They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 310 The First Battle
The air inside the hangar seemed to freeze instantly at Zhang Qi's casual challenge.

The hunters who were maintaining the reconstructed structure around them stopped what they were doing at the same time, and all eyes, a mixture of astonishment, confusion and intense interest, were turned toward them.

Mark's cheerful smile froze for a moment before slowly fading away.

He stared intently at Zhang Qi, trying to find even the slightest trace of a joke on his childhood friend's face.

But he failed.

Zhang Qi's eyes were as calm as a deep pool, but his seriousness left no room for doubt.

"Are you serious?"

Mark's voice lowered, and his expression became serious.

"I said, let's have a fight."

"Prove that I am capable of protecting myself, and you will have no reason to refuse my request to go down to the ground."

Zhang Qi repeated himself without backing down; he had wanted to go to the ground for a long time.

After all, only in this way can we investigate the ecology of mana...

……

Meanwhile, chaos erupted in the hangar.

"Did I hear that right? Zhang Qi from the engineering department wants to challenge the team leader to a one-on-one fight?"

A hunter with a face covered in grease dropped a wrench to the ground with a clang.

"Are you crazy? He's a researcher, going up against Captain Mark? Isn't that just asking for a beating?"

"Hey, this is going to be interesting! Quick, clear out the fighting ring in the training ground!"

The hunters are a group of people who live on the brink of life and death, and their blood runs with a fighting spirit and a love of watching a good show.

They were no strangers to Zhang Qi, the genius of the engineering department who almost single-handedly upgraded the weapons and equipment they relied on for survival by several levels.

They respected him, and some were even grateful to him.

Moreover, everyone knows that Zhang Qi and Captain Mark are childhood friends who grew up together. One is determined to become the strongest shield, and the other is determined to forge the sharpest spear for this shield.

These two, one skilled in literature and the other in martial arts, are the pillars of the beacon of modern times. Now, they are about to clash?

This is way more exciting than finding a new supply point...

"The betting has started! Don't just stand there, place your bets now!"

An old soldier with an exceptionally loud voice shouted, instantly igniting everyone's enthusiasm.

"Nonsense! Why even bother with a betting pool? When it comes to boxing, who in the entire Lighthouse can beat the captain?"

"Exactly! How can this betting game even start? Who would bet on Zhang Qi?"

"I'm betting Captain Mark, three days of VIP food!"

"I'll also pressure the captain! Two days!!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, with almost unanimously placing their bets on Mark.

The veteran who was trying to open the market scratched his head, looking troubled.

"In that case, I'll bet on Zhang Qi, one hundred contribution points."

Just then, a clear and melodious female voice came from outside the crowd, carrying a hint of indifference that left no room for argument.

The noisy voices fell silent.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young woman in a lighthouse senior officer's uniform walking slowly towards them.

She had long, neat black hair, a beautiful face, and calm yet sharp eyes. She was none other than Jing Nan, the adopted daughter of Morgan, the lord of Lighthouse Navigation City, and the person in charge of the entire Lighthouse Navigation Control Room.

"Miss Jingnan is so generous!"

"Quick, quick, quick! The odds have changed! I'm betting on Captain Mark!"

"Me too! 10 contribution points, betting on the captain to win!"

"What the heck! You threw out all your secret stash of money?!"

The crowd's enthusiasm was completely ignited, and the sound of betting rose and fell.

Jingnan just smiled faintly, ignoring the noise around him.

In the high-intensity, high-pressure work at the lighthouse, such a moment of relaxation is a rare treat for her.

Her gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Zhang Qi in the direction of the arena, her eyes conveying a crystal-clear message:

If you lose, see how I deal with you.

Zhang Qi understood the warning in his childhood sweetheart's eyes, and a helpless warmth welled up in his heart.

His initial goal was simply to prove his strength to Mark, but he never expected that this group of troublemakers would turn things into a grand performance that everyone would watch.

"mark!"

