In the brief lull between the ascent to Heaven and the outbreak of the final battle, the staff lounge on the 58^(th) floor of the Bangkok Tower became an odd refuge.
While outside the window was a scene of apocalyptic devastation, with rolling purple lightning and howling zombies, inside was a spectacle that would have given the Black Dragon King a stroke.
Ah Zhan sat cross-legged beside a tilted shelf, holding a fresh crab stick that he had dug out of the rubble. His eyes were vacant, as if he were contemplating the ultimate philosophy of the universe. In reality, however, he was simply enduring the excruciating pain he was experiencing as a result of the surgery he had undergone to modify his right arm.
"I said... Citizen Ah Zhan," a voice with a heavy, electronic metal tone rang out.
Officer Zack — or rather, the cyborg law enforcement officer with only half a body left, who was leaning against a vending machine 'recharging' — was staring intently at Ah Zhan with his red electronic eye.
'According to Article 14 of the Bangkok City Sanitation Management Regulations, eating amidst biological waste — referring to the remains of a voodoo doll — would normally warrant a 500 Bangkok rupee fine. However, given the current network latency, I can issue a verbal warning instead.'
Ah Zhan glanced at him, expressionlessly tearing open the crab stick packaging. 'Zack, did you break your CPU just now? You don't even have a lower body anymore, and you're still worried about my hygiene habits?"
"That's the dignity of 'order'." Zack stiffly raised his left hand, trying to straighten his charred tie. 'Even if the world ends, the law will be more important than your lame jokes.' "Stop arguing! Uncle, and you, half-ironman officer! Replenishing your energy is the most important thing!"
Marlene emerged from the back kitchen of the convenience store, carrying a metal bowl that looked as though it had been 'rescued' from a microwave. Her face was smeared with ash and she was waving a broken, long-handled spoon. Her eyes flashed with a fanatical, dangerous light known as the 'chef's soul'.
"Ta-da! Marlene's Special Recipe: Apocalypse-Style Tom Yum Stew!"
[System notification: unknown liquid of unknown composition detected.]
[Rarity: ???? (possibly legendary, or possibly highly poisonous)]
Buff: Random fluctuation in all attributes (fluctuation range: -50% to +200%).
Ah Zhan stared at the pot of soup, which was bubbling with an eerie purple light and emitting a faint, low-frequency hum. He fell into a long silence. 'Marlene, if I'm not mistaken, what's floating in there... the tentacles of that bio-beast from earlier?'
'That's high-grade collagen!' Marlene ladled out a bowl and handed it to Ah Zhan. 'I also added expired lemongrass, the last Tom Yum seasoning packet from the convenience store, and a tiny fragment of holy spiritual energy that I just awakened.'
'A fragment of holy spiritual energy?' Officer Zack's electronic eyes darted around frantically. 'That's an energy entity that can directly interfere with the structure of matter! Did you add it to the soup like MSG?"
'Oh, don't worry about the details, just drink it!' Ah Zhan stared at the bowl of soup, then looked at his trembling right arm. 'Whatever. I'm going to fight that old man anyway; being poisoned is better than dying of boredom.'
He picked up the bowl and gulped down a mouthful, like a hero going to his execution. Ah Zhan's expression froze instantly. His eyes bulged and the veins on his forehead throbbed wildly like startled earthworms.
'Sizzle—!' The heavy, gold, spirit-locking clasp on A-Zhan's right arm rang out crisply from the soup, and dark purple steam billowed out, carrying with it the faint aroma of tom yum soup.
[Status update: A-Zhan gains buff 'Sour and spicy asura'!]
[Combat Power: 0 → 1 (don't laugh — this one point means he has broken through some kind of divine barrier!)
[Side effect: 50% chance of permanent loss of taste.]
'It actually... works?' Zack stared at the grey flames that had reignited on A-Zhan's body. His electronic eyes were filled with logically collapsed chaos. 'This is unscientific! This violates the law of conservation of superpowers!'
'Officer, in Bangkok, taste is power!' Marlene put her hands on her hips, scooped out another spoonful of soup and forcefully shoved it at Zack's exposed... 'Mechanical sensor, you need a boost! Your logic circuits need a bit of a 'hot' shock!'
'No! Citizen Marlene! This is obstruction of official business... Waaah!'
