Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 115: Chapter 97: What, You’re Not Convinced?

Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team Headquarters.

Below the ring.

Upon hearing Li Chang’an’s words, the members of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team stopped their discussion. They all turned to him, their faces masks of astonishment, thinking they must have misheard.

’All of us together aren’t a match for him?’

’And he’s arrogant enough to say he’ll kill Charles with his own hands?’

’Has he gone insane?’

Clearly, both Li Chang’an’s arrogant claim that all of them together were no match for him and his insane declaration that he would kill Charles personally had left the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team members utterly stunned.

They never imagined such a young boy could say such outrageous things.

After a long moment, the man with the mechanical prosthetics couldn’t help but roar with laughter. “Kid, do you have any idea what you’re saying?”

“Setting aside the fact that I could punch a hole right through a wet-behind-the-ears punk like you, let’s talk about this business of killing Charles. If we were to leak that information, your corpse would probably be tossed into some nameless trash can in Night City within three days!”

Li Chang’an slowly walked before the crowd and leaped directly into the ring. His gaze fell upon the man with the mechanical prosthetics as he smiled. “Since you’re so confident, you can come and try me right now. That pile of junk you’re wearing couldn’t block a single punch of mine, even if you pushed its output to the absolute limit.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “As for me wanting to kill Charles… do you really think Charles doesn’t know? If you want to spread it around, then go ahead. I don’t care, and Charles doesn’t care. But I know you won’t, because you hate Charles too, don’t you?!”

As he spoke, he swept a contemptuous glance over the dozen or so members of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team present.

’Without a doubt, the simplest and most effective way to deal with a defiant bunch like this is to beat them into submission with my fists.’

Seeing that Li Chang’an was serious, the man with the mechanical prosthetics, who was already in the ring, stood up. He reattached the arm he had taken off earlier and cracked his neck. “Heh, you’re an interesting kid. Since you’re so confident, let’s see what’s tougher—your mouth, or my fists!”

With that, he gave Li Chang’an no more chance to speak. A massive amount of kinetic energy charged through his prosthetics, and he lunged at Li Chang’an like an agile cheetah.

When he was less than half a meter away, the man’s right arm surged with power. A Mantis Blade, gleaming with a cold, blue light, sprang from his forearm and slashed toward Li Chang’an’s neck.

The expressions on the faces of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team members present didn’t change much. Even Melissa, who had previously said she could agree to Li Chang’an being Captain, now kept her mouth shut.

Every member of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team knew that Li Chang’an had crossed a line when he called Slavi’s cybernetics a pile of junk.

Slavi was already fuming from his earlier loss to the muscular man.

And now, after being provoked and humiliated by this reckless kid, Slavi was undoubtedly burning with rage. At this point, even if they wanted to stop him, he wouldn’t be able to control his fury.

Of course, in reality, no one wanted to stop him.

The Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team was one of the most powerful violent institutions in Night City.

Anyone who made a name for themselves here was not just a genius among geniuses or the elite of the elite, but also a desperado who constantly lived on the edge.

Even if Li Chang’an was the Crown Prince sent by headquarters, if he truly pissed them off, they wouldn’t hesitate to use lethal force!

…

Seeing Slavi’s Mantis Blade less than half a meter from his neck, Li Chang’an not only showed no intention of dodging, but actually took a step forward.

“CLICK…”

It was just one step, but it was as if time had frozen.

All the spectators saw was Li Chang’an take a single step forward. They couldn’t perceive how he actually moved; his figure simply flickered and vanished from sight.

By the time he reappeared, he was already right in front of Slavi.

Slavi clearly hadn’t expected Li Chang’an’s speed to be so terrifying. He was even more surprised that instead of retreating, Li Chang’an had actively closed the distance. By the time Li Chang’an appeared before him, Slavi’s forward-lunging body couldn’t overcome its own inertia.

Li Chang’an stood on his left foot, his right leg raised high like a whip, and then, with a speed and power that no one present could have imagined, it viciously lashed out and struck Slavi’s metal sternum.

“BANG…”

“BOOM!”

Like a rag doll, Slavi was sent flying for dozens of meters by Li Chang’an’s kick. He soared clear of the ring, and countless mechanical parts scattered across the floor.

Li Chang’an retracted his right leg and said flatly, “Anyone else not convinced? You can come up. Or you can all just come at me together and save me some time!”

Below the ring, there was dead silence.

Every member of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team present was a death-defying desperado, the sharpest blades of this chaotic city.

Their combat experience and perception were both top-notch, the best of the best.

And yet, none of them had clearly seen the details of Li Chang’an’s move. Now, they even had to rely on their internal smart cores to retroactively calculate and capture traces of his movement and power exertion.

According to their brain chips’ post-fight analysis, Li Chang’an’s body was completely organic, showing no signs of any cybernetic implants.

Of course, he might have a smart chip in his brain; it was just that their own smart cores weren’t a high enough Level to detect the one inside the Yunxiao Group’s Crown Prince.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was, if Li Chang’an had no cybernetics, then the astonishing combat prowess he had just displayed came from being a Transcendent.

