I Have a Bold Idea

Fifteen meters away.

Flames burst from the chamber of the Matteba Automatic Revolver, aimed at his face.

The instant the muzzle flash flared, Red Glove's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively dodged. But he was already too slow. In an instant, the bullet pierced his flesh, spraying blood.

Hit!

Huai Shi's eyes lit up.

Then he heard an angry roar.

It was Red Glove.

He wasn't dead, but a gruesome hole had appeared in his mouth. The bullet had blasted apart half his face, shattered much of his cheekbone, then ricocheted and smashed through his right ear.

Torn muscle hung from his face, dragging half of it down in midair.

Critical hit!

"Fuck, so close!"

Huai Shi gritted his teeth, feeling like he was about to die of rage. He had prepared for this moment all the way here, only to lose to the recoil.

He had clearly accounted for it, yet the bullet still veered by an insignificant half centimeter...

And the result was worlds apart from a headshot.

An injury severe enough to knock ordinary people unconscious instantly was little more than an itch to the half-corpse Red Glove, but it enraged him beyond restraint.

He had been fully focused, ready for a bloody fight, but he had never expected to be greeted by such a pathetic, ridiculous trick.

The formidable opponent he had expected never appeared. Instead, a Little Peiqi popped out.

Fucking Little Peiqi!

Having been toyed with this badly by a rookie, he actually felt like laughing in his fury, mocking himself for being bitten by a snake once—he had somehow developed a shadow over birds. If those people found out, they would laugh themselves sick.

After missing his first shot, Huai Shi did not waste time being disappointed. He stepped forward, steadied the gun again, and pulled the trigger at Red Glove.

But that shot struck only air.

At that instant, as Red Glove retreated, his figure suddenly blurred amid the torrential rain.

Like a drop of ink falling into water, it instantly spread, thinned, and dissolved into the hazy rain.

This was the innate ability granted by the third-tier Stigmata, Taksin. Aside from allowing him to half-corpse himself at will, granting him an almost immortal constitution, it gave him this bizarre and terrifying "invisibility."

—Dissolution.

In Eastern European legends, Taksin's true form was an undead creature that crawled from its own grave—or perhaps a spirit of vengeance. Because of its unique origins, buried deep beneath the Nine Depths, it possessed this quality that no one could perceive.

This was not invisibility that could be detected by Stigmata abilities like thermal vision, illusion-piercing eyes, or Eyes of True Knowledge. Once Dissolution was activated, even if he stood before an Ascender specializing in reconnaissance and danced a tap routine, no one would notice him.

Subconsciously, people would block him out and forget him.

At that instant, a question suddenly arose in Huai Shi's heart: Why am I here?

If he had been an Ordinary Person, he would have even forgotten why he had come here.

But the instant he came to his senses, his vision went black. His body lurched forward uncontrollably, and he fell flat on the ground like a dog eating shit.

A sharp pain exploded across his back.

The same spot again. He had been shot.

Even with his bulletproof vest, he almost could not get back up. Worse still, the unhealed wound underneath had split open, damp blood surging beneath the waterproof shell and intensifying the unease and fear in his heart.

He knew that just now, Red Glove had stood behind him, calmly watched his confused expression, then raised his hand and fired.

Like a cat playing with a mouse.

Watching him struggle in embarrassment.

But when he turned around, he could see nothing clearly.

Where was he?

He widened his eyes and stared intently around him. He saw the ripples of rain striking the ground, the containers around him, and even a man slowly walking past him, yet he could not see where Red Glove was!

Red Glove had just been behind him, but he had sensed no sign of him beforehand.

Even if Red Glove stood right beside him, Huai Shi would probably look straight through him.

This terrifying concealment ability sent chills through him.

Crow's intelligence had said: Red Glove's Stigmata, Taksin, affected people's subjective awareness. Its flaw was that it did not work in videos or photographs, and its presence could be detected through a medium such as reflections...

But the rain was pouring down so heavily that his cheap knockoff phone would only short out, and every Mirror Surface was blurred by rainwater. He could not see any reflections at all!

Wait, videos and photographs...

A bold idea suddenly came to him.

He abruptly summoned the Book of Destiny. Its pages turned without wind, flipping directly to the latest entry—the line stating that he had a bold idea.

With one eye constantly stealing glances at the words on the page, he vigilantly watched his surroundings with the other, searching for Red Glove's trace.

Endless rain poured from the sky. Thunder and the sound of raindrops crashing down overlapped into a roar. A bolt of lightning struck, sparks of light bursting forth to illuminate Huai Shi—and the man to his right, calmly observing his terrified expression.

To his right?

The instant that line appeared, Huai Shi pulled the trigger to his right without hesitation.

Bang!

Hit!

Huai Shi was overjoyed. He saw blood spray from a man's chest, but he still could not find Red Glove's trace.

Where had he hidden now?

Gone again?

