"Ye, do you really think I'm a fool?" Lin Shen asked coldly as he looked at Ye.
"Lin Shen, I truly see you as my own child..." Ye's words were cut off before he could finish.
"And you think you're worthy?" Disgust filled Lin Shen's face.
"You are still young and haven't reached my age, so you don't understand," Ye sighed.
"Ye, if you had admitted to the betrayal openly, I would have respected you a little. Don't play the saint and the sinner, don't disgust me," Lin Shen continued with a cold face, "Enough with the nonsense, what do you really want from me?"
"I only want the Dark Bird, nothing else," Ye said.
"I've said it many times, I don't have the Dark Bird," Lin Shen already knew that all of Ye's previous probes were to find out whether he had the Dark Bird.
"Little Brother Shen, there's no need to deceive me. The Lin Family must still have a Dark Bird, and it must be with you," Ye, holding a short blade, slowly advanced towards Lin Shen as he spoke, "If it truly were a dead egg, why wouldn't the Lin Family show it to relieve the doubts of the Qi and Wang families? All it would take is to display the dead egg, but the Lin Family never thought to do so, not even at critical moments of life and death. Therefore, it must not be a dead egg, but the fourth Dark Bird. Having inherited the Dark Bird, I'm well aware of the temperament of the three older Lin brothers; if there were a Dark Bird, they would have certainly given it to you. You have always been so confident because you have the Dark Bird as your trump card, right?"
"So that's what you've been thinking?" Lin Shen realized why Ye was so convinced he had the Dark Bird.
It turned out that Lin Shen's self-confidence had given Ye the wrong impression, but Lin Shen's confidence didn't come from the Dark Bird—it came from the Fire Seed and the Death Powder he had found by chance.
"Little Brother Shen, you've never experienced hardship and don't understand the sufferings of life. Some things aren't as simple as you think, and I'm not as simple as you think. The Dark Bird is powerful, but it depends on who holds it. Do you believe that if you had the Dark Bird, and if it really came to a fight with me, you wouldn't even have the chance to strike?" Ye's tone was sincere, "You're someone I've watched grow up. Leave the Dark Bird, and I promise not to harm a hair on your head. If I can gain some benefits in Gourd Mountain, I'll share some with you in the future. Don't force me to take action; I don't wish to do that."
"Ye, let's skip the nonsense; it only makes me feel sick. I don't have the Dark Bird. If you don't believe me, kill me and search my body," Lin Shen said coldly, sitting on the back of the White Gold Beast.
"Little Brother Shen, are you really pushing me to this point? If I take action, I can't spare your life. Both Mr. Lin Zongzheng and the Fourth Lin Brother's tempers are clear to both of us. If I strike you, there's no turning back, so I would have to silence you," Ye's voice also turned cold as he gripped the short blade tightly in his hand.
It was an Alloy weapon, fashioned like a short sword, not a dagger. The body of the sword was like brass, but the edge was a frosty white color.
"Why are you afraid of my third and fourth brothers?" Lin Shen suddenly asked.
Ye was slightly taken aback, not expecting Lin Shen to ask such a question suddenly. After a moment of thought, he responded, "Because Mr. Lin Zongzheng and the Fourth Lin Brother are both very strong, strong to the extent that anyone who has seen their strength can't help but feel fear. How should I put it, 'strong' isn't quite accurate; while they don't have absolute overpowering strength, if someone of the same level, or even a level higher, were to fight them to the death, I believe they would be the ones to survive. If the Second Brother were still here, he'd be even more fearsome. The Lin Family is indeed fortunate to have such children; if any survive, the Lin Family will surely become a major force in the future."
"Ye, have you forgotten that I'm also a Lin? I'm their brother too," Lin Shen said calmly.
Ye laughed, "Indeed, you're a Lin as well. I believe you might be as formidable as Mr. Lin Zongzheng and the Fourth Brother in the future, but you're not there yet. If you were an Alloy-Level Mutator now, I wouldn't dare oppose you. But it's a pity you haven't completed the Base Mutation, and even with the Dark Bird, it's no use. I could kill you before the Dark Bird even touches me; you wouldn't stand a chance."
"Killing you doesn't require Base Mutation," Lin Shen said indifferently.
Ye's eyes turned icy as he said, "Since that's the case, I'll give you the chance to summon the Dark Bird."
Lin Shen took out a Pet Capsule and transformed it into a Supersonic Gunman positioned by his side.
"It seems you're still holding onto hope," Ye, seeing that Lin Shen had summoned not the Dark Bird but the Supersonic Gunman won from Wang Tian'er, narrowed his eyes and said.
Lin Shen paid him no heed, directly ordering the Supersonic Gunman to attack.
The Supersonic Gunman quickly drew his gun and pulled the trigger at Ye.
The muzzle spat out sparks, and the bullet flew out at a speed hard for the naked eye to catch.
"Clang!" Ye stood motionless, his short blade flashed, and the bullet aiming for his face astonishingly split in two, whizzing past both sides of Ye's body and falling to the ground.
Ye, short blade in hand, walked expressionlessly towards Lin Shen.
"Clang, clang, clang!" The Supersonic Gunman kept firing, but he couldn't halt Ye's advance at all. The bullets aimed at him were all deflected by his short blade.
Lin Shen frowned slightly. The Ye he remembered wasn't this strong. The speed of the Supersonic Gunman was top-notch among Alloy Creatures, yet Ye's speed was even faster, and he could precisely slice bullets, something not within the capabilities Ye had shown before.
His speed was no slower than that time when Lin Shen used Acupoint Sealing on the Supersonic Gunman.
"It's better to summon the Dark Bird now, this is your last chance." Ye had already reached the front of the White Gold Beast, swinging his blade to slash a deep gash in its neck.
Despite the White Gold Beast's speed, it had no chance to dodge and immediately collapsed to one side.
Lin Shen had no choice but to jump down from the White Gold Beast's back, standing in front of Ye.
Ye continued to walk towards Lin Shen, the short blade in his hand like the tongue of a venomous snake, seemingly ready to strike at any moment with a kiss of death for Lin Shen.
Bang!
Lin Shen didn't wait for Ye to make a move, but had the Supersonic Gunman shoot again.
However, as the Supersonic Gunman fired, Lin Shen also made his move.
Seven Steps of Conflict could give Lin Shen a speed faster than a bullet, but there was no rule saying he had to use that speed to attack the shooter.
Lin Shen moved like lightning, his finger aiming for the acupoint below Ye's throat, a spot he could see.
"As expected." It seemed Ye had long anticipated Lin Shen's move; as Lin Shen made his move, Ye's short blade struck as well, slicing towards Lin Shen's arm.
Ye's speed was actually faster than Lin Shen's strike. No wonder he was so confident. Such speed was no longer within the Alloy Level.
Clang!
Ye's short blade had already struck Lin Shen's arm, and Lin Shen's finger was still some distance from Ye.