Chapter 119: Speak of the Devil

"Hey, hey, hey! Soldier, what's going on here?"

"It's dangerous here. There could be an explosion at any moment. Please get on that truck and leave."

"An explosion? How could there be an explosion here? Wait, is this a vice raid? Is it a vice raid?"

"It is not a vice raid. There is a military operation underway, and it is quite dangerous. Please leave immediately."

The soldiers spoke in a rigid, professional tone, urging the surrounding crowd to disperse. While some were reluctant and tried to be difficult, these were extraordinary times that called for extraordinary measures. The soldiers’ methods were relatively blunt; they simply grabbed the protesters by the arms and dragged them away.

Seeing this, the others became more compliant. However, even as they retreated, they held their phones high to record the direction of the Longevity Club, quickly spreading the information online.

"Hey, I think something similar is happening here. A building was suddenly surrounded."

"It's happening here too. Not to mention the soldiers, those in plain clothes look like Demon Slayers."

"I looked closely. Those people are definitely wearing combat suits, but they're more advanced—just concealed under regular clothes."

"Good heavens, is this a nationwide operation?"

"The Demon Slayers have been deployed, along with so many troops. This must be a major operation. Maybe they're wiping out monsters."

"I'm at the foot of Mount Kunlun, and I'm currently in a safe spot to livestream for you guys... Boom—!!"

"What the hell? Why did the screen go black? Is the streamer still alive?"

"Damn it, I hope they're okay."

A deafening roar startled even Zhou Shu. A massive explosion had rocked the Longevity Club. Smoke billowed from four different locations, and one corner of the building was completely blown away. Debris flew everywhere, and the shockwave shattered the windows of the surrounding houses.

The flying debris struck randomly, causing unknown amounts of damage and casualties. Even without considering the outside, there were plenty of customers inside the club. The rapid-assault strategy had been intended to minimize the possibility of the Ascension Society taking hostages, but they had proven more ruthless than expected, detonating bombs directly in their own lair.

"Damn it, the Ascension Society is brutal! They actually rigged their own headquarters with bombs!"

Zhou Shu cursed, immediately focusing his mind to prepare for sniping. This chaos was the perfect opportunity for the enemy to slip away. With time of the essence, Zhou Shu took a breath and activated his "Sharingan."

"Bullet Time—Activate!"

*Whoosh—*

Entering sniper mode, the entire world slowed down. He immediately saw several... humanoid creatures leaping out of the exploding Longevity Club.

Their clothes were shredded, and their frames had expanded beyond two and a half meters. Some were thick and muscular, others lean and tall; regardless, they were no longer in any normal human shape.

Their blue-black skin only highlighted their monstrous nature. Through the sniper scope, Zhou Shu could even see their claws and fangs. Their faces were twisted with a manic look—not like they were fleeing, but like tigers descending from a mountain.

"Heh, tigers descending from a mountain? I'll turn all of you into tiger-skin rugs."

Zhou Shu curled his lip in disdain and shifted his aim, framing the head of one of the monsters in his scope. He no longer needed the Hunter System's auxiliary aiming device. He could easily perceive the wind speed and humidity; he knew the velocity of his ammunition and the movement speed of his targets, allowing him to predict exactly where they would appear next.

These fleeting, rapid movements appeared exceptionally slow in his eyes, giving him ample time to prepare.

*Bang—*

A 12.7mm tungsten-cored armor-piercing round flew from the muzzle, trailing ripples in the air. Zhou Shu had already shifted to his next target before the bullet even struck, knowing with certainty it would penetrate the monster's skull.

*Bang—*

*Bang—*

Zhou Shu sniped the targets escaping the chaos in rapid succession. Even his magazine changes were done in "Bullet Time"—before anyone else could react, he had already reloaded and resumed firing.

He aimed at the next target, his finger tightening on the trigger, only to realize it was one of his own men. Judging by the posture, it looked like the soldier had been thrown out by the impact of the blast.

He shifted his aim. Next.

*Bang—*

As he sniped away, ace snipers in other positions opened fire as well. Though they weren't as formidable as Zhou Shu, they weren't using such extreme equipment; their sniper rifles had a higher rate of fire.

If the quality wasn't enough, they would make up for it with quantity. With so many of them, at least one bullet was bound to strike home. Even if it wasn't a one-shot kill, it would still inflict damage. Once a target was injured, it would slow down, making it easier to finish off.

As Zhou Shu continued to score hits, he sighed. It wasn't because of a miss, but because these monsters represented energy, and they were all too far away for him to absorb immediately to bolster his strength.

"Sigh, is there any kind soul out there who can send me some energy?"

Well, as luck would have it, no sooner had he sighed than the soldier beside him spoke up: "Zhou Shu, someone is coming up!"

(?ω?)!

Zhou Shu's eyes lit up instantly. He quickly scanned the battlefield at the Longevity Club and realized that after his round of sniping, no one dared to emerge from inside anymore.

One reason might be fear; another might be that they were being pinned down by the Demon Slayers who had stormed the building. Regardless, there wouldn't be any targets slipping through for now. Even if one or two managed to escape, the other ace snipers could handle them.

Only the first wave of monsters had been numerous; there were very few left behind them, and the team of ace snipers could gun them down easily. Even if a "master" emerged, the other snipers could call him, and he could instantly activate Bullet Time to adjust his angle and take the target out.

With this in mind, he took the handheld computer from the soldier beside him. To ensure his safety, they had installed surveillance cameras in the hallways, allowing them to see anyone passing by.

Because this building was quite a distance from the Longevity Club, the civilians hadn't been fully evacuated. People were still moving through the stairs and elevators, but the soldiers could clearly tell that one group looked suspicious.

There were six or seven of them—men and women, and even an old man. If they were fierce, they didn't show it; their attitude was remarkably relaxed. If they were ordinary people, their presence was distinctly different.

However, as they reached higher floors, it was clear they were heading straight for them. Zhou Shu looked at the screen capture and recognized one of them immediately.

"It's actually Bai Huayue?!"

His brain raced, connecting the dots. The Ascension Society's headquarters was under attack, yet instead of providing support or fleeing, Bai Huayue had brought people here. And since he hadn't seen them below, had they perhaps been outside by chance and received orders to come here and eliminate him?

Time didn't allow for much thought. The soldiers were urging him to leave, but with the energy practically delivered to his doorstep, how could he run?

"You two, come over here. We're going to take them out directly!" Zhou Shu said to the two soldiers at the stairwell.