Chapter 125: You Are Actually Already Dead (Two-in-One)

“Boom!”
“Crack!”
“Bang!”
“Crash!”

To an unaware observer, it might seem like a demolition was underway, but in truth, these were two “monsters” locked in battle.

They tore through walls with reckless abandon, leaving dust swirling and chunks of concrete flying—far more efficient than any demolition crew.

Zhou Shu, wielding a cannon sniper rifle, surged quickly toward Tong Tianhua and Feng Hai. By the time he closed the distance to fifty meters, no teammates remained nearby.

Even Liu Shui Ling’s father, Liu Zhangfei—a third-level exorcist with formidable physical prowess—stood at a fifty-meter distance, merely watching.

None dared approach the combat zone; someone had already taken the risk to clear the path.

Earlier, a third-level combat specialist exorcist had stepped in to assist but was promptly felled by a single punch from Tong Tianhua and his fate remained unknown.

Liu Zhangfei intended to advise Zhou Shu as he rushed by, but before he could speak, Zhou Shu dashed past him.

“???”

Liu Zhangfei had patted Zhou Shu on the shoulder before. From the muscle feedback, he knew Zhou Shu’s physical strength surpassed that of a “level one rookie” as recorded in the files, but he hadn’t grasped the full extent of his limits.

Now, Zhou Shu sped past like a gust of wind, and judging by that velocity, his physical capabilities must exceed even Liu’s own understanding!

“Could this kid possess physical strength above level three? Comparable to mine?!”

Old Liu was stunned.

How old was this kid, really?

Unaware of Liu’s astonishment, Zhou Shu concentrated all his energy on the battlefield before him.

Tong Tianhua was massive, with four arms, yet his movements were far from clumsy—graceful and swift.

Especially the coordination of his four arms, which was so fluid it seemed like he had used them since childhood rather than suddenly acquiring them.

As the saying goes, “Two fists cannot match four hands.” Feng Hai found himself in exactly that predicament. Moreover, Tong Tianhua’s stature dwarfed his own—when Feng Hai struck him, the impact was nothing like when the giant returned the blow.

Sometimes, after Feng Hai landed a punch, Tong Tianhua would counter with two or even three punches in return, each blow causing him to spit blood.

He was on the brink of death.

Yet, being smaller had its advantages. Despite Tong Tianhua’s speed and agility, the laws of physics still applied. Feng Hai, though slightly smaller and with only marginally weaker base attributes, was somewhat more agile.

That slight edge in agility was the only reason Feng Hai had survived this long.

But time was running out.

His stamina and constitution were inferior to Tong Tianhua’s. Although the fight had not lasted long, the strain of battle mode was immense, and Feng Hai was nearing his limit.

Should he drop his battle form, death would surely follow.

Fortunately, his custom headset was still intact, and the command center had confirmed reinforcements were en route.

He hoped the backup would be competent—not another third-level ally who would be KO’d in one blow, forcing him to steer clear of the fallen comrade’s position.

If they fought in place, they could inadvertently strike down their own fallen ally, regardless of their remaining stamina.

Just as he dodged another attack from Tong Tianhua with a crotch-dive maneuver, he saw someone charging forward.

“Is that the reinforcement?!”

But his hope faltered as the newcomer stopped, setting up a sniper rifle on a shattered concrete wall.

Feng Hai was dumbfounded. “Reinforcements? Just this?”

“Bang!”

He was stunned, but Tong Tianhua was not—one punch sent him sprawling!

Zhou Shu had just arrived and was equally shocked.

“A Heavenly Master? Is that all?”

Weren’t they supposed to be holding on?

Why did Zhou Shu arrive only to see the Heavenly Master getting pummeled?

Time was pressing; he had no choice but to activate bullet time. He aimed the cannon sniper rifle at Tong Tianhua’s protective deity manifestation.

Swish—

“Bang—”

At just 40 meters, a 20mm caliber bullet packed tremendous firepower and high muzzle velocity, speeding almost instantaneously toward the target. Even in bullet time, the bullet’s flight slowed enough for Zhou Shu to glance at Tong Tianhua and Feng Hai’s attributes mid-flight.

