Chapter 118 Chu Li · Want · Essence · Part 2

Time? Go back one hour.

The sky was a little dim at this time, and the setting sun was still slowly setting at the end of the desert, casting a red afterglow that looked like a blood-stained river.

Under this blood-red river, there is a team of nearly thirty elite soldiers lurking. They are all from the Desert Kingdom. They received orders to capture Youdu. However, something unexpected happened to everyone.

They? Have lost contact with the kingdom, and now must reunite with the team in the south as soon as possible.

The tan cloak concealed their figures, and most of their bodies were buried in the sand, motionless, and even their breathing was extremely weak and slow. From a distance, they looked like inconspicuous sand dunes, with only slight undulations when the wind blew.

Only? The pitch-black muzzle of the gun sticking out of the sand dune vaguely reflected the cold light, revealing a vigilant and cold killing intent.

The scope was aimed at the empty and flat desert. The wind was quite strong when the mountain was descending, blowing up the dust on the ground and blurring the scene in the lens for a short time.

In this blurry scene, two seemingly invisible human figures appeared slowly from the end of the desert.

The team leader's heart skipped a beat, sweat dripped down his forehead, he tapped the communicator twice, his other hand was on the sniper rifle, he adjusted his breathing, slowly aimed the muzzle at the target, and then quietly pressed the trigger...

No?, he failed to press? go.

A barely visible silver thread appeared on his index finger at some point, and when he noticed it, a circle of blood slowly appeared.

And down? One second, "boom"!

The sand covering their bodies suddenly pressed down like a mountain, burying all the people hiding in the sand deeply.

The wind and sand in the sight gradually dissipated.

The two figures coming from afar gradually became clearer.

"Why? Are they hiding in the sand?"

Wu Wang put his hands in his pockets, looking puzzled, "Have the people in the Desert Fortress completely ignored me, a gravity-type mutant?"

"By the way, this is a perfect match. Buddy, how did you find those people hiding in the sand? Sense of smell? Or some mysterious perception?"

Wu Wang did not hide his curiosity. He did not dare to speak rashly before because of the action, but now that the enemy has been dealt with, he can relax for a while.

So he set his sights on his partner for this operation.

A strange man from the northwest who calls himself "Chu Li" seems to be standing on the other side of the ruined city... By the way? Are there any more? [Wild Dogs] over there?

God? A strange combination.

Something flashed through his mind quickly.

"Hey, I heard you're an Inhuman, but you look no different from everyone else...blood crystals, red eyes, etc., can this feature be hidden? Or is it just a special method used by high-level Inhumans?"

"By the way, how did Zhang Chun and the others win you over? Normally, high-level aliens in the northwest wouldn't even bother with humans, let alone cooperate... unless there's something profitable. Money, power, or strength? Or maybe you have some leverage over—"

Wu Wang kept on talking, asking all the questions at once, until the other party suddenly turned around and stared at him with his dark eyes.

Instantly, a chill ran up his spine and Wu Wang quickly closed his mouth. He raised his hand and made a zipper gesture beside his mouth. After Chu Li turned around again, he whispered, "I'm just curious. I don't mean any harm."

Chu Li said without turning his head: "I don't care. But if you say one more word, I will sew your mouth shut."

Wu Wang was completely quiet now. It was obvious that his temporary alien companion had no good feelings towards him... He had to stop his probing here. He had better not really annoy the other party.

"and......"

To his surprise, Chu Li didn't seem to finish what he said.

"I did overestimate your vigilance and caution. What made you think it was safe now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, in front of Wu Wang's wide eyes, a blood-red bullet cut through the air, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, and came quickly from a distance.

Half a meter away from the back of Chu Li's head, it was tightly entangled in mid-air by silver-white silk threads, leaving only a buzzing sound as if the air was distorted.

The next second, blood-red bullets covering the sky and the ground attacked again from a distance.

Wu Wang took a step forward, and the air in front of him rushed back like a wave. Then, countless bullets shot in their direction froze in mid-air, and then fell to the ground as if they had lost weight.

"Underground?" Chu Li said coldly.

Wu Wang sighed softly and stomped the ground heavily again.

In the next second, with the two of them as the center, the sand in a radius of 100 meters around them exploded, and dense sand and gravel splashed high. In the air filled with sand and gravel, more than a dozen black shadows flickered faintly.

Another group of enemies lurking deep in the sand.

They were all wearing black combat uniforms, and even their faces were completely covered by black masks. When they were blown into the sky, they quickly adjusted their postures and pressed the trigger towards Chu Li the moment they landed.

The bullets reflecting scarlet light cut through the air, accompanied by a sharp whistle of wind, leaving a residual image and leaving deep pits on the sand.

