The Villain Is Too Popular

Bang—!

Unlike his hurried first shot, Chenkong, having now consumed the 'Dream Sweetener · Blue (Pseudo)', felt the intense pain throughout his body recede like a tide.

At the same time, an indescribably powerful force surged rapidly within him.

It was as if countless star energy currents were boiling and roaring inside him!

This wasn't Chenkong's imagination, for his original 150 points of star energy had now skyrocketed to a full 300 points.

While this amount of star energy still had a huge gap compared to Fushan's 900+ points, it was enough for Chenkong.

That's because his black gun, Night Dust, could determine the power of the fired bullet based on the amount of star energy infused by the user.

Previously, due to various concerns, Chenkong always held back when shooting, never pouring all his star energy into the black gun.

Consequently, he had never truly unleashed the gun's full potential.

But this time was different.

To survive, Chenkong now had no more reservations.

He unreservedly poured all his star energy into the black gun in his hand.

And the effect of this was immediate.

Fushan had noticed Chenkong's attack and had clearly assumed his strongest defensive stance.

He enveloped his body with scorching lava, hoping to directly withstand Chenkong's desperate strike.

But his proud 'lava' was instantly pierced by the terrifying impact of Chenkong's 'void-patterned bullet'.

Gazing at the void-patterned bullet that was about to hit his forehead, Fushan felt as if time around him had begun to slow down.

At the same time, a faceless grim reaper silently appeared above the void-patterned bullet and slowly raised its scythe.

Just as the grim reaper's scythe was about to fall, something unexpected occurred.

Mechanical Shrine · Coffin of Sighs!

Just as Fushan was about to meet his demise, a heavy iron coffin shed its optical camouflage, which had kept it hidden, and immediately shielded him.

Bang!

The void-patterned bullet struck the closed 'Mechanical Shrine', instantly disrupting the electronic patterns on its coffin lid.

Unfortunately, while Chenkong's void-pattern could assimilate elemental star energy into non-elemental star energy, it couldn't turn tangible matter into intangible matter.

Therefore, although his void-patterned bullet assimilated the 'mech-type star energy' covering the 'Mechanical Shrine', it failed to completely break through the shrine's inherently tough material.

As a result, the void-patterned bullet ultimately couldn't penetrate the 'Mechanical Shrine' and kill the person protected within.

"Fushan, you owe me a life."

Once the dust settled, Iron Coffin Claude arrived beside the Mechanical Shrine and opened its lid.

Fushan emerged from the iron coffin, his face cold, no longer showing his initial confidence and arrogance.

He looked at Chenkong, not far away, and asked in a deep voice, "Chenkong, if this had been a fair one-on-one, I would have lost."

"Because your last shot, I couldn't block it, nor could I dodge it."

"But unfortunately, there aren't that many 'ifs' in this world."

"However, to reward your courage, I can make an exception and give you a choice."

As he spoke, Fushan punched through a nearby shelf.

Soon, several supermarket employees, huddled in the fresh produce section, using the surrounding fish tanks to shield themselves from the flames, immediately came into Chenkong's view.

Before Chenkong could speak, Fushan's palm once again spewed scorching lava.

The scalding lava extinguished the fish tanks in front of the supermarket employees and simultaneously erected a blazing wall of fire before them, completely blocking all their escape routes.

Without the cover of the fish tanks, the surrounding inferno immediately began to spread towards them at a visible rate.

In this situation, death for them was merely a matter of time.

"Chenkong, will you choose to save them and miss this one chance to survive?"

"Or will you leave now and choose to live alone?"

"Choose, Chenkong, I'm very much looking forward to your decision."

Without any hesitation, Chenkong decisively made his choice.

He simultaneously dispersed his star source, the Idealist, and activated his first star core, the Void-Pattern.

He rushed fearlessly towards the boiling sea of fire not far away. He used his actions to tell Fushan his choice.

But before he could rush in and use his void-pattern to clear a path of survival for the supermarket employees, a massive coffin suddenly descended from the sky, hurtling towards him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chenkong noticed the playful smile on Fushan's face, and he instantly understood what Fushan was thinking.

Yes, Fushan only said he would give Chenkong a choice.

But he never said that Claude, by his side, would do the same.

Why would Fushan suddenly give Chenkong a choice?

Was it a pang of conscience, or mutual admiration?

No, neither.

He was just worried that Chenkong still had the ability to counterattack, worried that he might still capsize in the gutter again.

So, he used this utterly despicable method to make Chenkong expose his weakness.

The evidence was that as soon as he emerged from the 'Mechanical Shrine', Claude immediately reactivated the 'Mechanical Shrine's' optical camouflage, allowing it to secretly re-conceal itself.

From the very beginning, these two had no intention of letting Chenkong leave alive.

The so-called choice was nothing more than a crude and despicable lie.

And facing the 'Mechanical Shrine' suddenly appearing overhead, as well as the few supermarket employees about to be engulfed by the sea of fire not far away, even knowing he had fallen into a trap, Chenkong gritted his teeth. Completely disregarding the Mechanical Shrine about to land on him, he leapt forward with all his might, activating the void-pattern with his last remaining star energy, desperately trying to dispel the lava in front of him.

Although a good portion of the lava surrounding the supermarket employees was dispelled, Chenkong completely lost his last means of counterattack, and could only watch helplessly as the Mechanical Shrine descended upon him.

And given his current physical condition, if he were struck by this Mechanical Shrine, he would either die or be completely incapacitated, drowning completely in this fierce sea of fire, despairing as death approached.

However, just as Chenkong was about to be crushed by the Mechanical Shrine, at that critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared beside the Mechanical Shrine and kicked it.

Bang!

Tendo's kick struck the side of the Mechanical Shrine, and the heavy shrine flew horizontally, as if hit by a meteor, amidst a deafening roar.

The terrifying impact caused the metal coffin body to twist and deform in the air, and as it slid across the ground upon landing, it sparked countless dazzling flames from friction.

Finally, the Mechanical Shrine violently crashed into a distant pile of shelves, completely buried by the goods.

Faced with this sudden scene, Chenkong raised his head in shock.

Amidst the flying sparks and ashes, Tendo's figure slowly landed.

His silver-white messy hair danced wildly in the heat waves of the surrounding inferno.

His pair of azure eyes calmly gazed at Fushan and Claude, not far away. The expression on his face was no longer his usual frivolousness, but an indescribable solemnity and coldness.

It was as if, in his eyes, Fushan and Claude were no longer people, but two cold corpses.

"T-Tendo-ge?!"

"Go, Kong, do what you think is right. As for the rest, leave it to me."

"Okay."

Without wasting time, Chenkong rushed into the sea of fire without hesitation, attempting to lead the remaining few supermarket employees out of danger.

Meanwhile, sensing the suffocating pressure emanating from Tendo, Fushan and Claude both unconsciously took half a step back, as if facing a formidable enemy.

To this, Tendo spoke calmly.

"I hear you like to give people choices?"

"Well then, I'll be merciful and give you a choice too."

"Will you choose to bite your own tongue and commit suicide right here, or..."

As his voice fell, Tendo's figure instantly vanished from his spot.

The next second, he was already standing less than half a meter in front of Fushan, his speed so fast that not even an afterimage had time to form.

In Fushan's terrified eyes, Tendo's finger had, at some point, rested on his forehead.

A terrifying black energy sphere, radiating the aura of death, slowly gathered at Tendo's fingertip.

"...choose to die by my hand."

Star Energy Art — Black Cerulean!