2025-12-10 04:18:52One Second.
Victor’s fist was a cannonball, aimed directly at Zane’s temple. The force behind the punch was enough to cause a concussion, perhaps worse, and Zane’s mortal body was too weak to absorb the impact.
He didn't need to see the System's screen anymore; the data had already been uploaded directly into his combat instincts. The Iron Fist (Lv. 1) was not a power boost—it was a precision amplifier, optimizing his weak physical structure to deliver maximum calculated force with minimum energy expenditure. It was the difference between a clumsy strike and a physicist’s equation in motion.
As Victor’s knuckles scraped past his ear, Zane shifted his weight, rotating his torso by a mere two centimeters—a move impossible for the mortal Zane, but flawless for the Commander's mind now guided by the System’s parameters. His left elbow snapped up, intercepting Victor's forearm at the radius bone, a sensitive, brittle point.
The impact was sharp, not heavy. A wet crack echoed through the silent lounge.
Victor’s roar was immediate and guttural, louder than his earlier laughter. His massive arm dropped, his face contorted in a mixture of confusion and intense agony. He hadn't just hit a wall; he'd hit a perfectly placed wedge of steel.
[Mission Complete: Defeat Campus Bully.]
[Reward Applied: Containment Stable (100%). Skill Acquired: Iron Fist (Lv. 1).]
[Status: Hostile Environment Escalating. Initiate Passive Defense Mode.]
The screens vanished. The divine pressure in Zane's chest instantly eased, pulling back from the brink. He felt the cold control return, along with the dull ache of the mortal body.
Anya Chen, who had been frozen in place, watching the confrontation with amusement, shrieked. "Victor! What happened? Get up!"
Victor was staggering back, cradling his wrist against his chest. His eyes were wide with shock and pain. "He—he broke it! The zero broke my arm!"
Zane pushed off the wall, his composure perfect. He looked down at the jade pendant, which Victor had dropped when the pain hit. He picked it up and calmly tucked it into his pocket.
"You slipped on the wet floor, Victor," Zane said, his voice flat, emotionless. "You were too clumsy to see the hazard I was cleaning. Perhaps you should stick to the field and away from campus politics."
His explanation was audacious, instantly plausible, and insulting—it hit Victor where it hurt most: his pride.
"I didn't slip, you filthy..." Victor started, but Zane had already turned to Anya.
"The floor is now clean, Anya. You should call an ambulance for your friend before the Dean arrives. If there’s blood, I won't have time to clean that up, too."
Anya stared at him, her usual sneer replaced by confusion. Zane had never fought back before, and the quiet authority in his voice was terrifyingly foreign. She quickly reverted to anger, the safer emotion.
"You insolent dog! You'll pay for this!" she screamed, rushing to Victor's side. "I'll make sure father triples your debt!"
Zane simply nodded, accepting the threat calmly. "Noted. I'll continue cleaning the hallway now. The Dean is due in fifteen minutes."
He retrieved his pail and sponge and walked out of the lounge, leaving behind the screaming linebacker and the furious sister-in-law. The humiliation had bought him power; the revenge had stabilized his containment. It was a transactional existence, and he had just profited.
The Price of a Skill
Zane moved down the long, empty hallway, the smell of Pine-Sol replacing the stale beer. He was alone, and he could finally access the System's functions.
He glanced at his internal interface.
[Host: Zane]
[Containment: Stable (100%)]
[Core Power: Sealed]
[Acquired Skills: Iron Fist (Lv. 1) - 5/100 EXP]
[Status: Passive Defense Mode Active. Analyzing local energy signatures...]
Iron Fist (Lv. 1). He mentally reviewed the data package. It had granted him a basic level of kinetic control, perfect for delivering mortal damage without risking the destructive output of his true self. He had leveled up his survival.
The System’s passive defense mode was interesting. It meant the containment was now scanning the environment for threats related to his divine heritage.
As he continued cleaning near a back stairwell, his focus was absolute. He thought about his wife, Liya Chen, the powerful and aloof Student Council President. She was the only reason he endured this pathetic life. She was the one who insisted he stay, claiming his presence was necessary for her own complicated political standing. She had never been cruel, only distant. She was his protector and, ironically, his jailer.
