666 North Harbour Base

Number 16 was finding it hard to change direction due to the intense attraction force. With the additional Formation Formula imposed on him, he was frozen in mid-air and unable to avoid the brilliant meteorite. All he could do was urge every single cell in him to generate a repulsion force that formed a shield made of light.

Swish! The meteorite grew larger and larger. On the surface, flames blazed fiercely from high-speed friction with the atmosphere, giving off a dazzling light. As it got closer and closer, Number 16's pupils finally reflected the figure of a person with a sword.

Rumble! The brilliance from the meteorite enveloped the enemy as flames rolled outwards into layer after layer of a blooming crimson lotus.

The sixth move of the Fighting Sect, Fire Meteor!

Swish swish swish! Rays of lights scattered as Number 16 fell into a miserable state, his body covered in bloody sword wounds.

Before he could jump to his feet, a ray of light from the sword shot overhead and began a frenzied barrage of slashes.

Seven Stars, Dou Ning!

Clank clank clank. The sound of a blunt knife cutting meat erupted in a constant stream. Number 16, unable to regain his power, threw out punches, kicks, and laser cannons. However, he still wasn't able to block everything and was forced to retreat from the barrage of slashes. He was at constant risk of being severed into pieces.

Just as Dou Ning's attacks started to slow, Number 16 felt the earth shake violently. In his eyes, the image of a fully charged Lou Cheng surfaced. Every punch carried flames, and each strike was heavy, invasive, and terrifying.

Bam bam bam!

Lou Cheng was either sweeping his arms as a whips, using short bursts of strike, throwing piercing attacks, or striking with cannon punches. He had Number 16 completely pinned down as he burnt him like a torch.

Bam bam bam! After a set of consecutive strikes, he bent his body and glided forward to avoid his opponent's defense before straightening his back and punching upwards.

Bam!

His punch landed on the chest of Number 16, shattering the lingering shield of light and sending him into the air.

In the split second of his opponent's disorientation, Lou Cheng took the opportunity and extended his left arm to grab him. He twisted both of his legs, wrapped his right arm around him, and sealed all of his joints by freezing his entire body.

Straightening his back, Fire Force exploded from within his body. Lou Cheng changed his momentum, pressed towards his opponent, and fell like afrenzied human-shaped meteor.

Rumble!

The ground shattered and a crater formed with cracks spreading outwards. Number 16 fell into the middle foaming. His body twitched uncontrollably as he failed to find a muscle that remained uninjured and lacked the bone structure to help him stand.

Ji Jianzhang, looking emaciated, approached as Lou Cheng stood. He pointed his longsword at the forehead of Number 16. If he exerted just a little force, the enemy would be blown apart with no corpse left.

"It's him!" Ji Jianzhang exclaimed with shock, squinting his eyes to take a closer look.

"Sir, do you know him?" asked Lou Cheng with surprise.

Ji Jianzhang frowned slightly and continued,

"He's an American that roamed this area thirty, forty years ago. He was known for his flying ability. Rumors had it that he beat up others before they could reach him. But how could he keep a low profile if he constantly picked fights? So many bombers planes were shot down. A few years ago, there were rumors that he suffered grave injuries and died from them. Who would have expected him to be still alive. Eh, he doesn't seem to recognize me. And his gaze doesn't look right. Did he lose his memory?"

"His condition is a little strange." The solemn, ever exquisite Dou Ning noticed that something wasn't right.

Lou Cheng repeated the results of his interrogation and the details he had discovered. Basing his conjecture upon the nationality of Number 16, he pieced things together and came to a conclusion.

Ji Jianzhang and Dou Ning exchanged glances and simultaneously guessed,

"Artificial Weapon Project?"

Ji Jianzhang frowned and continued, "That's not right. There's no intelligence on them having a base in Tignes."

"It would be a little different from the Artificial Weapon Project that I know of." Dou Ning nodded her head in approval.

Thinking back to the conversation with Yan Zheke's grandparents, Lou Cheng sensed the chemistry between them. Suddenly, Lou Cheng felt that he wasn't needed.

He thought for a second before offering, "Perhaps it's a branch of research at a newly constructed secret base."

"Well no matter what, Lin Que is in their hands!" Dou Ning's tone turned sharper and she looked to Ji Jianzhang. "Let's find out the exact location of that North Harbour Base first."

Number 16 was of Terror Grade and had a strong will and mind. Moreso, he seemed to have been put through several layers of brainwashing. Lou Cheng and the Ji couple took turns executing secret techniques to strike his mind. After several minutes, Number 16 finally gave in.

Once he did, without his past memories, Number 16 wouldn't be able to develop the same strong will as that of a Physical Invulnerability expert.

Given his prior experience with the blonde-haired, blue-eyed man, Lou Cheng didn't dare ask his questions directly. Instead, he shared his worries with Ji Jianzhang and Dou Ning.

"This is simple." Ji Jianzhang shifted the edge of his sword down and pierced slightly into the throat of Number 16, careful not to harm his windpipes or tendons.

Bzzt bzzt bzzt. Yin-Yang forces circulated and the magnetic field around changed and enveloped them. The signal source from Number 16 was interrupted and distorted.

"Where is the North Harbour Base?" Lou Cheng asked in English with a Connecticut accent.

Number 16's neural signals were in disarray. After being in a daze for some time, he finally answered,

"Underground of North Harbour Mechanical Corporation."

"Corporation…a joint research between America and Japan…" Ji Jianzhang suddenly had a realization.

