Volume One: Soaring at Debut Chapter Fifty-Two: A Battle Fought Alone

From childhood to adulthood, Zhang Jingzhi had led an entirely ordinary life. She had never encountered anything like this before. Even after her supernatural abilities awakened, she had only experienced endless toil and struggle, never finding herself in a situation where death lurked at every turn. Now, she could only silently pray that whoever had come to rescue her would defeat those bandits—otherwise, she knew all too well that what awaited her would be far worse than death.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from behind, gently gripping her shoulders.

“Ah… mmph—” Startled, Zhang Jingzhi was about to cry out when a hand covered her mouth.

She struggled desperately, certain the bandits had discovered her. Panic-stricken, she tried to turn her head to see who was behind her.

“Jingzhi, don’t shout—it’s me.”

A familiar voice whispered in her ear, and Zhang Jingzhi froze, ceasing her struggle. She recognized that voice—it was Chen Jing.

The person behind her, seeing she had stopped struggling, released her mouth. Zhang Jingzhi hurriedly turned around, desperate to see who it was. The moment she saw his face, tears streamed down her cheeks. Who else could it be but Chen Jing?

Zhang Jingzhi had imagined her rescuer might be the police, or perhaps someone from the supernatural organization that had previously arranged her safe house. That organization was called the Dynasty, she recalled. At first, she thought it most likely that people from the Dynasty would come to her aid—after all, the bandits had supernatural abilities, so surely the rescue team would send their own ability users.

But the one thing she had never imagined was that it would be Chen Jing who came for her. In her mind, Chen Jing was just a handsome celebrity—how could he possibly be involved in such dangerous affairs? It was inconceivable that he would risk everything, alone, to save her. Yet, reality had defied her expectations: it was Chen Jing who had come.

Seeing Chen Jing’s familiar face, the tension in Zhang Jingzhi’s heart finally gave way. She threw herself into his arms, clinging to him tightly, her face pressed against his chest. “Jing… Jing…” She choked out his name, sobbing softly.

“It’s all right now, Jingzhi. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry—I’m here,” Chen Jing said, holding her close, gently stroking her back, his voice soothing.

After venting her fear for a while, Zhang Jingzhi gradually calmed down. She wiped away her tears, adjusted her loosened shirt, and blushed faintly. Only now did she realize that in her panic, she’d clung to Chen Jing with her blouse undone.

She stepped back slightly from his embrace, concern in her voice. “Jing, how did you know I was here? This place is so dangerous—how did you come alone…” Her words trailed off. If Chen Jing had come by himself, then all that had happened out there must have been his doing. Just who was Chen Jing, really?

She looked at him, puzzled. “Jing… you…”

Chen Jing paid no mind to her anxious gesture of pulling her collar tight. He smiled and said, “It’s a long story. Let me deal with these people first, then I’ll tell you everything, all right?”

“They… they have guns. And…” Zhang Jingzhi hesitated, then bit her lip and decided to confess, “They have supernatural powers, Jing, I swear I’m not lying. They really do—just like in the movies, with superhuman abilities.” Afraid he wouldn’t believe her, she kept trying to explain.

Chen Jing patted her shoulder and gave her a confident smile. “I know all about it. Supernatural powers and the like—I’m aware.”

“Huh? Jing, you…” Zhang Jingzhi’s mouth opened slightly, unsure what to say. “Are you… are you an ability user too?”

Chen Jing shook his head, not bothering to explain further. He comforted her, “Stay hidden here, don’t move. Just wait for me. I’ll take care of this and come back for you.” He stroked her forehead gently and added, “Don’t be afraid. Just wait for me.”

Hearing those words, Zhang Jingzhi felt her terrified, fragile heart instantly soothed. She gathered her courage and replied, “Okay. I’ll wait for you here. Jing, be careful.” She knew that staying hidden and not letting the bandits find her was the best help she could offer.

Chen Jing smiled, said nothing more, and began covering Zhang Jingzhi’s hiding spot with debris to conceal her. Unless someone searched thoroughly, no one would discover her.

Once her hiding place was secured, the sounds of the bandits’ search grew closer. Chen Jing rolled his shoulders and smiled. It was time for close combat.

Were it an open space without obstacles, he would have picked them off one by one with his sniper rifle. But here, there were too many blind spots, and he had to prevent them from finding Zhang Jingzhi. Most importantly, he was running out of time. He had to give up sniping and switch to hand-to-hand combat.

“Any sign of that woman over there?”

“No, keep your heads down! The sniper’s gone missing again.”

The members of Pandora fanned out, searching for Zhang Jingzhi while keeping themselves covered from a possible sniper.

One of them crept forward to scout ahead. As he peeked around a corner to the right, a pair of hands shot out from the left—one clamped over his mouth, the other drew a combat knife across his throat. He struggled briefly before being dragged into the shadows.

Having dispatched his first target, Chen Jing continued stalking his next prey, moving from shadow to shadow, harvesting lives as he went.

At last, the Pandora members sensed something was wrong. It was the woman in revealing clothes who noticed first.

She hid behind her male companion, realizing the opposing sniper had been silent for a long time, which made her uneasy. She was certain he was planning something big. Scanning her surroundings, she found herself frowning—hadn’t there been more people left? Unease gnawed at her. She shouted, “Wolf! Hyena! Report in!”—the codenames of two subordinates, both ability users. She looked around but saw no sign of them.

“Hey! No idea! Weren’t they just here? Wolf! Hyena! If you hear me, respond!” The remaining Pandora members exchanged nervous glances and called out as well, but no answer came. At once, everyone knew something was amiss.

The woman in revealing clothes took a deep breath, her voice grim. “Everyone, be careful. The enemy may be closing in.” She licked her lips, a crazed smile flickering across her face. “Get ready for close combat.”

In a shadowy corner, Chen Jing took out another ability user, laying the body on the ground. He glanced at the corpse—one of those called Hyena or Wolf, presumably. Including the one he’d killed earlier, he’d dispatched two ability users so far. The trick was to strike before they could react; if you controlled them before they could use their powers, they were no different from ordinary people.

He eyed the remaining Pandora members—just seven left. Checking the time, he saw it was past five. He sighed. All right, he thought, let’s finish this in one go. He was in a hurry.

The woman in revealing clothes gathered the survivors together: including herself, only seven remained. Her face grew darker. They’d started with seventeen, and now, without even knowing their enemy’s identity, they’d lost more than half. How could she not be alarmed?

What reassured her, slightly, was that most of their fighting strength remained. Among the seven, five were ability users, and the other two were skilled killers. Most importantly, as long as she and her male companion were still there, they still had their trump card.

She shouted loudly, “Come out! We’re all together now—you’ve got no chance. Or you can stay hidden, but when we find Zhang Jingzhi, we’ll torture her to death in front of you. Just wait and see!”

Before long, Pandora’s people saw a figure step out from behind a crate. Instantly, all eyes were on him, alert and wary.

The woman in revealing clothes was surprised—she hadn’t really expected her taunt to lure him out. Could there be some kind of ambush? The thought made her even more wary.

Chen Jing stepped forward, his face unmasked. In the past, he’d always disguised himself for assignments, but this time, he hadn’t bothered—partly because he was in a hurry, and partly because he saw no need. He didn’t say a word, just stopped a short distance from them, his gaze fixed on the woman in revealing clothes.

The Pandora members looked at one another, puzzled by his behavior and too wary to act.

The woman studied the impossibly young man before her, her feelings uncertain. Had this youth really taken out over ten of her men? He was far too young. What organization had produced such a prodigy? The Dynasty? Impossible. That wasn’t their style; they never sent people alone.