Once John Sterling appeared, the Relic World seemed to suddenly fall into a special kind of silence!
It was not an absence of sound; rather, Chen Nuo could sense that the suppression here was even more intense than before!
Originally, although their group's powers were suppressed, it merely meant they couldn't externalize their abilities; their inherent strength remained.
For example, Mentalists could not project their telekinetic powers outside their bodies.
And for Body Technique Users like Vanel, their strength was somewhat diminished.
But they still possessed abilities far beyond those of ordinary people—although they were brutally beaten by the Professor after his monstrous transformation, that was due to the Professor's substantially enhanced strength.
But once John Sterling entered—or more accurately, "returned" to this world—the oppressive aura permeating the air from all directions suddenly intensified!
It felt as if with each breath, the thick, ubiquitous resistance in the air grew more solidified, miring every movement of the Ability Users as if they were trapped in a quagmire.
When they tried to draw upon their abilities, this sense of obstruction became all the more acute.
John Sterling seemed in no hurry, slowly descending behind the Son of the Sun, drifting closer. Since his return, the Professor, who had been engaged in a fierce battle with several Ability Users, suddenly looked as though he had frozen mid-action.
Sea Monster, Bonfrey, and Vanel had already been beaten to a pulp; the Professor could have crushed them with a single stomp. Instead, he suddenly became like a machine with its power cut off, stopping in the distance, his arms hanging down, head lowered, panting. Then his body leaped up, and he ran wildly down toward the pyramid, heading towards John Sterling.
The Son of the Sun approached head-on. Seeing the Professor near, he immediately stopped, as if on alert. However, the Professor seemed oblivious to him, circling far wide of him.
The Son of the Sun paused for a moment, then continued to rush inside. Upon reaching the foot of the pyramid, he looked up to see several Ability Users lying haphazardly on the steps halfway up. He was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward and climbed up.
"Vanel!"
Once on the pyramid steps, seeing the bear-like man kneeling on the ground, spitting blood and looking utterly exhausted, the Son of the Sun first called out softly.
Only then did everyone clearly see the appearance of this legendary figure among the Controllers, a man of resounding fame.
In the current world, if one were to discuss who among the powerful Controllers in the Underground World was the strongest, it's likely that each faction would have its own supporters, with each fanbase shouting, "My big bro (or big sis) is the strongest!"
Among them, naturally, the Star Sky Empress had the most followers—purely because of her good looks.
Who was the strongest in terms of power remained an unending debate.
However, if the discussion turned to who was the most senior...
Then, if the Son of the Sun claimed to be second, probably no one would dare claim to be first.
The Son of the Sun had been famous for over thirty years.
The Star Sky Empress wasn't even thirty years old!
Meaning, even before the Star Sky Empress was born, the Son of the Sun had already become a Controller.
No one knew exactly how old the Son of the Sun was. Anyway, in everyone's recollection, the first time this man appeared in public, he already looked like a middle-aged man.
The only widely known piece of information that allowed people to reference this old man's "age" was...
This man had participated in World War II...
Because this old man always claimed he was a pilot who had flown planes to fight against the Nazis during World War II...
By that reckoning, the old man had to be at least eighty years old.
It could be said that Controllers like the Wizard, Lu Xixi, and even Chen Yanluo's generation, had all grown up listening to the legendary stories of this "Son of the Sun" when they first entered the Underground World.
Highly esteemed and respected—these were bywords for the Son of the Sun.
Truth be told.
It was still that old question: Which Controller had the strongest technique?
This question had its own supporters among the famous figures in the Underground World, all of whom believed their chosen champion was world number one.
And yet...
Well, very few people thought the Son of the Sun possessed the strongest power.
This was a very interesting phenomenon.
No one thought he was the strongest in the world, but everyone acknowledged that the old man was a legend.
At this moment, the legendary figure standing before them hardly lived up to his illustrious reputation.
It was evident that the Son of the Sun had originally been wearing jungle gear, but he was now covered in mud, with bits of grass and leaves clinging to him, looking as if he had rolled in a mud pit.
His silver-white hair was clumped together—as if he hadn't washed it for many days.
His face didn't seem that old, appearing to be that of a man in his forties or fifties, yet it showed few wrinkles... because it was stretched taut by fat!
His round, chubby face had fleshy cheeks. Even when he stretched his neck, a trembling double chin was visible, and if he turned his head, one could see a thick roll of fat on the back of his neck!
On his flat nose, he even wore a pair of small, round-lensed spectacles.
As for his figure... this man had no waist!
His belt was obviously custom-made. His belly protruded high, and the belt was clearly cinched above his stomach, making his entire appearance utterly comical.
Let's put it this way... if you shaved off Coach Anzai's beard from "Slam Dunk," you'd get the Son of the Sun!
To put it another way, setting aside other aspects, his physique actually matched his nickname—the Sun. He was practically a sphere!
Hearing his name, Vanel struggled to get up from the ground. "Lord Son of the Sun... I am here..."
The stout old man fixed his eyes on Vanel. After a second...
