Seeing the manic grin spreading across Drakkon's face, Liu Wei couldn't stop a chill from running down his spine.
Without hesitation, he commanded his two remaining tentacles to grab everything within reach.
Rocks.
Broken branches.
Chunks of earth.
Anything they could hold was hurled violently toward the boy.
I darted sideways continuously as stones exploded around me, forcing me to evade one attack after another while Liu Wei carefully observed my movements.
Very quickly, he noticed something.
The boy depended heavily on speed.
Every dodge relied on agility and reaction time rather than brute force or endurance.
That meant his strongest advantage was mobility… and that terrifying fire ability.
More importantly—
his main weapon was already gone.
Which meant Liu Wei's conclusion was simple:
Do not give the boy space.
Do not give him time.
If he couldn't freely use his fire techniques, then he could be crushed head-on.
A small smile slowly appeared on Liu Wei's face.
Like a predator cornering wounded prey.
His tentacles continued launching debris nonstop while he rapidly closed the distance between us.
"What now, brat?" he sneered.
"You lost your weapon."
"You can't use your ability."
"Why don't you beg? Maybe I'll give you a quick death."
He lunged forward aggressively—
completely failing to notice the crimson Sharingan spinning inside my eyes.
CRACK!
A nearby tree split apart after one of his tentacles smashed through it while missing me by centimeters.
Liu Wei gritted his teeth.
Just a little more.
Just a little closer.
Then he would crush this slippery little rat once and for all.
Meanwhile, I continued weaving through his attacks, narrowly avoiding each strike while occasionally slashing at him whenever opportunities appeared.
Every exchange left more cuts on his body.
More blood.
More exhaustion.
Because the truth was—
I wasn't trying to kill him quickly.
I was using him.
Training.
Sharpening my instincts through real combat.
Another tentacle whipped over my head.
I ducked beneath it instantly.
Then—
SLASH!
I swung upward with my kunai, deliberately aiming lower than expected.
Straight toward little Liu Wei.
Just as I predicted—
His expression changed violently.
He instinctively defended downward.
THUNK!
The kunai pierced directly through his hand and pinned it against his own thigh.
"AAAAARGH!"
"You bastard son of a—!"
His face turned bright red with fury, veins bulging wildly across his neck as something inside him finally snapped.
He completely lost control.
The remaining tentacles began whipping everywhere indiscriminately, smashing rocks and trees apart while he simultaneously charged forward throwing punches with the kunai still embedded through his hand.
I dodged left.
Right.
Backward.
Barely avoiding the chaotic barrage.
This time I couldn't counterattack easily.
Liu Wei had entered a berserk state.
No strategy.
No caution.
Just rage.
But rage created openings.
The moment one damaged tentacle overextended—
SLASH!
I severed the remainder completely.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Liu Wei screamed in agony while his final tentacle lashed around uncontrollably, tearing apart everything nearby.
One strike barely missed my face by centimeters.
Sweat dripped down my chin.
My breathing grew heavier.
I could feel my chakra reserves rapidly approaching their limit.
I didn't have much left.
Liu Wei noticed it too.
"You fucking bastard…" he growled while grabbing more debris.
"You think cutting my tentacles changes anything?"
"I figured it out."
"You're slowing down."
"You're running out of energy."
A cruel smile spread across his bloody face.
"I don't need to be faster than you."
"I just need to outlast you."
As he continued forcing me to move, I felt my chakra draining faster and faster.
So I prepared my final feint.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
I formed the hand signs while secretly drawing four kunai.
The instant I saw him grab a massive rock to throw—
I made my move.
But unexpectedly—
He didn't throw it.
Instead, he raised the rock as a shield.
"You think I'd fall for the same trick twice, brat?" he sneered.
"I'm not stupid."
"Using the same stance again…"
"That means you're desperate."
Protected behind the massive stone, Liu Wei slowly advanced until he stood only a few feet away from me.
"It looks like your energy's finally gone."
