CHAPTER 59: 57, TEN STEPS KILL

While Da Xiang and Wang Juan were locked in a fierce battle with the men in black suits, Lu Lin had fallen into an unprecedented crisis.

Zhang Haibo seemed able to predict Lu Lin’s every thought. Every time Lu Lin barely managed to dodge, Zhang Haibo’s fists or knees would accurately intercept him.

Although Lu Lin’s current realm was not much different from Zhang Haibo’s, his Combat Power was far inferior. Even with his Evasion ability, he could only barely withstand the attacks, with no hope of counterattacking.

"Uncle Zhang, kill him! Kill him!" Wang Shao shouted loudly from the side.

"Don’t worry." Zhang Haibo, naturally, couldn’t let Wang Shao dictate his actions. In fact, he had come here on a mission assigned by Wang Lihe: to test Lu Lin’s true capabilities and see if he was genuinely a genius.

The kind of genius the Black Shark Society sought wasn’t necessarily someone with exceptional Talent or a high initial Star Vein Refinement Degree. Instead, they required individuals with resilient minds and strong endurance. Otherwise, under the "help" of The God of Black Shark, they might succumb to addiction and become mere living dead.

So far, Zhang Haibo was quite satisfied with Lu Lin’s performance. Having only Awakened about ten days ago, his Star Vein Refinement Degree couldn’t have exceeded 10 percent. To last this long against him was rather impressive.

However, Zhang Haibo wanted to apply more pressure, to see where Lu Lin’s limits truly lay.

"Kill!" Zhang Haibo launched an elbow attack.

Lu Lin had just used an Evasion, and he was caught at that vulnerable juncture—his old strength spent, new strength yet to gather. He wanted to avoid it, but his body wouldn’t obey.

Lu Lin felt extremely frustrated. The maneuver felt as if his opponent had merely held out an elbow, and he himself had foolishly blundered right onto it.

"Stone Skin!" Lu Lin once again covered his head with Stone Skin.

BANG.

A dull thud echoed.

Lu Lin shook his head, one hand on a table to keep himself from falling. He glanced at Da Xiang and Wang Juan, who were also trapped in a desperate struggle. He knew he had to find a way to break this deadlock.

With a casual grab, Lu Lin snatched an iron spike from a nearby table.

This... Inspiration flashed through Lu Lin’s mind.

Earlier that afternoon at home, he had practiced six of the force delivery techniques from the "Ten Steps to Chop" manual he’d bought from Wealth Street.

Right now, without a knife or sword, he didn’t know if this iron spike could unleash the power of Ten Steps Kill.

Seeing Zhang Haibo attack again, Lu Lin gritted his teeth. At this moment, regardless of whether it would work or not, he had to risk it all.

I’ll strike! Lu Lin secretly channeled the Star Power within his body, imbuing the iron spike with a layer of it.

As Zhang Haibo’s palm descended, Lu Lin saw his chance.

WHOOSH!

Zhang Haibo’s four fingers were severed cleanly at the middle. Blood gushed out. Lu Lin, having landed the hit, quickly dodged to avoid being spattered.

Zhang Haibo cried out in pain. He looked down and saw, to his utter disbelief, that Lu Lin had actually severed his fingers. "You..."

Just a moment ago, Zhang Haibo had been toying with Lu Lin, as calm and composed as a cat playing with a mouse, completely at ease. But in the next second, a lapse in attention had allowed Lu Lin to succeed.

"Ahh! You brat, I’ll kill you!" Zhang Haibo clamped down on the stumps of his fingers and roared.

For an experienced Star Core Warrior like him, he could easily take down Lu Lin even with one hand incapacitated. But he didn’t realize that Lu Lin, now armed, was a completely different opponent.

Just as Zhang Haibo lunged forward again, Lu Lin slashed out with a backhand.

He carved a two-inch-long, finger-deep wound on Zhang Haibo’s arm. That was only because Zhang Haibo had dodged quickly; otherwise, half his arm would have been lopped off.

"You..." Zhang Haibo stumbled back half a step, his face etched with disbelief.

Wang Shao, standing nearby, was even more dumbfounded. This is impossible! Lu Lin is just a recently Awakened student; he hasn’t even attended a single day of University. How could he possibly injure Zhang Haibo?

