Cryptomining Supervillain Chapter 144: 144 NIGHT OF HARVEST

144 NIGHT OF HARVEST

Thrynn was quick and responsive, but his power was rely close combat.

If Dan could grab him close using him as human shield against the ranged attacks, he would have a way to neutralize all three of them at once.

He didn't let go of Thrynn's hand.

Thrynn was still dazed by the lightning. Dan flung him on the other side just in ti to parry several serpentine light constructs of Orya.

"Argghhh!" Thrynn scread, his body spasming violently. The electrocution left his nerves fried and his limbs unresponsive.

He couldn't move, not even defend himself.

Dan didn't waste the opportunity. Grabbing Thrynn by the collar, he used him as a human shield and charged straight toward Orya.

The woman's eyes widened in disbelief.

"He's coming towards …what should I do?" Orca cried.

Orca wasn't ant for close combat — her role was battlefield control, summoning serpents from a distance to strike and hurt.

Close combat was Thrynn's job.

Dan swung Thrynn like a battering ram. The impact sent Orya sprawling to the ground, gasping for air. Before she could recover, Dan's boot crashed into her chest.

Her ribs shattered under the force. A distorted vortex of kinetic energy rippled inward into her chest — "Montum Collapse."

Orya's mind went blank from the pain.

"As I thought… these heroes are specialized in their own fields. Together they may be invincible… but once you take them apart, they could be broken one by one", Dan murmured.

Still gripping the half-conscious Thrynn in one hand, Dan seized Orya with the other.

With both enemies in his grasp, he rocketed toward Nyris.

Nyris froze, her heart was racing. "How is he this brutal—he's only a Rank B?"

Dan swung Thrynn and Orya like blunt weapons, hurling their bodies toward her. Reacting on instinct, Nyris unleashed a storm of lightning whips. The air flashed with electrical fury …. but Dan barreled through it.

"Why is he charging through my lightning whip?" Nyris cried.

Dan's body armor absorbs most of the energy. Thrynn and Orya, however, scread as the lightning tore through their weakened bodies.

Nyris hesitated.

Her power barely affected Dan now, and every strike only further destroyed her teammates.

"What do I do?" she thought, panic creeping in.

Then she turned to flee.

"Run?...not a chance," Dan said.

Dan didn't let her.

He activated his Mining App's Drain ability, siphoning energy from Thrynn and Orya even as he closed in. Their bodies went limp as he absorbed the last of their power.

Then…

He was upon Nyris in an instant … his hand clamped around her throat. She gasped, summoning the last of her electricity to down Dan but lightning flickered uselessly across his armor.

"How are you immune to lightning?" she asked.

"Just as you are", he replied before he activated, "Drain."

Nyris' power vanished in seconds. Then, without hesitation, Dan crushed her neck.

He landed hard on the ground, a heavy thud echoing through the still air.

Smoke rose from his armor, the only sound around was the faint hiss of cooling tal. Around him lay the broken bodies of three Rank B heroes — silent and motionless.

With deliberate calm, Dan drew his bone blade. He knelt beside each corpse and carved a single letter — "V" — into their flesh.

The mark of the Veyran family.

Then he opened his system interface and checked his stats:

Na: Dan Dark

Strength Rank: B  ta Rank: C  Blood Rank: B

Strength: 608 | Charm: 262 | ta: 393 | Command: 392 | Blood: 893 | Armor: 1016

He exhaled, satisfied. "Not a bad harvest," he muttered. "I should focus on hunting high-rank tas from now on."

But sothing caught his eye — faint glimrs rising from the heroes' bodies. They were residual core energy. Without hesitation, Dan reached out and assimilated them one by one.

System ssages flickered before his eyes:

Core of the Mind successfully assimilated.

Core of the Mind Level 1 activated: 1 of 2.

Core of Electricity successfully assimilated.

Core of Electricity Level 2 activated: 2 of 2.

Core of Light successfully assimilated.

Camouflage enhanced by Core of Light.

"This is new," Dan said, intrigued. "My camouflage just got an upgrade. Let's see how strong it is now."

He activated the ability.

Instantly, his form shimred and vanished. The Zetheris family's guards and ta soldiers who were approaching from the distance slowed and beca confused.

"Where did the murderer go?" they asked.

Dan rose smoothly into the air, invisible even as he moved. The soldiers' sensors and scanners failed to detect him.

He grinned. "Damn… I've beco invisible."

"From now on, Camouflage is upgraded to Invisibility," he thought, amused.

With that, Dan turned and soared into the night sky, leaving the wreckage, the police, and the Zetheris family to deal with the aftermath of his massacre.

------

Dan returned to base and headed straight for the shower.

The heat of battle washed away under the cold spray, but his mind was still running. When he stepped out, wrapped in a towel, the rest of the team were gathered in the common room, their eyes fixed on the holo-screen.

"Breaking News: Garius Zetheris murdered and Valtor Veyran critically wounded after failed truce negotiations between their factions lead to faction war."

The room was silent except for the reporter's voice. When they noticed Dan, Dorin turned to him.

"Did you hear? Garius Zetheris is dead."

Dan gave a calm nod. "Yeah," he said simply.

Of course Dan knew.

He was the one who killed him. Dorin was once a law enforcer and despite resigning from SIA, there was still a sense of justice and law in her…. There was no reason to let her know too much about his thods.

"What about Valtor Veyran?" he asked, feigning curiosity.

Kail flicked his wrist, projecting a smaller holo-screen in front of Dan. The footage showed Valtor being struck in the chest by a group of masked assassins and loaded onto an ambulance.

It was the mark of the Order of Cockerel.

"So," Dan muttered, "the Order of Cockerel went after both Garius and Valtor… at the sa ti."

Lander frowned. "When did the Order of Cockerel get involved in this ss? They are a nace… Last ti I tried tracking their funds, the trail went cold."

Dan frowned. "Yeah, I rember. You still owe a million aur for that failed job."

Dorin and Lander both looked away, pretending not to hear.

Kail smirked. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I already traced the Order's money trail. Big Brother here raided their remote aur bank …. he's more than compensated."

Lander blinked. "You did what? You hacked into the Order of Cockerel?"

Kail imdiately waved his hands defensively. "Ah—never mind that."

Dan stepped in smoothly.

"In short," he said, "Kail discovered that both Valtor Veyran and Garius Zetheris placed assassination contracts on each other through the Order of Cockerel. Valtor managed to survive his hit."

He paused, a faint smile forming. "Garius didn't."

Suddenly, the base's alarms shrieked to life, red warning lights flashing across the walls.

Dan froze. "What's going on?"

Kail's fingers flew across his imaginary console, pulling up the surveillance feed and his expression turned pale.

"It's… Ambrone lrose," he said, his voice tight. "He's here… and he's brought the SIA with him."

The room fell silent.

A cold wave of dread swept through them. Even Dan's eyes narrowed.

Of all people, Ambrone lrose was the last na they ever wanted to hear at their doorstep.