Huai Shi warily scanned his surroundings, then lowered his head to look at the page. Amid the stabbing pain of blood loss, rain covered his eyes, and he failed to notice the figure before him raising a gun.

Bang!

Huai Shi pulled the trigger again.

Another spray of blood burst from a man's arm, but Huai Shi still could not see the figure. He did not even notice the furious curse.

He only saw the pistol that had fallen to the ground.

Huai Shi breathed a sigh of relief and looked down to see:

The man rapidly retreated, dodging Huai Shi's muzzle. He seemed unable to believe that Huai Shi had sensed his presence, his face livid with fury.

Then he opened his mouth and roared. Huai Shi heard the sound of a lion roaring.

The sound of a lion roaring?

Huai Shi was amused again. The description of this damn thing was truly divine, but then he really saw a lion...

A real lion!

In the torrential rain, an enormous lion leaped down from atop a container, landing before Huai Shi and roaring toward the sky.

There was even a South African zoo tag hanging from its neck. Within its hollow eyes, a goldfish drifted silently, casting Huai Shi an indifferent glance.

What was this, an illusion?

Huai Shi could not believe it. He instinctively took two steps back and heard Crow's voice. "Little brother, what are you spacing out for? Shoot it! That's a lion sent from South Africa to Jinling Zoo for a touring exhibition! The real deal! Are you waiting to become its fresh meat?"

In the heavy rain, the massive wild lion slowly stepped forward. Its soaked mane hung around its neck like a noose, swaying with each step.

The Laughing Fish Tank could control animals too?

Huai Shi could not believe it, but he did not dare hesitate. He aimed at the lion before him and frantically pulled the trigger, but after two shots, no more sound came from the chamber.

Out of bullets!

Fuck!

Huai Shi clumsily swung open the cylinder, tossed out the casings, then grabbed a handful of bullets from his pocket and hurriedly loaded them in.

Before he could load many.

The lion had already pounced.

With a roar, the man-eating beast smashed through the heavy curtain of rain. Its astonishing weight struck like a cannonball, claws slashing toward Huai Shi's face. In his haste, Huai Shi only had time to raise his right hand in front of him.

Then came a crack.

His right hand snapped cleanly. Blood spurted from the claw marks, spreading a shocking crimson across the puddles on the ground.

The pistol fell into the water, its scorching barrel evaporating steam with a hiss.

And he had already been knocked to the ground.

The blood-filled maw opened and bit down toward his throat.

"Here you go!"

At that instant, Huai Shi roared. His left hand threw away the Book of Destiny. The heavy book reverted to Source Matter in midair and returned to his soul. Then his left hand seemed to ignite, enveloped in pure white Source Matter fire.

Hand of Confinement, activated!

At that instant, Huai Shi's burning left hand thrust forward, as though grabbing hold of something.

He grasped an invisible handle.

The next second, an invisible axe hacked down at the lion before him, splitting its flesh and wedging into its skull.

But the lion's skull was too hard. The invisible axe's weight and edge could not penetrate it.

But that was fine. Huai Shi's Soul Ability was not merely about creating invisible weapons to cut people down. Its most important aspect was not the edge, but what forged it...

Seven years of accumulated rage and killing intent, made tangible!

In an instant, black Source Matter rippled from the blade. Furious flames and cold killing intent became a black tide that poured into the lion's skull.

In the blink of an eye, the fish tank behind its eyes was dyed black.

The goldfish shuddered violently, then burst apart. That invisible killing intent and fury followed the bridge of the Laughing Fish Tank into Red Glove's mind, exploding in an instant.

A scream.

Thick, bloody fluid seeped from the corners of his eyes, his nostrils, and his ears.

It was as if his soul had been struck head-on by a hammer. The fish tank in his hand jolted, and a crack split across it...

Amid Red Glove's agonized howl, Huai Shi seized the lion's brief stiffness. He reached for the pistol on the ground, violently shoved the barrel into its eye, and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

After three gunshots, the hastily loaded bullets were spent. Thick brain matter sprayed from the hole at the back of the lion's head.

It was dead.

Huai Shi used all his strength to shove the lion off himself. His broken right hand hurt like hell. When he staggered to his feet, he finally saw Red Glove leaning against a container, breathing heavily.

The violent impact had made him unable to maintain Dissolution. Thick blood flowed from his mouth and nose. He no longer looked lofty as he had during their first meeting, but as pathetic as someone on the verge of death.

Yet as he looked at Huai Shi, a savage grin appeared on his ruined face.

"You think this is over?"

At that instant, Huai Shi felt something coil around his legs. Heavy and cold, it silently extended upward, wrapping around him layer by layer before suddenly tightening. It crushed his broken hand, making Huai Shi scream in agony.

When he turned around, he finally saw what was wrapped around him... cold scales, a long body, and a forked tongue flickering constantly.

It was a massive python.

A snake head larger than Huai Shi's fist stopped before him, opening its mouth and exhaling a foul gust. The goldfish was still there, inside its empty eyes.

There was even a snake...