Light Fortress
Chapter 140 - 128: The Sound of Gunfire

Chapter 140: Chapter 128: The Sound of Gunfire

Fight together?

Upon hearing these words, Song Ci almost let out a laugh.

"You know, when the fight breaks out later, the aftershock might kill you, and I don’t have the time to look after you..." Crow said coldly, "If I tell you to scram, then scram quickly. Don’t try to act tough and play the hero; it’s not your time to stand out."

He was aware.

Gu Shen’s talent was remarkable.

But... the current Gu Shen had not yet grown strong, and engaging in battle with a Transcendent of Chen Mei’s caliber could very well cause extensive casualties. A Transcendent at Gu Shen’s level was too susceptible to collateral damage.

"Don’t worry, I’m someone who cherishes life, and I’m very self-aware, so I never overestimate my abilities." Gu Shen lay on the ice, expressionless as he spoke, "Please do me a favor and keep your distance when you start fighting. I’d like to live a little longer. However, there’s one thing I must tell you... I won’t go anywhere tonight, I’ll just stay here."

Crow’s brow furrowed.

He couldn’t comprehend Gu Shen’s choice at this moment.

"Your words just now reminded me, since Cui Zhongcheng is already paying attention to the battle here at Jiangtan... then me going to look for him... would be far too slow." Gu Shen spoke softly, "We’ve known each other for so long, yet you seem to not know my identity."

"Your identity, is it that important?"

Crow found it somewhat amusing—this young fellow, what kind of identity could he have?

Could Mr. Xiao Cui be even dispatching someone especially to ensure his safety tonight?

No time for further thought.

He twisted his fists; his joints cracked with a series of crisp sounds.

Chen Mei rushed over from afar, and the river surface exploded with a chain of water spouts.

Crow also began to run, and in an instant, the two collided, exchanging blows. Both were extremely powerful Strong Attack Type Transcendents, with bodies as indestructible as vajra. Every fistfight, each collision seemed to cause an air burst, with the sound of metal clashing echoing through the air. Anyone too close would have their eardrums shattered.

"All this was your plan?"

At the moment of exchange.

Chen Mei’s languid voice tinged with anger, "Did you purposely arrange a fight at Jiangtan to attract South Hall Transcendents, then sent someone to sneak into the South Bay Building?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about." Crow’s expression didn’t change as he casually replied, "Don’t think of me as too clever. I’m just a brute, after all. Could a brute come up with such a cunning plan?"

"You are harboring a criminal." Chen Mei spoke coldly, "Do you know the consequences?"

"A criminal? What criminal?" Crow laughed, "I don’t know him at all. I just don’t like what you’re doing... As for you speaking of someone sneaking into the building, where’s the evidence?"

Chen Mei was left speechless.

Indeed.

He truly had no evidence...

Moreover, Chen Mei also couldn’t explain how he was so certain, despite the lock-down of the building and the Deep Sea’s all-clear alert, that the young man he had locked in was the suspect.

"Without evidence, I may have to sue you for libel."

Crow knew too well what this facial expression meant.

It seems... the people from the South Bay Building really had no evidence.

"..."

Chen Mei had no desire to continue the pointless talk and entanglement, for at this point, he could confirm that Crow was indeed harboring that youth, and what he needed to do was very simple.

Kill the person involved directly.

However, there was still a huge problem right in front of him.

The two exchanged a punch and pulled apart again, both feeling a surge of blood and energy.

A Transcendent, even with an iron body, remained a mortal.

Each punch, each collision, seemingly equal in force, was actually also a drain on their own vitality.

"Hasn’t anyone taught you? You need to focus when you fight."

Crow stood in front of Chen Mei, always managing to position himself between Chen Mei and Gu Shen.

It was clear that Crow had seen through Chen Mei’s intentions.

His job was simple: to hold Chen Mei back, to engage him in a fight.

"Do you still have the mind to think about other matters?"

Song Ci extended his pinky finger towards Chen Mei, hooking it and chuckling softly, "I’ve been looking forward to this fight for a long time, so please... don’t disappoint me."

...

...

"It’s now November 25th, 11:07 p.m."

Chu Ling’s voice resounded again, "Cui Zhongcheng’s permissions cannot be captured... Lu Nanzhi’s permissions cannot be captured... Just now, I attempted to confirm the locations of both of them but failed. However, it is certain that a significant number of Transcendents are approaching the Jiangtan South Bay Basin. They are expected to arrive within fifteen minutes."

Gu Shen lay on the ice, half of his body soaked in the river water, but he didn’t feel cold. Chi Huo burned at his brow, white steam rose around him, and the river water close to his body evaporated from the searing heat.

"Fifteen minutes, huh..." He pondered Chu Ling’s words.

The reason he mentioned fighting together wasn’t because Gu Shen lacked rationality—quite the opposite... It was a decision he had made after careful consideration.

Tonight, he would stay at Jiangtan.

Avoiding the battle would certainly take him out of danger, but that wasn’t what he wanted.

