"Damn it, it didn't even break through!"
Zhao Zheng's eyes widened, and he blurted out an expletive in his urgency. His powerful healing ability activated, rapidly repairing the cracks in his claws. His meticulously prepared Black Light. Tomb Spike Annihilation had failed; he couldn't penetrate the Giant's defenses, let alone get the attack inside the Giant's body to attack from within.
Not only did his left claw fail, but the power of his right hammer falling from high altitude also caused no damage to the Giant. There wasn't even a dent on its head; it merely made the Giant sway.
In this case, even the incredibly penetrating Black Light. Fatal Pain would likely be unable to break through the Giant's defenses.
"Bastard, die!"
The pain in its head enraged the Giant, causing its muscles to swell even further, and its veins to bulge like fierce dragons coiling across its body.
It sped up its hands, creating a sonic boom, and clapped them together above its head at supersonic speed.
Zhao Zheng had anticipated this, leaping off the Giant's head and jumping into the endless sky below.
He glided through the high altitude like a bird, soaring into the distance—it was high-altitude gliding!
This wasn't the ability of the first generation protagonist, Alex Mercer, but the second generation protagonist's ability. As the blacklight virus prime, and having consumed Fukoge's brain, Zhao Zheng had developed his blacklight virus to the point where he could use all the abilities of both the first and second generation protagonists in a short amount of time.
In the future, his potential would be even higher than the first and second generations, because Zhao Zheng was in the One-Punch World and had access to endless worlds connected by the Chat Group.
Rumble!
"Die! Give me back my brother's life!"
Its palms clapped onto its head, unleashing a violent tornado. The Giant's head spun, but it still targeted Zhao Zheng, who was like an aerial target in the sky. It threw a punch, and its massive fist engulfed Zhao Zheng.
A life-or-death crisis enveloped Zhao Zheng's heart. If he were hit by that punch, he wouldn't die, but he would suffer severe injuries.
"Brother Saitama!"
Zhao Zheng roared to the sky, even activating Black Light. Superpower Armor and Black Light. Shield. His body was covered in blood-black, ferocious armor, and his arms came together, forming a giant shield in front of him.
Among Demon Level powerhouses, Zhao Zheng could contend with Peak Ghost Level experts. Against a Dragon Level Monster like Bakuzan, he could even kill him by fighting above his level, thanks to the blacklight virus.
But to truly fight Dragon Level powerhouses like the Giant or Elder Centipede, it seemed that Zhao Zheng would currently need to use the Black Light Enhanced Form he gained from consuming Vaccine Man.
Once he used the Black Light Enhanced Form, Zhao Zheng would completely transform into a Monster in the eyes of others, which would be a net loss.
It was better to call out to the Bald Demon King, who was surely watching from somewhere.
"I'm here, Brother Zhao Zheng."
Just as the Giant's fist was about to smash onto Zhao Zheng's shield, a yellow light flashed in front of Zhao Zheng. The Bald Demon King, Saitama, appeared. His eyes were no longer listless; they had become sharp, triangular. To protect his friend, he would just have to show a little bit of his strength.
Saitama threw a punch, his small fist incomparable to the Giant's enormous one.
Yet, it was this small fist that blasted the gigantic fist into oblivion.
Not only that, the damage from being blasted into oblivion spread from the Giant's fist to its arm, and then to its entire upper body.
The Dragon Level powerhouse, the Giant, who had evolved after consuming the Biceps King serum, was defeated!
Only its lower half, over five hundred meters tall, remained standing in the ruins of D City.
"Brother Saitama, you really arrived in the nick of time."
Zhao Zheng and Saitama landed. Zhao Zheng exited his armored form, returning to normal and gasping for breath, looking regretfully at the Giant's severed body.
He had forgotten to tell Saitama to leave the Giant's body intact.
Before leaving, he was so focused on Fukoge that he forgot to instruct Saitama to go easy.
"Now, the Giant's value has been greatly reduced."
Zhao Zheng shook his head. Even a halved Giant was still Dragon Level strength, at most comparable to the Monster Bakuzan.
In the original story, the Giant survived Saitama's punch with its body intact because Saitama wasn't trying. It was normal for Saitama to inflict more severe damage than in the anime if he used a little more force.
"Brother Zhao Zheng, what were those abilities you used earlier? Are you a Monster?"
