Chapter 079: The Underground Pond - 2

Bai Yuxi had no time to say more. With a lunge and a punch, he slid over more than a meter. Seizing the opening after Drumstick dodged aside, he threw his full strength into a punch at the mass of plasma toads that had just launched themselves at them.

Particle Blast Fist: 1/10,000 output, 9x9!

With a muffled sound, the capillaries on Bai Yuxi’s arm burst again, spraying a thin mist of blood that spread with the force of his punch. Yet the rippling energy waves emanating from his fist sent the entire swarm of plasma toads hurtling backward.

Sparks crackled and anguished croaks erupted all around as the toads exploded in shrill agony. For a moment, the attack of the plasma toad horde was actually suppressed!

Except for Willy, who had already witnessed Bai Yuxi’s self-created over-limit technique, the “Particle Blast Fist,” the rest of Team Seven were all stunned by the concentric energy ripples before them—waves that seemed to shatter space itself.

Though they had already gained a preliminary understanding of Bai Yuxi’s accidental creation during their training sessions at headquarters, at that time, he had not yet perfected the technique’s energy system, so none of them had seen its true effect with their own eyes.

But in such a short time apart, he had apparently gained practical mastery of the technique in combat—its power now astonishing.

Bai Yuxi himself was equally taken aback. In the earlier fight, even at 1/10,000 output, his punch would have been enough to blast these plasma toads into a cloud of blood.

Yet now, in his haste to drive back the onrushing toad horde threatening his teammates, he had risked self-injury to unleash a “9x9” Particle Blast Fist. The result? It merely repelled these larger plasma toads, rather than annihilating them.

Though the oversized plasma toads were sent flying, seemingly battered with all four feet skyward by the X-particle energy wave, and visibly injured, they managed to scramble upright moments later, resuming their furious assault.

What was going on? Had the plasma toads grown stronger, or had he become weaker?

Still bewildered, Bai Yuxi hadn’t figured it out when Willy, observing at his side, suddenly shouted, “Bai! Be careful! These plasma toads are the parents of the ones we saw before—their danger level is F1 or higher!”

Danger level F1 meant that these larger plasma toads now possessed both hyperactivity and X-energy levels above 100°, equivalent to an F1 over-limit warrior. They were no longer as easy to deal with as those small, bowl-sized toads from outside, whose danger level had only been 0.1 to 0.3.

Bai Yuxi immediately understood. His 1/10,000 output only produced about 40° X-energy.

While he could still harm these F1-level plasma toads, most of his punch’s power was absorbed by their hyperactivity shields.

Unless he landed a direct blow on their bodies to inflict physical damage, pure energy attacks wouldn’t be enough to kill them in one strike!

“The ones you encountered outside, the smaller plasma toads, were probably fourth- and fifth-generation spawns. These are third-generation spawns with F1-level danger!” Willy continued. “Be alert for second-generation spawns with F3 or higher danger levels hidden among the horde—or even first-generation spawns, which could be deadlier still!”

Hiding behind the others, the scholarly Su Xiaoke, looking rather disheveled, hastily explained, “The plasma balls they spit are now strong enough to threaten your hyperactivity defense…”

“There are even bigger toads than these?” Bai Yuxi wondered. He didn’t know how Su Xiaoke could deduce the spawn generations so quickly, but now that he’d pinpointed the source of their troubles, he regained his composure and moved with renewed ease.

With another punch, he drove back the charging third-generation spawns. Though he still couldn’t kill them in one blow, the reverberating force of the Particle Blast Fist left them noticeably slower as they tumbled backward.

By the third punch, casualties began to appear among the advancing plasma toads. As their hyperactivity shields shattered, the residual force of Bai Yuxi’s technique was enough to tear apart their fragile limbs.

Yet Bai Yuxi didn’t recklessly increase his output for a one-punch kill.

After all, even though the third-generation spawns were more dangerous than the fourth, they were only F1 at best, posing no real threat to someone like him, who had already reached F7.

Rather than waste X-energy for an instant kill, it was better to stick to 1/10,000 output—if one punch wasn’t enough, then a few more would do. The plasma toads would keep throwing themselves at him; there was no need to increase his output and put extra strain on himself.

“What’s the situation now?” Bai Yuxi called out, holding the horde at bay single-handedly and even finding time to look back at his companions. “Why did you all come down here? I was searching for you up there! And who are those people at the passage entrance?”

“Ironbank Village is the origin point of this mission!” came the reply. “Those people are probationary teams from other registered over-limit squads! We detected abnormal X-particle concentrations in the well at the central shrine of Ironbank Village. Our team comms were disrupted, so we were about to regroup and use the winch on our service vehicle to go down the well together. But after those guys cleared their own patrol zones in other villages, they tried to sneak over and steal the mission from us, and a fight broke out.”

Because Bai Yuxi’s Particle Blast Fist covered a wide area, sealing off the entire passage, Team Seven finally had a moment to breathe, using the lull to recover their spent hyperactivity and X-energy reserves.

Captain Lofei, recovering herself, stood guard with her battle blade, assisting Bai Yuxi by intercepting any plasma toads that managed to slip through, preventing them from harming their companions in the rear.

“When we noticed we were under attack, Jason drove the service vehicle over to help,” Lofei continued, her gaze alert. “The other team tried to stop the vehicle by deploying a barrier, but Jason, in his haste, crashed right through the shrine wall.”

“No one realized the drying yard beneath the shrine was practically hollowed out by groundwater. The moment the service vehicle rushed in, the ground collapsed beneath it!”

Answering Bai Yuxi’s questions, Lofei kept her eyes on the passage, “After we fell, we discovered this place was the lair of those mutant creatures. While searching the underground structure, we accidentally disturbed the huge horde of plasma toads lurking here…”