The next second, the girl began her countdown.
Her gaze was firm, her voice clear and crisp, and each number left a subtle trace in the air, as if she were conducting some kind of experiment.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
She chanted as she dodged the assassins who attacked from time to time.
As she counted, the surrounding crowd began to whisper. Someone couldn't help but shout, "What are you counting? What do you mean by that?"
"So, is he counting down the days to his own death?" someone next to him chimed in, their tone laced with sarcasm.
"Hahahaha." Laughter rose and fell.
However, the girl remained unmoved, her gaze consistently calm, as if shielding herself from all the surrounding noise and ridicule, focusing solely on her "experiment".
"Six, five, four, three..."
Zhuiming skillfully dodged the enemy's attacks while moving towards the center of the main hall. His gaze met the eyes of the crowd and the flow of people. The two nodded, as if silently conveying something.
At this moment, some people began to sense something was wrong and panicked. They looked around, trying to pinpoint the impending threat, but everything remained calm. Then, someone began to scoff, "What a stupid countdown! I think she's just exaggerating! Brothers, let's keep going!"
"Two, one!"
After the girl finished reading the last number, her eyes widened suddenly. Her gaze swept around, as if searching for a specific clue.
Everyone watched her cautiously, waiting for her next move. However, to everyone's surprise, nothing happened. The surroundings remained silent, as if everything that had just happened had simply been paused.
"Huh? You counted too fast?"
Chuanliu frowned slightly, muttering to herself. "Her counting down has always been pretty accurate, hasn't it?" A barely perceptible hint of doubt flashed in the girl's eyes.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but then a surge of anger at being tricked welled up inside them.
"Damn it! You dare to mess with me!"
The fierce-looking burly man, wielding a spiked club, roared angrily and was about to charge at Chuanliu. However, just as he was about to take a step, he suddenly felt a violent dizziness.
"Thump—"
He swayed a few times, trying to steady himself, but the dizziness surged over him like a giant wave, causing him to collapse helplessly, the spiked club flying out of his hand and crashing to the ground.
The others were startled and their faces turned cautious. They fixed their gazes on Chuanliu, wondering what kind of sorcery this woman had used.
A strange tension filled the air; for them, it was a fear born of ignorance.
Immediately afterwards, starting with Brother Xiang, everyone began to experience dizziness.
They suddenly felt their bodies become incredibly heavy, as if bound by an invisible force, rendering them powerless; their consciousness began to blur, as if being gradually pulled away by a powerful suction. Some even collapsed, falling into a coma.
"Thump—thump—thump—"
In an instant, everyone except Chuanliu and Zhuiming fell to the ground one by one, and the scene was chaotic.
Xiang tried to sit up, but his hands went limp and fell to his sides. He struggled to lift his head and looked at Chuan Liu, his eyes filled with astonishment and confusion.
He said in a weak, trembling voice, "What...what did you do to us?"
Chuanliu patted his chest, revealing a satisfied smile. But in Xiang Ge's eyes, that smile was more terrifying than the arrival of death.
"Don't be nervous," the girl said with a smile, looking at the man on the ground as she walked over step by step. "I just used your colleague's things to do a little experiment. Look, I didn't expect to succeed like this."
"Wh-what colleague? You, what, what did you say?" Brother Xiang was starting to lose control of his mind, and even organizing his thoughts became very difficult.
The girl suddenly shook her head and said regretfully, "It's a pity that the datura only left such a small amount of poison, and it was all used on you."
"Man, Man, Man..." Brother Xiang tried hard to open his eyes, but all he could see was darkness. In the dim light, he seemed to hear the name of a top assassin from the "Dark Gate".
The girl didn't seem to care whether he understood or not, and continued, "Tell me, what should I do with you and your henchmen?"
She extended three fingers, making a gun gesture, and pressed them against Xiang Ge's temple, a wicked smile playing on her lips.
"Thump." The girl's lips parted slightly, uttering a soft sound, as if she had already brought Xiang Ge's life to a close. The latter had already fainted.
Chuanliu stood up, leaned against the table somewhat bored, and said to Zhuiming, "What do we do? We don't need you to deal with them now."
With a smile in his eyes, Zhui Ming said, "It's a pity you spilled all the Datura poison I gave you on someone else's territory, otherwise you might have really been able to dominate the martial arts world."
The girl dusted off her hands and said, half-jokingly, "Who knew the people from the 'Dark Gate' were so weak? I should have kept some with me."
"Who dares to speak so arrogantly in our 'Secret Gate'?"
A woman's voice came from the main entrance of the hall. Her voice carried an unquestionable authority, but did not reveal the slightest anger or impatience.
Immediately afterwards, light footsteps echoed outside the empty hall, and a woman dressed in a black outfit walked in slowly. She was tall and slender, with a steady gait, each step seemingly calculated, neither hurried nor sluggish.
Her half-ponytail hairstyle was neat and tidy, exuding competence. Her long, sword-like eyebrows slanted into her temples, giving her an imposing and heroic air. Her almond-shaped eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if they could see into people's hearts, making people afraid to look directly at her.
She wore leather wristbands on both wrists, and a delicate leather belt tightly bound her waist. A pair of black boots covered her trouser legs, and the whole outfit exuded the style of an ancient female knight-errant.
Behind her followed two masked bodyguards. Both were dressed in identical black outfits, tall and burly, their faces hidden behind black masks, revealing only their wary eyes. They stayed close to the woman, like her shadows, silently protecting her safety.
The woman entered the main hall, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. Seeing Xiang Ge and the others, she frowned in displeasure. Then she fixed her gaze on Chuan Liu.
She naturally walked to the head seat at the front and sat down, saying in a calm tone, "I was unaware of the arrival of distinguished guests from the City of Cubes. I am late."
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