Chu Li stood in an open space not far away, the hem of his clothes flashed an arc in the air and then fell gently.

His expression didn't change.

Wu Wang, who was thrown by the collar, fell headfirst into the sand. He pulled his head out with difficulty, shook his head to shake off the flying sand, and said, "Well, thank you for taking me with you when you hid, and thank you for almost strangling me to death."

Chu Li ignored him and stared at the enemies who landed smoothly. Their extraordinary physical fitness made him vaguely aware of something wrong.

However, the enemy in front of him was fully armed, and his aura was completely concealed by that thin layer of combat uniform, so he couldn't judge it deeply.

The enemy raised the muzzle of his gun again, faintly reflecting a scarlet light.

In the next second, dense silver threads attacked strangely like snakes, cutting the gun like cutting tofu. At the moment when the broken gun body fell on the sand, the sharp silver threads had already mercilessly strangled the enemy's neck, forcing them to stop any action in their hands.

"Something is not right." Wu Wang limped over, "Isn't the fighting style of this group of people similar to that of the Wang Guojun..."

"It's a stranger." Chu Li interrupted him, his voice still calm, "coming for me."

Wu Wang's words got stuck in his throat.

On the other side, the enemies controlled by countless silver threads seemed to have received new instructions. One of them slowly raised his hand and said hoarsely, "Mr. Bartender, I'm very sorry. But the High Priest asked us to take you back or die here."

Chu Li said nothing and directly controlled the silver thread to cut off their necks.

However, what appeared in the field of vision was not scarlet blood, but broken silver threads, floating high in the blood-red afterglow of the setting sun, and slowly disappearing like bubbles.

Chu Li's pupils constricted slightly.

The enemy on the other side reacted very quickly, throwing away the broken gun and condensing a blood-red long knife in his backhand to attack like lightning.

Wu Wang took a step forward, and his gravity ability directly pressed all the enemies rushing towards him into the sand, but soon with the appearance of an energy field, they stood up again under the terrifying gravity.

His scalp felt numb.

"What the hell is this?"

"...X Institute's new products, anti-superpower devices, and...the latest combat uniforms developed for puppeteers?"

Chu Li took a deep breath and regained his composure.

In his field of vision, in the open space a hundred meters away, as the transparent film faded away, a series of terrifying and hideous mechanical monsters were exposed in the increasingly dim environment.

——The alien troops from the northwest no longer plan to continue hiding.

Next to each of the three mechanical monsters in the front stood a figure wearing the same pitch-black combat uniform, but with a thick black cloak over the uniform.

With the appearance of these three mysterious figures, Chu Li felt a slight pain in his head for some reason.

The melee team was looking for their weaknesses at a position not too far or too close, and the three figures began to approach and soon came into the encirclement of the melee team.

"Long time no see, bartender." said the mysterious man on the far left.

"I think you will miss us very much." The mysterious man in the middle said slowly.

"Of course, we miss you too." The mysterious man on the far right answered with a strange smile in his tone.

Finally, the three of them raised their hands at the same time and slowly opened their hoods, revealing three identical faces, hideous scars, half-fallen bandages, and scarlet blood pupils that seemed to have dried and solidified blood and emitted a faint stench.

The same appearance, the same strong malice, and the same voice...

The three clones smiled strangely and spoke at the same time, with a tone that could not be disobeyed. They said in a cold voice: "Bartender, kneel down?!"

Boom!

His heart was beating violently, and when he came to his senses, Chu Li found himself kneeling on the sand. Cold sweat broke out on his back, and even his breathing began to quicken. A sharp and crazy laugh seemed to ring in his ears.

On the other side, Wu Wang was still fighting with the melee team. Seeing the situation here, he couldn't help but feel nervous and shouted loudly: "This is psychological warfare! Chu——"

Bang!

The enemy took advantage of his unpreparedness and hit him hard on the back of the head with the handle of the knife, and then rushed over one after another to pin him down in the sand and control him firmly. One of them whispered a warning:

"Mr. Wu Wang, we are not here to interfere in the war between the Desert Kingdom and the Ruined City, nor do we intend to interfere in Youdu. Please be quiet for a while and wait for us to take the bartender away. You will return to Youdu safely."

Wu Wang struggled and cursed: "Fuck you!"

The alien didn't react, and he knocked him out coldly with a punch, then stood up? , turned around? and headed towards his real target.

Chu Li, who was gradually surrounded by a group of strange people, felt the coldness all over his body. He heard his heart beating violently, almost bursting out of his chest, and in his blurred vision, a thin figure began to appear.

