Scheming Against Scheming

Fang Linyan immediately bent over, leaned forward, and charged straight toward the display case five meters ahead.

At this moment, Fang Linyan's behavior seemed perfectly reasonable, because he now looked exactly like a cornered desperado, a man driven to the wall who would risk everything for one last desperate gamble—his motive being the common saying of "having one last fling before death." This kind of reckless gambler was the most common type, and the middle-aged guard had seen it all before.

Thus, a cold smirk curled at the corner of the guard's mouth as his body slowly turned. The hand crossbow in his right hand had already begun aiming ahead of Fang Linyan's running path, calculating the lead. This hand crossbow was highly concealable, packed a punch, and could fire various types of bolts. Its only drawback was that it required reloading after each shot, leaving a three-second interval between firings.

But just as he confidently pulled the trigger, he saw Fang Linyan turn his head to look back. His expression seemed panicked and terrified, yet the eyes staring over were filled with an indescribable coldness—like the electronic eyes of a robot, devoid of sorrow or joy, facing even death with the calm detachment of absolute rationality. The focus of his gaze was unmistakably fixed on the guard's finger.

"This... this guy!"

When the middle-aged guard saw Fang Linyan's eyes, a great sense of crisis suddenly surged in his heart, but by then, the electrified bolt had already shot out.

Yet the moment his finger pulled the trigger, Fang Linyan, as if foreseeing it, stumbled as though his foot had caught on something, and pitched forward headlong. He looked completely off-balance, about to faceplant in a most undignified manner!

But this fall happened to dodge the incoming bolt by a hair's breadth!!

It all seemed like coincidence, but it was actually inevitable! Because the middle-aged guard had already attacked three times before. For Fang Linyan, who had pushed his brain's capacity to its limit, it was easy to calculate the guard's firing intervals and time his fall precisely.

However, the middle-aged guard had no idea about this. His face darkened as he pressed his hand against the table beside him. Without making any obvious movement, he effortlessly vaulted over it and blocked the glass case containing the Mayflower Compact—he wasn't just a hand crossbow user; he feared no one in close combat either. This case was extremely important to him, something he could not afford to lose.

Now, only about two meters separated the middle-aged guard and Fang Linyan, with no obstacles between them.

The middle-aged guard stared at Fang Linyan and let out a cold snort: "Annoying little bug, you can die now."

But at that moment, a hint of mockery suddenly flashed in Fang Linyan's indifferent eyes: "It's time! If my calculations are correct, then at this perfect opportunity, they... will definitely make a move!!!"

Yes, all of Fang Linyan's painstaking efforts earlier were nothing but bait! Bait to lure the middle-aged guard into attacking him, to make the guard face him and turn his back to the other two tourists—that couple!

This was the only sliver of hope Fang Linyan had calculated over and over! Because according to his deductions, the blonde woman in that couple was also a well-disguised Contractor! She seemed highly skilled at concealment, and the man she was clinging to was undoubtedly a native resident, likely someone she had temporarily seduced with her looks. That man was in the throes of a certain feverish obsession, which made his act so seamless.

How did Fang Linyan figure this out?

It was because, in his brain-burning state, he could replay everything like slow-motion footage, entering a terrifying mode where he thoroughly analyzed all the information he had witnessed, gaining complete control.

Thus, Fang Linyan noticed one thing: when the blonde woman walked, her toes would occasionally flick slightly. This action seemed normal, but when slowed down, one could see a grain-of-rice-sized object pop out from her toe, shoot out at high speed, and stick to the wall corner. Though Fang Linyan didn't know what that rice-sized thing was, he knew for sure that normal people wouldn't do such a thing.

Therefore, Fang Linyan had been doing everything in his power to lure the middle-aged guard into exposing a weakness! The opportunity was fleeting, and he believed the blonde woman would also recognize how troublesome the guard was. So Fang Linyan was gambling entirely! Gambling that she wouldn't let such a perfect chance slip by.

As the middle-aged guard strode toward him, Fang Linyan's heart sank. Gritting his teeth, he gripped the Voodoo Doll in his pants pocket, ready to play his final trump card: the Blood Spider. With a calculated strike against an unprepared foe, his chances of success were high, but it would only buy him a chance to escape—completing the milestone was out of the question.

But just then, a massive burst of fire exploded from behind the middle-aged guard. His entire body shuddered violently as he let out a furious roar and spun around. At the same time, a pungent, scorched smell filled the air, and even the temperature shot up several degrees.

As the guard turned, Fang Linyan saw a basketball-sized patch of charred black on his back. His clothes had been completely reduced to ashes, and even the flesh beneath had turned into cracked, dried charcoal. Only through the gaps could one see horrifyingly raw red meat, steaming like it had been boiled, emitting wisps of hot vapor.

Then, he saw the blonde woman holding a wand that was still emitting curling black smoke. The gem at the wand's tip had completely shattered, turning into specks of red light—clearly a disposable item.

Fireball Wand!

After her successful ambush, she casually discarded the wand and charged toward the middle-aged guard, leaning forward. As she sprinted, her center of gravity was extremely low, and her running direction zigzagged unpredictably, making it hard to anticipate her next move.

At the same time, soft "pop, pop, pop" sounds came from the wall corners. The few objects she had kicked there earlier had exploded, rapidly releasing large amounts of smoke. Within seconds, the entire exhibition hall was filled with thick haze, severely hindering aiming accuracy!

The middle-aged guard's heart sank instantly. The enemy had come prepared, countering him at every turn! More importantly, under normal circumstances, he would naturally assume that Fang Linyan and the blonde woman were working together! The enemy was a team, setting up such a coordinated assassination trap—this was especially terrifying because two enemies had already revealed themselves. Who knew if there was a third, or even a fourth, lying in wait?