The project was a massive one and even when Zhang Heng hired three construction teams to work simultaneously, it still took 10 days before the underground secret base was completed.
A layer of rammed earth and concrete was put above that base in between the levels of laboratories and the rest of the structure. Half a month passed when everything was deemed to be on the right track.
Zhang Heng took to living at the construction and not leaving at all, just to ensure that nothing untoward happened. He only ordered for Corona, which had been completely buried underground, to wipe the memories of everyone involved in the construction of the underground base clean when the construction was completed, so much so that he even asked for the workers who dug the 50-meter-deep crater to be erased. He was finally able to say that everything was airtight by then.
Zhang Heng had to continue his hellish training when everything else was settled and he felt deeply troubled by it all. He went on to talk terms with and even try to bribe Corona, yet all of it was in vain as she insisted that Zhang Heng continue with training until the end.
To conserve the Black Marker's energy consumption, he had to resort to renting a room in a small hotel within a kilometer of the construction site, which was located at the furthest point that Corona's mental influence field could reach at Level One. Zhang Heng sat on the chair when morning came and he made it into the virtual space at the very next second.
The third lesson of the first class was the last before he was to start the second class. The training was meant to develop Zhang Heng's combat prowess, which was to say that there was no longer just pure offense or defense. What Zhang Heng needed to face was a true life-and-death battle.
He had been able to kill Corona only once during the training that had been taking place for over half a year in that virtual space. That was only possible because Corona was only focused on defense and evasion, being completely prohibited from retaliating at that point in the lesson.
Things were completely different at the moment as what would be taking place was all-out combat. Zhang Heng was mentally prepared to have Corona kill him hundreds even thousands of times over.
It was fortunate that due to Corona's inherent mental suggestion ability that provided a measure of protection to Zhang Heng's mental integrity, that not only was he not utterly crushed by having to be killed thousands of times over, but his will was made even stronger and more impervious by the experiences.
…
A young man who looked to be in his early twenties was seen walking slowly in a dark and narrow alley.
The alley was commonly seen in cities—the kind that existed between two massive buildings in some of the densely populated areas in the city that gave birth to countless dark and dirty corners.
Garbage that no one would bat an eye about, spew from drunk people after late-night drinking, and the occasional appearances of homeless people—such areas were places that sunlight would never reach and the cesspool where crime bred.
Robbery, fighting, rape, and countless other stories played out every second in such obscure corners.
Yet at that moment, that young man was looking at everything around him in a curious fashion. Anyone who was in the know would be easily able to tell that the young man was anything but ordinary—his deep, dark eyes seemed to never leave any traces of anything suspicious behind, he walked with his knees slightly bent and every step was taken with the ball of his feet touching the ground first as if he was a cheetah ready to strike at any given minute.
Such was the gait of someone who was a professional in unsavory businesses.
That young man was none other than Zhang Heng, who was currently doing his third lesson.
The pores all over his body were open at the moment, making it so that no movement would escape his detection. He was able to sense that the enemy was watching him somewhere nearby, lurking about like a venomous snake waiting for him to make a mistake before landing a clean lethal strike on him.
Most people would most probably feel tense, sweat, have elevated heartbeats, over secreting adrenaline, and show some other signs of unease. However, it was obvious that Zhang Heng was not like most people.
Not only did he not feel any fear, he actually felt rather excited. He knew that he would face off against a fighter that surpassed all human standards, but the instincts of combat had completely taken over his being, seeping down to his genes. He would be able to face any situation before him with a calm and collected manner, even when he was about to face death.
"Ding!"
A light ding was heard from behind Zhang Heng. That sound was something that regular people would have completely overlooked and ignored, yet it felt like waves crashing against rocks in his ears. He turned around suddenly while being on guard.
He saw a stone that was about the size of a grain shooting out from a trash can behind him and he realized that it was a trap.
Zhang Heng tensed right away and turned around, however it was still too late for him. He sensed a sudden burst of killing intent. He raised his right arm reflexively and put his legs and hips to work right away, shooting behind like an arrow being loosed.
"Shoop!"
Zhang Heng managed to back up about three meters away in that blink of an eye. However, he felt a searing pain down on his neck as a wound that was about half an inch deep was seen on his neck.
It was obvious that due to having reacted just 0.01 second back then, his artery and windpipe ended up severed brutally by the attack that came out of nowhere.
