"Gurgle~"
"Gurgle~"
The icy river water poured into his throat, jolting Ji Xun back to consciousness.
In the frigid, dark water, he opened his eyes, a fierce, gleaming excitement reflected in his gaze.
Although he had roughly estimated the power of the shock grenade, ensuring it wouldn't be lethal, the force of the close-range explosion had indeed knocked him out as expected.
If not for the significant increase in his physical attributes from consuming the [Secret psychic Medium], this blast might have cost him his life.
But there were no "ifs."
Ji Xun never relied on luck.
He dared to take such a risk because he had thoroughly considered this plan beforehand. His physical stats had become strong enough, and he had injected himself with a dose of [Excitement Serum] while pulling the pin on the shock grenade, ensuring he would wake up immediately after hitting the water.
Although it was still risky, entering the water meant he had a chance to escape.
This was far better than being captured.
While spell card masters were powerful on land, their abilities were greatly diminished in water. Both their perception and movements were significantly impaired.
Especially those close-combat spell card masters with high-density muscles, they might not be as agile in water as Ji Xun.
...
"Hey...not bad luck at all."
In the pitch-black water, Ji Xun couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, but the darkness couldn't conceal the grin on his face.
His eyes gleamed like those of a beast in the night, resolute and insane.
As his body drifted with the swift current, he endured the turmoil in his body and began to untangle the steel net wrapped around him.
The steel wires were sturdy, but the lock was mechanical.
Underwater escape was a skill Ji Xun was intimately familiar with in his previous life, and this kind of mechanical lock was no challenge for him.
Submerged in the icy river, he felt a sudden flash of inspiration.
It seemed that luck wasn't just about good or bad.
There was a sense of some kind of response, as if the demon mark granted him the supernatural, and naturally, he had to bear the fate of a gambler's whims.
The enemies splashed into the water but had evidently lost track of their target.
Ji Xun unlocked the restraints and suddenly chuckled, "Tsk, tsk..."
To him, this wasn't over yet!
If merely escaping was his entire plan, it wouldn't be enough.
With a clear objective in mind, he swam nimbly like a fish into the inky depths.
...
Meanwhile, the merchants in the Dark Rain Street black market were stunned by the sudden commotion.
The sound of gunfire had alarmed the traders and customers throughout the street.
Although Wuzui City was a lawless town, a city of sin, some places still adhered to unwritten rules.
Like Dark Rain Street, this was the marketplace where major factions traded materials, many of which couldn't be seen in the light.
Thus, those who came here generally accepted that no fighting was allowed in this area.
It wasn't explicitly prohibited, but if someone broke the rules, they might not be welcomed by the black market anymore.
The consequences could be severe.
Yet today, someone had fired shots on the street?
...
On the second floor of the "Silver Star Mysterious Material Shop," the middle-aged shopkeeper looked at the two bodies on the street below, his expression complicated.
He had witnessed the entire unexpected battle firsthand.
He had personally seen that young man pawn a few cards for six [Annihilation Bullets] before heading out.
And then, he had witnessed the unbelievable scene unfold.
That young man, a mere spell card apprentice, had miraculously escaped from a meticulously planned ambush set by a group of skilled fighters?
The shopkeeper's discerning eyes could tell that the young man's response was nearly flawless.
The extreme calmness and judgment he displayed were simply astonishing.
"No wonder the Blackwater Mercenaries have been so active in the black market lately. They were after this guy. The one from 407? Heh, no wonder he managed to break through that high-difficulty space. Only someone with such meticulous thinking could pull it off."
From his loft, the shopkeeper's eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured to himself, "It's been a long time since I've seen such a brilliant young man..."
Seeing the Blackwater Mercenaries' frantic state, he guessed that the young man who had jumped off the cliff might have actually escaped.
Tsk tsk, truly interesting.
Under the same conditions, he believed anyone else would have certainly been caught.
But that young man managed to escape.
The middle-aged man's expression grew more appreciative.
Thinking of the person recommended by Miss Seven, he felt it was necessary to lend a hand.
