Achieving Demon Godhood from Unlocking Talents

WHOOSH!!

The hovercar shot through the sky, clearing the high walls as it sped straight toward the Buffer Zone.

Inside the silver, metal-encased flight cabin were nearly ten figures—all members of the fifth squad and operatives from the field team.

Zhao Yuanqing, who had learned a fair bit about hacking, stood before several blue light screens. Under the guidance of a professional hacker from the field team, he was assisting with the hovercar’s communication module.

Chen Xiao, Fang Xu, and the other combat members were decked out in black tactical suits and body armor, their combat boots planted firmly on the floor. Some racked the bolts of their weapons—the sharp clicks of automatic rifles and submachine guns breaking the silence—while others equipped themselves with grenades and spare magazines.

In an instant, the air inside the hovercar grew heavy with a quiet, murderous tension.

Lu Chao, standing before the command light screen, was dressed in the same gear. He had just finished an emergency communication with Gao Hu and the others.

WHOOM!

The hovercar immediately accelerated, closing the distance to the Iron Fire Prosthetic Clinic.

Images of the buildings in the Buffer Zone below appeared on the detection screen. Chen Xiao and the others glanced over, their expressions hardening.

"Captain, what do you think Leader Yao meant with her last words?"

Chen Xiao quietly drew near and asked in a low voice, a flicker of worry on his face.

Lu Chao’s thoughts drifted back to the final moments before their departure.

It wasn’t just him who had received Gao Hu’s report; Leader Yao Jin had been following it very closely as well.

Upon learning that he was heading to the Buffer Zone, she had specially granted him the highest level of support clearance and dispatched one of the Bureau’s hovercars.

On top of that, she had left him with a specific instruction and a reminder.

"Captain Lu, no matter what happens."

"You do what you have to do. I, and the entire fourth group, will have your back."

Yao Jin’s resolute voice echoed in his mind.

With a flash in his eyes, Lu Chao thought about the anomaly he’d noticed earlier. Many of the squads that had been pursuing this mission had recently abandoned it.

Connecting that to the intel from Gao Hu—that Ma Kui’s contact was suspected to be from a major power in the Red Maple City Circle...

"Stay flexible and adapt as we go."

Lu Chao said in a low voice, reminding everyone.

The Superpower Bureau’s attitude toward the mission was strangely ambivalent. Some teams had given up, while others persisted.

Yao Jin was clearly one of the latter, or she wouldn’t have given him that warning.

"Yes, sir!"

The team members nodded in acknowledgment, pushing aside all distracting thoughts.

Then.

The hovercar tore through the air, leaving a wake of displaced air behind it.

Before long, the neon sign for the Iron Fire Prosthetic Clinic was visible in the distance.

...

"Leader, can Captain Lu and his team really handle this?"

Inside the leader’s office at the Superpower Bureau’s main tower.

Wu Fang looked at Yao Jin, who sat behind her desk, her own face etched with anxiety and worry.

The current intel was clearly problematic. Ma Kui’s power was also suspected to have risen a tier, bringing him dangerously close to the Superpower Level.

Relying on the fifth squad alone...

"I’m going too."

Yao Jin looked at her, her expression grave. At some point, she had already changed into the dark, leader-grade combat suit.

Wu Fang froze. When she recovered, her expression was a mixture of hesitation and unease.

"Leader!"

"Based on the Bureau’s recent investigations, the stakes are enormous. If you show up personally and have a complete falling out with those people from Red Maple, I’m afraid..."

"Captain Zheng was part of our fourth group."

Yao Jin cut her off abruptly.

She was well aware of the convoluted politics and deeper implications.

But a resolute and decisive glint flashed in her eyes.

Her thoughts turned to the sacrificed figure from the past, and her voice grew cold. "The other groups can look the other way. I have no intention of getting involved in their business."

"But we, the fourth group, must get him justice!"

Her crisp, decisive voice was a stark contrast to her usual gentle, airy tone.

Wu Fang fell silent, her expression complex.

Finally, with a firm nod, she strode forward and quickly helped her leader complete her preparations.

...

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!

On the street outside the Iron Fire Prosthetic Clinic.

Muzzle flashes lit up the street as bullets flew.

Having lost the initiative, the fifth squad was pinned down. Down on the street, the members hid behind cars and concrete pillars, unable to peek out.

Inside the building above, the continuous barrage of gunfire broke their momentum, forcing them all to duck down into a momentary, dead silence.

"Hahahahaha."

Arrogant laughter echoed through the street. Ma Kui, clad in a black jacket, yanked the pin from a grenade and hurled it at the building above.

With contemptuous eyes, he roared, "Go to hell, you Superpower Bureau mutts!"

BOOM! BOOM!!

Flames from the explosion erupted from the concrete building. Ma Kui, standing across the street, watched with a sinister grin.

Bits of dust and debris flew past his short, choppy hair. The seven or eight Iron Sand Army soldiers around him were well-trained; some reloaded while others laid down covering fire. They aimed their muzzles once more at the Superpower Members on either side of the concrete building, trying to pin them down and kill them.

CLINK!

However, in that instant.

A high-explosive grenade was thrown back, landing right in front of them.

Ma Kui’s expression froze. He then saw Gao Hu and the others pop up again from the building across the street, every team member’s face filled with killing intent as they opened fire.

"Give ’em hell!"

BANG!

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!

The grenade roared to life as bullets tore through the air.

A crater was blasted into the concrete street, which was now riddled with bullet holes and scorch marks.

Shrapnel and debris flew everywhere, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke.

Amidst a series of dull THUDS, a spray of bullets raked across the concrete wall, sending up puffs of dust. Two members of the Iron Sand Army were hit and crumpled to the ground.

The fifth squad’s counterattack was sudden and overwhelming.

Seeing this, Ma Kui’s face turned cold. The prosthetic circuits tracing his body suddenly lit up.

"These goddamn mutts!"