Chapter 1127: A Blindfolded Battlefield
Dr. Zhao and the people before him coughed violently. They were simply too close to Zhong Zhen, occupying the spot with the thickest smoke in the entire venue.
"Cough, cough..." Dr. Zhao said between coughs. "Are you all okay... Lin Qin, are you still there..."
"I... I'm here..."
Lin Qin's voice came from not far away. Dr. Zhao quickly squinted, reached out to disperse the thick fog, and moved to Lin Qin's side, shielding her behind him.
"Is anyone else here..." Dr. Zhao turned around and asked in a low voice. "Xiaoxiao, Kim Won-hoon, Han Yimo... are you still here?"
But no one nearby answered him. Dr. Zhao and Lin Qin could only swallow their saliva and begin slowly moving toward where they remembered the giant bell to be.
"What's up with that crazy man...?" Dr. Zhao muttered quietly. "He won't listen to reason... suddenly releasing this thick fog..."
"Better keep your voice down," Lin Qin said. "It won't be good if he discovers us. He's probably already alerted the White Tiger by now. We need to be careful with every step we take..."
"That huge explosion sound from earlier really bothers me..." Dr. Zhao said. "It sounded like something was built, then instantly blown up..."
"Don't worry about that," Lin Qin said. "Focus on the giant bell."
"Alright..."
The two knew that on this battlefield filled with "Echoes," "intelligence" was always more important than ability, but everyone was like a blindfolded killer right now—no one knew exactly what was happening.
Kim Won-hoon, cradling his injured arm, walked silently behind Dr. Zhao and Lin Qin.
He had heard Dr. Zhao's calls earlier but hadn't responded immediately. Instead, he picked up an iron rod from the ground, gripped it in his hand, and quietly followed behind, staying in the shadows, on guard against Zhong Zhen who might appear at any moment.
As Dr. Zhao had just said, Zhong Zhen's actions were far too strange. Although everyone in "Heaven's Gate" knew he wasn't exactly a good person, he had no reason to go on a murderous rampage by himself in this place.
When Dr. Zhao had called out a few times in the smoke earlier, theoretically Zhong Zhen should have appeared to kill them, but he never showed up. Kim Won-hoon could only move forward more cautiously, trying not to make a sound.
But just then, his ears twitched. He heard relatively obvious footsteps behind him. He turned around in confusion and saw Zhong Zhen, wearing a sinister grin, suddenly swinging a blade down at him from behind. Kim Won-hoon quickly raised the iron rod horizontally to block in front of him, stopping the fatal strike.
The loud clash of weapons made Dr. Zhao and Lin Qin in front whip their heads around, immediately spotting Kim Won-hoon and Zhong Zhen locked together with their weapons.
"Old man, you..." Kim Won-hoon gritted his teeth, gripping the iron rod. Though he was agile enough, he could hardly match an adult man in pure strength. "Have you lost your mind...? How did we provoke you..."
Zhong Zhen didn't answer. He just grinned maniacally and pressed his blade downward through gritted teeth. Kim Won-hoon wanted to use "Leap," but the situation before him was too urgent, and his "Conviction" was wavering.
"If you're not going to talk, then don't blame me for being rude..."
As soon as Kim Won-hoon finished speaking, he spotted blood traces around Zhong Zhen's ears. He frowned, as if something had occurred to him.
"He can't seem to hear..."
"Can't hear...?"
Dr. Zhao was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized this wasn't the time to think about that. To save Kim Won-hoon's life, he rushed forward and clumsily executed a flying kick. The moment his foot connected with Zhong Zhen, he himself fell flat on the ground.
Zhong Zhen staggered back a few steps. Just as he was about to attack again, a massive figure suddenly emerged from the thick smoke behind him, then locked an arm like steel around his neck.
"Xiaoxiao...!"
The one locking down Zhong Zhen was none other than Xiaoxiao.
Seeing that several of his teammates were safe, Dr. Zhao relaxed a little. Now only Han Yimo was left, still lying unconscious somewhere in a corner.
After having his throat locked, Zhong Zhen acted decisively. He reversed his grip on the folding knife and rapidly stabbed several times at Xiaoxiao's arm.
Xiaoxiao grunted in pain and quickly pulled her arm back. She checked her limb and found five deep stab wounds, all now blooming and bleeding freely.
Taking advantage of Xiaoxiao's distraction, Zhong Zhen kicked out at her knee. As Xiaoxiao bent over, his knife thrust toward her throat.
Left with no choice, Xiaoxiao could only raise her arm to block again, getting stabbed once more. Blood immediately splattered all over the ground.
As Zhong Zhen charged forward to finish Xiaoxiao off, Kim Won-hoon finally recovered his Conviction and "Leaped" to Zhong Zhen's side. He swung the iron rod at the man's wrist, expecting to disarm him. But Zhong Zhen pulled his hand back and slashed the dagger toward Kim Won-hoon's neck instead. Kim Won-hoon quickly leaned back to dodge, but a large gash was still carved across his eyebrow.
Before Kim Won-hoon could react, he vanished from his spot again before the next attack could land, reappearing behind Zhong Zhen. But before the rod could even fall on the man's head, Zhong Zhen released another massive cloud of smoke on the spot.
Kim Won-hoon was forced back a step by the sudden pressure of the blast, his eyes unable to open. He coughed violently twice and felt something pierce through the thick fog, flying toward his chest.
The next second, he only felt a chill at his chest. The other party's movements stopped, and so did his own.
Somewhat incredulously, Kim Won-hoon looked down at the center of his chest. The other's knife had already penetrated his flesh.
But actually, only the tip had entered. Drops of blood flowed down his shirt, the sight somewhat alarming. Still, the wound didn't appear fatal.
Kim Won-hoon slowly stepped back, pulling the knife out of his body. Only then did a sharp stabbing sensation reach his heart and lungs, and more blood began to flow slowly.
He looked up in confusion. As the smoke gradually cleared, he fixed his gaze on Zhong Zhen. The next second, his eyes went wide.
In the center of Zhong Zhen's throat was a very neat, transparent hole, also now gushing blood freely. It seemed that Zhong Zhen had already died before his own knife had even pierced Kim Won-hoon's body.
"Shibal..." Kim Won-hoon cursed under his breath. "What the hell is going on...?"
Dr. Zhao and the others came forward to check, feeling like the situation was becoming more and more bewildering. Had someone attacked Zhong Zhen?
But aside from the four of them, there were no other "participants" nearby. Who could have done this?
Zhong Zhen's body toppled straight down like a statue, no longer moving.
"It seems like someone else is watching us..." Dr. Zhao said quietly to the group.
As soon as the words fell, the spot where Zhong Zhen had fallen began to warp and twist. A figure in a suit started to materialize beside the corpse.
The crowd looked on in confusion. The next second, they all drew in sharp breaths.
This suddenly appearing person was actually wearing a "Monkey" mask—clearly a Monkey Mask.
"Good heavens..." Dr. Zhao swallowed his saliva. "This path really couldn't be any harder..."
Before any of them could prepare, the Monkey Mask raised its head, its gaze shooting out from behind the mask. Then it spoke four words that caught all four of them completely off guard—
"Eternal glory to Jidao."