Celestial Human Diagram-Chapter 85 - 75: Against the Current

Wei Chang’an stared at Scarface, his gaze turning extremely wary.

He knew Scarface had an Implant; it was noted in his file. However, he had assumed it was a civilian model. While it could outperform a normal limb to some extent, its utility was still limited. For Fighters like them, trained through official channels, such an advantage wasn’t particularly significant.

But military-grade was a completely different story.

Military Implants were designed to counter firearms on the battlefield. Against some of the more advanced models, ordinary weapons were practically useless.

’But these types of Implants usually require a medical team and large quantities of drugs to maintain. It’s not a simple matter of just getting one installed. How did Scarface manage all this on his own?’

’Even with Moustache Chou’s medicine, he couldn’t keep it up for long.’

But dwelling on that now was pointless. He had to figure out how to deal with the current situation.

By now, most of the personnel involved in the encirclement had arrived. Many of them saw what was happening and froze for a moment, stunned. Not knowing about military-grade Implants, they just assumed Scarface was wearing some kind of armor.

Among the crowd were many men from the Boxing Club. A few of the boxers saw that Scarface seemed to be moving with some difficulty after being shot. Sensing an opportunity, they charged forward without a second thought.

Wei Chang’an immediately shouted a warning, "Be careful! He’s dangerous!"

Unfortunately, firecrackers were going off at that moment, drowning out much of his voice. It was unclear whether the men hadn’t heard him or simply didn’t care; their advance didn’t slow in the slightest.

Three men led the charge. One came at him head-on, another aimed for his lower body, and the third circled around to his back.

The positioning of the first two was deliberate. An experienced person could tell from their eyes and posture that their goal was to take him down.

The strategy wasn’t wrong. No matter how tough Scarface was, once he was on the ground, he would be at their mercy.

Seeing them approach, Scarface swung his hammer. The man in front saw his chance, dodged the blow, and lunged forward, swiftly and forcefully grabbing one of his legs. The other man deftly evaded the Broken Blade and grabbed his arm with a reverse grip.

When Wei Chang’an had fought Scarface earlier, he’d noticed his movements were a bit sluggish. ’It seems the Implant is affecting him somehow,’ he thought, ’compromising his coordination. Maybe there’s a problem with the neural interface.’

The boxers didn’t know the specifics, but their experience told them how to react. As the two men restrained Scarface, the one who had circled behind saw his opening. With a shout, he kicked hard at the back of Scarface’s knee. The powerful blow forced Scarface down onto one knee.

But in the next instant, Scarface took a deep breath, his upper body seeming to inflate. He yanked his arm, the one holding the blade, pulling the man with it as he thrust backward. The sharp, broken tip of the blade plunged into the mouth of the boxer holding his leg.

The other two boxers were horrified, but they knew they couldn’t back down now. The man behind him moved up and wrapped an arm around his throat in a chokehold, while the other used all his strength to lock down the arm holding the blade.

No matter how strong someone was, they still had to breathe. With his neck in a chokehold, it should only take a few seconds to render him powerless.

With his neck constricted, Scarface froze for a moment. His hammer-wielding hand went slack, and the tool clattered to the ground. Just as everyone thought the chokehold was working, he raised that same hand to his shoulder, grabbed the arm of the man choking him, and squeezed. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream as his arm bone was crushed.

Scarface seized his arm and violently slammed the man onto the ground in front of him. With a sickening thud, he hit the pavement, twitched once, and then lay still.

The man holding his other arm was terrified. He immediately let go and tried to retreat, but Scarface grabbed his clothes. With a sharp twist, the man ripped free from the garment, stumbled backward a few steps, then scrambled away, practically crawling over himself to escape.

But before he could get away, Scarface snatched the sledgehammer from the ground. He swung it in a wide arc, striking the fleeing man squarely in the shoulder and back. The man was thrown forward, and when he landed, he didn’t make a sound.

