BANG! BANG! BANG!
The shotgun in Old Yang's hands fired relentlessly. Shells that could reduce a man to pulp tore gruesome holes in the Fire Slave's body.
But as its flesh writhed, the wounds sealed themselves shut and healed within dozens of seconds.
Its Life Force was appallingly resilient.
CLICK-CLACK… The shotgun in his hands was out of ammo. Old Yang leaped back several meters, reloading while keeping his eyes fixed on the Fire Slave.
Suddenly, his vision blurred. Despite its body being torn to shreds like a ragdoll, the Fire Slave hadn't slowed in the slightest. In the blink of an eye, it crossed several meters and appeared right in front of him, its two massive Bone Sabers scissoring in for the kill.
Using a gust of wind to boost his speed, Old Yang hastily retreated, but the tip of a Bone Saber still managed to scrape against his bulletproof tactical vest.
As a tactical vest specially made by the Star Association, its outer layer was made of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fiber, capable of withstanding thousands of stabs from blades and daggers. Both the cushioning and bulletproof layers were reinforced with special metals, allowing it to take a direct shotgun blast while the user would only feel a faint impact.
But even so, the expensive vest didn't last a second against the Bone Saber. The soft, stab-proof layer was shredded effortlessly, and a deep gash was scraped across the special alloy plate with a sharp, grating screech.
Before Old Yang could even catch his breath, he saw the Fire Slave charging at him again, brandishing its twin blades. The shrill whistle of the Bone Sabers cutting through the air echoed in his ears.
"Old Yang, I'm here!"
Along with it came Zhou Chen's full-throated shout.
Old Yang stepped on the horizontally slashing Bone Saber to launch himself into the air, leaping toward Zhou Chen. After rolling twice on the ground, he turned, about to speak, only to see the young man already charging forward, chainsaw sword in hand.
'Don't all the young people these days just give up and coast? How is there one this reckless?' Old Yang was dumbfounded.
Amid the roar of the chainsaw sword, its high-speed chain slammed into the hard Bone Saber. It was like sawing through metal—sparks and bone fragments flew everywhere.
VROOOM—!!!
Zhou Chen increased the supply of Essence. As a massive amount of burning Essence poured in, the chainsaw sword seemed to fill up, its power skyrocketing.
Then Old Yang saw it—the jet-black Bone Saber, so hard it could cut through special alloys, was being rapidly sawed by the chainsaw sword and...
Snapped!
The next second, like a lumberjack in the forest, Zhou Chen swung the chainsaw sword, its blade a cold, sharp glint of light.
With a flash of cold light, the Fire Slave was carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey, its body easily sliced in two as black blood sprayed everywhere.
It tried to struggle, but with a wet squelch, the chainsaw sword pierced through its chest.
Amid a shower of flying flesh and gore, he savagely sawed at the hard Crystal Core.
Finally, there was a crisp CRACK.
The Crystal Core shattered.
Having lost its core, the jet-black flames on the Fire Slave's neck instantly went out. Its raised Bone Saber froze in mid-air, and then its entire corpse melted into a black, viscous substance, releasing a nauseating stench.
Old Yang stared, jaw agape. He wasn't surprised by the R-rated gore but by the chainsaw sword in Zhou Chen's hands.
A powerful Forbidden Object that could easily shred even a Bone Saber!
If he remembered correctly, that thing was the Forbidden Object C-220 Bloodthirsty Chainsaw Sword. It was incredibly lethal and could even induce a cold, ruthless killing state in its user. It was the perfect choice for all your home, travel, murder, and arson needs.
Although he'd long suspected that Xi Feng's warehouse would contain Forbidden Objects, he never imagined the C-220 Bloodthirsty Chainsaw Sword would be here, let alone that Zhou Chen could successfully contain it.
After all, that thing was no ordinary brand of vicious.
"Finally dealt with…" Zhou Chen let out a long breath, his arm trembling uncontrollably.
The Chainsaw Sword had just drained over a liter of his blood. He had then used what little Essence he had left to power it and kill two Fire Slaves in a row. Even after drinking a Blood Bottle, he was at his limit. His internal Essence was completely depleted—not a single drop remained.
"Alright, we should be safe for now." With a *click*, Old Yang lit a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth and took a deep drag. "Reinforcements will be here any minute... Want one?"
Zhou Chen shook his head. "You carry cigarettes with you?"
"Heh, you don't get it, do you?" Old Yang grinned. "This isn't an ordinary cigarette. It's the renewable Forbidden Object D-418, a Healing Cigarette. Smoking one can restore about a third of your Essence, and it has pain-relieving and healing effects."
"I've never smoked, but I think I could give one of those a try…"
"All gone." Old Yang held up his empty hands. "Even a veteran Operator like me only gets a ration of one per month. I have regular ones, though. Want one?"
"Never mind, then."
As they spoke, a faint roar echoed from outside, sounding like someone was firing a rocket launcher.
"Reinforcements are here." Old Yang exhaled a plume of smoke, a hint of schadenfreude in his voice. "This incident isn't just related to 'Xi Feng,' it also involves the Abyss Church's 'Eternal Fire.' This is serious. Who knows how many people involved are going to be in for it now."
"Abyss Church? Eternal Fire?" Zhou Chen was about to ask what those were, but he saw Old Yang raise a finger to his lips. He then pointed to his earpiece, signaling that Jiang Che was on the comms channel and could hear their conversation.
"Confidentiality agreement. If I talk, I get my pay docked, and I'll have to write annoying reports."
Alrighty then... Zhou Chen didn't ask any more questions. He figured he'd get all the answers he wanted after the mission was over.
"Oh, right. The Fire Slave's Crystal Core is an Alchemy Material, by the way. You should remember to collect those two. I think they sell for about thirty thousand a gram," Old Yang reminded him kindly.
Zhou Chen's eyes instantly lit up, practically sparkling.
He hesitated for a moment, then pointed at the shattered crystal on the ground. "How about you take this one?"
Old Yang had done all the work tangling with this Fire Slave, so Zhou Chen felt a little embarrassed to take the spoils.
"It's small change. You keep it." Old Yang waved his hand dismissively. "You'll find out later how much money Ascenders make. Earning ten million a month isn't just a dream."
Of course, Ascenders also spent money just as fiercely—it was practically like setting cash on fire.
Zhou Chen wasn't one for false modesty. He said his thanks and carefully collected the two shattered Fire Slave Crystals.
He had just finished and was about to head out with Old Yang to meet the reinforcements when he saw several corpses with empty eye sockets and black flames burning within them walk into the warehouse.
"More Fire Slaves... Were they drawn here by that Eternal Fire Fanatic from before?"
Old Yang's expression wasn't grave. On the contrary, he looked quite relaxed. After all, these were just Fire Slaves mutated from ordinary people and didn't pose much of a threat.
"I'll take them, I'll take them! Leave it to me!"
Zhou Chen felt a sudden surge of energy. He hoisted his Chainsaw Sword and charged.
'This is all money!'