Chapter 19: The Ability User

"Ahh!" With a loud roar, Lin Xian felt his blood boiling as he charged straight into the storm of gunfire. Boom! A 200-ton heavy gas turbine locomotive at high speed was unstoppable. The thin-skinned sedan placed on the tracks was obliterated in an instant, shattered into sparks and debris. Inside the cockpit, Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan only felt a slight jolt before the train surged forward as if it had merely run over a cardboard box. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets rained down on the all-metal train body, leaving only faint white marks. However, one ricocheting bullet hit one of Liu Wei's lackeys in the leg, piercing straight through his thigh. "Ahhh!" The lackey screamed, clutching his bleeding leg in agony. In mere moments, the train roared past the ambush point. Liu Wei, watching the scene unfold, felt his authority crumble and was furious. His eyes glowed green, and with a loud rip, his shirt tore apart as four eerie green tentacles extended from his back. Moving with the speed and precision of a spider, he rapidly climbed onto the tracks in pursuit of the train. These tentacles possessed immense strength, capable of lifting objects weighing over a ton. They also granted him extraordinary agility. Liu Wei had even trained himself to improve their strength and speed, smugly dubbing himself the "Four-Winged King." Thud! Just as Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan thought they had broken through the ambush, an eerie sound came from the roof of the train. Lin Xian’s expression turned grim. He immediately reduced the train’s speed slightly and grabbed his short blade. He had to slow the train;otherwise, he wouldn’t have the focus to deal with the impending danger. Thump! Thump! Thump! The sound of something clinging to the roof alarmed Chen Sixuan, who curled into a ball in fear. Lin Xian tensed, listening closely. Suddenly, a middle-aged man with tentacles appeared outside the cockpit window. "Well, well, you’ve got guts, kid, daring to charge through my blockade!" Seeing that the driver was just a young man, Liu Wei cursed loudly. But then, his eyes caught sight of Chen Sixuan cowering in the corridor. His expression instantly changed to one of delight. “Well, what do we have here? A pretty little lady!” Chen Sixuan’s face went pale at the sight of Liu Wei’s tentacles. His monstrous appearance, with glowing green eyes and squirming appendages, made him look no different from a creature out of a horror movie. An ability user?! Lin Xian’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected that the ambush would involve an ability user. This was his first encounter with one, and it was nothing like he had imagined. After all, who would have thought an ability could make someone grow tentacles? Was this an ability or nuclear radiation?! Thud! Without a word, Liu Wei smashed one of his tentacles against the windshield. The high-strength glass, 10-15 millimeters thick and capable of withstanding rifle fire, cracked in a spiderweb pattern under the impact. Lin Xian was shocked. The windshield, which could shrug off bullets with barely a scratch, was damaged with a single blow. Just how terrifying was this guy’s strength?! Liu Wei, however, was equally surprised. He knew the strength of his tentacles and hadn’t expected the glass to hold up. Clearly, the train’s defensive capabilities were not to be underestimated. “D*mn it!” Lin Xian’s expression turned cold as he slammed on the brakes, bringing the train to a screeching halt. Caught off guard, Liu Wei, who hadn’t expected the sudden stop, was thrown backward by the inertia and tumbled off the train. “Lock the door!” Lin Xian rushed past Chen Sixuan, grabbed his short blade, and opened the cockpit’s rear door. “What are you doing?!” Chen Sixuan exclaimed in shock as she watched him stop the train. “Taking him out!” Lin Xian replied, leaping out and slamming the iron door shut behind him. He knew that an ability user like Liu Wei, who could keep up with a moving train and break through its defenses, couldn’t be ignored. Hiding inside the train would only delay the inevitable. If the windshield was shattered, he would need hours to repair it—time he didn’t have. Once night fell and his location was exposed, he’d be an easy target for the eerie creatures like the centipede monster from last night. Liu Wei, covered in dirt, rose furiously. When he saw the young man leap from the train wielding a steel blade, he couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s this? A hero coming to save the damsel in distress?!” He sneered, his tentacles spreading out behind him, making him appear enormous. With an arrogant tone, he declared, “Sorry, kid, but today I’m taking your life, your train, and I’ll take good care of your woman too!” Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed. Without a word, he raised his hand and unleashed a charged Wind Cannon aimed directly at Liu Wei’s face. Whoosh! The sharp blast of air shot forward. Liu Wei had just begun to react when he felt as though his forehead had been struck by a sledgehammer, sending him flying backward. “Sh*t! Another ability user!” Liu Wei’s heart raced in panic. He realized that Lin Xian, like himself, was an ability user. Having only recently awakened his abilities, Liu Wei lacked combat experience. Caught off guard, he had been hit hard, and cold sweat dripped down his back. Still, his enhanced body and reflexes allowed him to recover quickly. While airborne, one of his tentacles lashed out like lightning, wrapping around Lin Xian’s ankle. The train tracks ran along a steep ravine. As Liu Wei tried to stabilize himself using his other tentacles, they tore through the wire fencing surrounding the tracks. Both he and Lin Xian tumbled down the slope, crashing into the depths below. Lin Xian hadn’t anticipated the tentacles’ speed or strength. Even after a close-range Wind Cannon, Liu Wei was merely sent flying with a shallow wound on his forehead. The defensive power of an ability user was terrifying. As Liu Wei’s tentacle coiled around his ankle, Lin Xian felt an intense crushing force, making him gasp in pain. If not for his enhanced strength and defense, his ankle would have been snapped in an instant. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! As the world spun around them, Liu Wei's tentacles tore through several shrubs, but they failed to stop his descent. Lin Xian, meanwhile, abandoned his short blade, curled up with his hands over his head, and was dragged along by Liu Wei until both of them rolled to the bottom of the slope, landing near the riverbed. Excruciating pain! When Lin Xian finally managed to pry his eyes open, waves of searing agony radiated from every corner of his body. His first instinct was to scan his surroundings. Not far away, he spotted Liu Wei, his tentacles spread out as the man staggered to his feet. Because Liu Wei had been in front during the fall, his massive, tentacled form had absorbed most of the sharp rocks and vegetation along the way. Now, he was drenched in blood, looking utterly disheveled. “Urgh! Fck this sht!” Though his defensive attributes had significantly increased, Liu Wei's back was now mangled, the flesh torn to ribbons. One of his legs was dislocated, and the pain was so intense that he was grinding his molars to dust. Fueled by rage, Liu Wei glared at Lin Xian, who he had dragged down with him. For the first time, Liu Wei no longer underestimated him. This young man had managed to knock him back barehanded—what kind of ability was this? Liu Wei couldn’t make sense of it. In a situation like this, he knew he had to go all out. The only option was to strike first and decisively! But as Liu Wei focused his gaze on the fallen Lin Xian, he suddenly realized that the young man had already opened his eyes—and was pointing a finger directly at his forehead. Oh, f*ck, not again! Having already suffered once, Liu Wei's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively extended all four of his tentacles to shield his face. Yet, the anticipated attack didn’t come. Instead, the sudden movement caused the wounds on Liu Wei's back—so deep that his bones were visible—to tear open further. Blood gushed out like a stream, nearly causing him to faint from the pain. A feint?! Liu Wei had no time to cry out in pain. He peeled back his tentacles to find Lin Xian charging at him like a hunting dog, his hands clawing the ground for leverage. The young man closed the distance in an instant and, with a suicidal determination, delivered a devastating punch straight at Liu Wei’s exposed face. Boom! The full-force blow nearly shattered Liu Wei's nose, making his vision go black. His tentacles thrashed wildly in response, flailing at random in the air—but none of them landed a hit. He had never expected this seemingly young and inexperienced guy to be so ferocious, using a feint to create an opening and then striking with such precision and brutality. This was far beyond the reaction speed and combat instincts of someone like Liu Wei, who had spent most of his life running a vegetable stall in a marketplace. After suffering two crushing blows in quick succession, Liu Wei’s confidence began to crumble. Fear crept into his heart. His convoy had only been on the road for a single day, and already, Liu Wei could feel the cold grip of death looming over him.