Scarlet Descent
Ch. 102 - The Most Efficient Method

“Their goal has been singular from the start.”  

The moment Wei Wei saw the Seventh Clergy’s forces dispersing behind their leader, he understood:  “To find The God's Death Knell.”  The sudden plague was terrifying, but their objective was surprisingly simple.  Scrap Iron City, though a peripheral city, still had a structured patrol force. Such a force’s combat power was far greater than the mercenaries trained or hired by the Seventh Clergy in the wilderness. Releasing the plague was an efficient way to cripple Scrap Iron City’s military defenses, giving them an opportunity to infiltrate.  More importantly, the plague wasn’t just about weakening the city—it was about finding the The God's Death Knell. The Plague Demon’s attack would inevitably drain everyone’s vitality. This indiscriminate weakening would highlight certain locations where vitality remained strong: the Blood and Flesh Rose sacrificial sites still teeming with Life Demons. Although Life Demons would also be affected by the plague, their vitality would diminish much more slowly than others. By identifying these points of concentrated vitality, the Seventh Clergy could locate the remaining sacrificial sites and, through them, pinpoint the Life Cage’s sealing location.  How efficient…  Wei Wei had long known how terrifying wilderness fanatics could be. They always acted with clear objectives and no moral constraints. Seeing it firsthand still made him marvel at their ruthlessness.  He didn’t try to stay and help Captain Ouyang fight the Seventh Clergy leader. For one, his crimson power had been severely weakened; for another, he lacked effective means to harm these high-level superhumans in Scrap Iron City. Staying would only let him see their prideful and even contemptuous expressions—Wei Wei preferred seeing despair and rage on their faces instead.  Nor did he plan to assist Uncle Gun or Lucky Sister. Captain Ouyang clearly understood the demon artifact spreading this plague; he knew its number and name and even its distinct characteristic: a rotting swamp that devoured everything around it. Such a feature made it easiest to locate from above—and Captain Ouyang had just fallen from the sky…  Wei Wei was certain Captain Ouyang had already briefed Uncle Gun and Lucky Sister during a mid-air meeting. They likely had a general idea of Pandora’s Box’s location and were now heading there to confirm it. Helping them would mean aimlessly wandering around the city—a waste of time. His illness wasn’t an excuse to ignore leadership’s intentions; if he couldn’t help with their tasks, he had only one option left:  Destroy their plan to infiltrate the city.  If they used such an efficient method to enter Scrap Iron City in search of the Divine Bell of the Gods, then Wei Wei would use an equally efficient method to stop them. His eyes narrowed as he felt sweat forming from the cold medicine Uncle Gun gave him. His mind cleared slightly, and his weak limbs regained some strength.  In his brief clarity, Wei Wei made his decision:  “Kill everyone they sent into the city…”  If they used such ruthless tactics, why should he hold back? Only by setting himself such a challenging goal could he repay Captain Ouyang for jumping from above to save him. Excitement surged through him as he made this decision.  He quickly darted into a nearby shop, climbed out through a second-floor window, and scaled a rooftop amidst tangled electrical wires. Moving swiftly across rooftops for dozens of meters, he crouched down, his eyes gleaming as he aimed his gun.  At this moment, both sides’ forces were just beginning to scatter—making it easiest for them to encounter each other in the city streets. Wei Wei spotted three Battle Nuns moving swiftly through an alleyway with incredible agility. The Seventh Clergy’s Battle Nuns operated in three-person combat teams; there had originally been seven teams outside Scrap Iron City under this leader’s command—his most basic combat force for this operation. Wei Wei had already killed one team before; now only six remained—all vital to this mission.  Holding his breath, Wei Wei activated his “Death Aura” ability, making himself appear dead so that no one could detect him through body heat or heartbeat—a perfect ambush technique. His silver handgun continued absorbing plague energy from the city and couldn’t be used yet, so he gripped his black short gun instead. Ejecting a Red Angel bullet, he loaded a Green Ghost bullet into its place and quietly aimed at one of their backs.  The three Battle Nuns moved quickly toward an alleyway while Wei Wei reloaded and aimed silently—but just as he was about to pull the trigger, one of them suddenly leaped up in alarm, shouting a warning while scanning her surroundings with lightning speed until her gaze locked onto Wei Wei’s position.It was only then that Wei Wei noticed a small puddle reflecting his gun barrel below her—an almost imperceptible clue during their rapid movement that most wouldn’t notice—but this Knowledge Demon transcendent clearly possessed heightened sensory abilities granted by her system.Bang!Despite being spotted, Wei Wei immediately pulled the trigger—but at that moment, her gaze locked onto him with narrowed eyes.An Awareness Bullet struck him instantly.Wei Wei felt his entire body go numb as if paralyzed; his legs struggled to grip the rooftop edge while his gun nearly slipped from his hand.The Awareness Bullet carried a command: *Relax your entire body.* If successful, Wei Wei would lose muscle tension entirely—falling from his perch while dropping his weapon.But unexpectedly, though slightly shaken, blood-red energy surged within Wei Wei’s eyes—a hallmark of his third-stage crimson power evolution as a Scarlet Knight. Having already mastered Awareness Bullets himself during training camp—and possessing naturally high resistance due to crimson power—he quickly overcame its effects.Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger again.A bullet whizzed out—not at its original target but at a car’s fuel tank below after adjusting for her warning shout.“Boom!”  The fuel tank exploded as Green Ghost bullets ignited gasoline with eerie green flames engulfing everything nearby like movie special effects.One Battle Nun closest to the car screamed as flames consumed her entirely; another was partially burned while retreating frantically; only one managed an acrobatic dodge before drawing dual pistols aimed precisely at Wei Wei atop his rooftop perch.Knowledge Demons often lacked close-combat prowess—which was why each combat team typically included at least one transcendent specializing in physical combat or war systems. This Battle Nun clearly filled that role—her movements erratic yet calculated as she closed distance unpredictably using low-tier War Demon techniques designed specifically for dodging bullets within five meters.“Is she trying to pressure me directly so her teammate can recover?”  Scarlet intuition instantly revealed her intentions—but instead of panicking or retreating under pressure like most would when faced with such erratic movement patterns designed specifically against ranged attacks—Wei Wei smiled faintly before activating his own Awareness Bullet ability.His thoughts coalesced into a single mental construct shaped like a bullet fired directly into her mind mid-charge.The War Demon-affiliated Battle Nun reached him moments later—with one hand gripping her knife high overhead ready for execution—but suddenly paused mid-motion… biting down inexplicably on Wei Wei's raised black short gun instead!Both froze momentarily—equally stunned by what just happened:  “What… just happened?”