Right on Target (TARGET)
"Blah blah blah," Su Heting clutched his head, "Shut the hell up!"
One Yanguang was noisy enough, but a dozen of them were like a flock of ducks. With over a hundred heads dangling from their chests, they practically came with built-in surround sound.
"You gotta be kidding me," Xiao Gu yelled through the comms. "How are we supposed to handle this many Yanguang?"
The Yanguang moved swiftly, completely unhindered by their size. The encirclement tightened rapidly, and at a glance, cannon-faced creatures surrounded them on all sides.
[X-lock engaged. Hostiles approaching.]
Su Heting’s cybernetic eye rapidly updated data as he pushed himself up in the pouring rain while also pulling Inspector to his feet. The six of them retreated step by step, forming a back-to-back formation within the tightening ring of Yanguang.
"Report," Hua Zhi lifted her arrow quiver. "I only have nineteen arrows left."
"One per head," Dong Fang tried to lighten the mood. "Equal distribution."
"Normally, a hundred lives would be enough," Yu Cheng’s voice trembled. "What’s going on today…"
[Charging at 30%]
[Charging at 35%]
The data in Su Heting’s vision shifted rapidly—the Yanguang’ charge rate was accelerating within seconds.
"Isn’t there any way to interrupt their charge?" Su Heting flicked water off his tail. "They’re about to fire all at once."
Xiao Gu fake-sobbed dramatically, "My last words are—"
"Yanguang crave light," Inspector’s shield flickered as he cut off Xiao Gu’s theatrics. "Use your flashbangs."
"Copy that!" Xiao Gu instantly snapped to attention. He flipped open his raincoat, revealing a belt lined with launchers. "Switching modes."
Like an owl, he rotated his head slightly, the soft click sounding like a toy’s switch. The launchers at his waist spun into position. Another click as he turned his head back, his arms now transformed into raised cannon barrels.
Xiao Gu shouted, "Eyes shut!"
A sharp whistle cut through the air as both cannons fired simultaneously, launching two flashbangs toward the high-rise where the Mechanical Eunuch stood.
The Mechanical Eunuch shrieked, "How dare you!"
The flashbangs tore through the rain before detonating a dozen meters from the eunuch. The piercing whistle didn’t stop—in the next second, blinding white light erupted, accompanied by deafening noise that engulfed the entire rooftop.
"Sir…"
The Yanguang craned their necks like sunflowers, staring upward.
Inspector commanded, "Again!"
Flashbangs shot out like synchronized swordfish, launching one after another from Xiao Gu’s cannons. They exploded across the rooftop, turning night into day.
The heads on the Yanguang’ chests suddenly wailed:
"My eyes!"
"It burns!"
"Turn it off, kill the light!"
Their pupils dilated, bloodshot from the glare, yet they seemed incapable of closing their eyes—only their mouths moved as it kept howling in agony.
"Master!"
"Master, save me…"
"I’m going blind!"
But no matter how much the heads screamed, the Yanguang stood motionless, bathed in the white light.
[Hostile charge interrupted.]
[Hostile charge dissipated.]
[Hostiles initiating feeding mode.]
Now—
Inspector barked, "Yu Cheng!"
Yu Cheng dropped to his knees with a thud, palms slamming the ground as he roared. The earth cracked outward from him, unleashing a wave of ear-splitting, metallic screeching.
Su Heting, standing close to Yu Cheng, felt the noise like steel needles stabbing into his eardrums. His expression twisted—his skull throbbed with pain.
This was an indiscriminate attack!
The heads writhed in even greater agony, howling against the Yanguang' chests, their twisted expressions like scenes straight from hell. The Yanguang, too, were overwhelmed, clutching their heads in distress.
Inspector endured the excruciating pain, his cross-shaped pupils flickering in the rain as he shouted to Dong Fang and Hua Zhi, "Cover me!"
The two immediately nocked their arrows.
"Cat," Inspector shielded Su Heting from a flying ear, "use your universally invincible cannon to clear a path for me."
Su Heting was thoroughly pleased with the "universally invincible" prefix. Pressing against Inspector's sturdy back, his rain-drenched eyes gleamed with exhilaration. "Got it!"
Hua Zhi's lightning-charged steel arrow was already loose, the whoosh like a starter's pistol. Inspector burst forward, his speed akin to a leopard's.