Wang Shao sensed things were going terribly wrong. His legs trembled as he began to inch backward. He was used to taking these company security guards to nightclubs, casually beating people up. He never imagined that one day they would fail to provide him with any sense of security, that even Zhang Haibo would be wounded twice in a row by Lu Lin.

He wasn’t afraid when it was others’ blood spilling, but if it were his own later...

Wang Shao retreated step by step.

Zhang Haibo, too, was having thoughts of retreating. This Lu Lin fellow was a bit too uncanny. He didn’t seem like a young man fresh out of High School at all.

Zhang Haibo thought, He cut off four of my fingers and acts as if nothing happened, completely unfazed! This young man has definitely seen blood before; he absolutely has.

Seeing Zhang Haibo falter, Lu Lin felt a surge of energy. He had to press his advantage while his opponent was injured and decisively secure his victory.

Zhang Haibo retreated a step.

Lu Lin advanced a step.

Zhang Haibo retreated another step.

Lu Lin advanced again.

"Kid, what do you want? This time, I admit defeat," Zhang Haibo said, looking at his severed fingers, now under Lu Lin’s foot, his heart aching at the sight. Those can’t be crushed! If they are, I won’t be able to reattach them. Even with how advanced medical technology is now, they can’t just create new fingers for me out of thin air!

"Admit defeat?" Lu Lin said. "First, tell your men to stop."

Lu Lin turned his head and saw that Da Xiang and Wang Juan were also nearing their limit. After all, both of them were ordinary people. Even if Wang Juan was a bit feistier, they were no match for these security guards, who were seasoned fighters.

"Alright, stop! Everyone stop! Stop fucking fighting!" Zhang Haibo yelled.

Those security guards in black suits, seeing that even Zhang Haibo had been subdued, didn’t dare to continue. They obediently backed off.

"Wang Shao!" Lu Lin suddenly shouted, seeing Wang Shao already running towards his black Luxury Supercar.

Though terrified, Wang Shao quickly fumbled with the car’s roof hatch and leaped inside.

"Don’t you fucking run!" Lu Lin roared, and the iron spike in his hand, imbued with Star Power, flew towards Wang Shao.

"Close it! Close it! Hurry up and close the damn door!" Wang Shao shrieked. Looking at the canopy—which he used to brag could descend slowly and majestically—Wang Shao was on the verge of tears from sheer panic. Why the hell did I buy such a car just to show off?! This is too dangerous!

BANG!

The iron spike struck the closing hatch and bounced off, clattering to the ground.

Wang Shao’s car door sealed shut. Without a backward glance, he sped away.

Lu Lin shook his head. Wang Shao had escaped this time. Knowing his personality, he would definitely cause more trouble later. I was hoping to scare Wang Shao for good this one time, so we wouldn’t have any more trouble. Looks like it’ll have to wait for next time.

He turned back to face Zhang Haibo. "Zhang..."

"Zhang Haibo... Lu Shao, just call me Mr. Zhang," Zhang Haibo interjected quickly, a fawning smile plastered on his face as he sensed Lu Lin’s intention.

No choice, Zhang Haibo thought. Lu Lin is a genius. I’ve seen too many geniuses in my life, and none of them were people I could contend with. Bowing your head and admitting your mistakes to a genius isn’t shameful. In this world, only those who lived on could be considered true geniuses.

"Well..." Lu Lin scratched his head, unsure what to say. Should I say something like, "I’m stronger than you, so don’t mess with me again"? Words like that feel so empty when spoken. Forget it. I’ll just give him an open-ended prompt and see how he responds.

"You... know what to do, right?"

"Yes, yes, I know," Zhang Haibo nodded repeatedly. "Lu Shao, I’m truly sorry about today. Please allow me to make amends. My men were too heavy-handed and injured your friends. Medical expenses, compensation for emotional distress, lost wages, damage to their reputation—I’ll cover all of it."

"Lu Shao, should I transfer the money directly to you, or...?"

Lu Lin nodded, gesturing for Zhang Haibo to transfer the money to Da Xiang and Wang Juan.

Zhang Haibo transferred one hundred thousand to each of them, then looked at Lu Lin. "Lu Shao, I apologize again. From now on, we’ll be sure to watch ourselves."

"Also, when I get back, I’ll teach that little whelp Wang Shao a good lesson for you. I’ll make sure he never dares to provoke you again."

Lu Lin waved his hand dismissively, saying nothing more, and let them leave.