After Gu Shenghui, who was outside the ring, signaled to Pei Yan, he eagerly ran to the sidelines and squatted down, awaiting new instructions from the leader.
"Do you want to go on a mission?" Gu Shenghui asked, looking up.
Upon hearing this, Pei Yan's eyes lit up: "Am I already qualified for a mission?"
"Win the next match, and when you return, go with Old Hu to get equipped for the mission! Train while on the mission, but if you lose, don't even think about tasks for the next year." Gu Shenghui calmly laid out the conditions.
After hearing this, Pei Yan glanced at Xia Yu, who was standing aside, unconcerned, and said awkwardly: "Ah, with Xia Yu!"
"Not her, with others. Don't hold back, give it your all, you must win!"
"Oh!"
Initially, Pei Yan didn't pay much attention to the warriors gathering around the ring, but as Liu Xuan called names, one by one, warriors stepped out from the crowd, leaving their marks before entering the ring. Pei Yan became somewhat bewildered. When all five warriors entered the ring and shook hands with him one by one to register, he finally understood what was happening—it was going to be one against five!
He hurriedly ran back to the sidelines to confirm: "Director Gu, am I going against five? Are they taking turns or coming at me all at once?"
"All together on stage, of course, means all at once!" Gu Shenghui replied with an air of nonchalance that could drive anyone crazy.
"But it's five people!" Pei Yan's mouth twitched; it's not like you're the one fighting up there.
"Pei Yan, show them what you did that night! For the honor of the Bureau! Win, and I'll treat you to a meal when we get back!" Xia Yu jumped up to the edge of the ring, patting Pei Yan's ankle to encourage him.
Pei Yan resignedly shook his head, knowing that talk wouldn't help, slapped his knees and stood up in a flash. Fight, then! He was curious to see how strong he really was!
Returning to the center of the ring, he bowed to the five warriors. After they returned the gesture, both sides set up attack stances without exchanging further words!
Pei Yan retreated step by step toward the edge of the ring, striving to avoid exposing his back and getting surrounded while the five warriors, despite their numerical advantage, did not immediately attack. Instead, they slowly surrounded him in a formation of three in front and two behind.
Previously introducing himself as Zhao Xian, a soldier hid behind the four, gradually placing his hand on the ground. Under Pei Yan's vigilant gaze, thick smoke billowed from Zhao's hands, soon enveloping the entire ring. The ring was now shrouded in fog, obscuring all figures, separating friend from foe.
Outside the ring, Instructor Miao, who also came from the forces but was not part of Liu Xuan's team, frowned at the scene. He approached Liu Xuan and murmured: "Lao Liu, with this many against few, it's actually advantageous for Pei Yan, especially..." Instructor Miao lowered his voice: "I heard from Engineer Li that his equipment has a thermal imaging system. They're just shooting themselves in the foot."
Liu Xuan kept his eyes on the ring: "Old Miao, you haven't forgotten what makes us better than the Bureau, right? Keep watching. This high-tech isn't that reliable. This person is ours for sure, and Gu Shenghui will regret his arrogance."
When the fog rose, Pei Yan had thoughts similar to Instructor Miao, delighted that the opposition didn't know his capabilities, and activated the thermal imaging system. Within the fog, five red figures were clearly displayed on his visor screen.
With confidence, Pei Yan ceased retreating, adopted an attack stance, and waited for the enemy to enter his attack range, eager to strike like a rabbit waiting for prey.
Soon, a red figure recklessly broke formation and approached Pei Yan's side. Without hesitation, Pei Yan struck like a rabbit, and unleashing a powerful punch aimed at the opponent's waist.
His iron fist cut through the fog with a whistling sound and hit the red shadow hard!
"How is this possible!" Pei Yan's eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted. This blow missed as the red figure turned into mist and vanished!
Before he could recover from his shock, alarms sounded inside his helmet, warning of an attack from the right!
Without time to think, Pei Yan raised his right arm to protect his vulnerable head, relieved that his judgment was correct! The attacker's target was indeed his head!
"Boom!" A violent explosion sounded in the ring, and Pei Yan flew sideways out of the fog, crashing into the energy wall—it was an explosion! This was his first time experiencing such an attack!
He shook his slightly dizzy head. Thanks to the upgrade, his helmet's performance had significantly improved, minimizing the impact of the sudden attack. He hadn't suffered too much damage.
Pei Yan slammed the ground with his hand, gritted his teeth, and stood up again. Within the fog, a burly man already charged at him.
Pei Yan recalled he only stood a few inches taller than his opponent when transformed, a warrior at six foot three. When introducing themselves, they joked about sharing the surname, Pei Yong.
But his clansman certainly showed no mercy. Before he could stabilize himself, a knee-elbow combo slammed into Pei Yan's abdomen, followed swiftly by a furious elbow strike at Pei Yan's nape.
"Ah!" With fury, Pei Yan yelled, wrapping his arms around the opponent's waist, charged forward, then lifted him to flip him onto the ground. His arms grew spikes in an attempt to stab into Pei Yong's body.
However, once again Pei Yan was stunned! His spikes couldn't pierce Pei Yong! Not only did they share the same surname, but Pei Yong also had similar abilities—his body was steeled!
"Old Gu, you're not the only ones with steel monsters!" A smug Liu Xuan glanced at Gu Shenghui, whose expression was becoming increasingly serious.
"Thud, thud!" As Pei Yong, wholly steel-turned, was held down, he ferociously head-butted Pei Yan's helmet. Despite the painful onslaught, Pei Yan didn't loosen his grip, and the two wrestled back and forth. Pei Yan awaited his moment to counterattack!
And the moment soon arrived; within the fog, one of Pei Yong's comrades emerged to punch Pei Yan's back.
His chest surged with a jolt, but Pei Yan's instincts told him this wasn't a regular punch. The strike lacked Xia Yu's powerful impact but carried a peculiar aura that infiltrated Pei Yan's body, disrupting his mechanical systems which were quickly restoring.
It's now!
Pei Yan finally launched his counteroffensive!