Five minutes later, Officer Zack's mechanical eyes flashed with an eerie orange light and his usually stiff electronic voice took on a soft, panting tone. 'Oh God, my heatsink is overheating from the heat of the Bangkok streets... My sense of justice is swelling because of this sour and spicy flavour...'
'See, he seems to like it.' A-Zhan wiped the purple blood from his mouth and looked at Zack, who was in the midst of his 'orgasm', with a complicated expression.
'Uncle, what do you think the Black Dragon King is thinking right now?' Marlene crouched down beside A-Zhan, hugging her guzheng.
A-Zhan looked up at the ceiling, vaguely hearing the roar of the transmitter on the top floor operating. 'He's probably thinking that his ultimate masterpiece, painstakingly crafted over twenty years, should now be reaching its tragic, grandiose peak, but he never imagined that we'd be sitting here, surrounded by zombies, drinking a soup so spicy that it would make ghosts cry.'
'That's where we beat him.' Zack suddenly snapped back to reality. His mechanical right arm clicked as it transformed back into a multi-barrelled machine gun. "He calculated every number, but he didn't calculate how bored and resilient humans become when facing death." Azan stood up and tossed the last crab stick into his mouth. The Black Star Greatsword emitted a clear, resonant ring.
"The break is over." He reached out and helped Marlene up, then nodded to the policeman, who was now only half a body.
"Zack, stay here and protect this wretched cook. If I don't come back...'
"If you don't come back, I'll plaster your tombstone with tickets for attempted murder and wasting food." Zack's face hardened again, his red electronic eyes locking onto the ventilation shaft. "Get out of here, Zero." A slight smile played on Ah Zhan's lips as he turned, the grey flames enveloping him once more. But this time, his eyes held less madness and more human warmth.
'Black Dragon King, ready to take an order? This Tom Yum soup is extra spicy.'
The security camera on the wall of the convenience store, which had been flickering with static, suddenly emitted a piercing crackle.
The face of the Black Dragon King, exuding a sophisticated villainous aura, appeared on the screen again. However, the elegance and confidence that had characterised his appearance before were now absent, replaced by a twisted expression of profound humiliation.
'Ah Zhan... how dare you...' The Black Dragon King's voice trembled as he ground his teeth together. 'To welcome your "Ascension to Godhood", I prepared ten thousand elite witch corpses and laid a red carpet of top-grade spirit stones on the top floor. I was waiting for you to come charging up with a heart full of hatred and curses, ready for an epic dialogue about destiny with me... and yet you actually ate that garbage from a convenience store?"
'Old man, that's not right of you.' Ah Zhan casually picked at his ear. 'The crab sticks are cheese-flavoured and the tom yum soup was made by Marlene herself. Compared to your cold, hard throne, this place feels more like home. Understand?"
'Home? That's a breeding ground for insects!' The Black Dragon King slammed his hand on the armrest and the throne on the screen shattered instantly into pieces. 'The "Life-Eating Curse" within you is meant to destroy civilisation, not accelerate your intestinal peristalsis! You are desecrating this sacred curse!'
'Desecrating?' Officer Zack chimed in in a hushed tone: 'According to Article 3 of the Bangkok Wartime Mental Health Law, maintaining a positive attitude towards food before the final battle increases the critical hit rate. Black Dragon King, your aesthetic sense is outdated.'
'Enough! Since you want to die next to the toilet, I'll grant your wish!'
The Black Dragon King roared and smashed open the tightly closed automatic sensor door of the convenience store with brute force. Two 'Crystallised Demonic Dragons', each over ten metres long and composed of dark purple magical energy crystals, swooped down through the ventilation ducts. They had a consistent combat power index of 45,000 and were clones of the Black Dragon King's will.
"Uncle, watch out!" Marlene cried out, instinctively gripping the ladle.
Ah Zhan moved. He didn't even stand up, remaining in his lazy, cross-legged position. 'Zack, watch closely. This move is called "Full of Food and No Need for More Than Meat".' "
Freeze Frame 1: Ah Zhan's right hand — that 'Qilin Arm' covered in deep gold armour — slammed into the ground. 'Fifth Seal – Partial Liberation!' In an instant, a wave of grey-black energy swept outwards from him, causing the once hard tiled floor to ripple like waves.
