On the streets of Bangkok, neon lights flickered wildly in the torrential rain, producing an eerie, crackling sound. The rain wasn't transparent, but an eerie dark red.
[Warning! Warning! The concentration of demonic energy in the air has reached 98%.]
At the end of the street, several twisted figures slowly emerged. Their eyes rolled back and their skin was covered in bluish-purple veins. They emitted low, beast-like growls. These former citizens are now collectively known as 'demonic bio-humans'.
Standing before this group of grotesque monsters was a man.
He wore a tattered black trench coat with the hood up, obscuring most of his face; only his prominent nose stood out sharply in the cold light. He carried a bag of melting ice and his eyes were empty, like a bottomless well.
[System scanning—]
[Target: A-Zhan]
[Affiliation: Unknown]
[Combat Power Index: 0]
'Tch, just another worthless piece of trash.' On a distant high-rise, a scout wearing a futuristic combat suit shut down his detector with disdain. 'The Bangkok Red Rain has arrived and the global superpowers have awakened, yet this guy's still a nobody. This kind of trash can be left for the mutated cyborgs to have for supper.'
"Roar!"
Dozens of mutated cyborgs sensed the scent of fresh flesh and went berserk instantly, charging towards A-Zhan like cannonballs. They moved with incredible speed, leaving afterimages in the air as their claws sliced through the air with ear-piercing crackling sounds.
A-Zhan remained motionless, not even lifting an eyelid.
'So noisy,' he murmured softly, his voice so cold it seemed to freeze the air.
Just as the foremost cyborg's claws were 0.01 centimetres from A-Zhan's nose, he moved. He slowly lowered the ice pack in his hand and pulled a roll of black bandage from his pocket that was wrapped in an eerie black gas. He meticulously wrapped the bandage around his right hand, each turn producing a muffled vibration in the air.
'This world always judges by appearances,' said A-Zhan, his lips curling into a cold smile. 'Since you want to see numbers, I'll give you one that will leave you in despair.' Boom!
The space around A-Zhan suddenly distorted violently. The displayed '0' began to flash wildly and then turned blood red!
[Combat Power Index: 0... 1000... 5000... 10000...]
[Warning! Abnormal fluctuation detected! Combat Power Index exceeds 20,000! Unable to analyse! Unable to analyse. This value has entered the 'zero value domain'! 'Have you ever seen the colour of hell?'
Ah Zhan raised his head, his hood slipping down to reveal a cold, perfectly handsome face, with a glint of dark demonic markings visible at the corner of his eye — a curse and the source of his power.
Ultimate Technique: Life-Devouring Infernal Purgatory Fist!
Ah Zhan threw a punch with unremarkable ease, without any complex techniques, but with extreme power and speed.
The scene seemed to freeze at that moment.
The instant the punch was thrown, a massive black dragon phantom roared from his fist. The five demonic cyborgs that were hit first were instantly disintegrated into particles upon contact with the black energy, without having time to scream.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The force of the punch whipped up the asphalt pavement of the entire street, sending it surging to both sides like ocean waves. The once arrogant demonic army was wiped out instantly by this single punch.
A-Zhan retracted his fist. The black bandage on his right hand, unable to withstand the intense heat, began to emit wisps of white smoke. The combat power meter, strained by the excessive pressure, gave off a burnt smell before snapping black.
'Combat power is nothing more than solace for the weak seeking security.' He picked up the partially melted ice bag from the ground, turned and walked into the dark alley.
'Hey! That man!' A girl riding a heavy motorcycle sped towards him in the distance. She was wearing glowing spiritual glasses and carrying an extravagantly designed guzheng, a Chinese zither. It was Marlene.
She looked at the wreckage, then at A-Zhan's lonely figure. The numbers on his glasses fluctuated: 'I can't sense any combat power... Could he be the legendary 'Zero Experiment Subject Abandoned by God'?"
A-Zhan didn't turn around; he just waved. His back appeared cold and aloof in the red rain.
'Don't follow me.'
Her heavy motorcycle, 'Pink Lightning', traced a graceful arc across the water-logged ground and came to a smooth stop at the entrance to the alley.
She adjusted her 'spiritual energy tracking glasses', the frantically flashing green characters on the lenses mirroring her serious expression. 'Strange. Just now, there was an energy surge powerful enough to destroy the entire street. Why is the current detection result still...'
