Director Hao gave the word. Though clearly reluctant, I had no choice but to go along with Sun Fatty.
Looking for a "convenient" place, Sun Fatty actually wandered for five or six minutes, dragging his feet the whole time. Instead of watching where he was going, he kept his head tilted up, staring at the sky.
"Da Sheng, isn't this enough? You're just looking for a place to take a dump—you don't need to walk over a mile for that, do you?"
Sun Fatty finally lowered his head and said, "Taking a dump doesn't need a mile, but if we're talking about striking it rich, a mile isn't that far, is it?"
"Striking it rich?" I perked up. "What do you mean?"
Sun Fatty made a circle in the air with his hand, pointing upward. "The sky's full of luminous pearls. If you snag even one of those, you're set for life, right?"
"You think you can actually get one down?" I said.
Sun Fatty patted me on the shoulder. "Depends on who's helping me."
I saw his face practically shining with excitement. "You're not thinking I'll help, are you? That's over 50 meters up, and there's not a single stone around here to throw. If anyone's going to help, it should be Po Jun. He's got the altitude—it's perfect for plucking stars."
"I'm not joking." As he spoke, Sun Fatty took out his pistol and handed it to me. "Fifty meters up—getting a few gemstones down with your aim shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"You've gone money-crazy." I pushed his pistol back. "Our bullets are specially made. If you hit one of those things, it's going to flare up red. Hao Wenming and Qiu Bulao are sharp as hell—they'll see through it instantly. Not to mention the sound—how are you gonna explain the gunshots?"
"Who said anything about using Bureau-issued ammo?" Sun Fatty pulled three regular bullets from his pocket and tossed them in his hand. "Saved a few during range practice. Didn't expect I'd get to use them so soon." As he spoke, he swapped out his magazine and loaded the regular rounds.
I still didn't take the gun. I hesitated. "And the gunfire? You don't have a silencer, do you?"
"Just say we saw a blue-faced silhouette. Trust me, the way things are here, people would believe even if we said God came down."
"You sure about this?" I was still unsure.
"No worries. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the fall. Lazhi, one of those luminous pearls has to be worth at least a couple million. Taking a risk is worth it." He stuffed the pistol into my hand. "Hurry up. Director Hao and the others are still waiting."
"Wait." I suddenly thought of something important. "Three bullets means three pearls. How are we splitting them?"
Sun Fatty gave me a look and said, "Lazhi, I came up with the idea, and the bullets are mine. I should get the bigger share, right?"
Sure enough, the shameless bastard wanted a bigger cut. "Then you shoot them yourself." I handed the pistol back.
"Come on, we're brothers. We can work this out." Sun Fatty gritted his teeth. "Fine. We split the money fifty-fifty, okay?"
"Da Sheng, let's be clear—no funny business later."
Sun Fatty helplessly pointed at the sky. "No more stalling. Just do it. If we wait too long, Director Hao and the others might show up."
"Which three do I shoot?"
Sun Fatty pointed straight up at the three brightest stars above us. "Those three—the biggest and brightest. I've had my eye on them for a while."
"Bang bang bang!" Three shots rang out. The three bright points fell. Sun Fatty didn't blink once. He rushed into the water and scooped up the three luminous pearls almost immediately.
"Lazhi, we're rich! From today on, we're millionaires!" Sun Fatty waved the three egg-sized, silver-glowing luminous pearls in front of my eyes.
I handed the gun back to Sun Fatty and warned, "Hide them quickly. That gunfire's going to bring the others here any minute."
Luckily, our uniforms had enough pockets. Hiding three egg-sized gems wasn't a problem.
"Da Sheng, we had a deal—half and half. No backing out." I looked at how giddy he was and worried he might renege.
"Relax, I'm not that kind of guy. Lazhi—don't move!" Sun Fatty's expression suddenly changed. His eyes widened, jaw nearly dropped open, and he drew his pistol again, aiming wildly around me.
"Sun Fatty, what are you doing? Trying to kill me and cover it up?!"
Without a word, Sun Fatty pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed past my scalp, and a muffled thud—"thump"—came from behind me.
