Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 168: Defeated

When it came to fighting, Chen Mu's approach was straightforward. Since he had already taken action, there was no need to worry about methods; he would naturally use whatever means necessary.

Moreover, the fact that the other party had launched a sneak attack first left him with no psychological barriers.

His method was simple, drawing inspiration from the time he caught Tang Jing's chair. However, that had been a result of quick thinking, something he couldn't easily achieve under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, growing a stone shoot from the ground was not a difficult task.

The opponent was completely focused on Chen Mu, unaware of this trick up his sleeve. As he made a misstep, trying hard to regain balance and avoid falling, Chen Mu's spear had already reached his face.

The opponent was quick to react, hastily throwing a palm strike at Chen Mu.

Unfortunately, his unstable balance prevented him from seeing clearly.

Chen Mu's spear pierced through his palm.

"Ah!"

A miserable and shrill scream.

Chen Mu paid no attention to it, pulling out an iron awl with his other hand, aiming to stab it into the person's neck.

"Stop! Hold on!"

A loud shout rang out, and before that, Chen Mu had already reduced his force. The iron awl was pressed against the man's throat.

He had been keeping an eye on another person all along.

At this moment, the person's actions genuinely surprised him.

He saw the person, who had been continuously engaging with He Ying, suddenly raise both hands as if clutching empty space.

In the next moment, two huge red energy balls appeared in the palms of his hands.

A myriad of thoughts raced through Chen Mu's mind.

How on earth was he going to get through this day?

He had discussed the issue of different abilities with Tang Jing before, and he always felt that magical-like powers were unlikely to exist. The scene of both sides throwing energy balls at each other was hard to imagine and seemed highly incompatible with the current style of abilities.

Yet, now it was unfolding right before his eyes.

The strength of Qingbei was indeed unfathomable.

He raised the two energy balls, each larger than his head, as if he was about to throw them.

These two red energy balls were even brighter than the brightest light bulb made by Dong Junwei, almost blinding to the eyes.

Chen Mu silently rejoiced that he had stopped in time; otherwise, if he had really killed this guy in his hands, the other person would have no inhibitions.

Once the other person launched an attack, Chen Mu was certain he wouldn't be able to dodge it. Judging from the appearance, not to mention just an ordinary shield, even a house made of stainless steel would be reduced to ashes.

This was simply unfair.

"Chen... Chen Mu, how about we negotiate?" The Qingbei member holding the energy balls appeared somewhat nervous, stuttering as he spoke.

The more he appeared this way, the more Chen Mu didn't dare to provoke him.

This kind of person, normally timid and lacking in combat experience, is most likely to go crazy. In the event of a mutual destruction scenario, who would be there to reason with then?

"How do we negotiate?"

Even though he felt apprehensive, Chen Mu didn't loosen his grip on the hostage; it was his final card.

"You release him, and we'll each go our separate ways. No need for you to visit Qingbei again. How about that?"

"Fine, but you first put away that thing," Chen Mu replied casually.

"That's impossible," the other person remained firm.

"Then there's nothing to discuss."

"I can let you take him to the door, but if you dare to make a move, I will make sure we all perish together with my energy ball. We'll see if you can escape from it."

So, it's called an energy ball?

Chen Mu was contemplating various plans, such as pushing the hostage away and throwing all his grenades, or letting He Ying and the others leave first and finding the opportunity to act later.

However, none of these plans guaranteed complete safety.

The main reason was that he knew nothing about the person in front of him, and nobody could predict the true power of that energy ball.

He didn't dare to gamble.

Yet, he didn't want to comply with the other's words either.

At this moment, Chen Mu calmed down and said, "Let's not rush this. Can I ask, what are your names?"

"Is it necessary to ask? I might give a false name to fool you."

Although the person was nervous, his thinking was quite clear.

"Even a false name will do. At least we can have some form of address, right?" Chen Mu smiled.

"I'm Liang Yan, and he's Xin Ping."

"Liang Yan? That name suits you quite well."

