Forge a path to success

"Received." Chu Hengkong reached out and took a small bag of pebbles from the weapon wall.

"Temporarily requisitioned, to be returned later."

So, the three-day consecutive update streak has ended. Starting tomorrow, it will be one update per day as usual~

Chapter 10 The Outsider's Bullet (Part 1)

Chaos erupted beneath the gray stone tower where the artifacts were being salvaged. Bandits wearing burlap hoods appeared out of nowhere. They seemed to know the terrain better than the salvage workers, launching attacks from behind cover and in blind spots, easily driving the workers out of the tower.

Most of the salvage workers scattered on the spot upon seeing this, but a few with some backbone remained to guard the entrance. A young salvage worker brandished a stick and drove away the thieves, his youthful face showing a mixture of shock and anger.

"Brother, are you crazy! These are all colleagues who are just coasting along in the workshop, what on earth are you doing?!"

This was the third attack this month. Although the bandits had covered their faces with sacks, he recognized the familiar figures. Most of them were veteran salvage workers who had worked at the Anza workshop. When he first started, these seniors had taught him the skills, and at his farewell banquet, he had personally toasted each of them. But how could these honest and hardworking salvage workers have gone mad like this after only a few months?

The attacking bandit in the sack had a ferocious look in his eyes. He punched the young man hard in the corner of his eye, making him see stars.

"What a load of rubbish!" the bandit roared. "Wearing scavenged clothes and carrying spare change from selling garbage, outsiders have absolutely no chance of survival in this wretched city. Even if we scavenged garbage for ten thousand years, we'd never be able to go home!"

He snatched the stick and immediately began to beat the young man mercilessly. The poor young man was bleeding from his head and was beaten unconscious. The defenses at the entrance completely collapsed, and the bandits, their eyes bloodshot, swarmed in. The bandit leader charged at the forefront, encouraging his men as he attacked.

"The government wants to use us homeless people as livestock! They'll exploit outsiders to death like this!" the bandit leader shouted. "How long are we supposed to stay here? If we don't take action, how can we ever return to our own Dust Island?!"

"Break the curtain! Leave the city! Return home!" The bandits' reply was as orderly as an army's: "Break the curtain! Leave the city! Return home!"

Most of the bandits followed their leader into the gray tower, while a few who remained began to build a defensive line. Four bandits armed with long-barreled guns scaled the walls and took up firing positions, while the rest cautiously scouted the surrounding area. The bandit furthest from the entrance saw two figures charging towards the stone tower. He immediately raised his gun and aimed, but before he could pull the trigger, a dark shadow struck him in the chest. The bandit stopped breathing instantly; he felt as if a rhinoceros had gored him in the chest!

The next moment, a silver tentacle snatched away the bandit's long-barreled gun, and a precise hand chop knocked him unconscious. Chu Hengkong picked up a dark, unremarkable stone; it was this little thing that had interrupted the bandit's firing.

“If you hit the head, you don’t need to waste time finishing off the enemy,” Chu Hengkong said.

“I’m afraid you’ll smash their brains in if you hit them on the head!” Ji Huaisu shouted from the side. “Remember you are a law enforcement officer now. You are not allowed to kill unless absolutely necessary.”

"I'll listen to you, Captain." Chu Hengkong dodged a water bullet by tilting his head. "Let's split up now, it'll be troublesome if you get hit..."

The bandits were far more capable than the thugs under Hugos's command. They were organized, planned, and clearly trained, knowing how to seize high ground and snipe from behind walls. The two men moving side-by-side were easy targets, and he wasn't confident he could both charge and protect Ji Huaisu at the same time.

"No need, follow me and charge."

However, this girl was the type to ignore all advice. She rushed out without taking any defensive measures, only to be met with seven specially made water bullets! Those were explosive forces powerful enough to send an adult male flying a hundred meters. If the same attack was repeated seven times, even a body made of steel would be shattered in mid-air.

Chu Hengkong quickly used his tentacles to wrap around Ji Huaisu's waist, trying to pull her to safety. But he noticed a golden light emanating from Ji Huaisu's hand, several times brighter than when they were gliding through the air. Almost instantly, the golden light solidified into a semi-transparent knight's shield.

Those powerful water bullets were deflected by the light shield; they couldn't even make Ji Huaisu retreat a single step!

"Holy crap, that's..." "A Calamity Knight!" "A crazy woman from the Resurrection Squad!"

