Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 236 - 53 Continuous Victories

Chapter 236: Chapter 53 Continuous Victories

Tang Zheng stood at one meter eighty-three, nicely proportioned and fit. Yet when he threw himself towards Ivan, he suddenly seemed two sizes smaller. There was indeed something about Russian men: broad backs, burly waists, and the imposing figure of a heavily armored tank. Furthermore, their agility was uncanny; Ivan pushed off on his legs and charged with full force at Tang Zheng, avoiding the bullets while simultaneously seizing the initiative instead of merely avoiding the attack.

Tang Zheng sped up as well, and the next second, the two men collided with an unstoppable momentum.

Tang Zheng saw Ivan’s iron fist flying towards his cheek with ferocious power. He didn’t dodge, instead, chose to counter the punch directly. The resulting force pushed them both back a step. But Tang Zheng and Ivan advanced once more, to trade blows once again.

Both didn’t idle their left hands. Ivan was holding a gun in one hand, and just as he aimed it for a shot, Tang Zheng’s Thunderstorm rifle struck it off course. He then pulled the trigger on his rifle, and a ball of lightning shot out.

Ivan quickly tilted his head, ignoring the electric ball that flew past his ear. He aimed his gun again, pulling the trigger at the exact moment Tang Zheng’s rifle was knocked aside, releasing a magnetic storm ball.

Tang Zheng also successfully dodged and, for a moment, the hot springs echoed with the sound of fists meeting flesh and the clanging of steel rifles. Eventually, the rifles were knocked from their hands, falling into the hot springs.

Because Tang Zheng and Ivan were fighting so closely, neither Lin Weiguo nor Zhang Hao could get a shot in; they could only watch. Zhang Hao was especially terrified, considering that he wouldn’t be able to withstand Ivan’s attacks.

Tang Zheng was also having a hard time. He landed a punch on Ivan’s left cheek, making him spit out blood, but he had to take a knee smash to his stomach in return. If not for the Firefly protective clothing, his stomach could have been shattered. However, Tang Zheng did cough up some stomach acid, which he spat at Ivan.

"Go to hell," Ivan growled, lashing out with a leg whip that seemed to blur with speed, aiming for Tang Zheng’s temple. If it hit, it could crack his skull.

Tang Zheng quickly squatted down, lowering his center of gravity and forcefully pushing off the ground with both hands, spinning counter-clockwise like a spring while simultaneously kicking towards Ivan’s supporting leg.

Ivan wanted to resist, but Tang Zheng’s strength was surprisingly massive, and as his vulnerable ankle got kicked, he lost balance and keeled over. He extended his hand, trying to regain equilibrium, but suddenly his pupils constricted.

Tang Zheng retracted his kicking leg and, at this point, his body had rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees. His left leg flew out like a crossbow bolt, using the momentum to strike Ivan in the stomach. In mid-air and unable to leverage any force, Ivan was instantly sent flying.

Without waiting for his left leg to lose its momentum, Tang Zheng forcefully pushed with both hands and lunged forward, catching up to the airborne Ivan. With his left hand, he blocked Ivan’s attack. His right hand pulled back into a fist and heavily struck Ivan in the face. Ivan was sent crashing diagonally towards the ground. Before he could even hit the ground, he was struck in the waist by Tang Zheng’s knee and rolled over onto the ground of cobblestones.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with three dislodged molar teeth, Ivan’s fury ignited. He immediately activated his Seed Ability.

On his part, Tang Zheng, winded from the quick outbursts, had expended a lot of energy. If he were more proficient in hand-to-hand combat, he would have drawn his Bronze Sword and finished him off already. Looking at Ivan, who was now activating his Seed Ability, Tang Zheng got more cautious. He knew that if he didn’t have the advantage of wearing the protective clothing, he would’ve definitely lost the fight.

"I’ll gather some information first, then release Gravity Suppression, aiming for a sure kill," Tang Zheng decided. Seeing Ivan acting as if nothing happened made him sigh, "These Russian men are tough."

"It looks like this guy has an animalistic ability," Zhang Hao, who had a bit more experience than Tang Zheng, promptly shouted, simultaneously opening fire with Lin Weiguo.

"I’ll kill you all," roared Ivan. And in a burst of energy, he transformed into a gigantic human-shaped grizzly bear, with sharp horns on his head, and his paws grown into sharp claws.

"The one to die is..." Before Tang Zheng could complete his taunt, Ivan, now in bear form, vanished and re-appeared at his side, swinging his paw.

Unable to avoid in time, Tang Zheng was struck square on the shoulder. The power behind the paw now exceeded Firefly’s protective capabilities. The distinct sound of his shoulder dislocating was heard all around, and the sharp claws tore through the protective clothing, leaving five bloody streaks.

"Tang Zheng." Seeing Tang Zheng sent hurtling towards the ground, shattering the stone floor into a cobweb of cracks, Lin Weiguo got a fright. The force behind the attack was incredibly high. Without much thought, he started firing at Ivan, not even thinking about the chance of friendly fire.

Tang Zheng tasted blood in his throat and vomited, the claw coming down for another attack. Anticipating another hard blow, his eyes suddenly flickered, and he started to roll awkwardly on the ground, disjointing his arm at the same time.

Ivan quickly closed in, intending to smash him with his bear paw that could demolish a car with a single hit. He saw Tang Zheng’s hands forcefully push off from the ground; Tang Zheng slid across the slick, water-covered surface. At the same time, he pulled out an AK74 from his Space Wristwatch and squeezed the trigger.

