Chapter 113: Bullet Time, Activate!

"Double-Gun Young Master" Zhou Shu, wielding two large-caliber pistols, made an entrance that nearly sent two hideous monsters tumbling to the ground in terror.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Four shots rang out.

Zhou Shu’s bullets struck true, hitting both monsters squarely in the head and chest. He had hoped for a quick resolution, but the creatures were clad in thick, natural armor; ordinary bullets were not enough to put them down.

Just as Zhou Shu was preparing to unleash his trump card, a girl’s head popped out from behind a dirt mound. Having never witnessed such a spectacle, she let out a cry of pure terror.

*Cough.*

The moment she peeked out, Zhou Shu knew things had gone south. Her scream shattered the balance of the encounter. The two mutants had absorbed the impact of the bullets, but they hadn't come away unscathed. The fact that all four shots had hit their vitals proved Zhou Shu’s exceptional marksmanship; had it not been for their biological armor, they would have been finished. They had already survived one gun—now facing another, they knew they would die if they didn't fight for their lives.

Just as they were bracing for a desperate struggle, a turning point arrived: civilians had appeared. If they weren't mistaken, Zhou Shu was likely a henchman of the Demon Suppression Bureau. If he was one of theirs, they could use the civilians as hostages to escape, or even lure him into a trap, kill him, and feast on the civilian delivery as well.

With that thought, they turned around, exposing their backs to "Brother Zhou." Compared to their fronts, their rear shells were far more resilient. Zhou Shu immediately caught on to their intent. An ordinary person would have been helpless, but who was he?

He was Zhou Shu.

"Heh."

"Bullet Time, activate!"

*Whoosh—*

Compared to his normal perception, Bullet Time was far more powerful.

"Bang... bang... bang... bang..."

Though he had fired four shots in rapid succession, to Zhou Shu’s ears, they sounded like distinct, individual pops. He watched the flames erupt from the muzzles, the bullets flying toward the monsters' heads in a trail of transparent ripples.

After the first two bullets left the barrels, he saw the monsters slowly turning. He gave his wrists a slight flick and fired two more. These trailing bullets followed their "predecessors" toward the monsters' skulls.

The first two bullets struck the back of the monsters' heads, causing sprays of blood to erupt. Immediately following, the next two bullets slammed directly into the first pair, which were still lodged in the bone.

*Clink.*

The sound of metal striking metal was almost simultaneous, and all four bullets vanished into the monsters' skulls. The creatures didn't even register the impact; they continued their charge with twisted grins for two more steps before collapsing in unison.

*Thud.*

They landed facedown on the ground, their bodies twitching slightly from nervous reflex, but they were undoubtedly dead. While still in Bullet Time, Zhou Shu noticed that the girl who had peeked out had squeezed her eyes shut.

Don't worry, she wasn't dead; it was just a standard reaction for a girl. Facing danger, instead of running, she stood frozen with her eyes closed, as if that could conjure up an impenetrable force field.

Once Bullet Time faded, Zhou Shu walked slowly to the corpses to harvest the energy. The two mutants provided him with 1.46 units of energy, making him significantly wealthier. He didn't rush to allocate the points or make the bodies "disappear" just yet; instead, he holstered his guns, slung his bag back over his shoulder, and walked toward the girl.

When he reached her, she was still trembling with her eyes tightly shut.

*Rustle, rustle.*

Cong Ge kept her eyes squeezed shut, her body shaking uncontrollably. She had never imagined she would encounter something like this; it was absolutely terrifying. She knew she couldn't escape death, so she simply closed her eyes, hoping it might make the end quicker. But the moment she closed them, she realized her naivety—the darkness only made it more terrifying.

Surrounded by an endless void, her mind conjured images of monsters lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment. This unknown terror was far worse than facing the fear head-on. But to open her eyes? She didn't dare. So, she stayed there, eyes shut, head tucked, waiting for the end.

She heard the "rustling" sound and realized something was approaching. Terrified, she shrank back, but remained frozen, too afraid to turn and run.

