Chapter 581: Drawing Attention

Chapter 581 – Drawing Attention

Wu Di launched another wave of attacks, but they still couldn’t even scratch Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye knew full well that this fight had already drawn attention.

So he couldn’t afford to drag it out—better not to reveal too much of his strength.

But at the same time, he had no intention of using his Divine Might or that newly developed killing move.

After all, he didn’t plan to kill Wu Di.

So he simply raised his pistol calmly, aimed at Wu Di, and pulled the trigger.

At that moment, Wu Di was still in shock. Instinctively, he activated his halo ability to block the shot.

But this time, the pitch-black bullet tore right through his halo defense and struck him!

“Ah!”

Wu Di cried out in pain, his face twisting as he clutched his chest and dropped to his knees.

Right then, the broadcast voice of the dueling field echoed in everyone’s ears.

“Duel over. Wu Di, defeated!”

The sudden end to the match didn’t surprise anyone.

Because battles between high-level Variants were always like this—decided in the blink of an eye.

One brief lapse, one small exposed weakness, could instantly determine victory or defeat, even life or death.

Wu Di couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

That bullet…

He looked down, and saw a pitch-black bullet lying silently on the ground.

That was the bullet that had pierced through his defense halo and hit his training suit.

Thanks to the suit’s protection, he wasn’t actually impaled—but the dueling system had already registered the damage and declared him the loser.

“O—Origin Bullet?! How the h*ll did you get something like that?!”

Wu Di shouted toward Zhang Ye in disbelief.

But the two were too far apart, and Zhang Ye didn’t hear him.

He just gave a faint smile. “The match is decided. That’s all there is to it.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

But everyone had clearly seen what just happened.

Deng Shentong watched Zhang Ye’s back as he left, eyes gleaming with interest.

“This guy… definitely clever.”

Even Liao Honglei and Bai Chunyu behind him couldn’t help but glance over.

“First he used regular bullets to lull Wu Di into carelessness, then slipped in an Origin Bullet among them. That kind of attack… yeah, easy to make someone slip up.”

“Still, in the end, it’s just because Wu Di lacks real combat experience.”

Liao Honglei’s tone clearly looked down on Wu Di.

Arms crossed, he smirked, “If it were one of us seasoned soldiers, we wouldn’t have made that mistake! Wouldn’t have even given Zhang Ye the chance to fire!”

Next to him, the sharp-featured Bai Chunyu chuckled softly. “Still, he’s got serious combat instincts, doesn’t he? Knowing how to use his strengths and cover his weaknesses—that’s a rare quality.”

Deng Shentong didn’t respond to his two subordinates.

He just stared at Zhang Ye, admiration flickering in his eyes.

Then he thought to himself:

“The investigation team’s roster is fixed. I can’t just add new people at will. But Zhang Ye… he’s already qualified to be a full member of the Celestial Team. Maybe… I should just kick Lu Yinghao out. His strength is becoming a liability anyway.”

Back in Zhu Zheng’s viewing room, everyone’s eyes were burning with interest after witnessing Zhang Ye’s victory.

Beating Wu Di meant Zhang Ye had the skill to be an elite member of the investigation team.

After all, Wu Di ranked pretty high within the Black-Robed Investigation Unit.

“Looks like our intel on Zhang Ye really was off.”

Zhu Zheng frowned slightly.

Was Zhang Ye hiding this well, or did Bai Li Changqing deliberately leave something out in his reports?

No, not exactly.

Bai Li Changqing

had

reported accurately—Zhang Ye was a Variant skilled in defense.

From an offensive perspective, he relied more on tactics than raw power.

It just meant his ability wasn’t built for damage output—but he was incredibly good at fighting.

“But… how did he get an Origin Bullet?”

As Zhu Zheng spoke, he looked toward his secretary, Lan Xincheng.

Origin Bullets were a tightly held national secret in Huaguo. They were co-developed by the tech departments of the six major regions, and everything—from materials to the manufacturing process—was completely classified.

Even in Blizzard City, only people like Yun Yan, the investigation team, and top-level headquarters guards had access to them.

The materials were so rare that ordinary people had zero chance of ever getting one.

No wonder Zhu Zheng was on edge.

Lan Xincheng quickly responded, “It’s possible he got a few by chance during a mission the Black-Robed Team ran in Tianhai City. I’ll follow up with Zhang Ye and Bai Li Changqing to confirm.”

Zhu Zheng nodded.

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

A few stray bullets being used wasn’t a big deal.

“This Zhang Ye… might be worth keeping an eye on.”

Seeing Zhu Zheng’s growing interest in Zhang Ye, Lan Xincheng asked, “Commander, should we transfer him to Blizzard City? Get him trained up and consider assigning him to the Yan Yun Unit or one of the investigation teams?”

Zhu Zheng thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Let’s hold off for now. He’s still the leader of the Tianhai City Variants. That place is in shambles and short on combat strength. If we pull him out now, Tianhai could fall into chaos.”

Lan Xincheng nodded. “Understood, sir.”

He’d worked under Zhu Zheng for years and understood the man’s way of thinking.

The subtext was clear: while Zhu Zheng appreciated Zhang Ye’s abilities, he didn’t

love

them.

After all, in terms of raw strength, Zhang Ye was mid-to-upper level compared to the investigation team and the Yan Yun Unit.

Zhang Ye left the dueling field and headed to the second floor.

Bai Li Changqing looked at him with no hint of surprise in his expression.

“Thanks for going easy on him.”

Zhang Ye shrugged casually. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

As far as he was concerned, someone like Wu Di wasn’t even worth worrying about.

“So… what about the weapon you promised?”

Bai Li Changqing grinned. “If you’re that eager, I’ll take you over there right after this.”

The investigation team’s armory was inside the operations center, not far from here.

Zhang Ye nodded. “Alright. I’ll go change first.”

Speaking of the training suit he was wearing, Zhang Ye really didn’t want to take it off.

His old combat gear had great defense and came with a ton of tech enhancements, but it didn’t come close to this sleek black bodysuit.

Not only was its defense top-tier, but it could also boost basic physical stats—which was insanely useful.

Zhang Ye seriously wanted to snag a set to wear under his combat gear. That combo would be perfect.

Too bad that was just wishful thinking—there’s no way Bai Li Changqing would hand over a full set of this high-tech gear.

But thankfully, he had Lu Keran.

Zhang Ye looked at Lu Keran nearby. She gave him a small nod, her eyes brimming with confidence.

Zhang Ye’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Looks like he

would

be getting his hands on this gear after all.

Author's Note