This assassin is upright

Chapter 468 Coercion? Explosion!
"boom!!!"

A loud bang echoed for a long time deep in the desolate ruins of the Roland mining area.

A figure flew backward and crashed hard into the stone wall behind him, smashing a human-shaped crater into it, with his entire body embedded in it.

The rat let out a painful groan as its cracked exoskeleton shattered, and its thin body fell out.

He clutched his heart in pain, trying to stand up, but he didn't even have the strength to do so.

"Enough!" Black Hawk, who had already been suppressed by several powerful figures and had even had his weapon taken away, shouted in a low voice, "Stop trying and get some rest."

"But..." The rat struggled to raise its head, looking at Wolf Fang lying in a pool of blood on the other side and Iron Tower sitting slumped to the side, its eyes gradually turning red.

“It’s my fault…” Eiffel Tower said dejectedly, “I shouldn’t have brought everyone here.”

He suddenly looked at the man in the lead with agitation, "Fred, I'm one of Higgins' team members, they know nothing!"

"Oh?" A cold glint flashed across Fred's lips.

Do you think I would believe that?

He ignored the towering figure whose face had turned deathly pale and turned to look at the person behind him. "Is everyone here?"

“This…” The man carefully examined the four members of the Black Hawk team, then shook his head, “We’re still missing one person.”

Black Hawk's previously composed expression suddenly changed. He glared at the man and then growled, "And another one who died in an accident just now."

"It's normal to encounter accidents when exploring ruins."

“You’re right, it’s normal to have accidents while exploring ruins.” Fred sneered as he approached Black Hawk, then suddenly kicked out.

Black Hawk felt as if a mountain had been placed on his chest; the intense pain made him gasp for breath, and he was sent flying backward uncontrollably.

"team leader!"

The other three members of the Black Hawk team exclaimed in surprise. Even Wolf Fang, who was lying on the ground and already severely injured, couldn't help but open his mouth, revealing an anxious expression.

"I...I didn't...Pfft—"

Black Hawk, who had intended to say he was alright, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Looking at Fred, who was approaching him again, a resolute look appeared in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you die so easily.” Fred slowly crouched down. “The most important thing for the excavation team is to unearth every bit of value from everything, and your deaths are no exception, so…”

He lowered his head and stared indifferently at the Black Hawk lying on the ground.

Where is the remaining person?

“Dead.” Black Hawk said through gritted teeth.

Fred said no more and slowly walked to Wolf Fang's side, which was not far away.

A sound of bones shattering followed by Wolf Fang's painful howl.

Fred completely ignored the struggling figure at his feet, his gaze turning cold and merciless as he looked at Black Hawk. "Tell me, or don't."

“You…” Black Hawk gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred, “Despicable!”

“Despicable?” Fred scoffed. “We’re an excavation team, we’re peasants, not those sanctimonious New Alliance high-ranking officials.”

"You seem to have lost sight of your place," Fred said quietly. "Tell me, where is the remaining one?"

“If you don’t speak…” He looked down at Wolf Fang, who was curled up in pain at his feet, “perhaps your teammates would be more willing to talk?”

With that, Fred grabbed Wolf Fang by the neck and lifted him up.

"Tell me about it?"

Where did the missing teammate go?

Wolf Fang's face gradually turned bluish-purple due to lack of oxygen. His one still-movable hand struggled to grab Fred's hand, trying to pry it open, but that hand was like an iron clamp, firmly locking his throat as if to crush it.

Only when his consciousness began to fade did the hand loosen slightly. A sliver of oxygen gave Wolf Fang a jolt of energy, as if he had been pulled back from the brink of death.

His strong will to survive made him want to speak almost instinctively, but he swallowed the words back down.

"He's got a stubborn streak." Fred clicked his tongue in annoyance, tossing him aside like a rag doll, and then slowly walked toward the Iron Tower.

He looked at the Eiffel Tower for a moment, and then suddenly spoke.

"If I remember correctly, your name is Parthius?"

The tower suddenly looked up at Fred, clearly surprised that the other had called out his real name.

“You have a younger sister named Sang,” Fred said calmly, seemingly oblivious to Eiffel Tower’s expression. “You and she separated ten years ago.”

“You never saw your sister again after that.”

"And that's also an important reason why you joined the excavation team."

"You want to find your sister's whereabouts this way."

