Chapter 128: Sniper

Lin QiYe swiftly dodged several bullets, his body blurring as he moved. In the next instant, he reached out and twisted the barrel of the submachine gun in mid-air, warping it into a twisted shape with his bare hands.

Under the influence of the Dark Corrosion, although he couldn't yet tear metal apart, reshaping it was still within his capabilities. And with the barrel of the submachine gun obstructed, there could only be one result...

Boom—!

A muffled sound echoed as the gun's chamber exploded in Scorpion Three's hands, shredding his arm. After a painful scream, a short knife flew through the air and hovered in front of him.

Lin QiYe controlled the short knife, holding it at Scorpion Three's throat. The blade pressed into his skin, drawing a few drops of blood.

"I'll ask you again, what are the followers?" Lin QiYe's cold voice rang out once more.

At the same time, a shadow of darkness crawled into Scorpion Three's pupils. An unprecedented wave of pain surged in his mind, as if something was gnawing at his brain, tearing and shattering it. While Dark Corrosion couldn't directly control a human mind, the agony it caused was nightmarish. At times, it proved to be an effective method of interrogation.

Under the combined pressure of both physical and mental torment, Scorpion Three's mental defenses quickly crumbled. He spilled all the information he knew in a rush.

From Scorpion Three's description, the so-called followers were an auxiliary organization of the Ancient God Church.

The formal members of the Ancient God Church were all composed of Divine Proxies, a rare and powerful group. Despite their individual strength, their limited numbers restricted their influence.

To make up for this shortage, the "gods" of the Ancient God Church created the followers in their names. They selected members from among countless ambitious and capable individuals to serve as the outer circle of the Church.

Each member who became a follower signed a soul contract with a specific "god" of the Ancient God Church. In exchange for their loyalty, they were promised that when the dark age of the gods arrived, they would rise to be rulers above all others.

Of course, few truly believed in the coming of the dark age of the gods. So, most followers were coerced, brainwashed, blackmailed, or deceived into joining. Once they had signed the soul contract, however, they were bound to unconditionally obey the "gods" and became true followers.

In summary, the followers were a powerful puppet organization directly controlled by a few of the Divine Proxies of the Ancient God Church.

From Scorpion Three's words, Lin QiYe also learned that they were the group that had been turned into followers two years ago by one of the Divine Proxies of the Ancient God Church. Originally, they were a mercenary group named "Rampant Scorpions," specializing in dirty work.

The "god" they followed was the Ancient God Church's Medusa, known by the codename Serpent Woman.

"Serpent Woman..." Lin QiYe's brow furrowed at the mention of the name.

If he remembered correctly, the woman who had invaded the missile base and bombed the training camp was suspected to be a proxy of Medusa...

Was she after him?

Lin QiYe lightly waved his hand, and the short knife pierced Scorpion Three's throat, ending his life instantly.

Scorpion Three had indeed provided useful intelligence, but he had never promised to spare him in exchange for information. Moreover, since Scorpion Three had planned to harm his family, even dying a thousand times wouldn't be enough to make up for it.

Just as Lin QiYe prepared to move, a faint sound came from a distant building. In the next instant, a bullet sliced through the air, heading straight for Lin QiYe's forehead!

Lin QiYe's pupils constricted, and without thinking, he dove sideways. The bullet whizzed past his cheek, leaving behind a faint trail of blood.

If Lin QiYe had been even a fraction of a second slower, the bullet would have struck him directly, ending his life.

"A sniper?" Lin QiYe crouched behind a van, his brow furrowing in concentration.

With his current spiritual sense and dynamic vision, most regular firearms were no threat to him. But a sniper rifle was a different matter.

The bullet from a sniper rifle typically travels at around 1000 meters per second. Lin QiYe's spiritual perception range was only about 100 meters, meaning that from the moment a bullet entered his range, it would reach him in just 0.1 seconds.

In such a short time, avoiding the bullet was already a great feat. As for using the Dark Domain to capture the bullet—that was out of the question.

Just as Lin QiYe crouched down, a large hole suddenly appeared on the roof of the van above him. A bullet pierced the side of the van and lodged deep into the snow below.

"Two snipers?" Lin QiYe's expression turned grim.

If there had been only one sniper, he might have been able to manage with the terrain. But with two snipers in different positions, the danger level had multiplied several times.

Not only that, but the snipers' positions were extremely well-hidden, and their rifles were silenced. In this heavy snowfall, it was almost impossible to predict their locations.

According to Scorpion Three, there were still eight more people lying in wait around the area, though their positions were unknown. With the enemy hidden and Lin QiYe exposed, his situation had rapidly deteriorated.

As Lin QiYe quickly processed the information, another bullet whizzed over his head and landed in the snow across the street. Moments later, a spurt of blood erupted, and a figure toppled to the ground.

Another sniper?

No... Another friendly sniper?

Lin QiYe suddenly had an idea. His gaze shifted toward a distant direction.

Hundreds of meters away, a man in black lay prone in the snow, with a thick layer of snow already accumulated on his body. The barrel of his sniper rifle was still smoking slightly...

It was Leng Xuan!

"The first one," Lin QiYe murmured to himself.

Leng Xuan's scope was firmly locked on the second sniper, who, realizing another sniper was present, displayed a slight flicker of panic in his expression. However, the second sniper was still convinced that his position was undetected, and he quickly resumed searching for Leng Xuan's location.

Leng Xuan's eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, he squeezed the trigger once more.

Whoosh—!

The bullet traveled across the hundreds of meters between them, shattering every snowflake in its path before it struck the second sniper in the forehead, creating a grotesque wound.

"The second one." Leng Xuan pulled his eyes from the scope and looked toward Lin QiYe's direction, muttering softly, "The rest... it's up to you now."

Hundreds of meters away, Lin QiYe, seeing the second sniper fall, felt a surge of clarity. He stood up behind the van and turned his gaze toward a particular direction.

Within his spiritual sense range, several figures were rapidly approaching him…