Chapter 16: Killing by Machine

A scorching wave of air rushed towards them from behind the door. Behind the door lay a straight corridor paved with black metal. On either side of the corridor, every other step was marked by a dark muzzle, flashing a dangerous red light—one hundred and eight Fire Dragon Cannons. "Are you ready?" Mo Li's voice was a little dry. Chu Yun didn't reply, but silently stepped forward, standing at the front, mobilizing all his remaining strength. Li Ge also walked beside him, closed her eyes, and focused all her attention on perception. "After I open the door, the first wave of attacks will arrive in three breaths," Mo Li said quickly. "Remember, follow me closely, don't miss a step." Without hesitation, she pressed a hidden switch beside the door. "Boom!" The door flew open. "Go!" Mo Li shouted, rushing out first, followed closely by Chu Yun and Li Ge. The moment they stepped into the corridor, "hum!" The muzzles of the one hundred and eight Fire Dragon Cannons on both sides of the corridor simultaneously lit up with dazzling flames. "Three seats, front left!" Li Ge's voice instantly echoed in their heads. Almost as soon as she spoke, Mo Li's body reacted, taking a large step diagonally to the right, just avoiding the attack range. Chu Yun and Li Ge followed immediately, three pillars of scorching flames brushing against their bodies and shooting backwards. "Five seats, right!" Li Ge's voice echoed again. "Back off half a step, move horizontally to the left!" Mo Li's command rang out simultaneously. Like a precision machine that had been rehearsed countless times, the three of them dodged and maneuvered through the barrage of fire dragon cannons. Chu Yun, at the forefront, did not use the Golden Light Talisman again. He knew that under such a dense attack, any defense was futile. He could only trust the two behind him—Li Ge's perception and Mo Li's calculations. Time stretched endlessly, and every dodge was a brush with death. The scorching flames stretched their shadows long and short against the wall. Finally, "Now! Cooldown time! Charge!" Mo Li's voice was like a heavenly sound. At the moment the last volley ended, the three of them simultaneously exerted all their strength, running towards the end of the corridor. Three breaths, two breaths, one breath... Just as they rushed out of the corridor, the fire dragon cannon behind them roared again. The three of them fell heavily to the ground, gasping for breath, feeling the exhaustion of having survived a disaster. "Success..." Mo Li smiled palely, but the smile quickly froze. Because she saw, lying before her, a body with a strange death. It was a man dressed in the clothes of a gangster, with a body...

A scorching wave of air rushed towards them from behind the door. Behind the door was a straight corridor paved with black metal. On both sides of the corridor, every other step was a black gun muzzle, flashing a dangerous red light - one hundred and eight fire dragon cannons.

"Are you ready?" Mo Li's voice was a little dry.

Chu Yun didn't answer, but silently took a step forward, standing at the front, and mobilized all the remaining strength in his body. Li Ge also walked to his side, closed his eyes, and focused all his energy on perception.

"After I open the door, the first wave of attacks will arrive in three breaths." Mo Li said quickly, "Remember, follow me closely, don't miss a step."

She said without hesitation and pressed a hidden switch next to the door.

"Boom——" the door opened completely.

"Let's go!" Mo Li shouted softly and rushed out first, followed closely by Chu Yun and Li Ge.

The moment they stepped into the corridor, "Buzz--" the muzzles of the 108 fire dragon cannons on both sides of the corridor lit up with dazzling flames at the same time.

"Three seats in front of the left!" Li Ge's voice instantly rang in their heads.

Almost as soon as she opened her mouth, Mo Li's body reacted, taking a large step diagonally to the right, just avoiding the attack range. Chu Yun and Li Ge immediately followed suit, and three scorching pillars of fire brushed their bodies and shot behind them.

"Five seats on the right!" Li Ge's voice sounded again.

"Take a half step back and move to the left!" Mo Li issued the order at the same time.

The three of them, like a precision machine that had been rehearsed countless times, dodged and maneuvered amidst the barrage of fire dragon cannons. Chu Yun, at the forefront, did not use the Golden Light Talisman again. He knew that under such a dense attack, any defense was futile. He could only trust the two people behind him—Li Ge's perception and Mo Li's calculations.

Time became incomparably long, and every time they dodged, they brushed against death. The scorching flames stretched their shadows on the wall, sometimes long and sometimes short.

Finally, "Now! Cooldown time! Charge!" Mo Li's voice was like heavenly music. At the moment the last volley ended, the three of them simultaneously exerted all their strength and ran towards the end of the corridor.

Three breaths, two breaths, one breath... Just as they rushed out of the corridor, the fire dragon cannon behind them roared again.

The three men fell heavily to the ground, gasping for breath, feeling exhausted as if they had survived a disaster.

"Success..." Mo Li showed a pale smile on her face, but it soon froze because she saw a body lying in front of her with a strange death.

