Matteo, wearing a black plastic military jacket and standing tall, donned a black beret and carried guns of different sizes on his back, among them the "Red-Eyed Demon" Laser Three Eyed Gun, and two pistols tucked into his belt, with possibly even more weapons concealed.
Only Masasuke Hazuki knew that Matteo was a Synthetic Human.
He had killed a Matteo on Jialong Slope and later, while on a mission in Nanke City, had fought another Matteo, narrowly claiming victory.
The third Matteo was encountered in Shangjing, where Masasuke Hazuki had followed him last year but ultimately lost his trail. After heading to Anjiu City, that Matteo orchestrated the Shenkong Tower bombing and then vanished.
These Matteos did not share memories or experiences. However, from his encounters over nearly five years, Masasuke Hazuki observed that with time, Matteo had become more refined, more perceptive, and more arrogant. Especially the last Matteo he met was almost indistinguishable from a natural human, which surprised Masasuke Hazuki greatly.
Perhaps Black Fire Innovation had used a brand new algorithm to train the Synthetic Humans.
For the time being, Masasuke Hazuki remained in gas form, hovering at the top entrance of the power plant.
He could see deep into the facility, where massive generator units lay, emitting an orange-red glow whenever the fire blazed, with tongues of flame surging from tiny gaps, as if the steel constructs were struggling to contain a monster ablaze.
With a little effort, Masasuke Hazuki could bring the entire power station to a halt, but with a Matteo standing guard, he dared not act rashly.
As Masasuke Hazuki turned to leave, the Matteo leaning against the railing suddenly spun around, looking up at the transparent cloud clinging to the concrete dome overhead.
Had he been discovered? Masasuke Hazuki was instantly on alert.
Matteo’s eyes, malicious behind the sunglasses, moved to rest on his Laser Three Eyed Gun at his back, putting Masasuke Hazuki in a difficult position.
Should he escape through the narrow gap into the outdoors or immediately revert to physical form and fight it out with Matteo?
Hesitation was not his strength, so he dissolved his Mist Body, returning to human form, and leaped from the air, swooping down on Matteo like a hawk.
— The sense of faintness slowed him down; Masasuke Hazuki felt exhausted during the transformation, resulting in a sharp decrease in precision and agility.
Seeing Masasuke Hazuki’s fast but clumsy approach, Matteo swung the butt of his gun with great force.
The sturdy alloy gun butt struck Masasuke Hazuki on the nose.
An intense pain and the stench of blood overwhelmed him, as if he’d been hit in the face by a truck.
Instinctively tilting back to lessen the blow, Masasuke Hazuki was then struck by a powerful kick from Matteo, his sturdy mechanical leg powering a heavy rubber military boot straight into Masasuke Hazuki’s chest.
The second strike was more painful than the first; Masasuke Hazuki stumbled backward two steps, a large amount of blood spewing from his mouth.
A bloodthirsty and cruel expression spread across Matteo’s face, evoking the very essence of Black Fire Innovation to Masasuke Hazuki.
Groping around, Masasuke Hazuki found his Personal Blade and uttered an incantation in a slurred voice, a flash of electrical light illuminating his figure as he blocked Matteo’s pursuit.
As Matteo drew his gun, Masasuke Hazuki was already lunging forward with his katana.
The offense and defense switched.
Facing the ferocious Masasuke Hazuki, Matteo dodged the blade and, bending his arm, smashed his sturdy elbow down like a katana, hitting Masasuke Hazuki hard on the left shoulder!
At the moment of impact, Masasuke Hazuki felt an unbearable pain, as if his entire left arm had been chopped off, the sharp elbow strike cutting through flesh like a blade.
Simultaneously, the electric orbs swirling around Masasuke Hazuki exploded on Matteo’s body.
Like flickering light tubes after being electrified, a series of blinding electric sparks lit up on Matteo’s synthetic metal skin! The voltage disruption in Matteo caused it to stagger back a step.
Without uttering a word, Masasuke Hazuki fumbled for his gun, knowing he still had a chance to turn defeat into victory.
His left arm was disabled, and after consecutive heavy blows, his stamina had halved. After all, he was but a Mortal, now in a bad situation.
As a high-grade experimental Synthetic Human, Matteo clearly still had energy to spare.
Masasuke Hazuki first hurled his katana with all his might at Matteo, the blade striking Matteo in the head, piercing its alloy skull but not very deeply.
"I recognize you," said Matteo in a synthetic voice. With mechanical movements, it tried to remove the katana from its face with its left hand while drawing an Energy Handgun with its right hand and firing at Masasuke Hazuki.
The bullet tore through Masasuke Hazuki’s abdomen, blood spurting like a fountain. The rush of adrenaline briefly numbed the pain as he collapsed to the ground; with his right hand, he pulled out the Energy Handgun hidden inside his clothes and kept firing at Matteo’s legs, the successive sharp whistles of energy bullets searing through its knees, leaving Matteo to fall to the ground beside Masasuke Hazuki!
Feeling a severe decline in its system performance, Matteo reported the intruder incident while sliding and retreating on the ground, attempting to avoid Masasuke Hazuki’s gunfire.
Masasuke Hazuki emptied all six Energy Bullets in his gun in one go and then recited an incantation.
Before Matteo could regain balance, Masasuke Hazuki transformed into a cloud of mist and drifted deep into the generator units.
A sitting duck? Aware of the fierce duel, Matteo wasn’t about to miss the opportunity. It immediately dropped the handgun and picked up the Laser Three Eyed Gun from his back. After a two-second charge-up, the three barrels spun rapidly, firing intense red high-energy laser bullets, whizzing towards Masasuke Hazuki.
Masasuke Hazuki desperately dodged.
The incredibly destructive energy bullets swept through the air, striking the burners and machinery rooms hundreds of meters away, melting furnace casings, damaging machinery, and leaving numerous cracks.