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At a distance of fifteen meters.
Matt's left-handed revolver spat fire from its chamber, aimed straight at his face.
In the instant the flame lit up, Red Gloves' complexion drastically changed, and he instinctively dodged to the side. But he was too slow; in an instant, the bullet pierced through flesh, sending up a spray of blood.
Hit!
Huai Shi's eyes lit up.
Immediately after, he heard a roar.
It was Red Gloves.
He wasn't dead yet, but there was already a ghastly hole in his mouth, the bullet had shattered half of his face and after nearly destroying half of his cheekbone, spiraled and crushed his right ear to pieces.
Torn muscles hung down from his face, pulling at the half-suspended piece of cheek in mid-air.
Severely wounded!
"Damn, just a little more!"
Huai Shi gritted his teeth, feeling like he was about to explode with rage. He had prepared so long for this moment, only to be thwarted by the recoil.
He had been mindful of it, but the trajectory was still off by a negligible half centimeter...
The result was as different as heaven from the abyss when compared to a headshot.
To a regular person, such a wound would cause instantaneous fainting, but for the now half-zombified Red Gloves, it was nothing, yet it enraged him beyond control.
He had been fully prepared for a bloody battle, but he never expected that he would be waiting for such a farcical ploy.
An expected formidable opponent did not appear; instead, out popped Little Peiqi.
Damn Little Peiqi!
To be toyed with by a nobody to this extent, amidst his raging fury, he couldn't help but want to laugh, mocking himself for being once bitten, twice shy of birds—he was terrified by that troupe. If they knew, they'd surely laugh until they couldn't take care of themselves, wouldn't they?
Missing with one shot, Huai Shi didn't even waste time feeling dejected; he stepped forward to stabilize the gun and once again pulled the trigger at Red Gloves.
But this bullet hit only air.
In that instant, as Red Gloves retreated, his figure suddenly blurred in the downpour.
It was as if a drop of ink had fallen into the water, instantly spreading, thinning, and dissolving into the blurred rainwater.
This was the inherent skill brought by Stigmata·Taxim after reaching the Third Stage—aside from the semi-zombified physique that was nearly indestructible, it was this eerie, fear-inducing 'invisibility' Ability.
——Melting.
In the legends of Eastern Europe, the true form of Taxim is a revenant, or a spirit of vengeance, crawling out of its own grave. It is precisely due to this special origin buried deep beneath the ground that he has this trait undetectable to any observer.
This wasn't a form of invisibility that could be detected by any thermal vision, the Eye of Illusion, or the Eye of True Knowledge Stigmata skills. Once his skill Melting was in effect, even if he were dancing taps in front of an investigator specializing in Sublimators, no one would be able to detect him.
In the subconscious mind, he would just be blocked and forgotten.
In that moment, Huai Shi suddenly felt puzzled: Why am I here?
If he were an ordinary person, he might even forget why he came here in the first place.
But just as he came to his senses, he felt a darkness in front of his eyes and involuntarily lunged forward, falling to the ground, as if face-planting like a dog.
A sharp pain in his back.
Shot in the same spot again.
Even with a bulletproof vest, the pain nearly stopped him from climbing to his feet, and what was more agonizing was the pain of the still-healing inner wound being torn open, wet blood pouring out beneath the waterproof shell, amplifying the unrest and fear within his heart.
He knew that just then, Red Gloves had been standing behind him, leisurely observing his confused state, and then raised his hand and fired a shot.
Just like a cat playing with a mouse.
Watching his clumsy struggle.
But when he turned his head, he saw nothing clear.
Where was he?
He strained his eyes, focusing on the surroundings, seeing the rainwater ripples fallen to the ground, seeing the containers around him, and even seeing a man slowly passing in front of him, but he couldn't see where Red Gloves was!
Just now, he had been right behind him, but he couldn't sense any sign of him in advance.
Even if he were within arm's reach, he would probably look right through him.
The terror of this hidden ability sent chills down his spine.
Raven's intelligence had stated: Red Gloves' Stigmata·Taxim influences human subjective consciousness, with the flaw being that it doesn't work in videos and photos, and its presence can be detected through reflections in media...
But with the rain so heavy, pulling out his knockoff phone would only cause it to short-circuit, and all mirror surfaces were blurred by rainwater, making it impossible to see any reflection!
Wait, videos and photos...
A bold idea suddenly struck him.
He hastily summoned the Book of Fate, the pages turning on their own without wind, flipping straight to the latest entry—the line about him having a bold idea.
His eyes darted back and forth from the text on the page to the surroundings, alertly searching for traces of Red Gloves.
"The relentless downpour rained down from the sky, thunder and the sound of falling rain merging into a roar. A thunderbolt struck, flashing lightning, illuminating Huai Shi and the man to his right, who was leisurely observing his frightened expression."]
To the right?
The moment those words surfaced, Huai Shi, without thinking, aimed and fired to the right.
Bang!
Hit!
Huai Shi was ecstatic, seeing a burst of blood spurt from the chest of a man, but he still couldn't find any trace of Red Gloves.