The nearest Yanguang took the first hit—Hua Zhi's arrow struck its neck. The moment the arrowhead made contact, it began to whirr, drilling relentlessly into the creature's flesh.
The Yanguang reared back, tilting sideways in pain. It was highly sensitive to pain—pain that could drive it to madness. True to form, the arrow made it forget its craving for the white light. It tore at the steel shaft with its long arms before hurling it to the ground. Then it turned toward Inspector as its cannon barrel charging with a deadly glow.
Sparks flickered between Su Heting's fingers. He braced his arm in perfect form, standing behind Inspector as he took direct aim at the Yanguang's head.
BOOM—!
The cannon fired in an instant, a blazing tail streaking through the air before obliterating the Yanguang's skull.
The creature's head snapped sideways—and in that split second, Inspector was already upon it. The black diamond-shaped fragments on his arm reassembled at once, morphing into a massive, reinforced steel limb several times its original size. With a single swing, he drove his fist straight into the Yanguang's cannon barrel.
BANG!
The charged blast was blocked point-blank, triggering a catastrophic backfire that exploded the creature's head into fragments. The shockwave dissipated, and the remaining body collapsed with a thunderous crash, flattening the surrounding buildings.
"Fire a few more shots," Su Heting said, the "X" in his right eye glowing intensely. Flames engulfed his right arm as his smoking cannon barrel rapidly charged. Steadying his stance, his gaze sharp and brimming with confidence, he shouted to Inspector, "Go—all—out!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the cannon roared like a dragon, sweeping out in a blazing fan-shaped arc from the left. The heads bore the brunt of the inferno, their temples bulging with veins as they shrieked in unison. A synchronized chain of explosions followed, like fireworks in the night, detonating across the Yanguangs' skulls and blasting them into countless fragments.
"Sir!"
"Save me—!"
Inspector landed and the black diamond fragments scattered as he retracted his arm. Behind him, the relentless BOOM-BOOM-BOOM of falling Yanguangs shook the ground, crushing the entire block beneath their weight.
Only the mournful wails of the surviving heads remained in the rain.
"What kind of cannon is that?" Xiao Gu edged closer while eyeing Su Heting's arm with envy. "So cool, so badass—I need one!"
Hua Zhi also leaned in slightly, studying the arm. "It fires instantly."
"The key is the fire," Dong Fang gushed as he gestured excitedly. "The fire!"
"And the sound," Yu Cheng adjusted his glasses. "It resembles some kind of direct-fire artillery."
Though the center of attention, Su Heting was staring at Inspector with even greater admiration, his mind flooded with internal commentary.
Shape-shifting is way cooler.
What are those diamond fragments?
I want one installed.
Damn it—
His face remained impassive as he grudgingly admitted in his heart:
This guy is just too damn cool.
Inspector caught Su Heting's glance but didn't grasp the cat's meaning. The cat's tail lashed wildly, as if brimming with unspoken words. His gaze lingered on the flicking tail before shooting a questioning look back at Su Heting.
"My cannon," Su Heting declared shamelessly, flashing a thumbs-up, "is the best in the world."
Inspector: "..."
He tilted his head slightly, the cross-shaped earring swaying faintly as the corner of his lips twitched—almost like a smile. But it lasted only a moment before his expression reset.
Su Heting watched as Inspector's fragmented diamond pieces reassembled, transforming into the fountain pen—the very one he had first seen in the Punishment Zone.
Xiao Gu lifted his head toward the sky. "Shouldn't it be dawn by now? What a long night."
One Yanguang traded for eighty lives—they had already exceeded tonight's quota long ago.
Several pairs of eyes turned upward.
Yet, strangely, the rain didn’t stop.
The wind swept across the battlefield, carrying the stench of Yanguang's and the faint, mournful sobbing of the severed heads.
Su Heting wrinkled his nose as an uneasy feeling creeped over him. "Why are these heads still crying?"
"Because," Yu Cheng swallowed hard before explaining, "these heads—"
A sudden gust of wind cut him off. Lightning split the sky, followed by rolling thunder as the rain intensified.
"Demons and gods may pass—" The Mechanical Eunuch shrieked from the rooftop, its veil flapping wildly in the wind. It pointed a hateful finger at Inspector and hissed, "Mortals, step aside!"
BOOM!
Dark clouds churned overhead, as though something monstrous was about to emerge.
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