"I'll damn well crush your cookie ass, you motherfudger!!!!!!"
The old man suddenly let out a fierce roar as he rushed forward, his foot smashing straight into Vanel's face, his sole nearly flattening Vanel's nose!
The poor bear-like man was kicked and sent flying, tumbling along the ground.
The Son of the Sun was so furious the fat on his face trembled. "What the fuck were you summoning? Release life coordinates, my ass!!! This is fucking killing me!!!!!"
With that, the Son of the Sun plopped down on the steps, pointed at Vanel, and cursed loudly, "I was chased by that inhuman thing in the rainforest for two days! I was about to shake it off! And then your summoning dragged me right into its lair! Are you fucking trying to kill me?! Do I have a feud with you?! Did I sleep with your mother or seduce your wife, huh?! This is too fucking much!! Too fucking much!!!"
The fat old man was so enraged, sitting on the steps, that he looked like he was about to cry.
Vanel got up from the ground, spat out some blood, and then said with a wry smile, "My Lord, we had no other choice..."
"No other fuckin' choice, my ass, you damn biscuit!" the fat old man fumed.
"No, I mean... besides, according to the plan, this summoning was intended as an emergency measure."
"Emergency, my ass, you damn biscuit!" the fat old man seethed with righteous indignation.
"My Lord, you are our strongest fighting force."
"Strongest, my ass, you damn biscuit!" The fat old man was on the verge of tears.
Sea Monster, Bonfrey, and Golden Bird looked on, utterly dumbfounded.
Is this the never-setting sun of the Underground World, the legendary Controller, the Son of the Sun?!!
"All right, fatso! Now's not the time to curse people out."
A voice came from the steps.
Everyone turned around and saw Chen Nuo walking down with a smile.
Chen Yanluo was staggering along, with Gray Cat Black perched on his shoulder.
The Son of the Sun gave Chen Nuo a sideways glance, then turned to Vanel, "And who is this?"
Vanel swallowed hard. He was about to say, "This guy is Harvey," but then Chen Nuo caught his eye and signaled him.
Vanel had a thought, swallowed his words, and amended, "This guy... is a temporary companion of ours. He's an adventurer who got captured here too."
"Companion?" The Son of the Sun paused.
"...Yeah, a companion, I suppose." Vanel felt a little embarrassed looking at the others as he said this.
That was because aside from him, Sea Monster, Bonfrey, and Golden Bird were all glaring fiercely at the young man in unison.
Their glares were surprisingly uniform, all screaming the same silent curse at him.
"MEOW!!" Black, on his shoulder, also cried out.
"Hmph! It's one thing for them to curse me with their glares, but you too?" Chen Nuo patted the gray cat's head, sounding displeased. "You had your chance to leave earlier, but you didn't take it, did you?"
After a moment, Chen Nuo walked straight over to them, even plopped down next to the Son of the Sun.
He felt around in his pocket, only to remember that he'd changed clothes to play dead and didn't have any cigarettes anymore.
He nudged the Son of the Sun. "Old man, got any 555s? Give me one."
The Son of the Sun looked at the young man in surprise. "Huh?"
Nevertheless, he fished around in his pocket and, sure enough, produced a pack of 555 cigarettes. Chen Nuo took one for himself, then casually looked around at the others. "Anyone else?"
"Alright, I'll take one. It might be the last cigarette of my life," Bonfrey was the first to speak up, taking one from the pack.
"I'll take one too," sighed Golden Bird.
The Son of the Sun dug out a windproof lighter from his pocket and tossed it to Chen Nuo. After lighting his cigarette, Chen Nuo tossed the lighter to the others.
"Alright, no need to be so pessimistic. It's not like we're definitely going to lose," Chen Nuo said slowly, taking a drag from his cigarette and exhaling with a smile.
"Not going to lose?" Sea Monster scoffed coldly.
"Yeah," Chen Nuo said lightly. "We've got the numbers! Son of the Sun, Sea Monster, Bonfrey, Golden Bird, Gray Cat Black, Vanel, and me. That's seven of us! They only have two: one guy who turned into a monster, and John Sterling. Seven against two—we're golden!"
Golden, my ass, you motherfudging biscuit!!!
The others nearly exploded with rage at his remarks.
Through gritted teeth, Vanel said, "Stop talking nonsense! Black is stuck as a cat, and his strength is suppressed here. He can't transform into human form to fight! That means he's completely useless in combat! As for me, Sea Monster, Bonfrey, and Golden Bird, we've played all our trump cards and are all seriously injured! And then there's Lord Son of the Sun..."
"Don't drag me into this! I can't beat that... that thing that's neither human nor ghost! You're saying that's John Sterling? I'm no match for him!" the Son of the Sun scoffed.
Vanel nodded, swallowed hard, and glared viciously at Chen Nuo. "The only one whose abilities are intact and who isn't injured is you! And just now..."
"Don't forget, it was all thanks to me that you were rescued from the sacrificial altar," Chen Nuo waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind how I did it, aren't you all standing here alive and well?"
Everyone was silent.
Although something felt off, he actually seemed to have a point!