"How about some last words?"
"I'll allow it. I'm merciful."
His grin became increasingly twisted.
Then—
"Hahaha…"
I laughed directly in his face.
His expression froze.
"…What are you laughing at?"
"Did you finally go insane?"
I stared straight into his eyes.
"You never had a chance to win."
"I was just using you as a training dummy."
"But honestly…"
"Thanks."
"You helped me gain a lot of combat experience."
Liu Wei's face darkened.
"What nonsense are you saying?!"
"You can barely move anymore!"
"This is where you die!"
He raised the massive rock with his tentacle and slammed it downward toward my skull.
At the exact moment it made contact—
POOF!
Smoke exploded outward.
His pupils shrank violently.
"A clone?!"
CRIIIIIIINNNN—
The sound of a thousand birds chirping erupted behind him.
A sharp, piercing sound filled the ravine like screaming lightning itself.
Before Liu Wei could even turn around—
he felt something tear straight through his chest.
His body instantly weakened.
Slowly…
he looked downward.
A hand covered in crackling blue lightning had pierced directly through his heart from behind.
Blood dripped from the glowing arm.
His vision blurred rapidly.
Darkness crept into the edges of his sight.
With the last of his strength, Liu Wei looked forward only to see the "Drakkon" standing before him vanish into smoke.
The real one stood behind him.
"…H-how… w-when did you…"
Before he could finish speaking—
his body collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
I slowly pulled my arm free.
Blood mixed with blue sparks before fading away.
I looked down at the corpse silently.
My plan had worked perfectly.
Back when we crashed down the cliff and dust filled the air, I had secretly created a Shadow Clone using thirty-five percent of my remaining chakra while keeping roughly fifty percent for myself after previous expenditures.
Then, while the dust obscured vision, I immediately hid deep inside nearby bushes.
Thankfully, Liu Wei never heard me moving through the debris.
Otherwise the plan might've failed completely.
I kicked the corpse once.
Better safe than sorry.
Then—
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
BOOOOM!
Three consecutive fireballs engulfed the body entirely, burning flesh, bones, and remaining tissue until almost nothing recognizable remained.
Only after ensuring he was completely dead did I finally open my status screen.
---
[Drakkon Uchiha]
[Uchiha Bloodline]: LV1 — XP: 400/500
[Strength]: LV2 — XP: 005/500
[Speed]: LV2 — XP: 212/600
[Defense]: LV1 — XP: 032/050
[Skills]
[Great Fireball Jutsu]: LV2 — XP: 450/500
[Multiple Shadow Clones]: LV1 — XP: 120/900
[Passives]
[Chakra Control]: LV2 — XP: 470/700
[Sharingan]: LV1 — XP: 050/300
[Chidori]: LV1 — XP: 021/500
---
The biggest increase was clearly Multiple Shadow Clones.
Probably because this time I maintained one for a much longer period while actively fighting simultaneously.
Next came Chakra Control and Sharingan.
Keeping the Sharingan active throughout the entire battle and using chakra to soften the cliff fall must've contributed heavily.
Even Defense finally received a decent increase, likely because of the injuries and physical stress.
There was no point overthinking everything right now.
The important thing was—
I survived.
I pulled the walkie-talkie from my system storage.
…
Inside the train, the cabin door was being pounded repeatedly by several men from Liu Wei's convoy.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
"OPEN UP!"
One thug shouted while kicking the metal door repeatedly.
Meanwhile, a yellow-haired man approached the cracked windshield impatiently and started smashing it with the butt of his pistol.
But contrary to his expectations—
the damaged glass still refused to break.
Another thug shoved him aside.
"You're a fucking idiot."
He lit a cigarette casually before raising his assault rifle toward the already damaged windshield.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Bullets slammed into the glass.
None penetrated.
Instead, they ricocheted wildly in every direction.
"FUCK! STOP SHOOTING, MORON!"
"One of those bullets is gonna hit us!"
Another man ducked instinctively.
