And King Ocean saw him.
As if gazing at each other across an Abyss, their expressions froze. In the next instant, determination and savagery flashed in their eyes.
Then, gunshots rang out.
They came from behind Liu DongLi.
In the hands of the young man, the muzzle of the gun was emitting black smoke.
It was Huai Shi.
In that instant, he snatched the handgun from behind Liu DongLi and, with brazen aim, fired.
But he didn't aim at King Ocean; instead, he aimed at...the old woman beside Liu DongLi.
"She's trying to kill someone!"
Under the intense stimulation brought by Death Perception, Huai Shi was absolutely certain that he sensed murderous intent emanating from this seemingly genial and enthusiastic old lady.
A murderous intent capable of shredding him and Liu DongLi into thousands of pieces.
Shooting in haste, Huai Shi almost failed to hold on. The bullet intended for the old lady's body went astray, only hitting her hand that was grabbing Liu DongLi. It bored a large hole in her wrist and nearly harmed Liu DongLi as well.
Silence descended.
Blood splattered.
Liu DongLi, acting on instinct, dodged and retreated, only to see the once aging hand that had grabbed him slowly turning the color of steel, with sharp, iron-gray claws extending from the tips of the fingers.
During the slow process of the flesh knitting back together, a deformed bullet was squeezed out of the wound.
"You figured it out, huh?"
The old woman slowly raised her head. Her elderly face gradually distorted, her pupils turned a familiar blood-red, and her face slowly morphed into the semblance of a Beast, revealing a hungry smile to them.
"Damn it, a Nue!"
Liu DongLi screamed in horror.
Closed 3.5.
With three minutes and thirty seconds left until Lao Tang closed, the situation began to slide towards the worst possible outcome. Not just for the Dongxia Football Team, but also for Huai Shi and his companions, time was running out.
Encountering each other so abruptly under such circumstances, it was naturally impossible for them to sit down for tea and a chat.
The quickest to react was Liu DongLi.
Or rather, this flamboyant fellow was, at heart, prepared 24/7 to show off his so-called once-in-a-lifetime beauty to others.
"What are you looking at!"
After his roar, the Nue that glanced over froze on the spot. Liu DongLi then grabbed the handgun that had nearly numbed Huai Shi's hand and began shooting like crazy at the old woman.
The recent affectionate May-December romance charade they'd just been playing naturally disappeared without a trace amidst the gunfire.
In a blink, an entire magazine was emptied. But without high-caliber, lethal weapons, the handgun fire was almost negligible against a Sublimator who had entered the Third Stage, whose organs had already begun to etherify.
The Nue in the form of an old woman had already closed her eyes.
The tide of attack and defense reversed.
Meanwhile, Huai Shi wasn't just standing there stunned. He mustered his courage, rolled up his sleeves, and charged straight at King Ocean, suddenly launching a kick. "Leave the box behind!"
King Ocean, who was about to turn tail and run, was hit hard in the lower back by Huai Shi's flying kick, sending him sprawling face-first onto the ground. Yet, he still held the box tightly in his embrace, refusing to let go.
Immediately after, Huai Shi pounced on him, delivering a set of military boxing blows to his old face.
Because he wasn't sure if King Ocean possessed any strange Abilities, he didn't hold back at all, striking with such force that his own fingers throbbed with pain.
Poor King Ocean was valued by the Lord only for his talent in proselytizing. Even his swindling relied on his glib tongue; he'd never been in such an ugly scrap.
He was just an ordinary person!
Right now, the Savior Association's top enforcer, the old crone Nue, was entangled with Liu DongLi, and the Disciples who had been reassigned as bodyguards hadn't arrived yet. Unexpectedly, today provided an opportunity for Huai Shi's military boxing skills to be unleashed.
Huai Shi, with a series of grunts and shouts, went through half a set of military boxing. He felt an unmatched sense of comfort throughout his body, as if every pore was exhilarated. Seeing that the old man had no power to fight back, Huai Shi relaxed considerably, and then his hatred grew even more intense.
"So it was you, you bastard, who sent people after me, right?! You tried to silence witnesses! You committed crimes! You dealt drugs! You let society down!"
"Where did this little bastard come from? Go to Hell!"
King Ocean was completely enraged, flailing his arms wildly. Huai Shi felt a pain in his arm, and then a bloody mark blossomed from beneath his torn clothes.
He had been cut by a knife!
Seizing the moment while Huai Shi was distracted, King Ocean, having pulled a dagger from his shoe, grasped the opportunity. Cupping the box in his arms, he fiercely opened the lid and thrust it at Huai Shi. A cloud of powder, like mist, flew out and enveloped Huai Shi's face.
The effect of that damned substance was terrifyingly swift. As soon as he inhaled it, Huai Shi felt weak all over, and hallucinations clouded his mind. It felt like he was floating in the clouds, ecstatic. But he immediately knew he had fallen for the old man's trick.
"Damn it, you take some too!"
He grabbed King Ocean by the collar, materialized a handful of Apocalypse, and, without thinking, stuffed it into King Ocean's face, rubbing it in harshly.
King Ocean's old face instantly turned beet red, tears and snot streaming down as he howled in misery.
Huai Shi, seizing the opportunity, stuffed a bit into his own mouth as well. The ecstatic joy in his heart was quickly subdued by a sudden wave of Sorrow. The inflated sense of bliss he had just been experiencing deflated rapidly under the terrifying effect of this mental refuse.
The two of them, teetering between elation and Sorrow, laughed manically with faces full of tears and snot, entangled together like inmates in a mental hospital during an internal dispute, inseparable and indistinguishable.
It was a case of meeting one's match, an equal battling an equal.
But their amateurish brawl was so brief, lasting only twenty-five seconds from start to finish.
Then, the dazed visions were shattered by a loud noise.
Coming from behind them.
In just those few seconds, Liu DongLi's face had been stained red with blood, his custom suit reduced to rags, a deep gash across his chest almost gutting him open.
The handgun was now in the Nue's hands, tossed carelessly aside.
To him, these twenty-five seconds were nothing short of Hell.
Even with her eyes closed, the Nue could effortlessly overpower him.
But as he fell backward, he finally found his chance… from a hidden holster under his suit's armpit, he pulled out his long-planned trump card, aiming it at the old crone who was lunging at him through the air.
It was a specially shortened gun.
This was something he had prepared specifically for the Nue.
Opportunities are fleeting.
There were only two bullets, and only a moment to act.
After that instant, the astonishingly agile Nue would activate her Ability, glide through the air, divert his aim, and then rip off his arm.
But for now, the victor was decided.