Night fell upon the Central Building.
Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the city's nightscape sparkled.
Xuan Hao stood by the window, his stout figure casting a blurry reflection on the glass.
"Mr. Wang, why are you suddenly interested in ancient history?"
His sexy female secretary asked cautiously, holding a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
Today, she had scoured all the major antique bookstores and even visited many private collectors, spending a fortune just to acquire a few seemingly worthless old-era miscellanies.
Xuan Hao didn't turn around, his voice indifferent: "Just do it."
"Money is not an issue. If necessary, you can hire some well-connected Martial Artists."
"Yes, Mr. Wang."
The female secretary dared not ask more, put down the coffee, bowed, and retreated.
The office returned to quiet.
....
Meanwhile, at a certain base.
A massive holographic screen occupied the main part of the wall.
It was divided into dozens of surveillance windows, most showing monitoring footage from different areas of the city, along with some complex data analysis charts.
"You killed Dr. Tang; you won't get away with it."
Rose crossed her arms, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
She was tall and slender, dressed in a tight black combat suit that outlined her agile physique.
On the screen, surveillance footage, repeatedly magnified, noise-reduced, and sharpened countless times, was being played.
The footage came from across the city.
The first frame showed a taxi.
A few seconds later, the scene switched.
The taxi stopped in the city, the driver holding a box. After a brief interaction with a passerby, the passerby left with the box.
The scene switched again.
Although the passersby changed continuously, the center of the surveillance footage always focused on that alloy box.
Soon, the footage froze.
It was a young office worker, wearing glasses, with somewhat messy hair.
"This is the last contact."
Rose's voice held no warmth. "By the way, what is that ancient relic?"
"It's...M-036."
A staff member next to her pushed up his glasses.
"Code-named 'Immortal Severed Palm'. According to the base's archive information, this was unearthed hundreds of years ago from the deep layers of an ancient ruin and has remained in a non-decayed state."
"Why did it take this hand?"
Rose's brows furrowed, her sharp gaze seemingly piercing through the screen.
"Cannot be deduced."
The technician shook his head, his face full of frustration.
The footage continued to play.
The office worker, holding the box, squeezed onto a late-night bus.
He got off at a stop in the city center, merged into the sparse crowd, and then walked into an ordinary apartment building.
The footage ended there.
The target disappeared after entering Building C of Green Apple Garden.
A Martial Artist nearby took over, saying:
"We've already sent people to make contact. It seems they haven't suffered any mental contamination or physical injury, only losing fragmented memories from when they were possessed."
"So, the BOSS has left?"
"That's likely the case."
At this point, the air around them seemed to solidify.
Rose's eyes sharpened. "A nearly traceless transfer, like a ghost."
Everyone sighed helplessly.
After losing Dr. Tang, they felt like they had become blind.
For them, confronting such an existence was still too difficult.
Back then, Dr. Tang had only needed simple contact and probing to understand the BOSS's abilities.
In contrast, they had no clue.
Rose took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation in her heart:
"Investigate everyone who appeared in the video, as well as their colleagues, neighbors... no one can be overlooked!"
"I refuse to believe it can leave no trace at all!"
"Yes!" The team members responded in unison.
"Captain Rose..."
A Martial Artist hesitated, then said: "Our only clue right now is the Immortal Severed Palm inside that alloy box. The BOSS seems to place particular importance on it?"
"Could this be its weakness? Or rather, its core?"
"We can't rule out that possibility."
Rose said in a low voice: "In any case, no clue can be overlooked. I will apply to headquarters to first clarify the information about that Immortal Severed Palm."
"Rumble--!!!"
As her words fell, a sudden loud noise came.
They heard the heavy alloy blast door vibrate violently, and the entire room shook fiercely!
The alarm instantly blared, and red lights flashed madly.
"Enemy attack!!!"
The guard at the door roared!
Everyone immediately entered combat mode, vigilantly staring at the blast door!
"Boom!"
Another even more terrifying bang!
The alloy blast door, strong enough to withstand cannon fire, had a huge deep pit sunken in the center of its panel, and the fixing bolts on the edges instantly flew off.
The third sound!
Metal tearing, an ear-piercing roar!
The heavy blast door was ripped open, the wall collapsed, stirring up thick smoke.
Amidst the swirling dust, a figure emerged.
As everyone was on alert, a tall and slender figure, as if strolling leisurely, slowly walked out from the smoke.
It was an extremely handsome young man.
He wore a black trench coat, his collar casually open.
"Who are you?"
Someone asked.
The young man did not answer, a playful smile on his face, his eyes like knives, sweeping over the heavily armed crowd.
"Tsk... it seems my talkative elder brother is really dead?"
The young man spoke, his voice clear and pleasant.
His gaze finally landed on Rose, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening, revealing his white teeth:
"Then... who did it?"
"Who exactly are you?!"
The other team members were both shocked and furious, demanding in sharp tones.
"Me?" The young man snorted coldly, and a terrifying Aura, like a collapsing mountain, erupted from him!
"Hum--!"
The air seemed to solidify instantly.
A heavy pressure, like a tangible tide, instantly engulfed the entire room.
Several weaker Martial Artists grunted, their faces instantly pale, their legs trembling uncontrollably, almost collapsing to the ground.
Even Rose felt her breathing seize.
"You lot?"
The young man paced forward, and the heavy pressure intensified with each step.
He cast a contemptuous gaze over the few team members who were barely able to stand. "Are you even worthy of knowing who I am?"
"Do you know where this is?"
A hot-tempered Martial Artist roared, forcing himself against the pressure, about to make a move.
"Stop!"
Rose spoke to stop him.
Her voice carried an unprecedented solemnity, her eyes fixed on the young man. "Everyone, don't move. He is... Tang Zhan!"
This name was like a stone thrown into an ice lake, instantly freezing everyone's movements and anger. In the eyes of several team members, there was only disbelieving horror.
Tang Zhan, Dr. Tang's younger brother!
In Martial Artist circles, he was a legendary existence.
At only twenty-three years old, he was already an A-level martial artist.
His personality was eccentric and violent, his actions unrestrained, and his strength was unfathomable.
But because of his personality, he had once attacked a teammate and was expelled from the base by Dr. Tang.
"You know me? Very good."
Tang Zhan's gaze returned to Rose, the playful smile receding somewhat.
"Where is it?"
He walked to Rose's side, his gaze falling on the monitor.
Rose was silent for a moment, then threw him the archive about the BOSS and the tracking brief.
Tang Zhan took the documents and quickly scanned them.
When he saw the line confirming Dr. Tang's sacrifice, the fingers gripping the paper suddenly tightened, and a fierce Killing Intent exploded from him!
The documents instantly turned to dust in his hand.
"A bunch of useless people."
Tang Zhan's voice was cold, carrying an anger suppressed to the extreme.
He no longer looked at Rose or anyone else, turned and walked away, his cold voice reaching everyone's ears:
"You continue tracking."
"I'm going to kill it!"
....