The Last Step

Not in the tree.

Zhang San was filled with surprise and uncertainty. He had clearly seen the trajectory of the bullets coming from the tree canopy when he got into the car.

The other party had actually left before I arrived.

But where did the other person go?

Zhang San was a seasoned mercenary who had been through many battles, so he naturally wouldn't be puzzled by this for long.

So the instant his back made contact with the ground, his back muscles suddenly bulged, and his body inexplicably bounced away into the distance.

With a bang, a small crater appeared where he had landed, caused by Qing Chen, who was hiding behind a tree and waiting for the right moment to fire.

Even Qing Chen was surprised to find that Zhang San's back muscles were so terrifying, like springs.

Moreover, in that instant, Qing Chen followed Zhang San's figure and continued to raise his hand to pull the trigger of his pistol. In close combat, a pistol is far more maneuverable than a sniper rifle.

Even C-Class expert couldn't escape his aim!

However, to Qing Chen's surprise, the bullet he fired this time passed through Zhang San's body and hit the tree trunk behind him.

Yes, when the bullet pierced Zhang San's body, it was as if it had pierced through a cloud; the bullet's speed did not decrease at all.

"No!" Qing Chen exclaimed in alarm. He suddenly raised his left hand to cover his waist and ribs, while his right hand suddenly aimed at a piece of air and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

The next second, the "Zhang San" who had fired the gun began to dissipate like a hologram. Right to his left, another Zhang San appeared out of thin air and punched Qing Chen's arm, which he had blocked in advance at his ribs.

With a loud bang, this was the first time Qing Chen had suffered a full-force attack from a C-Class expert, and he was sent flying sideways like a rag doll.

He felt as if his left arm and left shoulder were about to fall apart.

My body first felt numb, and then my left arm began to ache intensely.

Even so, Qing Chen still gripped the pistol tightly in his right hand, attempting to fire at Zhang San in mid-air to prevent the other party from continuing to pursue him while he lost his balance.

He pondered whether this bizarre scene of using illusions to replace oneself was Zhang San's ability. When did the other party create the illusion, and when did the real body dissolve into the air?

Qing Chen analyzed his memories, but found no clues.

This ability is incredibly deceptive.

He just blocked Zhang San's attack with his left arm, not because he had discovered the other party's whereabouts in advance, but because he knew that if the other party chose his trajectory and target, hitting his weak point would be the best option.

Qing Chen simply determined the opponent's optimal solution and took countermeasures.

He was even somewhat Qing Xing that he had eaten three Dragon Fish and broken through to the peak of D-Class, otherwise he would definitely have broken his left arm from that blow.

Just then, Qing Chen, who was flying sideways in the air, had emptied the magazine of his gun. He casually threw the gun to Zhang San, and after landing, he staggered back towards Weiyang Lake Park.

This was the first time he had faced a C-Class expert at his peak, and the overwhelming sense of pressure made Qing Chen choose to temporarily avoid the fray.

Zhang San reached out and swatted away the gun that was flying toward his face. Just as his palm collided with the gun, his palm was cut by some kind of sharp object.

He was somewhat surprised and uncertain. The gun seemed perfectly normal, so what had cut him?

"Boss, I've seriously injured him, but he's running back into Weiyang Lake Park. Should I chase after him? This Boss Bai Zhou is a bit strange; he seems to have other tricks up his sleeve," Zhang San asked as he chased after him into the park.

Huan Yu said through the Bluetooth headset, "You can decide for yourself whether it's a trap. If you think he's left a trap in Weiyang Lake Park, you can leave now, and I won't blame you. For the organization, you are more important than any success or failure. But if you chase after him and kill him, I promise you, I will find a Forbidden Item for you within six months."

Zhang San thought for a second, then took off chasing after Qing Chen.

He didn't know if Huan Yu was telling the truth, but he did know that the brief exchange had allowed him to ascertain the true nature of this Boss Bai Zhou.

The opponent must be quite strong, otherwise his punch just now would have been enough to break the bones of this Boss Bai Zhou.

