The next day.
Chen Lusi yawned, and once again dragged his half-awake self to the top floor of the building.
He didn't sleep well last night.
The reason being...
On one hand, he couldn't fall asleep instantly.
On the other hand, those blue glimmers, the so-called Spirits, were too annoying.
He could 'see' them even with his eyes closed.
He studied until midnight, only then barely figuring out how to 'turn off' this feature.
This resulted in him getting only three hours of sleep, and it was impressive that he managed to walk here.
He walked into 'Celestial Strategy Trading.'
The receptionist was also half-awake, with a face that clearly showed she didn't want to be at work. When she saw Chen Lusi, she didn't greet him, just pointed towards the meeting room.
Chen Lusi thanked her and walked into the meeting room.
Xia Panqiu looked the same as yesterday, still wearing that mismatched office outfit, her naturally cute face forcing a stern and serious expression.
As for that cheerful handsome guy, Li Tian, he looked similar to Chen Lusi... as if he hadn't slept well either.
Seeing Chen Lusi walk in, Xia Panqiu spoke directly: "It seems like you both succeeded yesterday... You probably understand what cultivation is all about now, right?"
"Understood."
Li Tian perked up and responded.
Chen Lusi just nodded with a half-awake expression.
Xia Panqiu nodded again, then changed the subject: "So, let's talk about the specifics of your abilities, names, effects, and duration, explain them all. After meditating, you should know what your Authority is, don't lie."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Li Tian glanced at Chen Lusi, who appeared half-dead and didn't seem like he wanted to speak, so he took the initiative to start.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "My ability is called Bind, its effect is to bind the arms of everyone within my line of sight, lasting nearly ten seconds."
"Demonstrate it for me."
Xia Panqiu lifted her snow-white chin.
Li Tian scratched his head and quietly apologized before proceeding.
In the next moment.
Chen Lusi, who was sitting half-dead, was suddenly startled.
Bang.
His arms, which were resting on the table, suddenly flung backward uncontrollably, creating afterimages and struck hard against the armrests of the chair.
Chen Lusi gasped, wanting to shake his hands to ease the pain.
But his arms couldn't move at all... not only couldn't they move,
a giant force gripped his wrists, forcibly pulling his arms behind his back.
He was forced to straighten his back and could only turn his head to look at Li Tian.
Li Tian gave him an apologetic look.
On the other side.
Xia Panqiu also straightened her back, her arms uncontrollably behind her back, bound.
"Understood, it's quite useful."
Xia Panqiu didn't mind and looked at Li Tian, nodding in satisfaction.
In her view.
The Authority had significant utility, especially great for dealing with out-of-control possessors.
Ten seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
Chen Lusi felt the immense force binding his arms disappear and gently shook his hands.
"What about you?"
At this moment.
Xia Panqiu looked at him, asking somewhat displeased.
"The name should be Slashing."
Chen Lusi honestly replied: "Its effect is to turn limbs into sharp blades, the duration is currently unknown, but it should last several minutes."
Upon hearing this, Xia Panqiu frowned and asked: "Limbs? Even the legs?"
"Although I haven't tried yet, it should be possible." Chen Lusi nodded.
Xia Panqiu looked at Chen Lusi with a complex expression, "Demonstrate it."
Chen Lusi raised his arm, and his five fingers twisted and deformed, eventually forming sharp short blades.
"Holy crap."
On the side.
Li Tian looked at this scene with a strange expression and couldn't help but curse.
Whether he found it strange or impressive wasn't clear.
"That's enough."
Xia Panqiu's expression grew more complicated, and she gave Chen Lusi a deep look again, paused, and continued: "You've all read yesterday's materials, and now that you've begun, it's time to tell you about Techniques..."
Li Tian perked up at the news.
Chen Lusi also showed an interested expression.
Having tried it out last night, he had to admit, he was quite intrigued by the controlled Techniques.
Xia Panqiu glanced at them without any extra expression, just a blank face: "First of all..."
But as soon as she started.
An abrupt phone ringtone interrupted her.
Xia Panqiu frowned, then picked up the phone from the table and answered the call.
Whatever was said on the other end was unknown.
Xia Panqiu's expression slowly turned severe.
After the call ended, she didn't continue discussing the Techniques but instead turned and walked towards the door: "Follow me."
Chen Lusi and Li Tian exchanged a glance and stood up.
The two followed Xia Panqiu to the front desk.
The receptionist yawned and handed a large rectangular box to Xia Panqiu.