Suddenly, the System flashed a new, urgent notification.
[ALERT! High-Grade Forbidden Energy Signature Detected.]
[Signature Origin: Campus Grounds, Sector Gamma (Administration Tower).]
[Warning: Signature Matches Known Enemy Faction: The Scions of Chaos.]
Zane's blood ran cold. The Scions of Chaos—the ancient, dark cult that had betrayed him and caused his exile millennia ago—were on campus. His heart pounded, not from fear, but from the raw, elemental rage of a god scenting his prey.
His purpose was no longer just survival. It was war.
He abandoned his cleaning supplies and sprinted for the back stairs. The Dean’s reception was an hour away, but the threat was immediate. He was the worthless Son-in-Law, but he was also the exiled Commander.
He burst onto the Administration Tower rooftop, the evening wind whipping his clothes. The roof was empty, save for a small, metallic object resting near the antenna—a strange, bronze amulet humming with a sickly green energy.
Zane recognized the sigil immediately: The Mark of the Serpent.
He approached the amulet, his hands shaking slightly, and kicked it. It slid across the concrete.
"Amateurs," he muttered, recognizing the poor energy channeling. This wasn't a powerful Scion; it was a scout, a rookie trying to plant a listening device.
But then, a new voice cut through the wind—smooth, cultured, and laced with genuine menace.
"I see you found my little toy, Zane Chen. Or should I call you... Ares?"
A man in a perfectly tailored dark suit stepped out from behind the ventilation unit. He was young, handsome, and impeccably groomed, with a malicious smile that belonged to someone who hadn't endured a day of hardship. He held a small, silver pistol aimed casually at Zane's chest.
"I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about," Zane stated, his mind racing. This man was not part of the Chen family’s petty politics. This was genuine, divine-level danger.
"Oh, you lie so well," the man chuckled, slowly raising the pistol. "My name is Caius, and I’m here to clean up the residual contamination your exile left behind. Your little family here—the Chens—they're just pawns."
Caius paused, his finger resting lightly on the trigger. "And your wife, Liya? She's not your jailer, Ares. She's the key to permanently terminating your divine spark. Did you really think they let a 'zero' like you live just because of a petty debt?"
The plot twist hit Zane harder than any physical blow: the Chens weren't his antagonists; they were merely the servants of a far greater threat, and his wife, the one person he was grateful to, was the means of his final destruction.
[ALERT! Hostile Entity Confirmed. Power Output Required for Survival: 55%. System Override Initiated.]
Zane felt the System forcibly begin to pump raw, destabilized power into his mortal limbs. He had less than three seconds before his body fried itself, but it was enough power to tear Caius apart.
"You have two seconds to drop that weapon," Zane commanded, his voice now layered with the deep, resonant authority of a god, and his mortal eyes blazing with true, blue divine fire.
Caius's smile faltered for the first time. "Too late."
He pulled the trigger.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 15
Liya Chen stared at the flashing red warning on the Sanctuary's main console: ACTIVATION OF REGIONAL CHAOS ANCHOR IN 12 HOURS. The message was clear, absolute, and terrifyingly precise. In half a day, the city—her city—would become the launching pad for a global Scion invasion.She looked down at Zane, who was completely unconscious, his breathing shallow but steady. He was a dying god encased in a broken shell, and she was the only one left to operate his fortress.Twelve hours. I almost killed him. And now I have to save him, or the world ends.The guilt and terror transformed into the icy focus she usually reserved for ruthless political maneuvering. She had been the most effective Student Council President for a reason: when faced with chaos, she prioritized the objective.Stabilizing the CommanderLiya's immediate priority was Zane's mortal shell. She dragged him onto a clean metal table near the central pillar—the brains of the Sanctuary. She used her phone’s flashlight to
Chapter 14
