Chapter 122 The Stone Monster
The battle entered a fever pitch, the tension reaching a fever pitch as the first bullets were fired. Nerves trembled, blood rushed, and the pounding of his heartbeats felt like a hammer hammering against his ears. Chu Hengkong activated his One Qi Thousand Autumn Technique, hastening his journey to the city. This battle felt both familiar and unfamiliar. He understood the enemy's mindset and actions, but his methods were completely unknown.
If they were still on Earth, the battle would have been over long ago. The sniper's three consecutive misses, the assassin's vitals struck by a specially designed bullet, were both enough to guarantee death, or at least defeat. But becoming a Transformer was a completely different situation. Both sides' physical abilities were vastly improved, and the relics and abilities they possessed were even more uncertain.
The once unimaginable battles thousands of meters apart were now taking place. The indestructible flesh and even the regenerative ability provided the warriors with more opportunities than ever before. Knowing this, they hadn't revealed all their cards at the outset.
Master the rhythm of the battlefield, forcing the enemy's tactics into being within seconds, incorporating analysis and simulation into the situation, until the moment arrives to determine life and death. Intelligence is paramount at this moment; the more you know, the greater your chances of victory.
Shax reactivated the communication: (Hey, Wu He! Do you have any martial arts that allow for super-fast regeneration in Longquan Township?)
(Super regeneration? You mean the immortality technique?) Wu He couldn't believe it. (That's the true inheritance of Yueque Palace—)
(How to break!)
(The true martial artists of Yueque Palace are invincible physically. As long as they have enough willpower, even their hearts and brains can regenerate. Don't even think about breaking this with your methods!)
(Just fight the ghost body, right? Got it!)
Wu He was obviously panicking: (Wait a minute! What are you fighting against?
Shax tore off the communication talisman and stuffed it into his pocket, a plan already in mind. Bullets were ineffective against his back, and his other angles had super-regeneration. Physically, there were no vital points. The man was even more monstrous than before. But he was still a martial artist, and at a low-level level, the lack of mid-range and long-range means wasn't easily overcome.
In a flash of thought, a green gust of wind swept across most of the hillside. Within three seconds, the enemy would be near the city. Shax fired four black bullets in rapid succession, the bullets stirring up a thick cloud of smoke as they landed. He sheathed his gun, then replaced it. New equipment appeared one after another. A jetpack slung over the back of his combat uniform, the legendary gunslinger ready for action.
Chu Hengkong plunged into the smoke, sensing all around with his aura. The Immortal Machine's analysis report flashed in white text on his retina. This time, the smokescreen was primarily composed of demonic ink and various exotic beast materials. It wouldn't multiply bullets, but it would obscure their presence. Considering the characteristics of the Illusionary Demon, Shax likely possessed powerful methods targeting the ethereal form. Even his Immortality Technique wasn't foolproof.
He slowed down, suppressing the fire of ambition to conserve energy, leaving only a thin layer of fire on his tentacles. The demonic smoke weakened the effect of his mental perception, but his normal five senses were always available. He could sense changes in airflow, unusual smells in the air, and the slight noise of the gun barrel moving.
He suddenly thrust out his white spear, swinging it with a sharp, white streak. Simultaneously, three blue lasers pierced the mist. Two of them were neutralized by his willpower, exploding into blinding fire, but the third broke through the interception. Chu Heng shifted his thrust into a slash, blocking the incoming fire. The lasers exploded at close range, sending a slight sting through his head.
The mixed attack of light elements and spiritual elements is easy to be hit by directly hitting, and this move should be broken by using Gangqi Armor.
Deep in the fog, Shax clutched a blue-painted, three-barreled firearm in his left hand. The HT-1777 "Kosaburo," a bestseller from Shura Island's military giant, Saizu Heavy Industries, boasts a high attack frequency and a high power ceiling, earning it a strong reputation among low-quality firefighters. While this gun's selling point lies in its exhilarating burst and the high cost-performance of a Level 2 relic, its true strength lies in its built-in light element converter. This small component allows for the convenient conversion of bullets into light elemental ones, and vice versa.