The thin figure was squatting in front of him, with dirty bandages hanging on the sand, pale skin, so thin that even the bones were almost clearly visible, and a pair of scarlet blood eyes that were sometimes full of malice and sometimes compassionate.

[Long time no see? See you, my dear child.]

The heavy shadow pressed down, and the three mysterious people with the same appearance stood in front of Chu Li. The falling shadow seemed to condense into a twisted and strange shadow, covering him and the small...illusion.

Under Chu Li's fingertips? His consciousness trembled, and a few silver threads uncontrollably extended out, cold and strange.

"The High Priest is very angry about your betrayal. I heard that you are in a state of amnesia. Is that true?" said the mysterious man on the far left.

[How pitiful! You killed me, didn't you? Look here, you stabbed me with the knife, and look here... you pinched me with your own hands, the bruises are still there - but this is too funny. You have already successfully killed the teacher and escaped from the prison, why? Why are you still controlled by "me"?]

The thin figure squatting in front of him with his hands on his cheeks... the dead puppeteer showed a sarcastic and strange expression.

Chu Li stared at "him" quietly, and his absent-minded reaction caused displeasure among the three mysterious people.

One of them grabbed his neck and forced him to look up. His bloodshot eyes were filled with cold mockery. "Look, the famous bartender is going to kneel like a dog before his former subordinates? In front of a defeated enemy?"

A sharp laugh sounded in his ears. The phantom of the dead puppeteer ran around, then stuck to Chu Li's back and whispered: [I remember, this guy was once an experimental subject in the same group as you. Later, I didn't like him too much and threw him away. I didn't expect that he would be recycled for a second time... The chief priest is really cunning.]

"He" stroked Chu Li's head lovingly, as if hugging him gently, and comforted him: "Good boy, look at me, do you want to kill me now, or... use? Use my power to kill these three impostors?"

"Damn... Is this guy scared silly?" The mysterious man who was holding Chu Li's neck spoke angrily, and this reaction that was completely different from that of the puppet master made Chu Li regain his senses briefly. A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he directly stretched out his hand to break the other's wrist, and then pulled and twisted it...

He snapped the impostor's neck with a swift and decisive move.

It's too easy and simple compared to killing the real puppeteer.

He didn't even give her a second glance, but just stared quietly at the thin phantom beside him.

The other two mysterious people couldn't help but take a half step back, but Chu Li didn't stand up. He was still kneeling in the same place, without any signs of rioting. His eyes were still abnormally focused on the side, as if... he was hallucinating.

The group of strangers looked at each other, and finally someone took out a communicator and called his superior.

[You killed me twice. The first time was in the northwest. You cut my throat, using all your strength and crying until your eyes were red. To be honest, if I hadn't been soft-hearted, how could you have won? As for the second time, in the prison in the ruined city, you had grown up a lot, you were ruthless and patient, and you didn't show any emotion when you attacked. It really surprised me.]

The puppet master smiled and whispered in Chu Li's ear: [After killing me, you actually miss me? You actually miss me, the enemy who only gave you fear? Unbelievable, isn't it? Really? The enemy only used three fakes, but they forced you to have hallucinations, so pitiful. And?, the power is also proof, my poor child, you are still using? my power, you are still living in the invisible fear I brought.]

Chu Li lowered his eyes.

There were two beeps next to me, and the communicator was connected. Someone seemed to turn around and report the situation to someone.

Maybe in the eyes of others, he is like a madman now.

He was talking to a phantom who was already dead.

"I will kill you a third time."

Chu Li's Adam's apple paused for a moment, and he finally spoke in a hoarse and low voice, but he did not talk to any of the strangers around him. Instead, he looked at the thin figure, as if he had given up on something. He exhaled and said softly, "Teacher, you are right. Even if I kill you, I am still afraid of your afterimage that appears from time to time... Memory is a door, it has opened a crack, and it is me who is resisting its opening. It is me... who is afraid of the memories of the past."

"Mr. Bartender, what are you talking about?" The strangers around were not very clear, and one of them gestured, wanting to knock him out and take him away, but was rejected by the leader of the team.

The communicator to contact the superior was successfully dialed, and the leader turned around and said: "Master Priest, the bartender's condition seems to be a little bit off... Yes, it seems that he is hallucinating. How did you know? To retreat? Why..."

A thread hooked around his neck, and before he could react, blood suddenly splattered, and the communicator in his hand fell to the ground, being dragged away by a black thread in mid-air and landed in another pair of pale hands.

"Because? I'm not? a puppeteer. And your actions this time are taking advantage of my fear of him, thinking? I only know how to use? his power..."

Chu Li said to the communicator: "Master Priest, please? I'm going to make the puppet master. He's dead, and the rest are all inferior imitations. I'll kill them all when I see them."

