Let’s rewind to the start of the battle. Warriors Two through Four immediately split from One upon the minister’s command, encircling Tran and Bai Xing.
"Two and Four," Warrior Three—marked "3" on his helmet—leered, "if we capture these girls, think of the fun we could have. The boss only wants them alive. He never said we couldn’t... play with them."
"Heh, brother Three," Four chuckled, eyeing Tran and Bai Xing, "you’ve got a sharp mind for loopholes. I admire that!"
"Don’t push it," Warrior Two cut in.
Three and Four froze. "Two? Are you serious? These prime targets, and you’re not tempted?"
"Hmph." Two straightened up. "The black-haired one’s mine. You two split the other. No arguments."
"What? Have you no shame?!" Four snapped.
"Haha! How about this," Three grinned, "whoever catches them keeps them?"
Watching this exchange, Bai Xing edged closer to Tran. At that moment, Tran’s 175cm frame seemed towering—a lone pillar of safety in the storm.
"What filth are you three spewing?" Tran pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ugly faces are bad enough. Must your minds be rotten too?"
"Heh, sweetheart," Three sneered, "come quietly now. Or you’ll wake up with a headache. Though... your voice sounds a bit rough."
"None of your damn business!" Tran shot back. He couldn’t risk revealing he was male—not yet. The awkwardness with Bai Xing later would be unbearable... if she hadn’t already noticed.
After that civilized retort, Tran slammed his foot down. He rocketed forward like a missile, gray energy rippling around him with crushing force.
"Fast! But how hard can you hit?" Three activated his Superpower instantly. His body swelled, twin massive axes materializing in his grip.
**[Destruction Soul Gang]** (Restricted Drug Enhanced) **S Rank**: Summons the soul of a bloodthirsty general into the user’s body. Power scales with physical resilience, reflexes, and pain tolerance.
In a normal human, this ability barely boosted strength. But Three was a Cyborg—every limb reinforced with metal, his physique several times stronger than an ordinary man’s. The cost? A shortened lifespan.
The general’s soul flooded Three’s body. Killing intent erupted, crashing over Tran and Bai Xing like a tidal wave. Bai Xing collapsed to her knees, overwhelmed. Tran charged through it untouched, closing the distance in a blink.
Shock flashed across Three’s face—how was she unaffected? Instinct screamed danger. He crossed his axes over his chest.
***BOOM!***
Tran’s fist struck without hesitation—smashing straight through the axe heads.
"Heh, girl, who do you think you—" Three’s boast died in his throat. A fist had punched through his sternum, denting inward toward his heart.
He stumbled back, gasping. Only then did he see both axes shattered, holes punched clean through their centers. Even his reinforced chest plate lay in fragments.
"Why run?" Tran examined his unmarked knuckles. His Superpower held up well.
"Damn it! Two! Four! We’ve got a monster here!" Three hurled the broken axe stumps aside, yanking a syringe from his belt. "Activating Destruction Force!" He jammed it into his neck vein.
Two and Four had witnessed Tran’s strike—or rather, the effortless punch that shattered Three’s defenses. They knew they couldn’t replicate that power normally. Without hesitation, they injected themselves too.
Their bodies swelled further, skin darkening to ashen gray. Metallic plating reshaped into armor, shielding vital points.
"Girl!" Three snarled, humiliated. "I’ll break you myself! Witness my true power!" He lunged first, desperate to reclaim his pride.
Tran sidestepped his charge perfectly. But before he could counter—
***THUD!***
Warrior Two had teleported behind him. A single punch sent Tran flying, slamming him deep into the earth.
Seeing their prey downed, Three and Four pounced without mercy. Two, confident the fight was over, turned toward Bai Xing.
"Tran!" Bai Xing screamed, rushing toward the crater.
"Patience, little princess," Two whispered behind her. His strike to her neck dropped her instantly. "A nation’s heir... so fragile."
"Finish this," Two ordered, turning back—only to freeze. Beside Tran’s crater, two new craters had appeared.
"Ow... Seriously?" Tran stood atop a rock garden boulder, rubbing his ribs. After being slammed down, he’d lain still—only for Three and Four to kick him relentlessly. Even with his Superpower shielding him, the pain was blinding. He’d retaliated by summoning twin tornadoes, hurling them skyward. Then, with explosive force, he’d dropped them back down. Hence the new craters.
"Huh?" Tran spotted Bai Xing slung over the shoulder of a hideous-looking man. "Hey, ugly! Put that girl down! Leave her to me!"
"*What* did you say?!" Two roared. Before his transformation, he’d been a dashing, elegant youth! He dropped Bai Xing and charged—forgetting, in his rage, how swiftly Three and Four had fallen.
As Two closed in, Tran spun. His heel cracked against Two’s jaw. The self-proclaimed pretty boy crumpled, blood gushing from his nose.
...
Warrior One witnessed it all: Tran’s flawless spinning kick, the twin craters, the groaning bodies.
"What were those idiots doing? They activated restricted drugs and *still* lost?" Panic clawed at One’s throat. Who could possibly dominate three S Rank Cyborgs?
"Holy crap! There’s a corpse over here!" Tran’s voice cut through the silence. She stared at the female assassin with a punctured neck, then at Mary bleeding on the ground. "Wait—why’s *he* still standing?" She jerked her chin at the remaining four assassins, who shifted uncomfortably. One girl had crushed three S Ranks. Their team had lost two members fighting just one opponent...
"Who are you?" a voice crackled through the open comm device. The minister.
Outside the hot spring, shouts erupted. Hotel staff had finally noticed the chaos.
"Me?" Tran grinned, brushing dust off her sleeves. "Just a high school student."
