Annihilation Bullet

Just as Ji Xun entered the Dark Rain Street Black Market, a group had already been lying in wait there for several days.

They were an elite squad from the Blackwater Mercenary Group, specializing in tracking down targets.

They had received a death order: find the two Spell Card apprentices who had previously cleared Space 407.

There were many such pursuit squads throughout Sinless City. Wherever crowds gathered, there were almost always people planted by the Cao Family of the Governor's Mansion.

But this was already the fourth day.

Scents could no longer be identified, and all they had for facial features was a portrait showing someone in a Gas Mask. At present, the only reliable physical trait was probably height, but even that could vary greatly just by changing shoes.

With only those clues, finding two people in the vast sea of people that was Sinless City was practically impossible.

Inside a small shop on Dark Rain Street Black Market, hung with black curtains, was a sign reading "Harley Motorcycle Modification Shop."

At that moment, the atmosphere in the shop was somewhat stifling as five people discussed something.

There was a burly man from the Courage Sequence, Ace of Hearts—Knight of Light; a red-haired female caster from the Elemental Sequence, 8 of Clubs—Elemental Manipulator; a bespectacled man from the Healing Sequence, 3 of Hearts—Physician; and a hooded man from the Fallen Sequence, Heart 2—Ranger, skilled in machinery and tracking traces.

One warrior, one caster, one doctor, and one ranger—this was usually the standard setup for an elite mercenary squad.

There was also a white-haired old woman in a black robe, flipping through Poker Cards by herself.

They had been staking out the Black Market for several days.

Thinking that the targets might come to the Black Market to sell off the rare treasures they had acquired in Space 407, their squad had been assigned to wait here.

If they failed to catch them, it ordinarily would not have been their fault. They could only blame bad luck.

But this time, the Cao Family had issued a death order.

If they failed to catch them, many people would die.

"This mission is impossible. They never even told us exactly who we're looking for, or what we're supposed to find."

"Yeah. Can't they at least give us a clear answer about what we're looking for? They just fucking said two people. How are we supposed to find them?"

"Stop complaining. You'd better pray we find them. Otherwise... you know it too. No one's heard from Deputy Commander Xing for days. They say Fourth Young Master Cao came back from Demon Cross in a terrible mood, and several personal maids have already been executed at the mansion these past few days."

"..."

The longer they waited, the more frustrated they became, yet there was nothing they could do.

"Captain, how's Miss Bai's divination going?"

She was their only hope of finding the targets for this mission.

Physical tracking had yielded no clues. They could only rely on mystical supernatural means.

Hearing that, the old woman revealed a helpless look and shook her head.

Her eyes were clear and bright, standing in stark contrast to her aged face.

She belonged to the rare Spell Card Master Sequence, 5 of Hearts of the Wisdom Sequence—Prophet. Her Demon Mark pointed to the great demon god Ramo, granting her some ability to divine the future.

She had originally been a retainer of Governor Cao's family, but she had now also been assigned to search for the two people from Space 407.

The old woman continued, "The vaguer the clues about the divination target, the less likely it is that the divination will produce a result."

After a pause, she gestured toward the golden Poker Cards in her hand. "And the price of using this Grade II relic is steep. My lifespan can support at most five more divinations. After that, I won't be able to help you anymore."

"..."

Hearing this, the others' expressions darkened, and no one said much.

Over the past four days, they had watched this diviner transform from a black-haired young girl into the white-haired old woman she was now.

In other words, using that relic had cost her several decades of lifespan.

Yet even so, she still had to continue divining.

They all understood that the Cao Family had probably lost something extremely important this time. If they truly failed to find it, none of them would survive.

But divination was also severely limited.

Not only did it consume lifespan, but that relic could only lock onto targets within a one-kilometer radius.

In other words, they could only wait in the Dark Rain Street Black Market.

If the targets did not come near this area, divining them was impossible anyway.

They were simply waiting for a dead rabbit to run into a tree stump.

They had already waited four days, and none of them had held out much hope anymore.

Despair continued to spread across the faces of the squad members.

But suddenly, a turning point appeared!

The old woman flipped over several new cards, revealing 10 of Hearts, J, Q, K, and A in succession.

A royal flush!

In Poker Divination, it represented a "miracle."

