Future Masters in Modern Times

Chapter 37: Convinced in Heart and Mind

Unstoppable! Invincible! And this was with Zhao Wuji not even using his full strength. Since arriving in Siberia, Zhao Wuji had absorbed enough living souls to reach three percent of what was needed for his next enhancement. And this time, he had absorbed an exceptionally large number of vital souls. Aleks’s face had turned green; his already red and swollen face was now contorted beyond recognition. He had no idea how many of his henchmen had been taken down by Zhao Wuji. Since becoming a coach at the Siberian Training Camp, he had never suffered a defeat—let alone one this crushing. Watching the chaos unfold in his own hall, with his men strewn haphazardly across the floor, Aleks could no longer contain himself. Roaring with rage, he ran to his sofa, where a submachine gun lay on the table. Grabbing the submachine gun, Aleks, his eyes bloodshot, raised the barrel and began firing wildly at Zhao Wuji. Bullets flew out in a frenzied barrage, and tongues of flame spewed from the muzzle, shooting out who knows how far. Zhao Wuji, in the midst of the fierce battle, seemed to sense something coming. Unflustered, his movements became incredibly agile. As the bullets flew toward him, Zhao Wuji darted aside; a blur flashed across the living room, and the bullets missed their mark. However, quite a few of Aleks’s henchmen were struck by the bullets, and another large group fell. Although Zhao Wuji couldn’t yet completely withstand bullets head-on, after two rounds of enhancement, his senses had become incredibly acute; the trajectory of the bullets in the air appeared in his mind as a slow arc tracing through the air. By following the bullets’ trajectories, he was able to dodge them with ease. Given Zhao Wuji’s current abilities, it wasn’t impossible to injure him with a bullet—but the difficulty of doing so was simply beyond compare. First, Zhao Wuji must be confined to a small space. Second, the bullets must be fired to cover every corner of that space. In short, the only way to injure Zhao Wuji would be to leave him with no way to evade—but would Zhao Wuji ever give them that opportunity? In terms of one-on-one combat, Zhao Wuji has reached a state of near-invincibility. Of course, this doesn’t rule out the possibility that some enemies might hate him to such an unimaginable degree that they’d resort to massive firepower. In that case, given Zhao Wuji’s current capabilities, he would indeed be unable to handle it. The problem is, the likelihood of such a scenario occurring is extremely low. Aleks had fallen into a frenzied state, firing his submachine gun tirelessly and changing magazine after magazine, unaware that all his bullets were striking his own men. “Click-click!” Aleksandr Lian pulled the trigger several times in quick succession. He was out of ammo again. He frantically ransacked the drawers, trying to find more magazines, but couldn’t find a single round. Suddenly, a hand pressed against the back of his neck. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he snapped back to his senses. “Give it a rest!” A cold voice came from behind him. Although the hand was resting on the back of his neck without the slightest pressure, Aleks had an instinctive feeling that his neck would be snapped the very next moment. His fears didn’t come true, though, because the hand moved away from his neck and patted the back of his head, signaling him to turn around. Aleks didn’t dare resist and obediently turned around. Behind him, Zhao Wuji looked at him with a calm expression, his clothes neatly Qiqi, as if nothing had just happened. Meanwhile, in the hall, nearly all of his men were dead. Aleks looked at this harmless-looking Eastern man—the sort who would blend right into a crowd—and felt a whirlwind of confusion, unsure what he was really up to. Zhao Wuji sat down on his sofa without the slightest hesitation. He picked up the submachine gun, examined it from every angle, and suddenly began moving his hands over the weapon with the speed of a magician, his movements so rapid they blurred into afterimages, leaving the onlooker dazzled. In just a few seconds, Zhao Wuji stopped his movements, glanced up at the anxious Aleks, and let go of the gun. With a “clatter,” the submachine gun was disassembled into a pile of parts. Aleks’s eyes bulged. Had the gun really been taken apart just like that? Following the same process, Zhao Wuji let out a cold chuckle and reassembled the gun in the blink of an eye. “Click!” Zhao Wuji slammed the reassembled gun down on the table. He shot a sidelong glance at Aleks and said coldly, “You think this thing is any use to me?” “Boom!” As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Wuji slammed his right palm down hard on the gun. The entire gun immediately fell apart, its parts flying in all directions; even the tempered glass holding the gun wasn’t spared—it was smashed to pieces. Aleks’s heart skipped a beat, but regaining his composure, he began silently assessing the situation. “Who exactly is this Oriental man standing before me? He’s downright insane!” After all, Aleks had once been a coach at the Siberian Training Camp—he was something of a figure in his own right—and he’d seen far too much over the years. As a result, he didn’t panic in the face of death the way ordinary people would. “At this point, I admit defeat. What exactly do you want?” Zhao Wuji let out a long laugh, looking at Aleks as if he were a fool. “It seems you’re the one who forced me to come here!” Aleks’s eye twitched, and he thought to himself, “With your abilities, if you wanted to leave, who could possibly stop you?” Zhao Wuji casually picked up the contract lying on the table, flipped through it a few times, and slammed it down with a thud. “A contract selling my soul?” Aleks was now deeply regretting it—that contract really was no different from a contract of indentured servitude. The reason it was so harsh was naturally due to his own overconfidence; his only mistake was choosing the wrong person this time. “I came here intending to find you. I didn’t originally plan to cause you trouble, but I’ve only been here a few days, and your name is already the talk of the town! So, I had to come early to see just what kind of person you, Aleks, really are.” “You really are quite the character!” Zhao Wuji’s tone was a mix of sarcasm and