He casually commanded, "Go and see if you can rescue him. Also, clean up the Cao family's people."
In the darkness, someone responded, "Yes."
After giving the order, the middle-aged shopkeeper stood at the window, lost in thought.
However, he didn't expect that the earlier shock was just the beginning. What happened next was even more unexpected.
His gaze suddenly caught a shadow emerging from an alley on the street.
For a moment, the shopkeeper thought he was seeing things.
But as he saw the figure raise a gun and step out of the darkness, his eyes widened in disbelief, "This guy... dares to come back?"
...
Most of the Blackwater Mercenaries had descended to the riverbank, a hundred meters below, searching for the target's figure in the water.
If they hadn't encountered him, they could have blamed bad luck.
But now, with the target clearly having been there and then slipping through their fingers, the members of the Blackwater Mercenary Group knew their fate.
None could bear the wrath of the Cao family.
If they couldn't find him, they were as good as dead!
They thought the target had either drowned, locked in the steel net, or escaped downstream into the unknown darkness.
However, Ji Xun had a different plan.
While the majority of the group was scouring the river, he had silently crept back into the dark alleys of Dark Rain Street.
He hadn't left because there was still one thing left to do.
He needed to eliminate any future threats.
Ji Xun wasn't sure how he had been exposed, but considering the mysterious ritual, it was likely due to a diviner or some similar spell card master.
As he jumped off the cliff earlier, he had noticed an old white-haired woman among the enemies.
The old woman was the first to confirm his identity.
Instinct told Ji Xun that she was the sorceress.
From the moment he was first discovered, Ji Xun had a thought in his mind: if given the chance, he must kill that fortune teller to eliminate any future worries.
A warrior spell card user might follow him off a cliff, but he doubted that old woman could.
The fifty-two professional sequences each have their strengths, but they are relatively balanced. The Wisdom Sequence granted the old woman extraordinary divination abilities but also made her physically weaker than the average person.
As expected.
When Ji Xun returned to Dark Rain Street, he saw the old woman standing alone on the street.
Most of the mercenaries had gone down to the dark river to search for him, and no one expected the culprit to return to kill.
Since emerging from the water, Ji Xun had been wearing a clown mask, which made him immune to most mystical techniques.
Like a ghost lurking in the darkness, he emerged from an alley, just ten meters away from the old woman.
At this distance, it was almost a guaranteed hit.
In the last moment of her life, the old woman seemed to sense something. She turned to look at the dark alley and saw the figure with the gun. Her eyes showed a moment of surprise, then a bitter smile of resignation.
She had vaguely sensed her impending death, thinking she would die from the backlash of her artifacts.
She guessed wrong.
It was death at the end of a gun barrel.
But it didn't matter; she was at the end of her life anyway.
It was a kind of release.
...
The old woman looked even more aged than before, like a candle flickering in the wind, visibly weak.
Ji Xun felt no pity. He pulled the trigger, and with a "bang," a void bullet pierced her forehead.
As people wondered why there was suddenly gunfire on the street, Ji Xun quickly rushed over, grabbed the storage ring from the corpse, and disappeared into the darkness of the alley.
...
A few minutes later, the Silver Star Mystical Materials Shop welcomed another customer.
Ji Xun, now in a different outfit, walked into the shop.
The middle-aged shopkeeper recognized the man in the gas mask immediately—it was the previous customer.
The shopkeeper's eyes were extremely complicated.
Ji Xun poured out a heap of items from the storage ring and asked, "Boss, can I use these to exchange for that breathing technique book?"
A moment ago he had no money, but now he did.
The money from killing the old woman was just enough to buy it.
After all, he was already exposed.
Behind the gas mask's goggles, his eyes were wild and confident.
The curve of his mouth under the mask seemed to emit a chilling aura.
The commotion outside continued; no one would suspect that the street murderer would calmly return to buy something.
Betting that the shopkeeper wouldn't trouble him?
The shopkeeper looked at him, his thoughts swirling, then smiled in relief. "Of course."
It had been a long time since he had encountered such a daring young man.