structure of the lock, the circuit board, the alarm trigger circuits…
every detail appeared clearly.
“I can temporarily interfere with the circuitry to create a three-second failure window.
It requires contact with the door,” the Void Jellyfish necklace suddenly transmitted back.
“Three seconds is enough.”
Su Kai took a deep breath and approached the dozing guard silently like a cat.
When he was two meters away from the guard, he suddenly accelerated, closed the distance in an instant, and struck the side of the guard’s neck with his right hand held like a blade.
Thud.
A muffled sound followed.
Su Kai’s arm had actually sliced directly into the guard’s body, cutting right through him from the upper left.
“Damn, used too much force.
Didn’t mean to kill him…”
Su Kai grabbed the guard’s bisected corpse while steadily catching the rifle that was about to fall to the ground with his foot, muttering helplessly.
Seeing that things had already turned out this way, he stopped worrying about whether he should have used only ten percent of his strength and pressed his hand directly against the cold iron door.
“Do it.”
The Void Jellyfish necklace around his neck flashed with a faint blue light.
Hum—
The red light on the electronic lock panel flickered rapidly for a moment before going out completely.
A faint “click” came from inside the lock.
Now!
Su Kai pulled hard.
The iron door slid open silently, just enough for him to squeeze through sideways.
He slipped inside and gently pulled the door shut behind him.
Behind him, the red light on the electronic lock panel lit up again after three seconds, as if nothing had ever happened.
The storeroom was dark, with only an emergency light in the corner emitting a sickly green glow.
But for Su Kai, this was enough.
His gaze was instantly drawn to several stacked metal crates in the center of the storeroom.
And most conspicuously, on the old workbench nearby, sat a silver-gray briefcase stamped with the internal logo of Vought International.
The case was unlocked, sitting wide open.
Inside, neatly arranged, were at least twenty vials emitting a pale blue fluorescence.
Compound V.
Judging by the packaging and quantity, the purity was likely high; these weren’t the diluted products used for the small fry.
“Nice,” Su Kai’s eyes brightened.
“This time I’ve hit the jackpot.”
He walked over quickly and, without hesitation, placed his hand directly on the box of Compound V.
“System, absorb, all of it.”
The moment the command was issued, he felt the box under his palm shudder violently!
The twenty pale blue vials in the case became dim and transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally turning into a small pile of grayish-white powder.
At the same time, a massive and pure torrent of energy surged wildly into his body through his arm!
[High-purity energy substance detected…
converting and absorbing…]
[Absorption complete.]
[Obtained Star Energy: 10,000 points.]
[Current available Star Energy: 12,450 points.]
[Star Sea Gene experience increased.]
Ten thousand points!
Su Kai felt every cell in his body cheering.
This was even more than he had expected!
It seemed the purity and quality of this shipment were truly top-tier.
“Huge profit,” Su Kai couldn’t help but praise in a low voice.
Afterward, he looked at the empty case and the pile of ash, falling into deep thought.
“Since the target is already in hand, why not take this opportunity to test my strength?
Otherwise, if I don’t get a handle on my power and end up cutting people in half like that normally, it won’t be good.”
Su Kai couldn’t help but imagine the scene in his mind.
Accidentally tapping someone on the shoulder and turning them into meat paste.
That would be awkward.
Besides, in his current situation, the people on the other side were terrorists, a source of social instability, so they were perfect for testing himself on.
“And this control…
it really needs practice.”
He muttered to himself.
With ten thousand points of Star Energy in hand, his assets were substantial, and his confidence was bolstered.
The earlier idea of “sneak in, grab it, and run” changed in an instant.
Since he was already here, right?
These hundred or so people on the other side, all armed with guns, and maybe even some drugged-up Superhumans.
Weren’t they ready-made, excellent human sandbags?
Where else could he find a free live combat test range?
“Perfect,” Su Kai twisted his neck, making a soft clicking sound.
“Let me see exactly what level my strength is at now.”
He focused his mind.
“Black Heavy Armor, equip.”
A portion of the Star Energy in his body was instantly drained.
Hum—
The air around his body distorted violently, and an earthy-yellow spatial rift tore open in front of him.
A phantom of a giant rhinoceros clad in thick rock armor roared as it charged out, instantly disintegrating into countless dull light particles that surged to cover Su Kai’s entire body!
A heavy sensation of compression returned.