To be honest, Zhang San was a little surprised. First of all, how did Boss Bai Zhou predict his attack? Was it because there was some unknown flaw in his ability? But he had practiced with other C-Class experts and no one had ever discovered any flaws.

Secondly, this boss of the daytime is clearly only close to C-Class in strength and speed, not even C-Class yet, so why is his body so resilient?

Regardless, after careful consideration, Zhang San concluded that Boss Bai Zhou had already revealed all his cards.

However, his opponent is not yet fully aware of his attack methods and trump cards, so he has a better chance of winning.

Moreover, although Huan Yu treats everyone as tools, this boss has never broken his promises.

In the darkness, Qing Chen staggered back into Weiyang Lake Park, with Zhang San close behind.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a young man was standing in a corner outside the park, wearing a Bluetooth earpiece. "Boss, I saw Zhang San definitely chase after them inside."

"From your perspective, judge the strength of this Boss Bai Zhou," Huan Yu said softly, still sitting calmly in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

"The level should be between peak D-Class and C-Class," the young man said.

"Is it impossible to determine the specific level?" Huan Yu asked.

"That's what makes him so strange," the young man said calmly. "If you say he's C-Class, his speed is a bit lacking; if you say he's at the peak of D-Class, that's too much of a peak... But that's not important. What's important is that his sniping skills are truly exceptional. You didn't see how freakish he was when he shot down 12 drones in six seconds, tsk tsk."

The young man continued, "Besides, it's confirmed that the sniper rifle isn't a physical object. Whether it's an ability or Forbidden Item, it's definitely not real. You wouldn't believe it, that sniper rifle doesn't even need reloading! It's fucking weird!"

"Since you've been observing so closely, why didn't you make a move?" Huan Yu asked in a low voice.

"If I had made a move, I would have been dead just now," the young man explained patiently. "You have to give me some room to grow, you know I'm very capable, but my level is still a bit low."

"Go on," Huan Yu said.

"Boss, this guy has an absolute feel for guns within 400 meters, so if you really want to kill him, get close and don't let him have the ability to use firearms," the young man said. "On the battlefield, nobody wants to encounter these kinds of gun masters. Mossad has a list that specifically lists these people with an absolute feel for guns as the most dangerous."

"Why?"

"Because behind absolute gun feel lies countless hours of training and countless lives lost. The former represents unwavering willpower, while the latter is the ability to eliminate distractions," the young man casually remarked. "In short, it's very mysterious."

"Do you think Zhang San can kill him?" Huan Yu asked.

"It's hard to say, let's see if he has any other tricks up his sleeve," the young man said as he walked towards Weiyang Lake Park, adding, "I'll talk to you later, boss, I'm going in to see what's going on."

"Be safe."

"Okay!"

Qing Chen didn't go anywhere else, but went straight to the bungee jumping tower, the place where he had killed dozens of assassins.

Zhang San was a little puzzled. He didn't know why this boss, Bai Zhou, would flee here. Did he really have some trump card up his sleeve?

However, regardless of whether Qing Chen still has any trump cards in the bungee tower, Zhang San cannot let Qing Chen go back there. People who have been on the battlefield for many years know one thing very well: whatever the enemy wants to do, no matter whether you can understand why, don't let him achieve his goal.

The distance between Zhang San and Qing Chen was getting closer and closer due to the difference in their levels.

This is the most direct demonstration of strength; there are no shortcuts or tricks involved.

Just when Qing Chen was fifty meters away from the bungee jumping tower.

Zhang San suddenly accelerated again, closing the gap of more than 30 meters between them in just two seconds, and came up behind Qing Chen to throw a punch.

This time, Qing Chen disregarded everything and took the punch head-on, as if he had no intention of defending himself at all.

However, Zhang San's punch passed right through Qing Chen's Qing Chen and did not cause him any harm at all.

It's just another illusion.

Zhang San originally wanted to force Qing Chen to turn around and defend, thus slowing down his speed, but he didn't expect Qing Chen to completely ignore him.

"How did this boy see through my illusion again? There was no flaw in his footsteps," Zhang San wondered inwardly. His ability to create virtual illusions was to simulate all sounds, shapes, colors, and smells, leaving no room for doubt!

