The propeller shaft snapped, and the spinning blades became lethal steel knives, slicing through everything in their path. Even rocks were reduced to dust.
After the helicopter crashed, three people crawled out of the cabin. Two of them stood up, only to be instantly sliced in half.
Sokes lay flat on the ground, motionless. This was the best course of action right now. Lie low and pray the wildly spinning blades wouldn't reach him. He didn't even dare crawl over to retrieve the metal briefcase that had fallen nearby.
Inside that case was a vial of serum—the very substance that allowed Ephest to transform.
To ordinary human society, such a serum was priceless. No matter who he sold it to, he could obtain unimaginable wealth.
The propeller slowly ground to a halt. Sokes, still prone on the ground, immediately crawled toward the case, which lay twenty-five feet away.
However, just as he scrambled over and reached out to grab it, Rey's foot stomped down on the case.
"Hi!"
Rey greeted the crawling Sokes with nonchalance.
Sokes looked up, saw Rey standing before him, and his face filled with shock. "You're not dead."
"Nope, I'm not dead. Are you disappointed?" Rey replied with a smile.
After a brief moment of shock, Sokes stood up.
He was much taller than Rey. Facing this boy who should have been dead, Sokes showed no nervousness. On the contrary, he was very relaxed, straightening his suit as if maintaining his image was paramount.
"Do you know how much the thing under your foot is worth?"
Money is almost omnipotent, especially in the eyes of a hitman like Sokes. Perhaps it could even buy a life.
Without waiting for Rey's answer, Sokes continued, "This is the result of Ephest's scientific research on transformation. It is priceless. It's worth many times more than the money you robbed."
"I can find people who can afford this. Once the technology matures, perhaps I can even obtain this power."
"What do you say? Interested in cooperating?"
Few people can resist the temptation of money; to Sokes, this was a universal truth. Although he said the words, he never actually intended to share the serum in the case with anyone.
Before he finished speaking, the hand adjusting his suit suddenly reached for his waist to draw his gun.
The move was sudden. He had pretended to adjust his suit solely to shorten the distance to his weapon.
Reach, draw, grip with both hands, aim. This sequence of actions was fluid and executed in one breath, taking absolutely no more than half a second.
However, even with what he felt was his fastest draw ever, before he could fully aim, a foot slammed into his abdomen, sending him flying backward.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, inconspicuous amidst the roaring fire. Even in that situation, Sokes still fired. But the bullet lost its accuracy, whizzing past Rey's ear.
---
How fast can an ordinary human's movement become after practicing tens of thousands of times?
Rey now had a full experience of it.
Fast. Very fast. Faster than a blink of an eye. If his own speed weren't far superior to that of an ordinary human, that bullet might have lodged in his skull.
The speed gap between them was immense. Yet, for an ordinary hitman, Rey felt Sokes' draw speed had reached the absolute limit of human capability.
This limit gave Rey a visceral taste of facing death.
Dangerous!
After a brief moment of shock, Rey picked up the case from the ground and smashed it hard into Sokes, who was trying to scramble up.
The flying case slammed into Sokes. He grunted, stumbled back several steps, crashed into the wrecked helicopter, and slumped to the ground. The force churned his insides; to him, this was not strength a human should possess.
"What kind of monster are you?"
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as Sokes asked weakly. He never expected to fall at the hands of someone who looked like a teenage boy.
"I am of the Dragon Race, not some monster."
Rey sneered in response to Sokes' question. He picked up the gun from the ground, pointed it at the helicopter's leaking fuel tank, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck the metal, sparking against the steel. The sparks met the fuel, and it ignited instantly.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, and flames shot into the sky.
Watching Sokes and the case being swallowed by the exploding fire, Rey turned and walked toward the manor building.
The people who needed to be dealt with were gone. Now, it was time to handle his own business.
There should be a vault in the manor, and Rey never thought he had too much money. Especially after experiencing the series of events tonight, Rey's view of the entire world had completely changed.
This world was too dangerous. Whether it was Death Eaters worshiping Voldemort in the dark, dark wizards, or even ordinary humans—it was all the same.
The pursuit of power has no level restrictions. Everyone has the right, and no one can stop it.
Now, in Rey's view, the Ministry of Magic was so childish, so naive. They didn't understand such a simple truth: Humans are not lifeforms whose memories can be toyed with and manipulated at will.
One day, humans would possess power through technology that could rival magic.
---
The fire in the manor building grew fiercer, and explosions occurred frequently.
The second floor was already engulfed in a sea of fire, and flames could be seen darting around the first floor.
Those who weren't greedy for money had already retreated from the building and fled in cars from the garage. However, there were more greedy people.
They stuffed the money they grabbed into their cars, drove to an open space, and then rushed back into the building, wanting to grab more.
People are like this. Once greedy nature is exposed, many cannot control it. Often, because of this, they lose their most precious lives.
Rey walked slowly into the building. He felt no discomfort in such a sea of fire. As a Black Dragon, walking through this inferno was like a leisurely stroll. Fire simply couldn't hurt him.
Walking into the first-floor lobby, a collapsed beam pinned the leg of a tattooed bodyguard. He screamed for help at Rey, hugging several gold bars in his arms. These were likely from small safes in the rooms, not the large vault Rey was looking for.
"Save me, save me! I can give you these gold bars, diamonds."
The urgent cry for help showed he knew life was more precious than money.
Rey just gave him a faint glance and turned a deaf ear. Such a person wasn't worth pitying, and Rey wasn't some bleeding heart. Since he chose to rush in, he shouldn't regret paying the price now.
Panicked people were everywhere, rushing out of the burning building clutching valuables.
Some escaped successfully; some were like the tattooed man pinned by the beam; others had already fainted from the smoke.
Rey ignored them all. He came to the elevator, pried open the tightly closed iron doors with his hands, and jumped down.
The vault, without thinking, should be in the basement level.
Rey believed there should be even more money down there.
Since the source had been dealt with, the remaining wealth should naturally be taken away as well. With this much money, it would be enough to implement his plan.
---
The basement level was larger than imagined, no different in area from the first floor.
It had an independent power system. Heat waves poured in from the elevator shaft, causing the temperature in the basement to rise rapidly. Before long, the wiring on this floor would fail, and it was only a matter of time before the fire spread here.
"Looks like I need to hurry."
Rey muttered and immediately began searching the basement.
The basement was divided into three areas: the left was the experiment area, the middle was the cafeteria, and the far right was the prison cells.
Rey had already searched the experiment area and found nothing useful. However, after searching it, Rey was furious.
The things inside were horrible to look at. There were all kinds of humans made into specimens. This was hell, a hell built by humans themselves.
On the operating table was a freshly dissected body. Perhaps it couldn't be called a corpse, because the person being dissected wasn't dead. He stared at Rey with pleading eyes, hoping for a quick end.
In his rage, Rey transformed into a Black Dragon and turned those researchers hiding in the corners, along with the person on the operating table begging for death, into ashes.