Lower District, Six-Shooter Gun Store.
The gun store had just opened when the first customer of the day arrived. The plump owner leaned his hands on the glass showcase, eyeing the customer with a vigilant gaze.
Chen Ke didn't understand why the gun store owner was so wary of him, but he didn't sense any killing intent, so he didn't take it to heart. Chen Ke picked up two boxes of bullets off the shelf while pondering his troubles.
He hadn't destroyed the mobile phone on him. Although he knew Pankia could track him with the device, even the most sophisticated technology couldn't track a device that wasn't powered on.
For Chen Ke, the mobile phone was more like a summoning button. When needed, he could call upon the organization's assassins at any time, so it was always useful to keep it.
Although Chen Ke could battle on relentlessly without sleep or rest, it wasn't what he wanted. Combat was only to prolong life; his goal was to find Pankia.
Si's consortium was the only breakthrough. However, the five-hour lifespan severely limited his range of activities. On his way to the gun store, he passed by an internet café and spent 2 union coins to search for the information he needed.
Information like the Spiritual Ability Administration, investigators, the Spiritual Power Industry, and he learned that above investigators, there were Transcendent Spiritual Ability Users who were under the Administration Bureau's control.
Most importantly, he also learned about Si's consortium, a rather large corporation with branches all over the Federation. Opportunity City's Upper City had one of their skyscrapers.
But just knowing this couldn't help him find Pankia. Chen Ke didn't even know what he looked like...
With no immediate plan, Chen Ke decided to deal with the current problem. He had over thirty 9mm bullets at hand, but he didn't have enough .45 ACP bullets. Considering combat efficiency and safety, he still preferred to solve problems with guns.
He picked up two boxes of white-boxed .45 COLT bullets and walked to the counter to pay.
"Let me see your gun," the owner smiled.
"Is that necessary?" Chen Ke asked warily.
"I just want you to have the best shooting experience at the range. You know, even bullets of the same caliber differ between models. Good guns are picky about their bullets," the owner explained amicably.
Chen Ke thought about it and realized there was some sense to it. Moreover, he didn't know if Parker's M1911A1 could fire standard bullets, so he took the gun from his bag and placed it on the glass showcase.
"Take a look at this one and see what bullets suit it best," Chen Ke said with a smile.
This gun was intended for hunting monsters, and to avoid accidental discharges while in the bag, he hadn't loaded the magazine.
"Oh... this gun... is something else..." The owner's smile froze as he eyed the M1911A1 on the glass showcase, and his expression changed.
"If you don't have the right bullets for it, I'll just..." Noticing the owner's peculiar behavior, Chen Ke attempted to retrieve the gun and leave.
The owner abruptly pressed down on Chen Ke's hand that was reaching for the gun and smiled, "I don't know how you got this gun, but it definitely doesn't belong to you."
Thinking of stealing my gun?
"No one would buy standard bullets for a Spiritual Gun. Whose unlucky gun did you steal?" the owner narrowed his eyes.
"I don't want to buy bullets here anymore." Chen Ke's smile faded, and he spoke seriously, attempting to pull the gun away, but the owner didn't let go.
The gun store owner pulled out a Colt revolver from under the counter and pressed it against Chen Ke's head. "If I were you, I would calmly put down the gun, and then quietly leave. Forget about this gun."
So the owner thought he was a thief and wanted a double-cross.
Chen Ke didn't feel any killing intent. The owner was just trying to scare him, which suggested that Spiritual Guns weren't common goods, or else a gun store owner wouldn't act this way.
"What about your mother?" Chen Ke laughed and slid a flick knife out of his left sleeve. It was the same one used by the blond man, and of course, he had already wiped the blood from it.
Chen Ke's movement was so quick that the moment the blade slightly cut into the owner's thick neck, the gun store owner realized what was happening, and Chen Ke saw a flash of surprise and fear in his eyes.
"You don't even have the guts to pull the trigger. What a coward," Chen Ke taunted. Even now, he couldn't feel any killing intent from the owner.
The store owner didn't dare to fire the gun.
Guns are indeed magical; even the weakest person believes they possess power by simply holding one.
Yet, the weak will always be weak.
At that moment, two burly black bodyguards burst out from the red door behind the counter. They drew their pistols and aimed at Chen Ke.
They too lacked any killing intent.
"Young man, what's your background?" the store owner's tone changed, with less aggression and more awe and fear.
"It's none of your fucking business, give me a few boxes of bullets that work with this gun," Chen Ke took advantage of the situation.
Although the gun was in the owner's hands, he seemed more nervous, while Chen Ke, the target of three guns, was as steady as an old dog.
"Do you really not know? It's impossible to buy spiritual bullets on the market; only the Administration Bureau can make them," the owner explained.
"Spiritual bullets...?" Chen Ke's thoughts flickered. Those white casings without primer indeed had a significant origin.
If the gun shop owner wasn't lying, it meant that the spiritual gun was as good as scrap metal to him, as Chen Ke had no way of restocking ammunition.
Seeing Chen Ke lost in thought, the owner slowly started to move his neck backwards.
"Hey, Asian Man, put away your kitchen knife, or I'll blow your dog head off," one of the black bodyguards threatened.
Chen Ke glanced at him and felt a surge of killing intent rising from within, flowing invisibly into the black man's body at his will.
"Huff, huff..." The bodyguard's breathing suddenly became rapid, his sausage-like fat lips trembling unnaturally. Unconsciously, he took a step back, stumbled, and "thump," sat down on the ground.
This killing aura was mysteriously familiar. Chen Ke suddenly realized it was the killing intent he had absorbed. He hadn't expected it could be drawn out and infused into someone else.
From the effect just now, it seemed to have a powerful deterrent effect!
But Chen Ke also realized that this killing aura was quantifiable, as following his use of it, a new counter appeared below the life countdown timer at the corner of his eye.
"Killing Aura: 30/50"
The killing aura had a limit as well? It had exactly a 1 to 10 ratio with the limit of his lifespan.
Chen Ke decided then and there to call this ability "Killing Aura Trigger."
Now he had the Killing Aura Vacuum to extend his life, the Killing Aura Radar to seek enemies, and the Killing Aura Trigger for control. Who knows what other strange abilities might emerge later.
The sudden behavior of the black bodyguard surprised both the owner and the other bodyguard. Sitting on the ground, still gasping for air and his pistol dropped, it took him several attempts to barely stand up.
In his eyes, Chen Ke saw a fear of death and submission to absolute power.
Chen Ke was very satisfied with the deterrent effect. Although he still didn't know if the Killing Aura Trigger would affect monsters, it would at least create a deadly gap for an assassin of equal strength to him. He could also use it to avoid many disputes and unnecessary conflicts.
The only downside was the consumption of the killing aura. Handling a regular person had used up 20 points of killing aura. Without continuously absorbing killing intent, he could only use it twice in one go. What if the opponent was tougher? Would it use more? This would only be answered later.
"Take your gun and get out; you're not welcome here," the store owner realized Chen Ke was a tough character, so he gave up on the idea of a black gun and put down the revolver.
Chen Ke pocketed his butterfly knife, slid it into his sleeve, and picked up the gun, ready to leave.
That's when a voice came from the red door.
"Young man, I want to talk to you."