Freeze frame 2: one of the demonic dragons opens its blood-red maw and spews out corrosive breath powerful enough to melt steel. A-Zhan raised the 'Black Star Heavy Sword' with one hand, not even drawing the blade, but simply swinging it casually with the scabbard still on. With a bang, a visible vacuum fracture appeared in the air. The demonic dragon's massive body shattered into countless glittering fragments upon touching the vacuum fracture, as if struck by a heavy truck.
Freeze Frame 3: Seeing this, the other demonic dragon nimbly circled to the flank in an attempt to ambush Marlene. 'Hey, that pot of soup isn't finished yet.' Ah Zhan's figure suddenly appeared above the dragon's head. His left hand was in his pocket and his right hand was outstretched as he grabbed the dragon's ferocious horn. "Get down!"
At that moment, Ah Zhan's power underwent a qualitative change, becoming not just a matter of statistical accumulation, but a dimensional crushing force. With one hand, he pressed the multi-tonne dragon forcefully into the foundation of the convenience store. The Black Star Heavy Sword then thrust downwards, piercing the dragon's energy core directly.
'This is unscientific...' The Black Dragon King on the monitor was completely dumbfounded. He had specifically sent these two clones with 'physical immunity' to test Ah Zhan, but his chaotic attack technique-less approach demolished them with brute force, driven by the mentality of 'I'm not happy, so I'll demolish'.
'Old man, don't use your outdated system to analyse me.' Ah Zhan dusted off his hands and looked up at the security camera. The dark red in his eyes had faded, replaced by a profound depth that would terrify even the gods.
'Marlene's soup contains not only spiritual power, but also the most genuine human energy of this city. You've locked yourself in the tower for too long, forgetting that Bangkok's greatest strength isn't demonisation, but the tenacity to keep going even when the world is ending."
Officer Zack clapped wildly beside him, though only his left hand was slapping his leg. "Brilliant! It should be included in the Police Officer Psychological Counselling Handbook!"
'Ah Zhan, I'll be waiting for you on the top floor.' The Black Dragon King closed his eyes, took a deep breath and regained his chilling calm. 'Since an ordinary script couldn't kill you, I'll activate "Divine Revelation". Hopefully, when you reach the top, there'll still be some strength left in that pot of soup to collect your corpse."
The security screen went completely black.
Azhan picked up the Black Star Greatsword and turned to Marlene. "Let's go, kid. This meal's taken too long. The Black Dragon King is getting impatient and wants to pay."
Marlene nodded vigorously and gave Zack a final look as he charged at the vending machine, protecting the last pot of soup. 'Officer Zack, when we get back, I'll make you an extra spicy version!'
Zack replied coldly, his red electronic eyes flickering gently twice, "But, as compensation, you must return alive to receive my ticket. That's an order.'
Azhan shouldered the greatsword and led Marlene into the private elevator of the CEO, which led to the top floor. In the elevator mirror, Azhan's right arm was reflected, gleaming with a faint, cold light.
[Battle Power Countdown: 00:05:00]
[Azhan's status: completely lost taste (battle spirit max)]
[Target: Floor 100, Black Dragon Throne]
The executive elevator at the Bangkok Tower was ascending at a speed of 10 metres per second. Through the fully transparent, reinforced glass exterior, the entire city had transformed into a purple sea. Countless demonic flying beasts were darting through the clouds and crashing against the exterior walls of the elevator with terrifying thuds.
Inside, the red numbers on the display were rapidly changing: 85… 90… 95…
'Uncle,' Marlene said, leaning against the corner of the lift and clutching the broken strings of her guqin tightly. Her voice was barely audible. 'If... I mean, if that old man really tries to shove me into that machine, just kill me.'
Ah Zhan tightened his grip on the 'Black Star Greatsword', the heavy gold armour emitting a faint hydraulic venting sound in the confined space. 'Before that, I'll dismantle that machine first, then...' The old man shoved it down the toilet and flushed it away.
'I'm serious!' Marlene looked up abruptly, her eyes red like a startled rabbit. 'Cyber said I'm the "fuse",' she continued. 'If I don't die, the Black Dragon King can use my power to corrupt the entire world.' Uncle, didn't you always call me a 'troublesome brat'? Now you have a chance to get rid of that trouble.'
