Chapter 2144 2154

Chapter 2144 2154
"Boom!"
A violent, earth-shaking roar echoed through the underground laboratory.
Garry's strength had indeed reached the Permanent-Tier, but just as Liam had pointed out, he had forced his breakthrough using a Creation Needle. Furthermore, having just achieved the breakthrough, his internal source energy—while vast—was painfully unstable and hollow!
On top of that, back when Liam was only at the Half-Step Permanent-Tier, he had already possessed the capability to trade blows with actual Permanent-Tier masters. Now that he had stepped into the limit of the Saint-Tier, standing merely a hair's breadth away from the Permanent-Tier himself, his combat prowess far surpassed anything he could muster back on Earth.
After exchanging just a few quick rounds, Garry felt a mountain-like wave of oppressive force bearing down on him, making it hard to even catch his breath.
Bang!
Liam swept his sword outward, unleashing a razor-sharp crescent of sword qi. Garry hurriedly threw up his weapon in a frantic block!
With a deafening explosion, Garry was sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the metal wall behind him. The thick steel crumpled inward under the impact, and he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood, his face turning as pale as a sheet of paper.
Puff!
On the other side, the short, wretched man was being pushed back step by step under a relentless barrage from Leo and Michael!
Although Michael had also recently broken through to the Permanent-Tier, his advancement had been entirely natural, and his baseline combat strength was exceptional. Coupled with the relentless coordinated support from Leo, Stella, and the others, the short man was completely overwhelmed. Within a few short exchanges, he was bleeding from multiple wounds.
"Fall back!"
Realizing the situation was dire, the short man let out a sharp roar. "These bastards are way too tough! If we don't get out of here now, we're not making it out alive!"
Garry wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with a mixture of shock and unyielding hatred.
He had never imagined that after enduring countless hardships to finally reach the Permanent-Tier, dreaming of lording it over Liam and brutally torturing him to death, he would be completely suppressed the moment they crossed blows.
Hearing his companion's warning, Garry gritted his teeth. He knew full well that revenge was completely out of the question today; lingering any longer meant throwing his life away here.
"Thinking of running?"
A chilling gleam flashed in Liam's eyes. With a swift shift of his feet, he shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
"Get lost, you brat!"
Garry roared in fury, hurling the storage case in his hand directly at Liam. At the same time, the source energy within him surged wildly, transforming him into a streak of light as he bolted straight for the laboratory's exit.
With a loud bang, Liam sliced the flying case to pieces with a single sweep of his sword, sending countless components scattering across the floor.
Yet, seizing that split-second opening, Garry and the short man reached the doorway and scrambled through in a chaotic, pathetic flight.
"Should we chase them?" Leo asked, gripping his long spear tightly.
Liam watched the direction of their escape, shaking his head slightly. "Forget it. The situation here is complicated, and this underground lab could pose other hazards at any moment. Priorities first—don't let a minor matter ruin the bigger picture."
Hearing this, Leo let out a cold hmph. "Consider that old bastard lucky. If I run into him again next time, I'll skin him alive!"
Michael let out a long breath, stepping over to say, "Still, that guy was also a Permanent-Tier master. The waters of the Myriad Tribulation Star really run deep; you can bump into powerhouses of this caliber in just some random abandoned lab."
"Let's go. We've got what we came for, so let's pull out of here first," Liam said.
The group quickly packed up, took the container holding the Creation Needles, and rapidly retreated toward the exit of the laboratory.
Meanwhile, in a completely different section of the Promise Corporation ruins, two battered figures were fleeing frantically through the corridors—none other than Garry and the short man.
After running a considerable distance and confirming that Liam's group wasn't pursuing them, the two collapsed against an abandoned wall, panting heavily.
Garry's face was so dark it looked like it could drip water, and he gritted his teeth with pure venom. "Liam! That damned Liam!"
"Cut it out, old man," the short man snapped irritably. "We just had some terrible luck and kicked a steel plate. That kid's strength defies all common sense—clearly only at the peak Saint-Tier, yet more terrifying than a genuine Permanent-Tier."
Garry clenched his fists, his eyes burning with bitter resentment.
He had thought that breaking through to the Permanent-Tier would be the ultimate turning point of his life, never imagining that he would still end up beaten like a stray dog right in front of Liam.
"Still..." The short man's eyes shifted, a sinister, eerie grin spreading across his face. "Even though we didn't take him down, it's not like we walked away empty-handed. Don't forget, we still grabbed something else."
At those words, Garry's expression stirred. He looked down at the other specialized container clutched tightly in his other hand, and a grim, chilling smirk finally crept onto his gloomy face.