"If you can't even beat a researcher, don't call yourself my apprentice!"

A loud voice rang out from the other side, and an elderly man with white hair and beard but vigorous spirit parted the crowd, put his hands on his hips, and glared at Mark.

He just bet his entire life savings on this...

"Hehe~ Qi, it's not too late to give up now~"
I'm not going to let them through.

Mark cracked his neck, his joints popping, and then assumed a fighting stance, his muscular arms like two iron pillars, brimming with explosive power.

"bring it on."

Seeing this, Zhang Qi's eyes also calmed down completely, and he began to mobilize the energy within his body.

The moment Zhang Qi finished speaking, Mark moved.

There was no probing, no fancy maneuvers; it was the purest and most direct attack.

His body was like a tiger unleashed from its cage; he stomped heavily on the metal ring, which groaned loudly.

He exuded an incomparably fierce aura and instantly covered a distance of several meters.

He unleashed a fierce boxing combination, his left jab as fast as lightning, a feint followed by a powerful right punch that whistled through the air, maximizing his advantages in height, weight, and reach.

To dissuade his friend from going to the surface, he wasn't going to hold back. After all, suffering a little here was better than losing his life on the surface.

But the next moment, something unexpected happened.

Faced with this devastating blow, Zhang Qi's reaction surprised everyone.

He neither retreated nor resisted. His body slumped slightly, like an ancient pine tree rooted in the earth.

In order to study the armor, he found a sorcerer in the armor world and has already mastered the combat techniques of three sets of armor.

Based on the properties of the life-generating substance he discovered, this should be the most suitable and applicable method.

However, at present, compared to a powerhouse like Mark, he doesn't have an advantage in speed or strength.

The only applicable technique is the [Xingtian Armor Combat Technique].

Xingtian is adept at both offense and defense, emphasizing "acting later but arriving first, strategizing to exploit weaknesses." Its core principle is to maintain absolute composure in the ever-changing battlefield, observe and analyze, then find the enemy's only weakness and use one's strengths to attack that weakness.

Mark's right fist rapidly enlarged in Zhang Qi's pupils, and the force of the wind even blew up his bangs.

But in Zhang Qi's perception, he saw more than just a fist. He saw Mark's slightly tilted shoulder as he exerted force, his slightly stiff waist and abdomen as he pursued maximum power, and the angle formed between his left leg, which supported his body, and the ground as he charged forward.

Just as Mark's fist was about to touch his face, Zhang activated his attack.

His left foot slid half a step to the side and back at an extremely subtle angle, and his whole body, like a willow catkin blown by the wind, avoided the punch by the slightest margin.

At the same time, he raised his right elbow, not to strike Mark's fist, but to precisely and lightly tap the inside of Mark's wrist.

A clever trick penetrated, instantly interrupting Mark's subsequent exertion of force.

Ok? !

Mark was startled. He felt as if his sure-fire punch had landed on a spinning ball of cotton, its force largely dissipated, causing his subsequent combo to falter for a moment.

In a battle between masters, victory or defeat can be decided in an instant.

Zhang Qi perfectly captured that moment of stillness.

He pressed close to Mark's arm, his right leg whipping out like a whip, swiftly striking at the back of Mark's supporting left knee. The strike wasn't intended to inflict serious damage, but merely to disrupt Mark's balance.

Mark reacted swiftly, forcefully twisting his body and pulling his left leg back to avoid the insidious attack. However, his attack rhythm had been completely disrupted.

"oh--!"

The onlookers gasped in surprise. They had expected a crushing defeat, but to their surprise, in the very first round, their invincible Captain Mark suffered a slight setback.

On the arena, the balance of power shifted instantly.

Zhang Qi pressed his advantage relentlessly. His movements were fluid and graceful, his arms like two nimble snakes, sometimes parrying, sometimes coiling, and sometimes thrusting.

Each of his attacks avoided a direct confrontation with Mark, instead striking precisely when Mark's old strength was exhausted and his new strength had not yet been generated, leaving Mark scrambling and flustered.

