Chapter 122: Awakened vs. Ability Users

Seeing Kong Zhe nod at her, Hong Ling’s face lit up with joy. Did this mean he finally accepted her?

Without time to overthink it, she saw Kong Zhe and Xiao Lei striding into the safe zone and hurried to follow. Previously, she had avoided entering because once inside, she would be reduced to an ordinary person, unable to offer any help. But with Kong Zhe here, even though he was an Awakened whose strength would be severely suppressed within the zone, the resolute look on his face gave her a sense of peace.

Since arriving, she had already considered herself a member of Kong Zhe’s team. As a subordinate, one naturally had to stand with their leader, so Hong Ling entered the safe zone without the slightest hesitation.

Before reaching the school, Kong Zhe had already learned of the situation via his dragonfly scout. Seeing that Xue Feifei and Tuan Tuan were both safe, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. However, the scene before him immediately made his blood boil, and a raging fire of fury ignited in his chest.

The fighting within the safe zone had temporarily ceased due to the commotion outside.

"Woooo!"

The Hydra let out two mournful cries upon seeing Kong Zhe enter, its remaining two heads drooping powerlessly. Facing the Raincoat Woman alone, it could have fought to a stalemate, but after the Explosion Man joined the fray, the pressure became immense. If the Hydra’s nature was a natural counter to the Raincoat Woman, the Explosion Man’s ability was a pure counter to the Hydra.

The Hydra possessed no magic; its strength relied solely on its formidable physique. Encountering an opponent like the Explosion Man, who fought with brute force, was extremely disadvantageous. Following the recent battle, it had become incredibly weak, reduced from nine heads to just two. If Kong Zhe hadn't returned, it likely wouldn't have lasted much longer.

"You've worked hard. Your mission is complete; rest well now," Kong Zhe said, stroking the Hydra’s snout as he looked at the shocking wounds covering its body with a pang of heartache.

The Hydra rubbed its scales against Kong Zhe, then, as if it could no longer hold on, coiled its body and collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

"What happened to Tuan Tuan?"

Kong Zhe turned to look at the sisters on the ground. Noting Tuan Tuan, who lay unconscious in Xue Feifei’s arms, he frowned, knelt down, and placed his fingers against her neck.

"I... I don't know. That woman injected her with something, and then she became like this!" Xue Feifei held Tuan Tuan tightly, her face filled with deep anxiety. She didn't let go even while speaking, and when Kong Zhe tried to get closer, she instinctively flinched.

When she finally saw Kong Zhe step into the safe zone, Xue Feifei had felt a lump in her throat; she had finally held on until this moment. With his return, all her panic, fear, and worry seemed to dissipate instantly, leaving her with the joy of surviving a catastrophe. Furthermore, seeing Xiao Lei behind him, clearly now an Awakened, brought her great relief.

With these two here, Xue Feifei felt immensely secure. She believed that as long as Kong Zhe was here, even if he couldn't defeat the opponents, he would at least be able to lead them to safety. Otherwise, he wouldn't be looking so calm. The only thing that worried her was Tuan Tuan. Since the injection, she hadn't woken up once. Her pallor was beyond that of a normal person; if not for the faint rise and fall of her chest, Xue Feifei would have thought she had been dead for quite some time.

She had a deeply ominous premonition that whatever that woman injected was nothing good. The mere memory of the skull emblem she had seen filled her with an innate terror. She even felt that the substance was like a horrific drug—even if Tuan Tuan were to wake up, she might never escape the shadow it had cast upon her.

Hearing Xue Feifei’s words, Kong Zhe frowned and turned to the man and woman standing not far away, his eyes filled with intense killing intent. What puzzled him, however, was that these two were not Awakened. How could they be so strong as to beat the Hydra into such a state?

Previously, he had assumed some Awakened students from the school had attacked them, but that didn't seem to be the case; the teachers and students were still watching from a distance. Furthermore, judging by Xue Feifei’s tone, their only enemies were these two.