Qing Chen felt completely calm. He just kept running forward, knowing that only by entering the bungee jumping tower would he have a chance of survival.

The reason he didn't turn around to defend was because Zhang San's sudden acceleration had already exceeded the limit of C-Class.

Qing Chen didn't believe that the other party could break through to B-Class in such a short time!

Therefore, even virtual illusions need to be realistic. If the virtuality is too exaggerated, it will not be credible to someone like Qing Chen who is familiar with a lot of data!

It was Zhang San's failed attempt that gave Qing Chen the opportunity to run the last fifty meters!

Qing Chen crawled into the bungee jumping tower and climbed up the spiral staircase.

The stairs were extremely slippery due to the bloodstains left by the assassins who had died.

He gradually regained sensation in his left arm and shoulder; the soreness and swelling all rushed into his consciousness, intertwining with the will transmitted from his neurons.

But for Qing Chen, regaining consciousness was a good thing, even if it was accompanied by pain.

He arrived at the top of the bungee jumping tower, and Zhang San followed closely behind.

However, just as Zhang San passed by a certain "corpse," he saw that the corpse suddenly leap up and plunge a dagger into his abdomen.

Fortunately, Zhang San was already on guard, otherwise the dagger would have pierced his spleen.

"It's Qing Chen. Qing Chen isn't dead yet," Zhang San said in fear, his voice also transmitted to Huan Yu through the Bluetooth headset.

Huan Yu was confused. Didn't someone say in the communication channel earlier that Qing Chen had been shot, and later someone else said that Qing Chen had fallen down?

How could he not be dead?

It was too chaotic at the time; the assassins swarmed onto the bungee jumping platform, trying to kill the sniper.

Qing Chen controlled the 'puppet' to fall down immediately after being shot, but he was already prepared and no longer needed to use the puppet to buy time.

But the puppet didn't die at that time; it was just shot in the large intestine. After being shot in that place, it's possible to live for another six hours.

At that time, the assassins' target was the real person about to jump off the bungee jumping platform; the puppet was just an obstacle in their path, so no one bothered to bend down and check if the puppet was really dead.

The assassins didn't investigate further after the puppet fell. They never expected that they wouldn't even have a chance to check the battlefield before they all died in the water and in the car.

At this moment, Qing Chen ran back to the bungee jumping tower for the sake of this puppet that had faked its death!

This unintentional foreshadowing...

He had previously untied the Puppet Master from the puppet's wrist, and the reason he rushed upstairs was to grab a second or two to re-wrap the Puppet Master.

The poor puppet remained in shock, completely unaware that it had been controlled twice.

However, the Puppet Master is too evil. It doesn't care whether the puppet is in shock or awake. As long as it is alive and has a breath left, it can continue to control it!

At this moment, Zhang San looked at the dagger stuck in his waist and abdomen. He knew, of course, that Qing Chen had a penchant for stabbing people's spleens. If he had been even slightly slower, a stab to the spleen would have been fatal.

In a fit of rage, he kicked the puppet against the wall of the stairwell and turned to continue chasing after the bungee jumping platform.

But this time, Qing Chen didn't run. He only paused briefly on the bungee jumping platform before turning back and rushing back down the stairs!

Zhang San was utterly astonished by this scene. Why was this boss, who had lost half of his shoulder, rushing back to fight him?!

Qing Chen was also somewhat surprised. When he turned around and rushed back, Zhang San picked up a pistol from somewhere while going upstairs and pulled the trigger at Qing Chen!

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang out!

The gun ran out of ammunition.

Many people think Zhang San is a reckless brute, but in fact, when he was a mercenary, his best skill was close-range pistol shooting!

In that particular environment, pistols were the only thing these mercenaries had to protect themselves and save their lives!

A shocking scene unfolded: the two shots hit Qing Chen's face, only causing the boy's face to tilt backward, but the bullets did not penetrate his face, instead scattering sparks!

Forbidden Item ACE-005! Daifuku!

