"Will the surgery succeed?"
A man with platinum-blonde hair, looking exactly like Xia Yan, spoke. He was Xia Yan's twin brother, Xia Ji.
Recently, Xia Ji was in a great mood. He'd learned his brother was dead, as well as the higher-ups he'd disliked—Edward Wu and The Other Niko.
He'd become the new Worm leader, fulfilling his dream. Even the disgusting man before him looked bearable.
"Fully prepared. I'm 100% sure of success. After today, the Connector will be split into Dragon and Tiger. He won't interfere with you anymore; you'll be the sole leader of Worm—the true underground emperor."
The Rule Breaker smiled oddly. "Once your wish is fulfilled, I expect you'll reward me."
"Of course. After you succeed, I'll make you a regional director."
Xia Ji beamed.
He'd always feared and hated Shen Wulong. The Worm was powerful, his brother had inherited it, and now he had—so why be someone else's dog?
He wanted true authority, not to be bossed around.
So the Connector was an eyesore. He didn't want Worm to keep cleaning up after him.
"Haha, I look forward to it!"
The Rule Breaker—Devourer—turned and entered the operating room. As he closed the door, his face darkened.
The Worm's top fighters had all fallen. He felt a deadly pressure.
This Adjudicator was no ordinary enemy!
He'd hoped to absorb Gusion's corpse, but instead, his whole team was wiped out. He had to change plans and focus on Shen Wulong's surgery.
His original plan was to kill Shen Wulong during surgery, after Gusion died—accomplishing what no other explorer had.
The Kengan world was a notorious holdout in the End Space—a first-tier derivative world, never conquered.
Was it because people here were too strong?
No. It was because there was one man—Shen Wulong.
To conquer this world, you had to defeat him. But even at max stats, no first-tier explorer could do it.
Because they lacked the ability to break Shen Wulong's logic. Their specialties were nothing compared to his; they'd be easily outmaneuvered.
So, upon arrival, Devourer immediately planned to assassinate Shen Wulong during surgery. In his eyes, other explorers were foolish to fight him head-on.
He just needed to kill him on the table.
That's how it should've gone…
"Damn you, Gusion…!"
Devourer muttered. If not for Gusion, he could've killed Shen Wulong outright. But now, he needed Shen Wulong to help eliminate Gusion—so he couldn't strike yet.
"Are you ready?"
Another voice sounded in the operating room, making Devourer tense.
The man looked exactly like Shen Wulong—but wasn't him. He was Shen Wulong's first clone, Shen Luohan.
This was now Devourer's second-most-hated person, as Shen Luohan's presence had ruined his plan.
Shen Luohan ran the arms-dealing "Death Dealers" as the CEO—and, absurdly, in this low-powered world, he even had nukes!
Based on what he knew, after Xia Yan died, Shen Wulong would surely seek revenge first, with surgery later.
So, after killing Gusion, he could still operate on Shen Wulong and kill him on the table.
But things weren't so simple. Maybe he was just unlucky.
Before Xia Yan left, Shen Wulong had already prepared for surgery. News of Xia Yan's death hadn't reached his ears—all thanks to Shen Luohan's interference.
Shen Luohan had blocked the news, keeping Shen Wulong to the plan. While Shen Wulong was under deep anesthesia, Shen Luohan threatened Devourer to extract Shen Wulong's memories.
Yes—Shen Luohan wanted to become the new Shen Wulong. He had no intention of splitting the Connector; he wanted the full memory.
He was the first clone, already stronger than Xia Yan's group, but he couldn't reach the peak—because he wasn't Shen Wulong.
He'd never expected such a perfect opportunity. After Devourer had demonstrated splitting and merging bodies, Shen Wulong immediately agreed to the operation.
"You underestimate human evil…"
Shen Luohan looked at Shen Wulong on the table. He'd taken everything for granted. Without loyal Xia Yan by his side, how could he risk surgery?
Today, Shen Luohan would become the new Shen Wulong. Whether he'd inherit Shen Wulong's troubles, he didn't care for now.
If he did, he could just have Devourer split him again. He'd be careful, with trusted men supervising.
"Are you sure? After merging, you'll no longer be you."
Devourer asked again. He didn't want to do this—his power merged people's memories and personalities. Once Shen Luohan became Shen Wulong, the original might not be so reasonable.
"This is my wish. You'll be the new top cadre. As for that idiot outside, let him die."
Shen Luohan grinned evilly. Xia Ji had no idea he was here, still dreaming of being the new Worm leader.
But once Shen Luohan became the new Connector, his first act would be to kill that fool—he lowered the organization's average IQ.
"Being a top cadre means nothing. I just want you to kill Gusion—I want his corpse!"
Devourer was now trapped. If he refused, Shen Luohan would kill him (he had the power). If he did it, he couldn't pull any tricks: Shen Luohan's trusted men had deployed ten submarines to surround the island.
If anything happened to Shen Luohan during surgery, Devourer would be met with a missile barrage, maybe even nukes. With his abilities, escape was impossible, so he had to honestly perform the fusion surgery.
"No problem. Gusion will be nothing to the new me. As an arms dealer, I value trust—your wish will be granted."
Shen Luohan smiled. "Now, perform the fusion surgery for us."
...
Gusion naturally knew nothing of Shen Wulong's version update. He was currently immersed in the sea of martial arts.
Three days had passed since the Kengan Annihilation Tournament. The day after order was restored, he'd had a rematch with Kuroki, battling fiercely under limited physical power.
The result was unsurprising—Gusion still won. To most Kengan members, this was expected. After all, Chairman Katahara had ruled for too long; few thought the tournament would dethrone him.
What surprised everyone was that the winner, Katahara Metsudo, upon gaining the right to appoint the new chairman, didn't choose himself—but nominated Nogi, the tournament's organizer.
Gusion wasn't surprised. The old man was too old, just looking for a responsible successor—the tournament was just for fun.
After the fight, he and Kuroki had a friendly discussion about martial arts, each learning from the other, both improving—becoming friends through battle.
He then returned to the Kure clan's territory and dived into the Martial Arts Library.
As the Kure clan's benefactor, Erioh let him study any technique, so long as he didn't spread them.
Gusion soaked up techniques like a sponge, simulating them in his mind, and combining them with recent battles. His expertise even improved again.