Lin Feng's voice rang out not far away, with his characteristic duck-like rasp: "Are you scared stiff? Look carefully—that's not him. There are plenty of white-haired people in this world; is everyone supposed to be him? When have you ever heard he played with guns? This brat is a newcomer to the Bureau. His hair turned white not long ago. Besides shooting straight, he's good for nothing. If you don't deal with him now, it won't take long before he cleans you out."
After Lin Feng finished speaking, a woman's voice cut in: "Do you still have anything in your pants? Worthless lot of trash!" As she spoke, a faint greenish smoke drifted from where she stood. Although thin, the smoke did not disperse but floated steadily over the two unlucky souls who had just burned to death. The two fire corpses were still crackling with flame as the smoke wafted over them and seeped inside.
Before I could make out what that was, the woman sharply shouted a strange syllable. The moment her last syllable left her lips, the two fire-wrapped corpses lying on the ground suddenly "whoosh" stood up. Both screamed in a wild, animalistic cry. Then, like two monkeys, they grabbed the stair railing and somersaulted upward.
The speed and agility of the fire corpses were far beyond normal. They didn't seem like typical corpse reanimations or something possessed by spirits... well, if possessed, it had to be by the souls of apes or some similar animals. Their movements exceeded human limits. In a blink, the two fire corpses split into separate paths and had already climbed halfway up the third floor, snarling and lunging toward me.
Their speed was terrifying. I didn't dare underestimate them. I switched my assault rifle to full auto with a flick of my thumb and unleashed a burst. Bam! The first fire corpse took five or six rounds and tumbled back to the first floor.
Before I could shift my aim to the next, the scene blurred—the second fireball-like corpse had already lunged at me.
Before I could get a clear look, the fire corpse pounced, its body nearly aligned with my rifle's muzzle. Without aiming, I squeezed the trigger and emptied a dozen rounds into its chest. The bullets' penetration knocked it down, rolling and screaming in pain. I aimed at its head and fired again—pop, pop, pop, bang! The last bullet blew its head apart. Only then did it stop struggling, letting the flames burn it to a crisp.
Just as I was about to reload, another fiery ball streaked past the stair railing. The other fire corpse, which I'd just shot down, had surged back up. There was no time for a reload. I reversed my grip on the rifle and swung it like a club, striking the fire corpse's head.
The fire corpse was faster than I expected. The moment I swung the rifle, it leapt over my head, twisting mid-air and reaching back to claw at my spine. If I hadn't been carrying the wooden case with the Blades of Sin and Retribution on my back, that swipe would've punched a hole through me.
The claw hit the case, pushing me off balance. As I dropped the rifle, preparing to grit my teeth and wrestle the fire corpse's wrist, a gunshot cracked. The fire corpse collapsed.
It was Gao Liang. The shot had shattered the fire corpse's lower leg. My heart sank. Gao Liang was the Bureau's top dog, but he kept all the good stuff in his own hands. That ordinary-looking Type 54 pistol had more power than the Bureau-issued assault rifles. If I survived this day, I'd definitely bug Deputy Director Sun to get me one of those pistols.
Seizing the moment, I grabbed my assault rifle and swapped magazines. The fire corpse, now missing a leg, fell to the ground but seemed unfazed by pain. It snarled, reaching to grab my ankle. Just as I raised my foot to kick it aside, Gao Liang stepped forward.
"No use. To deal with these puppets, you do this!" he said. He stomped hard on the fire corpse's wrist. With a loud crack, the wrist twisted into a grotesque V-shape.
Had I underestimated Gao Liang? To be fair, these fire corpses had incredibly tough bodies. Even with the Bureau's special assault rifles, it was tough to take them down. Gao Liang casually breaking a wrist with a single kick—unless I used my left hand, I couldn't do that. Then he proceeded to break the other wrist the same way.
Only then did I notice Gao Liang's clothes—his pants and shirt had been singed by the fire corpses several times, but they showed no burn marks or deformation at all.
Seeing the fire corpse no longer posed a threat, Gao Liang used his sleeve as a pad, grabbed the still howling fire corpse, and threw it down along the stair railing. At the same time, he shouted, "Jinlian, isn't it? Over thirty years gone by, but your Puppet Corpse Manipulation Spell is still as refined as ever. Jinlian, I thought you died at Xiao Sanda's hands thirty years ago. Didn't expect we'd meet again... Jinlian, it was Xiao Sanda who deliberately let you go back then, right?"
Just as Gao Liang finished speaking, a woman's voice responded downstairs: "Gao Fox! Can you at least get my name right? I'm Jia Jinling. You're the real Jinlian. Your whole family's a bunch of Pan Jinlians（Note: This is a notorious courtesan from an ancient Chinese novel.）!"
