Travel through time, and then establish an anomaly management bureau!

Page 43

Seeing this, the piano was too frightened to speak, and the rhythm of its playing became chaotic.

Then, Elion saw the space around the piano begin to twist and deform, turning into a vortex! The grand piano was instantly sucked into the center of the vortex and disappeared into thin air.

Volume 1: Chapter 40: Unyielding

Elion struggled to get up from the carpet, his back and shoulders burning with pain, and he tasted a hint of rust on his lips—he had taken a hard fall.

He stared intently at the rare woman standing beside the spot where the piano had disappeared. Her cold eyes appeared lifeless in the dim light, yet they exuded a terrifying sense of oppression.

"Who...who are you?!" Elion roared. "What did you do to that piano?! Where...where did it go?!"

Zhang Su turned his head, his gaze falling on him, his voice completely calm: "Its fate is none of your business. For a mortal, knowing too much is not a good thing."

She took a step forward, the carpet beneath her feet making no sound. "Now, before I change my mind, get out of here. Go back to your room."

"Leave?" Elion seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and the fear in his eyes was replaced by an almost insane stubbornness. "You ruined my chance to know the truth! You stole it from me! And now you want me to run away like a stray dog?!"

Instead of retreating, he took a deep breath, endured the pain all over his body, and assumed a standard fighting stance—fist clenched in front of his chin, center of gravity lowered, feet spread apart, eyes locked on the stand-in, an instinct ingrained in his bones from rigorous training since childhood.

"Tell me who you are and what your purpose is! Otherwise, I'll knock you down right here and get to the bottom of this!"

Looking at this young man who was clearly disheveled and unsteady on his feet, yet still maintained a fighting stance with an indomitable flame burning in his eyes, the avatar controlled by Zhang Su seemed to subtly twitch the corner of his mouth upwards on his cold face.

The Stand's voice remained cold as it slowly said, "Ha! Having witnessed my extraordinary abilities, you not only didn't run away in fear, but you even dare to challenge me?"

“Ellion von Silverlight…you are quite interesting.”

Before the words were even finished, the stand-in moved!

Without warning or preparation, her figure suddenly blurred in place, and in the next instant, she appeared like a ghost to Elion's left!

The speed was so fast that it completely exceeded the limits of human visual perception!

Wearing the "Shadow Thief Gloves," his left hand transformed into a blade, slicing through the air with a piercing shriek, directly slicing through Elion's carotid artery!

"Uh!" Elion's extraordinary intuition gave him a frantic warning at the last moment, and he almost instinctively ducked and turned to the side!

A cold, icy breeze grazed his ear, the force of which stung his cheek. He could even feel the slick, eerie texture of the glove against his skin.

Before he could even stand up straight, the stuntman's right leg swept across silently like a steel whip, aiming at his supporting leg's knee!

Elion's pupils contracted sharply, and in his haste, he could only barely raise his left arm to block, while simultaneously leaning his body backward to absorb the force.

"Bang!" A dull thud rang out. Elion felt as if his left arm had been struck hard by a solid iron rod. The intense pain instantly spread throughout half of his body. He was pulled back several steps by the force of the massive impact, almost falling over again.

He groaned, and his left arm went limp, almost losing all feeling for a short time.

But this is just the beginning.

The Stand's attacks were like a storm, relentless and unstoppable.

Her movements were concise, efficient, and unpretentious; each strike was precisely aimed at Elion's vital points or joints, yet she skillfully controlled the force to ensure it was not truly fatal.

A straight punch to the stomach! Elion barely managed to block it with his bent arm. The enormous impact made his stomach churn, and he felt a sweet taste in his throat, almost vomiting. His body curled up like a shrimp.

Low sweep kick! This time, Elion couldn't completely dodge it. His shinbone was hit hard, and the excruciating pain made his vision go black. He fell to his knees on one knee.

Wrist lock and twist! The Stand's cold fingers gripped Elion's right wrist, which was trying to retaliate, like iron clamps, with a clean and crisp joint lock!

