Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1142 - 557:

That gap in distance proves impossible to bridge.

Though the beast might resemble a humanoid dinosaur, it remains grounded, powerless to reach them.

"I want to test your durability!"

A fierce glint appeared in Captain Hu’s gaze as he yelled into his headset:

"Maintain the machine gun suppression, get the rocket launchers ready! Shred him apart!"

"Also load up two neural disruptor rounds, for safety's sake."

But right as the command left his lips.

Fang Cheng, who had stood still like a sitting duck, abruptly sprang into action.

His form blurred with speed, stepping back twice in a flash to dodge the hail of bullets zeroing in on him.

Next, his right foot slammed down forcefully, cracking the concrete underfoot.

At the same moment, his right arm drew back, muscles straining like a fully drawn bowstring.

Under the glare of the searchlight, Captain Hu faintly discerned that the man clutched a... dagger.

An ordinary combat knife?

Captain Hu froze briefly, a wave of ridiculousness surging within him.

Has this fellow lost his mind?

Attempting to strike an armored chopper with a mere sliver of steel from more than fifty meters distant?

Does he believe this is some film scene...

The idea hadn't fully formed.

Bang—

A deep thunder-like explosion echoed across the sky.

Fang Cheng's arm whipped forward powerfully, hurling the dagger.

The throw was so forceful it resembled a cannon blast more than a toss.

As soon as the blade departed his grasp, the friction with the air heated it to a glowing red.

Swoosh—

Reaction time was nonexistent.

A crimson streak, akin to a heat-seeking supersonic projectile, tore through the fifty-meter stretch of darkness in a heartbeat.

Even separated by armored glass, Captain Hu sensed the crushing presence of doom.

The chill of plummeting into a frozen void raised every hair on his body.

"Hit the deck!!"

On pure instinct, he dove aside, shoving the co-pilot next to him with all his might.

Thud—

The reinforced glass, built to endure heavy gunfire, shattered like tissue against the dagger's assault.

The scarlet flash punched right through, its velocity unchecked.

Captain Hu's shove spared the pilot a deadly end by a hair's breadth.

Still, the dagger sliced into his left shoulder effortlessly, like cutting soft cheese, before embedding in the chest of the crewman seated behind.

At last, with a sharp clink, it lodged firmly into the Kevlar lining on the far cabin bulkhead.

Buzz—

Despite sinking several inches into the bulkhead, the protruding hilt quivered wildly, producing an eerie hum.

"Ah!!"

Screams of torment filled the cockpit.

Captain Hu gripped his wounded shoulder, his features twisted in agony.

He cast a look at the still-fuming dagger, terror dawning in his stare.

What monstrous power is this?!

Had the hilt not stopped it, that blow could have run the whole chopper through.

In all his time hunting down mutants, he'd never witnessed such a straightforward yet devastating attack method.

This wasn't knife-throwing; it was like launching from a man-portable railgun!

Without his swift response, the dagger would've burst the pilot's skull like overripe fruit.

Captain Hu examined his injury.

Around the punctured wound, tiny granules writhed visibly, weaving together to seal the flow of blood at an astonishing rate.

The foe might be powerful, but he wasn't feeble either.

Leading the Dark Blade squad, his body and reflexes had been enhanced through specialized serums. He was a battle-hardened warrior forged in endless slaughter.

"Whew..."

As the ache eased a bit, Captain Hu clenched his jaw, striving to rise and resume control.

At least the pilot lived, and their sky dominance held...

Bang—

Midway through his exhale.

A sharp crack of a rifle cut through the whir of the rotors.

A spray of crimson bloomed abruptly on the lead pilot's armored helmet.

The blood burst outward, staining everything nearby in moments.

It was obviously a pinpoint shot dead center in the brow.

The pilot slumped without a sound, lifeless.

His slack fingers nudged the throttle forward involuntarily.

The hulking machine lost stability at once, bucking wildly like a staggered reveler.

"Damn it!"

Captain Hu tumbled ahead, his forehead smacking the console.

With the guns still blazing...

No time for oaths, he shoved the gore-covered body aside.

He scrambled into the flight chair, seizing the controls to steady the rampaging craft.

"Sniper ambush!"

His eyes burned red, glaring down at the shattered rooftop, hunting the gunman.

Meanwhile, concealed behind a crumbled barrier on the helipad's northern edge, Eagle Eye slowly withdrew his heated barrel.

Earlier, when Fang Cheng signaled withdrawal, he opted not to join the group.

His spot was too remote from the exit anyway.

He understood perfectly: in open ground against sky-based weapons, without powers, fleeing alone wouldn't suffice.

A rear-guard strike was essential.

The sole viable counter to the sky-ruling machine was eliminating its flyer.

Fang Cheng observed the unfolding, a flicker of praise in his gaze.

This fellow stays composed and logical, mirroring his own thoughts.

Remember, the combat helicopter loitered at an absurd height.

His present leap capability topped out at fifteen meters from the surface.

Merging "Absolute Control" and "Bounce" abilities, he could push a vertical dash to a hundred-meter ceiling.

Yet the enemy wouldn't allow buildup time, and suitable footholds were scarce.

Thus, he shifted tactics.

While fetching the radio from Black Mamba's remains, he'd covertly tucked the dagger up his sleeve.

He intended to harness the Kirin Arm's quintupled power for a lethal hurled blade.

Regrettably, Captain Hu dodged swiftly, his superior conditioning averting the kill shot barely.

No issue; failure once means try again!

Now, the chopper traced erratic loops in the air but stabilized at last.

Captain Hu, after all, was an elite special ops ace with solid flying chops.

Rage nearly consumed him, though.

The target lingered, and two setbacks in a row had unraveled his composure.

"Sniper at two o'clock, by the ruined wall!"

He bellowed into the comms, fury pitching his tone higher:

"Ignore the brute, eliminate the sniper, blast him to bits!"

The gunner at the open door followed orders, swinging the weapon around.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat–

A storm of muzzle flashes engulfed Eagle Eye's shelter in seconds.

Debris scattered, the upper portion of his hideout chipped away rapidly.

Eagle Eye could only clutch his rifle and tumble awkwardly across the floor, pinned down completely.

Witnessing this, Fang Cheng refused to idle.

His eyes hardened as he stooped swiftly, snatching a chunk of concrete roughly millstone-sized from the debris.

From the pilot's perch, Captain Hu spotted the motion peripherally, his pulse racing.

That prior dagger packed the punch of an anti-armor rifle.

Swapping it for this massive stone would doom the bird, wrecked or not.

"Not a chance!"

Captain Hu's face warped, his digits mashing the crimson trigger atop the yoke.

Whoosh whoosh–

A pair of 70mm "Nine-headed Serpent" missiles streaked with long fiery trails, howling lethally toward Fang Cheng's position.

Boom!!

The colossal blast engulfed the rooftop's core in an instant.

Fire surged upward, the immense blast wave ripping the platform's surface to shreds.

Through the murk, the imposing figure dissolved into the inferno.

"Is he gone?"

Captain Hu panted, locking his gaze on the eddying fumes, seeking the fallen form.

Yet as the haze parted a touch.

Only a cratered void and wreckage remained.

No traces of gore, no remains.

"Where did he go?!"

Captain Hu's eyes bulged, crimson with strain, as icy dread gripped his back.