In battles between superhumans, even a single rank difference meant a world of disparity.
Take Ye Qingyi, for example. Despite her extensive combat experience, being one rank below Su Mo meant she struggled far more against the tentacle monsters.
The oversized tentacle monster—transformed from the effeminate doctor—had suffered a setback against Su Mo and fled without looking back. Su Mo didn’t pursue.
He knew his limits. Pushing too hard might force the enemy to unleash a killing move, and getting instantly wiped out would be disastrous.
“Our mission is to gather intel, not fight to the death. Let the real members of the Special Operations Team handle the rest.”
Knowing when to retreat, Su Mo carried Ye Qingyi on his back and made for the exit.
The path there was long, requiring them to descend the stairs, all while swarms of tentacle monsters blocked their way.
Su Mo’s original body was tall, so even while carrying her, Ye Qingyi’s feet dragged along the ground, scraping loudly.
But there was no time to care. Swapping the Tetanus Blade back for an ordinary combat knife, Su Mo fought through the horde until they reached the first-floor lobby entrance.
The ground was littered with writhing, severed tentacles—some charred, emitting a foul stench.
BOOM—
A burst of flames suddenly erupted from the side, clearing the path ahead in an instant.
Su Mo turned to see Sun Yuchen waving at him. “Get him out of here! This isn’t a place for you two anymore.”
Without hesitation, Su Mo thanked him and moved to leave.
But things were never that simple.
The exit door wouldn’t open.
An invisible barrier coated its surface—no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn’t even touch the handle.
Through the glass, he could see the Beidou operatives stationed outside, their calm expressions suggesting they had no idea what was happening inside.
Ye Qingyi stirred on his back, gritting her teeth. “My foot… hurts…”
Su Mo looked down. The front of her sneaker had been completely worn through, and the big toe—once his own—was now bleeding.
“Uh… sorry about that,” Su Mo muttered awkwardly before suddenly slashing sideways, cutting down a tentacle monster trying to ambush them.
“We’re stuck for now. Looks like we’re not leaving yet,” he said, hefting his knife and continuing to fight.
“Then we fight.” Ye Qingyi slid off his back. Though still pale, her gaze had sharpened.
“No way out?” Sun Yuchen called from within his sea of flames.
“Seems like some kind of dimensional barrier. We’re trapped.”
Sun Yuchen frowned. “These things keep coming. If we don’t find a way out, we’ll be exhausted to death.”
As if on cue, a thunderous CRACK came from above. The ceiling split open, collapsing into a gaping hole as the entire building shook.
Through it crashed the scruffy大叔 Clock, slamming the massive tentacle monster’s head into the ground with brutal, beast-like force.
The monster was already half-dismembered, its severed tentacles oozing disgusting gray sludge. Its head was caved in from the impact—clearly Clock’s handiwork.
Damn, he’s strong!
Su Mo silently gave him a thumbs-up.
The commotion drew A’Kun and Week Eight, both looking utterly unimpressed.
“Typical Clock,” A’Kun sighed. “Nothing ever dies intact in your hands—not even non-humans.”
“Ugh, Clock stole the spotlight again. How boring,” Week Eight pouted.
Clock stood calmly, using the monster’s remaining tentacles to bundle it into a ball. “This thing was already wounded. I just finished it off.”
Seeing the broken teeth, Su Mo recognized it as the effeminate doctor that had escaped from him earlier.
“Still love showing off, huh?” A’Kun rolled his eyes before turning to Su Mo. “Not bad, little rich girl. You cleared out all the tentacle monsters here.”
Su Mo’s eye twitched. Little rich girl? That “little rich girl” was now a guy.
“Mostly thanks to Sun Yuchen’s flames. We’d have been monster food without him.”
After some obligatory small talk, with no more monsters in sight, the group discussed their next move.
A’Kun approached the exit, pressing his hand against the “dimensional barrier.” After a long moment, he shook his head.
“This is likely a Domain. Unless we find its creator, I can’t break us out.”
Su Mo had read about Domains in fantasy novels—special spaces created by powerful beings to amplify themselves and weaken enemies. Essentially, a cheat code for battle.
A’Kun’s spatial abilities gave him unique insight into such phenomena.
Clock hefted the tentacle-ball. “Could this be the creator?”
A’Kun dismissed the idea. “That thing’s barely D-rank. No way it made this. Whoever did is at least B-rank.”
B-rank?
Su Mo thought of Yang Jie and Li Wenhui. Aside from the unknown strength of the Corpse Emperor, they were the strongest he’d met—both B-rank.
He’d never seen them go all out, but he could imagine the devastation.
“You’re saying there’s a B-rank tentacle monster here?” Week Eight looked horrified.
“Not necessarily. But this place is definitely connected to one,” A’Kun said firmly.
Then Ye Qingyi, silent until now, spoke up.
“What if this tentacle monster is the B-rank—or higher—just pretending to be D-rank?”
“Possible. True experts can easily conceal their power,” A’Kun agreed.
Everyone turned to stare at the tentacle-ball. After a long silence, Clock finally scoffed.
“I fought it. I’d know. Even if it faked its strength, its body’s still D-rank. If it were B-rank, I’d be dead.”
Clearly, he didn’t buy Ye Qingyi’s theory.
Only Su Mo noticed the subtle shift in her expression.
“Since Su Mo has this hypothesis, maybe we should hear him out,” he suggested.
All eyes turned to the unremarkable “newbie,” waiting to see what shocking insight he might offer.