"Click!" A slight sound of misalignment rang out.

"Ah—!" Elion finally couldn't help but cry out in pain as a sharp pain shot through his right wrist, causing it to droop limply.

Elbow strike to the face! The Stand swiftly raised its elbow, slamming it with tremendous force towards Elion's face!

Amidst the excruciating pain and dizziness, Elion's last remaining instinct made him jerkly turn his head to the side!

"Bang!" A heavy elbow slammed solidly into his left shoulder blade!

He felt as if his bones were about to shatter, and he was thrown forward onto the carpet, covered in dust and tiny shards of porcelain.

Blood gushed from his nostrils, dripping onto the expensive carpet and spreading a small patch of dark red. He gasped for breath, each breath aggravating his injuries; his vision blurred, and his ears rang incessantly. His arms were almost useless, one leg was in excruciating pain, and his ribs felt like they were broken.

The stand-in slowly walked up to Elion, who was lying on the ground, and looked down at him. His voice was still cold, but the killing intent had lessened: "Mortal, your stupidity and stubbornness are astonishing. It's not too late to surrender now."

But the next instant—

Elion's body, which should have been completely immobilized, moved!

First, her blood-stained fingers dug into the carpet, her knuckles turning white from the force, sinking deep into the thick carpet.

Next, there was the uninjured left leg, the knee pressed firmly against the ground, the muscles bulging and trembling beneath the tattered trouser leg, unleashing incredible power.

Then, his right leg, which was in excruciating pain, also stubbornly bent up, his foot firmly planted on the ground, supporting his body.

"Ugh... Ah—!" A suppressed roar of extreme pain squeezed out from the depths of Elion's throat, like the howl of a dying beast.

He ignored his dislocated right wrist, the excruciating pain in his left shoulder and ribs, and the numbness in his left arm and the agonizing pain in his calf!

With only an indomitable will that burned like his soul, he used his still-functioning limbs to pull himself out of the hellish quagmire of pain!

His movements were extremely slow and difficult, each exertion accompanied by a violent tremor in his body and a subtle friction of bones grinding together.

Sweat and blood mingled together, streaming down his forehead and down his neck where veins bulged.

His body swayed precariously, like a candle about to be extinguished in a storm, ready to collapse completely at any moment.

But he eventually stood up!

He was hunched over, his left hand clutching his ribs in excruciating pain, his dislocated right wrist hanging limply at his side, his left leg trembling slightly as he supported most of his weight, and his right leg lightly touching the ground to relieve the pressure.

He raised his head, and his once handsome but pale face was now covered in blood, bruises, and dust, looking utterly disheveled. Only his eyes remained—those eyes were like stars ignited by fire, burning with an inextinguishable flame!

There was no fear, no surrender, only the purest, almost insane stubbornness and fighting spirit!

Blood continued to gush and drip from his broken nose, but he paid no heed. He stared intently at the cold, death-like Eastern woman a few steps away, and with all his might, forced out a hoarse but resolute voice from between his bloodied teeth:

"It's not over yet! Give me back my piano!"

He took a deep breath, the movement aggravating his wound and causing his body to shake violently again, but he managed to steady himself!

He struggled to raise his still-functioning left hand again, and despite the tearing pain with every movement, he stubbornly and tremblingly put his hand back into the starting stance—although his posture was severely deformed and his body was like a withered willow in the wind, his fighting spirit was harder than steel!

Zhang Su said, "Even after being severely injured by me, you didn't give up, but instead stood up again... Elion von Silverlight, your foolish courage is truly admirable."

Looking at the young man before him, covered in blood, swaying precariously yet still fighting to the death, Zhang Su's eyes were filled with pure admiration and recognition. "That will, that courage, that brilliance that bursts forth in dire straits... perfect score! He's qualified!"

He manipulated the stunt double, preparing to say the words, "You've passed."

But then, a loud bang was heard.