There was silence on the other side for a moment, and then a faintly smiling voice sounded, "That's a beautiful realization - if you can do it."

Chu Li lowered his eyes. As he stood up, the aliens around him were all on high alert, ready to fight, but they didn't seem to notice the black threads gradually appearing around them... or rather, they were dark lines, like dark lines from a nightmare.

"teacher."

When Chu Li regained his balance, he said to the puppeteer phantom behind him: "There is a door in my mind. I used all kinds of excuses to try not to push it open, but I just found out that the door has actually opened a crack."

The puppeteer looked at him with a sweet smile, [So, you will soon return to fear and the abyss again.]

Chu Li didn't say anything, he just stared at his former teacher with his dark eyes. The emotion in his eyes was still very light, but everyone who saw those eyes could know what he really wanted to say.

——It’s a farewell.

He was saying goodbye to his former teacher and his former fear.

There were more and more dark lines, from the soft sand to the starry night sky. The dense lines seemed to form a dark ocean, weird and gloomy, as if they wanted to drown everyone in the fear that would never recede.

The expression on the Puppeteer's face gradually disappeared.

Chu Li looked at "him" and spoke in a very soft voice, as if he was talking to the "puppet master" or talking to himself:

"I have always thought that only by using your power can I truly defeat you... But on the contrary, I have used your power and have only used the phrase "I have killed you" over and over again to imply that I have gotten rid of my fear. This is nothing but self-deception."

"Teacher, I don't think I've ever said... I have a new name now."

The pitch-black lines almost filled the entire space. Even the puppeteer's phantom was swallowed by the black. Only the pair of emotionless scarlet blood eyes were still watching from afar.

The rest of the aliens seemed to be trapped in a nightmare, unable to move, unable to struggle, and could only watch the dark lines around them gradually rise like the sea until they were swallowed up.

Chu Li stared at the puppeteer's afterimage that had been completely swallowed by the dark lines, then slowly raised his head, looking at the starry sky that was swallowed up by the darkness bit by bit, and said softly:

"I'm not a bartender anymore. I'm on another path."

"I'm Chu Li."

Click.

The communicator in his hand was completely shattered. The green light during the call turned to red, then dimmed, and was finally completely swallowed up by the pitch-black sand.

Chu Li closed his eyes quietly.

The last ray of starlight above was swallowed up by darkness.

This is a huge one that slowly rises from the ground and swallows up the sky and the earth...

——The dark sun.

......

Youdu.

Chu Xiuyan stared at the black hole in the north that almost swallowed up the sky and the earth. The terrifying and strange aura could be sensed even in Youdu.

Great, the sky and the earth in the south turned upside down, the light trees were dazzling and bright, and the dark sun rose in the north, terrifying and strange.

Even the system was silent for a long time.

It said with difficulty? : [This may be the halo of an important supporting role. 】

Chu Xiuyan said quietly: [So? Where is my protagonist halo? ]

As dawn gradually approached and the sky gradually brightened, the huge movements in the north and south slowly disappeared.

On the morning of the third day, as the first rays of the rising sun appeared, Zai Zhe and Chu Li and the others returned to Youdu one after the other.

The first to arrive was Mingji, who was flying in the sky. Below him was a large group of kidnapped mechanical spiders and alien troops. Behind him was Zaizhe, who was walking slowly.

When Mingji was about to fly down from the sky, he saw four large characters in the sand in the four directions of east, west, south and north surrounding Youdu.

【I want to be good at it】

Mingji's landing?

He saw the young man who was drawing a black frame around the last character "two". The small figure was holding a condensed blood-colored long stick and was very busy.

Mingji touched his chin and thought for a while, and suddenly saw the mechanical spider army approaching to erase the word "精". He didn't know why, and his scalp suddenly went numb, and he shouted unconsciously: "Wait a minute, you guys? Don't get close yet——"

It's too late.

The spider army is advancing very quickly.

They? They have completely stood on the word "精".

"What? Is it? Dangerous?"

Is that okay to get along with? Curly-haired sat on a mechanical spider shell and asked with his head tilted up.

Then, he suddenly saw a figure running quickly from a distance.

The bloody long stick, which was at least two meters long, was spinning in the air, giving off an unsettling aura.

Next? One second.

boom!

The attacking figure thrust his long stick into the sand fiercely, and the terrifying momentum it created lifted all the mechanical monsters high up!

Being thrown high up? Sora Curly: "F-F--"

"Give me back my two!"

System reminder: [It is "精". ]

Chu Xiuyan pulled out his long stick, and once again angrily thrust it into the sand.

"Give me back my sperm--!!!"