Clearly, Cui Zhongcheng had been watching him all along, from the Sufficiency Statuary to the fog on Yuan Dan Street. More than once, Gu Shen had wanted to uncover what truly lay behind the glasses of this ancient man. He wanted to know how Cui Zhongcheng really regarded him...

Since the moment Cui Zhongcheng had arranged for him to come to Da Du, a giant net had been laid out to fish out the person manipulating the Changjiu Foundation from behind the scenes. Hence, with the Compass in his possession, he was currently the most important piece on the board.

Gu Shen’s decision to stay at Jiangtan this time was his "test" for Cui Zhongcheng.

Perhaps Cui Zhongcheng didn’t care about Crow, the Sincere Heart Association, or many other things.

But he must care about himself.

If he didn’t want his own pawn to fall here...

Just end it all now!

The important part was this: through this "assessment," Gu Shen wanted to see... just how many pairs of eyes were watching him and where these eyes came from?

"How much longer will it take to decrypt the closed-circuit host’s message?" Gu Shen asked.

"Unknown."

Chu Ling answered, "Without any information, using brute force to crack the encryption key, no one can give a definite time frame for decryption... In the best-case scenario, it might be resolved in the next second, but it’s entirely possible that it could take days."

This answer was not good news.

About the information stored in the closed-circuit host of the thirty-ninth floor, naturally, the sooner it was decrypted, the better.

"There’s another issue..." Gu Shen said, "Based on the residual messages from the South Bay Building, can you determine the identity of the intruder?"

After infiltrating the building, he had maintained contact with Chu Ling throughout.

When one is involved, it is hard to be clear-headed.

He had done his best, but what he feared the most was leaving traces that could become a future problem when investigated.

Previously, the manhunt by Chen Mei had brought immense pressure to Gu Shen, mainly because of that person’s unreasonably fierce killing intent... If he were to be caught, he would be killed instantly.

Chen Mei wouldn’t even give him a chance to speak.

Lamb to the slaughter.

But the situation would be different after fifteen minutes.

If there was no evidence.

All suspicions from the South Bay Building would be baseless, and without evidence or reason, Chen Mei would have no grounds to lay a hand on him.

"Gu Shen, be careful of Qi Lv—"

Chu Ling’s sudden loud warning interrupted Gu Shen’s train of thought.

Gu Shen looked up.

The river fog in the distance was shattered and reformed; a hundred meters away, all sight was obscured by fog and fierce winds.

He couldn’t see anything, just a fragmented mist.

The shattered mist and the sweeping winds were the handiwork of Chen Mei and Song Ci... Two top-tier Transcendents, who even while restraining their blows, kept half the river in turmoil.

In such a situation, it was foolish to approach the battleground.

Anyone lacking strength and daring to get close might very well be injured by mistake!

This was also why Gu Shen was not in a rush to leave from the other side of the river bank that served as a battlefield.

In Gu Shen’s view, the Transcendents from the Sincere Heart Association couldn’t cross the main battlefield to attack him, so he still had plenty of time.

Be careful of Qi Lv...

The moment Chu Ling’s voice rang out.

Gu Shen’s pupils constricted.

...

...

For the third time, Qi Lv activated his "Eagle Eye" and this time, his target was no longer Song Ci... The eagle’s gaze stretched across the river, with hundreds of afterimages densely covering the river surface, two equally matched top-tier Strong Attack Type Transcendents occupied most of Eagle Eye’s vision, and at the very edge of his sight, between the gaps in the afterimages, one could barely make out a piece of solid ice floe.

On that piece of ice floe lay a young man.

Chen Mei had just told him.

When his group was heading to the riverbank, the South Bay Building had suffered an intrusion, and this unknown young man... was very likely the intruder.

Qi Lv vaguely guessed what would happen tonight.

People would come, more and more.

And the more people there were... the simpler things would become complicated.

While he still could, while he could still shoot—

He decided to simplify a complicated matter.

Qi Lv activated Eagle Eye and loaded an ordinary red-silver bullet into the chamber, Eagle Eye revealed that the young man’s strength was very ordinary, not worthy of using a Purple Silver Bullet.

Accompanying the loading action, he quietly set up a sniper rifle by the riverbank and aimed the muzzle at Gu Shen on the ice floe.

Without any hesitation.

From loading the bullet, to setting up the rifle, to pulling the trigger, the whole process was incredibly fast and completely unforeseen, with no one aware of his sudden action.

Thus, in the depth of the night there erupted—

A "bang!"

A gunshot.

Amidst the roaring winds sweeping across the river, full of chaos, the gunshot was not intense.

The wind driven by the bullet shattered droplets of water, and the sound accompanying it was almost negligible.

But it was the most silent, the most lethal.

In an instant.

The red-silver bullet traversed over a hundred meters.

From this end, to that end.

From Qi Lv, to Gu Shen.

The trajectory hung in the air, perfect and dazzling, as if someone had drawn a straight and deadly line with a single stroke, a meticulously crafted piece of art.

Following the gunshot, the ice floe shattered.

A spray of fresh red blood mist burst forth.