What's going on. !

Mark was both shocked and furious; he was not angry at Zhang Qi, but at himself.

His original tactic was to utilize his superhuman physical abilities to overwhelm the enemy head-on with strength and speed.

But Zhang Qi could always anticipate his next move and then use the most energy-efficient method to dismantle and counterattack.

That feeling was incredibly frustrating.

"Roar!"

With that thought, Mark roared and stopped sticking to boxing moves.

Since he's at a disadvantage in terms of technique, all we need to do is utilize his physical abilities.

He suddenly spread his arms wide, shaking off Zhang Qi's entanglement, and then unleashed a fierce sweeping leg kick, bringing with it a gust of wind, sweeping towards Zhang Qi's lower body.

This is the most practical fighting technique on the battlefield: simple, brutal, and effective.

However, Zhang Qi moved like a ghost, leaping up a step ahead and nimbly avoiding the kick.

In mid-air, he stretched out his body and delivered a clean and decisive downward kick, aiming straight for Mark's head.

The transitions between offense and defense were fluid and seamless.

Wow! Are all the researchers at the Lighthouse this amazing?

"No way? This is outrageous!"

Seeing this battle of attack and defense, the hunter team members watching exclaimed in surprise.

"Good lad... such tricky footwork... what kind of technique is that?"

Looking at the situation on the field, the white-haired instructor Elon felt a pang of anxiety. If this continued, would he be left with nothing for his funeral?
A smile appeared on Jingnan's face, and an unusual light flickered in his calm eyes.

She never expected Zhang Qi to have such fighting power...

And so, amidst the gasps of the crowd, the battle on the arena grew ever more intense.

Mark gradually adapted to Zhang Qi's rhythm and began to engage in a near-brutal war of attrition with Zhang Qi, relying on his extraordinary stamina and resilience.

Zhang Qi's [Armor Combat Technique] became increasingly proficient, and he began to weave leg and fist attacks between Xing Tian's palm techniques.

The two figures rapidly intersected, collided, and separated on the arena.

Finally, after a fierce exchange of attacks, the two simultaneously seized an opening in each other's defenses.

Mark's right fist, carrying immense force, slammed towards Zhang Qi's chest.

Zhang Qi's palm strike, like a sharp blade, sliced ​​towards Mark's neck.

Both of them had nowhere to avoid it.

Just as the attack was about to hit, they all stopped moving simultaneously.

Mark's fist stopped an inch in front of Zhang Qi's chest, the sharp wind from the punch making his clothes flutter. Zhang Qi's palm was also pressed against the skin on the side of Mark's neck, and he could clearly feel the pulsation of the other's artery.

Inside the hangar, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone held their breath, watching the scene on the stage that seemed to freeze in time.

Tie.

An outcome that no one could have predicted.

Mark slowly withdrew his fist, his chest heaving violently, sweat sliding down his resolute cheeks.

He looked at Zhang Qi, who was also panting, and his eyes were filled with deep shock and a hint of admiration that was both funny and exasperating.

"You kid..."

He was panting heavily, grinning to reveal a set of white teeth.
"You call this... 'working out'?"

“I told you before, but you just didn’t believe me.”

Zhang Qi also withdrew his hand, rubbed his slightly sore wrist, and responded with a smile.

Inside his body, life essence was flowing actively, repairing muscle fatigue and replenishing consumed energy.

This feeling is indescribable.

"Now, can I go to the surface with you?"

Mark was silent for a moment. He glanced at Zhang Qi, then looked around at the team members who were still in shock below the stage.

He knew that Zhang Yong had earned everyone's respect through his abilities, including his own.

"I'm all set."

"However, you'll have to explain that yourself over there."

A moment later, Mark teased with a hint of schadenfreude, gesturing with his chin in one direction.

Following his gaze, Zhang Qi saw Jing Nan gracefully walking onto the ring with his arms crossed...

(End of this chapter)