Something was behind me!
I reacted quickly. Without turning around, I rushed a few steps forward and drew my gun. Once I was sure things were safe, I turned to look back.
Not even five meters behind where I'd been standing, a tall "person" stood there. Fully armored from head to toe, he was over three meters tall, like a giant. His chest plate glowed red where the Bureau's custom bullet had hit. There was no visible effect—he stood perfectly still, without a shred of life.
I was startled by the sight. "Da Sheng! What the hell is that?!"
"How should I know? It just popped up out of the water." Sun Fatty kept his gun trained on it.
I didn't understand. Popped out of the water? The water barely covered our feet—how did he "pop out"?
Before I could process it, the situation changed again. The "person" suddenly moved. Sun Fatty instinctively fired another shot. It had no effect. The figure didn't even flinch as it walked toward us. As it moved, I saw through the gaps in the armor—what lay beneath wasn't flesh, but writhing clumps of maggots.
Fighting nausea, I shot at a patch of exposed tissue. It only staggered back a step. That shot seemed to enrage it—its speed doubled as it charged toward us.
"Da Sheng, run!" I only realized as I spoke that Sun Fatty had already sprinted over twenty meters ahead.
Traitor!
I ran like hell. I could feel that the armored figure was right behind me, maybe seven or eight meters away, charging at full speed.
Suddenly, I remembered what Po Jun had said: "In trouble? Go to the leadership!"
Sun Fatty and I bolted toward Director Hao's group. The thing followed us relentlessly, keeping the same distance.
Sun Fatty tripped and fell hard. In the split second he hit the ground, I grabbed his collar and yanked him up. That cost us a second—and the "person" was right behind us. I could feel its fingers brushing the back of my neck. My skin crawled.
"Bang!" Sun Fatty turned and fired at the thing. The bullet hit the armor and ricocheted, splashing into the water just a meter from my feet.
"Don't shoot! The bullets are bouncing back!" I yelled as I drew my baton and whipped around, slamming it into the thing's helmet.
It was a solid hit—hard enough to smash stone. But the helmet wasn't stone.
With a metallic clang, the baton flew from my hand. My right hand trembled from the impact, and the helmet didn't even crack. Useless. Run!
But I was out of time. The "person" grabbed my neck and lifted me into the air. Its other hand rose, aiming straight for my chest, ready to rip my heart out.
At the last moment, Sun Fatty charged in. He grabbed the thing's arm and jammed the gun into the gap between its helmet and armor.
"Bang bang bang bang!" He emptied the rest of the magazine into it.
The Bureau's special bullets had actually taken effect. Yellow pus sprayed out from the wound where the "person" had been shot. Although his face was hidden behind the helmet, the pain caused by the gunshot was clearly evident.
He loosened his grip on my neck, dropping to his knees. Both hands pressed against the wound, and from inside the helmet came hoarse, guttural howls.
I gripped the pistol, ready to fire another volley, when a low voice came from behind: "Don't move! Hurry over here!" It was clear—Qiu Bulao was speaking.
I turned to see Qiu Bulao, Director Hao Wenming, and Po Jun rushing over. Qiu's long bundled package was gone, but in his hands was a jet-black Wujin blade.
When I had been shooting at the stars earlier, I had already alerted these three. Forgetting about the Yue Moon jade coffin, the trio had come charging toward the gunshots. Though a bit late, it wasn't too late.
It was like seeing family again, but their faces were tight with tension—especially Qiu Bulao, whose hand gripping the blade was so tight his knuckles had turned white.
"Get behind us," Hao Wenming ordered. It was serious—Hao had even forgotten his usual catchphrase.
The "person" was no longer a lethal threat, so why were the directors so tense? Though puzzled, Sun Fatty and I stood behind Po Jun.
Sun Fatty whispered into Po Jun's ear, "Da Jun, no need to be so tense, right? This monster is pretty much done for."
"Done for?" Po Jun snorted. "Look again."