"Quit wasting ammo," someone else cursed.
"That's bulletproof glass."
"Unless you've got strength like Boss Liu Wei, you're not breaking it."
"The door's impossible too," another added after trying unsuccessfully to force it open.
"Whatever this thing's made from is ridiculous."
"You'd need industrial cutting equipment."
"Cutting equipment?" one thug snapped.
"You think that grows on trees?!"
"Where the hell are we supposed to get that?"
Finally, another man spoke nervously while glancing toward the darkening sky.
"Forget it."
"It's getting dark."
"If we stay outside tonight, we're dead."
"I already had someone block the tracks ahead with rocks."
"They're trapped."
"Tomorrow we come back with better tools and open this tin can."
"Then we kill the rats inside."
"Hehehe…"
Another thug suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right… we used the Zhao family's car to block the tracks earlier."
"Now that it's destroyed, where do you want them sleeping tonight?"
The smoker snorted coldly.
"I'm not taking care of useless baggage."
"They contribute nothing."
"Let those useless parasites rot outside."
Having reached an agreement, the group finally began leaving the train area while occasionally glancing back at the motionless locomotive.
Inside the cabin, Chen Sixuan stared at the wall clock.
Darkness was coming fast.
Unable to suppress her anxiety anymore, she turned toward Lin Xian.
"Lin Xian…"
"Did something happen to Drakkon?"
She clearly feared the worst.
Lin Xian crossed his arms.
"Tch."
"Nothing's killing that cockroach so easily."
"Just wait a little longer."
His tone sounded confident and indifferent…
…but even he glanced toward the clock with a slight frown.
Then suddenly—
"Hey. Anyone hearing this?"
Drakkon's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.
Lin Xian instantly grabbed it.
"So you're actually alive."
"What's your situation?"
"You close?"
"I already dealt with Liu Wei."
"As for me… a bunch of shallow cuts and nothing else."
Static interrupted briefly.
"I'll need to climb back up the cliff."
"It'll probably be dark before I return… but I'll manage."
Lin Xian exhaled quietly.
"Understood."
"Just hurry back, idiot."
"It's not safe outside."
"Roger that."
"I'm climbing now."
The walkie-talkie fell silent afterward.
…
After things calmed down somewhat and Lin Xian finished inspecting the cracked windshield, knocking suddenly echoed from outside the train again.
Then came the desperate voice of a woman.
"Please… is anyone inside?"
"Please, I'm begging you…"
"Let my family in…"
"We won't survive outside…"
Another voice interrupted.
"Move."
A man climbed near the side window by the cabin and looked inside, spotting Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan.
"Please open the door."
"It's getting dark and we have nowhere to hide."
"Please save my family."
"We won't take anything."
"We can stay in a corner under guard if you want."
"Please… my baby…"
"He doesn't deserve to die."
"He hasn't even had time to live yet…"
As if responding to those words—
a baby began crying outside.
"WAAAHH… WAAAHHH…"
The sharp cries pierced through the silence.
Chen Sixuan's body trembled.
"Our car's destroyed…"
"We won't find shelter in time…"
"Believe me…"
"You don't want our blood on your hands…"
The woman's voice broke into sobs.
"Sniff… please…"
"If not us…"
"Then at least take my baby…"
"He's so small…"
"He barely eats anything…"
The pleas echoed endlessly inside Chen Sixuan's mind.
Finally—
she broke.
Unable to endure the guilt crushing her heart, she collapsed into a corner crying while covering her ears.
"Please stop…"
"Please stop shouting…"
"I can't…"
"I really can't…"
"Sniff…"
Her shoulders shook violently from helplessness.
As time passed, the knocking weakened.
The pleading faded.
The crying slowly disappeared.
Then…
complete darkness swallowed the outside world.
Lin Xian silently watched Chen Sixuan from the side without interfering.
Because he understood something very clearly.
No one could help her overcome this.
If she wanted to survive this apocalypse…
she would have to harden her own heart.