It was a man dressed in the attire of a ghoul, his body cut into dozens of pieces by something incredibly sharp, each one almost identical in size. Instead of scattering, the fragments had been "pieced" together again, forming a strange, geometrically beautiful gesture. His face still held the expression of utter terror before his death, yet not a single drop of blood had been shed, as if all blood had been evaporated by the intense heat the moment he was cut.

Chu Yun and Li Ge also saw the corpse, and their faces instantly became extremely ugly.

"This is..." Chu Yun's voice was a little dry.

"Killed by machinery," Li Ge uttered the words slowly. She walked over to the corpse and squatted, carefully examining the mirror-smooth incision. "The technique was clean and sharp, the cutting angles were precise, and each cut precisely avoided the bones, severing only the muscles and blood vessels. This is definitely the work of the Mohist mechanical technique."

Mo Li's face turned pale instantly. "Impossible!" She screamed, "I didn't kill him! I don't even... know him!"

"But besides you, who else in this city could use such a sophisticated mechanical device?" Chu Yun's gaze shot coldly at Mo Li, and a strong sense of vigilance rose in his heart again. He couldn't help but suspect that Mo Li had staged the "mechanism out of control" himself, with the purpose of luring them here.

"I said it wasn't me!" Mo Li was a little excited, "Someone stole control from me! It was him!"

"Where is that person now?" Li Ge stood up and asked Mo Li calmly.

"I...I don't know." Mo Li's eyes were evasive.

"You don't know?" Chu Yun sneered, "This entire city is your territory. Now someone's dead in the city, and the murderer is hiding in the dark, and you tell me you don't know?"

"I really don't know!" Mo Li's voice was filled with grievance and anger, "I..."

Before she finished her words, Li Ge suddenly reached out to interrupt her: "Stop arguing." Li Ge frowned, "Come and see."

She pointed at the chest of the corpse, and Chu Yun and Mo Li both moved over.

Besides the fatal gash on the corpse's heart, there was a small, almost imperceptible mark. It was a black rune, branded by pure, dead energy, with a strange shape, like a prying eye.

The moment Chu Yun saw the mark, the power within him began to tremble violently and uncontrollably. An indescribable fear, emanating from the depths of his soul, suddenly gripped him. It was the fear of having one's life completely suppressed, like an ant seeing someone about to step on it, knowing that everything it had was meaningless before the opponent's absolute will, unable even to think of resisting.

That power didn't belong to Taoism, demons, monsters, or ghosts, or even Mo Li's cold mechanical arts. It was like a pure "will" that executed certain rules, a power of a higher dimension that surpassed all of Chu Yun's current cognition.

"What is this?" Chu Yun's voice was trembling. He had never lost his composure like this before.

"I don't know." Li Ge's expression was equally grave. "I can only sense that this power is very ancient and dead. It... doesn't seem like something that should exist in this world." She glanced at Mo Li, whose face was pale, and continued, "And I can be sure that this power and the Mo family's mechanical techniques do not originate from the same source."

When Mo Li heard this, it was like he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and he immediately said, "That's right! Look, I didn't do this at all! It was done by the person who stole control from me!"

"But why did he use your mechanical skills to arrange the body like this after killing someone?" Chu Yun immediately seized the loophole in his words and asked coldly.

"I...how would I know!" Mo Li choked again. She couldn't explain it, because to achieve this level, the other party must have an even greater understanding of the Mo family's mechanical techniques than she did. But how could that be possible? She was the last descendant of the Mo family!

"The situation is clear now." Li Ge broke the deadlock, her thoughts still clear. "First, a mysterious third party sneaked into the city and used some unknown method to seize partial control of the Mechanical City. Second, he killed this Jianghu traveler and used some unknown method to imitate the Mo family's mechanical techniques to fake the scene. Third, and most importantly," Li Ge's eyes swept over Chu Yun and Mo Li's faces one by one, "his purpose in doing this is to frame you and then let the three of us kill each other here."

For a moment, the three of them were silent. They all knew that what Li Ge said was the most likely scenario - a powerful and unknown enemy hidden in the shadows, a manipulator who treated them as chess pieces and played with them at will.

"Then... what should we do now?" Mo Li's voice was filled with helplessness for the first time. Although she was proud, she was not stupid. She knew that the situation was completely out of her control.

"Find him." Chu Yun's answer was simple. He had recovered from the fear he had just felt. No matter how powerful or unknown the enemy was, he could not just sit there and wait for death.

"How do we find him?" Mo Li asked, "We don't even know who he is or what he looks like."

"Since he wants us to kill each other, he will definitely leave more clues to deepen our suspicions." Li Ge said, "I believe this body will definitely not be the last one."

Her words sounded like a vicious curse. As soon as she finished speaking, a shrill scream suddenly came from the corridor they had come from:

"ah--!"

The screams stopped abruptly, followed by a teeth-grinding sound of metal cutting through body.

The three of them exchanged glances, each seeing deep shock in the other's eyes. A new victim had appeared.