This is really not mechanical ascension

"One minute," nodded Li Ming, "is enough."

He pushed off with his calves, shooting forward rapidly, with his right arm muscles tensed tightly, swift and fierce.

This speed far exceeded Pang Wenlong's expectations. His eyelids rose slightly as his metallic right arm reached out in response.

Bang!

The fist collided with the metallic palm, and Li Ming felt as though he had struck an iron plate, a piercing pain ensued, and he immediately retracted his touch, pushing back with his front leg to quickly create distance.

"An F-grade life form?" Pang Wenlong squinted with incredulity. In the instant their fists had met, he had felt it, "I underestimated you."

"But this is perfect. Your death will pain the city guards for quite some time!" Pang Wenlong growled fiercely as he charged forward, with the sound of pumping emanating from his metallic arm, heavy and forceful, aiming a punch straight for Li Ming's face.

The air howled with the punch, mixed with the scent of metal and rust.

Li Ming knew he couldn't take the blow head-on, his face twitched and he retreated once again. Pang Wenlong pursued relentlessly as both men rushed into the dilapidated buildings behind them.

Boom!

The metallic arm plunged into a wall, instantly creating a large hole with dust and debris flying about.

"No use, kid. Your energy level isn't high, you're no match for me," Pang Wenlong snickered coldly. "Want to play the hero? See if you've got what it takes!"

Retracting his right arm, Pang Wenlong's metallic hand suddenly clenched tight, scraping sounds echoed.

Three streaks of metallic sheen sprang from the grooves on the back of his mechanical arm, glinting coldly.

He didn't want to waste any more time!

Pang Wenlong's entire presence changed, his arms spread wide, his spine bent forward, legs coiled like bows, resembling a tiger ready to pounce.

In a split second, Pang Wenlong's speed surged by more than a notch, charging straight toward Li Ming!

He seemed to already see the fate of this senseless city guard, torn into pieces by his hands.

However... clang!

The sharp metallic claws stopped less than ten centimeters from Li Ming.

"What... what is this?" Pang Wenlong's eyes widened in astonishment.

He saw his metallic prosthesis firmly clamped in mid-air by two tentacle-like mechanical arms, unable to advance even an inch further!

He's a Mechanical Transformation!? How could such a person be hiding in the back?

He didn't understand.

These two mechanical arms extended from behind Li Ming, and not just that, two more mechanical arms attacked from the side, ending in drill bits and saw blades.

Not good!

Pang Wenlong's face changed drastically, as he hastily retreated, pulling the mechanical arms extending from Li Ming's back forward a notch.

"So it's you!" Pang Wenlong suddenly recalled the incident from some time ago when Scar-faced Tiger's top henchman was killed without a trace.

Now it seemed clear that the perpetrator was none other than this man!

Li Ming was also secretly alarmed as all four mechanical arms moved around him.

Pang Wenlong had arrived already injured, and even with the aid of four mechanical arms, Li Ming couldn't contain him, the gap was too large.

Indeed, he was a life form with a developmental progress nearing 60%.

No, I must withdraw. Yang Peng and the others are probably on their way here. If this kid stalls me, trouble will follow.

He had already abandoned the idea of killing Li Ming, only wishing to leave as quickly as possible.

He walked slowly backwards, whereas Li Ming stood still, seemingly without any intention to follow.

He's probably afraid I'll kill him, thought Pang Wenlong naturally, but just as he reached the doorway.

Suddenly, Li Ming moved, his body swift as an arrow off its string, accompanied closely by all four mechanical arms!

"You're looking for death; if you've got the guts, just kill me!"

Fury consumed Pang Wenlong; if not for the severe injuries he sustained, he could have torn to shreds even a mechanical transformation, let alone be stepped on the face by this brat. He would remember this!

His metal right arm raised, his injured left arm also gathered momentum, years of combat experience kicking in; he was determined to deliver a fatal blow.

