178: Chapter 179 The Path of the Strong

"So, what do you want to do?" Song Yang asked.

Boss Li's body suddenly stiffened, as if this simple question had injected some kind of fanatical energy into him.

He turned around, his murky eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at Song Yang.

"Slay the dragon!"

The two words were squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying deep-seated hatred.

He no longer looked at the monster's carcass, but walked to the desk and let his fingers brush over a dusty picture frame.

In the frame, a gentle woman held a little girl, smiling brightly.

"I used to be a businessman."

Boss Li's voice lowered, as if he were talking to himself.

"For the first half of my life, these hands only touched contracts and money. I thought those things were everything. When the apocalypse came, while others were fleeing for their lives, I was still in my office deploying work and allocating assets, thinking about how to protect my business empire."

He pulled the corners of his mouth in self-mockery; his smile was uglier than crying.

"I sent my driver to pick them up—my wife, my daughter. I told them that Daddy would arrange everything and that they should wait for me in a safe place."

"But, by the time my people found them..."

Boss Li's voice trailed off. He took a deep breath. "There was only half a car frame left, and a pile of chewed-up flesh on the ground."

"I couldn't even tell which piece was my wife and which was my daughter."

Boss Li slammed the picture frame face down on the table, as if trying to shut out all warm memories.

When he looked at Song Yang again, his eyes had returned to the shrewdness and ruthlessness of a businessman.

"Revenge is the only thing I need to do now. I want to make all monsters pay a bloody price."

He walked to the other side of the room and pulled open a heavy iron cabinet door.

Inside were not documents or gold, but rows of metal boxes of various sizes.

Boss Li opened one of them. Inside lay a crystal the size of a fist, its surface covered in irregular blue veins, faintly emitting a dim light.

"After the sun went out, the world changed, and many strange things emerged."

He carefully picked up the crystal with his gloved hand. "This thing, I call it 'Thunder crystal'. Its energy is extremely unstable; the slightest collision could blow this whole building to the sky."

"I spent a great price collecting various mysterious objects that can trigger violent explosions."

"Doesn't that black dragon like to eat? I'll prepare a big meal for it."

He closed the iron cabinet and walked over to the monster's carcass, kicking its heavy scales with his foot.

"I will have people gut these monster corpses, hide my 'treasures' inside, and make the perfect bait. With a quarter of the city as the price, I will send it to hell."

Boss Li looked up, his burning gaze fixed on Song Yang.

"The plan is perfect, but I lack one crucial person."

"Someone who can lure the black dragon and still escape unscathed."

"You want me to lure the black dragon?"

Song Yang asked.

Boss Li nodded heavily, Song Yang's indifferent face reflected in his bloodshot eyes.

"I've checked the backgrounds of all the strong individuals in this city. Currently, you are the only one who can escape from the black dragon's pursuit unscathed."

"I refuse."

Song Yang did not hesitate at all.

Boss Li seemed to have expected this answer; there was no surprise on his face, but his tight lips betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

"I should have expected this."

He said in a low voice, as if mocking his own naivety, then looked up. "Song Yang, do you think this is just a business deal? Do you think you can refuse?"

He took a step forward, almost right up to Song Yang, and lowered his voice.

"My intelligence network covers the entire coast. Based on the frequency and scale of the black dragon's feeding, my team has performed the most precise simulations."

"Within a month, it will complete its next evolution and ascend to Beast Emperor."

"By then, Dahai City will face a catastrophe. We will all die; hiding in underground bunkers will be useless."

He waved his hand violently, pointing at the pitch-black sky outside the window.

"Do you think you can escape if the city falls? No matter how strong you are, can you fight against the countless mutated creatures in the ocean?"

Boss Li stared at Song Yang, trying to find even a hint of wavering on his face.

However, Song Yang's expression remained calm.

He just listened quietly, and only shook his head after Boss Li finished speaking.

"It won't take that long."

Song Yang extended a finger, his gaze passing over Boss Li to look out the window.

"In a week, I will go kill it myself."

Boss Li was stunned. He looked at Song Yang for a full half minute, his bloodshot eyes sagging in a long sigh.

"A week..."

He chewed on this timeframe. "What makes you think you can?"

He didn't wait for Song Yang's answer, perhaps he didn't need one.

He walked back to the row of heavy iron cabinets on his own. This time, he didn't hesitate at all and pulled open all the cabinet doors one by one.

One box, two boxes, three boxes... over a dozen metal boxes of various sizes were all moved out and neatly stacked on the floor.

"Click."

The lids popped open one by one. Each "Thunder crystal" lay quietly in a specially made groove, emitting a heart-palpitating energy fluctuation.

"I never bet all my chips on one person when doing business."

"Half of these belong to you."

He pointed his chin at the boxes on the floor.

"I don't care if you're going to kill it or get killed by it; take these things, at least it will make it suffer."

"The remaining half," he patted the largest box beside him, his eyes sinister.

"My plan remains the same. In case you fail, my 'big meal' will be the final insurance to send it on its way."

...

Leaving the Shelter and returning to the Villa basement, Song Yang did not turn on the lights.

He sat cross-legged, flipped his hand, and a handful of white energy crystals appeared in his palm.

As his strength grew, he could clearly feel his body's craving for energy, like a bottomless black hole.

He picked one up and placed it in his palm.

The moment he closed his eyes, the energy crystal turned into a gentle stream of warmth, slowly flowing from his palm into his body.

One, two...

At first, it took him several minutes to fully digest one.

But soon, this process became faster and faster.

The energy crystals were no longer a gentle warm stream, but turned into a rushing torrent, washing through his limbs and bones.

His body was like steel tempered a thousand times; every impact made it stronger and even more greedy.

Time passed in absolute silence.

When he opened his eyes again, a small pile of crystal residue, turned into powder, had piled up in the basement.

Twelve hours had passed.

This time, he absorbed a full hundred before reaching his limit.

Feeling the satisfaction from his body, Song Yang could feel that his body had reached a new level.

Only now could he truly be considered to have stepped into the ranks of the strong.

Fist strength, breaking through 50,000 kilograms.

Maximum flight speed, 3,900 meters per second!