Future Masters in Modern Times

Chapter 36: A Slap in the Face

Aleks was beside himself with rage. He never imagined that the man standing before him would be so brazen—killing his subordinate right in front of him, simply because of a single remark. Couldn’t he see the situation clearly? “His life is now in my hands.” Aleks’s expression shifted repeatedly before finally seeming to return to normal—though no one could see the sinister glint in the depths of his eyes. “You’re very bold,” Aleks said as he walked down the steps, closing in on Zhao Wuji step by step. “Do you know that many people have died right where you’re standing?” Aleks said, his tone eerily calm. “There was once a man who thought himself superior and actually dared to come here to challenge me,” Aleks said as he reached Zhao Wuji’s side, circling him while his eyes glinted menacingly. “His skills were just as formidable as yours.” Aleks seemed to be implying something, while Zhao Wuji stared at him impassively. “But my organization was bigger than his, and I was stronger than he was. I didn’t have the time to waste on him, so I just had one of my fighters play with him for a while. By the time he was completely exhausted, guess what happened? Do you know how it ended for him?” Aleks walked over to the armrest of his sofa and pressed his finger lightly on a spot there. “Click.” A low, rumbling sound echoed through the room. A wall at the very back of the hall began to slowly slide to the left. A moment later, the wall had completely shifted aside, revealing what lay behind it. Behind the wall was a thick pane of glass. Even more unbelievable was that behind the glass lay pale blue seawater, and within it, a colossal creature was swaying its tail, radiating an unparalleled ferocity. It was, in fact, a shark. Upon closer inspection, the bottom of the pool was stark white; anyone with good eyesight would quickly realize it was nothing but bare bones. Right here, how many people had lost their lives! Anyone witnessing this scene would surely feel a chill run down their spine; even in their dreams, they’d hear the restless souls of the dead howling in anguish. Of course, this sight would only have an effect on ordinary people—including those thugs. Trying to intimidate Zhao Wuji with this was simply impossible. Given that Zhao Wuji had experienced so many wars in his past life, what cruel sights hadn’t he seen? This child’s play before him was far too amateurish to scare him. “I fed him to my pet shark; he had the honor of becoming a delicious meal in its belly.” At this point, Aleks’s threats and sinister intentions were laid bare. “Even if you’re skilled enough to stand up to my fighters, can you stop a bullet? Back when I was an instructor at the Siberian Training Camp, there were plenty of skilled fighters among them, yet many still met their end at the barrel of my gun. Wake up, all of you! Do you still think we’re in the age of cold weapons? No matter how skilled you are, if I fire a single bullet, you’ll still be at my mercy.” Aleks repeatedly pulled the magazine out of his gun and pushed it back in, over and over again. This gesture seemed intended to demonstrate his intimidating power to Zhao Wuji. “Just now, your actions clearly offended me, but I’m a fairly merciful person, so I’ve decided to give you a minor punishment first.” As Aleks said this, his gaze hardened, and he snapped his fingers loudly. Several boxers, each nearly two meters tall and with incredibly bulging muscles, stepped forward and approached Zhao Wuji with hostile intent. Aleks was an infinitely self-centered man; no one was allowed to show him even the slightest disrespect. He could not tolerate it, and Zhao Wuji’s earlier actions had offended him. “Beat him for ten minutes,” Aleks said calmly, though the chill in his tone was palpable to anyone. Zhao Wuji glanced at Aleks, the corners of his mouth curving upward as a cold smile flashed across his face. He wiped all expression from his face and stood his ground, waiting for the boxers to close in. Seeing this, Aleks felt deeply satisfied. If Zhao Wuji had put up a fight, perhaps these boxers wouldn’t have been able to stop him—but he didn’t mind letting Zhao Wuji take a few bullets. He would soon discover that he was wrong—so wrong that he would be left speechless. The moment they closed in on Zhao Wuji, the boxers launched their attacks simultaneously. Positioned on all sides, they cut off Zhao Wuji’s every line of retreat, and immediately unleashed a barrage of ferocious blows. Although these boxers weren’t from the Siberian Training Camp, under Aleks’s training, they were by no means inferior to those who had come from it. In terms of individual combat prowess, they were all formidable fighters; taking on ten ordinary people at once would be no problem for them. They had all fought brown bears and endured hellish training; any one of them, thrown into the ring, would be a champion-level fighter. Now, they’ve all launched an incredibly fierce attack on Zhao Wuji at the same time. Will Zhao Wuji be able to withstand the attacks of these three? In the blink of an eye—in a split second The three men’s attacks had already slammed violently into Zhao Wuji. “Bang! Each punch landed squarely on his flesh with staggering force. Zhao Wuji didn’t move a muscle, letting the attacks crash into him. Aleks was increasingly pleased. “It seems he really does know his place!” Time seemed to stand still in that moment, and everything around them appeared to have