I Have A Bold

Fifteen meters away.

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

The instant the fire lit up, the Red Glove's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively dodged. But he was too slow. In an instant, the bullet pierced flesh, sending blood splattering.

He hit!

Huai Shi's eyes lit up.

Immediately after, he heard a roar.

It was the Red Glove.

He wasn't dead yet, but a gruesome hole had appeared in his mouth. The bullet had shattered half his face and a piece of his cheekbone before ricocheting and shredding his right ear.

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

Severely wounded!

"Damn it, so close!"

Huai Shi gritted his teeth, feeling like he was about to explode from anger. He had prepared for so long for this moment, only to be defeated by recoil.

He had been paying attention, yet the bullet's trajectory had still deviated by a negligible half-centimeter...

The result was worlds apart from a headshot.

The injury, which would have incapacitated a normal person instantly, was nothing to the semi-ghoulish Red Glove, but it enraged him beyond measure.

He had been fully prepared for a bloody battle, but he never expected to be met with such a cheap, ridiculous trick.

The formidable enemy he anticipated never appeared; instead, Little Peiqi jumped out.

Fucking Little Peiqi!

To be toyed with to this extent by a noob, in his current fury, he couldn't help but want to laugh, to mock himself for being bitten by a snake – for developing an unconscious fear of birds. If those guys knew, they'd laugh themselves silly.

Missing the shot, Huai Shi didn't waste time on dejection. He stepped forward, steadied his aim again, and pulled the trigger at the Red Glove.

But the shot went through empty air.

At that moment, as the Red Glove retreated, his figure blurred in the downpour.

It was as if a drop of ink had fallen into water, instantly spreading, thinning, and dissolving into the blurry rain.

This was the innate skill granted by the Holy Mark: Taksin, after entering the third tier. Besides his semi-ghoulish, near-immortal physique, he also possessed this eerily terrifying 'invisibility' ability.

—Dissolution.

In Eastern European legends, the true form of Taksin was a living dead person crawling out of their own grave, or a vengeful spirit. It was precisely because of its special origin, buried deep beneath the earth, that it possessed this undetectable trait.

This wasn't invisibility that could be detected by any Holy Mark skill like thermal vision, clairvoyance, or true sight. Once his Dissolution skill was activated, no one would notice him, even if he were tap-dancing in front of an Ascendant specializing in Scouting.

Subconsciously, people would block him out and forget him.

At that moment, Huai Shi's mind was suddenly filled with confusion: Why am I here?

If he were a normal person, he would even forget why he came here.

But the moment he realized what was happening, his vision went black, and he was involuntarily thrown forward, landing on the ground like a dog eating dirt.

A sharp pain shot through his back.

The same spot again, he'd been shot.

Even with the bulletproof vest, it almost prevented him from getting up. What was more painful was that the unhealed wound inside had torn open. Wet blood surged out from beneath the waterproof shell, intensifying his unease and fear.

He knew that just now, the Red Glove had been standing behind him, calmly observing his confused state, then raised his hand and fired.

It was like a cat playing with a mouse.

Observing his pathetic state.

But when he turned around, he couldn't see anything clearly.

Where is he?

He widened his eyes, concentrating on his surroundings. He saw the ripples of rainwater on the ground, the surrounding containers, and a man slowly walking past him, but he couldn't see where the Red Glove was!

He had just been behind him, but he hadn't detected any signs beforehand.

Even if he were right beside him, Huai Shi probably wouldn't have noticed him.

This terrifying concealment ability made him tremble from the depths of his heart.

The Crow's intel stated: The Red Glove's Holy Mark, Taksin, affects a person's subjective consciousness. Its flaw is that it doesn't work on videos or photos; its existence can be detected through reflective mediums...

But with the heavy rain now, his knock-off phone would just leak electricity, and all reflective surfaces were blurred by the rain, making it impossible to see any reflections!

Wait, videos and photos...

He suddenly had a bold idea.

He summoned the Book of Destiny with a sudden movement. Its pages turned automatically in the wind, flipping directly to the latest entry—the line that mentioned his bold idea.

With one eye constantly glancing at the words on the page, he vigilantly scanned his surroundings, searching for the Red Glove.

The endless downpour fell from the sky, the sound of thunder and rain overlapping to form a roar. A bolt of lightning struck the ground, showering sparks as it illuminated Huai Shi and the man on his right, who was calmly observing his terrified expression.

To the right?

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

Bang!

Got him!

Huai Shi was ecstatic. He saw a spray of blood erupt from a man's chest, but he couldn't find any trace of the Red Glove.

Where did he hide this time?

Gone again?

Huai Shi warily scanned his surroundings, then looked down at the book. Amidst the stinging pain of blood loss, his eyes were covered by rain, and he was oblivious to the figure raising a gun in front of him.