The team members activated their smart chips again, this time to capture the traces of Extraordinary particles that had been released into the area.

Based on the captured Extraordinary traces, Li Chang’an should be a Third-rank Transcendent.

——And that was the crucial point.

Many of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team members present were also Third-rank Transcendent.

Yet even though they were also Third-rank Transcendent, not a single one of them could track Li Chang’an’s movements!!!

’What does that mean?’

’It means that while Li Chang’an only unleashed the power of a Third-rank Transcendent, his control over his body and his Extraordinary Power is strong to an unimaginable degree!!!’

’Otherwise, there’s no way that the other Tier Three Transcendent in the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team would have been unable to clearly see his movements.’

After analyzing for a long time, they finally came to such an incredible conclusion.

How could such a mind-boggling conclusion not leave them utterly shaken?

Among the crowd, only Melissa, their squad leader, and the muscular man who had fought Slavi earlier managed to maintain a calm facade.

Melissa watched Li Chang’an quietly without speaking.

The muscular man’s eyes, however, revealed a fanatical battle lust.

The muscular man pushed aside his comrades and leaped directly into the ring. Built like a small mountain, his powerful strides made the very ground beneath his feet tremble.

He walked up to Li Chang’an and said eagerly, “My name is Fan Si. I’m a Transcendent, too—a Tier Four Extraordinary. My evolutionary path is physical enhancement and Magnetic Control. I wonder, can you give me a real surprise?!”

Fan Si was clearly a battle junkie.

After witnessing Li Chang’an’s astonishing display of power, his fighting spirit was instantly ignited, and he charged straight into the ring.

He loosened up his body, his bones cracking and popping. Once he confirmed Li Chang’an was ready, he pushed off with his feet and charged forward like a giant bear.

Seeing Fan Si’s absolute confidence in his own physique, a sneer touched Li Chang’an’s lips.

Without retreating or dodging, he put his whole body into motion and charged right at Fan Si.

Under the horrified gazes of all the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team members, the two completely mismatched bodies collided.

“CRACK…”

There was no earth-shattering noise.

The crowd could only hear a sound from the ring like bones shattering, and then they saw Fan Si flying backward even faster than he had charged in.

This time, it wasn’t just the other team members. Even Captain Melissa’s pupils contracted sharply!

’Fan Si, the Extraordinary Evolver with the strongest physique in the entire Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team, was just sent flying in a head-on collision by that slender boy!?’

’What kind of monster has Charles raised?’

’If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed such a terrifyingly young Transcendent could exist.’

As everyone stared in utter disbelief, Li Chang’an nonchalantly patted his own shoulder. He then looked down upon them all, shaking his head with a sigh. “Too weak. Just too weak. A bunch of guys so fragile they’d break from a single touch… and you dare to call yourselves the sharpest blades of Night City?”

If Li Chang’an had said those words a few minutes ago, the members of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team would have erupted, ready to tear him limb from limb.

But now, as they looked at Fan Si on the ground with his shattered shoulder and Slavi with his caved-in chest, the team members could only stare at each other, at a complete loss for a rebuttal.

Seeing that no one else dared to challenge him, Li Chang’an broke into a smile. “Listen up. From now on, I’m the general director of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team. And I’m talking to every single one of you. If you’re ever this useless and pathetic again, don’t even bother staying. I’ll find you a job mining coal. Go dig coal!”

Li Chang’an’s tone was outrageously arrogant, and he openly mocked them as useless trash only fit for mining coal.

And yet, the supposedly defiant members of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team didn’t dare make a peep.

It couldn’t be helped. Two of their members had been easily defeated by a ten-year-old boy, and the rest of them didn’t even have the courage to step into the ring. Being mocked to their faces was only to be expected.

After he finished his mocking tirade, Li Chang’an slowly swept his gaze over the crowd and spoke again, “Next, I will expand the roster of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team and create a long-term special training plan for you…”

“If anyone’s not convinced, you can come find me anytime. Just like you, I’m the kind of guy who likes to let his fists do the talking!”

With that said, he ignored the members of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team, turned, and stepped out of the ring. Following an AI’s guidance, he headed back to the general director’s exclusive residence within the base.

Watching his departing back, the members of the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team finally snapped back to their senses.

Someone said with lingering fear, “What the hell was that? We’ve got a little monster in our base!”

Someone else looked toward their leader, Melissa, and asked in a probing tone, “Captain, what do we do now?”

A profound look filled Melissa’s eyes. After a long silence, she glanced at the man who had asked and said flatly, “What, you have a problem with it? If you’re not convinced, I can call him back right now and let you spar with him alone!”

Hearing this, the man flinched and didn’t dare say another word.

Someone who could go head-to-head with Fan Si physically and win with ease, someone so fast that Slavi—with his Synaptic Nervous System—was sent flying by a kick before he could even react…

A monster like that stood among the small handful at the very apex of the pyramid, even when compared to all the Transcendent in the world.

For a nobody from the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Team like him to challenge a young monster who could likely rank among the world’s best? What was the difference between that and having a death wish?

…