Where had he hidden again?
Gone again?
```
Huai Shi warily scanned his surroundings, his head bowed to look at the pages of the book. Amidst the pain of blood loss, rain obscured his vision, barely noticing the person raising a gun before him.
Bang!
Huai Shi pulled the trigger once more.
Another spray of blood burst from a man's arm, yet Huai Shi saw no figure, nor did he notice the angry curse that followed.
All he saw was the handgun falling to the ground.
Huai Shi sighed in relief and looked down to see:
The man rapidly retreating, dodging the muzzle of Huai Shi's gun in disbelief that Huai Shi was aware of his presence, his complexion going ashen with fury,
Then, he opened his mouth in a roar, and Huai Shi heard the sound of a lion's roar.
Sound of a lion's roar?
Huai Shi couldn't help but laugh again; such ludicrous descriptions truly seemed divinely inspired. But then he really saw a lion...
A real lion!
In the torrential rain, an astonishingly huge lion leapt down from a container, landing in front of Huai Shi, roaring towards the sky.
Even sporting a tag from a South African zoo around its neck, and within its empty eye sockets, a goldfish swam quietly, casting an indifferent glance at Huai Shi.
What was this, a hallucination?
Disbelieving, Huai Shi instinctively stepped back, heard Raven's voice, "Little brother, what are you dazing off for? Shoot, this is a lion from South Africa sent for an exhibition at Jinling Zoo! The real deal! Are you waiting to become its snack?"
In the pouring rain, the massive wild lion slowly advanced, its wet mane hanging around its neck like a noose, swaying with each step.
Could the Sneering Fish Tank really control animals too?
Disbelieving, yet daring not hesitate, Huai Shi aimed at the lion in front of him and pulled the trigger frantically, but after two shots, the chamber fell silent.
No more bullets!
Damn!
Huai Shi fumbled to open the magazine, ejecting the casing, grabbing another handful of bullets from his pocket, and clumsily loading them in.
Before he could load many,
The lion had already pounced.
With one roar, the heavy curtain of rain shattered, the beast's terrifying weight slamming down like a cannonball, claws swiping at Huai Shi's face. In haste, Huai Shi could only raise his right hand to his face.
Then there was a snap.
His right hand was neatly severed off, blood spraying from the claws' marks, spreading a shocking crimson across the puddles on the ground.
The handgun dropped to the side, its hot barrel steaming, hissing.
And he was knocked to the ground.
Jaws wide open, the lion bit towards his neck.
"Get lost!"
In that instant, Huai Shi roared, tossing the Book of Fate from his left hand, the heavy tome reverting to its substance form in the air, returning to his soul. Then, his left hand ignited as if aflame, engulfed by the pure white fire of the Source Substance.
Hand of Confinement, activated!
In that instant, Huai Shi's burning left hand shot forward, as if grabbing hold of something.
Grasping an invisible handle.
The next second, the Invisible Axe fell upon the nearby lion, cleaving into its skull, splitting flesh, embedded in the bone.
But the lion's skull was too hard for the weight and edge of the Invisible Axe to penetrate.
No matter, Huai Shi's soul ability was not just to create invisible weapons to hack at people. The most important thing wasn't the blade, but the substance that forged it...
The tangible fury and killing intent accumulated over seven years!
In an instant, the dark Source Fluctuation erupted from the blade, with flames of rage and cold intent turning into a black tide that entered the lion's skull.
Instantly, the fish tank behind its eyes stained pitch black.
The goldfish trembled violently before bursting, the invisible malice and anger traveling through the Sneering Fish Tank's bridge into Red Gloves' brain, detonating in a flash.
A scream.
Thick blood seeped from his eyes, nostrils, and ears.
As if his soul had been hammered from the front, his fish tank shook violently, crackling...
In the midst of Red Gloves' agonized groans, Huai Shi seized the lion's momentary rigidity, grabbed the handgun from the ground, and forcefully jammed the barrel into the lion's eye before repeatedly pulling the trigger.
After three shots, the hastily stuffed bullets were spent, and thick brain matter sprayed from the back of the lion's head.
It was dead.
Huai Shi mustered all his strength to push the lion off him, his severed right hand throbbing painfully. As he got up, he finally saw Red Gloves, leaning against a container, gasping for breath.
The harsh impact made it impossible for him to maintain his Melting state, thick blood flowing from his mouth and nose. He no longer had the lofty demeanor from their first encounter, looking as wretched as a man about to die.
But as he looked at Huai Shi, his maimed face twisted into a vicious smile:
"You think it's over?"
In that moment, Huai Shi felt something winding around his legs, heavy and cold, silently climbing upward, rapidly coiling around him and suddenly tightening, squeezing the broken hand, causing Huai Shi to scream in agony.
When he looked back, he saw what was wrapped around him... the cold scales, the elongated body, and the constantly flicking long tongue.
It was a giant python.
The snake head, larger than Huai Shi's fist, stopped in front of Huai Shi, opening its mouth and exhaling a fetid breath. In its hollow gaze, the goldfish persisted.
There was a snake too...