All's Fair in Deception

On the roof of the mansion, Xiaowaluwen peered through his scope, keeping the entrance to the piano room on the first floor in his sights.

It was the piano room's only exit. The moment Ye Chen left the blind spot in the corner and tried to escape through the door, Xiaowaluwen would fire without hesitation, aiming to kill him with a single shot.

Of course, Ye Chen could choose to stay hidden in Xiaowaluwen's blind spot. But then the fire in the room next door would soon spread. The longer Ye Chen waited, the more painful and gruesome his death would be.

"Come on. Let's see which fate you choose."

Xiaowaluwen licked his lips and murmured excitedly.

Yet Ye Chen had no intention of leaving Xiaowaluwen's blind spot, nor did he plan to wait in the corner for death.

He swung the bloodstained short sword in his left hand several times. Sharpened by the Blood Spirit Art, its edge promptly carved a person-sized square hole into the middle of the piano room's thick wall.

Ye Chen climbed through the opening and returned to the corridor, leaving Xiaowaluwen crouched foolishly on the roof, keeping watch over the piano room's door.

With the short sword's extreme sharpness, Ye Chen could have cut through the ceiling one stroke at a time and gone straight up to the mansion's roof to fight Xiaowaluwen. But if he failed to kill him with a single strike, Xiaowaluwen would likely use that troublesome Invisibility ability again and escape.

That would make all Ye Chen's effort too likely to go to waste.

So for now, he decided to eliminate the remaining members of the Elite Guard before settling things with Xiaowaluwen.

If so, there was no need to save a Blood Bullet in the cylinder.

As he thought, Ye Chen took the precious blood-made bullet out of his revolver and replaced it with an ordinary bronze bullet.

He wondered how many of them his trap had managed to take out.

If the rest had all fled outside, he would head up to the roof ahead of time, drive Xiaowaluwen away, seize the high ground, and then pick off the remaining prey at his leisure.

But if they hadn't dared to press forward and had instead doubled back...

Then their first move would be to set an ambush and prepare to attack him by surprise.

Walking along the corridor, Ye Chen reached a corner beyond Xiaowaluwen's line of sight. After briefly considering how to respond to the different possibilities, he took a small mirror shard from his handkerchief and cautiously extended it around the corner, close to the floor.

Using the reflection, he immediately saw a long, dim, silent passage.

It was empty, with rows of glass display cases holding unusual antiques lining both sides.

Yet by the bright moonlight, Ye Chen noticed a thin black shadow reflected in the glass of a display case at the end of the passage, concealed just beyond it.

The first thing the vague shadow brought to mind was a rifle barrel.

The youth paused for a moment, then walked into the room beside the passage and slowly raised the bloodstained short sword.

"If you hear footsteps in the passage, don't shoot right away. Wait until he's halfway across before opening fire, so the enemy won't have time to escape."

Kaminge steadied his rifle as he quietly instructed his subordinates.

"Yes, sir."

After his men answered without hesitation, Kaminge focused entirely on listening. Before long, he heard a noise.

But it sounded nothing like footsteps. It was more like some heavy object repeatedly hitting the ground.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Captain, is that him?"

One of the guards frowned at the strange sound and asked his companion in a low voice.

"No. The fire must be so intense that part of the mansion is collapsing. Ignore it."

Another guard calmly reminded him, signaling that he shouldn't lose his nerve.

Kaminge said nothing. Though he felt a vague unease, he couldn't pinpoint the reason. He could only maintain formation with his men and wait for the enemy to walk into their trap.

Then, less than a minute later, the wall beside the Elite Guard suddenly trembled.

Everyone stared at it in shock. Four cracks appeared in the wall, which had looked perfectly intact moments before.

The cracks joined together to form a person-sized square, and the section looked ready to fall right out of the wall.

"Fire! Shoot at the wall—!"

Kaminge roared hoarsely and swung his rifle toward the square outlined by the cracks, firing first.

Bang!

Xiaowaluwen had been wondering why Ye Chen still hadn't made a move, even though the fire had already spread into the piano room. Then he heard a gunshot from the other end of the mansion, and his face instantly filled with alarm.

"What's going on?"

Xiaowaluwen muttered in confusion, then aimed his scope toward the source of the shot.

Following Kaminge's lead, the guards opened fire without hesitation. Eight Abyss Bullets shattered the huge square section of wall, revealing a square tunnel that pierced through it, its interior pitch-black.

The moment Xiaowaluwen spotted the hole in the wall through his scope, his face turned ashen.

He immediately understood how Ye Chen had escaped. He finally realized that, after watching the piano room for so long, he had been playing a game of wits with thin air!

"He-he dug a tunnel through the room next door!?"

"You've got to be kidding! How could he do that alone?"

"Careful! He should be in the tunnel! Hurry, reload!"

The guards fell into chaos, and their cries gave Ye Chen the perfect cover.

Kaminge saw that the tunnel in the wall was empty and instinctively turned toward the long corridor. To his horror, a figure was already sprinting straight at him.

The tunnel had only been a feint to draw everyone's attention—including Xiaowaluwen's.

As soon as he finished making the tunnel, Ye Chen had doubled back. By the time Kaminge spotted him in the passage, he had already crossed half its length.

Now, hunter and prey were only a stone's throw apart!

"He's coming through the passage! Fire—!"

Kaminge, drenched in sweat and stricken with terror, shouted hoarsely.

At their captain's cry, the guards turned toward the approaching Reaper almost instantly and raised their rifles to fire.

But Ye Chen was faster. He drew his revolver and unleashed a six-shot barrage into the group.

After shooting down six members of the Elite Guard, the youth immediately ducked and pulled the Gold-Patterned Black Cloak around himself, shielding his vital areas.

Bang! Bang!

Two Abyss Bullets left the rifles and slammed into the cloak, leaving deep dents in its surface.

The bullets' impact, greatly reduced, still drove into Ye Chen's chest and arm, bringing a dull crack as his bones broke.

But as long as the wounds weren't fatal, that was enough.

The hunter could still move, while the prey had no time to fire a second shot. For Ye Chen, that was all that mattered.

The hunt was finally coming to an end!

Tomorrow, this book gets its first trial promotion, and how it performs will have a crucial impact on its future. So I hope readers who have the time and the means will comment, vote, and spread the word. I'd like to thank you all in advance!