[Symphony of Myriad Phenomena] hadn't been his weapon to begin with.
It had once belonged to his senior, Yang Zheng.
It was a spare weapon his senior had retired, yet it had once accompanied him to victories that had left people astonished.
At that moment, Chen Jin cast aside every stray thought. His mind was intensely focused as he channeled his mental power into the two guns.
"How many shots did Brother Zheng's record stand at again?" A thought flashed through his mind. "Something like... thirteen hundred shots in a continuous burst, no cooldown, no jamming?"
"Then... let's give it a try."
The challenge began!
The muzzles roared without pause. The metallic storm of bullets engulfed not only the platform but also poured down on the mechs below, which were trying to surge toward it.
The scorching gusts from the muzzles and the densely packed sonic booms shattered the rain within dozens of paces of him in an instant.
Centered on him, a waterless zone formed, filled with smoke and flames.
The rain drifting down from the sky was shattered into a hazy mist by the violent energy before it could even land. The mist spread through the air, refracting the last rays of the setting sun into eerie, brilliant colors and forming streaks of neon.
...Five hundred shots!
The three executioner [Xuanhu] on the platform had been riddled with bullets and completely wrecked, their parts constantly flying off.
...Eight hundred shots!
The mechs trying to charge up from below were temporarily pinned beneath the steps by the fierce barrage. Several of those at the front were blasted to pieces and crashed to the ground.
...Eleven hundred shots!
The body of [Symphony of Myriad Phenomena] had grown scorching hot, even taking on a faint dark-red glow. Complex runes raced wildly across the barrels, which looked ready to overload and disintegrate at any moment.
The high-frequency vibrations had torn the muscles in Chen Jin's arms, only for the power of the Flesh of Vision to repair them at once.
The gunfire had merged into a single, continuous, piercing note.
Thirteen hundred shots!!!
The instant the number reached that point in Chen Jin's mind, the gunfire stopped abruptly.
Thin wisps of smoke curled from the muzzles of the two guns. They were so hot that the air around them shimmered and warped.
The cleared patch of rain around him quickly disappeared, and the surrounding mist fell back down under gravity.
The platform was in ruins, littered with bullet holes and metal fragments.
The only ones still able to move were Chen Jin, Nuonuo, and Wang Wu.
Meanwhile, in a hidden place somewhere in the city.
The Shark Person princess Cen Qing, who had been sensing the battlefield through the rain, suddenly let out a pained groan and clapped both hands over her eyes!
Two trails of blood seeped between her fingers.
"Ugh...!" She staggered, catching herself against the wall to stay upright.
"Your Highness?!" her attendant cried out.
"The Rain-Cloth Technique... has been broken!" Cen Qing's voice trembled. "Such domineering power... such terrifying vibrations... The rain-screen perception over Langya City has been torn to shreds! I... I can't sense what's happening there anymore!"
She panted and slowly lowered her hands. A trace of regret now lurked in her previously alluring eyes.
The last blurry images the rain had conveyed—the flames shooting into the sky, the sonic booms that shattered the rain curtain, the violent force that had nearly cleared an entire patch of the world—were branded deep in her mind.
That man who called himself Chen Jin... the power he had displayed was far beyond anything she had expected.
Had she... made the wrong choice?
Had it really been wise to make an enemy of him, even to secretly steer things to this point?
Forcing [Symphony of Myriad Phenomena] to unleash a terrifying barrage of thirteen hundred shots had left his mind severely overtaxed.
His brain felt as if it had been thrown into a soy-milk blender. His heartbeat thudded against his swollen temples, bringing wave after wave of nauseating dizziness.
All the mechanical constructs had been reduced to wreckage. Even the chattering puppet had long since been blasted into splintered wood and scattered parts by the violent storm of bullets. It could no longer make a sound.
Yet the danger had not passed.
The curfew drum had already sounded, and the power of Qin Law was gathering in the air.
A terrifying pressure that chilled the spine descended without warning. A punishment capable of tearing the soul apart was about to fall—and this time, it would likely be far worse than three lashes.
Chen Jin clenched his teeth, trying to focus his scattered thoughts and fight back. But the violent headache left him barely able to think, let alone stand.
Just then, Ji, the guard who had been kneeling nearby, suddenly sprang to his feet.
He pointed at Chen Jin, who was barely able to stay upright, and proclaimed loudly:
"The law says: the people receive protection from the shi, and the shi bear responsibility for their actions!" His voice invoked the power of the rules. "The four of us—Wang Wu, Ju, Ji, and Wang Wu's daughter—survived tonight only because this man protected us! Therefore, all the punishments we should have incurred—the penalty for violating curfew, the offense of bearing arms without permission, and the crime of damaging public property—must, according to the law, be imposed in full upon the one who protected us!"
"Ji! Are you out of your damn mind?!" Wang Wu roared, eyes nearly popping out of his head. He struggled as if to leap up and beat him! This was sheer ingratitude, kicking a man when he was down!
But Ji hadn't finished speaking.
"However!"
"Though this man holds no official post, he has shown unmatched courage, risking his life to protect his companions. His strength has crushed evil and restored peace to the land! Such deeds are truly worthy of a 'great man'!"
"Thus it is said: rites do not extend to commoners, and punishments do not apply to great officers! As a 'great man,' he need not suffer the humiliation of the lash."
"Buzzz—!"
The instant his words fell, the gathered punitive force above the platform seemed to twist under the influence of an exceedingly devious power.
The suffocating pressure did not completely dissipate, but the lethal punishment did not fall immediately.
Wang Wu, Nuonuo, and Chen Jin all felt the bizarre change and stared in astonishment.
Ji spun around and urgently shouted at Wang Wu and Ju, who were still standing there in a daze. "What are you waiting for?! My trick is just playing word games and exploiting a loophole in the rules. It won't fool them for long! Get him on your back and run! Head outside the city! My wife is waiting out there to meet us!"
Only then did Wang Wu snap out of it. Without asking questions, he hoisted the nearly unconscious Chen Jin onto his back. Ju also struggled to his feet and carried Nuonuo. Though his whole body hurt, he knew that every second was a matter of life and death.
As Wang Wu quickly checked Chen Jin to make sure he was secure on his back, he couldn't help murmuring to Ji, "Well, I'll be damned... I never saw that coming! You've been keeping your cards close to your chest! You're a Legalist School disciple? My little Squad Leader unit really is full of hidden talents!"
"My god, are you an idiot? Are 'great men' and great officers the same thing? 'Punishments do not apply to great officers' comes from the Rites of Zhou. The Legalist School upholds 'the law favors no nobles, and the plumb line bends for no one.'"
Ji shot back irritably, "I belong to the School of Names! I'm the one who talks people around with clever arguments! Enough chatter! Run!"
[School of Names]
One of the Hundred Schools of Thought, it studied the distinction between "names" and "realities." Its representatives included Gongsun Long, known for "a white horse is not a horse," and Hui Shi, known for "the identity of differences." It excelled at using strange logic to challenge common sense and probing the gaps between language and thought.
After Qin unified the land, the Legalist School, which championed absolute authority and pragmatism, became the dominant school. The School of Names, with its inquiries into abstract concepts and doubts about the certainty of language, was heavily suppressed for its tendency to "confuse people's minds" and "undermine the foundations of law and order." Most of its successors went into hiding.