Xia Panqiu took the box and then led Chen Lusi and Li Tian up the stairs all the way to the rooftop of the building.
"Next, I need you to help me with something."
Xia Panqiu stood at the edge of the rooftop, opened the large box she had received from the receptionist, and took out a large-caliber sniper rifle that looked extremely heavy...
As she assembled and mounted the sniper rifle, she spoke without turning her head, "Something's happened. Celestial Strategy doesn't have enough personnel. In a while, I'll need you to cover me. When I say shoot, you shoot."
While she was speaking.
She had already skillfully installed a bipod and set the sniper rifle at the edge of the rooftop.
Chen Lusi wasn't a military enthusiast and didn't recognize the model of this sniper rifle.
But upon closer inspection, he noticed something different about this sniper rifle.
The most noticeable thing was... this gun had no magazine, or more precisely, no magazine well.
Additionally, the barrel extending forward had no gas vents or flash hiders, just a bare barrel.
Even with Chen Lusi's limited knowledge, he knew this wouldn't work.
It seemed Xia Panqiu understood Chen Lusi's doubts.
Xia Panqiu directly said, "This isn't an ordinary sniper rifle, and it doesn't shoot bullets. See the row of guide holes below the scope? It's for the 'Spirit' to pass through."
"There's a Stone built inside the gun... you could call it the Divine Format, or whatever that thing is."
"Internally, we call this kind of weapon 'the Tip,' specifically for dealing with out-of-control hosts or activated legends."
After saying this.
She turned again, took out two Bluetooth earpieces from the sniper rifle's box, and threw one each to Chen Lusi and Li Tian.
"The weapon's sequence isn't high, so you can shoot with confidence. Even if there's an ordinary person in the middle, you can still shoot."
Xia Panqiu looked at them with a blank face, "For ordinary people, they'll just feel a breeze pass by. Even if harm is done, it's limited."
"..."
Li Tian looked at Xia Panqiu, his expression instantly turning strange, but he quickly suppressed the odd look.
Chen Lusi was momentarily stunned.
"That's it... I look forward to your support."
Xia Panqiu gave them a deep look, then turned and left.
Only the two, stunned like dumb geese, were left behind.
After a good while.
Li Tian looked at Chen Lusi and whispered, "You do it?"
"You do it instead."
Chen Lusi shook his head and stepped back.
Li Tian hesitated for a moment, and eventually walked to the sniper rifle, raising the muzzle.
Then came the waiting.
Xia Panqiu didn't let the two wait long.
About fifteen minutes later.
"Are you ready?" Xia Panqiu's voice came through in Chen Lusi's earpiece.
"Ready..." Li Tian seemed a bit nervous.
"Do you see the person opposite me? Seize the opportunity and shoot."
"But..."
"Shoot."
Xia Panqiu disregarded him and issued an indisputable order.
"But... there are a lot of people in the way."
Li Tian's voice trembled slightly, he couldn't help but wipe his sweaty palms on his thighs, "I can't get over that hurdle in my mind."
"Then let Chen Lusi do it, I can't hold on much longer." Xia Panqiu's tone on the other side was slightly urgent.
Li Tian turned back to look at Chen Lusi.
"..."
With a reluctant look on his face, Chen Lusi took over from Li Tian, grasped the handle, raised the muzzle, and tilted his head to look through the scope.
Across the pedestrian bridge over the commercial street.
Xia Panqiu stood opposing a middle-aged man.
They seemed to be in a confrontation, saying something.
In that spot, amid the hustle and bustle of people, it was indeed easy for ordinary people to accidentally block the view.
For someone who had never touched modern weaponry... trying to avoid the crowd and accurately hit the enemy was simply a wild fantasy.
Not to mention, Xia Panqiu intentionally shouted to shoot when the man was blocked...
It was really too deliberate.
"Shoot." Xia Panqiu's voice came again.
At the same time.
Through the scope, the man confronting Xia Panqiu suddenly turned his head, looking in the direction of Chen Lusi.
"Oh."
Chen Lusi stared at the man's eyes, paused for half a second, then simply responded, raised the muzzle, aimed at the man's head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Damn—did you really shoot?"
Suddenly, a strange male voice came through the earpiece, crying out in amusement and dismay.
The man opposite Xia Panqiu leaped back the moment Chen Lusi pulled the trigger.
And through the scope, Xia Panqiu abruptly turned her head, looking toward where Chen Lusi was.
... with a look as if she wanted to devour him.
Beside them.
Li Tian looked at Chen Lusi, his expression oddly murmuring, "Dude… that bold?"