Sure enough, when I looked back at the kneeling figure, there was a change. The neck wound no longer oozed pus. The "person" reached into the wound and stirred around inside. From my position, I could clearly see sections of white, rough vertebrae flickering in and out of sight.
In less than the time it takes to smoke half a cigarette, he withdrew his hand—holding a handful of bullet heads—and with a palm flip, dumped over ten bullet tips into the water.
Sun Fatty and I exchanged glances, both sucking in cold breaths. The Bureau's special bullets didn't actually work on him; they only caused a minute or so of pain. What exactly was this "person"?
"Old Hao, go ahead!" Qiu Bulao shouted. Without waiting for Hao Wenming, Qiu acted first.
Qiu gripped his long blade, slashing diagonally at the "person." A spark flashed, and the armor was sliced open. The "person" reached out to grab Qiu, but Qiu leaned back, performing a quick breakfall, pushing off the ground hard and sliding under the giant's crotch. (At over three meters tall, the "person's" crotch was nearly one and a half meters high, but Qiu, being short, just ducked his head and slipped underneath.)
"Don't move!" Hao Wenming barked, dropping a phrase. He drew a telescopic baton—unlike ours, it had a five-inch-long blade hidden at the tip. This wasn't a baton, but a regulated folding dagger.
The "person" was focused entirely on Qiu, not noticing Hao Wenming approaching. Hao thrust the blade into the gash Qiu had made, twisting it inside. When he pulled out, another spray of pus burst forth.
The "person" let out a miserable howl, forgetting Qiu entirely, and reached for Hao Wenming.
Seeing an opening, Qiu jumped up and slashed at his back again. This blow was heavier, slicing away a chunk of armor and taking a piece with the Wujin blade.
Though Qiu had gained the advantage, he immediately suffered a huge setback. The "person" grew faster after being wounded. Just as Qiu's feet landed, the giant turned, grabbed Qiu's shoulders, pinned him down, and raised his right hand, aiming to rip into Qiu's chest.
I felt my heart clench. That was exactly how he had tried to deal with me earlier—thankfully, Sun Fatty had saved me. Qiu's life was now in grave danger.
Unexpectedly, his hand only tore Qiu's outer clothing; it couldn't penetrate further. The "person" hesitated and tried several more times but failed to tear through the layers beneath.
Taking advantage of the pause, Hao Wenming stabbed the dagger's tip repeatedly into the exposed flesh on the "person's" back—four or five times in quick succession.
The "person" screamed in pain, abandoned Qiu, and spun around with unbelievable speed. He slapped Hao's chest hard enough to send him flying seven or eight meters.
That wasn't the end. The giant leaped, catching Hao Wenming midair—one hand grabbed his arm, the other his leg—apparently aiming to tear him in two.
We all panicked, raising our guns and firing volleys at the "person's" back. Qiu suddenly rose from the ground and slashed at the giant's crotch.
"Gah!" The scream broke pitch. Holding Hao Wenming's legs, the giant swung toward Qiu. Qiu dodged too late, and they flew more than ten meters, crashing down, motionless.
The giant, unable to bear the pain, stomped and howled repeatedly. Then, unbelievably, he shed his armor.
"What's he doing?" I reloaded and asked Po Jun, who now looked pale. "Careful! He's going all out!"
The giant suddenly threw the armor at us and charged with lightning speed. The armor and he arrived almost simultaneously. We dodged the armor but couldn't escape his speed. Just as we were about to die, someone shouted, "Fall back!"
At the same time, a red fireball struck the giant, engulfing him. The fire seemed especially effective against him. He rolled in the water, but the flames didn't die out; instead, they blazed brighter.
After about ten minutes, the giant lay motionless. The fire continued burning another ten minutes until it reduced him to ashes.
The fireball came from Hao Wenming, who held a small metal tube that emitted the fireballs.
Sun Fatty sighed in relief, ignoring everything else, and plopped onto the water surface. "Hao, you should've used that killer move earlier. Don't wait till the last second—I was scared stiff."
"If he hadn't taken off his armor, that fire wouldn't have touched him. Seriously, stop watching and come help us," Hao said, half-lying on the water.