Invincible through Touching Corpses

When Lin Xinghai and Liu Miaomiao entered the headquarters, the other members had already arrived, geared up and ready to go.

However, they all looked somewhat nervous. Many of them had only found out yesterday that the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps was actually participating in such a high-level conflict.

But surprisingly, no one objected or quit, because everyone understood that the military would undoubtedly be the main force in this operation.

While it was dangerous for them, it wasn’t a suicide mission.

Besides, they were more focused on something other than the danger: the reward for completing the mission was secondary. What truly mattered was that completing this mission would grant them an exceptional status within the Mercenary Guild.

The life of a Mercenary was all about living on the edge; as long as the potential rewards were great enough, they were willing to take the risk.

Of course, a sense of tension was unavoidable. However, upon seeing Lin Xinghai, the Gun God, their anxiety instantly eased by more than half. He was the pillar of support they needed right now.

After greeting everyone, he walked straight through the crowd and headed for the second floor.

"Old Fang, what’s our mission today? The Great Elder must have told you by now, right?" Lin Xinghai asked directly.

"The specifics of the mission haven’t been shared, but they told us to assemble at the military camp at 9 o’clock," Fang Tianhe said.

"The military camp!" Lin Xinghai was a little surprised, but only for a moment. He had already suspected they might be conducting a joint operation with the military.

Of course, it could also be misdirection. After all, the Great Elder still hadn’t given them the mission details, which just went to show how high the level of secrecy was.

"Ah Xing, you broke through again?" Shen Han suddenly asked from nearby, his voice laced with disbelief.

"Mhm. I did," Lin Xinghai nodded, sighing to himself.

This was why he’d waited until the last possible moment to break through. Anyone who probed him with their Perception Power would immediately discover he had broken his third Genetic Lock.

’If only there was a technique to hide my true strength,’ he couldn’t help but think.

Hearing Shen Han’s question, everyone in the room turned to stare at Lin Xinghai as if they’d just seen a ghost.

How long had it been since he broke the second Genetic Lock? And now he’d already broken the third? ’Could he get any more freakish?’

However, their shock quickly gave way to elation.

At such a critical moment, a huge surge in Lin Xinghai’s power was, of course, the best possible news for them.

"Ah Xing! How much has your strength increased with this breakthrough?" Fang Tianhe asked, his eyes burning with anticipation.

"That’s hard to quantify. There are too many variables in a real fight, especially with Mecha and various firearms involved." Lin Xinghai’s tone then shifted. "However, my Superpower has awakened again. The duration has increased to five minutes, which means I can almost use it as a standard combat ability."

His words were like a potent dose of reassurance, instantly dispelling the group’s tension even as they were still stunned by the news.

They had all seen how monstrously powerful Lin Xinghai’s Superpower was. At nearly 400 points in Speed, he left ordinary people completely in the dust.

And now that his Superpower had broken through again, they couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrifying his Speed must be.

The only drawback to Lin Xinghai’s Superpower before had been its duration.

It was fine for short bursts of power, but it fell short in a prolonged battle.

But now that a single activation could last for five minutes, it was a complete game-changer.

"With your current Energy reserves, how many times can you activate your Superpower?" Fang Tianhe asked.

"Ten times. And my Physique is special, so I can push it a few more times if I’m willing to pay the price." As Lin Xinghai said this, he visibly winced.

Because it was now a Third Level Superpower, the system, that damn profiteer, had raised the price. Replenishing the Energy for one activation now cost 10,000 Points.

So even with his 120,000 Points, he couldn’t afford to do it many times.

Fortunately, he had never had to use this function before. Now that his Superpower’s duration was longer, he would probably need it even less.

"Good! That’s excellent." Fang Tianhe clapped his hands. "This allows us to make our contingency plans even more robust."

Lin Xinghai didn’t get involved in these matters, letting the others handle the planning.

As 9:00 AM approached, Fang Tianhe went downstairs to assemble the team. Soon, the large group was heading purposefully toward the military camp.

To be honest, this was a first for everyone. Not even Fang Tianhe, let alone Lin Xinghai, had ever set foot inside the military camp before. Outsiders were normally never allowed entry.

But today, they were finally given the privilege of entering.

After Fang Tianhe presented his Mercenary Badge, the soldiers on guard led them inside and to a large plaza off to the side.

Two other Mercenary Corps had already arrived. They had just entered the plaza and hadn’t yet had a chance to greet anyone when more corps began to file in.

"Old Fang, how many Mercenary Corps do you think the military invited for this operation?" Lin Xinghai couldn’t help but ask as he watched them arrive one by one.

"I’m not sure, but I doubt it’s a lot," Fang Tianhe said after a moment’s thought.

Lin Xinghai considered this for a moment and nodded in agreement.

This operation allowed no room for error, so the Shelter’s high command must have been extremely selective, even deliberating at length over which Mercenary Corps to choose.

And there were only a handful of corps that were both powerful and completely trustworthy.

Soon, all the Mercenary Corps had arrived. Lin Xinghai did a quick count: including his own, there were nine in total.

But their Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps was the clear exception; besides them, all the others were Third Level Mercenary Corps.

"All of you, heads high and chests out. Don’t embarrass us," Fang Tianhe hissed quietly to the members behind him.

Under the scrutiny of so many Third Level Mercenary Corps, not just the regular members but even captains like Xu Haishui looked somewhat intimidated.

Lin Xinghai saw this and understood, of course, that this kind of insecurity couldn’t be fixed with just a few words.

So he patted Roger’s shoulder and took two steps forward to the very front of his corps. He stood with the unshakeable presence of a mountain, his expression composed as he met the gazes of the other Mercenary Corps Leaders. His aura was in no way inferior to theirs.

With this simple action, the attention of the other eight Mercenary Corps instantly focused on him.

Whispers immediately broke out among the other corps. The two words "Gun God" echoed across the plaza. Lin Xinghai alone had completely stolen the spotlight from the rest of the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps.

Seeing this, the leaders of the Third Level Mercenary Corps exchanged glances and began to walk over.

They knew they couldn’t recruit this rising star, and they certainly couldn’t afford to offend him. Now that they would likely be working together, a proper greeting was essential.

However, as they drew closer, the expressions of the quicker-witted leaders suddenly changed, their eyes filling with utter astonishment.

They had discovered that the aura radiating from Lin Xinghai was that of someone who had broken the third Genetic Lock.