Chapter 373: Chapter 373: Enemies Meet (Subscribe Requested)
Sun Changzong watched as the quiet neighborhood descended into chaos under the night sky, with endless sounds of doors being banged open, curses, children’s cries, and women’s shouts. Bewildered and panicked residents emerged from their buildings and were evacuated in an orderly fashion under the escort of armed police.
Flashes of light appeared intermittently in the crowd, and Sun Changzong knew it was people taking pictures with their phones. He didn’t order the police nearby to stop this behavior, because he knew it was useless and would only cause more panic. More importantly, with that person within the range of control, no electronic device would retain any image data; the photos taken would be automatically deleted. Even if you tell extraordinary stories, who would believe it without visual evidence?
Reflecting on this, Sun Changzong turned his head to look at Wu Qiang behind him. As the operations chief of the Three Pristine Ones division, he was the last lock to prevent the situation from worsening. Since the last assault on the Investigation Office headquarters and the siege of the Divine Desire Base, their actions have become increasingly reckless, breaking the unwritten rules. To prevent further harm to innocent civilians, a new generation of portable Defense Array was developed. Once Zheng Jia Ru entered the factory, this defense measure was set up.
The ground shook violently again, and Sun Changzong swayed with the tremor. Those who previously thought this was unnecessary worry and refused to leave were now thoroughly frightened. Supported by the armed police, they quickened their pace as they fled the neighborhood.
"Reinforce the ground, and try to contain the tremors within the Defense Array!" Sun Changzong stood up from the ground, dusted off, and ordered loudly.
"Yes!"
After assigning tasks, Sun Changzong looked at the old community in front of him, then glanced back at the Array and murmured, "We need to finish this battle quickly, this place can’t withstand much more of this."
Inside the Array, Pei Yan naturally couldn’t hear Sun Changzong’s lament. There was nothing to say; Divine Desire was in a greater hurry than the Investigation Office. After all, this was no longer their territory, and they were isolated. Reinforcements for the Investigation Office were bound to arrive continuously. If they didn’t escape soon, they’d face layers of siege and potential capture or death.
Thus, once the battle began, Divine Desire gave it their all, and both sides immediately engaged in a life-and-death struggle. After Shangxing swung his baton twice in succession, Pei Yan and Shitang Longsi finally jumped out of its range, landing in the narrow alley of the shantytown.
"Long time no see, Pei Jun! How have you been?" Shitang Longsi said with a cold smile, gripping his sword handle.
Pei Yan removed his faceplate, leisurely took out a cigarette from his storage ring, placed it in his mouth, lit it, and mocked, "It’s been a while indeed. Your Huaxia language is getting more fluent. Have you been spending all your time learning to speak human?"
"Hmph, just as before, you love your verbal sparring. Losing an arm doesn’t seem to have taught you much!" Shitang Longsi sneered as he started advancing slowly.
"Same goes for you; I’m not the only one missing limbs nowadays."
Upon hearing Pei Yan’s retort, Shitang Longsi tore off his shirt, revealing his sturdy torso. The stump of his right arm was gruesome, the tumor at the severed end visibly startling. Gripping his sword with his left hand, his figure flickered and disappeared from sight.
In the next moment, a boundless wave of sword energy surged forward like a tempest from all directions. Shanty houses were sliced apart, their debris scattered everywhere. It was unclear whether this was intentional by Shitang Longsi or simply due to the flammable materials in these small cabins. Following a loud bang, the flying debris ignited, and flames flared up around Pei Yan.
The searing blade energy shot through the flames, targeting Pei Yan’s vital points. Not even blinking, Pei Yan blew a smoke ring, and a blue glow enveloped him, armoring him with a protective shield.
CLINK CLANK, the sound of blade energy clashing against the shield echoed. Pei Yan scratched his ear and turned around, meeting Shitang Longsi’s slightly surprised expression. It turned out that Shitang Longsi’s plan to stealthily advance through the sea of flames for a surprise attack had already been detected by Pei Yan.
The momentum was unstoppable; with no hesitation, Shitang Longsi thrust his long sword forward, piercing through the light curtain and into Pei Yan’s chest.
Too, too easy, isn’t it? Watching the sword sink deeper as he pushed it in, doubt arose in Shitang Longsi’s heart. Raising his gaze, he locked eyes on Pei Yan’s unmasked, cigarette-clutched, expressionless face. As the blade pierced in, a sense of dissonance and danger gripped him.
Something’s wrong, it’s a trap! Realizing belatedly, he felt a gust of wind from the side. Starting to draw back the sword, he was thwarted as Pei Yan grasped it firmly, refusing to let go. With no other choice, he ducked to evade the attack and prepared to retaliate, only to be suddenly ensnared by a flung iron chain, followed by a kick to his chin.
With a muffled grunt, Shitang Longsi was sent flying, yet even so, his left hand did not release its grip on the sword handle. Utilizing the force of the kick, he yanked the sword free, twisting mid-air to regain hold of the weapon. Glistening sparks flew, severing the chains around him. Landing deftly, he swung the horizontal blade in defense.
"Pah!" came the sound as a cigarette butt landed at his feet.
Glaring at the cigarette butt on the ground, Shitang Longsi then looked up to see Pei Yan still wearing a disdainful expression, with another "Pei Yan" stabbed beside him!
"Just two months, and you’ve grown stronger again! Not only mastering duplication but also invisibility!" Shitang Longsi’s eyes blazed as he shouted coldly and began rapidly analyzing. He recalled the dissonance earlier; though the stabbed face bore a strong resemblance to Pei Yan’s, its expression was rigid and unchanging, discernible upon closer inspection.
It was the fault of habitual thinking; noticing the cigarette clamped in the other’s mouth, he had instinctively assumed it was Pei Yan. This bastard was luring him into a trap. But when had they swapped places? Was it amidst the flying dust or the rising flames? It should be within that interval, as the dust obscured both Pei Yan’s vision and his own.
Damn! Just two months and he’s somehow expanded his abilities so much!
"Invisibility? I’ve never learned it, that’s merely a skill of the Cloaking Seal I carry. Does Divine Desire not have it? Ultimately, it’s your own carelessness. Do you hate me so much? Hate me until you lose your senses? You just needed to observe a bit more closely to realize it was me! Impulsiveness is the devil!"