Facing down dozens of Ethereal, Su Chen gripped his twin pistols, eyes brimming with excitement.
The innate ability of [All-Weapon Mastery] made the guns feel like extensions of his own body—perfectly in sync with his intent.
He gently squeezed the triggers, and the crisp clicks of the firing pins formed an endless rhythm.
Silver-white handguns spat out bullets one after another, with muzzle flashes and smoke trailing in their wake.
At a blistering fire rate of twelve rounds per second, Su Chen pushed the limit—his bullets practically became a golden-red streak of fire in the air.
And yet, precision was never sacrificed.
Each round seemed to have its own will, curving in midair as if guided, homing in on the Ether cores of the Ethereal.
The Ether core—vital organ for an Ethereal's survival and energy intake. Unless shattered, an Ethereal could continuously regenerate.
Targeting the core was the fastest way to kill an Ethereal. But the cores weren't exactly fragile.
In fact, an Ether core's hardness was several times that of the surrounding tissue. A shot from Ivory alone couldn't break it in one hit.
Only the sniper-like power of Ebony could ensure an instant kill. But its slow fire rate made it more of a backup option.
Not that it mattered to Su Chen. If one bullet wasn't enough, he'd fire two—or five. After all, he had unlimited ammo.
Bang!
Cracks formed in an Ether core.
Bang!
The fractures deepened, the Ethereal shrieking in pain.
Bang!
A third shot smashed through, shattering the dazzlingly dark core to pieces.
The Ethereal collapsed on the spot—truly dead.
At twelve bullets per second, even accounting for body shots, at least one Ethereal died every second, and three more were seriously wounded.
"Roaaar!"
The deaths of their kin didn't deter the Ethereal. Instead, it drove them into a frenzy.
Beast-type Ethereal lunged with razor-sharp claws, humanoid ones slashed with Ether energy blades, and mechanical variants fired Ether projectiles—
All of it rained down on Su Chen.
But it was useless.
With his sharp senses and agile shooter's frame, Su Chen dodged most attacks with ease.
And those he couldn't dodge—phased through him thanks to invincibility frames from his dodges.
Su Chen wove through the horde.
He spun, rolled, leapt—sometimes with his eyes closed.
No matter how the mechanical, beast, or humanoid Ethereal attacked, they couldn't even graze the edge of his coat.
Every sidestep, every twist of his body evaded multiple strikes.
And with every return motion, he delivered pinpoint fire, executing enemy after enemy.
This fight was more thrilling than any action game—raw, visceral, and utterly real.
And his enemies weren't human. There was no need to hold back. Just kill.
His mind emptied.
All that remained was the joy of combat and the rush of adrenaline.
It was Su Chen's first true battle against a swarm—and all he felt was euphoria.
The primal savagery in human blood awoke, every nerve overloaded with stimulation. At this moment, Su Chen embodied the moniker of the Terrifying Upright Ape.
If guns were a man's romance, then a solo gunfight was the pinnacle of that romance.
Su Chen, now partly understanding the mindset of the Virtuoso, whispered:
"I bloom in slaughter, like a flower at dawn."
He danced through the Ethereal, his gunfire forming a deadly rhythm.
Thirty seconds later, with a final shot, the last Ethereal fell.
Not only had Su Chen wiped out his share, but every Ethereal that had attacked Nicole's group had also been cleared out.
The battlefield was now littered with shattered Ether cores.
Broken limbs and torn bodies of Ethereal lay everywhere—slowly dissolving back into the Hollow.
A brutal, yet strangely beautiful scene—a work of death.
Su Chen holstered his pistols, bowed toward the remains of the Ethereal.
Perhaps in reverence to life—or maybe in thanks for their dramatic performance.
Off to the side, the rest of the group, who had been preparing to rescue him, were completely stunned.
Su Chen hadn't charged in to die—he'd known he could kill them all.
And he had.
In just a few minutes, every Ethereal was wiped out—clean, efficient.
They hadn't needed to support him at all. In fact, Su Chen had even provided cover fire for them.
And after fighting dozens of Ethereal, he didn't have a single scratch.
This wasn't just victory—it was a total massacre.
And that bow at the end? Was he mocking the Ethereal for not putting up enough of a fight?
Still… he looked damn cool doing it.
Belle had already instructed Eous's camera to capture it from every angle. She was definitely making this her phone wallpaper.
"Was he military?"
Anby muttered in confusion.
She could clearly see signs of professional combat training in Su Chen. The techniques weren't ones she recognized, but they had a definite military flavor.
But if Su Chen had been part of the defense force, she would've heard of him.
Someone this strong would be rare even among elite units.
"He's so strong… and so handsome!"
Nicole looked at Su Chen with literal sparkles in her eyes.
We're talking about dozens of Ethereal here. Su Chen had personally taken down at least fifty—more than half of them.
And after all that, not even a scratch?
His combat power was off the charts.
She was sure of it: even in the Hollow Special Operations Section, Su Chen would be an absolute ace.
And she… had picked up this ace… for free.
What unbelievable luck!
Nicole gave her lucky charm a rub, silently thanking it for making Su Chen fall—right onto her.
"Elegant! Too elegant!"
Billy clapped with enthusiasm. "I'm totally doing that move after every battle! It's just like Starlight Knight's signature finishing kick!"
To salute your fallen enemies post-battle—to mock their weakness…
It was just so cool to imagine.
"Please don't."
Belle cut him off immediately. "I literally can't imagine you doing that without dying of secondhand embarrassment."
A bright red, overly flamboyant robot doing a dramatic post-fight bow?
It would ruin the entire aesthetic.
"Proxy, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
Billy clutched his chest, acting deeply wounded.