"Why does she have a tail?!" "Look closely, she's connected to the man behind her. That witch must be using sorcery to absorb energy!"

The bandits gasped, a series of different exclamations erupting from them. Ji Huaisu slowly looked at the tentacles at his waist, and the veins on his forehead were faintly visible.

"Is there something wrong with you?"

"I..." Chu Hengkong awkwardly withdrew his tentacles. "Let's go, charge! Give me the soldiers."

Ji Huaisu glared at him fiercely, then charged forward, shielded by her light shield. She was practically an invincible vanguard; neither water bullets nor pebbles hurled by the bandits could shake her shield, and the barrage of seven specially made water guns couldn't even slow her down. Three bandits rolled out from behind the wall, attempting to attack from the side or rear, only to be met with stones of uncanny accuracy. The first stone struck their wrist, disarming them; the second struck their heart or groin, causing serious injury. Chu Hengkong's right hand moved rapidly, and with cries of pain, three of the enemy were no longer able to move.

In just a few seconds, Ji Huaisu had reached the unguarded entrance, while Chu Hengkong retreated from behind the light shield and darted up the right-hand wall like a shadow. The bandit guarding the high ground hadn't even seen the enemy's face before being struck in the back of the head by a hand chop and fell to the ground. Chu Hengkong used a sliding step to bypass the fallen enemy's body, and with a backhand elbow strike, he finished off the second bandit.

The two guards on the right side of the entrance fell in an instant, and the bandits on the left wall quickly raised their guns and created distance. They breathed a sigh of relief; the entrance gate was still between the two walls, and even the tentacle couldn't reach that far.

Chu Hengkong did not use his tentacles; he raised the stolen gun amidst the stunned gazes of his enemies.

Two gunshots rang out, and the last two bandits were propelled high into the air by the fountain-like water jet. Chu Heng leaped down the wall and returned to Ji Huaisu's side. The fight on the wall lasted less than two seconds, and Ji Huaisu had just entered the Gray Stone Tower.

"Your basic skills are good. I thought you were the type who didn't use guns."

"I just don't like using guns." Chu Hengkong shrugged. "Before, a knife was enough for me when I went on missions."

"In your hometown, do people use swords more often than guns?" Ji Huaisu became somewhat interested.

"The firearms in my hometown are more advanced than those in Huilong City. Anyone with a normal mind can use a gun." Chu Hengkong used his tentacles to pick up a few pebbles. "I'm an abnormal minority."

The gray stone tower was pitch black. The power source had been shut off by the bandits who had entered earlier, with only faint rays of light filtering through the cracks in the stone walls. Apart from the sound of their footsteps, there was no other movement inside; the earlier bandits seemed to have melted into the darkness. Chu Hengkong pulled out a white, charged iron ring and tapped it against the wall, while Ji Huaisu observed the water guns he had captured.

This gun was different from the water guns used by thugs in terms of its design; the slender barrel was painted dark blue, making it look like a modified hunting rifle. Ji Huaisu glanced at it twice and clicked his tongue loudly.

"I know who modified the 'skilled' torrent gun!" She roared towards the top of the tower, "Come out, Mimori Nozomi! If you resist any longer, I'll put you in jail for ten years!"

A man's strange cry came from above, shrill and high-pitched like a bat's song: "Locked in jail? Heh heh, what's the difference? We've been locked up in this wretched city for over twenty years!"

No one is taking away your freedom of movement—

"Stop lying! I already know! It was your dear old man who shut down the shipping lanes!" Mimori Nozomi screamed. "Shut down! Gone! We can never go back! What can we do but blast your damned water curtain apart with a single shot?!"

"Break the curtain! Leave the city! Return home!"

The bandits' shouts thundered, echoing through the empty stone tower. Dozens of dark blue modified guns emerged from the darkness, unleashing a torrent of high-pressure water bullets. This time, Ji Huaisu was no match for them; she dragged Chu Hengkong into the side corridor. Chu Hengkong remained silent, memorizing every word they uttered, searching his mind for the name "Sansen Wangxiang."

This morning before practice, he made a special trip to headquarters and noted down every wanted poster on the bulletin board. The one for Mimori Nozomi was located in the middle, and it had a description that interested him:

【"Cluster Cannon" - Mimori Nosaka】

Bounty: 15 Flowing Pearls.

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A demon-possessed person who possesses relics.

