Esper X Family – Chapter 303 – Putting on Pressure Can Also Drop Gold Coins?

The moment Barton was hit, many thoughts flashed through his mind.

What he regretted most was his choice just moments ago.

He shouldn’t have tried to block it head-on. He should’ve dodged with his fastest speed.

This person’s strength was incredibly bizarre!

If the strength was augmented by mental power, it would naturally be weakened or negated by his mental shield.

But the person before him showed no trace of mental power.

That terrifying force came entirely from that nearly inhuman physique!

Is this guy even human?

He no longer had the capacity to ponder the answer.

Barton felt as if he had been struck head-on by a falling planet!

An agonizing, teeth-grating sound of shattering bones came from both of his arms.

His entire body transformed into a bluish afterimage.

Flying backward at a terrifying speed exceeding the speed of sound!

Finally.

With an earth-shattering roar.

He slammed deeply into the deep-blue energy shield of the base, sending violent ripples across it.

Dust and debris rose like a mushroom cloud.

A devastating trench composed of shattered rock and melted, twisted metal revealed itself.

This trail of destruction started from under Yu Jin’s fist, viciously stretching for hundreds of meters to the point where Barton finally stopped.

The peripheral ground of the Sentinel sub-base had been ruthlessly plowed into a horrific “scar” by the shockwave of that single punch.

Shattered concrete, exposed steel skeletons, and burning underground cables formed an apocalyptic scene.

Barton’s back was stuck tightly against the energy barrier, every bone in his body shattered.

Bloody froth mixed with bits of internal organs spilled from his mouth.

His unfocused pupils stared fixedly at the unmoving black figure standing amidst the distant dust.

Only one thought remained, echoing madly in his mind.

“Monster…”

His renowned Devouring ability had become a complete joke in the face of the other party’s unreasonable, absolute power.

The battle ended in the most primitive way.

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In the air, Ye Tong let out a contemptuous sound.

“Hmph~ A mere small fry. Can’t even beat the most outdated fighter of us Sequence Zero. How did he even become an S-rank Esper?”

In any case, the others were all support-oriented. In terms of combat power, only Old Mu, Old Gu, and Old Yu were noteworthy.

As for Xia Lian… she was already obsolete.

She could only put on a show of dealing damage on the battlefield.

If you didn’t buff her up a bit, she could only bully small fries.

A pure freeloading silly dog.

Her only advantage was probably not wasting resources.

Her petting skills were also pretty decent.

Other than those, she had no other use.

Ye Tong glanced at Fang Ze, who was now some distance away from her.

Speechless.

Did running a bit farther mean you wouldn’t have to endure the pressure?

“Dearest Uncle~ Don’t S-rank Espers from the Yunited States know Form Skills?”

“Just call me by my name, I’m not too used to that title”, Fang Ze attempted to bargain.

Calling him “Uncle” was one thing.

But what was the meaning of adding that ambiguous prefix?

To disgust people?

Afraid he wouldn’t understand the sarcasm?

“Hmm?”

Ye Tong made a dissatisfied sound.

How could someone actively hand over a knife like this?

“You want to cut ties with me too?”

Fang Ze’s breath hitched.

How did she arrive at that conclusion!?

Can topics really jump that abruptly?

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And what did the “too” in her words mean?

Did someone else endure the same kind of pressure?

Fang Ze’s mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts.

He could only use answering the question to change the subject.

“The S-rank Esper who just appeared didn’t have the qualifications to learn Form Skills.

Leaving aside whether the Yunited States’ Esper Organization even have means to study Form Skills internally…

The mental power within that Yunited States S-rank was somewhat unstable and hollow. Even if he wanted to learn a Form Skill, it’d probably just end in failure.”

Ye Tong suddenly understood.

Although Form Skills were a universal technique for S-rank Espers.

You still needed to be a proper S-rank Esper.

There was still a gap between someone boosted by drugs and someone who cultivated properly through practice.

Wait.

