CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 294 - ABSOLUTE WRATH

Yunfeng stood up abruptly, the rush of power coursing through his limbs like lightning. He strode to the window and pushed the curtain aside. The sky outside was painted in deep gold and amber, the sun hanging low, casting long, stretched shadows across the desolate ground. That light—the final golden hour—meant one thing.

It was time.

His jaw clenched as the sunlight streaked across his face, highlighting the determined glint in his eyes.

He reached under the bed and pulled out the cloth sack he had hidden earlier—the survelance bugs. He didn’t even hesitate. With a sharp inhale, Yunfeng summoned the heat to his fingertips, small blue sparks dancing over his palm. He dropped the sack to the ground and pressed his hand to it.

The cloth burst into flames.

The bugs inside clicked and writhed as they were reduced to smoking ash.

Across the way, the soldiers stationed in the opposite houses were still relaxed—laughing, some cleaning weapons, others playing cards in plain view through the half-shuttered windows. It was a false peace. They didn’t think their prey could bite back.

But they noticed when something changed.

One soldier—sharp-eyed, older—froze mid-sip of his tea. "Sir... many of the bug feeds just went black."

His comrade narrowed his eyes, turning the scope of his sniper rifle toward the house. He adjusted the focus until Yunfeng’s window came into view.

Yunfeng’s eyes were sharp, piercing straight through the glass.

The soldier tensed. "Shit—he’s looking straight at us. His eyes—they’re clear. I think he can see us...."

Another man sprang to his feet. "Something’s wrong. Inform the headquarters, now!"

They turned—

—but never finished the motion.

Everything froze.

All at once, like time had been sliced clean through the middle.

Hands suspended midair.

A soldier mid-shout, mouth open but unmoving.

The entire squad—locked in place like mannequins.

A still, blue haze coated the ground outside.

Under the house’s shadow, crouched casually with one knee bent, Zei stood with a half-eaten popsicle in his mouth, breath turning to mist in the suddenly freezing air. He crunched down on the last bit of ice, then dusted off his hands with a sigh.

"It’s your turn now, Lu Zhi-ah," he said without looking behind him.

The young boy, trembling slightly, stepped forward from the corner he’d been hiding in. His wide eyes flicked between the frozen soldiers and the man who had created the silence.

"You’re... not coming with me?"

Zei finally looked at him, a crooked smile on his face. "If I move from this spot, the freeze will wear off the other three buildings. I’m their stopper for now."

He ruffled Lu Zhi’s hair gently. "You better hurry, kid. I can’t hold this long. Don’t waste it."

Lu Zhi nodded, clutching the small bag. He turned and dashed up the narrow side stairway to the building, disappearing through a rusted emergency door with quiet, quick steps.

Above them, the sky had started to darken. The golden rays bled into deep reds.

The other watchtowers, stationed farther from the main perimeter, had begun noticing something was off. One by one, their bug feeds had gone dark. Their internal radios crackled to life with static, and panicked voices called out across the shared lines—but no one could reach the headquarters.

A few guards stepped to the edge of the balconies, peering through their rifle scopes, confused by the sudden silence and loss of connection. Then came the light.

A burst of blue fire, fast as lightning, roared through the sky—and slammed right into the tower’s glass with a deafening impact.

Before they could even react, the armory stored inside their base—meticulously kept in that secure living room—ignited. Every single box of ammunition and weapon fuel went up in a chain of violent, thundering BOOMS. The building blew outward like a tin can being crushed from the inside.

Fire and debris rained from the sky.

Yunfeng stood near the wreckage, panting, a makeshift bottle still half full in his left hand—his DIY explosive mix. Smoke billowed from his shoulders, hair whipping wildly in the heatwaves he gave off. His vision locked onto the next set of targets.

Three houses more.

He didn’t wait.

He ran straight toward the next set of buildings, leaping out the window in one fluid motion. His feet barely touched the ground. Fire clung to his limbs, blue and ravenous, wrapping around him like armor.

"He’s coming our way! Shoot him!!!" a soldier shrieked from the balcony of the middle house, their face pale as chalk.

"But they told us not to hurt him—!"

"Fuck orders. Just shoot!!"

They opened fire in a frenzy, bullets slicing through the air in a hailstorm of panic. The night was shattered by the staccato of gunfire.

But Yunfeng didn’t slow.

His entire body ignited, erupting into a ball of pure flame. Bullets passed through, melting or ricocheting, as if he were made of molten steel. In seconds, he was airborne again—a streak of blazing blue against the dusk sky—before crashing into the balcony like a falling star.

He felt the structure bend and buckle under the impact. Screams erupted around him as soldiers dropped their weapons, trying to escape the inferno. He didn’t stop to look. He didn’t care anymore.

He had stopped feeling.

Their cries—of pain, of confusion, of terror—didn’t move him. He was too far gone. Numb to it all.

This is war.

He leapt from one house to another, igniting each with practiced, brutal ease. His hand grazed a support beam—boom. His foot landed on a rooftop—boom. Blue fire licked out through windows, under doorways, tearing through wood, cloth, concrete, and bone.

Explosions cracked the air, echoing one after another.

From below, soldiers screamed and ran out.

But it was already too late.

They were all burned to death.

On the other side he spotted Lu Zhi running out of one house with a huge bag in his back. "brother Yunfeng! I got all their bombs!" he said with a bright grin.

"good work." Yunfeng continued his wrath burning down all the houses the soldiers had camped in.