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They roam the various floating islands in the workshop area, randomly robbing people.

-

A "skillful hand" of quality! Beware of boxing and artillery and illegally modified weapons!

Chapter 11 The Outsider's Bullet (Part 2)

The description of "skilled hands" is listed separately on the wanted poster, which seems to be a different characteristic from that of a demon-possessed person. Chu Hengkong guessed that this might be a local standard for judging strength.

As he ran, he gripped the darkening iron ring tightly and asked the veteran beside him, "Does the enemy have the ability to smash through the curtain of water in the sky?"

"He's delusional," Ji Huaisu scoffed. "Even if you found a thousand skilled craftsmen, you couldn't interfere with the water curtain. He probably seized the tower because he wanted to modify the salvage device like he modified the rapids gun, turning that thing into a giant water cannon."

Chu Hengkong recalled the scene of the salvage operation; the white column of water was powerful enough to reach the tide of weapons in the sky. What if a massive water bomb exploded within that tide of weapons…

"Knives will fall from the sky."

“Yes, so we need to speed things up,” Ji Huaisu said. “I’ll take over the next battle. You said you can do more than just kill, right? Then report the enemy’s locations.”

Ji Huaisu's request was utterly absurd. The Gray Stone Tower had a "回"-shaped layout, with the central "口" being a now-defunct elevator. The two were running through the square corridor. The bandits were either hiding on the upper floors or in dark rooms, making them virtually impossible to find in the dim environment.

Unfortunately, Ji Huaisu's shield was the brightest light source inside the tower, and they could hit it simply by firing bullets at the light. In this environment where the enemy was in the dark and they were in the light, even professional assault team members needed to use thermal imagers to locate the enemy, but Chu Heng had no professional equipment, not even a pair of glasses.

"Three men are lying in ambush three meters to the right, and one man is preparing to launch a surprise attack five meters ahead on the upper level," Chu Hengkong said.

Chu Heng's recitation of positions was so fluent it sounded like he was reciting lines. He clearly didn't glance to his right, yet he was confident in his conclusions. Three meters ahead was a closed lounge room. He knew two men were lurking by the window, ready to draw attention with their guns, while the last man hid behind the door, waiting for Ji Huaisu to pass by before sniping him from behind. Ji Huaisu only had a shield, which he intended to save for the hail of bullets coming from the left corridor. He was eager to know how the other side planned to attack.

Ji Huaisu moved the shield to his right, and a layer of faint light formed a spherical energy shield to replace the main body of the shield for defense. As the shield changed hands, the translucent light shield rapidly deformed like a gel, with the lower half thinning to form a "short handle," and the cut-off part rising to the top to form a shield-shaped "hammerhead."

She picked up the alien light hammer with one hand and smashed it down on the door to her right. The wooden door shattered instantly, and the soldier hiding behind it was bleeding from a head wound. The unfortunate fellow was sent flying by the sudden attack, but Ji Huaisu didn't stop moving. She charged forward recklessly, the light hammer smashing through stone walls and glass with unstoppable force, blasting the other two people in the room away as well!

This couldn't even be described as a battle; it was practically demolition. When the blonde girl unleashed her fury, she was like a golden storm, crushing everything in her path, including her enemies, into dust. After rushing through the room, a deafening roar came from ahead as a giant iron spike smashed through the ceiling, aiming straight for Ji Huaisu's skull. Ji Huaisu swung his light hammer upwards, deflecting the spike back. The attacker on the upper level was instead knocked unconscious by his own weapon.

Chu Hengkong glanced sideways: "Someone just said that law enforcement officers should show leniency."

"If I were to get serious, they would be minced meat by now," Ji Huaisu said. "Your ability to pinpoint sounds is quite good. Are all the assassins from your hometown this professional?"

"I am the industry leader."

Chu Hengkong leaped up first, using one hand to grip the edge of the hole and vault to the upper level. With no enemies in sight, he gripped his perception pendant and tapped the stone wall with the gray iron ring, a clear echo reverberating through the corridor.

Ding. Ding.

He filtered out the gunshots, ignored his own breathing and other noises, and focused solely on the knocking sounds. In less than a breath, the sound signature had swept across the floor. The changes in vibration faithfully reflected everything in the environment; he could "see" the ambushers lying in wait in the next room, and he could also "see" the enemies trying to crawl closer from behind.