Liya Chen drove a borrowed, nondescript utility van—one of the Chen family’s logistics vehicles—at terrifying speeds through the deserted industrial roads toward Warehouse 7. Zane lay inert on the passenger seat, his body unnaturally still, wrapped in a blanket salvaged from the back. The silence in the van was broken only by Liya’s ragged breathing and the distant wail of emergency sirens heading toward the Student Union.I broke him. The thought hammered at her. She wasn't processing the god-war; she was processing the shock of her own, accidental violence. She had aimed for control, and she had achieved utter, devastating destruction."Hold on, Zane," she muttered, gripping the wheel until her knuckles were white. "We're almost there. You said this was the only place."The Commander's Last CommandZane’s mind was a black, chaotic void. His consciousness was reduced to a flicker—a single core process fighting the systemic failure of his mortal body.[Host: Zane (Ares)][Core
Chapter 13
The fist charged with the malevolent, raw power of the Dormant Containment Unit was rocketing toward Zane's face. Liya, eyes blazing with ecstatic, purple light, was determined to end the life of the "zero" who had dared to control her.Zane was pinned, critically injured, his Core Power plummeting from 40\%. His body was too slow to dodge, and his shell integrity was too low to absorb the impact. This was the end.But the Commander’s mind, honed by millennia of warfare, never accepted defeat."System! Execute Zero-Point Gambit!" Zane roared, the command ripping the last ounce of air from his burning lungs.[Warning: Zero-Point Gambit is an unstable, self-destructive protocol. Requires full Core Power commitment.]"Commit! Use the fall damage! Inject the remaining Core Power into the Unit's source code!"In the fraction of a second before Liya’s blow landed, Zane didn't try to defend himself. He let the Temporal Shift (Lv. 2) run one final, devastating prediction: the exact mom
Chapter 12
Zane did not take a car. He was operating at 70% Core Power, and the Temporal Shift (Lv. 2) was his only way to traverse the city's chaotic streets in seconds. He focused his mind, pushing the limits of the mortal shell.Temporal Shift: Full Activation.The city blurred into streaks of light and color. The cars became slow-moving obstacles, the people frozen snapshots of motion. In the space of three breaths, Zane had covered three miles, arriving at the deserted East Wing Student Union—the site of his original humiliation and now the stage for his most critical battle.The area was silent, eerily devoid of the police presence one would expect after the Museum heist. The silence confirmed Zane's dread: This was an Obsidian Hand operation designed to be unnoticed.He burst through the main doors, his eyes immediately locking onto the primary energy signature: Liya. She was standing in the center of the vast, dusty lounge—the very spot where he had scrubbed wine stains just days ag
Chapter 11
Zane stepped out of the Chen compound, the early afternoon sun doing nothing to mitigate the cold resolve in his eyes. Liya was safely contained, her terror-induced compliance confirmed by the hidden micro-sensor he'd planted on her desk. Mr. Chen was busy manipulating the mortal media to blame the Zhangs for the Museum heist, creating the perfect smoke screen. The battlefield was prepared.His objective was singular and urgent: Asset Sigma.The Scions had deployed a superior operative specifically to target the Containment Key (Liya). Zane could not allow this asset to familiarize itself with the campus environment or the city's power structure.Search Protocol: Temporal Shift and Divine CodeZane slipped into a large, deserted campus parking garage, the silence broken only by the hum of the air conditioning units. He needed to find an operative who was actively trying to conceal themselves.He initiated his search, combining his two most powerful utility skills:Temporal Shif
Chapter 10
Zane emerged from the sewer tunnels an hour later, shedding his ruined, debris-caked suit near a secluded storm drain. He walked toward the Sanctuary, the Void Fragment now fully absorbed and integrated into his core. The pain was gone, replaced by a cold, absolute sense of control.[Host: Zane (Ares)][Core Power: 99% (Stable).][Mortal Shell Integrity: 85% (Recovery Protocol Complete).][Acquired Skills: Temporal Shift (Lv. 2); Divine Code (Lv. 1); Iron Fist (Lv. 1); Basic Surveillance (Lv. 1).]The 99% power level was a revelation. He didn't just feel stronger; he felt correct. The limits of the mortal shell were still there, but now they felt like sturdy, well-maintained armor instead of a fragile cage. The trauma of the heist had strengthened his vessel.He activated Temporal Shift (Lv. 2). The world didn't just give him predictive data; the entire environment subtly slowed down around him. He could perceive the flicker of a fluorescent bulb, the minute vibrations of the co
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