I looked down from the blind spot and saw a woman in her fifties or sixties pointing at Gao Liang and cursing him.
Deputy Director Gao stood beside me and quietly said, "Shoot her..."
The gun was already aimed at the old woman's head. As Gao's words left his lips, I pulled the trigger. Bang! The bullet pierced through the old woman's forehead, its tremendous penetration throwing her body two or three meters away. Blood and brain matter splattered all over the floor.
After the gunshot, the first-floor hall fell into a deathly silence. Lin Feng and his group dared not show themselves again.
After a while, Lin Feng's voice rang out again: "Fourth Uncle, aren't you going to make a move? You've been watching the show for too long. How about stepping out and showing some skill?"
Just after Lin Feng spoke, a strange laugh echoed, followed by a sharp voice: "I'm opening the way for you, but don't I deserve some explanation?"
Lin Feng paused, then chuckled: "Got the Heavenly Principle Diagram. You can take a look at it for a month first. That's sincere enough, right?" No sooner had he finished than someone across from him interrupted: "As long as we deal with those two upstairs, we get to see the Heavenly Principle Diagram for a month, right? Xiao Lao Si, no need for you, I'll go!"
This person didn't wait for Lin Feng's agreement and stepped out of hiding. It was a tall, slender man in his fifties, not yet sixty.
Gao Liang snorted coldly upon seeing the slender man, muttering to himself, "Humph! What a day of evil spirits—all my old foes gathered. Little Lin Feng, I really did underestimate you."
Hearing Gao call him an old foe, I didn't hold back. I aimed my gun at the slender man's forehead. Before Gao could give an order, bang—I pulled the trigger again. At the same time, the slender man jerked his head sideways; the bullet grazed past his forehead.
Missed...
That moment stunned me. Since I first touched a gun, aside from the foreign expert just now, I had never missed a shot. Some hit but didn't kill, but never missed entirely. It had to be luck, right? I refused to believe his luck was better than Sun Fatty's.
I aimed again at the slender man's forehead. Just as I squeezed the trigger, he turned his head again slightly. The bullet flew just past his eyebrow. The slender man bared his teeth at me and sneered, "How many bullets do you have left? Shoot 'em all. Shoot in full auto. If you kill me, I'll admit you win!"
Nonsense! You're already dead, so doesn't that mean I win? I cursed inwardly, grit my teeth, flicked my thumb to switch to full auto mode, and emptied a whole magazine into the slender man's chest.
The slender man jumped, dodging left and right. Not a single bullet even grazed his skin.
"Hahaha!" After my magazine emptied, he laughed uproariously and shouted at me, "Not satisfied yet! Got more bullets? Fire another mag. Let me show off a little!" Then he laughed wildly again.
This was the first time I'd been bullied like this. The problem was, I was holding an assault rifle, being taunted by the target. Where's the justice in that?
After catching my breath, I swapped magazines. Just as I aimed again, Gao Liang whispered by my side, "Shoot at his feet. Drive him toward the wall..."
Hmm? The words circled in my mind before I understood Gao's meaning. This time, I slowed my fire and aimed a three-round burst at the slender man's left foot. Instinctively, he dodged right. I kept shooting continuously; the slender man, without much thought, dodged the bullets and unwittingly moved toward the wall.
By the time he reached the wall, my ammo was spent. Gao Liang suddenly acted, firing several shots from his pistol at the slender man, preventing him from leaving the wall. Taking advantage of this, I quickly reloaded and swept left with a burst. The slender man dodged left, but his head struck the wall with a thud. The rebound struck him right in the face, and a muffled pfft sounded. The slender man joined the old woman in the afterlife.
Just as the slender man was shot, Lin Feng shouted, "Fourth Uncle, make your move!"
I aimed toward the direction he spoke, preparing to take on his Fourth Uncle, but Gao Liang grabbed me suddenly. "You can't handle this one. Fall back for now!"
If Gao says he can't handle someone, it definitely isn't a simple character. As I retreated with Gao, I asked, "Lin Feng actually has such a powerful Fourth Uncle?"
Gao Liang strode toward the emergency elevator, replying as he walked, "That's Xiao Sanda's fourth younger brother... Xiao Siyang."
Sanda, Siyang... Given the order, they must have two older brothers before them, right? As I was lost in thought, Gao continued: "Xiao Siyang once worked in the Special Case Handling Office. He was almost promoted to Section Chief of Section Two. Later, for some reason, he had a falling out with his biological older brother. They fought alone, and Xiao Sanda almost died at his brother's hands. Because of that, Xiao Siyang was expelled from the Special Office, and there's been no news of him since. Never expected to meet again under such circumstances."