Chapter 5: Kowtow My Ass (1/2)
Chapter 5: Kowtow My Ass
Translator: OneshotwonderEditor: Tehrn
Wang Tong was amazed at his speed, and he was equally puzzled at its cause. He wished that he had attended military academy so that he would be able to answer his questions about these developments.
”Charcoal, how fast do you think I was running out there?”
”Master, based on my readings, your speed is comparable to a base level METAL fighter.”
Wang Tong smiled, although his speed wasn't top notch, to have it placed on par with a METAL fighter made him very proud of himself since it couldn’t have been a fluke out there. He closed his eyes to reflect on the details of what had happened.
Upon careful contemplation, he figured out what had to be the cause of his new speed: it was the now much faster speed of initializing of the “Tactics of the Blade”.
Before he had gained his EMF, his GN nodes had responded sluggishly to his command of initiating of the tactic, what's more, it would often take a while until it started to take effect, again thanks to the slow movements of his GN nodes.
However, ever since Wang Tong had linked his EMF, the initializing of the tactics had almost become an instinct.
When faced with a perilous situation, his subconscious would begin the “Tactics of the Blade” entirely on its own without the need of Wang Tong's conscious command. His EMF had also made the movement of the GN nodes swifter and more fluid; therefore the tactics would take effect almost immediately.
Wang Tong cherished the miraculous accident that had led to the release of his EMF. The sweet taste of triumph made him more eager to become a METAL fighter, but for now, Wang Tong had to gain a better understanding of his new abilities.
Charcoal had helped him light up the cave corridor as his testing ground. He took a deep breath and dug one heel into the ground, then commanded the GN nodes to accelerate their speed; power started to burst out of the EMF and was channeled by Wang Tong throughout his entire body...
“Komnnhh…” Wang Tong suddenly bolted forward in lightening speed.
Wang Tong found himself with his mouth hard pressed against the wall, in an intimate kiss with the cold hard cave, sand and grit filled the groove between his lips. He laughed in joy as he thudded to the ground. ”I wasn't dreaming; my speed was real!”
Wang Tong had been busy adjusting to his speed for the next two days. He tried to control his speed so that he wouldn't dash into the gaping mouth of a Zerg. Not only had his speed improved, but also his strength. He tested his strength with a rebar by thrusting it into one of the cave’s walls which ended up being pierced deeply into the hard rock, and the rebar got stuck firmly inside. He couldn't even dream of having strength like this before. Eager to test his new powers in a real life situation, he decided to see if he could kill a Zerg.
To kill a Zerg, he had to find a Zerg first, and he knew there was one nearby that would make a perfect practice target. He was thinking of the previous Zerg that he had barely escaped from. Zergs were patient predators; many documentary films had mentioned their persistence and patience. Although Wang Tong couldn’t hear any movement outside, he knew that it was still out there, waiting for him somewhere in the dark.
To prepare for the hunt, Wang Tong and Charcoal started digging a booby trap at the mine entrance. It was Wang Tong's first time hunting a Zerg, although he was confident about his new abilities, capturing a Zerg would further boost that confidence. It would give him the courage to stand up against even stronger Zergs.
Wang Tong mumbled as he finished his preparations: “Booby trap-done, Weapons-loaded, Plan B - heck, who cares about plan B, thinking too much only makes you cowardly.”
After one night of preparation followed by two hours of rest, he was rejuvenated and ready for a fight. Before he signaled Charcoal to crack open the gate, he took a few large gulps of the cheap wine.
The gate was raising slowly; Wang Tong couldn’t hear any movement outside and wondered if the Zerg was already gone?
Wang Tong darted his eyes left and right to scan his periphery. Suddenly, he saw that the Zerg was hidden in a bush. A pair of emerald colored eyes stared straight at the gate that was still rising.
As soon as the gap between the gate and the ground was about the same height as the Zerg, its body jolted forward and rushed towards the opening. It moved too fast for Charcoal to shut the gate in time.
Seeing that the Zerg was about to dash through the threshold, Wang Tong roared a battle cry in half-drunkenness and flung a metal plate towards the charging Zerg.
The Zerg didn't even flinch; it quickly raised one of his eight arms to block the incoming projectile. The metal plate pierced through the Zerg's sharp claw tip. The attack didn't slow down the Zerg, but as soon as it had crossed the threshold, it fell through the hole and into the booby trap.
”Attack! Now!”
Wang Tong felt a buzz in his ear as blood suddenly rushed toward his brain. A strong emotion took full control of his body and mind; he had no time to think, no time to use the EMF, he had to attack and attack now.
He advanced and smashed the trapped Zerg with massive boulders and sharp metals pieces. Even Charcoal had joined the smashing, albeit being slow and clumsy. The Zerg let out waves of ear-piercing wails.
The two stoned the trapped Zerg for nearly ten minutes. When they finally stopped, the pit was filled to the brim with rocks and metal pieces, and the middle of the pile bulged up like a hill. Wang Tong shivered in disbelief as he noticed the hill. ”Sh*t, did we really do this?”
Then he quickly remembered what was buried underneath, and he cheered with glee in his voice: ”Ha ha Charcoal, we did it! I am a genius!”
It was Wang Tong's first Zerg kill, although this particular Zerg was weak like Wang Tong had deduced on their first encounter, Wang Tong was still immensely proud of himself. He sprung up in excitement and hugged an equally excited Charcoal, whose cold metal body felt almost warm.
But they had celebrated too soon...
”Ssss...”
An arm burst out of the rocks and slithered towards Wang Tong with its pointy claws. Wang Tong dodged the attack immediately, but even with his heightened senses and improved agility, the claw still cut a foot long gash on his arm. Blood gushed out uncontrollably and splattered all over the ground; some even got on the space crystal lying nearby. Wang Tong watched as the severely wounded Zerg slowly stood up to reveal its hideous head, struggling its way out at the top of the hill.
Stimulated by blood and liquor, a battle rage suddenly burst inside of Wang Tong, he picked up an iron rebar on the ground and hopped onto the giant wiggling head.
He lifted the metal bar with two hands right above the head, the sharp end pointed directly at the cranial cavity, and he thrust with full force. “One... two... three...” dark green blood gushed out of the Zergs brain and splattered on his face. “Four… five… six...” the Zerg twitched in excruciating pain; green blood blurred Wang Tong's vision. “Seven... eight… ni—” suddenly the defiant Zerg channeled its last strength into a free limb and hacked towards Wang Tong. Wang Tong quickly hopped off the head to dodge the attack, and in midair grabbed onto the swinging arm. The arm swung in the air a few times before it finally plopped back to the ground with Wang Tong's arm still wrapped tightly around it.