282: This thing is too powerful.

Chapter 282: This Thing is Too Powerful Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

This wasn't a heartbeat.

It was the sound of a pile driver smashing into concrete.

Chen Mo's eyes snapped open.

The light bulb overhead was swaying, the glass bottles on the tin cabinet were vibrating, and even the grease-stained operating table beneath him trembled in sync with that terrifying frequency.

It felt as if an out-of-control V8 engine had been stuffed into his chest cavity.

Hot.

Scalding blood was pumped into his vessels, scouring meridians that had long since dried up; it brought not vitality, but an agonizing pain as if his entire body were being filled with lava.

"Awake?"

The Bald Man had his back to him, washing his hands at the sink.

The running water washed away red foam.

"If you hadn't woken up soon, I was prepared to chop you up and feed you to the rats in this Walled City."

The Bald Man shook the water off his hands and turned around, a hand-rolled cigarette pinched between his fingers.

"This nuclear pump is military surplus, no speed limiter. Your resting heart rate is currently two hundred and forty; a slight movement could send it soaring to three hundred. A normal person's blood vessels would have burst long ago."

He walked over, stuffed the cigarette into Chen Mo's mouth, and helped him light it.

"It's only because your body's foundation is that of a monster that you actually survived."

Chen Mo took a deep drag.

The pungent taste of low-grade tobacco choked his lungs, slightly suppressing the burning sensation in his chest.

He tried to lift his right hand.

His five fingers spread open, then clenched tight.

His joints let out a series of crisp pops like roasting beans.

An unprecedented sense of power rampaged through his body, as if it were about to tear his skin apart.

"Thanks."

His voice was still raspy, but it had gained a certain metallic hardness, like stone grinding against metal.

"Don't be so quick to thank me."

The Bald Man pulled over a chair and sat down, crossing his legs.

"The surgery fee is waived, but that's only for that old dog Wang Daoming's sake. However, the fuel rod for this nuclear pump only has 30% left; it's enough for three days at most. In three days, you either change the rod or you die."

"Three days is enough."

Chen Mo propped himself up on the operating table and sat up.

The movement was too sudden, causing the mechanical heart to emit a piercing turbine whine.

Zzzzt—!

His vision instantly turned blood-red before quickly returning to normal.

"Ruan Qiushui."

He called out in his mind.

No one responded.

That voice that was always chattering had disappeared, replaced by a burst of intermittent white noise.

Chen Mo frowned.

He touched the crystal chip interface at the back of his head.

It was alarmingly hot.

"Stop touching it, it's overloaded."

The Bald Man pointed at a nearby oscilloscope. "Since a moment ago, that crystal chip in your head has been broadcasting signals. The frequency is so high it interfered with my radio so much it'll only play opera."

He stared at Chen Mo, his eyes filled with a bit more curiosity. "What exactly are you? This frequency doesn't look like communication; it looks more like... a beacon."

A beacon?

Chen Mo's heart stirred.

Just then, a clear frequency band suddenly jumped out from the white noise.

"...Homologous signal detected... distance 400 meters... vertically downward..."

It was Ruan Qiushui's voice.

Mechanical, cold, and devoid of any emotion, as if some preset program had been activated.

"Underground?"

Chen Mo looked at the floor.

This was already the third basement level.

Further down was the Walled City's sewage system, a hellish place even criminals were unwilling to go.

Bang!

The clinic's iron door was suddenly kicked from the outside.

The force of the kick was immense, causing dust to fall from the door frame.

"Old Li! Open up!"

A coarse, loud voice roared outside. "I know you're in there! That noise just now—did you pick up some good loot again? That turbine sound was really something!"

The Bald Man's expression darkened.

He stood up and grabbed a bone saw from the table. "It's Black Skin from the 'Hyena Gang.' Those bastards have noses sharper than anyone's."

"Need help?"

Chen Mo pulled the monitor electrodes off his body and jumped down from the operating table.

He landed soundlessly.

That violent heart didn't affect his balance; instead, it gave him a sense of explosive power, as if he were constantly at the starting line of a race.

"You?"

The Bald Man glanced at him. "You just got a new pump; you're lucky if you can even stand. This is my turf, even hyenas have to—"

Boom!

The iron door came flying inward.

The originally half-closed security door was forcibly blown open by some heavy weapon; the twisted metal plate grazed the Bald Man's scalp and smashed into a row of medicine cabinets behind him.

Glass shards exploded everywhere.

Through the dust, three burly men walked in.

The leader was over two meters tall, his entire right arm replaced by an industrial hydraulic demolition shear; the massive metal jaws were still dripping with black oil.

"Old Li, why so unfriendly?"

The man called Black Skin grinned, revealing a row of diamond-encrusted gold teeth. "This new arm I just got has a bit too much power, couldn't hold back."

His gaze bypassed the Bald Man and fixed greedily on Chen Mo.

Or rather, it was fixed on the section of mechanical arm revealed by Chen Mo's bare torso, and the reactor in his chest that was emitting a faint blue glow.

"Whoa!"

Black Skin whistled. "So it's a fat sheep. I was wondering why the radiation index down here suddenly went off the charts. This pump... must be worth at least a million, right?"

The two lackeys behind him also started laughing, clattering their homemade pipe wrenches and stun batons.

"Get out."

The Bald Man raised his bone saw. "This is my patient."

"Patient?"

Black Skin let out a disdainful sneer. "Once you enter this Walled City, man or ghost, everyone has to pay protection fees. Since this kid isn't dead, he's part of our Walled City. A newcomer joining the fold has to hand over their most valuable parts—that's the rule."

He shook the massive hydraulic shears. "Old Li, you'd better not meddle. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be able to do business on this third basement level anymore."

The Bald Man grit his teeth.

He was just a back-alley doctor; although he had some connections, he really couldn't act tough against these desperate outlaws.

Just then, a hand rested on his shoulder.

"You said just now..."

Chen Mo stepped out from behind the Bald Man, tilted his head, and looked at the bear-like Black Skin. "This arm has a bit too much power?"

Black Skin was stunned for a moment.

He hadn't expected this pale-faced sickly youth, who looked like he could drop dead at any moment, to dare to provoke him.

"What? Want to try it?"

Black Skin grinned savagely, the hydraulic shears snapping open with a series of mechanical clicks. "Kid, these shears can snap rebar; snapping your neck would be no different from snapping a toothpick."

Chen Mo didn't speak.

He simply took the cigarette from his mouth and casually flicked it toward Black Skin's face.

The sparks traced a parabola through the air.

In the instant Black Skin instinctively tilted his head to avoid the cigarette butt—

Thump!

A dull, massive sound exploded within the narrow clinic.

It was the sound of a foot cracking the floorboards.

Chen Mo vanished.

He was too fast.

The Bald Man only felt a hurricane blast past his eyes, and his breath hitched for a beat.

The next second.

Chen Mo had already appeared in front of Black Skin.

There were no fancy moves, just a straight punch.

The hydraulic piston on his mechanical left arm retracted frantically.

Powered by that violent heart, the speed of this punch broke the sound barrier, carrying a visible ring of air pressure.

Boom!

Steel collided with steel.

Chen Mo's fist smashed heavily into the hydraulic shears Black Skin had raised in a block.

That industrial prosthetic, capable of snapping rebar, twisted, deformed, and disintegrated in that instant as if it were made of paper.

Friendly reminder: The website is about to be updated, which may cause loss of reading progress. Please save your "Bookshelf" and "Reading Records" in a timely manner (screenshots are recommended). We apologize for any inconvenience caused!