"Cough, cough, cough!"
One of the Elite Guard coughed as he picked up an oil drum and gradually poured fuel throughout the familiar living room and bedrooms. Then he tossed in a torch.
A corner of the once-glorious Xiaowalu mansion was swallowed by terrible flames.
"Ah, what a pity. This precious house has stood for over a hundred years, and now it's going up in flames."
After setting the fire, the Elite Guard carrying the oil drum couldn't help sighing with regret.
"Quit whining and get to work on the next place. Let's get out of here as soon as we can, or we'll choke to death on the smoke before the mansion's finished burning. Cough, cough, cough!"
Another Elite Guard, holding a rifle, urged him on, then couldn't help coughing a few times.
The mansion was so enormous that the Elite Guard needed another ten minutes or so to get the whole interior ablaze. Even with wet towels wrapped over their noses and mouths, they were still having a miserable time.
The two men left the living room and returned to the corridor. They rejoined the main force and were just about to head for the next spot they planned to set alight when, at the far end of the corridor, they suddenly saw someone hurrying out.
"Hm? Is that...?"
The faces of the few Elite Guard who spotted the figure first changed instantly.
But their opponent had already leveled his rifle steadily at them.
The next moment, brilliant muzzle flashes burst to life. A black bullet crossed several dozen meters and plunged straight into the chest of one of the Elite Guard.
Eleven.
Ye Chen counted silently as he withdrew around the corner, calmly ejecting the spent round from his rifle and loading another.
"The enemy's come right to us! Kill him!"
Seeing their companion sprawled on the floor, eyes fixed open in death, the eight Elite Guard at the front were overcome with rage. They raised their rifles and charged toward the spot where Ye Chen had disappeared, intent on turning him into a pincushion.
"Hey, stop! Don't go rushing in!"
Kaminge, the Elite Guard captain with a bandage wrapped around his chin, immediately shouted after them.
Perhaps because they had been in close contact with the Abyss Matter on the bullets in their rifle chambers for too long, the Elite Guard who charged forward were all suffering varying degrees of mental derangement. They had completely lost their composure and had no intention of heeding their captain's warning.
Ye Chen finished loading the last round, leaned out into the corridor again, raised his rifle, and fired at the Elite Guard charging at the very front.
Bang!
The first bird out of the nest gets shot. The Abyss Bullet tore through the Elite Guard's throat, making him the next victim.
The moment the others saw Ye Chen lean out again, they reacted swiftly, opening fire on him all at once.
But the area of the boy's body exposed around the corner was tiny, and he ducked back behind the wall extremely quickly. All seven Abyss Bullets missed, cutting through the air beside him.
At the same time, Xiaowaluwen, hidden on the mansion's roof, had already noticed the commotion inside.
He shifted his position, swung his rifle, and squeezed the trigger. A black Abyss Bullet burst from the long barrel of his sniper rifle, crossed a hundred meters of night sky, shattered the corridor window, and shot toward Ye Chen's flank.
Crash!
The instant he heard the window shatter, Ye Chen threw himself deeper into the room, slipping into Xiaowaluwen's blind spot.
But the bullet had still grazed his leg, leaving a few drops of blood on the floor.
"His reflexes are still terrifyingly fast, just like before."
Xiaowaluwen murmured in admiration. He lowered his sniper rifle and continued waiting for another chance to take a shot.
So that Invisibility user is hiding on the roof?
After figuring out Xiaowaluwen's position, Ye Chen glanced at his wound, which didn't yet need immediate attention. Then he tossed aside his empty rifle and ran toward a spacious bathhouse farther inside.
"Ha! Lord Xiaowaluwen hit him!"
"Quick, after him! Let's finish him off while we have the momentum!"
"Yahoo! Avenge everyone!"
The seven members laughed like men who'd lost their minds. They ejected their spent casings, grimaced savagely, and continued pursuing Ye Chen into the place where he was hiding.
"Captain, should we follow them?" one of the Elite Guard beside the captain asked nervously.
