Black and white patterns spiraled and intertwined, like a bottomless vortex, dragging one into an endless abyss. Gazing into it, white lambs seemed to frolic before one's eyes, while the roar of black wolves echoed in one's ears.
As the nominal leader of the mysterious organization, The Obsidian Concord, Raiden Mei was naturally no stranger to this unique symbol.
However, this organization was simply too mysterious. Even she only received support from the intelligence system through the forum. As for the organization's specific objectives, member structure, and operating mechanisms, she knew nothing.
She originally thought that after officially becoming a member, she would be able to learn the true purpose of people like Liuli. But now it seemed that The Obsidian Concord, in her eyes, hadn't shed its mysterious veil, but had become even more unfathomable.
Therefore, when she noticed the Obsidian Concord mark on "Gray Serpent's" neck, she didn't act rashly. After all, she could also be considered a member of the organization. Rashly exposing him might disrupt the organization's operations.
However, with the appearance of the second Gray Serpent, the development of the situation probably no longer required her consideration.
"Gray Serpent? You're not…"
A look of surprise also appeared on Raven's face. But what puzzled Mei was that although the other party was somewhat surprised, she didn't immediately take action, as if the appearance of two identical Gray Serpents wasn't something impossible.
"Idiot."
Compared to the still somewhat bewildered Raven, the newly appeared Gray Serpent reacted much faster. The moment he discovered the imposter, he immediately threw away his umbrella, drew a pistol from his waist, aimed it at the fake serpent, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out, but there was no sound of the bullet hitting flesh. Instead, a wine bottle on the counter shattered.
The black umbrella in the fake serpent's hand spun rapidly. It was clearly the umbrella that had deflected Gray Serpent's bullet. Mei didn't know what material the umbrella's surface was made of, but it was much harder than metal.
Seeing this, Raven finally reacted, pulling out her own pistol and also launching an attack. Only Mei, sitting at the bar counter, couldn't understand the current situation and remained still.
"Miss Mei, be careful! We've been tricked, this guy isn't one of us!"
Just as she finished speaking, Raven quickly turned her head as a bullet shattered the wine bottle behind her. Splashed with alcohol, she didn't dare to be careless, and quickly ducked behind the bar counter.
The person impersonating Gray Serpent was naturally Ren. Facing Gray Serpent's attack, he calmly spun the black umbrella in his left hand, deflecting bullets while completely blocking Gray Serpent's line of sight.
The black umbrella was constructed from Dominance threads. Never mind bullets, even missiles wouldn't be able to cause any damage. At the same time, he could even precisely control the direction of the ricochet, using the opponent's attack to suppress Raven behind the bar.
The small bar instantly transformed into a chaotic gang shootout scene. Bottles of high-end liquor exploded, filling the entire room with a strong aroma of alcohol.
Gray Serpent's marksmanship was accurate, and his attack angles were quite tricky. Unfortunately, he was facing Ren. After firing several shots, not only did he achieve nothing, but he almost accidentally shot his teammate.
However, as a World Serpent executive, he naturally had more than just this trick up his sleeve. He threw away the inefficient pistol and directly pulled out two automatic rifles, spraying bullets towards Ren.
Such a dense barrage of bullets, coupled with World Serpent's modifications, even a single hit could instantly incapacitate the enemy.
Yet even such a dense bullet storm couldn't penetrate that ordinary-looking black umbrella. On the contrary, a casual counter-shot from Ren almost broke one of his arms.
In such a chaotic environment, besides Ren himself, the only one who could still sit in place was Raiden Mei, protected by an electromagnetic field.
Taking advantage of the umbrella's cover, the two exchanged glances. Mei didn't speak, but simply gave a questioning look. The Obsidian Concord wouldn't do meaningless things. If this appearance wasn't to prevent her from joining World Serpent, then there was definitely another purpose.
The other party's face was covered by a mask, so she couldn't see his expression, but Mei knew he definitely understood her meaning.
"[Draw your sword]," Ren mouthed silently, pushing his mask up slightly to reveal his mouth. "[Attack me.]"
Mei's eyes flickered. The next moment, the dim lights in the bar suddenly became intensely bright, as if struck by lightning. One by one, the light bulbs burned out and extinguished due to the excessive voltage. Surging lightning transformed into swift blade light, instantly slashing towards Ren.
The black umbrella, which had previously been unscathed by the rifle fire, suddenly split open with a crack under this sharp blade light.
"Who are you?" Mei spoke, her gaze fixed on Ren. Her expression was cold and stern, carrying a hint of majesty. Of course, this was just her on-the-spot acting, still having much room for improvement compared to the practiced Ren.
"Raiden Mei, this guy isn't from World Serpent, take him down first!" Seeing Mei finally take action, Raven, hiding behind the bar counter, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This opponent didn't seem strong, but for some reason, the pressure he gave her even surpassed that of the Herrscher on Coral Island. Raven had a feeling that if she dared to raise her head, the next bullet would definitely land on her head.
For a moment, she couldn't even counterattack, and could only pin her hopes on this outside help, Raiden Mei.
"Heh."
Holding the cracked black umbrella, Ren let out a muffled laugh.
"Nice to meet you, everyone from World Serpent. The Obsidian Concord sends its sincere greetings."
"Obsidian Concord?" Raven frowned.
Only Gray Serpent in the distance revealed a thoughtful expression, replying, "Obsidian Concord… Back in the Sea of Quanta, there was someone claiming to be from The Obsidian Concord who was killed by the Sovereign. I don't believe the dead can be resurrected."
"Of course, the dead naturally won't be resurrected, but The Obsidian Concord is him, and it is also us. Just like you, Gray Serpent, and the Gray Serpents."
Gray Serpent's heart sank. His identity was just one member of the Gray Serpent network, but this secret was only known to a few within World Serpent. The fact that the other party knew this information, and even replaced him in action tonight, meant their intelligence system had definitely infiltrated World Serpent's inner workings.
"I hope you're not provoking World Serpent." Gray Serpent's voice was gloomy, already using a threatening tone.
"No, no, no. As I said, this is just a greeting, and to borrow some insignificant information from this Herrscher Miss." Ren earnestly played the villain, raising his hand, a fully charged mechanical crystal lying in his palm.
"This world is filled with Honkai, and Herrschers are its representatives. The Obsidian Concord doesn't have such long-term plans like you World Serpent, so naturally, we need some extreme methods. I think Miss Raiden Mei shouldn't mind."
After saying that, he provocatively waved the crystal at Mei.
"Leave it." The response he received was the tip of Mei's blade.
"Really? It seems World Serpent isn't so generous after all. It seems you're not willing to let me leave. How troublesome."
The moment his voice fell, a bullet silently shot towards Mei.
This level of sneak attack was enough to be fatal for ordinary people, but Mei simply flicked it away. The next second, gunfire erupted from Gray Serpent and Raven's hands, the narrow bar completely turning into a battlefield.