The "Little Saburo" in Shax's hand was smaller than typical models. Its modifications enhanced portability and added a blend of psychic damage to the lasers, raising their rating to Level 3. The trigger had been removed, and a charging line ran from the rear of the gun directly to Shax's combat helmet. Without needing to pull the trigger, his nervous system issued the command, igniting three lasers in a continuous burst. Lightning flickered like fireworks in the depths of the fog.
A flaming flying knife of will struck against the laser beam, narrowly grazing the gunman's hair. He ignored the growing fire of ambition, maintaining his shooting stance and rapidly retreating. Microseconds ticked by in his mind. At the moment of a distant turbulence, Shax raised his medium-sized shotgun in his right hand. Countless transparent bullets, driven by the intense recoil, struck the assassin as he emerged from the fog!
The VV375, commonly known as the "Salesman," is compact and boasts extremely low recoil. It can fire 3,000 micro-magic bullets in a single burst, consuming no physical bullets but recharging them with psychic energy. Its name consists solely of the designer's initials and serial number, a clear sign of its origins at Dustless Ground. While the concept is ingenious, it's also overly idealistic. While requiring no recharge sounds appealing, a typical Seismic Point 3 will be drained of its energy after just three shots.
Therefore, Shax had added energy storage crystals during the modification, at the cost of significantly increasing recoil, and increasing the projectile capacity and attack range. Shotguns are primarily designed to inflict damage over a wide area. At this moment, a barrage of transparent bullets descended upon Chu Hengkong. Most of them were deflected by the Qi armor, but one in ten struck his unarmored abdomen and legs.
The dense attack from the ghost body brought Chu Hengkong to a sudden halt, causing him to spit out a large mouthful of blood. Simultaneously, Shax used the powerful recoil to distance himself once again. But Chu Hengkong remained steady, his legs spitting blood as he thrust his gun forward. A single, focused shot grazed Shax's right leg! Both attacks struck simultaneously!
Chu Hengkong sheathed his gun and returned to defend. His vision was trembling, and he had to stop briefly to calm the strange feeling in his mind. Shakes's right leg was broken. He activated his modified jetpack and flew backwards in the smoke.
"It's rare that you underestimate others." The sniper sneered, "Take out your knife!"
Chu Hengkong did not reply, but silently activated the communication relic: (Fande, how do I break the ghost body that has been attacked?)
The Eye Demon displayed the demeanor of a master of the Phantom Body: (How is the damage done? Can it be rebounded by the Qi Armor?)
(The transparent shotgun shells bounced back, and after getting hit, it felt like bugs were gnawing at my brain.)
(That means the bullet is still inside your body. Use the annihilation field at its lowest possible output to cover it. The smaller the better.)
Chu Hengkong obeyed. A golden light flashed from his back, and a second later, he was vomiting blood, staining the entire wall red. Finder's solution was simple and effective. The bullets were indeed all taken care of, but he himself was also hit hard by the force field. Fortunately, this force was gentler than the Immortal Machine's attack at that time, and his enhanced strength made it easy for him to withstand it.
He wiped the blood away and sprinted out, chasing the gunman in the fog. The laughter of frenzied men drifted between buildings, and the smoke-filled streets were occasionally illuminated by lasers and flames. Residents dared not step out of their homes, trembling with fear at the terrifying atmosphere outside.
Among these poor people was the iceman Sethron, who had no fighting spirit. He hid under an overpass, crying and praying that he would not be affected by the monsters. Qing Ye, who followed him, wandered in the fog and was shocked in front of the blood-stained wall.
She peered into the depths of the fog and saw the tentacle man with a terrifying smile and the long-haired man laughing crazily. Qingye was so shocked by this deadly fight that her brain almost shut down.
"That person... could it be the sniper? Mayor Jin Ye?" Qing Ye muttered to himself, "The tentacle man and Jin Ye are fighting... What exactly happened?"