settled into an eerie balance. Everyone seemed like a slave trapped within this fleeting moment, not moving a muscle. Only the occasional flick of a shark’s tail in the water signaled that this space was not as dead silent and stagnant as it appeared. The silence wouldn’t last long. The first to react were the three boxers. They realized that all their attacks felt as if they were striking a sponge—all their force had been absorbed by him. Time passed for only a moment—so brief that no one could perceive its passage. Before long, the three boxers realized that the cotton-like mass was beginning to unleash boundless power. They were like a lone boat on the ocean, bobbing up and down amid endless waves, in danger of being swallowed at any moment. In that split second, their expressions shifted constantly. Delight, confusion, astonishment. Finally, fear. They finally realized just how terrifying the man before them truly was! With them at the Center, time—like a still body of water—suddenly rippled outwards. Everyone present snapped back to reality, and the atmosphere grew intensely charged. Zhao Wuji’s expression finally shifted—part disdain, part mockery. He launched his attack. With a “boom,” the force radiating from Zhao Wuji sent the three of them flying, hurling them several meters away from him. Zhao Wuji moved. His speed, though seemingly slow, was in fact extremely fast. First, he closed in on one of the boxers and slammed a punch down. The speed of his punch was unbelievable. Everyone heard the sound of air being torn apart right next to their ears. The “crackling” sound of the air bursting was excruciatingly piercing. The boxer froze in place, his mind going blank; he could only feel a powerful presence enveloping him, and he was unable to move. As he watched the fist crash into his chest like a meteor from the heavens, the boxer suddenly realized he felt no pain at all. His chest, where the blow landed, burned intensely, and that heat gradually spread throughout his body, draining all his strength from the point of impact. His consciousness slowly faded… His body seemed to grow lighter and lighter… Then, he was hurled high into the air, and that was the last thing he knew. The boxer was dead—in fact, he had died the moment he was struck. The terrifying force of Zhao Wuji’s punch shattered every nerve, organ, and tissue within his chest. “Boom!” A figure slammed heavily against the glass wall filled with seawater. Fine cracks spread out like a spiderweb from the point of impact, and a blood-red flower bloomed across the glass. The shark grew frantic, ramming the glass wall again and again, but to no avail. All of this happened in the blink of an eye. People seemed less like people and more like scarecrows. Under Zhao Wuji’s attack, everyone seemed as light as air. They were tossed into the air and fell back down, as if weightless. “Boom!” A punch pierced through the chest, and another boxer flew out in a parabolic arc, smashing into the sofa in the hall; it was clear he was dead. With only one left, Zhao Wuji glanced at his watch and looked at the boxer with pity: “Your boss said it would take ten minutes to take care of you all. It’s only been a minute so far—so let me use the full ten minutes on you.” Aleks’s face contorted. He drew his pistol, intending to aim at Zhao Wuji, but found that Zhao Wuji’s form was constantly shifting, making it impossible to take aim. It felt as if something were lodged in his chest, driving him nearly mad, as if he were about to explode. “I have to kill him, kill him—if I don’t, I’ll never find peace for the rest of my life.” Aleks had long since put the matter of the contract with Zhao Wuji out of his mind; there was only one thought in his heart: to tear Zhao Wuji to pieces. The remaining boxer was dumbfounded. What kind of joke was this? To use up a full ten minutes on him! He instinctively took a few steps back. Zhao Wuji wagged his finger and laughed with a devilish grin: “It’s no use.” The boxer’s expression shifted countless times. Suddenly, he clenched his teeth, his face set in resolve, and slammed himself violently into the wall beside him. There was a loud "thud," and he was badly wounded. The remaining boxer ended his own life in this manner. Of the three boxers, two were instantly taken out by Zhao Wuji, and the third was so terrified he took his own life. Unbelievable! Zhao Wuji looked at Aleks, whose face was contorted in agony, with a smirk and an air of amusement. “You beasts, you bastards! All of you, attack him! Kill him!” Aleks commanded frantically. Zhao Wuji’s smile faded, and his expression darkened. “Hmm? That’s a foul mouth.” “Slap him!” Zhao Wuji’s figure flickered, and he instantly appeared before Aleks. A sharp “smack” rang out. Several teeth flew through the air, and Aleks’ entire cheek was left lopsided from the blow. That slap left Aleks reeling, his hatred for Zhao Wuji surging like an unending tide. His henchmen closed in, attempting to gang up on Zhao Wuji, only to be met with a nightmarish counterattack. Zhao Wuji swept his legs and unleashed a barrage of punches; each of them was pelted by a hail of his attacks. As soon as Zhao Wuji made contact with any of them, they flew through the air like kites whose strings had snapped. The sound of cracking and thudding filled the entire hall. The thugs, who had originally planned to gang up on Zhao Wuji, were decisively counterattacked by him in a matter of moments. In the blink of an eye, a large number of them were knocked down.