Chapter 18: A Difficult Battle

Ye Feng stared at him coldly, not fleeing in panic as the Bull thought.
“Are you planning to give up resisting now?” Though the Bull was somewhat puzzled, he didn’t believe Ye Feng, who had run out of bullets, could escape his grasp.
“How did you do that?” Instead of answering the Bull’s question, Ye Feng raised his own doubt. His speed should have been much greater than the Bull’s, yet he couldn’t possibly remain unharmed under such a heavy barrage of bullets.
“You mean—your bullets missed me just now?” The Bull smiled triumphantly. “Of course, ordinary people can’t understand.”
“Ordinary people? Aren’t you human?” Although Ye Feng clearly understood what the Bull meant, he pretended to be confused.
“In a sense, I’m already beyond human!” The Bull thought it unimportant to explain this to him; instead, it would serve as a deterrent.
“Beyond human? Are you an android? Or a product of genetic engineering?” What Ye Feng wanted to know most was how the Bull had dodged his bullets.
“Neither. In your terms, I just know a bit of martial arts,” the Bull said with a mocking smile.
“Do you really think I’m a three-year-old? If martial arts could really do that, everyone in the army would learn them—why would we need guns then?” Ye Feng shook his head and laughed. He pretended to dismiss the answer superficially but was actually very puzzled, eager to get more information from him.
“Do you really think martial arts are just what’s shown in movies and TV—just a few moves and you’re done? Chinese martial arts are profound and extensive! They’ve been passed down for thousands of years. Do you really think only the trivial parts remain?” Hearing Ye Feng’s disbelief, the Bull launched a series of accusations. As a martial artist, nothing angered him more than having the authenticity of martial arts denied.
“I’ve never heard that martial arts can be used to dodge bullets…” Seeing the Bull’s expression, Ye Feng knew his goal was almost achieved. He provoked the Bull again.
“There are many things you haven’t heard of! In fact, with my speed, I really can’t dodge these bullets. It’s only because I’ve learned a set of movement techniques that gives me an edge over peers at the same level. Martial arts involve not just strength but also skill. Mastering enough skill can double a person’s combat effectiveness.” Finally, the Bull revealed the truth.

Ye Feng finally got the answer he wanted. “So that’s how it is…”
“Now, you can take these secrets known only to ordinary people and rest in peace in the netherworld…” As soon as the words left his mouth, the Bull appeared suddenly in front of Ye Feng. With a swift punch from his right hand, he aimed straight at Ye Feng’s abdomen. “Die, kid!”
The Bull, who had thought this punch would surely kill Ye Feng, saw something incredible.
That fatal punch was blocked in mid-air by Ye Feng’s palm, which was smaller than his own fist.
He was momentarily stunned. Ye Feng didn’t move; instead, he smiled gently at him. “This punch is really gentle indeed…”
The Bull became furious and launched a series of heavy punches, but Ye Feng blocked them all one by one.
“You…” After failing in his attacks, the Bull finally realized, “Have you been playing tricks on me the whole time?”
“No, I just wanted to know why, despite your speed not being as fast as mine, you could dodge bullets,” Ye Feng said with a smile, shaking his head. “If I had attacked from the start, you definitely wouldn’t have told me this secret.”
“I’ll kill you!” The Bull was burning with rage. He never expected to be tricked by a mere kid.
“You can’t kill me!” Ye Feng shook his head. “In terms of strength and speed, you’re both inferior to me…”
Before Ye Feng could finish speaking, he noticed a shocking change in the Bull’s combat stats as detected by the scanner.
His overall combat value remained unchanged at 157.
However, his unknown energy had decreased significantly, while his strength had increased greatly.
The original stats were:
Strength: 48
Speed: 37
Mental Power: 29
Unknown Energy: 43
Now they were:
Strength: 91
Speed: 37
Mental Power: 29
Unknown Energy: 0
“What’s going on?” Ye Feng watched in astonishment as this happened before his eyes. He also saw the veins bulging on the Bull’s muscular body. His complexion was no longer healthy but showed a sickly redness. “How could the unknown energy change like that?”
Before Ye Feng could figure this out, the Bull attacked again, and Ye Feng fled desperately, relying on his speed advantage.
With strength of 91, if hit head-on, Ye Feng knew it would cause him severe injuries. If hit in a vital area, it could even be fatal.

