"Time's up? What do you mean?"
Poison Scorpion froze at the Red Queen's words.
But in the next instant, the keen perception she had honed through countless battles made the hairs on her body stand on end.
She wasn't the only one; the two killers beside her reacted the same way.
Without a moment's hesitation, Poison Scorpion sprang toward the exit, paying no further attention to the Red Queen across from her.
Rumble!
A violent explosion erupted, followed by a deafening roar and a terrifying shock wave.
Just as Xu Long arrived near the Axe Gang headquarters, the Red Queen detonated the explosives that had long since been planted there.
A full two tons of explosives blasted the entire Axe Gang headquarters sky-high.
Apart from the Red Queen, a liquid-metal robot, every gang member in the headquarters was killed, along with two unlucky souls ranked third and fifth among the top ten killers.
"Nice, nice. Sneak attacks really are better!"
Hearing the kill notification in his head, Xu Long smiled.
Another six hundred points in the bag, without lifting a finger. Sweet!
"Damn it!"
The terrifying sense of danger made Poison Scorpion tremble all over, and her desire to survive drove her to abandon everything and flee into the distance.
Fortunately, she succeeded!
"Cough, cough!"
She coughed hard twice, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
Though she had narrowly escaped with her life, she was still injured.
"Who the hell did this?"
Poison Scorpion roared, her mood at rock bottom.
Blowing up the entire Axe Gang headquarters was definitely not the work of an ordinary person. She must have been caught in the crossfire.
"I did!"
Just as Poison Scorpion struggled to her feet, ready to leave this place of trouble immediately, an arrogant voice came from nearby.
Xu Long quietly appeared, swaggering along as if he didn't know his own kin. His smug appearance went perfectly with the explosion ahead.
"You..."
Poison Scorpion's breath caught when she saw Xu Long.
Once again, she sensed danger, even more intensely than before the explosion.
Thoughts raced through Poison Scorpion's mind, and she instantly came up with a plan.
"Handsome..."
Poison Scorpion pulled open her collar and tore the slit of her qipao farther up.
Now both top and bottom were half-concealed, half-revealed. Combined with her shy yet coquettish expression, it gave her a charm all her own.
Any of those ordinary, mediocre men might well have been tempted.
But who was Xu Long? He was the kind of man who faced outward while taking a dump in a latrine. Even the Red Queen taking Airi Akizuki's form couldn't stir his heart, much less Poison Scorpion, a common beauty in powder and rouge.
"I'm not interested in those two lumps of flesh!"
Xu Long snorted and pulled a gun from his pants pocket, intending to shoot the woman dead.
But just then, Xu Long abruptly gave up on Poison Scorpion and turned to look to his right.
"Oh, looks like we're late!"
The speaker was a man dressed in black, with a black hat and dark sunglasses. He and another man dressed the same way were carrying a guqin on their backs.
This was Heaven and Earth, the experts ranked second among the top ten killers.
"He's the one who blew up the Axe Gang!"
Poison Scorpion roared, and hope sprang up in her heart.
Though Heaven and Earth were killers like her and wouldn't save her, having the two draw Xu Long's attention would greatly improve her chances of escape.
Xu Long might forget things, but the Red Queen, an artificial intelligence, would not.
A pool of silvery-white liquid quietly flowed out of the ruins. When it reached Poison Scorpion, it suddenly turned into a sharp sword and pierced her body.
"Ugh... I..."
Poison Scorpion looked down at the sharp blade protruding from her chest, her face filled with disbelief.
She couldn't figure out what had happened, but there was no need to think about it now.
If she hadn't been injured, Poison Scorpion might have been able to dodge it.
But the explosives had left her half-dead, and with all her attention on Xu Long, how could she have the energy to watch a puddle of water?
[Hidden mission: 13, kill Poison Scorpion! Complete! 300 points awarded!]
"Another three hundred points in the bag! These killers are a bit weak. Heaven and Earth should be worth at least five hundred points, right?"
Xu Long chuckled, leaving the killers opposite him somewhat baffled.
"My friend..."
Though Heaven and Earth were vicious and ruthless, they usually put on a kind and timid act.
If one didn't know their true nature, one would have thought they were just two blind street musicians.
With no intention of wasting words on them, Xu Long opened fire.
"You..."
Seeing Xu Long pull out a gun and shoot, Earth's expression changed drastically. He pulled Heaven with him as he leaned sharply backward.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Xu Long fired extremely fast, bullet after bullet coming like a raging storm.
Heaven and Earth were no ordinary opponents either. They poured inner force furiously from their palms, trying to knock the bullets away and take the opportunity to bring the guqin around in front of them.
As everyone knew, a handgun generally held six bullets, seven at most counting the one in the chamber.
But judging by the dense barrage of gunfire, he had long since exceeded the magazine's capacity. Why wasn't Xu Long done shooting yet?
"What's going on? Why is he still shooting?"
Because of the Main God's interference, Heaven and Earth wouldn't think about why a handgun had as many bullets as a machine gun.
But his endless shooting was infuriating.
"This won't do! We have to think of something!"
Heaven and Earth's thoughts raced like lightning, countless ideas gushing forth like a blowout.
Then they found that none of them were much use!
Xu Long was shooting too fast, keeping them busy dodging and leaving them no chance to draw a gun.
"Who the hell are you? Why are you attacking us?"
Heaven roared, then felt a pain on his scalp as blood ran down his head.
"You've gone too far! Far too far!"
Heaven was furious. He held a surging mass of inner force in front of him while Earth quickly unstrapped the guqin from their backs.
The two had been inseparable since childhood, to the point that their minds were in tune.
Now one blocked while the other freed the guqin, their coordination flawless.
Zing!
The sound of the guqin carried an air of deadly menace. Inner force transformed into a sharp blade through the instrument, aimed straight at Xu Long's head.
Bang!
His spirit attribute, as high as 50 points, allowed Xu Long to clearly sense the Sonic Blade's direction, almost as if he could see it with his own eyes.
Just as I thought, choosing telekinesis was the right move! The higher my spirit attribute, the keener my perception, and the greater the boost to my telekinesis skill. And the spirit attribute is a manifestation of the soul; the two complement each other. In the future, I might even be able to strengthen my soul to rival my physical body!
Xu Long thought to himself, then raised his hand and fired a string of bullets at the Sonic Blade.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
The bullets struck the Sonic Blade, producing a series of crisp cracks.
Hearing the sounds ahead and feeling the waves of air and the vibrations of the sound waves, Heaven and Earth were both stunned.
Plenty of people could block the Sonic Blades, and plenty could dodge them, but this was the first time they had seen someone accurately shatter every single one.