What he saw startled him.

If Feng Hai was a typical level-four powerhouse, Tong Tianhua’s stats were absurd.

As a Heavenly Master already in battle mode, his attributes exceeded level four.

Indeed, the data confirmed it.

Feng Hai’s strength hovered around 4.5, agility about 4.6, constitution reached 4.8—quite formidable.

But his stamina was lacking, only about 3.9.

High constitution meant he could take a beating, but battle mode drained stamina quickly, and 3.9 wouldn’t last long.

According to the battle assist system, Hunter, Feng Hai’s stamina was nearly depleted.

Without much hesitation, Zhou Shu fired.

He needed to give Feng Hai a breather.

Yet seeing Tong Tianhua’s stats, Zhou Shu realized the mission would be far more difficult than anticipated.

[Tong Tianhua: Strength 4.9, Agility 4.9, Stamina 4.9, Constitution 4.9]

Good heavens!

Unbelievable!

The most balanced attributes Zhou Shu had ever encountered—no exceptions!

Even the strange Queen Beast hadn’t such evenly matched stats, nor so high.

Typically, such balanced stats belonged to artificial constructs, so Tong Tianhua’s massive black deity form could be seen as a “biomechanical” entity!

“Damn!”

Just as feared, despite closing to 40 meters, the bullet still took time to reach its target—and that slight delay was enough for Tong Tianhua to dodge.

From Zhou Shu’s perspective, the bullet moved slowly, and Tong Tianhua moved just as slowly, as though sensing the shot the instant it was fired, moving simultaneously with the projectile.

A bullet that should have struck his vital spot missed by mere inches, grazing his arm.

Fortunately, the shot diverted Tong Tianhua’s attention, allowing Feng Hai to tumble away, instantly escaping the attack range.

But Feng Hai couldn’t leave just yet; he had to find a way to trap Tong Tianhua here. Once he left, tracking Tong Tianhua again would only be possible by following the trail of disaster—a scene no one wished to see.

Just one shot revealed that the sniper reinforcement was truly an elite among elites. If Feng Hai could hold Tong Tianhua down, perhaps one of those bullets could immobilize him.

So, without hesitation, Feng Hai lunged again.

Zhou Shu was even more decisive.

Having direct access to the data, he was certain of the disparity in strength between Tong Tianhua and Feng Hai. Even if Feng Hai kept him occupied, Tong Tianhua’s immense power allowed him to evade attacks, so Zhou Shu opted for close combat.

But this time, unlike before, he had powerful backup. Though currently taking hits, his presence served as a distraction.

Previously, a third-level exorcist had been dispatched and instantly crushed. Now, Zhou Shu himself was essentially a third-level exorcist, but unlike others, he possessed danger perception and bullet time, minimizing the risk of being instantly killed.

He also abandoned the dagger, wielding the cannon sniper rifle directly.

Point-blank shots—could Tong Tianhua still dodge?

“Hold him for half a second!”

Zhou Shu shouted as he ran.

Such a tactic couldn’t fool the enemy; it was more of an open strategy, relying on Feng Hai’s ability to comply.

As it turned out, Feng Hai managed to trip up two of Tong Tianhua’s legs while enduring hits. Zhou Shu seized the moment and activated bullet time again.

He closed to within five meters—virtually face-to-face.

After all, Tong Tianhua stood over four meters tall!

“Bang—”

A bullet sped toward Tong Tianhua’s head.

“Click,” the bolt was pulled back.

“Bang—”

The second bullet aimed at the head but veered slightly, targeting a predicted dodge position.

“Click,” the bolt pulled again.

“Bang—”

The third bullet flew out, again at a forecasted spot.

Zhou Shu refused to believe Tong Tianhua could keep dodging.

All his shots targeted the upper three zones, wary that hitting elsewhere might lead Tong Tianhua to use Feng Hai as a human shield.

