As soon as the words left his mouth, the slender female assassin who had been silently waiting in the shadows lunged forward with the deadly grace of a cheetah! The sharp steel fork in her hand shot straight for Jason's throat!
Unfortunately for her, this was no longer the same Jason she had cornered in the underground parking garage. When the steel fork came within striking distance, he snatched it from the air with lightning-fast reflexes. A tremendous force traveled along the weapon's shaft into Erica's arm, violently yanking her forward.
In one fluid motion, Jason delivered a precise strike to the back of her head. The silver-level assassin crumpled unconscious to the ground.
He turned to Alessa with a calculating look. "Do you know the Hand's brainwashing control technique?"
Alessa nodded firmly. "I do."
"Excellent," Jason said, tossing Erica's limp form toward her. "From now on, she'll serve as your subordinate. The two of you will help me take control of the Hand."
"Yes!"
"Baka. You're underestimating us." Murakami stepped forward, his English laced with a distinct accent, every word sharp with warning.
Jason gave him a dismissive glance. "I've killed you once already. Why should I consider you worthy of my attention now?"
"Hahaha..." Murakami erupted into laughter, an unsettling gleam of joy in his eyes. "Out in the world, perhaps I wouldn't stand a chance against you! But here? Here we have an entire dragon skeleton!"
As he spoke, he approached the massive dragon bones and extended his hand. "I spent thirty years studying martial arts in K'un-Lun, and not just combat techniques. I learned to harness dragon chi! In this world, no one understands it better than us—except perhaps the Iron Fist himself. These dragon bones contain immense power. Even if I can only control one percent of it, that's more than enough to destroy you!"
Murakami's face flushed with exertion as a golden orb of dragon chi emerged from the skeleton, floating slowly toward him as if being drawn by an invisible force. The process appeared strenuous; beads of sweat formed on his brow.
Jason yawned theatrically. "So when you talk about controlling dragon chi, you mean something like... this?"
With those words, he extended his arm. Instantly, his entire limb transformed, glowing bright red like freshly forged iron. The dragon chi that Murakami had struggled so hard to summon suddenly reversed course—like a stream returning to the ocean—rushing directly toward Jason and merging seamlessly with his body!
The five members of the Hand's leadership stared in open-mouthed shock.
"How is this possible?"
"Is he the current Iron Fist?"
"Impossible! The current Iron Fist remains on the mountain!"
"Some kind of rogue Iron Fist?"
Alexandra's worldview shattered before her eyes. "Who are you?"
"The Punisher, Hell's Butcher, Iron Man, Thor—call me whatever you like," Jason shrugged. "I'll collect many more names in the future. But right now, shouldn't you be preparing to die?"
The five leaders exchanged uneasy glances.
Dragon bones represented their lifelong obsession. After a century of searching and a decade of planning, they weren't about to surrender so easily.
Murakami's expression hardened. "Everyone, let's combine our strength to absorb the dragon chi and fight to the death! Even if he is somehow connected to the Iron Fist, he can't defeat all of us together!"
The five exchanged knowing looks before stepping back in unison, channeling their collective power.
True to the saying, unity is strength. Massive waves of dragon chi separated from the skeleton, illuminating the entire cavern with golden light.
They hadn't witnessed such concentrated dragon chi in years. Their eyes shone with fanatical excitement.
"Such power! Incredible power!"
"With this, we could even return to K'un-Lun! Shou-Lao is dead—nothing remains that can stand in our way!"
"I feel younger already! I can wield my dragon staff once more!"
Jason rolled his eyes. Lunatics, all of them.
He extended his hand again, and once more, the dragon chi abandoned them, flying toward him instead.
"No! What are you doing?!"
"Release it! Give it back!"
"Attack him! Kill him now!"
Four of the five leaders charged forward. Jason's mind focused, condensing the dragon chi within his body. With a single punch, he released four shadowy fists composed of pure dragon chi. Each struck its target with devastating precision.