Zhang Heng focused and found that at that moment, Corona was standing where he was just moments before, chuckling as she looked at him. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a Hello Kitty image on it and a black miniskirt that exposed her lower legs.
If one were to say that none of that would have triggered an emotional response from Zhang Heng, there was only one thing that truly triggered him—and she was holding a razor between her slender fingers.
That was an average, common weapon that was not as intimidating as a fruit knife. Then again, that depended on who was the one who wielded the weapon. In the hands of a combatant that was deemed so frightening that they were considered nonhuman, even the likes of Zhang Heng would have had to take even that small razor very seriously.
He was forced to draw his own weapon against such an opponent—a black, short knife that had a wedge-shaped blade. Most regular people wouldn't be able to tell of that weapon's name, yet anyone who had been in the armed forces would have known that it had to be some kind of superstar among cold arms, a Type 56 bayonet.
That was a nightmarish concealed weapon, with a total length of 38 centimeters and a blade length of 32 centimeters. The wedge-shaped blade had three blood grooves and would do massive damage when stabbed into the human body due to its shape.
The bayonet would cause air embolisms to develop when stabbed into the body, causing blockages to blood vessels. It would be able to swiftly cause death to an enemy when stabbed eight centimeters into the body regardless of the area stabbed. Furthermore, there was no problem pulling the blade out after stabbing.
Zhang Heng selected the weapon according to his own preferences. Bayonets were known for their fearsome damage potential. Furthermore, they were easy to conceal and carry, which made him feel as if such weapons were tailor-made for him.
He flicked his fingers about nimbly and the bayonet twirled about in his hand as if it possessed a soul of its own, making anyone who saw it feel dazed. He suddenly took a step and held the bayonet in a reverse grip and headed straight for Corona, aiming for her head with the bayonet.
"Shizzzz!"
A high-pitched irritating noise from metals rubbing against each other was heard. The two clashed immediately and mirages were seen due to both of them moving too fast. Both of them went past each other in the blink of an eye.
It was just like how it was in the movies, where the second before was fast-forwarded and the next second there was complete silence. Both of them stood with their backs against each other about half a meter away and everything seemed to stay still for a moment.
Cold sweat was dripping from Zhang Heng's brow as he lowered his head. He saw a wound deep enough to cut his belly open at his midsection, exposing his innards to the air. The veins on his right wrist were all cut open as well. The bayonet then fell to the ground with a clang.
Corona was standing behind him and flashed a relieved grin. However, blood sprayed from where her heart was when she moved her chest for just a bit, and the blood sprayed over three meters away.
"I finally beat you." Zhang Heng took a deep breath and his expression was that of utter relief as if a load had been lifted off of his shoulders. He turned around and saw the figure behind him fell to her knees, before falling flat to the ground due to massive blood loss before she finally lost all signs of life.
Battles that took place between very formidable combatants would usually end in these instances, and all talk about battles taking place for three to four hundred rounds was absurd. Even if there was actually such a thing, that was merely due to both combatants toying with each other.
Zhang Heng's vision blurred in the next second and fell out of that scene, returning to that completely white space. His wounds were quickly healed, disappearing as if they were never there in the first place.
"That was brilliant." Corona appeared yet again, clapping slowly and looking pleased. "Congratulations to you, Commander, for achieving the standards I've set."
Zhang Heng simply shook his head. "I was just taking the enemy with me. I'd end up dead in minutes having suffered such injuries."
"That would suffice. That body setting I've set for myself was five times that of average people and I was armed with perfect combat techniques. You were able to land a killing blow on me despite all of that, which was to say that you've reached the limit of your potential for the time being." Corona smiled and continued, "Your current combat prowess would definitely be tens of times greater than that before you began training."
Zhang Heng then nodded and clenched his fist, feeling rather complicated.
He knew that the strength that he gained did not come in the form of actual physical power, but that in his attitude and will, as well as combat experience that was a whole lot more comprehensive.
Such a way of becoming stronger meant that he had obtained true strength. It was just like how Corona put it—if tens of untrained Zhang Hengs were to take his current self together, all of them would have been made short work of by his current self.
That was the purpose of the technique and will.
It took him a total of eight days before he was able to completely clear his third lesson, taking 1,000 hours to train every day, which meant that he had been training for nearly a year. That served as a testament to just how difficult it was to beat Corona.
He considered himself fortunate to have made it through eventually.