Chapter 173: Mutual Destruction?

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Mutual Destruction?

Liu Yandao was inside the office, having locked the door from the inside and hidden himself away.

The sound of gunshots outside terrified him into absolute silence. It wasn’t until he heard the old man’s voice that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Master Huang! Is it done?" he asked, stepping out of his hiding spot but cautiously peering through the glass panel on the door.

Seeing that the door remained closed and Liu Yandao was safe, Master Huang quickly replied, "The man disappeared! Stay alert—did he appear inside?"

Liu Yandao hastily but carefully checked the knob, confirming the door was still locked, and scanned the room. "Safe! There’s no one in here. Be careful, Master Huang!"

Master Huang, who was also scanning the corridor, quickly formulated a plan.

Whether the man had moved forward or slipped into another office, there would have been the sound of a door opening. If he had retreated to set an ambush outside, they would have inevitably clashed. Ruling those out, where else could he be?

Only in the adjacent office he had just come out of!

The door was wide open. As long as the man was fast enough, he could have used the black cloth as cover while firing and darted inside. Holding his short blade in one hand and the black cloth in the other, Master Huang swiftly moved to the wall just outside the doorway.

If Zhang Yun had already entered the room but made no sound—not even attempting to shoot him—there was only one possibility: he was waiting for Liu Yandao to come out!

The man could be right behind the door or hiding behind the wall. If Liu Yandao came out to regroup, he would be gunned down instantly! Standing by the wall near the entrance, Master Huang strained his ears but couldn’t detect any breathing. It seemed this kid was incredibly cautious too!

After waiting silently for a few seconds, Master Huang abruptly tossed the black cloth into the room.

Regardless of which side Zhang Yun was hiding on, seeing a dark silhouette fly in would definitely trigger him to shoot! Just like his own ambush moments ago, he only needed to create a single window of opportunity to strike. He wasn’t going to give Zhang Yun time to adjust his aim!

The moment the black cloth flew inside, Master Huang flashed into the doorway. Stepping in, he viciously thrust his short blade behind the wall with one hand while slamming his other palm heavily against the door.

BAM!

Struck by his palm, the entire door shuddered violently with a deafening crash. Large cracks splintered across the wood, and a pane of glass on it shattered instantly. If someone were hiding behind the door, the sheer force of the blow traveling through it would have slammed them hard against the wall!

But once again, Master Huang found himself utterly stunned.

His palm had clearly felt the solid recoil of the wall, meaning the door had struck the concrete without hitting any human body in between. At the same time, his knife thrust hit nothing but empty air. Zhang Yun was not hiding behind the wall inside the doorway.

There was no one on either side. He had a clear view of the entire office, and it was completely empty! The black cloth he threw in lay quietly on the floor, untouched by any gunfire.

At that exact moment, an intense, suffocating sense of danger washed over Master Huang. He had a sudden, terrifying feeling that Zhang Yun was standing right out in the corridor behind him!

Impossible! He had maintained high alert the entire time. No matter where the man emerged from, he should have heard his footsteps beforehand.

Logic dictated that he should trust his instinctual sense of crisis and immediately duck behind the wall. Yet, logic also told him this was physically impossible, and he shouldn’t scare himself over nothing.

He hesitated for just half a second before swiftly turning his head, his feet already bracing to dodge to the side. But he couldn’t resign himself to fleeing without confirming it with his own eyes.

BANG!

Master Huang saw it clearly. Zhang Yun was indeed standing in the corridor just a meter behind him, seemingly in the exact same spot as when the black cloth had covered his view. And he was already aiming his gun right at him.

As the gunshot rang out, he instantly felt a bullet tear into his back!

No matter how fast his reflexes were, they couldn’t beat the pull of a trigger. Once the bullet left the barrel, how could anyone dodge it from a mere meter away?

When Zhang Yun emerged from the Peach Blossom Spring Space, he genuinely thought Liu Yandao would have come out by now. To his surprise, only this old man was there, seemingly searching for him inside the room. Without a shred of hesitation, he pulled the trigger!

He loved bullying old men the most...

This was an old master with rich Experience—fast, ruthless, and deadly. If he wasn’t decisive enough, a distance of one meter was practically an invitation to be counter-killed!

Though Master Huang was a beat too slow, he still executed his evasive maneuver. Despite being shot, his body immediately lunged behind the cover of the wall.

Only this time, he was too slow to swing his blade. Zhang Yun stepped forward, firing another shot that struck him squarely in the waist!

THUD!

The impact threw Master Huang off balance, sending him crashing heavily to the floor. Yet the old man was incredibly tough. Despite taking two bullets, he didn’t even let out a scream, instead raising his blade horizontally across his chest in a defensive stance.

"Who exactly are you? How did you do that just now?"

Unlike Yang Zhao, Master Huang wasn’t going to spew curses about unfairness or underhanded tactics. The winner became king, and the loser became a bandit; a loss was a loss, and empty words meant nothing.

But while he didn’t waste time cursing, he just couldn’t fathom how the man had completely vanished. He felt that if he didn’t uncover this secret, he wouldn’t be able to rest in peace!

"Master Huang!"

Hearing two more gunshots from outside, Liu Yandao realized that the supposedly vanished Zhang Yun had reappeared. He quickly scrambled back into hiding but couldn’t help shouting out. Master Huang was his last line of defense. If the old man was killed, hiding under a desk would be utterly pointless; he’d instead have to worry about the intruder circling outside and coming in through the window.

Zhang Yun chuckled. "Answer him. Tell him to come out, and I’ll tell you how I did it."

Master Huang was visibly struggling to hold on. The moment he spoke, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Protecting him is my duty. I cannot trick him into coming out. Besides, you won’t tell me anyway!"

"Tsk, tsk. Trying to use reverse psychology to goad me into spilling the beans?"

"For someone so young to possess such extraordinary strength, you must hail from a prestigious lineage. Who is your master? Which Sect do you belong to?"

"None of your damn business," Zhang Yun sneered dismissively.

Seeing that fishing for information wasn’t working, Master Huang could only be more direct. "The dignity of Martial Artists should not rely on modern Weapons. Fight me fair and square in hand-to-hand combat. I can even put away my blade. You are young, and I am severely injured. You aren’t afraid of me, are you?"

Zhang Yun burst out laughing. "I could blow your old head off with one more shot, so why the hell would I fight you? If I’m young and still refuse to use the most efficient method just to stubbornly brawl with my fists, that wouldn’t make me brave—that would make me a moron!"

He aimed the muzzle right at Master Huang’s forehead. "If you won’t call Liu Yandao out, then you’ve lost your value to stay alive!"

Master Huang had already anticipated this outcome. Pushing off the ground with one hand, his wounded body forcefully launched itself into the air! In a flash, the blade in his hand slashed forward, aiming straight for Zhang Yun’s heart!

It was a desperate, all-or-nothing final strike! Judging by this stance, even if it meant taking another bullet, he was determined to drag Zhang Yun down with him!

If he had been uninjured, his full-speed assault might have made Zhang Yun nervous. But in this heavily wounded state, he was merely a spent arrow at the end of its flight.

Not even wanting to waste another bullet, Zhang Yun quickly leaned sideways and lashed out with a vicious kick, striking Master Huang right where he had been shot in the waist!

Master Huang, who had just managed to spring up, was instantly kicked flying across the room, crashing heavily into the corner of the wall! The devastating blow directly to his gunshot wound brought a pain so excruciating that he nearly blacked out, vomiting a massive mouthful of blood!