The black-baked AK74 spat out a shower of bullets, emitting a deafening roar. Bullets fell onto Ivan’s head, but his dense fur and sturdy defense were no match. Only a few blood drops splattered.

"Damn it." Tang Zheng couldn’t help but curse at Ivan’s robust defensive ability that even a trained monk couldn’t match.

A hundred-round drum magazine was emptied in no time, barely slowing down Ivan’s advance. About to reload, Tang Zheng saw Ivan, who was full of fierce momentum, charging towards him. He quickly retracted his hand and drew his Bronze Sword instead.

Due to the weight, the Double-handed Slaughter Axe was indeed an S-grade item. However, Tang Zheng estimated that he couldn’t swing it against Ivan without exhausting himself first. On the other hand, the Bronze Sword was excessively nimble.

For the following minute, Tang Zheng was mostly on the receiving end of the beatings with a sparse amount of counterattacks only causing some minor injuries to Ivan, which didn’t seem to matter to him.

Tang Zheng figured it out, Ivan was also type who preferred extreme enhancement route. Aside from a gun, and the cheapest Protective Clothing, all his points were spent on enhancing his physical abilities, which were now more than ten times stronger than a normal human.

"Still not dead?" Ivan seemed a little envious of Tang Zheng’s Protective Clothing.

"The person who should be dead is you." Once Tang Zheng confirmed that Ivan could not conjure any other powerful moves, he summoned the Furious Queen. A sub power of the Seed Ability, Gravity Suppression was immediately unleashed. Ivan suddenly felt like his body was held in place, as though the air around him had become viscous.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Weiguo unloaded a full bullet chain from the Howling Reaper towards Ivan’s head. Tang Zheng leaped, aiming his Bronze Sword at Ivan’s throat. Zhang Hao’s M249 also started to fire. Unfortunately, the attack was not potent enough to even draw some spray of blood.

Ivan reached out to block the sword, and the sword was only half an inch in before he grabbed the blade, bringing Tang Zheng crashing down to the ground with it.

Determined, Tang Zheng let go of the sword, took out the Double-handed Slaughter Axe, and swung directly at Ivan’s left leg without getting up. Unfamiliar with the Gravity Suppression, Ivan’s would-be dodging move was delayed, resulting in the ax landing heavily, causing a break at his calf.

As the fresh blood splattered, Ivan fell to the ground. Surely to leverage the opportunity, Tang Zheng bounced off the ground, swinging his axe in a reverse way, aiming at cutting off Ivan’s neck.

Unable to dodge, Ivan could only use his hand to block, resulting in half of his palm being chopped off. However, Ivan didn’t scream, instead, he ruthlessly swiped at Tang Zheng with his other hand, aiming to throttle Tang Zheng’s throat.

"I will be okay as long as I go back to my room." This belief empowered Ivan to become more vicious.

"Die." Tang Zheng evaded the charge by leaning back, and swung his axe on Ivan’s head. This time, it was a direct hit. Half of Ivan’s head was chopped off, leaving a mix of gray matter and blood on the ground.

Ivan’s anthropomorphic bear form faded away, reverting back to human form as it lost signs of life.

"Damn, finally dead. What a tough fight." Zhang Hao wiped his cold sweat and complained, "Compared to him, my steel skin is a child’s play."

"Stop chattering, let’s go support Bai Guo." From somewhere else in the Hot Spring House, there were gunshots and sounds of explosions. Clearly, Yin Shangwu’s team began to battle. "We’ve killed four, nine more to go."

"We can’t go now. Someone is approaching again." Hearing the rapid footsteps, Lin Weiguo reloaded his bullet chain and pointed the gun towards the door.

Tang Zheng also picked up his own rifle. Zhang Hao tried to be clever again, attempting to retrieve Ivan’s gun. After a stern look from Tang Zheng, he obediently handed it over. He certainly didn’t want Tang Zheng to exploit this to kill him.

A couple, a man and woman both Russians, suddenly appeared at the door and quickly glanced over the room. Upon seeing Ivan’s corpse, their expressions changed drastically and retreated without any hesitation.

"What does that mean?" Said Zhang Hao, perplexed.

"Ivan was likely a powerful member among them, his death probably intimidated them. Also, we have the number’s advantage." Tang Zheng was initially holding dual guns preparing to shoot at them, but they ended up leaving which made him feel he wasted his energy for nothing.

"Let’s follow them." Lin Weiguo sprang out, firing a few shots intermittently to maintain pressure.

Since the Gravity Suppression still had three minutes left to be unleashed, Tang Zheng didn’t want to waste it. He closely followed behind, wildly firing his rifle, not caring to conserve ammunition. As a result, the entire wooden Hot Spring House got destroyed in an instant, with splinters flying everywhere.

Due to the gunshots, everyone wearing a kimono was running in panic. The two Russians indiscriminately began shooting, hitting many people. Yet on Tang Zheng’s side, only Zhang Hao shot back.

"What’s with the compassion? Forget about humanitarianism, view them as NPCs in game, or even humans infested with Facehuggers inside." Zhang Hao shouted. He was very much enjoying the thrill of pursuing and killing.

"Not having a teammate with agility ability is a problem, we can’t even chase after people properly." When thinking of his teammates’ abilities, Tang Zheng felt annoyed. They simply weren’t fit for a team. However, he didn’t have time to lament. After turning a corner, he saw five more Russians emerging from another corner. As soon as they noticed them, they immediately began to shoot without reservation. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my motivation.)