Era of Magic and Martial Arts

Chapter 548 - 532: How Could It Be You?!

The electronic lock emitted a soft "beep," and the security door slowly opened.

The pale light in the hallway pierced the darkness of the entryway like a spotlight, casting a long, narrow band of light on the wooden floor.

At the end of this band of light, a vague human silhouette was faintly visible.

"Is there someone in the house?"

The man who opened the door suddenly raised his voice, his fingers frozen above the keypad.

The Prison Chief on the left immediately looked up and glanced inside upon hearing this, and in an instant, the two of them froze in place as if they had seen a ghost.

There really was someone in the house?

But how could there be someone in the house?

This was supposed to be a hidden, unknown safe house prepared for them by Station Chief Lou!

The two of them widened their eyes simultaneously, staring intently at the shadowy figure inside, completely overlooking the flashbang hanging inside the door handle.

The flashbang was triggered by the movement of the door.

The next second, their retinas were scorchingly burned by a blinding light.

Substantial white light flooded into their pupils, leaving their retinas a blindingly white blur.

"Ah—!"

They screamed in agony simultaneously, instinctively covering their eyes with their hands.

But it was too late, as their vision was filled with brightness, accompanied by stabbing pain and uncontrollable tears.

The sound from inside the house reached them faintly, confirming that there was indeed someone inside.

"Why are you so late? We’ve been waiting for you two for a long time."

The two had changed to a taxi midway out of caution, which caused some delay, naturally making them slower than the people inside the house.

The voice inside the house sounded vaguely familiar, but in their extreme panic and confusion, they couldn’t recall who it was.

Their hearts were filled with fear; unable to open their eyes, they could only retreat backward instinctively while shouting angrily:

"Who are you, and how do you know we’re coming here?"

This question needed no answer from the person in the house; as soon as they asked it, horrible associations simultaneously popped into their minds.

The two of them almost shouted in unison:

"Did Station Chief Lou send you? What does Lou Duan want to do?"

The person inside neither denied nor confirmed, merely letting out a disdainful chuckle:

"Why, Station Chief Lou hopes you two can sleep peacefully here, of course."

This sentence felt like an ice pick piercing their spines.

"Why?" They were filled with confusion, unable to understand why Lou Duan wanted to kill them.

Just half an hour ago, they were sitting happily on the sofa chatting with Lou Duan, enjoying themselves, so how did it come to this sudden threat of death?

However, they were given no time to think as the gunfire "whoosh whoosh" sounded from inside the house.

It was the standard-issue pistol of the prison system, a sound they were all too familiar with.

"Elevator!"

The person on the right shouted in panic, and the two of them stumbled towards the elevator behind them like headless flies.

Frantically, their hands groped along the wall, searching for the elevator button.

A "ding" echoed, and the mechanical sound of the elevator door slowly opening was like heavenly music.

But the speed of opening could not match that of a bullet’s flight, so let the bullet fly for a while?

At the critical moment, the person on the left suddenly reached out and grabbed the right person’s arm, their bulging muscles unleashing astonishing strength, yanking the other person in front of them.

"You—"

The right person didn’t even have time to react; their surprised cry turned into a scream.

Several bullets pierced into their body one after another, the impact making them shake like a leaf in the wind.

Terror plus blindness prevented them from knowing how many bullets had hit them or where exactly they were shot, only feeling as if their entire body was riddled with bullets, with blood gushing from all over.

The person on the left held the human meat shield in front while retreating into the elevator.

Their heart was beating like a drum, their mind blank, unsure if they had been hit and with every muscle tensed.

They blinked desperately, forcing their eyes open despite the stinging pain and tears, finally seeing blurry shapes appear in their vision.

The silhouette inside did not pursue them, and the elevator door was gradually closing.

The tension in their heart lessened as they released the cushioning human shield.

The human cushion, tears streaming down their face, had regained a bit of vision.

With their arm, belly, and thighs shot, blood was gurgling from the bullet holes, their body slackening, sliding weakly against the elevator wall.

Yet they did not die immediately, but turned their necks with difficulty to look back, eyes filled with thick hatred.

"Don’t blame me,"

gasping, the person on the left loosened their grip, their voice trembling violently,

"The situation was dire, I had no choice, so I could only..."

Their words abruptly halted, the hair on their scalp tingling.

Because their partner’s gaze bore not just hatred, but also a strange and satisfied smile.

What’s more spine-chilling was that their twisted gaze was clearly directed over their shoulder, to whatever—or whoever—was behind them.

"Someone’s behind me?!!"

Their heart nearly stopped, instinctively tucking their head into their shoulders.

But the person behind seemed to anticipate this, an arm swung at an eerie angle from behind, striking their arm like a snake’s tail.

The snake tail turned into five fingers, instantly gouging out five bloody holes.

Following the meridians, four scarlet strips of flesh were torn off live, exposing a gruesome white bone.

The five fingers didn’t stop, slipping into the elbow joint, not exerting force, merely a gentle twist and pull.

Below the elbow, the hand, its skin and flesh severed, fell to the floor unencumbered.

"Such vicious, poisonous Finger Force."

The Prison Chief, whose arm had been rendered useless in a sneak attack, was terrified to the core, his soul practically trying to leap out his throat.

Though he was a Prison Chief with Martial Arts Fourth Grade strength, he had been attacked upon opening the door, then again upon closing it, first blinded by the flash, and now suffering the agony of losing an arm.

After repeated ordeals, his Martial Arts skills were almost useless, never mind seeing his attacker’s face, he was utterly scared, his courage to make a dying retaliatory attack extinguished.

That ruthless streak of his had been completely wasted on his companion moments ago.

He wavered, his legs giving way, collapsing sideways onto the floor in disgrace.

He might as well not struggle to get up, his head tossing in despair, slowly casting his eyes behind him.

A familiar yet insidious smile came into view.

"How... how can it be you?!"

He widened his eyes, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, mouth gaping open, tongue seemingly tangled in an invisible knot, stammering, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"You... you’re not with Station Chief Lou, you are Feng..."

But before he could finish, he was cut off by a burst of mocking laughter.

Gong Qi crouched down slowly, lightly putting his blood-stained finger to his lips, a sinister smile on his face, and softly said:

"Shh, don’t speak recklessly!"

"I, Gong Qi, have always been with Station Chief Lou; otherwise, think about it, how could I have gotten here before you and waited for you?"