*Pat.*

A hand tapped her on the shoulder.

"Ah!"

Cong Ge shuddered violently—she felt a dampness between her legs—and then she heard a pleasant, familiar voice.

"Why are you standing here with your eyes closed? Not running? Waiting to die?"

*Die?!*

Cong Ge caught the keyword and immediately shouted, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I didn't see anything!"

No matter how loud she yelled, she kept her eyes shut. She was gambling. She had seen enough scenes like this in movies and TV shows: if you saw the culprit's face, you died; if you didn't, you had a sliver of a chance to live.

This left Zhou Shu speechless. He reached out and tapped her on the head. "Hey, do you never watch the news? I'm from the Demon Suppression Bureau. I'm one of the good guys. I was just banishing demons, and it's safe now."

"Huh?"

*Right.* Cong Ge snapped back to reality. She was a "princess of surfing the web"—how could she have forgotten that? It just went to show that online and offline were two different worlds; no matter how lively things were on the internet, when reality hit, most people were just "Lord Ye who claimed to love dragons."

Cong Ge finally opened her eyes and was met with a handsome face. Her spirit instantly relaxed, and her body followed suit.

"~~"

As that sensation hit, her face turned bright red. She covered her face with her hands and tried to run, but Zhou Shu caught her by the shoulder.

"Eek!"

*Uh...*

Zhou Shu felt a bit awkward. His hearing was sharp, and he naturally knew exactly what had happened. Maintaining his professionalism, he said, "You need to keep what you saw a secret. I'm on a special mission, understand?"

"Mm-hmm."

Cong Ge nodded rapidly while still shielding her face. She wanted to live, and since Zhou Shu was so handsome and the situation was what it was, she would agree to anything he said. She just wanted to get out of there.

At that moment, her companions, worried because she hadn't returned and having heard the "pop-pop" sounds, came running over out of curiosity. They arrived just in time to see the handsome man patting their friend on the head and whispering to her, leaving her face glowing bright red.

Before they could investigate further, Cong Ge bolted past them, still covering her face, not even caring if she tripped.

Once she reached them, Li Zhiqi blocked her path. "Hey, hey! What did you two talk about?"

"Don't ask! Don't ask! It's so embarrassing!" Cong Ge pushed past them, running toward their camper.

Her friends, of course, wouldn't let her off that easily. They glanced at Zhou Shu, then turned and chased after her.

"What's the meaning of this? You saw something good and won't share?"

"Are you eating alone? You've betrayed us, Gezi!"

Back by the dirt mound, Zhou Shu saw them leave and decided to harvest the remaining energy to "dispose of the evidence," all while keeping an ear on their conversation. With his Constitution at 2 points, his hearing was exceptionally keen.

"I wasn't eating alone! It was just so embarrassing! And I have to keep it a secret—that handsome guy is a Demon Slayer on a secret mission. I can't let you see him!"

"Whoa, are all the Demon Slayers from the Bureau that handsome?"

"Of course! I was scared to death, but he saved me... wait, I wasn't supposed to say that! You guys can't tell anyone!"

"Of course, of course. A handsome guy who's also a Demon Slayer? We can't let Ruyue and those little vixens find out. We'll keep it a secret."

"Wait, where are my pants? Didn't I just wash them yesterday?"

"Gezi, no way, you actually..."

"Oh, shut up! It's not what you think!"

Zhou Shu: "..."

*Okay, that's enough.*

So much for keeping a secret.

Fortunately, he hadn't revealed much himself. Being a Demon Slayer was common knowledge; the only secret was that he was out here "eating alone." But he had missions coming up in the next few days, and these three girls weren't "demons"—they didn't have the scent of monsters on them—so it wasn't a major issue.

By the time he had fully cleared the scene, looted the monsters' vehicle, and pushed it over the cliff, the three girls were still bickering. He hitched a ride with them for a while before continuing his "fishing" patrol. As he hopped off the vehicle, he gave them a final reminder. The girls agreed wholeheartedly, though the way they looked at him had changed.