286: Chapter 286 Top Predator, Beast in Lurk

Chapter 286: Top Predator, Beast Lurking

Bang!

Like a completely burnt-out meteorite.

Gao Jin's massive body plummeted straight down from the air over a dozen meters high, heavily slamming into the ground.

Instantly splashing up large amounts of mud and gravel, even smashing out a distinct shallow pit.

The grim bio-armor covering him rapidly dissipated at this moment like a receding tide.

The sharp bone spurs silently retracted beneath his skin, and his limbs transformed back into the appearance of normal human hands and feet.

Those interwoven dark red and pitch-black carapace and tendon tissues were also rapidly liquefying, turning into fluid matter flashing with a faint fluorescent glow.

As if guided by an invisible force, they continuously converged and contracted.

In the end, they all submerged into the crystal-like core device on his chest that had already dimmed and was flashing slightly.

In the blink of an eye, the terrifying form resembling an abyss demon god vanished without a trace.

Gao Jin restored his original human appearance wearing a black suit, except that white steam was now billowing all over his body.

Sweat had long since thoroughly soaked his clothes and trousers, clinging tightly to his body and outlining the contours of his unusually robust muscles.

That expensive suit also became tattered, with a large hole burned through the chest area by Fang Cheng's fiery fist force.

Revealing the charred marks inside where the skin was scorched by high temperature, with even tiny granulation tissue slowly wriggling at the edges.

It's just that this self-healing ability was far inferior to the super-speed regeneration from earlier when he was inside the energy shield and bathed in red light.

"Officer Gao! Are... are you alright?"

Officer Zhou Liang and A-Li lay in the muddy ground not far away, and seeing this scene, struggled to crawl up.

But the intense pain coming from multiple parts of their bodies made them grimace the moment they exerted force, unable to muster any strength at all.

They could only move futilely in place, looking as though they had the will but lacked the power.

"Hoo—"

Gao Jin did not answer immediately; supporting the muddy ground with both hands, he knelt on one knee, his body rising and falling violently.

Like an athlete who had just finished an extreme marathon, he panted heavily in large mouthfuls.

Sweat droplets on his forehead mixed with muddy water rolled down continuously.

Only after confirming that the aura of that white figure had completely disappeared outside his perception range and fled far away did he abandon the image of a strong person he had painstakingly maintained.

Falling down at this moment, it was as if he had unburdened a thousand-jin load, his tensed nerves relaxed, and even maintaining a kneeling posture was somewhat reluctant, his body muscles trembling slightly.

"I'm fine."

Gao Jin waved his hand, his voice slightly dry.

Then he pulled out a black metal device similar to a car key from his suit's inner pocket, pressing his thumb hard on the side button.

With a "beep" sound, a slightly flashing blue light lit up at the top of the device.

It seemed to emit some special signal that could not be detected by ordinary equipment.

Having done all this, Gao Jin truly let out a breath, his tensed spine also collapsing down, carrying a trace of relief.

If "White Owl" hadn't chosen to leave just now, but continued to entangle and fight...

Gao Jin gave a complex look at the slightly flashing core device on his chest.

I'm afraid I would have had to use that trump card which must never be easily shown unless absolutely necessary.

Recalling the intense battle scene just now, the ripples in Gao Jin's heart were still unsettled.

That guy's physical fitness was simply like a non-human from outer space; not only was his speed ridiculously fast, but his strength was also fierce and domineering.

Especially the explosive power of that final punch...

Replaying and evaluating it now, he still felt lingering fear.

Even with the powerful combat strength provided by the bio-armor and energy core, he had no confidence of steadily winning against the opponent in this high-intensity hand-to-hand war of attrition.

Moreover, that guy gave people the feeling as if his physical stamina was extremely abundant, and he could still fight for another three hundred rounds like this!

Gao Jin shook his head slightly, dispelling distracting thoughts, and barely supported himself to stand up.

His gaze fell on the two subordinates humming and hawing not far away.

Looking at their battered, bruised, mud- and blood-stained pathetic appearance, his brows couldn't help but knit tightly together.

"How are the two of you? Are your injuries heavy?"

Hearing the officer's concerned inquiry, Officer Zhou Liang and A-Li acted as if they had found an outlet for release, and instantly screamed with tacit cooperation.

"Ow", "Hss—", "It hurts to death."

Their voices were more miserable than the other, their expressions more painful than the other, coupled with their tattered and covered-in-wounds look at the moment.

It was simply heartbreaking to hear and tearful to see, perfectly performing what was called "tragic in the extreme."

Looking at his subordinates' miserable state, Gao Jin's gaze suddenly turned fierce, his knuckles cracking, and an invisible pressure radiated out:

"Was it White Owl who harmed you two like this?"

Hearing this, Officer Zhou Liang and A-Li's screams abruptly stopped.