The restaurant's two heavy, carved wooden doors were violently smashed open from the outside! The chains had already been unlocked by Elion, and the doors slammed against the walls with a tremendous roar, making the entire door frame tremble!

A figure like a raging lion blocked the doorway—it was Charles Grant! His face was ashen, and his eyes burned with a fury and madness that could incinerate everything!

The fifteen-minute period of weakness had just passed when, with his iron will, he forcefully suppressed the remaining discomfort and, following the faint sounds of fighting and his intuition that his young master might be in danger, rushed here without regard for anything else!

The sight that met his eyes instantly ignited all his anger and murderous intent—his most cherished and sworn-to-protect young master, Elion von Silverlight, was standing covered in blood! And a rare woman dressed in 'strange clothes' stood coldly in front of the young master, with the air of a victor!

"Young Master—!!!" Charles roared, his eyes bloodshot, his voice filled with the boundless fury of a guardian!

Without any hesitation or waste of words, Charles, like an enraged rhinoceros, unleashed a speed beyond his limits! His massive body whipped up a gust of wind, his target singular—the woman who had harmed the young master!

During his charge, his rough, large hands precisely grabbed a broken, heavy oak chair leg from the ground and used it as a deadly blunt weapon! All the strength in his body, the explosive power of his muscles, and the killing skills honed on the battlefield converged at this moment!

"Bastard! Get away from the young master!!" Charles roared, with a determination to die together with his opponent. He tore through the air with the thick chair leg in his hand, carrying immense force, and slammed it down on the substitute's head!

That aura seemed to want to smash her and the floor beneath her feet to pieces!

The avatar controlled by Zhang Su finally showed a flicker of emotion in its cold eyes.

She turned slightly to the side, facing this ferocious, peak attack from a mortal, preparing to raise her hand to block or dodge.

Elion, who had been struggling to hold on, snapped out of his daze when he heard Charles's furious roar and charged at Zhang Su with a roar!

The situation inside the restaurant instantly changed from a one-sided crushing victory to a 2v1 situation.

Zhang Su's "interview" was met with an unexpected "bonus question".

Elion unleashed his last bit of strength, performing a sudden forward roll and cutting in from the side and below!

His movements were distorted by the pain, and his speed was far from his peak, but his timing and angles were surprisingly tricky!

Unable to use his badly injured hands, he used his still-powerful left leg, like a scorpion's tail, to fiercely sweep at the stand-in's unsteady ankle! The objective was clear—to disrupt his balance and create an opportunity for Charles's fatal blow!

"Young Master!" Charles was shocked and pained to see that Elion had also made a move, but his attack became even fiercer! The chair leg whistled and was less than half a foot away from the Stand's temple!

Faced with this pincer attack, a perfectly coordinated strike, Zhang Su, who was controlling the beautiful stand-in, couldn't help but secretly admire it: "Beautiful! Without the aid of superhuman abilities, to be able to execute such a coordinated attack based solely on combat instinct and experience would be difficult for even a low-sequence superhuman without physical enhancement skills to dodge!"

In the blink of an eye, the Stand's movements were as fast as a ghost!

Faced with the deadly chair leg crashing down on her head, she didn't try to catch it head-on. Instead, her waist snapped backward as if boneless, her body almost parallel to the ground!

The heavy chair leg, accompanied by a whistling sound, narrowly missed the tip of her nose!

At the same time, her left leg, which had been sweeping towards Elion's ankle, did not retract. Instead, it lashed upwards at an even faster speed and a more tricky angle!

The toe of his foot precisely struck the side of Elion's shin as he swept it in! It wasn't a full-force kick, just a skillful deflection!

"Ugh!" Elion groaned, his already throbbing calf being pulled by the clever force, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward again in a sorry state, completely losing the ability to launch a second attack.

While deflecting the fatal attack from above and clearing away the disturbance from below, the Stand's bent-over body suddenly sprang back up as if it were equipped with a powerful spring!