Ah Zhan was silent for three seconds. The lift lights flickered due to high-altitude magnetic field interference, casting his face in half-light and making him look like a silent Asura.
"Marlene, listen to me." Ah Zhan's voice was surprisingly gentle yet carried an undeniable madness. 'I've killed many people and saved many people in my life. But I've never sacrificed anyone for the 'greater good'. I'm not a hero, much less a saviour. I'm just an ordinary thug who wants an iced cola and a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal for a child."
He turned his head, his dark eyes reflecting Marlene's trembling figure. 'If saving the world requires sacrificing you, then this world is better off without you.' The words had barely left her lips when the broken zither in Marlene's arms suddenly emitted a clear, resonant sound.
Miraculously, countless 'strings of light', composed of pure white spiritual energy, sprouted from the previously broken strings. These strings of light wound their way up Marlene's arm, forming a complex, mandala-like golden inscription on her skin.
[Warning! An anomaly has been detected in the host's cheat loading.]
[Marlene, Sequence 12: Awakened Form—"Great Brahma's Voice" activated.]
[Awakening progress: 30%, 60%, 99%]
"Uncle... I think... I heard it.' Marlene's eyes gradually lost focus and were replaced by a sacred pale gold. She reached out and lightly touched the elevator glass with her fingertips.
The demonic beast that had been frantically ramming the lift let out a painful roar upon contact with the ripples emanating from her fingertips. Then the purple scales on its body peeled away and dissipated into specks of white light.
'What did you hear?' Azhan's pupils contracted slightly as he sensed Marlene's combat power index undergoing an illogical 'dimensional leap'.
'I heard... the breath of Bangkok.' Marlene turned her head. In that moment, she was no longer the timid little girl, but a god overlooking all living beings. 'Those dead spirit maidens haven't disappeared. They're waiting for me to mend this last broken melody.' *Ding!*
The lift numbers stopped at 100.
The metal doors slowly slid open and a terrifying pressure rushed out, enough to instantly crush an ordinary person into a pulp. Accompanying this was dense purple demonic energy.
This was the 'Celestial Altar', home to the Black Dragon Throne.
The entire floor was open-plan with no walls; all around were endless skies and rolling purple thunderclouds. In the centre of the altar stood a huge core device, pieced together from countless human vertebrae and mechanical parts, operating frantically. On top of the device, the Black Dragon King had merged with it, his body covered in purple tentacles.
'Finally, my most perfect weapon and my most precious key are here.' The Black Dragon King opened his eyes, his pupils now a hazy purple, and his voice echoed like rolling thunder throughout the tower's spire.
[Final Boss Monitoring: Demonic God Form – Black Dragon King]
[Combat Power Index: 1,000,000 (True God-level fluctuation!)
[Current Environment: Demonic Array Core (all attributes reduced by 80%)]
'Marlene, hide behind me.' Azhan stepped out of the lift. With each step, the floor beneath his feet shattered under the pressure of his combat power, which was at a million-level. The heavy gold armour on his right arm emitted a piercing metallic cracking sound — his power load had reached its limit.
'You can't escape.' The Black Dragon King pointed into the air and Azhan was sent flying a hundred metres away by an invisible force before he even had a chance to react, crashing heavily into the base of the energy core and spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
"Uncle!" Marlene tried to rush forward, but two purple tentacles instantly wrapped around her ankles and pulled her upside down towards the core device.
"Before a true god, your 'Tom Yum Goong'-like willpower is nothing but a joke." The Black Dragon King mocked, watching Azhan struggle. "Look, Azhan, this is despair. You can't save anyone; you don't even have the strength to grip the hilt of your sword.'
Azhan collapsed into a pool of blood, his vision blurring. He saw Marlene being dragged towards the altar and the arrogant figure of the Black Dragon King, as well as the completely blackened, crumbling flesh beneath the armour on his right hand.
Despair? Perhaps.
But, at that moment, a smile that unsettled the Black Dragon King curved Azhan's blood-stained lips once more.
"Old man, you still don't understand." His hands trembled as he reached out and grasped the Black Star Greatsword, which was almost slipping from his grasp.
"I'm sick and tired of despair!"