He had no time to sort through the chaotic and complex memories in his mind. He retreated several steps and came to the side of a controlled sea monster. Qian Huan Pandora appeared in his hand at some unknown time. Duan Chen mercilessly aimed at the facial sore on its chest.
"Bang! Bang!"
"Ahhh—"
Two shots in succession, the facial sore writhed in pain on the sea monster's chest, and a twisted, agonizing cry actually came from its mouth.
It seemed the mastermind was ruthless, not even sparing his own accomplice.
The banquet hall was vast. Among the dozen or so guests present, none were the mastermind, and he had no idea where that fellow was hiding…
Duan Chen's footsteps halted. He thought of a good idea. He expanded the range of his mind-reading ability to the entire banquet hall. The marionettes, being controlled, had no mental activity. He heard a void, but unexpectedly captured two mental voices.
[Tian Mei, that damned guy, he doesn't even spare his companions. I don't want that guy's bullets hitting me.]
[Heh heh, let them shoot… let them shoot, it's best to kill Tian Rui too. Then I'll have no constraints, and the Apostle's power will be mine alone!]
[Don't find me… don't find me…]
As expected, it was an Apostle!
Duan Chen stopped his indiscriminate attacks. He stood firm and roared at all the guests in front of him.
"Petrifying Eye!"
That's right, Petrifying Eye. He hadn't used this pupil technique even once since obtaining it. He never expected its first use would be on ordinary people.
Spiritual energy was draining rapidly. At this moment, Duan Chen scanned for any possible hiding places, finally settling his gaze on the underside of a tablecloth.
[It's over!]
"Here!"
At the same time, stones fell, and the marionettes regained their freedom.
Duan Chen drew his gun, and the bullets shot out with a roar!
"Bang!"
"Ah—!"
An ugly sea monster crawled out from under the table. It shed its human skin, its eyes bulging. Its wet body left a long trail of water on the ground. Its shoulder had been shattered by bullets, and disgusting green blood flowed out.
"Don't shoot me! Don't shoot me! I'll tell you! Tian Mei is—"
He couldn't finish his sentence before a marionette stepped forward and stomped his head, crushing it.
[Tian Rui, you piece of trash! Finally dead. Now no one will interfere with me anymore!]
"Duan Chen!" Xi Er suddenly shouted, as if reminding him.
Eye of God!
"On the ceiling!"
Duan Chen roared, and without hesitation, raised Qian Huan and fired two shots at a certain spot on the ceiling.
"Crack!"
"Bang!"
A ceiling beam fell onto a wine table, followed by a woman. She had flowing hair, a voluptuous figure, and a refined, enchanting face. She spread her arms, floating in mid-air like a deity. At the same time, all the marionettes stopped moving and stood still.
"A truly vulgar illusion."
Duan Chen smiled. Others' eyes might not see it, but his eyes could clearly see every thread wrapped around the woman.
Tian Mei sneered.
"At death's door and still talking tough?"
"You are Tian Mei, aren't you?" Duan Chen asked instead of answering.
"Oh? You actually know me? How did you… Never mind, that's not important. In my eyes, you're already a dead man!"
Duan Chen narrowed his eyes. The last sea monster that dared to speak to him like this didn't even have its ashes scattered into any particular sea.
"It seems the Apostle has given you quite a bit of confidence… White lace, you don't deserve such good taste!"
Tian Mei's expression changed. She clutched her skirt, and her face became even more ferocious.
"Attack! Tear him apart!"
Duan Chen laughed heartily.
"Sequence 025: [Crow Frenzy]"
A large swarm of crows appeared behind him and rushed towards the ceaselessly emerging threads, biting with their beaks and slashing with their feathers. They temporarily held back the marionettes that had been relentlessly pursuing Duan Chen. He poured spiritual energy into his feet and stomped hard. Qian Huan Pandora in his hand transformed into a blade form, and he charged towards Tian Mei in mid-air.
"Naive! I'm not a fool like Tian Qi!"
A sharp glint flashed in Duan Chen's eyes. He hadn't expected Tian Mei to know Tian Qi.
"Chairman Chen, President Jiang, Manager Wang… Oh dear! Where is Young Master Ou?"
Duan Chen's expression changed. His body, which had been flying through the air, was suddenly yanked back. He looked down and saw a young marionette grab his leg, a strange smile on its face. Moreover, this marionette was not a sea monster, so he couldn't attack it.
"Damn it!"
Duan Chen snorted coldly. He twisted his body forcefully in the air. The blade easily severed the thread. His body then plummeted rapidly, crashing onto the ground and crushing several marionettes beneath him.
"That last sentence… it felt somewhat familiar."
Duan Chen had always trusted his sixth sense. He raised his gun, squinted, and fired two shots at the slender figure in mid-air.
"Bang!"
A figure suddenly shot out and blocked in front of Tian Mei, taking the bullet for her.
Duan Chen's gaze was sharp. He didn't feel guilty for accidentally injuring the person.
Clearly, it was a sea monster.
Tian Mei giggled in mid-air.
"Next time, it might be these guests, handsome boy. Think carefully."
Tian Mei, exploiting Duan Chen's unwillingness to harm ordinary people, could only threaten him in this disgusting manner.
Duan Chen slowly got up.
"It seems besides your puppet tricks, you're utterly useless elsewhere."
"Sequence 033: [Shadow Clone Technique]"
Swish!
Dozens of Duan Chen figures appeared in front of each guest, immobilizing their limbs.
Duan Chen took a breath. Having used pupil techniques and replication abilities consecutively, he only had one-third of his spiritual energy left, but it was enough to deal with the sea monster in front of him.
"What… what is this move?" Tian Mei visibly panicked, but she quickly suppressed her fear and sneered, "I'm not a useless person like Tian Qi! And I won't let you psionics escape! My ability was granted by the Apostle!"
Tian Qi again… Apostle…
The sense of familiarity grew stronger in his heart. Duan Chen decided to keep her alive for a while to thoroughly investigate the source of this familiarity.
Tian Qi… Ding Ding… Gu Sang… Xiao Fang…
Saint Heart Hospital…
Zhong Nao Nao!
A flash of inspiration struck Duan Chen, and he slapped his forehead.
No wonder Tian Mei felt familiar. The puppet technique she used was exactly the same as Zhong Nao Nao, whom he had encountered at Saint Heart Hospital. The only difference was that the latter controlled dolls, while she controlled real people.
This meant the 5th Apostle had made another move!
Duan Chen could never forget what happened at Saint Heart Hospital, even if he tried. Xiao Fang died there, Gu Sang was stimulated and became the subordinate of the 3rd Apostle, and Gao Tian Kai… so many things happened in the airspace that day.
He was certain it was that 5th Apostle!
Duan Chen's eyes narrowed. Tian Mei, suspended in mid-air, spread her arms wide. A sticky, slippery, ugly head slowly emerged from her mouth. The head had two asymmetrical eyeballs that rolled around.
A scent of fish mixed with stench permeated the banquet hall.