The two couldn't help exchanging a glance, their expressions somewhat awkward and subtle, secretly complaining in their hearts.

We'd like to say that... but most of these wounds on our bodies were clearly blasted out by your old self's gravity cannon move just now.

But if this were said out loud, we'd probably receive a "deep reflection set meal" on the spot...

What kind of figure was Gao Jin? Seeing their expressions, combined with his own near-berserk combat posture just now, he immediately understood seven or eight parts, the corners of his mouth twitching imperceptibly.

He gave a light cough, averted his gaze, and looked at the chaotic battle scene all around.

The ground was pockmarked, full of gullies violently plowed open and deep pits stepped out by footprints.

The once fairly lush weeds were devastated beyond recognition, and large areas were razed to the ground.

Further away, auto parts and glass shards were scattered everywhere, reflecting dots of cold light under the faint light coming from the highway.

In the air, there still lingered a pungent odor similar to ozone.

That was the trace left after energy was violently released, scorched, and ionized the air.

He took a deep breath of the cold night wind, suppressed the shock in his heart, and asked in a deep voice:

"Alright, stop howling. Report to me everything that happened before, starting from when you contacted the target, completely and without omitting a single word!"

Officer Zhou Liang and A-Li immediately put away their "performance", adjusted to a slightly more comfortable posture, and endured the pain to explain the reason why this mission almost failed.

How they followed orders to carefully investigate Xu Hao's living conditions, how they chose to make a move inside a bar private room, and quietly took the target away.

Then, encountering a taxi following and tailing them on the road, as well as that short but thrilling chase and the final process of being captured, all were narrated in detail.

After hearing the report, Gao Jin's brows furrowed even deeper. He pondered for a moment and pursued:

"So to speak, after subduing you, White Owl did not make a lethal move against you, and didn't even harm you further?"

Officer Zhou Liang hesitated for a moment and answered honestly:

"Temporarily... it seems so. He got us out of the car and originally prepared to interrogate us, but after you arrived, Officer Gao, all his attention was on you, followed by the gods fighting each other where you two almost affected us and the hostage."

Gao Jin: "..."

What kind of talk is this? Why does it sound so awkward?

A-Li beside him also quickly added:

"Boss, I feel that after he knew we were people from the Special Investigation Team, his hostility toward us noticeably decreased a lot."

"Could it be... that my previous judgment was wrong?"

Gao Jin muttered to himself in a low voice, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

The situation reported by his subordinates had an obvious discrepancy with the enemy data he possessed.

According to the top-secret archives inside the Special Investigation Team, the code name "White Owl" has always been closely linked with "seas of corpses and mountains of blood" and "taboo power", worthy of being called a top predator standing at the top of the food chain.

Historically, every appearance of "White Owl" was accompanied by huge chaos and destruction, acting without any taboos and killing people indiscriminately.

Ever since that individual wearing the iconic white mask reappeared in Dongdu, headquarters immediately placed him on the danger list as the number one S-class wanted criminal.

Precisely because of this, when seeing the appearance on the opponent's face clearly, based on past records and potential threats, Gao Jin chose to strike first without hesitation.

But the "White Owl" encountered today appeared somewhat different.

Gao Jin silently sorted through the information.

"This generation of 'Owl' seems to focus more on exercising pure physical power, yet hasn't used that legendary corrosive taboo power..."

"Could it be that he is not fully 'mature' and still retains normal humanity? Or rather, this generation of 'Owl' has taken a different evolutionary path?"

Gao Jin's thoughts spun rapidly.

But thinking about it this way, wouldn't the opponent's potential be even more terrifying?

"Relying solely on physical power, he can already hard-shake me head-on when I am in the bio-armor state. If he waits until he grows up completely and unleashes that kind of power..."

Thinking this through, Gao Jin couldn't help feeling a trace of chill. He didn't think about it in detail and turned his thoughts.

"Moreover, with his bald hairstyle... and even calling himself this humble monk... could his true identity be a monk with off-the-charts martial arts value?"

The contrast between this image and a "murderous maniac" was simply too large.

A-Li looked at Gao Jin's pensive appearance and carefully probed to ask:

"Officer Gao, should we continue to track that person?"

Hearing this, Gao Jin raised his head, glanced at A-Li with a look of "are you serious", feeling somewhat speechless.

Look at the wretched state the two of you are in right now, and look at how your officer here is almost squeezed dry.

If we had chosen to forcefully keep the opponent just now, I'm afraid all three of us would have had to account for our lives here today.

Right at this moment, on the distant silent highway, the sound of police sirens faintly traveled over.

Several police cars flashing red and blue lights and an ambulance parked in the direction leading to the urban area, seemingly handling another traffic accident.

