Chapter 67: Esper

Li Yu held the Silver Holy Spear up. Old Ghost and Sister Yao hid behind the metal wall, constantly shifting their positions.

"You two react quite fast..." Li Yu remarked with a hint of teasing.

"There is no irreconcilable conflict between us..." Old Ghost's voice drifted near and far, making it difficult to pinpoint his exact location.

Li Yu waved his hand at Violet Sniper. It obediently walked over and handed its eye to the commander.

'Damn it, what kind of cursed metal is this? Infrared rays can't penetrate it.'

"Indeed, there isn't," Li Yu agreed. "In that case, why don't you two come out so we can talk face-to-face?"

"Alright..." Old Ghost agreed without hesitation. "I trust your character, brother. I'm coming out."

Li Yu narrowed his eyes. A figure suddenly dashed out from behind the metal wall and rushed straight at him. Li Yu's heart leaped, and he almost pulled the trigger.

However, he instantly sensed something was wrong. Activating Bullet Time, he forcefully suppressed his instincts.

Clearly, Old Ghost wanted to use this method to trick Li Yu into wasting the bullet in his pistol.

"Brother, that wasn't very kind of you..." Li Yu cursed the old fox inwardly. If he hadn't used Bullet Time to forcefully stop his finger, he probably would have pulled the trigger just now.

Old Ghost's expression was also quite grim. According to the data, Li Yu was at most a D- Rank lifeform, while he was a D+ Grade lifeform.

If he had launched a sneak attack, the opponent absolutely would not have survived. Yet, in that tense situation just now, Li Yu was actually able to suppress his instinct to fire.

He signaled Sister Yao. The two exchanged a glance and nodded at each other.

"Relax, that was just a little joke..." Old Ghost said in a calm tone. "Now I know that Your Excellency truly has no intention of firing."

"I'm coming out right now..."

The next moment, several figures suddenly charged out from both sides of the main door. Li Yu's gaze hardened. These people carried Electromagnetic Rifles and, without a word, immediately opened fire.

Li Yu couldn't possibly waste his bullets on these minor thugs. Violet Sniper transformed its shape, turning into a shield to block those electromagnetic bullets.

In that split second, a slender figure dashed out. It was actually Sister Yao. Standing behind the group of men, she flashed Li Yu an eerie smile.

"Bye-bye, little brother..."

The very next moment, the metal floor was ripped right up, condensing into sharp iron spears that hurled toward him, aiming to skewer him like a hedgehog.

"A Superpower?" Li Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, sweeping his gaze over the corpses on the ground. No wonder these two didn't show many signs of resistance on the surface.

Sister Yao was actually an Esper, not a Genetic Evolution Body or a Mechanical Cyborg.

Furthermore, she possessed an impressive Metal Manipulation Ability, or was it Magnetic Energy?

Espers were indeed troublesome to deal with. Especially at the lower ranks, they possessed overwhelming combat power.

Unless one reached the higher ranks, where Genetic Evolution Bodies acquired more Gene Chains and their comprehensive abilities grew increasingly stronger, or Mechanical Cyborgs equipped various shielding modules, closing the gap.

But at the lower ranks, a Metal Manipulation Ability or Magnetic Energy was truly the absolute bane of a Mechanical Cyborg.

"Very nice. What a pity..." Li Yu stared at Sister Yao and opened his mouth. The air vibrated. Everyone seemed to hear something, yet it also felt like they heard nothing at all.

Only Sister Yao's pupils contracted. She distinctly heard the command, "Stop!"

Li Yu's Mental Power surged out wildly, like a floodgate bursting open. Controlling this kind of Esper seemed to consume even more Mental Power.

The next moment, the metal spears surrounding him all came to a dead halt, less than a meter away from his physical body. There were easily over a hundred metal spears, reflecting a sharp, deadly gleam.

If they had fallen, one could only imagine what kind of disaster it would have been.

Bang!

With a flash of morning light, another shot rang out. The figures blocking Sister Yao served no purpose; they were entirely shot through, including that purple Energy Shield.

"Urgh..." Sister Yao's pupils were filled with terror. By the time she could move again, she realized her consciousness had already begun to blur.

A trickle of blood oozed from the bloody hole in her forehead, and a crimson hue overtook her vision.

As an Esper, her physical body wasn't incredibly strong. Clearly, she hadn't spent extra time developing Gene Chains, making her an E-Class Lifeform at best.

If it had been Taotie or Old Ghost in her place, with so many people acting as a buffer to weaken the bullet's kinetic energy, the shot might not have necessarily killed them.

Thud!

Sister Yao's corpse collapsed to the ground, her head pointing directly at Old Ghost. Old Ghost happened to meet her lifeless gaze, and his expression instantly darkened.

With corpses littering the floor and blood flowing like a river, the underlings were trembling in fear. Old Ghost wore a gloomy expression as he glanced at the Smart Terminal in his hand, where a line of text surfaced.

"Master... it seems their Smart Terminals have all been upgraded with anti-intrusion modules. I cannot hack them for the time being," Claptrap responded at this moment.

Another tracking method had failed. It was likely that the previous incident with Third Fatty had served as a wake-up call for them.

"There's no need for us to continue fighting..." Old Ghost finally spoke up again. Perhaps realizing that his previous lie was too obvious, he hastily added, "I mean it this time."

"Taotie is dead, and Sister Yao is dead. That means two fewer people to split the pie. Third Fatty and Taotie had a grudge against you, but I don't..."

"I'll give you half of the Gene Chains from Blue Sky Genetics, and we can go our separate ways. How about that?" Old Ghost's words were quite persuasive.

Li Yu pondered for a moment. "What you say makes a lot of sense. But there's a problem: if you don't come out, we can't negotiate."

"Come out. It will show your sincerity, and mine. Otherwise, we can just keep this standoff going."

"Brother, look closely. I'm coming out..." Old Ghost seemed genuinely sincere this time, stepping out from behind the wall with his hands raised.

Li Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. Target confirmed. Fire!

He raised the Silver Holy Spear without the slightest hesitation. Anyone who trusted Old Ghost was an absolute idiot.

Bang!!

A blinding brilliance erupted. The intricate patterns on the gun lit up, displaying its familiar, incredibly dazzling visual effects.

Old Ghost's eyes suddenly turned viciously crimson. The very instant the bullet sank into his corporeal form, a pair of blood-red wings abruptly unfurled from his back.

Immediately after, his entire body burst into a swarm of tiny bats that scattered in all directions, miraculously evading the gunshot.

"Vampires..." Li Yu muttered. No wonder Old Ghost was nicknamed a vampire; he literally turned into bats.

"The Phantom Bat doesn't have any Elemental Power, but its life-saving abilities are surprisingly good..." The massive swarm of blood-red bats flapped their wings, rapidly converging back into the form of Old Ghost.

"Your gun is useless against me. Can we talk now?"

His face was deathly pale, as if it had always been that way. His tone was calm and composed, making it seem as though he could use that ability again without issue.

"Hmm... I'll have to think about it..." Li Yu replied, equally unruffled. He kept the Silver Holy Spear raised, acting as if the gun still had plenty of bullets left.