"Enough chitchat. Honestly, I can't hold on much longer. Once the time comes, whether you release the hostage or not, we will all die together."

At this point, Chen Mu was already about fifty percent sure that this guy was bluffing.

Perhaps this energy ball only looked intimidating, but in reality, it was not as effective as it appeared.

Due to the laws of abilities, sudden changes in a person's power were impossible. As Tang Jing had said, even if someone's ability could be world-destroying, it wouldn't exist at this stage. It would either be an illusion or have significant limitations.

The guy in front of him was quite similar to the large fireball he encountered in middle school.

It could also be a mere illusion.

But the problem was, Chen Mu didn't dare to gamble.

What if he was wrong?

He would lose his life.

"Alright, but I need to get something. I'll take him outside and release him at the door, but you can't be too close," Chen Mu proposed.

"Okay," the person readily agreed.

Chen Mu called for He Ying and directed Yu Yuan and others to pack the soap and aluminum alloy into Zhou Xuliang's space.

Throughout the process, they maintained a dispersed formation, fearing that the guy might suddenly go crazy and take them all down in one fell swoop.

After packing everything, Chen Mu held the guy named Xin Ping hostage and walked outward.

"You guys go ahead."

"Okay."

He Ying didn't hesitate and quickly ran with Yu Yuan and the others towards the door.

Liang Yan seemed to want to stop them, but upon seeing Chen Mu's iron awl pressing against Xin Ping, he immediately kept quiet.

Xin Ping was in so much pain that he was almost on the verge of passing out, but he still seemed aware of the situation around him. He was clearly afraid of death, yet at this moment, he didn't boast or threaten them with attacks.

Instead, he cooperated and followed Chen Mu backward.

His other hand had already been bound by Chen Mu using a steel rod, and the hand pierced by the spear was now a bloody mess. Initially, he screamed in agony, then it turned into groans, and now he seemed completely drained of energy, unable even to make a sound.

In fact, Chen Mu really wanted to dispose of these two guys right here.

He had always avoided direct confrontation with Qingbei, and this incident might lead to an irreconcilable conflict. If possible, silently eliminating them here would be the best choice.

However, things didn't go as planned.

He Ying and the others had already left the doorway and shouted back at Chen Mu, "There's no one outside."

Chen Mu nodded.

He retreated faster.

When he reached the spot where the hole was opened, he exited first, using Xin Ping as a shield, blocking the way forward.

At this point, Liang Yan couldn't see the figures of Chen Mu and the others anymore, but Xin Ping remained steady at the entrance of the hole.

After waiting for a while, he grew impatient and said, "Is it done?!"

No one answered.

His hands were trembling slightly, but he still didn't dare to move forward.

After about a minute or so of waiting, unable to wait any longer, he gathered his courage and walked up.

The energy ball in his hand dissipated as he used one hand to support Xin Ping. Xin Ping's upper body tilted, and his head drooped onto Liang Yan's shoulder, exposing the hole behind him.

There was no sign of Chen Mu and the others.

Xin Ping was now in a semi-unconscious state, his body completely reliant on a metal ring fastened around his waist, but now that someone touched him, he immediately went limp.

Liang Yan, without bothering to chase Chen Mu and the others, quickly checked Xin Ping's injuries.

The hand that had been pierced by the spear was being continuously disturbed by the iron rod, and its original appearance was almost unrecognizable. It was unlikely to ever recover to its previous state.

Looking at the other hand, it was tightly entwined by the steel rod, swollen and even slightly dark.

"Damn it!"

Liang Yan cursed and hurriedly tried to remove the steel rods.

However, Chen Mu had fastened them tightly, as if it was a bracelet that was two sizes too small, completely constricting the hand.

After fussing around for a long time, Liang Yan hadn't made any progress. He slumped to the ground in frustration.

Looking at the already unconscious Xin Ping, he knew very well that once they returned to Qingbei, this guy's hands would likely be irreparably damaged.

And without his hands, his ability would be rendered useless.

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