“You…” Eiffel Tower opened his mouth, his face full of astonishment.

He had never told anyone about this, neither the current Black Hawk team nor the former Higgins team knew about it.

"How did you know?" Eiffel Tower couldn't help but ask.

A hint of smugness flashed in Fred's eyes as he slowly took out an old photograph. The photograph showed a woman with exquisite features but slightly vacant eyes.

Upon seeing that incredibly familiar face, Eiffel Tower suddenly stood up. If it weren't for two people restraining him from behind, he would have almost rushed towards Fred.

"Where is she!"

"Don't get so worked up," Fred smiled slightly. "You know what I want."

Upon hearing this, the tower fell silent instantly.

Do you want him to reveal Yu Zhun's whereabouts in exchange for your sister's whereabouts?

In an instant, a strong sense of inner conflict appeared in the Iron Tower's eyes.

On one side was his unresolved issue of the past ten years, the reason he joined the excavation team; on the other side were his partners with whom he had entrusted his life. He was caught in an immense struggle.

"Don't believe this guy." The rat grinned and sat down on the ground, snorting, "Iron Tower, even if you find your sister's whereabouts, you have to be alive to find her. Today, we're all doomed here. We're all going to die."

Upon hearing this, the iron tower suddenly came to its senses.

Indeed, only by living can one have a chance to find their sister.

Now, they are being targeted by the Ghost Dragon team, and they have almost no hope of survival.

If Yu Zhun hadn't been exposed, at least he could have survived.

If they are exposed, then the last member of Black Hawk Team will also be in danger.

Thinking of this, Eiffel Tower's gaze gradually hardened. He tried to look away from the photo that resembled his sister and pursed his lips tightly.

“Heh…” Fred laughed angrily, “You’re all so stubborn.”

"Then let me see if the teammates you're risking your lives to protect are as loyal as you are."

"Seal off the entire ruins of the Roland mining area, so that not even an ant can leave."

Fred's voice turned somber. "Take all four of them back."

"Spread the word and see if the remaining one will come to the rescue."

After saying that, Fred turned away with a flick of his sleeve.

The expressions on the faces of the four members of the Black Hawk team grew increasingly grim.
-
"Pfft—" A sharp stab pierced into the opponent's body, and Yu Zhun quickly felt the monster in front of him convulse violently, its life force rapidly dissipating within its body.

It worked!
He breathed a sigh of relief.

This was probably the toughest opponent he had ever faced. Who would have thought that a monster that looked like a fish would have its vital point at the very end of its tail?
If it weren't for his special evolution that allowed him to absorb heat and wear down his opponent through a tug-of-war, he might not have been a match for this strange fish in this unique environment.

Fortunately, he was the one who ultimately won.

Pulling out the dagger, Yu Zhun placed one hand on the wound on the corpse and felt a sudden, unexpected tremor in his heart, as if there was something very attractive to him at that spot.

After a moment's hesitation, Yu Zhun relied on his senses to dig it out. It seemed to be a round bead, but he didn't examine it closely. After putting it away, he quickly swam towards the top of the lava.

In the chaotic battle just now, he had completely lost his way and could no longer find his way back. He could only grit his teeth and swim upstream.

Hopefully, we can get back to the ruins smoothly.

Muttering to himself, Yu Zhun quickly climbed upwards and soon touched the hard lava.

That scalding temperature was only lukewarm to him at that moment.

After searching around, Yu Zhun still couldn't find the tunnel he had dug to get there, so he reluctantly pulled out his dagger.

Since things have come to this, let's dig.

One hundred meters... two hundred meters...

As the excavation progressed rapidly, Yu Zhun's brows gradually furrowed.

He discovered that as he dug, the temperature changed much more slowly than when he arrived, which meant that the lava layer here was much thicker.

Thicker lava doesn't matter to him; having reached the fourth tier and gained the ability to absorb heat, he can easily stay in underground magma for a long time, and he can even dig through the thickest lava.

What Yu Zhun cared about was another matter this represented.

The change in lava layer thickness must be gradual; it is impossible for one area to be very thin while another nearby area is very thick.

So such a thick layer of lava means…

He was no longer within the ruins of the Roland mining area.

I don't know if the captain and the others are still waiting for me in the ruins. If so, I'm afraid I'll have to make them wait a little longer.

Shaking his head, Yu Zhun continued digging.