·
"Damn it, he hit the ghost body and injured it? Is the opponent so strong?"
"Floating Light Road Particle 3, no one would believe it without some mental attack methods." Fander quickly flipped through the manuscripts on the ground and stuffed the ones he thought were valuable into Ji Huaisu's bag. "This time, Chu Hengkong has met his match."
Ji Huaisu pointed at the fire rising into the sky outside and said, "Do you need to see this? Stop dawdling and come to my aid. If you don't leave, I'll go there myself!"
In the blink of an eye, they both reached the city. The Eye Demon was still dawdling in Jinye's residence, searching for materials. Captain Ji was practically dying of anxiety watching him. They say a friend in need is a friend indeed. But this time, when adversity hit, a brother was slacking off. If it weren't for the fact that this guy was so weak and could easily get into trouble with just one eye, she would have rushed into the battle zone to support him.
Instead, Vander was still reading the manuscript, speaking slowly and deliberately: "So what are you going to do? Once you open your shield and carry me in, I'll hypnotize the guy on the other side and force a ceasefire."
"...Yes, that's right!" Ji Huaisu felt a little guilty. What she actually thought about was that the three of them would beat her up after the hypnosis.
"First of all, the other side was able to fight Chu Hengkong in a real fight. To be so awesome, they might as well be Legendary Point 3. If it were us two, we wouldn't be able to keep up with the fight." Vander raised two short tentacles. "Secondly, from the noise, you can tell this is a feud between the two of them. No one else is allowed to interfere, and no one should interfere. It's like two men signed a life-and-death agreement, agreeing to fight to the death. No one will blame anyone until the end. At this point, the family of the contestant ran up and said, "Stop, stop fighting." How can that be justified?"
"I'm not his relative!" Ji Huaisu blushed.
"It's all the same, just as an analogy." Vander waved his tentacles. "Both sides are super strong men, and it's not certain who will be the winner in this fight. All we can do now is gather intelligence and prepare. I think there's more than one weird thing in this city..."
It held up Jin Ye's diary, signaling Ji Huaisu to collect the materials and prepare to retreat. With its other hand, it took the diary and slowly flipped through it.
Their gazes froze instantly. It was a shrunken, emaciated stone hand. The ugly statue, which should have been crushed to dust, had somehow returned to its original form. They had chatted for so long, yet they hadn't noticed its presence. It was like a stone ghost.
"I forgot, I forgot. In a moment of shock, I lost my identity and my thoughts. After being petrified for many days, I woke up one day and realized that I was myself..."
The ugly stone sculpture closed his diary.
"How can I allow others to run rampant on my territory?"
The statue's surface cracked, and suddenly it exploded from within, disintegrating into a wisp of multicolored dust. The dust drifted like the wind toward the city and the distant battlefield. Fander trembled as if thawed, and he grabbed Ji Huaisu's arm. "Go support! Go support! Quick!"
Ji Huaisu still hadn't realized what was happening: "Who the hell said we can't enter?!"
"This isn't a duel anymore, it's a disaster movie!" Vander yelled at the top of his lungs, "That thing is... a natural disaster!"
The ugly statue crumbled to dust and dissipated, drifting towards the city like a wisp of colorful wind. Wu Dingchen was a wavering and confused being, yet also a free being without any constraints. Therefore, its speed was incredibly fast, reaching the center of the battlefield in the blink of an eye.
It spread its arms and whispered softly, devouring the tiny particles in the air like a whale, and the smoke screen that obscured its presence instantly vanished. It transformed into a humanoid form in mid-air, revealing its eerie appearance: shriveled and spindly stone limbs, layers of crystal covering its torso like scales, and a large head devoid of facial features, consisting solely of a circular cavity occupying nearly half its surface.
它的气质不似怪物般可怖，反而诡异似妖魔。这只石妖的身躯逸散重组，闪现至两位杀手的战场之间。它一拳击向大地，金叶市底部响起巨声，似地底中长眠的巨龙咆哮。
“地震。”它说。
(本章完)
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