Bella didn't doubt TK for a moment, she thanked him and then left the room, her soul seemingly departed...

By dawn the next day, the remote Arctic Bar was still quiet, a patron had already been drinking quietly in the corner for some time... At this moment, Feng Yi was drinking shot after shot, feeling quite content, while at the same time pondering how to invest this money. The auction item was 50 billion, Bella 200 billion, totaling 250 billion—indeed a laughably absurd price.

Unfortunately, this trip hadn't yielded any of the hoped-for equipment. After a hearty meal and enough to drink, he decided to set off. As for the money from Bella, he believed it would have been transferred to his account at the same time yesterday, if Bella wasn't a fool.

Braving the howling wind and sand, he started on the journey back. Feng Yi's pace was very fast; within minutes, the Arctic Village had completely disappeared from view. Just then, inexplicably, his footsteps came to a halt.

In the span of a breath, a mech model no less advanced than the Assembly 9th Generation appeared behind him, overtaking him with lightning speed...

"Alone?" came a cold voice from the loudspeaker.

"Yes, if I don't count you," Feng Yi responded noncommittally, glancing back at the mecha's cockpit to ask, "Are you here on Bella's behalf to take my life?"

"You know how it goes with our kind—the Space Crystal doesn't seem to be worth that much." Now, Takla had reverted to his original appearance, rather than the fearsome Desert Ship from the wanted posters. He pushed open the cockpit of the mecha and jumped down, lighting a cigarette and said, "Instead of that..." he continued, tossing a can of zero-degree beer towards Feng Yi's direction.

Feng Yi caught the beer without hesitation, skillfully squeezed it with one hand, and the steel can's top popped open with a bang...

"Let's get straight to the point if you have business with me."

"It's about Bella."

Feng Yi frowned at that, "If you're looking to plead for her, I'd advise you save your breath." As the saying goes: kill and be prepared to be killed. If someone intended to silence others through murder, they must be ready for the possibility of a counterattack. Without the desire for death, they must present proper sincerity, like money, which he indeed needed. As for the amount, he wasn't concerned—it would depend on the conditions offered.

"You've got it wrong—I just want to say one thing."

"I'm all ears."

TK gave a brief summary of Bella's situation, with just enough detail. Bella meant to pay; it wasn't that she wouldn't. It was just that the price was too steep to gather all at once and hoped for a three-day extension. That was the message he was meant to convey. Why he was the messenger was perhaps because the two of them had some dealings in the past.

Gathering 200 billion on short notice was indeed difficult, as it wasn't a small sum for anyone. Feng Yi hesitated for a moment, stroking his chin and half-jokingly said, "Just this once, then, no repeat."

TK laughed, "Are you sure you won't make trouble for her and her family?"

"Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

The answer was self-evident. A person who had reached such heights wouldn't go out of their way to trouble a woman. TK looked into the distance with a meaningful gaze, "Bella's backstory is actually quite pitiable..."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"That is a village washed in the blood of war. For the people she wanted to protect, she sacrificed a lot, whether friends, lovers, and..."

"Everyone has something they want to protect," Feng Yi interrupted, "It's precisely because of different choices that the outcomes are vastly different. I have my own stories and have no interest in hearing others'."

TK shook his head, "This doesn't sound like you from before. You seem to have been changed by hatred or something else, blinded, leaving you anxious, angry, and impulsive."

"Perhaps, but I don't want to hear this now—why wait for another day when today is good as any? Let's settle it today."

"Do you have your mecha with you?"

"Yes, but it's still being upgraded, the purpose of my trip is to find suitable equipment at the St. Marlo auction house."

"Is that so... I won't fight with you if you don't have your mecha."

"No matter, I can still fight without a mecha."

Takla looked deeply at Feng Yi, "Then, I take my leave." With those words, he suddenly leaped into his mobile fighter and sped away...

Boom...

He hadn't gone far when suddenly a gunshot echoed through the desert. Feng Yi, with a -7 in hand, fired a shot in an instant. Although the shot hit the mecha, it didn't strike a vital spot, serving more as a warning before the battle started. The next shot might not be so forgiving.

TK's brows furrowed. He had guessed that this would be the outcome, which is why he had said that from this point on, he would owe nothing to Casadin.

After the shot, the yellow-tinted mecha finally slowly turned its massive body around... A chilling aura continuously spread outward from both of them, and so they began their standoff in the howling winds and swirling sands of the Death Desert. Feng Yi slightly raised his arm to shield his eyes from the blowing sand. As the dust passed between them, both he and TK made their moves simultaneously.

In that moment, TK decided not to hold back any longer, swiftly grabbing his secondary cannon and unleashing a continuous barrage of firepower in Feng Yi's direction. A succession of deafening roars thundered across the sky, screeching and booming...

The intense firepower instantly turned the area where Feng Yi had been into a hell on earth, the ground trembling with each explosion—first, a shockwave spread outward, and then a dark mushroom cloud rose into the void...

It was X10 Overriding. In an instant, TK's hand speed exploded to 900. You couldn't imagine how terrifying a top-level pilot's firepower suppression could be. But soon, TK's explosive hand speed plummeted from 900 down to 90. It wasn't that he couldn't maintain it. In fact, he could achieve even higher speeds, but in the vast emptiness of the desert, finding Feng Yi was no longer feasible. Against an invisible opponent, increasing hand speed further would be futile.

As the crossfire continued, the temperature rose alarmingly. Soon, every Sky Eye from different countries locked onto the Death Desert...

Suddenly, TK caught a whiff of a trace of movement and without hesitation unleashed a barrage in the direction of the detected breath.

When the hail of bullets finally cleared, only the silhouette of Feng Yi weaving through the bullet storm remained, appearing now in a corner of the frame, now on the other side of the screen, launching sniper shots at TK. Bang bang bang... Amidst the interweaving chaos, Feng Yi performed a series of rolls and maneuvers as though he was in a zone devoid of adversaries, and under stealth concealment, even the Sky Eye occasionally could capture only the faintest of afterimages.

This was an absolute hard-fought battle between top-tier fighters, pure and unadulterated.

Boom boom boom boom, with shockwaves continuing to spread, the surrounding kilometer quickly turned into a hellish battleground. TK, planted firmly in place, unleashed such fierce firepower that even his mecha trembled continuously from the recoil...

Feng Yi, his clothes in tatters, engaged in face-to-face combat; his movements were as fast as thunder, like lightning. With stealth cover, he often appeared behind TK, in the blind spots that were difficult for sensors to detect. Yet, as soon as he showed himself, he was quickly suppressed by a barrage of gunfire and forced back.

Despite the yellow mecha's fierce firepower, it occasionally suffered precise strikes from Feng Yi. With alarms blaring throughout the mecha, no matter how tough the armor was, it began to emit billowing black smoke under the targeted sniping...

Within just three minutes, Feng Yi's body had become terribly battered, his coat blown away. His figure was repeatedly engulfed in blue smoke, and at some point, shrapnel had torn open two gashes on his chest and arm...

Observers from various nations were utterly stunned by the spectacle of these two men... To Athena, it was heartbreaking.

Why had it come to this? Both men were on the side of righteousness. The distinct mecha was that of the rebellion leader, Mr. Takla, a warrior who led countless fighters to battle for the freedom of Mardis.

The other man was a Special Envoy from the Federation. Of course, beyond that, Athena knew all too well the identity of brother Feng Yi, the fact that he was the Revenge Shadow Rider. But why, why were two beings from the same righteous camp turning their weapons on each other? Was she too young to understand, or was it that she didn't grasp the world of men at all?

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