Saitama looked at Zhao Zheng curiously. Zhao Zheng's arms transforming into tentacles, blades, hammers, and other forms was certainly not what a normal person could do; it seemed like a Monster.
After all, no human could transform their flesh and blood into hard weapons!
"I'm not a Monster. I'm a gene warrior, which is why I have these abilities that look similar to those of Monsters."
"Zombie Man, ranked eighth among S-Class Heroes, is also a gene warrior, possessing powerful regenerative abilities."
Zhao Zheng's heart skipped a beat, but he calmly shook his head and gave the excuse he had already prepared.
Since he decided to expose his strength, the various abilities of the blacklight virus were unavoidable.
Moreover, if he was going to be Saitama's neighbor, after a while, these abilities would be impossible to hide.
Gene warrior was a particularly good excuse.
Furthermore, those infected by the blacklight virus were, to some extent, indeed gene warriors.
As for the Black Light Enhanced Form?
Again, when used, it didn't just resemble a Monster; it *was* a Monster. Explaining that with "gene warrior" would be too far-fetched.
Besides, Zhao Zheng had big plans for the Black Light Enhanced Form.
Only a double agent could reap more benefits.
"I see, it's similar to those robots."
Saitama nodded thoughtfully, no longer suspicious.
While gene warriors were rare in this world, robots were not. Many heroes were cyborgs.
Zhao Zheng's explanation was very reasonable.
"After escaping that lab, though I was free, I was undocumented, which is why I lived in the uninhabited zone."
Zhao Zheng continued to add more fabricated details to his story, transforming into a blood-black shadow and leaping onto the Giant's lower half.
His hands transformed into blood-black tentacles, reaching into the large wound at the Giant's waist, frantically devouring its flesh and energy.
"Don't be surprised, this is also my ability as a gene warrior. To become stronger, I must consume superior life forms, acquire their genes, gain their abilities, and then sort them by superiority to make myself stronger."
Zhao Zheng turned to explain to Saitama, who had also arrived beside him. Then, he opened his mouth wide, and countless blood-black tentacles emerged from his throat, slimy, and entered the Giant's lower half, joining the ranks of the devourers.
Although he was lying, there was also truth in his words, for example, the blacklight virus needed to consume powerful life to become strong.
A lie mixed with truth was harder to expose.
"Gene warriors are too terrifying, aren't they?"
Saitama sighed, his listless eyes showing interest.
Zhao Zheng's words made him feel as if he was witnessing a powerhouse rapidly rising.
Once Zhao Zheng became truly strong, perhaps he, Saitama, would finally have a true opponent to fight against!
Then, he, Saitama, would no longer be lonely due to his invincibility!
"My strength is increasing!"
As he devoured more of the Giant's flesh, Zhao Zheng felt his strength rapidly growing, and a look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
But this rate of consumption was still too slow. Zhao Zheng's entire body directly dropped into the wound at the Giant's waist.
"Black Light. A Thousand Tendrils. End All!"
Zhao Zheng's body spewed countless blood-black tentacles, densely shooting into the Giant's internal flesh. The coverage area was much larger than before, and the speed of absorption and consumption was many times greater than before.
As the consumption time lengthened, Zhao Zheng's strength soared. More tentacles extended, and the power of the tentacles' consumption also grew stronger, allowing them to devour the Giant's super-strong epidermis and bones.
Finally, the Giant, still massive in size despite being only half a body, disappeared from its spot, leaving only Zhao Zheng and Saitama.
"My normal state strength has definitely reached Dragon Level. After activating the Black Light Enhanced Form, I can certainly contend with Dragon Level powerhouses like the Giant and Elder Centipede."
Zhao Zheng, in human form, raised his hands, experiencing his own strength, and casually waved them to the side.
A surge of palm wind emerged, leveling an already ruined building.
Zhao Zheng felt his own life form had entered a new level.
His current strength could definitely contend with a newly-entered Dragon Level Monster like Bakuzan, and due to the blacklight virus's unique properties, beating him up would not be an issue. He could even fight above his level against Dragon Level powerhouses like the Giant and Elder Centipede.
Then, by activating the Black Light Enhanced Form, he would completely become a Dragon Level powerhouse, and could even become a high-ranking executive within the Monster Association!