Magic: Reincarnate from high-voltage electricity at the start, level up independently.

A crimson fire lotus, carrying the power to incinerate everything, shot out through the air. The flames surged along with the airflow, scorching and distorting the air in its path, and instantly scorching the weeds on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, it slammed down on the mutated creature's massive and ferocious body with overwhelming force.

"boom--!!!"

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted, with a power comparable to the detonation of a small nuclear bomb.

The dazzling golden light and crimson fire intertwined, instantly dispelling the surrounding darkness, like a small sun suddenly falling in the middle of the street, its light so bright that it was impossible to look directly at it.

In an instant, rubble mixed with flames flew everywhere, and dust billowed up. The violent shockwave spread wildly in a ring in all directions, crushing the ground into cracks.

The bearded man stood not far away, feeling an overwhelming aura of destruction wash over him, his skin burning from the heat.

His face was filled with horror, and he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs towards the squad members in the distance:

"Oh no! Get out of the way!"

The team members, having fought against mutants for years, had developed a keen sense of danger and naturally understood the terror of this force.

They immediately abandoned their fight with the few mutated minions around them and charged frantically towards the cars and corners of buildings nearby. They sought any sturdy cover that could withstand the impact, hiding behind it and daring not to show their faces.

In the blink of an eye, a violent shockwave swept in, far more terrifying than anyone had anticipated.

The debris and trash cans piled up on the side of the street were instantly blown more than ten meters away and shattered into pieces in the air;

The tempered glass of the shops along the street shattered into pieces, with glass shards mixed with the heat flying everywhere;

Even a family car weighing several tons was thrown off course by the shockwave, its body shaking violently and threatening to overturn.

The vice-captain was already severely exhausted and reacted a beat too slowly. As soon as he took a step, he was surrounded by four smaller monsters that had split off, blocking all his escape routes.

"No way..."

The vice-captain's eyes twitched violently, veins bulged on his forehead, and he cursed inwardly, his face filled with despair and helplessness.

He swung his sword at the monsters with all his might, but exhausted, his attacks were powerless and he couldn't break through the encirclement at all.

In the end, he could only stand there frozen, watching helplessly as the scorching heat and shockwaves rushed toward him.

"Oh my god!"

The next second, he was violently thrown into the air by the enormous force, his body tracing an arc in the air.

With a muffled thud, it crashed heavily onto a roadside tree about ten meters away, which was as thick as a wrist.

"Click—"

The slender tree trunk could not withstand the enormous force and snapped in half on the spot.

The deputy captain fell down the broken tree into the nearby green belt. Dust covered his body, and he lay motionless, his fate unknown.

"this……"

The bearded man lay prone under a car chassis, his hands gripping the steel frame tightly, watching helplessly as this scene unfolded.

His heart clenched, and he silently mourned for the vice-captain for three seconds, letting out a sigh.

Brother, good luck to you. I'm barely able to take care of myself right now.

Even though Li Yue was standing far away and in a safe area, she was still deeply shocked by this terrifying aura.

The light from the explosion was so blinding that she could only hurriedly raise both arms to shield her eyes, leaving only a narrow gap as she squinted at the center of the blast.

A gust of wind, carrying heat and dust, swept towards her, whipping her long hair wildly, strands of it tangled messily around her cheeks and neck. A few strands of hair close to the heat were slightly singed.

A full minute passed before the dust and smoke gradually dissipated and the heatwave slowly subsided.

The crowd slowly peeked out and looked at the center of the explosion, and couldn't help but gasp.

The area within a radius of several dozen meters was in ruins, with the ground covered in charred soot and cracks, the building walls peeling off, and debris burned to ashes.

The tall and ferocious Class A mutant from before had vanished without a trace, leaving not even a trace of its body.

Without the support of the main monster, the four smaller monsters that split off began to rot rapidly, eventually turning into wisps of black smoke that drifted away in the wind, leaving no trace whatsoever.

"Is this...it's over?"

The short-haired team member dusted himself off and slowly emerged from behind a corner of a building.

He stared blankly at the street before him, which resembled a disaster site, his face filled with disbelief. After a long while, he finally managed to stammer, "It's like a dream, this is too outrageous."

"Who can argue with that?"

The female team member climbed out of a sewer without iron railings, her body covered in black filth and emitting a foul, fishy smell.

To avoid the shockwave, she lay prone in the ditch filled with sewage and silt, her newly done delicate pink manicure completely turned grayish-black.

But she paid no attention to her disheveled appearance. Her eyes were fixed on the center of the explosion, scanning back and forth, trying to find the mysterious figure who had made the move. She murmured softly to herself:

"Is this the strength of a top-ranked expert? To wipe out an A-level mutant with a casual strike is terrifying."

She became even more certain that this mysterious fire-elemental powerhouse was none other than the legendary "Zhu Rong." She secretly vowed that if she could find him, she would definitely get his autograph.

However, no matter how wide she looked and searched carefully several times, she could not find the figure who had made the move, except for the messy scene around her.

It was as if it had never existed.

The bearded man crawled out from under the car, strode over to the team members, and scanned them one by one with concern on his face.