Sound localization. This is a common technique in dark environments, but even someone as perceptive as Chu Hengkong couldn't achieve such incredible precision on his own. The key to his ability to perceive his surroundings lay in the sensory pendant in his hand. The relic enhanced his perception in all aspects, including sight and hearing. Even if each enhancement only lasted 1 to 3 seconds, it was enough for him to draw a simple map in his mind.

"If you want to save time, I'll lead the way." Chu Hengkong's tapping frequency increased, and the color of the iron ring gradually turned black. "Turn around and keep charging, two on the left and five in front."

Ji Huaisu, who had followed, nodded. This time, she restored the light to the shape of a shield and charged directly towards the front where the most enemies were. She ran as fast as the wind. When the bandits who were trying to ambush her in the room on the left were scouting, she had already charged into the enemy ranks with her shield raised, sweeping the shield with brute force and knocking down five people. Chu Hengkong followed closely behind her, his voice as steady as ever as when he reported the location: "The floor directly above is cracking, smash it directly."

Ji Huaisu transformed her light shield into a hammer and hurled it upwards, shattering the already damaged stone floor with her monstrous strength. She leaped lightly, using the hammer in mid-air to jump to the upper floor. As she landed, Ji Huaisu whistled, and the staircase leading to the top floor appeared precisely in front of her, the bandits guarding the stairs looking as if they'd seen a ghost.

"You're not just a killer."

"If I lead the way, we'll be there much sooner."

When Chu Hengkong jumped upstairs, the bandits guarding the stairs had already been stunned by the light shield. The two temporary partners rushed to the top floor one after the other, and the moment they ran out of the stairs, black water bullets came like a storm.

Ji Huaisu resorted to her old trick of raising her shield to defend, but this time she couldn't advance immediately. The attack of black water bullets was dense, with two extremely thin water lines mixed in with each bullet. The attack seemed weak, but it brought an extremely strong impact. Ji Huaisu took half a step back, and even the light on her shield dimmed under the attack.

Chu Hengkong realized the true nature of the attack. It was an ultra-high-pressure water jet, releasing heavily pressurized water from a small hole; the impact force was enough to slice through trees and even metal.

The two streams of water originated from the wanted criminal's deformed wrists. His arms, from the elbows down, had mutated into teardrop-shaped bony structures, with water jets spraying from the "tips" of the two teardrops. Behind the water jet nozzles, his former fingers had mutated into ten transparent pipes, each connected to a strangely shaped machine gun at its end.

The short man stood with his back to the retrieval equipment, a smug glint in his small eyes.

"You country bumpkins, this is the artillery barrage tactic!" Mimori sneered. "No gunpowder? No problem! We'll overwhelm you with sheer numbers and momentum!"

Ji Huaisu remained motionless, not because he was unwilling, but because he couldn't. Ten water-blast machine guns and two water jets created a massive barrage, leaving no room for cover on the top floor of the Gray Tower. Under such intense firepower, the spherical shield couldn't withstand it for even a second; a light shield was needed to hold the line. But simply defending wouldn't solve the problem. The salvage vessel behind Sansen Wangxiang was vibrating violently; the white lines on its cylindrical exterior expanded and contracted like breathing. Even a layman like Chu Hengkong could tell the situation was dire.

Mimori Nozomi laughed loudly: "Prepare to meet your death! In just a few seconds, you will witness the awe-inspiring cannon that shatters the curtain!"

Chu Hengkong's gaze swept over the support frames of the ten machine guns, and he gripped the last hidden weapon with two fingers.

“I still have one pebble,” he said.

"Throw it as many times as possible!" Ji Huaisu raised his voice. "Throw!"

Everything happened in an instant. Chu Hengkong flicked two fingers, and the last pebble flew out amidst the hail of bullets, passing through the gap between two water jets and heading straight for Sansen Wangxiang's throat. Ji Huaisu's shout alerted Sansen Wangxiang to the danger, and he quickly brought his wrists together, attempting to use the water jet to extinguish the hidden weapon.

At the same time, Ji Huaisu pressed her hands onto her shield, and the brightness of her light shield rapidly increased, the sudden surge of light resembling a miniature sun. That sun entered Sansen Wangxiang's eyes, like a bomb exploding in his eye sockets!