Meanwhile, as Zhou Shu charged forward, the commander lost composure. He wanted to order Zhou Shu back, but Zhou Shu ignored the command, charging ahead resolutely.

Just then, a report flashed on the right side of the screen.

Bai Huayue deceased!

Leader of the Ten Directions Society deceased!

Evolution Organization’s silver-tier leader in District 11, Jiu Lixiangzi, deceased!

Several bronze-tier Evolution Organization leaders also deceased!

Their covert bases… appeared to be within the country.

From the scene and soldier reports, aside from Bai Huayue, the others had been killed by Zhou Shu.

The bronze-tier leaders fell to tungsten-core armor-piercing 12.7mm rounds, while Wu Xinghe and Jiu Lixiangzi were killed by an unknown 20mm steel-core bullet.

A bullet without any recorded information.

“This…”

The commander was nearly dumbfounded.

“Is the intelligence accurate?”

The reporter assured, “Absolutely.”

Accurate?

Then how did Zhou Shu manage this?

This is the “level one rookie” you told us about?

How can you claim the intel is accurate!

And where did his gun come from?

Where did such a massive caliber sniper rifle come from?

Initially, they focused on Zhou Shu himself and took it for granted that a sniper would carry a sniper rifle.

But now it was clear his rifle was much larger than any he’d used before.

Because it looked “light,” no one had considered that it might actually weigh dozens of pounds.

In hindsight, Zhou Shu handled it effortlessly because he was far from a level one rookie.

Their hopes soared.

“Could Tong Tianhua be finished here?”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Zhou Shu and Feng Hai coordinated, and they found Tong Tianhua’s “biomechanical” form was not invincible.

Feng Hai tangled with Tong Tianhua, allowing Zhou Shu to fire at close range. Each 20mm bullet struck him.

If Tong Tianhua tried to attack Feng Hai, Zhou Shu’s shots would interrupt him.

If he attacked Zhou Shu, the latter’s danger perception and slow-motion reflexes made dodging easy.

Though the battlefield was still thick with dust, the tide had turned completely.

Yet Tong Tianhua’s constitution was formidable, near perfect at 4.9—so even 20mm bullets inflicted limited damage.

Still, compared to the bizarre Queen Beast of lesser ability but far more tenacious, the bullets were effective—if ammunition lasted.

But sniper rifles are notorious for limited ammo; they rely on one-shot kills, not carrying hundreds of rounds like an assault rifle.

Zhou Shu was different. His gun didn’t come from conventional sources—it was materialized from energy.

His powered exoskeleton armor could materialize, so could his weapons—and bullets were no exception.

Given his vast energy reserves, his ammunition was virtually “infinite.”

Even more absurdly, his materialized bullets could appear directly in the chamber.

Thus, his sniper rifle was effectively a "machine cannon."

Yet, to avoid friendly fire on Feng Hai, he fired carefully, one shot at a time.

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang—”

“Howl—”

Tong Tianhua roared in fury, swinging all four arms like a giant fan. Feng Hai was sent flying, crashing through a wall and coughing up blood.

Tong Tianhua blocked his bloodied head and chest—bones visible through wounds—with his four arms and charged toward Zhou Shu like a massive truck.

He aimed to crush the pesky “ant” named Zhou Shu.

But blinded by rage, he failed to notice his own condition. His berserk frenzy was fueled by adrenaline, but his energy was nearly spent.

Zhou Shu, however, didn’t even fire this time. Instead, he executed a backflip onto the shattered second floor, calmly watching the enraged Tong Tianhua charge.

Seeing Zhou Shu leap up, Tong Tianhua also leapt, Hulk-like.

But Zhou Shu’s face bore no fear—only a faint smile.

“You’re already dead.”

Tong Tianhua paused mid-air, stunned.

“Dead? How come I didn’t know?”

Then, suddenly, his heart spasmed violently, like a pump running dry.

“Boom~”

The four-armed black deity crashed heavily to the ground, the resulting gust barely stirring Zhou Shu’s coat.