The boy behind the door hadn't spoken, yet his voice entered Duan Chen's mind directly—
'This isn't a crisis. You can use them as bait and seize the opportunity to slip away. That's what you're best at.'
Duan Chen's heart jolted. He realized he couldn't react, as if his body and consciousness had also become sluggish and viscous with time.
'Sacrifice... sacrifice three insignificant burdens. Only I am looking out for you. You don't need to put yourself in danger for these burdens.'
'Run... Time, time... is running out.'
Duan Chen fiercely bit his own tongue. The scent of crimson flooded his mouth, and the black mist before his eyes also thinned.
He felt he had regained his consciousness!
"Screw you! Didn't the Night Mare die? Why is it back?! I swore an oath on this path of being an agent, and I will protect every life behind me!"
Duan Chen steadily raised his gun. The boy behind the door seemed unsurprised by his choice, merely watching him silently, gently, and faintly.
'Time is running out...' The boy's voice held a hint of sorrow.
The rotating disc in his eyes stopped at the image of the electromagnetic cannon.
Raising his arm to a ninety-degree angle with his body, Duan Chen poured all his spiritual energy and pulled the trigger, aiming at the giant ghost-faced monster and the black door hinge before him.
"Sequence 012: Pseudo·Electromagnetic Cannon."
Boom—!!
An incredibly dazzling beam of light erupted from the muzzle.
With a single shot,
It pierced through the vast, bewildered expanse.
Countless ghost-faced monsters were instantly annihilated in the beam.
The terrifying projectile struck the barrier, energy swirling, colliding, tearing... emitting a piercing roar, and then the beam tore through the void, piercing a massive hole!
The earth trembled, residual waves surged, and the air grew so hot it felt like it would ignite.
Boom—!
The entire altar in the outer realm was instantly obliterated, and the ancient bronze mirror shattered into pieces.
The hot wind lifted Duan Chen's bangs. He calmly looked at the smoking muzzle and blew on it lightly.
"..."
What divine power this was.
Michelle and the others were stunned. They had known Duan Chen was powerful, but they hadn't imagined he was even more terrifying than they had thought!
Gulp. The three of them swallowed simultaneously.
That shot just now... could it still be called a 'gun'? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an 'electromagnetic cannon'!
"Meow~~"
Little Deadpool tilted his head and rubbed against Duan Chen's pant leg, meowing softly.
And through Little Deadpool's eyes, Wu Suowei, who had witnessed this scene, applauded softly.
"Growing too fast, Duan Chen. On every world line, you continue to surprise me... Interesting."
Wu Suowei caressed the white chess piece representing the [King] in his hand.
"It's finally coming, isn't it."
In Mirror City, after everything had settled, the three of them gathered around him in admiration.
"Brother Duan Chen, you were so cool!"
"Teacher Duan, that shot of yours was even more incredible than when you were at school!"
"Alright, kids, can't you see Duan Chen needs to rest? Stop chattering endlessly beside him." Jia Yunlian, who was closest, immediately annoyed Michelle.
"Hoo, let me rest for a bit. Although the immediate crisis is resolved, we still can't be careless. I need you to keep watch for me."
"No problem." Qin Ze nodded and moved to the outermost edge of the group. He knew neither of the two bickering women would back down first.
Half an hour later, Duan Chen had recovered thirty percent of his strength. Fortunately, there had been no disturbances during this time.
"Aren't we leaving yet? Weren't we supposed to report the situation in Mirror City to the higher-ups of the guild first?" Michelle asked with concern.
"We've come all this way, I want to gather a bit more intel," Duan Chen said softly.
"But you're injured and need medical attention. We've been here once, and as long as we open a teleportation point, with the guild's technology, it will be easy to come back later. But delaying treatment could be very troublesome," Michelle's brow furrowed in worry.
"Don't worry. For us high-level agents, these injuries are nothing," Duan Chen smiled and shook his head, standing up at the same time.
"I'll go ahead and scout the path." Duan Chen stood up and patted the dust and bloodstains off his suit.
This custom-made suit, which cost over ten thousand yuan, was nearly ruined. Duan Chen felt a pang of regret and planned to ask Old Zhang for reimbursement when he got back.
The destroyed circular altar was located on the edge of Mirror City. Behind it, besides the pitch-black sea beyond the transparent shield, was a steep, bare cliff face.
There were only two paths leading inwards.
One to the left, one to the right; one high, one low.
Duan Chen took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and walked towards the higher path.
Jia Yunlian went towards the other, lower path. "I'll check this way then."
Michelle and Qin Ze had also wanted to follow Duan Chen, but Duan Chen had said that too many people would be chaotic for scouting. Since such a huge commotion had occurred here, the Sea Monster race would surely take further action. He asked them to hide in the ruins and see if they could glean any information.
Michelle couldn't say anything more, so she could only nod and urge Duan Chen to be careful.
"Don't worry, Teacher Duan is so capable, he'll be fine," Qin Ze said softly, trying to comfort her. He subtly moved outwards, leaving a safer corner for Michelle.
"When will I be able to be this powerful?" Michelle murmured softly. "To become a woman worthy of standing by his side, I need to work even harder."
"You definitely can, Xue'er," Qin Ze felt a twinge of bitterness but still smiled and encouraged her.
On the other side, Duan Chen, having climbed to the mountaintop, looked out into the distance.
Sporadic early human civilization buildings were scattered throughout the city. Sea monsters in patrol occasionally traversed the squares and streets, making the place seem somewhat desolate.
Just then, three men with human appearances appeared in the street. They were likely sea monsters who had transformed into human form.
They furtively slipped into a low-lying villa.
Duan Chen's eyes narrowed. His intuition told him he should investigate.
He quickly assessed the distance and danger level and then stealthily approached the vicinity of the villa alone.
He drew his gun, chambered a round.
Duan Chen pressed his back against the wall, alert to any movement around him.
Perhaps it was because too many sea monsters had been killed at the altar just now, but this area was relatively quiet.
Suddenly, a sea monster patrol soldier, two meters tall, rounded a corner.
Their eyes met for a split second. The sea monster's fish-like eyes widened in surprise.
Duan Chen reacted with extreme calm and decisiveness. He dodged behind it, grabbed the sea monster's head with his strong arms, and twisted forcefully.
Crack—!
With a muffled thud, the sea monster, unable to make a sound, rolled its eyes and died.
Duan Chen quickly and silently dragged it to the base of the wall, stripped off its gray hemp robe, and casually wrapped it around his head. Then, using both his hands and feet, he nimbly climbed the wall and concealed himself behind the eaves, only revealing his sharp eyes.
Inside the villa, some kind of secret transaction was taking place.
The three men with human appearances opened a cloth bag. Inside was a blood-stained human heart!