The Colossus and the Defender

Even Wu Qing could see it now. The group of soldiers downstairs, though strong-willed and highly coordinated, stood no chance against the massive carnivorous fungus. Their weaponry, aside from tanks, couldn't even dent its defenses. The disparity in strength was so vast that it had exceeded the capacity of a conventional army.

Yet, there was one man before them who might pose a threat to the giant fungus.

Though Wu Qing hated to admit it, Chen Dafu's power was undeniable.

"What's the hurry?" Chen Dafu suddenly turned his head, a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he looked at Wu Qing. "I'm not rushing. Why are you pushing me? Got something urgent to attend to?"

"I don't have anything urgent..." Wu Qing stammered, lowering his head to avoid Chen Dafu's gaze. "I'm just reminding you, this is the higher-ups' plan. You don't have any issues with them, do you?"

"I'm not like you, so easy to dislike," Chen Dafu drawled, lazily twirling the short knife in his hand, his eyes scanning Wu Qing's figure. "My superiors respect me."

...

"Xiao Ci, I think there's something off about him."

"Sir, it's not him; he seems too foolish to be hiding anything. The mastermind wouldn't choose someone like him as the host."

"What if it's a case of 'the black under the lamp'? Could we have been too clever for our own good?"

"Sir, the odds of that are too low... He can't even fool Chen Dafu, let alone the others. If a blunt person encounters him, and they end up killing this clueless fool, the host could easily be swapped."

"You have a point. If he were the host, he wouldn't be this careless."

...

The conversation between Jiang Xiao Ci and Mike continued to come through the communication device hidden in Chen Dafu's ear. They were discussing whether Wu Qing might be the host.

Chen Dafu didn't fully understand what they were talking about, he was just waiting for the next orders. But as he listened, something didn't feel right.

"What do you mean, 'even Chen Dafu can't be fooled'?"

"Wait a minute... Do you all think I'm not smart?" Chen Dafu's expression darkened. But he didn't speak up to argue.

He wasn't afraid of Mike, but Jiang Xiao Ci was someone you didn't want to provoke.

The conversation continued for a while before Mike suddenly asked, "Xiao Ci, are we ready?"

"Yeah, everyone's in place."

"Good. Captain Chen, it's up to you now."

Mike nodded at Chen Dafu and ordered, "You can rescue the people now. Go deal with that monster."

"Whoosh!"

The short knife that Chen Dafu had been idly twirling suddenly stopped. He reached out, grabbed Wu Qing, and with a single leap, they shot forward.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, jumping off the building like that?!"

Wu Qing was terrified, his scream piercing the night sky, even drowning out the sound of the approaching gunfire. It caught the attention of the soldiers below.

"Captain Qin, look up!"

One of the soldiers shouted. Captain Qin Da Shan looked up to see two figures hurtling down like missiles, soaring gracefully over the soldiers' heads before landing right in the middle of the battlefield.

"Boom!!"

With a loud, resounding crash, dust and debris flew everywhere.

"Cease fire!"

The chief of staff shouted. Qin Da Shan squinted, lifting his binoculars to get a better view.

Through the smoke, a tall, muscular man emerged—his hair thick and black, holding both a long and short black knife. A wicked grin played at the corner of his lips.

"Hi!"

The man turned and waved his short knife in Qin Da Shan's direction.

"It's Captain Chen!"

Qin Da Shan's eyes lit up. He knew exactly what Chen Dafu was capable of.

This man was hailed by their superiors as the strongest single combatant in all of Jinling, a walking muscle-bound monster! With Chen Dafu here, they might not even need to use complicated strategies to deal with the giant fungus.

"I didn't expect him to come here first to save us."

A smile tugged at the corner of Qin Da Shan's mouth, his mood lightened.

"Captain Chen is here!"

The staff officers, now informed, issued orders for the soldiers to rest in place, cease fire, check their equipment, and leave half of them ready to support Chen Dafu. Everyone knew how strong he was, and based on previous experiences, this was likely just another one of Captain Chen's personal showcases.

"He's certainly massive."

Chen Dafu turned to size up the enormous fungus ahead of him, his gaze full of interest. "I wonder if you're tough enough to take a beating."

"Wu Qing!"

Chen Dafu barked, turning to his companion. "You attack from the left, I'll take the front. Just follow my lead."

"Wait, I have to go too?"

Wu Qing, still recovering from being thrown into the crater created by Chen Dafu's landing, froze. He slowly raised his eyes to look at the giant fungus, his face paling.

At that moment, he felt like a small henchman commanded to deal with a powerful enemy—it was a terrible feeling.

But Chen Dafu didn't give him time to hesitate. With a burst of strength, he shot forward like a cannonball, heading straight for the giant fungus.

"Come on! Let's play, Grandpa!"

Laughter rang out from Chen Dafu as he charged ahead. The soldiers watching from a distance could barely catch the blur of his movements, not fast enough to track his lightning strikes on the massive fungus.

Though the wounds he inflicted were tiny compared to the size of the creature, they kept multiplying, each second adding hundreds of deep gashes to the fungus's thick hide.

The fungus seemed to feel the relentless pain, thrashing its huge, snake-like tendrils, trying to crush the annoying fly that was Chen Dafu.

Its tendrils whipped through the air with such speed, like the roar of a jet slicing through the wind.

Watching from a distance, Qin Da Shan quickly reached for his radio, about to offer battlefield intel on the fungus. But he soon realized it was no longer necessary.

Chen Dafu's speed was so overwhelming, the fungus couldn't even hit him!

Even though the tendrils swirled in a frenzy, it couldn't land a blow. Chen Dafu moved with the grace and speed of a bolt of lightning, faster than the eye could follow.

Meanwhile, Wu Qing, attempting to flank the fungus from the left, found himself completely outclassed.

He had only intended to throw a few feeble attacks to keep up appearances, but before he could even get close, he saw the tendrils flying in every direction.

One narrowly missed his head and destroyed a nearby building, sending debris flying toward him. He barely managed to dodge the barrage of rubble and steel.

He couldn't fight—there was no way!

Even trying to get closer would risk death on the spot.

Wu Qing was now experiencing firsthand what it meant to fight like a master, where even the aftershocks of the battle were far beyond the abilities of an ordinary person to endure.

Cowering in a safe corner of the wreckage, Wu Qing couldn't help but murmur to himself, staring at the chaotic battlefield before him. He could hear Chen Dafu's triumphant laughter echoing across the war-torn landscape.

"Come on, come on! Faster! You're too weak, I'm going to kill you!"

The laughter was audacious, filled with unbridled arrogance.

The tendrils lashed out more violently, enraged by the taunting.

"This guy... this guy is a monster!"

Wu Qing whispered, eyes darkening with a mixture of awe and greed.

This man was fast! Strong! His body could withstand bullets and cannons, and he was almost immune to poison, impervious to the fungus's effects on humans!

He was the perfect human—virtually flawless!

In the shadowy corner of the battlefield, Wu Qing sighed softly.

"If only I had his power..."