"No, there's no need. Xiaowaluwen told me that if any members of the team lost their minds and stopped following orders, we should abandon them without hesitation."
"Our mission is simply to drive the enemy out of this mansion as quickly as possible."
"If he refuses to leave, he'll come looking for us himself! We should be defending now, not attacking!"
After answering, Kaminge led the ten remaining Elite Guard toward the next target, leaving the few who had charged ahead to fend for themselves.
Following the trail of blood on the floor, the seven frenzied Elite Guard chased Ye Chen into the enormous bathhouse.
This was where Xiaowalus used to relax and unwind. Now, however, it was about to become a bloody battleground where hunter and prey fought to the death.
"The blood trail goes all the way inside, and this is the only exit."
"Two of you guard the entrance. The rest, come in with me and search for him!"
"He's already wounded in several places. We could bury him under a pile of bodies!"
The most levelheaded of them gave the orders, then split up with his companions to search.
The bathhouse hadn't been touched by the fire, but a large glass window above the bathing pool let the moonlight spill easily into the room, so it wasn't all that dark.
The Elite Guard searched every shadowy corner with their rifles at the ready, but they still couldn't find Ye Chen.
"Hey, come out already, you cowardly rat!"
One of the Elite Guard shouted into the silent bathhouse. Then he suddenly heard a faint sound from the bathing pool in the middle of the room.
"Could he be hiding underwater?"
Muttering to himself, he went around a tall stone pillar and leaned over the edge of the pool. Sure enough, at the bottom of the clear water in the middle, he spotted a dark shape curled up into a ball.
The Elite Guard instinctively raised his rifle and fired.
Bang!
The bullet pierced the shadow. Though, strangely, it made no sound, a patch of red emerged from its surface and slowly drifted up to the water.
"Hahaha! Everyone, I've taken out that stupid bastard who thought he was so clever!"
Seeing the red seep from the shadow, the Elite Guard was convinced he'd hit the jackpot. He excitedly worked the bolt and, laughing wildly, fired four more Abyss Bullets at the target in quick succession.
At the same time, the other six members of the Elite Guard were drawn over by his laughter and gunfire.
Watching the blood spread across the water, they all grinned and excitedly began shooting at their target.
While those idiots were lost in their self-satisfied delusions, Ye Chen himself was crouched atop the tall stone pillar behind them, silently watching everything below.
The shadow in the pool was nothing more than a makeshift decoy. He'd tied two bath stools together with a cord and a bath towel, then placed inside them a pot of Red Blood Flower Tea that he'd drunk halfway.
The instant the men crowded together and let their guard down, the boy leaped from the top of the pillar, sounding the death knell for every one of them.
Ye Chen dropped from above and pounced straight onto the Elite Guard member at the very edge of the group. Without hesitation, he drove the short sword wrapped around his left hand through the back of the man's head.
The others turned at the sudden commotion, but Ye Chen had already raised his revolver and leveled it at them.
The next second, he squeezed the trigger again and again, swinging the muzzle from target to target.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five shots rang through the bathhouse, and five figures of different heights fell to the floor.
"Ah!?"
Uncontrollable terror and despair flooded the face of the last surviving Elite Guard.
He screamed and immediately raised his rifle, aiming at the boy rushing toward him.
But Ye Chen released his revolver and reached out to knock the Elite Guard's rifle barrel aside. Then he jumped, clamped his legs around the man's neck like a pair of shears, and slammed him to the floor.
"Waaah!"
Pinned beneath Ye Chen, the Elite Guard began screaming and struggling with all his might.
Ye Chen held him firmly in place, calmly reloaded his revolver, pressed the muzzle against the side of the man's head, and fired.
Bang!
With that final shot, the last prey in the bathhouse met his end.
Nineteen.
Ye Chen counted silently. He dumped the spent casing, loaded a fresh bronze-colored round, then walked out of the bathhouse with cold eyes, continuing to enjoy the hunting night that belonged to him.
Before you continue