After digging up another kilometer or so, Yu Zhun's expression changed slightly.

The dagger felt harder to the touch; what lay ahead was no longer lava, but a layer of rock with even greater hardness.

As for the tunnel he dug, it had long since been cooled and sealed off by the magma that surged up and then cooled.

"Are we going to dig all the way down to the surface?" Yu Zhun shook his head and sat down cross-legged in the rock layer.

He planned to rest for a while before making a final push back to the ground.

Before that, he should take a look at what he has gained.

A key and a bead appeared in Yu Zhun's hand.

The key is something hidden in the ruins of the Roland mine. It looks too simple in structure, and anyone with a little memory could easily copy it.

But it carries a strange and unusual power. The key's appearance is just a facade; what truly unlocks a specific "lock" is this power.

As for where the "lock" is located and what can be obtained after opening it, Yu Zhun is not clear yet, but no matter how he thinks about it, anything that can be valued so highly must be extraordinary.

After temporarily putting the key away, Yu Zhun's gaze immediately turned to the round bead.

That was left behind after the strange fish in the lava died.

Yu Zhun still doesn't know what his opponent, with whom he has been locked in a long-term struggle, is, and can only roughly guess that it is some kind of special mutated beast.

This round bead is fiery red all over, shimmering with a red light, and its surface emits a temperature of up to a thousand degrees, enough to melt ordinary gold and iron.

Only Yu Zhun, who had walked through the lava, was able to pick it up with his bare hands without any protective measures.

Feeling the intense attraction of the round bead to him, Yu Zhun swallowed hard.

Without hesitation, he swallowed it.

The bead entered his mouth and instantly turned into liquid, flowing into his stomach and then rapidly spreading to his limbs and bones. In an instant, Yu Zhun felt as if his entire body was about to catch fire.

No, he really did catch a fever.

Bright flames rose from every corner of Yu Zhun's body, and in the narrow cave, he seemed to have transformed into a ball of flame burning wildly.

Yu Zhun curled up, unable to suppress a low growl. The feeling at this moment was as if he had undergone another evolution.

No, it's even more painful than that.

But even in his pain, Yu Zhun could feel that some special power was quietly growing within his body, and gradually strengthening with the transformation.

After a long while, the firelight dissipated, and Yu Zhun slowly straightened up, feeling the changes in his body. A look of extraordinary surprise appeared in his eyes.

Having just evolved to the fourth rank, and then directly breaking through to the fifth rank, his body has been further enhanced, and his physical attributes have become much stronger.

More important than his physical attributes is his new ability.

Yu Zhun slowly opened his palm, and a ball of flame appeared out of thin air in his hand.

That was a special ability belonging to evolved beings, and an extremely rare elemental ability. It might not appear in one out of a thousand evolved beings, but Yu Zhun only ate the round bead from that strange fish and gained a similar ability.

If other evolved beings knew this, they would probably be insanely envious.

"It seems that strange fish is still somewhat useful." With a satisfied smile, Yu Zhun looked up at the sky above him again, his eyes filled with eager anticipation.

Next, we will make a final push to return to the ground.

Yu Zhun drew a pair of daggers, thought for a moment, and then his hands holding the daggers inadvertently burst into intense flames. The daggers were quickly heated to thousands of degrees under the flames, and their purplish-black surfaces gained a dangerous scorching red.

That is, it is a fifth-order alloy, and ordinary metals cannot withstand such high temperatures.

After heating the weapon, Yu Zhun began cutting into the rock.

With almost no effort, the rock was cut open as easily as cutting tofu, instantly increasing the speed of breaking through the passage.

Yu Zhun's smile deepened.

Now, he had mastered a completely new power.

The captain and his team will be pleasantly surprised to see the changes in themselves.

With these thoughts in mind, Yu Zhun became even more motivated.

Three hundred meters... five hundred meters... one thousand meters!

He kept digging upwards, eventually turning the rock layer into a soil layer, then into a sand layer. Finally, Yu Zhun broke through the tunnel and saw the sunlight streaming down once again.

He quickly climbed out of the passage, looked around warily, and then looked bewildered.

Looking around, all that could be seen was a vast desert, without a single person in sight.

The only living being besides him was a second-tier mutated beast passing by not far away.

Seemingly sensing his presence, the mutated beast immediately took off running.

"Where did this come from for me?"

(End of this chapter)