Wei Chang’an sighed softly. Even though they weren’t his men, he hated seeing anyone die during this operation. He turned, looking for Cai Si, but couldn’t spot him. He immediately called out to a mature-faced man in the crowd, "Old Wu, get some ropes."

Old Wu immediately understood his plan and ran off to find some.

Scarface ignored them. With no one else interfering, he started walking briskly toward the trade market up ahead.

Wei Chang’an had no intention of letting him get away. If Scarface reached the crowded area, trying to capture him there would inevitably lead to mass casualties, regardless of whether they succeeded. The ensuing chaos would be immense. ’I have to stop him before he gets out of this street!’

He shouted, "Hold him back!"

He himself remained in the rear. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to charge in, but his own men weren’t the only ones here; there were also people from the company. He had to stay back and coordinate, otherwise the others might not act. Besides, if he, the commander, were incapacitated, the entire operation would be a failure.

At his command, many people rushed toward Scarface, trying to block his path.

The previous bloodbath hadn’t completely terrified them. They could see that Scarface’s movements weren’t actually very fast, and he was currently focused only on escaping, showing no desire to get bogged down in a fight. If they were careful and just focused on slowing him down, they could hold out until the ropes and other tools arrived.

In the rear, Cai Si had finally cleared the flour from his eyes. Seeing the situation up ahead, he yelled to a nearby shop owner, "Bring out all the oil in your shop! Peanut oil, soybean oil, whatever cooking oil you’ve got! Pour it on the street! And be careful!"

The shop owner froze for a second, then his eyes lit up. Others nearby also realized the plan and rushed to other shops to gather more oil.

If the ground was covered in oil, even if he broke through the frontline, he wouldn’t be able to cross it easily. A few lassos would be enough to bring him down. Everyone could picture this outcome, and the rising panic began to settle.

As Scarface walked forward, he swung his weapon to drive away anyone who tried to harass him, all while seeming to breathe heavily. After a few seconds, some of the more perceptive people noticed his body seemed to have swelled up again. His normally pale skin began to turn red, and most notably, the air he exhaled seemed scorching hot.

His movements were no longer sluggish; they became more agile. His brisk walk gradually turned into a jog, and his speed kept increasing.

Just then, some men sent by the commissioned company were about to move forward, but they were stopped by a man who seemed to be of some importance. He shook his head at them. One of them asked, "Mr. Qu, what is it?"

Mr. Qu said with a grim expression, "That Scarface... he must have a modified heart and lungs. His blood vessels, skin, and bones have likely been reinforced as well. Those are implants used to break through enemy lines on a battlefield. The men we have here can’t stop him. Don’t go get yourselves killed. Wei Chang’an isn’t going to complete this commission."

As he spoke, Scarface broke into a full charge, swinging his sledgehammer. His speed increased so rapidly that the men in front were either brutally knocked aside because they couldn’t dodge in time or sent flying by the hammer. The scene descended into chaos. One man was even hit so hard he flew onto the roof of a nearby building.

Wei Chang’an was shocked. He moved up and yelled, "You men up front, what are you standing there for? Stop him!"

But unlike before, only two men responded immediately to his call. The others either hesitated or were a step too slow. And though those two did their best to stop Scarface, it was a desperate struggle, and they barely avoided getting killed themselves.

Someone now took out a crossbow temporarily issued by the Patrol Bureau and fired. But when the Crossbow Arrows hit Scarface’s body, most of them bounced off. Even the few that managed to pierce his thick arms seemed to hit a barrier, only embedding themselves shallowly. They did nothing to slow his advance.

Wei Chang’an took a deep breath. It had come to this. He had to go in himself. He couldn’t bear the consequences otherwise.

Chen Chuan, who had been watching the commotion from the rear, saw this unfold. His gaze fixed on Scarface. Moving against the tide of retreating people, he began to walk toward the towering figure.

...

...