[Target Detection: A-Zhan]
Real-time Combat Power Index: 0.0001.
'0.0001?' Marlene scoffed. 'That's less than a stray dog passing by! Was that energy surge just an illusion?'
However, the suffocating oppression in the air the next second told her that this wasn't an illusion, but absolute class suppression. 'Hehehe... As expected of 'Zero', this nauseating loneliness is truly excellent experimental material.'
A monster over two and a half metres tall, covered in exoskeleton armour, slowly emerged from the shadows. Its arms were not hands, but two enormous demonic bone blades emitting a ghostly purple light.
[System Alert: Extreme Danger]
[Enemy Detected: Demonized Executioner – Modified]
Combat Power Index: 15,000–18,000 (continuously rising).
'Little sister, this isn't a place for playing house.' A-Zhan stopped, facing away from Marlene, his voice hoarse and magnetic. 'Take your guzheng and get lost.'
'Hey! You're so rude!' Marlene jumped off her motorcycle and angrily pulled out a Thai guzheng inlaid with fluorescent crystals — 'Holy Wave - Pure Sound' — from her back.
'I'm the most promising support-type ability user in Bangkok! Your combat power index is only 0 — what kind of hero are you trying to be?"
"0?" A-Zhan snorted coldly and slowly turned around. The black bandage wrapped around his right hand unwrapped automatically, dancing wildly in the wind as if it had a life of its own.
'Since you want to see, then open your eyes wide and look closely. From this moment on, I have redefined power in this world."
Domain deployment: Zero Zone!
Buzz! An invisible ripple spread outwards from Zhan in an instant. The previously noisy rain disappeared and even gravity became disordered. Most strangely of all, Marlene was horrified to find that the values displayed on her glasses were rapidly decreasing towards zero.
[Warning! All energy values within the domain have been forcibly reset! Demonic Executioner's combat power: 18,000 → 0! Marlene's combat power: 8,500 → 0!"
'How is this possible? My power has been sealed?!" Marlene exclaimed.
'It's not sealed.' Zhan's figure transformed into a black lightning bolt in the red rain. 'In my domain, I am the only variable.'
Freeze-frame perspective 1: the Demonic Executioner roared and swung its bone blade. However, under the zero-value domain, its proud speed was as slow as a slideshow. Zhan turned sideways; his steps were as elegant as a waltz. His left hand was in his pocket and his right hand suddenly formed a claw.
'Ultimate Skill — Bone Shattering: A Silent Hymn!"
Freeze Frame 2: Zhan's fingertips struck the Executioner's exoskeleton joints precisely. There was no violent explosion, only a teeth-grinding cracking sound. The executioner's armour, strong enough to withstand missiles, was as fragile as paper in A-Zhan's hands.
Freeze Frame 3: A-Zhan's eyes turned icy cold and black demonic patterns spread rapidly from his neck to the corners of his eyes. 'It's over. Turn to nothingness.'
He exerted force with his right hand, and a pure, pitch-black energy erupted from his palm!
BOOM!
The executioner's massive body was pierced by this strike. The black energy pillar tore through the red clouds, creating a shocking crack in the sky above Bangkok. When the dust settled, the monster, whose combat power exceeded ten thousand, was reduced to ashes.
Standing in the centre of the ruins, A-Zhan carefully wrapped the black bandages back around his right hand, moving as though he were handling a work of art. His combat power index had jumped back to that glaring zero.
Marlene stood there, stunned, her guzheng nearly slipping from her grasp. "You... who are you?" she asked.
A-Zhan pulled his black trench coat hood back up and turned around. The red moonlight shone on his profile, highlighting an extreme sense of loneliness.
'Me?' he chuckled self-deprecatingly. His tone was tinged with a mixture of desolation and arrogance. 'Just a death row inmate whose name doesn't even appear on the combat power rankings.'
With that, he leapt and disappeared into the intricate network of Thai alleyways, leaving Marlene staring at the ruins and the broken detector, lost in deep doubt.
[Combat Power Bonus]
A-Zhan's inner monologue: 'That punch was a bit too much of a show-off. The ice seems to have completely melted and the cola for tonight has lost its soul.'
Marlene's inner monologue: This man is so strange, but so handsome! I'm going to capture him and use him as a research subject for my superpowers!'
Although the rain had subsided, the unsettling stench of blood in the air had grown stronger.
