The Mask of the Grim Reaper

What kind of strength was that!?

Taylor was shocked. Even the strongest boxer couldn't knock someone flying with a single punch, could he? Half of Zhou Zhi's face had caved in. He was clearly dead, and Taylor now had to face his opponent alone.

The Englishman immediately reacted. He kicked the corpse toward his opponent, retreating as he opened fire on the enemy.

The opponent seemed wary of the gun's power. Instead of pressing his advantage, he turned and fled through the doorway.

By now, Taylor knew exactly who he was. Without a doubt, this man was the mission's final target—the head of the North City Police Station, Kuiqi.

After hearing gunshots from the courtyard, Kuiqi hadn't fled right away. He probably hadn't believed anyone in the Inner City could threaten him. By the time he realized all his subordinates had been killed, it was too late to run. So he'd made a bold decision: ambush the attackers in his own room. He had to admit, the move had worked remarkably well. A moment's carelessness had cost Zhou Zhi his life, and what had been an advantageous situation had suddenly become an even match.

Still, the fact that his opponent had chosen to avoid a direct confrontation was good news for Taylor. No matter how fast or unpredictable Kuiqi was, he couldn't outrun a bullet. If Taylor could put some distance between them, he was confident he could regain the upper hand.

Taylor was about to give chase when Chaoyang suddenly appeared and warned him, "Careful! He's behind the wall!"

By then, the Englishman had already stepped outside.

Using the wall as cover, Kuiqi raised a two-handed greatsword and swung it straight down at Taylor as he poked his head out! Thanks to the warning, Taylor quickly pulled back, and the blade skimmed past his hair.

"Damn it, he still isn't planning to run!"

Even the usually composed Englishman couldn't help cursing.

He raised his gun and fired repeatedly at the wall. Brick fragments flew everywhere, and Kuiqi's cry of pain came from the other side.

But just then, the gun gave a sharp click, and the muzzle flash abruptly stopped.

The magazine was empty.

"Damn it, right now of all times..."

Before Taylor could reload, Kuiqi charged out from behind the wall. Even an enemy who knew nothing about automatic rifles could guess that this brief silence might be his best chance to strike back!

The two slammed into each other and crashed heavily to the ground.

Kuiqi seized Taylor's right wrist and wrenched it hard. His bones cracked, and he could no longer keep hold of his gun.

Seeing the greatest threat neutralized, Kuiqi finally bared a savage grin.

With his other hand, he clamped around Taylor's throat like an iron vise.

"Is that all you've got? You think the likes of you can kill me!?" Kuiqi's eyes were bloodshot as he roared at the Englishman. "You're nothing but a pair of incompetents, while I'm a champion warrior! Who gave you the nerve!?"

He looked badly wounded, too. Half his clothes were stained red, and blood still seeped from the bullet hole in his leg. An ordinary person would have been out of the fight by now, but through sheer force of will, he was suppressing the excruciating pain of his gunshot wound.

"Ha... ha..."

Taylor's face was taut with bulging veins. He could only open his mouth wide and gasp for air.

Seeing this, Kuiqi eased his grip a little. "Tell me, who sent you? If you're honest, I might spare your life!"

Truthfully, he was still shaken.

Who could have imagined that some thugs would openly attack Wangshui Manor? Everyone in the city knew this place belonged to the North City Police Station. Opposing them was essentially a challenge to the order of the entire Glorious Fortress. Even more shocking was that there were only two of them, and they had nearly succeeded!

Yes, it was all because of that weapon he'd never seen before.

Kuiqi looked at the strange gun lying on the ground, his thoughts churning like a storm-tossed sea. It didn't even look as though it were made of steel. Its entire body was a rare grayish black, and both the barrel and stock seemed very short, utterly unlike the rifles produced in the armory. No matter how he looked, he couldn't find where its air supply was. If it had a steam core, that would have made sense, but those required magic to operate. An incompetent couldn't use one.

They said that fortune followed disaster. Perhaps this new weapon would bring him even more power and wealth.

At that moment, Taylor slowly reached for the pouch hanging against his chest with the only hand he could still move.

"Sorry, but I can't understand a word you're saying..."

"What did you say?" Kuiqi growled. "What language is that? Seaguard? An ancient tongue?"

Taylor curled his lips into a smile, then suddenly lifted both legs and locked them around Kuiqi's waist, clinging tightly to him like a sloth.

Kuiqi realized something was wrong. He tightened his grip, trying to choke Taylor to death.

But a dazzling blaze had already ignited against Taylor's chest!

It was the thermite he and Zhou Zhi had bought with their newly acquired Points—eight packets' worth, divided between two pouches. Combined with a few rounds' worth of propellant and a lighter's flint wheel and stone, they'd made two improvised incendiary bombs. His reaching for the pouch had looked harmless, but in reality he'd already turned the flint wheel and struck a brilliant shower of sparks.

Zhou Zhi had been wearing an identical pouch.

They hadn't known what kind of opponent Kuiqi would be, but Zhang Zhiyuan understood their own advantage very well. They felt no pain or fear of death, and even on the verge of death, their bodies could still be controlled by sheer rational will. A weapon that could take an enemy down with them was unquestionably the best trump card for them.

The flames quickly spread, then burst through the pouch, forming a searing blaze between the two men! Smoke and sparks billowed out as the moisture in their clothes evaporated, followed by the smell of roasting flesh... In the blink of an eye, the heat from the thermite reaction set the places where they touched ablaze!

Kuiqi screamed!

That was a kind of pain no human could endure.

But Taylor didn't care in the slightest, as though it weren't his own body that was burning. He locked his legs around Kuiqi's waist and even joined in with his left hand, burned so badly that the flesh had split open.

Even after Kuiqi snapped his neck, Taylor still wouldn't let go!

Kuiqi rolled frantically across the floor. The agony of the flames searing him seemed to tear at his nerves, and the room's furnishings were sent flying as he crashed into them. He rolled back and forth for dozens of seconds before finally throwing Taylor's burning body off. It took nearly another half minute for the flames on his own body to gradually die out.

By then, Kuiqi was barely recognizable. His clothes had burned away completely, and his skin had curled and sloughed off from the heat, exposing the bloodied fatty tissue beneath. A gaping hole had been burned through his chest where it had come into direct contact with the thermite. Beneath the charred muscle, pale gray ribs could just barely be seen.

But he was still alive.

Or rather, he was clinging on, refusing to breathe his last.

"I'll survive... I'll be the one who wins in the end... How could I die here!"

Kuiqi clenched his teeth and slowly crawled toward the reception room... A water cistern was kept there for making tea and serving guests. If he couldn't ease the pain immediately, the unrelenting agony throughout his body would send him into shock.

Crack.

The sound of breaking glass suddenly came from behind him.

Someone had stepped on the glass shards.

"...Who... who's there?"

Kuiqi turned his eyes in terror. A pair of boots and the hem of a pitch-black trench coat came into view. The person walked slowly, but with steady steps, drawing closer to him one step at a time.

When had this person come in? How had someone with such keen senses failed to notice them?

For the first time, Kuiqi felt fear.

He struggled to get up, trying several times, but each time he slipped in his own blood. At last, the person stopped in front of him.

Then they slowly crouched down, bringing their entire figure into his view.

Kuiqi saw a strange red-and-black mask.