Infinite Fighting

Before the training machine, Zhang Ji’s entire body was already red from the impacts.

He had brought the machine with him when he came.

It hadn’t been difficult. The machine folded up easily and didn’t take up much space, fitting perfectly in the trunk of a car.

After finishing his training, Zhang Ji soaked in a medicinal bath for a while before starting his practice of the Dragon Form Fist.

Now that he had a basic grasp of the Dragon Form Fist, refining Yuan Qi had become much easier. This, in turn, provided a significant boost to his Iron Shirt technique. The redness covering Zhang Ji’s body was also fading quickly—a sign that the Yuan Qi was healing him.

This meant he could put in extra training time on his Iron Shirt technique, on average, every two days.

He had already made a rough estimate. It was mid-September now, and he figured he should be able to reach the Grandmaster realm by early October.

...

In a remote location, roughly seven miles from the Golden Hook Pharmaceutical plant.

A camouflaged off-road RV was parked there.

There were four people inside the RV.

Three men and one woman. All had Western features; they weren’t from the Eastern Extreme Country.

The four were a mercenary squad with a minor international reputation.

They were here on a mission to cause trouble for the pharmaceutical plant and steal some data on the side.

"Wow, Golden Hook Pharmaceutical has some serious backing. Their security guards are all armed!"

The speaker was the woman of the group. She was petite, and her codename was Bee. She handled the team’s reconnaissance and drone operations, and could also do some mechanical work.

Fox watched the feed from the micro-bionic recon drone, his expression grim.

"They’re backed by the Five Elements Sect. That’s a major sect with a legacy spanning nearly a thousand years, so getting gun licenses isn’t a big deal for them. The last crew of idiots made a huge mess, which is why the Five Elements Sect sent these people in. They’re all professional-grade martial artists. The strongest is only around a professional Fifth Rank, but in some backwater town, they’d be able to sweep the field. Their resources are just absurd..."

This came from a slim, black-haired man named Fox. He was the team’s sniper and hacker, as well as the key person for gathering intelligence and formulating plans.

CLICK!

The sound of a magazine being loaded.

"Just tell me if we can do the job or not."

Black Hawk, wearing sunglasses, shot a glance at Fox. He was the team’s pilot—able to handle planes, tanks, and even mechs to a degree—and was also responsible for maintaining the team’s weapons and vehicles.

"Yes. Of course we can," Fox said. "They don’t have any heavy weapons, and their internal network security is a joke. The vulnerabilities are glaring. The attack program I wrote, combined with that little toy we got from the Roman Country, can instantly paralyze every electronic device within a three-kilometer radius..."

"Then lay out the plan, Fox."

The speaker was the core of the team, a hulking man who stood two meters tall.

His codename was Kraken, and he was the team’s heavy hitter. He was a former mid-level officer from the New Fuerlos military and a professional Ninth Rank martial artist. He’d been thrown in prison after offending a powerful figure back home, but his old comrades had pulled some strings to get him out alive. Now, he could only live under the radar as a mercenary.

He also possessed a suit of old-model combat armor, a phased-out military model. It lacked a sophisticated AI, wasn’t equipped with heavy weaponry, and certainly didn’t have a flight module.

It only served to enhance the user’s strength and protection. However, for a professional Ninth Rank martial artist, wearing such an exoskeleton was more than enough to thrive out in the world.

Fox nodded. "No problem, boss. Bee, send me the topographical map."

"Sent," Bee said.

"Okay, let me see... This should be the main power system. When the time comes, Bee will drop the plasma paralysis device here. That will instantly knock out most of their grid, leaving only the backup system. In that single moment, there will be a lag as the systems switch over—long enough for me to gain backend access and open their gates. After that, it’s the same as always. Bee’s drone swarm provides cover. You, Boss, and Black Hawk will enter here. You’ll proceed to their pharmaceutical lab, take photos, grab the samples, plant the linked explosives, and finally, exfiltrate under cover from me and Bee..."

"They’re this strong, but the plan seems way too simple. Is it really going to work?" Black Hawk asked.

"Complicated plans have more points of failure and are a pain to execute," Fox shot back, giving him an irritated look. "Besides, for a team with our skills, most jobs are simple, especially a little smash and grab like this."

"Trust Fox, Black Hawk. He hasn’t been wrong yet," Kraken said with a smile, patting Black Hawk on the shoulder.

He was used to his teammates bickering. It was their way of bonding. Whenever it happened, he would step in as the peacemaker, giving both sides an out to prevent any real conflict from brewing.

He liked this atmosphere. It felt just like his time in the army with his brothers-in-arms.

...

...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Zhang Ji opened the door. Seeing the sweat on Zhang Ji’s body, Zhou Hao walked right in and said, "Eldest Brother always said you were a hard worker, but I didn’t realize you were this intense. You finally get a trip down the mountain, so why are you already back at it? You’re supposed to balance training with rest. You’re so young, what’s the rush?"

"The world is changing fast," Zhang Ji replied. "If you don’t grow quickly enough, it’s hard to find your footing in its currents."