"Are you all alright? Is anyone hurt?"

"It's nothing, Captain, we just got a little dusty." The group shook their heads, indicating that they were fine.

"However..." The shield-bearer sighed, his gaze slowly sweeping over the horrific scene around him. A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he said helplessly:

"I wonder how much damage this is. Judging from the scale of the damage, the bonus probably won't be enough to cover the costs. It feels like we're going to be drained of our savings."

After saying that, he looked at the bearded man with feigned grievance and joked, "Captain, is it too late for me to apply to leave the team? I really can't take this job anymore."

"...What do you think?" The bearded man glared at him, annoyed by his dejected look, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't be nervous, it's not entirely our fault. It's mostly the fire lotus's fault."

"Besides, this is an A-level mutant. If anyone is to blame, it's the Abyss Defense Force. They failed to supervise it properly, and it escaped. The responsibility doesn't lie with us at all. Relax."

"...I understand." The shield-wielding member forced a smile, making his bitter grin look somewhat more cheerful.

"That's more like it, don't be so downcast."

The bearded man grinned, gave him a big bear hug, patted him on the back, and then turned to greet the others.

"Let's go, don't stay here. Let's go back to the station and report this matter in detail, then make a proper record of the situation on site, and leave the rest to the station."

The group took one last look before walking to the special vehicle with a unique license plate, which represented the Divine Order Bureau on a mission, parked by the roadside.

In the car, Big Beard focused intently on driving, while the others sat in the back seat, chatting idly to relieve the tension and fatigue from the battle.

The short-haired team member huddled among the group, lowered his voice, and asked with a face full of curiosity:

"What do you think would be the odds of that mysterious expert fighting our captain one-on-one?"

"I think..." The shield-wielding member opened his mouth subconsciously, about to say that the two were 90/10, and that the other side could kill the captain nine times a minute.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the rearview mirror and was shocked to find that the bearded man was staring at him through the mirror, clearly eavesdropping on their conversation.

He panicked and quickly corrected himself, "The captain is actually quite strong, really!"

"It's just that... it's just that I was countered by this mutant's super regenerative ability and couldn't unleash my full power."

"If I had to say, it's a 50/50 chance. In close combat, the opponent might not be a match for the captain."

"Are you serious?" The female team member rolled her eyes dramatically, making no attempt to hide her disdain, silently complaining to herself:

Although he is our captain, your flattery is too fake and obvious; you're just blatantly lying.

She cleared her throat and earnestly stated her opinion: "Although the ranking list does have rankings, those rankings are based on performance, not pure ability."

"I saw some of the top-ranked experts on the Earth Ranking make a move in the secret realm before. Their strength was indeed not weak, but they were far inferior to the one just now. They were far from being able to kill an A-level mutant with one blow."

"Oh?"

The short-haired teammate raised an eyebrow, his curiosity deepening, and pressed on, "So, in your opinion, who's stronger, him or 'Shadow'?"

The female team member was speechless for a moment. After a two-second silence, she glared at him and said with a hint of helplessness, "Isn't that obvious?"

"Shadow is widely recognized as the number one on the Earth Ranking and a big shot on the Heaven Ranking. There are only a handful of strong individuals in the entire country who can rival him; they're not even in the same league."

The so-called Heavenly Ranking is an exclusive ranking of the ten strongest individuals in all the Divine Order Bureaus across the country, and it is selected every three years.

Moreover, only those who made it onto the Earthly Ranking that year were qualified to compete for this position.

Those on the Heavenly Ranking are beyond ordinary strength; they represent the ceiling of the nation's divine order powerhouses and are the top forces protecting this land.

"Shadow" is undoubtedly the strongest in the East Sea Divine Order Local Ranking, with unfathomable strength, and is the benchmark in the hearts of all team members.

Although the female team members secretly wanted to curry favor with this mysterious "Zhurong," they wouldn't blindly praise her and could discern the difference in their abilities.

The short-haired team member touched his nose, smiled awkwardly, and his gaze swept over the bearded man, the female team member, and the shield-wielding team member in turn.

Seeing that everyone was safe and sound, he suddenly paused, as if he had suddenly remembered something. His voice trailed off, and he asked with a hint of guilt:

"Brothers, have we... forgotten something important?"

"Forgot what?"

The shield-wielding team member and the female team member exchanged a glance, and a figure flashed through their minds at the same time.

The smiles on their faces froze instantly, their throats bobbed violently, and then they exclaimed in unison:

"Damn it! The vice-captain is still in the bushes!"

In the driver's seat, the bearded man, feeling guilty upon hearing this, remained silent, then slammed on the brakes and sped off like a madman...

[ps: The following is a letter of repentance from the Eastern Sea Divine Order Bureau, one of the Six Immortals, the "Poet Immortal" Big Beard—]

To my dearest vice-captain:

Seeing this letter is like meeting you in person.

I miss you so much, it breaks my heart.

You are in that lonely and desolate green belt,

A cold wind blows, and I gaze at the night sky.

How are you doing? Have you been cold, hungry, or wronged?

I am guilty.

I'll never leave you in the green belt again.

at the same time--