Before long, several agile figures also vaulted down from the highway, rapidly approaching their side.

In the silent night, the sound of footsteps was clearly audible.

It was other members of the Special Investigation Team on duty in the nearby area.

After receiving the emergency signal sent by Gao Jin, it only took them a few minutes to rush to the scene for support.

Seeing reinforcements arrive, Gao Jin's spirits perked up. He immediately recovered the officer's dignity and ordered in a deep voice:

"Take Xu Hao with us, we will immediately return to the base, leave this place for subsequent personnel to clean up."

"Ng..."

Right at this time, Xu Hao, who had been thrown aside, let out a moan, his eyelids twitching a few times, as if awakened by the surrounding commotion, and he dimly opened his eyes.

He looked dazedly at the surrounding environment, then looked at the several tattered "vagrants" standing nearby.

Feeling the severe pain coming from all over his body, especially his head feeling as if it was about to split open and feeling groggy, he couldn't help but curse out loud:

"F*ck... which son of a b*itch bastard dares to touch your grandpa Xu?"

Gao Jin gave him a cold sweep.

A-Li beside him understood tacitly, enduring the pain of his fractured arm, and pulled out a high-voltage stun baton from his waist.

Then, pointing it at Xu Hao who had just woken up and still hadn't figured out the situation, he fiercely pressed the switch.

Chi la—

Dazzling electric arcs flashed past.

"Ugh ah—"

Xu Hao's foul language halfway through turned into a miserable scream, his whole body convulsed violently, his eyes rolling back.

Once again, he cleanly passed out.

Gao Jin nodded in satisfaction, waved his hand at the several team members who rushed to the front, and ordered:

"Keep him under control, take him away."

"Yes, Officer!"

Several team members answered in unison, quickly splitting up to act and clean up the scene.

...

The night wind blew past carrying the fishy smell of soil and a hint of gunpowder smoke.

Fang Cheng's figure, like a ghost, was concealed in the shadow of a lushly foliaged large tree, almost merging into the darkness.

His gaze was calm, his sight piercing through layers of night mist and falling on the distant highway.

There, the alternating red and blue police lights flashed silently, illuminating the surrounding environment in flickering glimmers.

Several emergency personnel wearing white coats were carefully lifting a stretcher onto an ambulance.

Lying on the stretcher was precisely that unlucky taxi driver brother.

He seemed to still be in a coma, with bandages wrapped around his head and a thin blanket covering his body.

Fang Cheng watched quietly until the ambulance closed its back doors, sounded its harsh sirens, and slowly drove away from the scene, merging into the distant city night with glimmering lights.

Only then did he withdraw his gaze.

Although it belonged to accidental collateral damage, after confirming that the driver was not in life-threatening danger, it could be considered setting aside a trace of worry in his heart.

Afterwards, Fang Cheng pulled out a flip phone from the cross-body bag on his shoulder and skillfully dialed a string of numbers.

The phone rang twice with a beep, and was quickly answered.

"Hello, Mom."

Fang Cheng's voice was lowered very low, but his tone was kept as calm and natural as possible.

On the other end of the phone came his mother Li Biyun's slightly sleepy voice:

"Chengcheng? So late, why are you calling back? What happened?"

Her tone was mixed with a trace of worry.

"It's nothing, Mom, I'm doing fine."

Fang Cheng quickly organized his rhetoric and explained:

"It's just that there's a temporary matter; the company arranged for me to follow a project on a business trip out of town, which might take two or three days. I won't be coming home to live for these few days, just letting you know so you don't worry."

"Business trip? How come it's so sudden?"

Li Biyun's voice instantly became a bit clearer, carrying a bit of habitual nagging:

"Chengcheng, don't work too hard... Last week your uncle just said he also had to go on a business trip. Look at the two of you, you both bumped into the same time."

"Alright then, pay attention to your own safety outside. The weather is hot and cold now, don't always make a habit of taking off clothes, it's easy to catch a cold, hear me? Is the money enough to use?"

"It's enough, rest assured, Mom."

Fang Cheng patiently listened to his mother's exhortations, and a trace of warmth flowed through his heart.

But his gaze remained full of vigilance, constantly scanning the surrounding movements, while speaking:

"You should also rest early, don't wait for me."

"Understood, you too. After finishing your busy work in the middle of the night, hurry up and rest. Remember to drink a glass of milk before bed, the doctor said it can relax the nerves..."

Li Biyun exhorted a few more words before hanging up the phone.

Ending the call, Fang Cheng stuffed the phone back into his bag, and the trace of warmth on his face quickly faded, once again covered by calmness and indifference.

Once again casting his gaze toward that messy area where the Special Investigation Team personnel were carrying out clean-up work.

He didn't leave far away just as they expected.

Instead, like a quite patient beast, he quietly lurked in the dark night.