Despite the dizziness in his head, Qing Chen leaped up without hesitation.

However, he didn't pounce on Zhang San, but rather on the empty space in the middle of the spiral staircase.

The instant Qing Chen and Zhang San passed each other, the moment Qing Chen fell into the open space in the middle of the spiral staircase.

With a flick of his wrist, Qing Chen, Zhang San, and the puppet became three points on a straight line, while a transparent thread deftly wrapped around Zhang San's neck.

Zhang San turned sideways and punched Qing Chen in the chest, the veins on his fist throbbing.

Caught off guard, Qing Chen coughed up a mouthful of blood.

However, Zhang San's world seemed to slow down.

He watched as Qing Chen's mouthful of bright red blood splattered into the air, seemingly sliced in two by some transparent line.

What was that? What was cutting the blood apart? This thought flashed through Zhang San's mind.

There wasn't enough time for him to figure it out.

In an instant, a transparent thread connecting the puppet and Qing Chen's wrist suddenly tightened!

Those silk threads had somehow transformed into sharp knives!

With a hiss, fine bloodstains appeared on Zhang San's neck from the silk thread, and the blood gradually filled his eyes.

Qing Chen held the Puppet Master with one hand, swaying precariously in mid-air between the spiral staircases, breathing heavily.

This battle may not have been the most difficult battle of his life, but it was definitely the most intense.

He was forced to reveal all his cards!

I used a sniper rifle, I used absolute gun feel, and I also used a combination technique of Puppet Master and Knight True Qi.

They even resorted to the Forbidden Item ACE-005, catching a bullet with their face. Qing Chen felt a chill run down his spine. He was afraid that at that moment, what if the Forbidden Item couldn't stop the bullet? What if the bullet didn't hit his face? What if Dafu got angry?

This was a usage that Qing Chen developed himself, but he wasn't really sure if it would work, and Li Shutong hadn't mentioned it either.

Of course, this is not Li Shutong's fault. The main reason is that not many people could force this demigod to the point of taking a bullet to his face.

Despite the dizziness in his head, Qing Chen gripped the handrail of the spiral staircase and slowly climbed back up the stairs, lying on his back on a cold corpse, panting.

What followed was a great sense of comfort brought about by the Breathing Technique.

The boy felt incredibly calm.

He slowly stood up, glanced at Zhang San silently, picked up the Bluetooth earpiece from the other's ear, and used Breathing Technique to simulate an unfamiliar voice, saying, "He's dead."

This time, Huan Yu did not laugh, but remained silent for a long time.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "I greet everyone during the day."

After saying that, he crushed the Bluetooth earpiece, picked up the puppet, and walked downstairs.

This is the last step he needs to take.

Outside the bungee jumping tower, the young man who had been watching said, "Boss, the boss of Bai Zhou carried Qing Chen out, covered in blood, like a blood-soaked man. Qing Chen must have been seriously injured, he looks pretty bad, he can't even lift his head."

"Is Qing Chen dead?" Huan Yu asked calmly.

At this moment, the puppet behind Qing Chen weakly raised its hand and patted Qing Chen's shoulder, as if to express its gratitude.

The young man said, "He shouldn't be dead. I don't know how this kid is so resilient. From what I can tell, he was shot in the rectum and then kicked by Zhang San, and he's still alive... Awesome!"

Huan Yu said coldly, "I don't have time to listen to your nonsense. You assess whether there's any possibility of killing him."

The young man, hiding in the shadows behind the trees, lowered his voice and said in an exaggerated tone, "Seriously, boss? My strength is so weak, you want me to kill this monster right now? Have you even calculated how many of us he took down tonight? I'm not even enough to fill his teeth!"

"If you're too scared, hide better and don't let him find you," Huan Yu said irritably.

"Okay!"

The chapter is 5,000 words long, and 10,000 words have already been updated. Sorry for being a few minutes late. I've already paid back the interest for the previous chapter to the boss on Tencent. I've finished paying off the debt to the boss, and I'll pay back the other bosses tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone, both on and off screen, for becoming new allies of this book. Thank you to the boss, who smokes but doesn't cough.

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