Bang!

Huai Shi pulled the trigger again.

Another splash of blood bloomed from a man's arm, but Huai Shi still couldn't see anyone, nor did he notice an angry curse.

He only saw the handgun falling to the ground.

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

The man quickly retreated, dodging Huai Shi's gun, as if incredulous that Huai Shi had sensed his presence. His face turned ashen with rage.

Then, he roared, and Huai Shi heard a sound like a lion's roar.

A lion's roar?

Huai Shi was amused again. The description was truly masterful, but then, he actually saw a lion…

A real lion!

In the downpour, an astonishingly huge lion leaped from a shipping container, landing in front of Huai Shi and roaring at the sky.

It even had a tag from a South African zoo around its neck. In its hollow eyes, a goldfish swam serenely, casting a dismissive glance at Huai Shi.

What is this, a hallucination?

Huai Shi couldn't believe it and instinctively took two steps back, hearing the Crow's voice: "Little brother, what are you standing around for? Shoot! This is a lion sent from South Africa for a touring exhibition at the Jinling Zoo! It's the real deal! Are you planning to become its next meal?"

In the torrential rain, the massive wild lion slowly stepped forward, its wet mane hanging around its neck like a noose, swaying with its steps.

The Laughing Fish Tank can control animals too?

Huai Shi couldn't believe it, but he didn't dare to hesitate. He aimed at the lion in front of him and frantically pulled the trigger. After two shots, the gun chamber was silent.

Out of bullets!

Damn it!

Huai Shi fumbled to open the cylinder, ejecting the spent casings, and grabbed a handful of bullets from his pocket, stuffing them in clumsily.

Before he could load a few more.

The lion had already pounced.

With a roar, the thick curtain of rain was shattered by the man-eating beast. Its immense weight was like a cannonball as its claws swung towards Huai Shi's face. In his haste, Huai Shi only managed to raise his right hand to block.

Then, he heard a crack.

His right arm was severed cleanly. Blood gushed from the claw marks, spreading a shocking crimson in the puddles on the ground.

The handgun fell into the water, its hot barrel steaming and hissing.

And he was pinned to the ground.

Its maw opened, aiming for his neck.

"Get out of here!"

In that instant, Huai Shi roared, throwing the Book of Destiny with his left hand. The heavy book reverted to its form of origin essence in the air and returned to his soul. Immediately after, his left hand seemed to ignite, enveloped in pure white origin essence fire.

Hand of Confinement, activate!

In that moment, Huai Shi's burning left hand shot forward, as if grabbing something.

He grasped an invisible hilt.

The next second, an invisible axe swung down at the lion, which was inches away, cleaving its skull and embedding itself in the bone.

But the lion's skull was too hard; the weight and edge of the invisible axe couldn't penetrate it.

But it didn't matter. Huai Shi's soul ability wasn't just about creating invisible weapons to cut people. Its most important aspect wasn't the sharpness, but what it was forged from…

The rage and killing intent that had solidified after seven years of accumulation!

In an instant, black origin essence fluctuations erupted from the blade. The flames of rage and the chill of killing intent transformed into a black tide, seeping into the lion's skull and exploding within.

In a flash, the fish tank behind its eyes turned black.

The goldfish trembled violently and then burst. The invisible killing intent and rage, channeled through the bridge of the Laughing Fish Tank, surged into the Red Glove's mind and detonated.

A scream echoed.

Thick blood 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 suddenly trembled, a crack splitting open...

Amidst the Red Glove's tragic screech, Huai Shi seized the lion's brief moment of rigidity, reaching out to grab the pistol that had fallen to the ground. He shoved the barrel into its eye and then pulled the trigger repeatedly.

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

It was dead.

Huai Shi pushed the lion off his body with all his might, feeling his broken right hand throb with pain. As he got to his feet, he finally saw the Red Glove leaning against the container, panting with exhaustion.

The violent impact had forced him out of his Dissolution state. Thick blood flowed from his mouth and nose. He no longer looked like the lofty figure he had been when they first met; he was as pathetic as if he were about to die.

But as he looked at Huai Shi, a ferocious grin spread across his damaged face:

"You thought that was it?"

In that instant, Huai Shi felt something coil around his leg, heavy and cold, extending upwards silently. In a flash, it wrapped around him, layer upon layer, tightening suddenly and crushing his broken hand. Huai Shi let out a pained scream.

When he turned his head, he finally saw what was coiled around him... cold scales, a slender body, and a flickering tongue.

It was a giant python.

The snake's head, larger than Huai Shi's fist, stopped before him, its mouth opening to exhale a gust of foul wind. Within its empty eyes, the goldfish remained.

There was still a snake