Old Yu also seemed to have been forced to level up through drugs.

Fortunately, he wasn’t on the mental power path. Body refiners didn’t need to consider such things.

Form Skills were destined to have nothing to do with him anyway. He would have to seek another path.

Truly outdated.

How could there be such an outdated character in the current version?

He couldn’t benefit from version advantages at all.

He could only bully in the early game, how would he play later on?

Probably would be outmaneuvered to death.

Ye Tong began considering Old Yu’s future.

He couldn’t just become a laborer moving bricks, could he?

He certainly has the strength for that.

“Are there any Form Skills that can be used without mental power?”

“No”, Fang Ze answered decisively.

Form Skills required at least five thousand mental power to learn in the first place.

How could you use them without mental power?

Ye Tong pensively made a thoughtful hum.

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“Such a pity. Could you find time to teach Mu Luo and Gu Wenxin a few Form Skills then? They’re still lacking a few life-saving techniques.”

Fang Ze: “?”

Me? Me, teach?

And teaching Mu Luo?

Fang Ze felt his face darken just thinking about that scene.

It instantly darkened.

He could teach him, but he would have to return all the Innate Sequence Espers he snatched away from the Countermeasures Bureau.

That’s right.

Everyone in Sequence Zero.

Unfortunately, that was utterly impossible.

With Ye Tong’s existence, Sequence Zero was beyond the Countermeasures Bureau’s control.

“Form Skills are the highest state secret of Dragon Country. They will never be imparted to anyone outside the Countermeasures Bureau under any circumstances…”

Fang Ze’s eye twitched as he patiently explained.

Ye Tong made an indistinct sound with her nose.

“Hmmh— But your Director agreed~ Yes, my dear Uncle ¹ She used 舅舅jiujiu here, the word for “mother’s brother”. She used 大伯dabo (father’s elder brother) for Fang Ze. ~”

Fang Ze froze.

When did Fu Qi agree?

He never mentioned it!

“…I’m tied up with official duties. I’m very busy. I’m afraid I don’t have the time.”

“If we kill all these bad people in the Yunited States, you shouldn’t be busy anymore, right?”

Ye Tong directly piled on the pressure.

Fang Ze barely suppressed the instinct to twitch the corner of his mouth.

This was no joke.

If Ye Tong and her group killed all the leaders in the Yunited States.

He would only become busier.

After all, the Yunited States would need capable people to restore order.

Fang Ze would only be the first-line workhorse guiding the liberation of the Yunited States.

Although with the existence of Esper abilities, establishing a new system wouldn’t be that troublesome.

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But the energy and time required wouldn’t be insignificant either.

Getting the Yunited States back on track wouldn’t be easy.

Dragon Country wouldn’t openly take over. That would be unbecoming.

Currently, they also had to consider how to avert the future of world destruction.

They didn’t have much energy to spare for other countries’ affairs.

Fang Ze was silent for a few seconds, not refusing too absolutely.

“I’ll consider it.”

“Is that so?”

Naturally, Ye Tong could see the reason behind Fang Ze’s refusal.

Putting aside his dislike for Mu Luo…

This uncle really did seem to be the number one workhorse among Dragon Country’s S-ranks.

Ye Tong let out a light sigh.

“Can’t be helped, then. I’ll respect Uncle’s decision.”

Hearing this, Fang Ze suddenly felt somewhat relieved.

It seemed that Ye Tong wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

If she could stay stable like this, it would be tolerable, within acceptable limits.

【Fang Ze’s impression of you has improved slightly. Reward: 5 attribute points.】

【Unallocated attribute points: 20】

The system’s voice sounded in her mind.

Ye Tong blinked her eyes.

Putting on pressure can also drop attribute points?

Then, can I squeeze out a few more?

She was quite short on them.

Author Note

Ugh, someone’s doing renovations behind my old house, and the window in my room is facing right up to it. I can’t sleep in anymore!

Text: I have a body of flesh

What do you have?