“What should I do? If this continues, I’ll be killed!” Ye Feng realized the severity of the situation.
“Boi!” Ye Feng extended his mental energy into the Void Realm to seek Boi’s help.
“I accidentally encountered a monster that can even instantly boost its strength. Is there any way you can help me deal with this huge problem?” Ye Feng asked.
“You’ll be fine if you hide here!” Boi said jokingly.
“I want a solution to the problem, not a way to avoid it!” Without hesitation, Ye Feng rejected that idea. Although hiding in the Void Realm was safe, if it became a habit, he would instinctively want to flee whenever faced with a stronger opponent—this wasn’t what Ye Feng wanted. Rather than doing that, he preferred to fight head-on. If he really was defeated, hiding there before dying wouldn’t be shameful.
“Well, I can’t offer much help. But in the situation you described, that person won’t last long in that state. And once their strength returns to normal, they’ll be weak for a while.” With Boi’s advice, Ye Feng felt much more relieved.
“You say it won’t last long—how long exactly?” Ye Feng couldn’t help but ask further.
“It varies from person to person. Some last a bit longer, some a bit shorter. But for someone at that level, it won’t exceed an hour. Probably around half an hour!” Boi concluded.
“Half an hour…” Ye Feng murmured, then said to Boi, “I need an M4A1 with a silencer and extra magazines. Boi, install the silencer and magazines for me and put it in the storage cabinet. Thanks!”
“I don’t believe I can’t take you down!” Before long, Ye Feng suddenly turned around, aiming an M4A1 at the Bull behind him and firing wildly.
Before the Bull could even figure out where Ye Feng got the gun, it was forced to flee in disarray.
Unlike a pistol like the USP, the M4A1, as a highly capable carbine, far surpassed the USP in terms of firing rate, bullet penetration, and range.
Even with a silencer, bullets fired by the M4A1 from a hundred meters away could easily penetrate walls, let alone human bodies.

Bull originally wanted to attack while Ye Feng was changing bullets, but what he never expected was that almost as soon as one magazine was used up, Ye Feng had already replaced it with another. His astonishing speed was terrifyingly beyond what an ordinary person could achieve.

With the rapid firing of the M4A1, although Bull tried his best to flee, he still couldn’t avoid getting shot. Though it was only a superficial wound, such injuries under a hail of bullets were practically a death sentence. After being shot three times, he finally gave up the idea of letting Ye Feng run out of ammunition, as he could no longer keep track of how many times Ye Feng had changed magazines. He chose to turn into a corner and hide in the darkness.

Although Bull’s wounds weren’t deep, the bullets embedded in his body made it difficult for him to move as freely as before. Moreover, the bullet wounds kept bleeding, and over time, death from shock wasn’t impossible. He needed to find a place to remove the bullets, bandage his wounds, and escape this damned place.

The main reason he chose to flee wasn’t just because of his injuries, but also because he knew he had been in that state for almost half an hour and was approaching exhaustion. In that condition, Ye Feng could easily kill him even without a gun.

“What an naive guy!” Ye Feng didn’t rush to chase after him but instead quietly monitored Bull’s location through the detector. “If you run back to your lair, you might still have a chance. Hiding here is just asking for death…”

Ye Feng glanced at the two white dots on the range detector, which still remained in the same spot, seemingly unchanged. Only then did he turn his attention to Bull, who was hiding among the clutter.

When he saw Bull’s strength value start to drop, Ye Feng finally moved, walking slowly toward where Bull was hiding.

As time passed, Bull’s strength finally returned to its original level. At that moment, something strange happened—almost the instant Bull’s strength dropped back to 48, all his combat stats changed drastically.

Strength: 24
Speed: 18
Mental Strength: 21
Unknown Energy: 0

“Is this what they call a side effect?” Ye Feng was slightly stunned by the numbers before shaking his head helplessly. “It really is a serious consequence indeed!”

Taking back the M4A1 in his hands, Ye Feng switched to the USP he had been using earlier and stepped forward toward the place where Bull was hiding.
When he heard Ye Feng’s footsteps, Bull immediately stopped all movement, even his breathing, which had been caused by pain, became barely audible. He glanced warily in the direction of the sound, clearly aware that he was at his weakest at this moment. If Ye Feng discovered him, there was no chance of his survival.
With each step Ye Feng took, Bull’s heart trembled more.
Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Bull, somewhat suspicious, tried to peek out, but felt a cold sensation on the back of his head, transmitted clearly to his brain through his sensory nerves. His pupils dilated dramatically, and he lowered his head in despair.
“Be a good person in your next life!” Ye Feng pulled the trigger firmly…