Lou Cheng then understood what had happened.

North Harbour Base's secret research had achieved a stage breakthrough and urgently required danger grade materials to verify their results. Experts at this level weren't common and they had no other places to looked in a short period of time. Seeing that the preparations of the earlier stages were about to be in vain, the one in charge instructed Number 4, 5, and 6 to fight in the illegal boxing matches and challenge the ringmaster in hope of luring out a Danger Grade expert who was alone.

After two days, they met Lin Que. After the end of the ring match, Number 16 struck him unconscious and brought him back in secret.

When Lin Que was sent to the base, due to insufficient accurate intelligence, they came to the conclusion that this young danger grade man didn't have a strong enough background. Therefore, they put him onto the experiment table.

In addition, based on what Number 16 had said, Number 17 and 18 at the base were stronger than him.

Ji Jianzhang retracted his long sword. Extending his left palm, he lifted Number 16 from afar and sighed with self-condemnation,

"We all had the preconceived assumption that it was revenge by the human trafficking organization. In the end, it was just a chance incident. No wonder we haven't been able to get any lead and have caused Que to suffer."

Sighing, he looked to Lou Cheng, nodded his head slightly and said,

"We must thank you for this."

"Let's go. I'd like to see what they're researching," said Dou Ning coldly. Lost was her usual elegant demeanor.

Lou Cheng didn't speak and followed behind the old couple. They left the rubble of the factory in the suburbs and arrived at the North Harbour region of Tignes City. Facing a major river, it was an important checkpoint for various resources. Even though it was the middle of the night, one could easily spot lamps all around. This was a distinct contrast to the other areas that still faced a lack of access to electricity.

The corporation that Number 16 had mentioned was located around the vicinity of the warehouse. Looking from outside, it was a three story building. However, there was a large, experimental lab underground.

The special forces troops that disguised themselves as security were all soldiers who had seen blood. However, in the face of three Physical Invulnerability experts, they had zero ability to retaliate. They had no time to react before being crushed by Lou Cheng's simplified Army Formula. They cried silently, not daring to make a single sound.

Without wasting time, Ji Jianzhang found the entrance to underground. Lifting Number 16, he used his retina to open the main gate.

Just as a small opening appeared between the doors, Ji Jianzhang stomped his legs and turned into a meteor. He flew in quickly, swinging his sword at guard after guard. Dou Ning carried her sword and protected him from the side to prevent any accidents. Lou Cheng, who now seemed unnecessary, followed closely behind. He expanded his muscles and damaged the main door, making it unable to close tightly again.

He was afraid of being trapped underground and facing explosives in a confined space.

Thud!

Ji Jianzhang stopped at the edge of the room when the first guard finally landed on the floor.

Dou Ning kept one of them alive but crushed his mind to verify if there was an experiment being held tonight and where.

The current focus of the North Harbour Base was mentioned by Number 16. Wherever the experiment was, Lin Que would be there.

Turning into the internal corridors of the base, the Ji couple's swords moved sharply. They either staggered their attacks or struck together, not allowing a single person to stop them nor giving the other party a chance to sound the alarm.

As the glow of the sword shot out, figure after figure fell. Lou Cheng, still following behind, had the feeling of watching a movie up close.

Along the way, Ji Jianzhang used Number 16 to complete the authorizations required for the different doors. Three minutes later, they finally saw the main experiment lab and the rigid-looking experts guarding outside.

They were wearing armbands with "8" and "10" inscribed on them.

"You go first!" As Ji Jianzhang channeled the words to Lou Cheng, he threw Number 16 towards the main door and attracted the attention of the guards.

Swoosh!

Lights from the sword flickered and two meteorites struck out towards Number 8 and 10, cutting the two of them off.

Lou Cheng, who had readied himself, pounced towards the main door. He grabbed onto Number 16 in the air and sent him to the verification area.

Di di di! The heavy door opened. Lou Cheng lowered his stance, tilted sideways and crashed in without giving anyone inside a chance to react.

Bam!

A large hole opened up in the metal door as the warning signal souded throughout the lab.

Once Lou Cheng got in, he immediately formed his Ice Heart to reflect his surroundings. He quickly locked onto Lin Que who was fixed to the metal bed. His facial expression was distorted in pain from thedifferent equipment plugged into his body. Some parts of him revealed eerily white bones underneath and bloody flesh. At the same time, Lou Cheng locked onto a man holding a scalpel and wearing a lab cloak.

Anger rose from the bottom of his heart. Lou Cheng bent his back, lowered his arms and flicked his wrists.

From one hand, faint purple flames shot into the ground, raging silently onto devices and people, causing them to wail in agony.

From the other hand, chilling light swept forward, freezing several people from their head to their feet.

Bam!

Lou Cheng blasted strong winds and rushed to Lin Que's side.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The remaining research staff was scared out of their wits and quickly backed off. On the other side, Ji Jianzhang and Dou Ning had finished off Number 8 and 10. They entered one after the other into the lab.

Suddenly, a loud voice sounded,

"It seems that someone has made a mistake and offended someone they shouldn't have."

Lou Cheng followed the direction of the voice and saw a fair skinned woman with black hair till her shoulders. She was sitting carelessly on an experiment table and wearing black sporting attire with a decorative number,

"18!"

Feeling the gazes of strong experts on her, this woman did not waver. Instead, she laughed with an authentic Mandarin accent,

"Luckily, he's still alive. The mistake could still be atoned for."

"It's better to be friends than enemies. Why don't we discuss how we should apologize and make reparations?"