Chapter 1566 — A Bittersweet Moment

"And what about Zero One?" Da Luozi asked hastily.

"Leave him be — let him bring about his own doom. Don't wait around there anymore, lest Zero One drag you down with him. Come back at once!" An Jianwen told Da Luozi: "Zero One's value is all but spent; he has no further use to us. Let the police take him!"

"Understood!" Da Luozi replied at once. On reflection, it was true enough — the sole purpose of this fake Wei Zhao had been to frame Wei Zhao, but with the real Wei Zhao showing up at the same time, that goal could no longer be achieved. Abandoning him, letting him bear all the crimes he had committed before, was surely the best option!

After all, this Zero One was nothing more than a test subject. If Dr. Yin wanted to manufacture one, he could whip up another in a matter of minutes — so his death would be no great loss!

After hanging up the phone, An Jianwen shook his head and muttered to himself: "I never expected Wei Zhao to turn up at this hour. Weren't he off on some far-away trip? What a coincidence of a homecoming! Let's hope Zero One deals him a grievous blow!"

An Jianwen was far too clear-headed to imagine that Zero One could actually kill Wei Zhao! True, after swallowing the capsule and triggering his burst of power, Zero One's strength could soar to the peak of the late Xuan Tier — but it could only be sustained for about five minutes. And Wei Zhao's current strength was at the peak of the mid Xuan Tier. Even if the surge-powered Zero One could edge Wei Zhao out, the truth was that an internal-style master at the peak of the mid Xuan Tier and an external-style master at the peak of the late Xuan Tier differed by only a single tier in practice, not two as the labels might suggest. Moreover, Wei Zhao was the sort who could regularly break through tiers to defeat opponents after powering up — so An Jianwen had never for a moment believed Zero One could take him down.

If Zero One could deal Wei Zhao a grievous blow within those five minutes of his surge, that would count as a resounding success for him.

Da Luozi secretly started the engine and slipped away among the detouring traffic, while over here, Wei Zhao and Zero One stood locked in a standoff!

Zero One's right hand was gripped fast in Wei Zhao's, unable to budge even an inch! A flash of savage fury passed through Zero One's eyes — his right hand pinned, he swung his left hand at Wei Zhao with all his might!

"Squad Leader Wei, watch out!" Wu Chengtian had regained consciousness by now. Though still weak, seeing Wei Zhao's return filled his heart with relief, and his injuries seemed far less severe than before!

But Wu Chengtian knew all too well what Zero One was capable of. Even his own Iron Hand technique at the early Xuan Tier was no match for this Zero One! Bear in mind — Iron Hand was an extraordinarily domineering style of internal cultivation; taken to its ultimate limit, it could shatter even the Golden Bell Shield!

And this Zero One's hand-to-hand skill was on par with the Iron Hand technique. So Wu Chengtian feared Wei Zhao might come out the worse for it, and quickly called out a warning.

Even without Wu Chengtian's warning, Wei Zhao had already sensed something amiss in this Zero One. The man possessed monstrous strength — he could feel it through the right hand he held. Had Wei Zhao not undergone rigorous killer training before taking up internal cultivation, gaining a considerable edge in raw power, he might never have been able to hold this thing down!

For according to Wei Zhao's perception, this Zero One already possessed external-style power at the peak of the late Xuan Tier! What a level that was — no wonder Wu Chengtian and Qiu Lingshan were both no match for him!

Had Wei Zhao not broken through to the late Xuan Tier in one leap, with Zhang Naipao's "assistance," right before taking part in the trial, he would have found it quite a struggle to handle the man before him. Even if he ultimately won, he would have suffered severe internal injuries!

So after Wu Chengtian's warning, Wei Zhao grew even more cautious. The instant Zero One swung his left hand, Wei Zhao moved too — he thrust his right hand forward as well, but did not clash with it head-on. Instead, he condensed a tiny energy bomb in his right palm. The consequences of that energy bomb were carefully calculated: it would blast Zero One flying, cripple his left hand, and cause him no serious bodily harm beyond that!

But that was more than enough! Wei Zhao could see that Zero One's advantage lay in his limbs and hand-to-hand skill, so crippling his left hand first to strip away some of his strength was the right move. As for the recoil of the energy bomb damaging his own right hand — that could be negligible, since Wei Zhao could heal himself with true qi in the blink of an eye. After all, the affected area was too small.

Through this trial, Wei Zhao's skill at condensing energy bombs had grown ever more refined — he could essentially say he had mastered it at will. Whatever outcome he desired, he could gauge it with near-perfect accuracy.

Of course, Wei Zhao could also have used an enormous energy bomb to blow the Zero One before him into a cripple. But he did not do so, for two reasons: first, there was no time — he had no moment to spare to condense a large energy bomb; and second, he had the college entrance exam to sit in a short while, so he could not afford to be injured!

An energy bomb could wound the enemy, but it could also harm oneself — so under normal circumstances, Wei Zhao would not use one unless absolutely necessary.

With a thunderous CRACK, what looked like a clash of palms was nothing of the sort — Zero One's palm struck the energy bomb itself, never once touching Wei Zhao's hand!

In the next instant, Wei Zhao relaxed his grip on Zero One's right hand, and Zero One was blasted backward, sent flying through the air!

Although Zero One possessed external-style power at the peak of the late Xuan Tier, it had been forcibly enhanced — his technique was far from mature, and certainly nothing like genuine, cultivated strength. What was more, Zero One had no thoughts of his own; he could not assess the situation or make tactical judgments, but fought purely on blind, subconscious instinct. So an unstable stance that sent him flying was entirely expected.

"Ah!" Qiu Lingshan and Wu Chengtian both exclaimed in delighted astonishment, their bodies trembling with excitement. Wei Zhao was incredible! Before, it had always been Zero One sending them flying — and the moment Wei Zhao returned, a single seemingly effortless palm strike sent Zero One sailing through the air!

Over on the other side, Shen Yushu, Gu Mengyao, and Tang Yun were equally thrilled. The instant Wei Zhao came back, he unleashed his full might!

"Captain Arrow, you can do it! Captain Arrow, you're the best! Xiaoshu loves you the most!" Shen Yushu cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and cheered at Wei Zhao.

"This feeling — it's so reassuring. It's like he's come back, and none of the troubles matter anymore..." Tang Yun said with emotion.

"Yes... ever since that time, when Wei Zhao rescued me at the bank, I've thought he was quite something..." Gu Mengyao finally blurted out the truth without intending to.

"Heh..." Tang Yun smiled, a flicker of sourness darting through her heart, but she said nothing more.

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