Achieving Demon Godhood from Unlocking Talents

Malice?

Suspicion?

Inside the streetcar station, Lu Chao scanned the entire street, his peripheral vision taking in all the surrounding figures.

A man in black on a public bench across the way pretended to be making a call.

A long-haired woman walking from the sidewalk also stopped at one side of the platform, as if she too were waiting for the streetcar.

Among the cars parked by the roadside was an unremarkable black [Tuotuo] sedan, and his heightened senses detected several figures sitting inside.

Everything seemed normal, but the faint sense of malice was growing stronger.

Lu Chao’s expression remained unchanged as he silently watched the streetcar approach from the end of the street, then stepped inside.

The doors to the car slid open, revealing it was full of people.

A young gang member with cybernetic augmentations swaggered out, cursing under his breath. His neck was covered in both tattoos and the circuitry patterns of his implants, and he was flanked by three or four others.

A martial artist in a training uniform, also finished with his practice and smelling faintly of sweat, squeezed past him onto the streetcar.

Soon, Lu Chao melted into the stream of people and entered the car.

People brushed past him—exhausted-looking office workers carrying briefcases, young men and women wearing headphones and listening to music.

The rows of seats by the windows faced each other. He found an empty spot at the very end of a row and sat down.

[Red Maple Evening Paper: Red Maple Bank has issued a public announcement. Due to the recent high volume of Red Maple Coin to Alliance Coin exchanges, a new exchange channel will be opened next week!]

[Wilderness Daily: The City Guard Army has once again clashed with forces under the Wilderness Warlords [Iron Sand] and [Blackthorn]. Casualties are estimated to be near one hundred...]

[City Lord’s Mansion Announcement: Winter has arrived. As is tradition, all residents are advised to make preparations in advance. There is an estimated sixty percent chance of a small-scale Beast Tide occurring next spring...]

The news reports played from a screen hanging in the car. Most of it had already been broadcast during the day and was now on a loop, serving as a reminder to everyone.

Lu Chao sat calmly, appearing to stare silently at the news.

In reality, all five of his senses were fully heightened, his peripheral vision sweeping over his surroundings as much as possible.

The long-haired woman from the sidewalk was in the same car, sitting diagonally across from him and glancing his way from time to time.

He felt another, similar probing gaze from the far end of the car. A strange man was looking at his watch, but was actually observing Lu Chao’s movements on the sly.

"Who could it be?"

Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed as several possibilities surfaced in his mind.

Searching his memory, the only people he had offended recently were the Mage from the God-Worshiping Church he’d learned about last time, and the Blood Slaughterer, Li Gusha.

’But this familiar surveillance, tinged with suspicion and faint malice...’

’They’re well-trained, and able to deploy a lot of manpower at once...’

’The Biotechnology Company.’

Lu Chao settled on the answer. In the reflection of the streetcar window, he saw a black car tailing them.

He was all too familiar with such tactics.

He had experienced it many times back in Ring City.

They would use multiple martial artists, formed into several squads, to tail him in shifts every day.

The God-Worshiping Church didn’t have those kinds of resources, and neither did Li Gusha. Only a corporate giant could pull it off so easily.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Lu Chao continued to sit quietly in the car.

Finally, the streetcar reached his stop.

The long-haired woman in his line of sight didn’t follow him. He walked out of the station and headed straight for his apartment in the Superpower Building.

The malicious, probing feeling was still there. A black sedan with a different license plate was parked near his building.

He feigned ignorance and walked silently into the apartment building.

At last, he was back in his apartment.

CLICK!

The door shut, and the faint sense of malice finally dissipated.

Lu Chao’s expression was normal as he changed his shoes.

Only after confirming that no surveillance devices had been placed in the apartment did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and return to his bedroom.

’Looks like they really do suspect me again.’

Any lingering hope that he was mistaken vanished. As Lu Chao closed the curtains, he glanced down at the street below, and further in the distance, at the Biotechnology Subsidiary building.

That thread of urgency in his heart tightened once more.

He knew this was only the beginning.

The corporate director behind Ruan Hui wouldn’t let this go easily.

Sooner or later, they might question him again, or even use other methods to investigate him.

’When that time comes, if I want to protect myself...’

Lu Chao clenched his fist. He knew that only strength could see him through.

...

「A few days later.」

Superpower Building, Gravity Chamber.

The silvery-gray metal floor reflected the incandescent lights. The air inside the room was nearly stagnant, as if it had become exceptionally heavy.

Lu Chao stood in a low horse stance, his white training clothes already soaked with sweat.

The fabric clung to his body, outlining the corded lines of his muscles.

His eyes were shut tight. Wisps of white, steamy sweat evaporated from his pores, shrouding his body like a mist.

As time passed, he lost track of how long he had been holding the stance.

Every heartbeat, every surge of blood, every drop of stamina expended was a greater burden here than in the outside world. Fatigue washed over him like a tide, eroding his willpower and threatening to drown his reason.

Finally.

Until, at a certain moment.

HUM!

Lu Chao’s eyes snapped open, a sharp, compelling glint flashing within them.

In the next instant.

A flash of power erupted from his body, and he vanished from his spot in an instant.

BANG!!

The mist where he had stood exploded outward!

He reappeared in an instant at the room’s limit, five or six meters away, clinging to the wall like a Gecko with his feet planted flat against the surface, parallel to the floor.

His eyes lit up slightly.

Lu Chao then flashed into motion again.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!

Even under the suppression of twice normal gravity, his speed was still immense. He moved so fast he was practically an afterimage, his form impossible to track with the naked eye.

The floor, the walls, the ceiling...

He appeared in various spots around the room before finally returning to his original position, clenching his fist and swinging his arm.

BOOM!!

The air cracked with the force of his blow as he smashed a full-power strike into the empty space before him.