Chapter 440: Fear of the Unknown

Chapter 440: Fear of the Unknown (Update 3)

Silence and absolute stillness made the dark conference room feel eerily vacant.

Ten pairs of eyes were fixed on the curtain, watching a movie-like projection.

On screen, that young man still appeared, strolling through a building with a suitcase.

The young man seemed to favor keeping his head down as he walked.

The camera angle only revealed a sliver of his face.

It was such an average face that, lost in a crowd, it might not even be recognized at first glance.

Besides his stature, the young man was utterly ordinary.

Plain in looks, plain in attire, even his smile was completely unremarkable.

Yet the moment he stepped into the building, alarms blared suddenly.

Countless guards converged from every direction, closing in on the young man who triggered the alarm.

Then, as if sensing something amiss, the young man paused.

He raised his head toward a surveillance camera and broke into a broad smile.

In the next moment,

the curtain displayed as many as twenty surveillance feeds.

The feed featuring the young man occupied the center.

Without warning, he surged into a run.

He moved like a leopard, sprinting at breakneck speed.

His velocity created an almost surreal illusion.

So much so that all ten viewers in the room—except for Xiao Yu—felt dizzy.

While dashing, the young man relentlessly pumped his legs and, with one hand, grabbed his suitcase and quickly opened it.

The instant he saw what was inside, Xiao Yu’s pupils constricted sharply.

He saw two pistols, two magazines, a submachine gun, two hand grenades, and a military knife.

In less than three seconds, the young man equipped himself with everything and discarded the suitcase.

In the very next moment, his body assumed a strangely fearsome form.

Why call it strange?

What made it so terrifying?

In the footage, the young man suddenly stopped, pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket, put them on, and crouched abruptly.

Immediately thereafter, two pistols appeared in his hands.

He maintained this pose for a full five seconds.

Then, in an instant,

with one hand gripping a pistol, he pointed behind him and pulled the trigger.

Bang, bang!

Gunshots echoed loudly.

Yet, unmistakably, there was no one behind him… No.

At the moment he fired, two guards emerged from the corridor corner behind him.

They were hit and collapsed!

Xiao Yu’s gaze froze, his eyelids twitching in shock.

Impossible!

Before and after firing, he hadn’t even turned his head.

How could he have known that two guards would appear from around the corridor’s corner?

Preemptive judgment?

Precognition?

How else could he accurately eliminate two guards without looking back?

Immediately after,

something even stranger occurred.

In the video, the young man appeared to possess genuine precognitive abilities.

He could accurately predict where the guards would emerge.

He acted instantly, before the guards had time to react.

And he killed them one after the other!

Throughout the carnage, the young man remained unnervingly calm—his lips perpetually curled into a smile, his expression as ordinary as ever.

Every foe who appeared before him was dispatched.

Xiao Yu’s heart sank, plunging into an icy void.

By his count, the young man fired eleven shots, eliminating eleven guards.

Every gunshot brought down a guard.

Not a single shot missed!

In the dim conference room, a deathly silence prevailed.

Yet amid the silence, heavy breathing could be heard.

Xiao Yu could even discern from those breaths

nervousness, fear, pressure…

Even his own heart pounded noticeably faster.

The unknown is the root of fear.

Just like this moment.

Even Xiao Yu couldn’t fathom how this cold-blooded killer—a veritable killing machine—could

predict enemy positions and strike preemptively.

That is, until the young man reloaded by swapping two magazines.

He fired a total of 24 shots, killing 24 guards.

Silence reigned again,

for the entire building had only 24 guards…

Snap.

The conference room lights switched on, and the projection froze.

Zhou Lie, his expression grave, stood before the nine team leaders and said, “I trust everyone now realizes the terror he brings?”

No reply came; silence persisted.

“As a soldier and former special forces operator, I can tell you this clearly,”

·· ······· Along with the expected applause…

Zhou Lie’s voice was heavy and solemn, “When this monster kills, every move, every action is executed with ruthless precision.”

“Yet his tactics aren’t professionally honed—in the eyes of us career soldiers, his moves are riddled with flaws.”

“And yet, it’s exactly these flawed, non-professional tactics that allow him to inexplicably predict enemy movements and deliver lethal strikes!”

Hearing Zhou Lie’s words, the nine team leaders felt a deep chill.

They were sharp-minded; they understood the key points he was making.

…. .. 0

First, this isn’t the work of a ‘professional’—every killing move is that of an ordinary person.

Second, precisely because they were ordinary moves, he still managed to inexplicably kill 24 guards.

Third, the young man seems to possess an uncanny ability to predict enemy positions and launch the most effective attacks.

Key takeaway.

Remember, such a killing spree seems like something only movie heroes with superhuman abilities could pull off.

But reality isn’t a movie.

Except for Xiao Yu, the other team leaders even began to doubt the authenticity of the projection footage.

How did he do it?

“According to military experts…”

Zhou Lie continued, “This monster’s endurance, marksmanship, reaction time, speed, and ability to dodge—have all reached the human limit. In simple terms, he has achieved the pinnacle of human physical capability.”

“Even the most elite soldiers, after rigorous training, would barely come close to such levels.”

“I know many of you might now question the authenticity of the footage, but trust those experts—they wouldn’t be this trivial.”

“Moreover, at least four of you here have firsthand experience of this monster’s terror; years ago, you even joined forces to pursue him.”

“It was because of this monster that an entire special operations team was wiped out!”

At that moment, Zhou Lie looked at the team leaders with complex expressions and, finally, his gaze settled on Xiao Yu. “Team Leader Xiao, for this capture operation, the boss has assigned you to lead the mission!”