This kid had many weaknesses; seizing the opportunity could very well end him!

But a glint appeared in Li Ming's eyes, and before he could act, a shadow shot out from his right side with the speed of lightning, kicking up dust and sand around.

[Pneumatic Overpressure] amplified by 90% strength, [Sudden Attack] amplified by 40% speed, give me...

Kill!

Li Ming had been standing still, simply gathering power, which he then channelled into his mechanical arm fitted with an alloy drill bit, the sudden acceleration catching Pang Wenlong off guard.

Below the metal right arm, he subconsciously reached out to grab the incoming mechanical arm, but two mechanical arms equipped with cross pincers had already clamped down on him again, leaving no time for thought in the split second of action.

Out of necessity, he could only use his left arm to block.

The alloy drill bit whirred continuously, accompanied by the crisp sound of cracking; Pang Wenlong's left arm flew apart in a spray of flesh and blood, the drill bit's motion relentless, carrying with it the speed of [Sudden Attack] and the strength of [Pneumatic Overpressure], along with its inherent Spiral Stripping Force!

It pierced directly through Pang Wenlong's battered combat suit, breaking through the steel plate and drilling into his chest.

Just the strength amplification alone pushed Li Ming's burst energy level close to 20F, which was more than enough for the heavily injured Pang Wenlong, and the hard alloy drill bit boasted even greater destructive power!

"Uh... Uh..." Pang Wenlong's eyes nearly bulged out, the excruciating pain rendering him unable to think.

Only half of his left arm remained, hanging limply, as blood foamed at the corner of his mouth.

His body was hoisted up by the mechanical arm, bringing him close to Li Ming. Unbeknownst to him, Li Ming was holding a smart terminal in his palm, facing Pang Wenlong.

It was a black website, one Pang Wenlong was very familiar with – the login page for the Black Hole Network.

"Uh... Ptui!" Pang Wenlong spat on the screen, then cracked a smile, though no sound came out.

Li Ming wasn't bothered; he casually tore a piece of cloth from Pang Wenlong's clothes, wiped the screen while he whispered:

"1-22 South Tianya Street, that's where your ex-wife and son live, isn't it?"

"Um... A five-year-old child, very cute..." Li Ming sighed, "The colleague who died outside, he was quite popular, also had a cute child."

"The one unconscious is called Li Ning; those two were close. He'll be heartbroken when he wakes up." Li Ming said with a gentle smile, "Tell me, how can a man guilty of heinous crimes have a happy, complete family?"

Pang Wenlong's cheeks twitched; he was well aware that his information was under the city guard's control.

But he also knew that the city guard wouldn't lay a finger on his wife and son.

But this guy before him was different...

He dared to show no mercy to Scar-faced Tiger's men, he was definitely not a regular city guard.

He didn't dare to gamble!

In the end, his gaze fell on the smart terminal in Li Ming's hand, and he slowly exhaled a letter "x..."

Li Ming chuckled lightly, starting to input. After logging in, he momentarily held his breath.

"A hundred thousand Star Coins..." Looking at the string of zeros and some change, Li Ming's face showed a sincere smile.

But then he frowned, that seemed off... why did the number feel a bit low?

For the current him, it was a significant fortune, but for Pang Wenlong, it should be more than this.

He casually opened the transaction Record and discovered several large transfers, each amounting to two hundred thousand Star Coins, with ten days between each.

There were also scatterings of purchases for development drugs, nutritional fluids, and other illegal items.

Well, even though Pang Wenlong had control over a part of the Fierce Tiger Gang's underground casinos, he wasn't just earning for himself, and he also had significant expenditures.

"There's not much time left... I need to wrap things up quickly." Li Ming glanced at the time, made a puffing sound, and retracted the mechanical arm, throwing Pang Wenlong's body to the ground, where it twitched relentlessly.

The saw blade fell, directly cutting off his mechanical right arm, which seemed to be a pretty decent weaponized prosthetic.