That meant the targets were within one kilometer.

The old woman stared blankly at the arrangement for a moment, then her expression turned ecstatic. "Found them! They're nearby!"

At those words, everyone in the shop jolted awake and charged out of the store.

Ji Xun knew that the Cao Family's eldest young master would never give up on finding him.

So no matter where he was, he remained sufficiently vigilant.

If they were searching based on ordinary clues, Ji Xun believed he had hidden himself well enough that it would have been almost impossible to find him again.

But this was a world with supernatural abilities.

Ji Xun already knew that among the fifty-two Spell Card Master Sequences, several possessed occult abilities, such as the 5 of Hearts—Prophet.

Although Spell Card Masters proficient in divination were extremely rare, he felt that with the Cao Family's power, they should still be able to find a few.

Therefore, whenever circumstances allowed, Ji Xun would put on the Clown Mask.

The mask possessed Mystical Arts Exemption.

It was precisely because of this caution that he detected another crisis in advance.

Just moments ago, while discussing Breathing Techniques with the owner of the Silver Star Mysterious Shop, he suddenly saw the notification: "Mystical Arts Exemption."

That meant someone nearby might be divining him.

And perhaps they had already locked onto his location through some means!

The shop owner sharply caught the sudden chill in his customer's expression. His eyes narrowed slightly, unsure of what had happened.

In his view, no one should have been stupid enough to rob someone in the Black Market.

Ji Xun's first thought was that he might have fallen into a trap prepared in advance, beginning with the woman he had met earlier and leading all the way here.

But he quickly dismissed that guess.

Ji Xun was certain that the mystical art just now had nothing to do with the shop owner before him.

Glancing at the dim street outside from the corner of his eye, he seemed to think of something. Rather than rushing to flee, he asked, "Boss, do you have any Annihilation Magic-Breaking Bullets here?"

This was a high-grade inscribed bullet hunters often mentioned. Its crafting process was extremely complex, and it possessed powerful magic-breaking effects. It could inflict fatal injuries even upon official Spell Card Masters.

Each one cost more than ten thousand.

But ordinary shops simply did not sell them.

At least, Ji Xun had never seen them in any of the gun shops he had visited before.

But this Black Market shop probably had them.

Hearing that, the owner carefully scrutinized Ji Xun for the third time.

He was not merely a Black Market shop owner. He was an overseer of Hong Lou, Sinless City's largest gang.

Over the years, he had seen countless people. What kind of person had he not encountered?

But in that brief instant, he had felt as though the customer before him had become a different person, suddenly radiating a chilling aura of violence.

The person Miss had introduced was rather interesting.

The shop owner murmured inwardly, then looked at Ji Xun. "I do."

He did not know what Ji Xun wanted the bullets for, but the killing intent he had inadvertently revealed had already explained something.

That killing intent was not directed at him, but at the street outside.

With great interest, he asked, "How many do you want?"

Ji Xun answered, "I need... six."

The owner did not waste words. With a wave of his hand, six special bullets, black as ink, appeared on the table. He did not even mention the price.

Ji Xun looked over. The bullets were covered from end to end in profound, intricate runes. They felt like the fangs of six venomous snakes—cold and lethal.

He immediately loaded them into his revolvers. In one gun, he loaded an Annihilation Bullet every other round; in the other, after leaving two rounds between them, he loaded three in succession.

The owner watched with interest and thought, Someone's going to have a bad time with that loading method.

He said nothing, nor was he remotely worried that Ji Xun would take the goods and run.

Six Annihilation Bullets cost one hundred and twenty thousand, and Ji Xun had no cash on him.

He could naturally tell that the shop owner before him was no ordinary man, so he said, "I didn't bring cash. Can I use these items as collateral first?"

As he spoke, he took out a stack of cards he had brought out of Space 407.

The owner did not even glance at the cards. He agreed readily, "Of course. In fact, the name you mentioned earlier is enough."

"Thank you."

Ji Xun did not waste words. He turned and left the shop.

Now that his identity had been exposed, the cards no longer mattered.

Watching his departing back, the middle-aged man revealed a thoughtful expression.

Sometimes, judging a person was not merely about their current strength. The details they inadvertently revealed when facing danger were more telling.

His instincts told him that the young man from earlier was very different.