Chapter 31: The Provoked White-Haired Man
Ten minutes later, a loud boom echoed from within the research institute.
In the corridor near the central control room, the walls on both sides had been violently demolished. Not just this corridor, but dozens of surrounding laboratories had also been caught in the chaos. Su Xiao and Accelerator had changed their battlefield multiple times, nearly leveling the entire research institute. Sparks flew everywhere inside, the building on the verge of collapse, with over a dozen holes blasted through the ceiling.
On the second floor of the institute, several white lines suddenly appeared on a metal wall. The wall was slashed apart, and Su Xiao stepped out from behind the shattered remains. His clothes were noticeably damaged, the sleeve on his right arm completely torn, revealing a slightly swollen and reddened arm.
"Two hundred fifty-fourth reflection. No sign of diminishing force in the reflection."
Su Xiao looked at Accelerator not far away. The latter mostly stood still, hands in his pockets. From start to finish, Accelerator had only actively attacked Su Xiao three times, none of which dealt any substantial damage. After that, Accelerator stopped initiating attacks.
Was Accelerator hostile? Of course not—he was constantly thinking about how to kill Su Xiao. The reason he stood still was to conserve his stamina.
Accelerator had already guessed Su Xiao’s tactic: a war of attrition. At first, Accelerator found it laughable—this enemy thought he could exhaust him through direct attacks, causing brain fatigue from overusing his superpower. It was a ridiculous approach. He had withstood the full force of a military assault before.
But a few minutes later, Accelerator couldn’t laugh anymore. Each of Su Xiao’s slashes was heavy and powerful. To reflect such attacks, Accelerator had to perform extensive calculations. A few dozen times were fine, but after hundreds of calculations, his forehead began to ache.
Now, Accelerator felt his temples throbbing—the aftermath of continuous high-intensity calculations in a short time.
*Clang.*
The long blade in Su Xiao’s hand slashed toward Accelerator again. Not reflecting meant death; reflecting meant further brain fatigue.
*Boom~*
Su Xiao was sent flying by a tremendous force, his arm already numb.
With a crash, Su Xiao slammed into a wall. But the next moment, he shot out of the large hole in the wall like a cannonball, charging at Accelerator again.
Same slashing force, different angle. Su Xiao had swung his blade 256 times like this, each time with full strength. His biggest worry was that his right arm would give out.
As expected, the blade’s edge was repelled the moment it touched Accelerator’s skin. Su Xiao hadn’t activated Cyan Steel Shadow Energy—without being able to harm the enemy, the energy couldn’t invade their body. Besides, Cyan Steel Shadow Energy was a form of energy that could likely be reflected by Accelerator.
Su Xiao’s strategy was to continuously attack Accelerator, giving him no chance to catch his breath.
"You lowlife scum, die!"
Accelerator kicked a metal plate into the air. This stationary alloy plate shot toward Su Xiao at high speed.
A flash of blade light, and the plate was sliced into a dozen pieces, flying past Su Xiao. Expressionless, he charged at Accelerator again.
Rush forward, slash, get repelled, repeat. Su Xiao was like a robot following programmed commands, silently repeating the process. Nothing could stop him—unless he died.
When Su Xiao delivered his 467th slash, Dragon-Slashing Flash’s durability had dropped to 32/98. It proved his long-term investment hadn’t been wasted. He himself was nearly falling apart from the recoil, but Dragon-Slashing Flash was perfectly fine.
*Boom~*
Still repelled, but Su Xiao had figured out a pattern in Accelerator’s ability usage. Accelerator tended to deflect enemy attacks in the exact opposite direction, maximizing damage to the attacker.
After flying a long distance, Su Xiao landed in a half-crouch, spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva, and charged at Accelerator again.
"Get the hell away from me!"
Accelerator’s eyes were bloodshot. He was thoroughly provoked. Spreading his arms outward and leaning back, he altered the vector of the surrounding air.
*Boom!*
A powerful kinetic force radiated outward—a shockwave of air. Su Xiao, mid-charge, was blasted away, crashing into a metal pillar with a clang. The meter-thick alloy pillar was bent out of shape by the impact.
"He should be dead by now... Hah, hah..."
Thick dust rose within the institute. Accelerator’s arms hung limp as he gasped for air. Each of Su Xiao’s slashes carried immense force, one after another, giving him no respite.
Accelerator had never used his ability at such high intensity continuously. Even when surrounded by an army, he hadn’t faced this kind of pressure.
After this fight, Accelerator understood one thing: the army’s relentless bombardment was nothing compared to the attack intensity of this enemy.
Before the dust settled, a gleaming long blade cut through it. Dragon-Slashing Flash’s edge was intact—as long as its durability was above 10 points, it wouldn’t chip.
As Accelerator reflected the slash, he took a few steps back. Those few steps triggered a severe chain reaction.
Just as Su Xiao was about to charge again, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Prompt: Willpower check passed. The enemy will suffer the debuff effect of Aura Release. Stamina consumption +27%, physical defense -15, and an 8% chance of skill release failure.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao smiled. Blood seeped through his white teeth.
He sheathed Dragon-Slashing Flash. An energy shield enveloped his arms, forming a protective layer close to his skin.
The tactic changed. The previous strategy hadn’t worn Accelerator down, but it had shaken his will. The passive effect of Aura Release had taken hold.
Su Xiao was puzzled—why had Accelerator’s will wavered? But he didn’t consider that facing a silent, expressionless enemy who kept charging, slashing at vital points without any change in expression even when injured, would naturally unsettle anyone. Especially when Accelerator had been using his superpower at high intensity, the strain on his brain was immense.
Su Xiao charged at Accelerator for the 469th time—unarmed!
Accelerator watched Su Xiao’s steady steps, full of confusion. Didn’t this enemy get tired? Hadn’t he charged nearly a thousand times? And each time, he endured the reflection. Was the enemy made of iron? No, even if he were forged from titanium alloy, he should have deformed after so many reflections.
Su Xiao was far from comfortable. Even with Bubu Wang’s support and the recovery from No. 1 Potion, his health was only at 26%. Pain throbbed throughout his body. If Accelerator held out for another five minutes, he would die—definitely.
Su Xiao’s steps were heavy as he charged, his breathing labored. His rapid heartbeat pounded in his ears like a drum.
In battle, Su Xiao had only one thought: kill the enemy. Missions, rank promotions—those were concerns for after victory. To him, battle was battle. Either the enemy dies, or he does. Pure and simple.
*Slap.* Su Xiao’s forward momentum stopped. His feet planted on the ground, sliding forward about twenty centimeters—all within his calculations.
Lowering his body, bending his right arm, Su Xiao threw a straight punch at Accelerator’s face.
Seeing Su Xiao charge unarmed, Accelerator was surprised, then a cruel smile curled his lips. He seemed to envision the enemy’s hand twisting, collapsing in agony—no, given the enemy’s personality, he probably wouldn’t scream.
Su Xiao’s fist touched the skin of Accelerator’s chin. A force surged at his knuckles, pushing his arm back.
Su Xiao remained standing, not repelled by Accelerator’s ability. Just before his fist made contact, he had withdrawn the force of his punch. Accelerator’s reflection had a habit: adjusting the reflected kinetic energy to 1.4 to 1.9 times the attacker’s original force.
Thus, this weak punch only pushed Su Xiao’s arm back a bit, causing no counter-damage.