In the silent atmosphere, the duel began.

If it were an ordinary duel, both sides would surely first probe each other, gauge the opponent's strength and weaknesses, and then make their plans accordingly.

However, at this moment, Yang Lie already knew Jack's level, and Jack was also well aware of his fate, so the two naturally didn't need to waste time on probing.

They simply threw their fists, as they had done countless times in the past, hurling their fists full of anger and strength at each other's faces and chests.

Each punch was thrown with all their might.

Jack's right fist was mighty and heavy; the nanomachines in his bones ran in an "overloaded" state for the first time, consuming nanometal and placing enormous strain on the user's heart.

For an ordinary person, the damage and aftereffects from one use would almost equate to ten years off their lifespan.

But Jack didn't care.

Having decided to fight for Chica, life and death were no longer within his considerations.

This state could be described as "a broken jar smashing to pieces."

"Boom!"

The punch slammed fiercely into Yang Lie's forehead, leaving a small dent in the Apprentice Death God's hard skull.

The flesh tore, the bones deformed.

But Yang Lie did not evade.

He extremely respected the strong, and even more so this duel.

The pride of an Apprentice Death God ensured he would never dodge the attack of a mercenary.

The pure clash of flesh was the tone he set for this duel.

However, while enduring the heavy punch, his fist also landed on Jack's chest.

"Bang——!"

This punch was even mightier! Even heavier! It even directly slammed a few centimeters deep dent into the mercenary's chest.

The bones instantly shattered, and blood splattered everywhere.

Yet likewise, Jack neither dodged nor retreated.

He gathered the majority of his nanometal at his heart and took the heavy punch!

He would not back down.

Neither would take even half a step back...!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Relentlessly exchanging blows, a chaotic brawl without any tactics.

The two just punched at each other relentlessly, hitting each other's bodies!

"Maniacs..."

Watching their slaughter, Xie Kang's eyes widened, and a word suddenly came to his mind.

He had seen the battles of Death Gods and duels between monsters and humans.

But those battles were all about skill... People would often employ any means to win... poisoning, sneak attacks, mobbing, trying everything to expand their advantage.

But now, the duel between the mercenary and the Death God cared not for these.

They were like two maniacs unaware of pain, pouring all their inner rage onto each other.

This was a pure... emotion venting almost entirely without impurities, the most primitive and savage battle.

Xie Kang suddenly wanted to record this battle as a precious memory.

But as the Doctor activated the chip in his brain, an unobtrusive electronic signal suddenly appeared in his mind, captured by Xie Kang's chip.

It was inconspicuous, even had several layers of encryption... but before Xie Kang, it could not hide.

This was normal, given that the chip in Xie Kang's brain was a "police level" prosthetic body custom-made by Biotechnology, not comparable to some small workshop product.

The information revealed by the electronic signal was roughly... it wanted to interfere with Yang Lie's actions.

By means of "gravity manipulation."

Looking at it this way, the signal owner's intent became apparent.

Xie Kang turned his head, looking towards the corner of the cave.

There, an inconspicuous black-haired teenager was closing his eyes, frowning, controlling the chip in his brain.

It was Frost Moon.

"Oh... I see."

Xie Kang suddenly understood, and immediately comprehended.

Though Frost Moon saw the ritual of the duel and understood its rules... he clearly wouldn't sit and wait to die, watching Jack head to his death with wide eyes.

Though the child had partially removed his prefrontal cortex, losing much of his humanity and emotions, he wasn't one to forget favors.

His life was saved by Jack.

Thus, no matter how venomous his tongue usually was, in a moment like this, he would absolutely stand by Jack, even at the risk of death, he would not evade.

"I understand your thoughts, hacker..."

"But compared to my ideals, your lives ultimately amount to nothing."

"So..."

Xie Kang shook his head with feigned pity, then activated the "anti-hacker program" in his brain.

"Please go die together."

As the words fell, a deadly electronic signal appeared following Xie Kang's command.

It was like a formless, shapeless demon, pouncing upon Frost Moon's head, biting into the chip in his brain!

Whoosh——

In an instant, a massive amount of electronic viruses surged into Frost Moon's brain...

Originally, faced with such an attack, if he fully focused on defending, Frost Moon could still fend it off.

But now, his concentration was entirely on Yang Lie, how could he have any extra attention?

He was caught off guard...

Thus, the electronic viruses crashed directly through Frost Moon's system, and simultaneously issued a command to the chip in his brain.

Self-destruct.

"Snap!"

With a soft sound, the precise electronic device overloaded to its limit, then in the most primitive way — burning, unleashed its final destructive power.

"..."

Frost Moon's expression froze, unable even to speak, his consciousness ripped from his body...

Black smoke billowed from his nose, mouth, and ears, his head tilting to the side, immediately going silent.

The chip in the hacker's brain was tightly integrated with his brain...

Or rather, their brain was itself the most critical integrated chip.

When the chip is destroyed, life is often lost as well.

The battles between hackers are so silent, without the firelight of clashing swords and guns, nor the visceral shock of fist meeting flesh, only the cold struggles in the domain of data.

The victor remains nameless, while the loser dies in dark sleep pods and corners.

"..."

In a daze, Yun You saw it all, watching with her own eyes as the Frost Moon, who not long ago threw childish tantrums before her, silently fell, his life and death unknown...

She felt a ringing in her ears.

The sound of her heartbeat, her breath, the fighting... all became inaudible; only the sound of tears sliding down her cheeks, softly pattering on the ground, was heard.

The little girl suddenly felt the world was terrible.

The result of struggle is still suffering, the end of happiness is likewise pain, and even doing nothing draws calamity and sorrow to one's door.

So what is the meaning of all this?

Yun You couldn't understand, no matter how she tried...

The little girl could only cry alone, swallowing all her pain and grief, letting it churn up more chaos within her.

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