Looking at Han Lihu's emotionless face, Deng Shufa felt hopeless. If there was even a sliver of hope for them to escape, it would have been if Han Lihu had rallied and led them to break through. But now, haha... he's already become a cripple!

He didn't want to die here with a cripple! Surrender, perhaps the days to come would be worse than death, but after all, he was a third-tier Awakened. Maybe the other side would value him more, and maybe the Investigation Bureau's punishments weren't as terrifying as the rumors?

Between certain death and a slim chance of survival, it's easy to make a choice!

"Surrender!" Thinking this, Deng Shufa lowered his head and sighed in resignation, raising his hands high as he walked towards the people from the Investigation Bureau. The other three scanned between him and Han Lihu several times before steeling themselves, raising their hands and following suit.

Pei Yan, who had been poised to act, stopped in his tracks, quietly watching the scene unfold before him. Since the enemy had surrendered, he lost the opportunity to strike. His mission was accomplished, and Han Lihu was never his target to begin with.

Just as everyone thought the dust had settled and awaited Shangxing to clean up the mess, Han Lihu, who had remained motionless, moved! Pei Yan, who had never let his guard down whilst watching him, immediately prepared for battle. But to his surprise, Han Lihu didn't rush towards him; instead, he charged at Deng Shufa and the others.

He raised his hands and two large clouds of dark red powder emerged from his body. Deng Shufa, leading the way, glanced at the powder that had landed on him and was scared out of his wits. He cursed loudly, activating his inner protection to guard himself while shaking his body frantically and sprinting towards Shangxing and others like a madman.

But the three trailing behind him weren't as lucky. Pei Yan watched as, after Han Lihu scattered the powder, threads like fine iron wires appeared out of nowhere, entangling the three. What shocked him happened next. The wires glowed faintly, igniting the powder on those people's bodies. In an instant, three figures were engulfed in flames, collapsing into heaps without even the chance to scream.

Deng Shufa wasn't much better off. Even though he reacted immediately, his thigh still got covered with a lot of powder. As the flames ignited, he screamed in agony, rolling on the ground vainly trying to extinguish the fire on him!

"Stop! Don't move! No one can save you if you move!" Qi Hua, unable to bear the sight, stepped forward and shouted in a low voice!

Deng Shufa knew the words were true. He gritted his teeth, sweating profusely, and howled, "Save me! Save me!"

With a wave of his hand, Qi Hua flashed two cold glints. Deng Shufa glanced at his own legs, severed and still burning, and fainted.

Qi Hua and Kong Lin moved forward, dragging back Deng Shufa, who was now half a body and barely hanging on. Kong Lin crouched down, covering his nose to examine the wounds, and looked up at Shangxing, shaking his head, "Too ruthless. Even if we can save him, he's ruined!"

Deng Shufa would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, even his dignity as a man turned to ashes in the flames.

From a distance, Pei Yan stared at the dying flames and the three charred, unrecognizable bodies. Even standing this far, the intense heat forced him to keep retreating. Visually, the burning temperature of the flames was much higher than what he felt during Hu Wenjun's battle.

"Can you analyze what that powder is?" Pei Yan communicated with the system in his brain from the moment the flames arose.

After gaining approval, a batch of nanobots was released to retrieve and analyze a few particles of the scattered powder. The system gave its answer: "It's aluminum thermite; those silver wires should be magnesium wires. Pure aluminum thermite reactions can reach temperatures of 2500℃, and with superhuman enhancements, the temperature can be even higher!"

"Can my body withstand such heat?"

"Since your body's main material isn't heat-resistant, short contact and immediate extinguishment is acceptable. Prolonged exposure will cause surface melting, leaving scars once you return to your natural state."

"Understood!"

Having received the system's analysis, Pei Yan took a deep breath, making calculations in his mind. He decided to confront Han Lihu!

He wanted to see the difference between himself and the team captains. If things went wrong, with his current speed, he could quickly retreat and leave the rest to Captain Shang!

Upon making up his mind, Pei Yan's figure instantly vanished from the spot. The next moment, he was in front of Han Lihu, delivering an elbow strike before the latter could react, followed by a knee strike to the chest.

Was he successful? Pei Yan hadn't had the chance to celebrate when the opponent spat out a mouthful of something, covering Pei Yan's arms!

No, this wasn't blood! This sticky substance, seemingly liquid, was aluminum thermite powder mixed with some ability.

Seeing the danger, Pei Yan leaped back. The sticky liquid kept pouring from the opponent's mouth, and soon two sections of magnesium wire, glowing with fire, fell into it. In an instant, the liquid Pei Yan had pulled into long strips transformed into two fire dragons, engulfing both Pei Yan and Han Lihu!

"Pei Yan!" Wang Wenze and others shouted in unison. No one expected the rash kid to suddenly attack Han Lihu, the dazzling, scorching flames blocking their view. They couldn't see what was happening inside the blaze!

"Stay calm, Pei Yan is still fine!" Shangxing, having activated his Eyes of Golden Flame, took in everything on the battlefield and said calmly.

Though the captain said so, everyone was still deeply worried. Not until the flames gradually extinguished, revealing the silver-white figure once more, did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Pei Yan felt the lingering high temperature around him and, with a lingering fear, examined his arms. Thankfully, he reacted quickly, instantly absorbing the inner source wrapped around Han Lihu's aluminum thermite powder. He then activated the fans on his arms, dispersing the aluminum thermite powder once more, avoiding a disaster.

Looking across the fire dragon at the unharmed Han Lihu, Pei Yan's confusion grew. This person was so strange! Could it be a peculiar ability trait? The feeling was entirely different from other superhuman encounters, and his attacks felt less like striking a living person and more like hitting a lump of dead meat.

"Pei Yan, that's enough, come down now! Leave the rest to me!"

"Captain Shang, there's something unusual about this person! Please, let me try again!" he called out with keen interest, his eyes on Shangxing striding forward.