Ah Zhan walked through the flooded alleyways, the ripples created by each step of his black military boots eerie in the reddish water. The bag of melting ice in his hand creaked under its weight — a reminder that some things can never be restored once broken.
"Hey! You, 'Uncle Zero'! Stop right there!"
A clear shout came from behind, accompanied by the lingering warmth of a motorcycle engine after it had stopped. Marlene, clutching her guzheng named 'Qingyin', caught up, panting. Her spiritual glasses, askew from running so fast, were askew.
Ah Zhan stopped, but didn't turn around. "I have a name, and I'm not old — I'm only twenty-four!"
"I don't care if you're twenty-four or eighty-four!" Marlene walked around to his side and spread her arms to block his path. Her spiritual glasses, perched on her nose, gleamed with an eerie blue light in the darkness. "That move just now… it wasn't an ordinary superpower! According to my detector, your combat power index is zero. But in that instant, you obliterated the rules of this entire space, didn't you?'
Ah Zhan lowered his hat brim slightly, his voice devoid of emotion. 'Knowing too much won't get you far in Bangkok at night. Go home, little girl. This isn't your paradise.' 'Go home? I haven't had a home in ages!' Marlene puffed out her chest. Though she was shorter than Ah Zhan, her imposing presence was in no way inferior. 'I am Marlene, the last "Spirit Visor" in Bangkok. My glasses can see combat power indexes and the threads of a person's destiny.'
She pointed to Ah Zhan's chest and her tone suddenly turned serious. 'Countless black chains are wrapped around you, each connecting to a hell. Although your value is zero, it's the zero of the abyss; the zero that represents the return of all things to nothingness. You are the one prophesied to end this red rain, aren't you?' "
Ah Zhan finally raised his head. Traces of demonic influence still lingered in his dark eyes, a faint purple light visible.
"The end? I just want to find my place in this messed-up world and quietly finish this bag of cola."
He held up the bag of melted ice water, his expression somewhat comical yet revealing a deep-seated desolation.
At that moment, as they made "fateful" eye contact, the surrounding buildings suddenly began to shake violently!
Countless black runes crawled across the walls like worms and a deep, electronically distorted voice echoed through the alley, saying, "Found... 'Subject Zero' and the lost spirit maiden. The Lord awaits your 'return'.
'Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!' Several strange figures, dressed in purple robes and wearing metal masks, descended from the sky. Each one was wielding a long sword that reeked of decay. They were the Shadow Guard, commanded by the Black Dragon King, the Judgement of Force.
[System monitoring: Black Dragon Shadow Guard]
[Combat Power Index: 9000, 9200, 9500...]
[Overall Rating: Elite-level Demonic Assassin]
Marlene's expression changed. Her fingers swiftly plucked the strings of her guzheng and a pale golden ripple instantly spread out — the support skill 'Holy Water Baptism Shockwave'!
"Don't touch him! He's the man I've set my sights on!' Marlene let out a sharp shout, her combat power index instantly soaring to 8,500. 'Go home? I haven't had a home in ages!' Marlene puffed out her chest. Though she was shorter than Ah Zhan, her imposing presence was in no way inferior. 'I am Marlene, the last "Spirit Visor" in Bangkok. My glasses can see combat power indexes and the threads of a person's destiny.'
She pointed to Ah Zhan's chest and her tone suddenly turned serious. 'Countless black chains are wrapped around you, each connecting to a hell. Although your value is zero, it's the zero of the abyss; the zero that represents the return of all things to nothingness. You are the one prophesied to end this red rain, aren't you?' "
'Marlene, right? Put on your 'psychic earphones' and tune in to the most energetic song.' Ah Zhan stepped forward and blocked Marlene's path. The surrounding red rain floated upwards as he took it, hovering in mid-air.
[Real-time Combat Power Index Report:
Ah Zhan: 0 -> ???? (Unable to estimate).
Status: Demonic Physique – First-Tier Awakening'.
'Because the scene that follows might be a bit bloody.'
Ah Zhan stared coldly at the purple-robed monsters, suddenly clenching his right fist as a bolt of black lightning leapt wildly between his knuckles. 'The night in Bangkok — it's time to clear the area.'
Just then, a golden light streaked across the distant sky, accompanied by the smell of gunpowder and a gunshot — the sound of a "Golden Revolver".