On the open ground before Kong Zhe, traces of the fierce battle remained. The ground looked as if it had been raked by artillery; the snow had long melted, and the once-flat concrete was now pitted and scarred. On this ground, the green-clad Raincoat Woman was clutching her right arm, purging toxins from her body. During the fight with the Hydra, she had once again been infected with snake venom. Even while detoxifying, her gaze flickered toward the young man.

Beside her, the Explosion Man was watching the man with similar uncertainty. It seemed this was the enemy Han Ke had spoken of. To be honest, they hadn't cared much about Han Ke’s petty grievances. When they heard the target was only a Level 5 Awakened, they had merely scoffed. In their eyes, Level 5 was nothing—even if he had leveled up a bit since then, how strong could he be?

Only now, seeing him in person, did they realize he was far from simple.

Awakened typically judge strength based on data, such as a person's level and attack power. But these "Ability Users" were different. They weren't Awakened, so they couldn't see the markers above an Awakened’s head. Though they could use special tools provided by their organization to mimic the scouting abilities of the Awakened, they had long since developed the habit of judging strength by the aura a person naturally exuded. With practice, this method was often more accurate than looking at superficial data.

Now, as they looked at this young man, they could feel a palpable sense of dread—the kind of fear they usually only felt when facing certain elders in their organization. This shocked them, and they no longer dared to underestimate him, watching him with extreme caution.

"Brother Kong, both of these people are Ability Users!"

"Ability Users?" Kong Zhe frowned. Ability Users existed alongside the Awakened in this world? In his three years in the previous life, he had never heard of such a thing!

"That’s right..." Noticing Kong Zhe’s confusion, Hong Ling stepped beside him and whispered, "The woman’s ability is water, and the man’s is explosions. Anything he touches will explode!"

"Oh?" Kong Zhe stroked his chin, then gave a cold laugh and raised his sword.

Seeing the young man draw his weapon, the Explosion Man and the Water Woman immediately went on high alert.

"In that case, I just need to avoid being touched, right?"

As his voice echoed, Kong Zhe’s figure vanished into thin air. The Explosion Man was struck with shock. What kind of speed was this? This was the safe zone! To achieve speed exceeding the human eye's ability to track while unable to use mana—just how high was this guy’s Agility stat?

"Splash!"

Before the Explosion Man could react, the sound of splashing water came from behind him. He spun around, only to see his companion’s translucent body severed in two.

Kong Zhe wiped a water droplet from his face, frowning at the sight. The Raincoat Woman was already beginning to reform. As Hong Ling had said, she was essentially made of water; conventional slashes were ineffective against her. But even the strongest person had a weakness—that was a truth of the New World.

Even if these were Ability Users he had never heard of, they couldn't be invincible. There had to be a way to counter her; he just hadn't found it yet.

While Kong Zhe was deep in thought, his peripheral vision caught several pebbles flying toward him from the direction of the Explosion Man.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of violent explosions erupted where he had been standing, and the reforming Raincoat Woman was blown to pieces once more.

"Did I get him?" the Explosion Man muttered. He didn't care at all about his partner’s safety; they had performed this combo many times. No matter how much damage the Raincoat Woman took from his explosions, she could always reform—it was only a matter of time. That was exactly why the organization had paired them together.

But what made him frown was that despite such a powerful blast, the dangerous aura had not vanished; it hadn't even weakened.

His explosion had missed!

Upon realizing this, the Explosion Man stared intently at the thick cloud of dust, wary of the young man suddenly lunging out.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, a feeling of dread surged from behind him, mere inches away. Instinctively, he threw the pebbles he was holding behind him without even looking.

"Boom!"

A scorching blast of air rushed past him, but the explosion behind him didn't harm him in the slightest. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of a fleeting shadow. The man had been right behind him with his sword raised; if the explosion hadn't forced him back, he would likely have been cleaved in two.

Thinking of this, the Explosion Man broke into a cold sweat. This man was even more formidable than he had imagined.