Their heads exploded like overripe melons, spraying the cavern walls with gore.
Jason turned his attention to Alexandra, who remained frozen in place. Interestingly, she had been the one shouting "Kill him!" yet she herself hadn't moved a muscle.
She dropped to her knees with a thud. "Give me access to the dragon chi, and I'll serve you as my master! If you want Lady Alessa to control the Hand, I will be your greatest asset!"
Jason glanced at his system interface. He had just received a silver-level gift package. Silver-level target: 0/7.
Killing her would create more room for the next gift package, but keeping her might be useful, he thought. It would indeed be challenging for Alessa and Elektra—fellow assassin—to control the entire Hand organization.
But sharing dragon chi? Absolutely not.
He beckoned to Alessa, then addressed Alexandra: "You just want immortality, don't you? No need to beg—I'll help you achieve it."
In the next instant, Alessa bit into her neck.
"Uh...uh..." Alexandra understood what was happening and didn't resist.
Stepping around them, Jason approached the enormous dragon skeleton. Even from a distance, he could feel an ancient, overwhelming aura radiating toward him.
The dragon chi already within his body surged with anticipation.
Earlier, he had obtained an ability upgrade card and had chosen to enhance his Electrokinesis ability without hesitation—a calculated gamble. He had wagered that the dragon bones underground might directly evolve the dragon chi in his body.
It seemed his bet had paid off!
His fingers touched the ancient bone, and he was about to absorb the remaining energy when a system notification appeared.
[System has detected residual dragon marrow. Do you wish to use your bloodline fusion card to assimilate it?]
Jason frowned. Residual dragon marrow? Bloodline fusion?
Of course!
After confirming with the system, he felt an extraordinary transformation sweep through his body. Massive amounts of dragon chi, wrapped in some mysterious essence, flooded into him. All his attributes skyrocketed, with strength and defense increasing most rapidly!
Soon, the fusion completed. Feeling the explosive power now contained within him, Jason realized he had undergone an unprecedented evolution.
He checked his system stats:
[Name: Jason
Age: 22
Bloodline: Mutated Blood Dragon Bloodline: Blood Slave, Daywalker Blood, Blood Scales
Status: Normal
Power: 323
Speed: 162
Defense: 284
Constitution: 203
Will: 159
Skills: Combat Master, Pistol Master, Assault Rifle Master, Trap Proficiency, Swimming Proficiency, Basketball Proficiency...
Abilities: Night Vision, Compound Eyes, Dragon chi: Burst, Infrared Vision, Electrokinesis...
Items: None
Instance: Locked
Alternate Universe: Locked
Main Task: Those who are guilty must be punished
Iron-tier target: 21/35
Bronze-tier Target: 9/59
Silver-level Target: 0/7
Gold-level Target: 0/3
Latest Mission: Platinum Hunt
Platinum-level Target: 0/1
Creed: Kill to gain redemption]
His normal strength now exceeded five tons. Combined with his enhanced Dragon chi: Burst ability, his maximum output surpassed ten tons!
More importantly, his defense rating had undergone a massive upgrade. What was once his weakest attribute had suddenly become his second strongest.
He mentally assessed his capabilities and realized that ordinary firearms would now struggle to penetrate his defenses. Only close-range shots from large-caliber sniper rifles or anti-material weapons might pose a serious threat.
Even if injured, his constitution of over 200 points would allow him to recover within minutes!
With the exception of his relatively lower speed and spirit attributes, his transformation was practically perfect. Judging by physical capabilities alone, he could now be considered a mini-Hulk!
But this wasn't the end of his windfall. He had just eliminated hundreds of Hand ninjas in two consecutive encounters, earning six bronze gift packages. He'd also received a reward for his 100-kill streak achievement: his first five-star gold gift package, plus the silver gift package he'd just obtained.
This battle was turning into quite the profitable venture.
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