Mimori Nozomi screamed in terror. The bright light itself wasn't dangerous, but at such a short distance, the burst of light could burn one's retina. The sudden pain blinded him. He repeatedly told himself to stay calm and not move, but just a breath later, a familiar whooshing sound came from all directions.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

The sound was exactly the same as when Chu Hengkong launched the stones. In Mimori Nozomi's perception, it was four deadly projectiles coming from outer space. Mimori Nozomi panicked completely. He hurriedly waved his hands to redirect the machine gun, trying to crush the projectiles with a barrage of bullets. However, a heavy tremor came from directly in front of him, and a blinding light accompanied by the impact struck!

After the enemy lost their composure, the water blades and barrage were no longer a seamless defense. Ji Huaisu easily dodged the crisscrossing water blades, using only her light shield to block the nearest barrage. In less than a breath, she was in front of Sansen Wangxiang, delivering a powerful uppercut that sent the wanted criminal flying more than ten meters into the air.

"what--!"

The ten pipes controlling the machine guns were torn apart by the force of the punch, and the barrage of water bullets immediately stopped. At that moment, Chu Hengkong leaped up, transforming into a black iron ring that had been wrapped around a tentacle, the tip of which was entwined with a large silver-eyed book.

The power-accumulating bracelet faded, and the power stored within it exploded. The tentacle that slammed down from the sky transformed into a silver hammer, and the corner of the giant book smashed through the iron wall, turning the cannon that was about to be fired into a pile of scrap metal!

Bang! Bang bang bang!!

An ominous rumble emanated from the damaged cannon, and pure white water burst forth like a fountain from the cracks, causing a small-scale downpour beneath the gray stone tower. Mimori Nozomi fell two seconds later, crashing into a pile of broken metal. Ji Huaisu didn't even glance at him; she summoned a spherical light shield to protect the two from the rain.

The girl hid one hand behind her back, and the shadow that was about to take shape in her hand silently dissipated. She looked at Chu Hengkong with a smile, her words carrying a hint of approval: "Not bad reaction~ I was worried that you wouldn't have enough strength."

"I carry this book with me because it's tough enough." Chu Hengkong withdrew his tentacle and sighed. "Next time, please mention your abilities in advance. My eyes are sore."

The tentacle snapped in mid-air as if electrocuted, making a crisp "snap" sound. The "hidden weapon sound" that Mimori Nozomi heard was just Chu Heng flicking his whip a few times in the air.

Whether one can distinguish the subtle differences between different sounds, whether one can think of ways to utilize sound, whether one has the mindset to use sound as a breakthrough point... the "yes" or "no" to these questions is precisely the difference between professionals and laymen.

Chu Hengkong rubbed his sore eyes. Perhaps the previous flash of light was too strong, because he saw a strange afterimage in his white vision.

The phantom emerged from the body of Sansen Wangxiang, and from the bodies of dozens of bandits inside and outside the Gray Stone Tower, converging at the top of the Gray Tower into a bone-white seahorse.

Chapter 12 The Path to Ascension

Compared to the "one-eyed jellyfish" on Hugos's body, the phantom of the seahorse demon was clearer and larger. The bone-white seahorse in the air was almost the length of a child, and it silently extended and retracted its mouthparts, as if drinking an invisible wine.

This time, Chu Hengkong had learned from experience. The moment the demonic phantom appeared, he swung his tentacles at it. But the tentacles passed right through the seahorse demon's body, like a fleeting illusion. The seahorse demon rose leisurely and vanished without a trace in an instant.

"Don't bother, the illusion can't be dispelled," Ji Huaisu said.

Chu Hengkong regretfully withdrew his tentacle and brought up another strange phenomenon: "The grunts also had phantom images on them. Can a demon possess many people?"

“Strictly speaking, it only possessed Mimori Nozomi. The rest of the bandits were victims infected by the demon. Otherwise, how could they be so organized and impulsive?” Ji Huaisu moved his five fingers slightly, making a gesture to control the puppet. “In fact, only Mimori Nozomi was truly obsessed to the point of madness. The others were so deeply trapped in the power of the demon that they thought they missed their hometown as much as he did.”

“But they miss home just as much,” Chu Hengkong said.

He saw a group of bandits walk out of the Gray Tower in a daze, abandoning their weapons on the ground. They looked up in silence, their gazes seemingly able to pierce through the curtain of water and reach a very, very far place.

The flow of weapons continued smoothly as usual, the sunlight filtering through the water curtain tinged with a pale white. The water curtain was clearly very close, yet it felt as distant as another world. Just as people on land strained to see the sun, yet could not see the sun on the other side.