disdain. Aleks said somewhat grudgingly, “The strong prey on the weak. I have the strength—what’s wrong with being a little domineering?” Zhao Wuji let out an “Oh.” “Well, I’m stronger than you, so I suppose I should be even more forceful toward you.” Aleks didn’t reply. Clearly, Zhao Wuji was right—it was just a pity that all his years of hard work had been destroyed in a single day, and his own life was likely in jeopardy now. Aleks couldn’t help but think back to his younger self—he, too, had once been a boxer before staying on at the Siberian Training Camp to become a coach. Back then, he’d had so many boxers under his wing, and he didn’t even know how many he’d killed with his own hands. Presumably, their feelings in the face of death were the same as his own! There wasn’t much fear, just a sense of calm—as if, from the moment they chose this path, they knew they’d have to pay the price sooner or later. “Just kill me!” Aleks said calmly. Having committed so many heinous crimes, it seemed only fitting that he should die. “Heh.” A chuckle rang out. Zhao Wuji looked at him curiously and said, “Aren’t you going to ask why I came looking for you in the first place?” “Huh?” Aleks looked thoroughly puzzled. Zhao Wuji rose from the sofa, smoothed out his clothes, and said casually “I need a letter of recommendation.” “A letter of recommendation?” “That’s right—a letter recommending me for the Siberian Training Camp.” “Is that all?” Aleks felt like crying but couldn’t bring himself to. The other guy had gone to all that trouble just for a letter of recommendation. “Of course not. I’m asking you for a letter of recommendation so I can teach you a lesson while I’m at it. Or, if you prefer, you can think of it as me coming here specifically to teach you a lesson—and getting a letter of recommendation on the side,” Zhao Wuji said nonchalantly. Zhao Wuji’s actions today had already cut deep and shaken him to his core; the lesson had been effectively taught. Moreover, since he had to write a letter of recommendation, it meant that Zhao Wuji was essentially in his debt. Although Zhao Wuji would never be able to repay this favor, at least for now, he wouldn’t take his life. He’ll likely never forget the lesson he was taught today for the rest of his life. Of course, if he still harbors any delusions of revenge against me, then I’ll have no choice but to kill him. “Well? Any problems?” “No, none at all.” Aleks tried to have one of his men fetch paper and a pen for him, but realizing he had no one left to command, he had to go get them himself. After writing for a while, he looked up and asked tentatively, “May I ask your name?” “Zhao… Zhao Wuji.” Aleks repeated the name a few times under his breath. Suddenly, it struck him as familiar, and the pen in his hand trembled. “Could it be that you’re the person Sikov was talking about?” “I believe so.” Aleks felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he finished writing the letter of recommendation. Zhao Wuji took the letter and slapped Aleks on the shoulder with his palm, causing Aleks to flinch in fright—he’d thought Zhao Wuji was going to kill him. “Thanks.” Zhao Wuji waved the letter of recommendation in his hand and started to walk away. Halfway there, he turned to look at the glass tank filled with seawater and housing a shark. He turned back, walked to the edge of the tank, and suddenly unleashed a powerful punch. “Boom!” With a deafening crash, the glass shattered, and seawater gushed out in a torrent. As the water level dropped rapidly, the shark seemed to sense something was wrong and struggled frantically. The shark—the tyrant of the waters—could not display its might in this tiny space, let alone with the water level steadily dropping; before long, it would die of dehydration. The spilling seawater flooded the entire hall. Aleks watched it all with a bitter expression, cursing himself for having provoked this scourge. The water soon ran out. The shark was nearly frenzied, its massive tail slamming again and again against the already pockmarked glass. Finally, the glass could no longer bear the strain and shattered completely. The struggling shark was actually flung out of its enclosure and slid into the water-filled hall. Water splashed everywhere! Seeing the human standing before it, the shark’s bloodthirsty instincts surged to unprecedented heights as it faced certain doom. It shook its body violently and opened its gaping jaws at the human standing before it. This was its final, desperate frenzy before death. “You beast, let me send you on your way.” Zhao Wuji’s eyes turned cold; he leaped forward, swung both hands, and struck out. Just as the shark’s jaws snapped open, Zhao Wuji seized its upper and lower jaws with his immense arm strength and tore with all his might. Flesh and bone tore apart! With a crisp, thunderous “crack,” the bones connecting the shark’s upper and lower jaws were brutally shattered. Unable to open or close its massive jaws, the shark instantly lost more than half its lethality, with only its tail still thrashing violently against the seafloor. “Haa!” Zhao Wuji let out a fierce roar, clenching his hands into claws as he dug them into the shark’s skin; his ten fingers sank half an inch deep into its hide, like iron claws. In agony, the shark struggled frantically, but Zhao Wuji’s hands were already firmly clamped onto its body. A thick, pungent smell of blood filled the air… Visibly, thick veins bulged beneath Zhao Wuji’s tough, exposed skin. This was a sign that he was about to exert his full strength. BOOM! It sounded like a giant cannon firing! The very air roared. Aleks’s right hand had even torn the upholstery of the sofa. No way! Zhao Wuji actually fought the shark with his bare hands—and in the end, he tossed it aside like a ball. The shark thrashed its tail a few times in midair. The sensation of flying through the air made it feel as though it had returned to the water. It should count itself lucky—lucky to have experienced the sensation of gliding through water just before its death. In midair, it soared through the vast hall, weaving past the haphazardly scattered thugs—none of whom knew whether they were alive or dead. It gave its tail one final flick, smashed open the main door, and flew out with unparalleled grace. At that moment, Aleks swore he would never go against Zhao Wuji for the rest of his life. He was thoroughly convinced!