Wearing a shadow-peeping glove, his left hand moved with lightning speed. Instead of attacking Charles' vital points, he struck him with perfect precision, landing a palm strike on Charles' chest, which was wide open from his powerful swing!

"Bang!" There was a muffled sound.

Charles felt an overwhelming yet unusually "gentle" force coming towards him. His burly body staggered backward seven or eight steps uncontrollably, each step sinking deep into the carpet, and the chair leg in his hands flew out.

The power of this palm strike was controlled to the extreme, only knocking him back and disrupting his breathing, without causing any substantial or serious internal injuries.

Charles steadied himself, panting heavily, his eyes filled with even greater horror—this woman's strength and control were simply inhuman!

He looked at Elion, who had fallen to the ground again, and his heart ached.

The beautiful stand-in landed lightly, her cool eyes sweeping over Elion, who was struggling to get up, before looking at Charles, whose eyes were bloodshot and who looked like a mad tiger, and she frowned slightly.

"This loyal old butler is a tough nut to crack. And Elion is as stubborn as a mule! If we keep fighting, I'm afraid I might accidentally cripple them. Besides, if this drags on, the contamination and corrosion of their Stands will also be a problem."

Zhang Su's consciousness raced through the foundational space as he pondered how to gracefully end this out-of-control "interview."

They needed to demonstrate absolute power to deter them, but they couldn't truly fight them to the death. They also had to send out the signal that they had "passed the test"... Charles's intrusion completely disrupted the original plan.

"I've got it!" A flash of inspiration struck Zhang Su, and he came up with a solution. "Luckily, I had a backup plan!"

Just as Charles roared, preparing to charge again, and Elion gritted his teeth, trying to use his knee to prop himself up—

hum!

A heavy feeling descended without warning. The flickering lighter flame in the corner of the restaurant instantly froze, like a flying insect frozen in amber. The dust floating in the air also eerily stopped.

Immediately afterwards, in the open space between the beautiful double, Elion, and Charles, the space rippled violently like the surface of water after a stone was thrown in!

A figure seemed to be "printed" directly from the void, its blurry outline instantly solidifying!

It was that mysterious "man in a suit" who had appeared in Charles's room!

He was still wearing a perfectly tailored pure black suit without a single wrinkle, and a black bowler hat pulled low on his head. The shadow under the brim swallowed the upper half of his face, leaving only his cold, hard jawline and tightly pursed thin lips visible.

He casually put his hands in his trouser pockets, his posture as relaxed as if he were strolling in his own garden, yet he exuded a deeper and more terrifying sense of oppression than before!

The moment he appeared, a massive, oppressive force originating from a higher dimension erupted! This force was not merely an aura; it directly affected the soul, distorting the laws of gravity in reality!

"Plop!" "Plop!" "Plop!"

[Two fish were discarded in succession] Three muffled thuds were heard!

Elion, who was closest to the victim, was the first to be hit. His already severely injured body was pressed hard onto the carpet as if by an invisible giant hand. He couldn't even muster the thought of struggling and was forced to lie face down, completely unable to move!

Charles followed closely behind, feeling his bones tremble, his knees buckling uncontrollably and crashing heavily onto the carpet!

He used all his strength, his hands gripping the ground tightly, his arm muscles bulging and veins standing out, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, barely managing to maintain a humiliating position of kneeling on one knee without completely collapsing, and even raising his head was extremely difficult!

What was most shocking was that even the powerful and rare woman who had manipulated the two of them so easily groaned under this pressure, her body trembled violently, her right knee bent, and she knelt heavily on one knee, her head bowed, her posture respectful and submissive, not daring to make the slightest move!

The entire restaurant fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the heavy, suppressed breathing of the three people.

Time seemed to freeze, leaving only the abruptly appearing figure in a suit, like a demon god in control of everything, standing silently amidst the solidified lights and dust.

Then, a calm, magnetic, and extremely authoritative voice slowly rang out from the suit-wearing double, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present who was suppressed and unable to move:

"The test is over."

"Stop right now!"