Chapter 156: No Damage

Blue laser beams sliced through the air, making the cave around them look distorted from the heat.

The high-heat laser beam hit Leng Ji's body, but he dodged almost instantly, using incredible agility to flash right in front of Batman.

"A plasma cutter needs sustained hits to burn through his protective layer, sir," Friday reminded.

Batman had already put the cutter away. He ducked under Leng Ji's uppercut, then sidestepped to dodge a powerful straight punch.

Batman's timing was spot-on. As he dodged the punch, he grabbed Leng Ji's arm and tried to throw him over his shoulder.

But it didn't work.

The armored arm creaked under the strain, like an engine revving in a mud hole, unable to generate enough power to pull free.

Leng Ji was much stronger than anything Batman had faced before. He overpowered Batman's suit, using sheer brute force to break Batman's hold and fling him aside.

Batman rolled to absorb the impact. When he got up, Leng Ji was already charging at him. Without hesitation, Batman threw a explosive batarang, aiming for Leng Ji's chest.

**Boom!**

The explosion happened just as Leng Ji was sprinting, and it was close to Batman. The shockwave knocked Leng Ji backward and sent Batman rolling, losing momentum. The armor absorbed most of the heat and impact, but Chu Cheng's screen shook, showing that the hero had taken some damage.

Leng Ji emerged from the black smoke, like an enraged beast that wouldn't give up until it had its prey.

Chu Cheng raised an eyebrow. 

This bomb was a new tool for B-level Batman, more powerful than standard bat-darts. He didn't expect it to be completely useless—no, not completely. 

Through night vision in detective mode, he saw that the defensive layer on Leng Ji's body was damaged. It was now slowly repairing itself.

Some sort of self-healing protective layer was attached to his skin, making physical attacks difficult to get through. The bomb was strong enough to break through the defense, but the opponent could heal.

"If you want to break through that shell with impact, you need to deal damage faster than it can heal," Friday advised.

"Got it."

So, a single shot wouldn't be enough. It needed rapid and continuous hits.

Chu Cheng narrowed his eyes.

Physical attacks weren't working, so he decided to try something else.

Leng Ji, charging forward, stepped on something.

Click.

A freezing grenade went off.

A burst of icy smoke filled the air, and the temperature dropped fast. Leng Ji's body froze solid from his feet to his head in mid-run. He was trapped in ice, still in a sprinting position, his hand reaching out toward Batman.

He was frozen.

Leng Ji's body was immobilized, but his mind was still racing.

His eyes moved inside the ice, and his brain kept working. It was his first encounter with a freezing weapon, but the sensation wasn't unfamiliar.

That feeling of being frozen in life, unable to move forward, was something he'd experienced before. He knew how to handle it.

...

After cutting ties with his betraying girlfriend and the friends he once called brothers, Leng Ji's life hit a standstill.

He kept chasing strength, throwing himself into training, but he had reached a plateau. 

He was admired by his peers for his many achievements, but he knew he'd hit his limit and couldn't push past it.

It was during this low point that he was given his final mission.

It seemed like a routine exploration task. He was to lead a team as the vanguard for an archaeological group, clearing out any dangers in newly discovered ruins. They'd been preparing for days when the strangeness began.

It started with nightmares.

He dreamt of his father who had abandoned him, his mother who had died of illness, and the girlfriend and friends who had betrayed him. They all mocked him, calling his life a long-running joke.

Soon, things escalated. Leng Ji began having hallucinations even while awake. At one point, he even lashed out at a squad member, mistaking him for Jeff.

Then he started hearing whispers.

The voice lingered in his ears all day, whispering to him. It called itself Lytos and claimed it could sense his desire for extraordinary power. It promised to give him what he wanted, but only if he set it free.

He didn't give in.

That thing thought it could manipulate him, but it underestimated him. Leng Ji always prided himself on being a tough guy with willpower stronger than steel. The only person who could control him was himself.

But soon, he noticed something was off with the others.

Sometimes he'd catch his teammates glancing at him, but when he turned to look, they'd quickly look away and pretend nothing was happening.

He could sense that they were avoiding him, whispering behind his back. It was like they were all in on some secret, leaving him out of the loop.

Then he realized the truth.

They were all under the spell.

Just like him, they had heard the voice. But they didn't have his iron will. They were weaker, and their minds had been corrupted. They were plotting to set that thing free, maybe even planning to betray him.

He thought of his ex-girlfriend and his friend, who had once betrayed him, and anger flooded his heart.

No one would betray him again.

No one.

If no one else had the will to do what was right, he'd be the one to make the tough choices.

He sent his entire team into the entrance of the ruins, threw the bombs he had prepared inside, and left them to their fate.

As he pulled the trigger, Leng Ji saw the shock and confusion on their faces.

He laughed.

They had no idea the Captain had been watching their conspiracy from the start. They thought they were outsmarting him, playing on a higher level, but he was always a step ahead.

He shot everyone he believed to be under the influence of the infection. Finally, he blew up the entrance. Without that, any attempt to enter the ruins could trigger a collapse, sealing it off forever.

But soon, he realized how naive he had been.

He was facing something beyond his understanding, something he had never seen before. His efforts had been in vain.

Right after blowing up the entrance and getting out, he saw it.

A massive shadow loomed, blocking out the sky, standing guard over the entrance as if waiting for him. It was a nightmarish figure, covering the entire sky. Even though it was so dark, he could barely make out its details, just the outline was terrifying.

Most people would have frozen in fear, but not Leng Ji.

He forced himself to raise his gun and fired with all his might.

He emptied the entire clip, but nothing happened. The creature didn't move. It emerged from the darkness, looking at him almost mockingly, as if watching a clown.

In that moment, Leng Ji realized the true difference in power.

What he faced wasn't from his world.

"You're interesting," the creature said. "You stand out among your kind. But why do people like you cling so tightly to being human?"

Leng Ji held his gun, even though it was out of bullets, aiming at the giant shadow as if it could give him some sense of security.

"You live in a world full of restrictions. Have you ever wondered if what you think you have is really the power you want?" a voice asked.

Leng Ji was silent, realizing the voice had a point.

When he was the good kid in school, he got bullied. When he fought back, the teachers and principal would step in, showing him that real power was out of his reach.

The same was true in the boxing ring. He looked successful, dominating the matches, but still couldn't avoid getting kicked out of the ring.

Even now, as a respected and legendary agent, he was just a tool, a disposable enforcer. Someone else always had the final say, and he had to follow orders.

This was the barrier that had always held him back, the source of his frustration.

Thinking this over, Leng Ji lowered his gun. He had decided he wouldn't let himself be bound or chained again by anyone.

Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed.

The ice shattered. The dark shadow burst free, roaring as its eyes, filled with rage and violence, stayed locked on Batman.