Of the bodyguards, the assassins, the assassins who pretended to be bodyguards, and the traitors among the assassins who pretended to be bodyguards, none foresaw such explosions that were bursting out in almost five locations around the Commodity Market at the same time.
Although what Li Yao used were the smoke grenades, stun grenades, and shriek bombs that carried little actual damage, they were even more intimidating than real crystal bombs.
Within one moment, the few pieces of regular glass within thousands of meters were all shattered, and the tempered glass had cracks that looked like spider webs. Countless tubes were broken, spurting out scorching steams in huge noises.
Too many people were so shocked that their hearts almost stopped beating. Their ears were humming and secreting hot fluids. Even their souls were like a lone boat on a surging ocean, unable to be back to themselves for a long time.
Raging smoke rose to the sky and sprawled like dozens of black trees. Very soon, the environment around the Commodity Market was turned into a dark forest where one could not even see his own fingers.
Those smoke grenades had been added with “special spices” by Li Yao. They could block the eyesight and release a stimulating aroma, and they could even disrupt the wireless signals of the Spiritual Nexus as well as the telepathic search of the Immortal Cultivators, turning everybody into headless flies that couldn’t see or hear anything!
Of course, the real experts were not affected.
While most of the passers-by and merchants were caught in chaos, the bodyguards and the assassins who were as calm as before, if not even more daunting, became as eye-catching as fireflies in a dark night.
At first, the three rookie assassins jumped to their feet after hearing the voices that exploded into their ears.
Having been asked to carry out such a mission that was almost suicide, they were naturally not the smartest people. Also, Li Yao’s voices were mixed with temptation and hypnotization, making it sound like an irresistible and unquestionable order.
Two of the rookie assassins did take action quickly as if they suffered an electric shock. Taking out their heavy sniper rifles, they prepared to shoot Jin Yuyan despite the gate in between.
The last rookie assassin was smarter than his partners. Not having the time to bother with his gun, he simply crouched his body into the size of a cat and retreated to the exit of the ventilation tube, trying to escape.
The three “shrimps” were the crux of the predicament. Now that they had taken action, the defenders who had locked onto them had to follow.
BOOM!
The three ventilation tubes broke abruptly, and the dozen defenders hiding below the tubes soared. Some stood between the two rookie assassins and Jin Yuyan, some threw their electromagnetic whips that were surrounded by electric arcs at the assassins, and some blocked the exits of the ventilation tubes. Never mind the swiftness of cats, they could not get out even if they had grown wings!
Cries, screams, and roars of sniper rifles echoed and died out almost at the same time.
The roars of the heavy sniper rifles were like an earsplitting signal. The unexpected change left the assassins of the four families who were lurking outside with no choice except to take action as soon as possible.
Although it was not the best time to assassinate Jin Yuyan today, Jin Yuyan’s security would certainly be upgraded after the mess today. He would even stay in the safest chambers in the internal district for the next few days. Then, the assassination operation that they had planned for a long time would fall out.
The seven groups of people Li Yao locked onto just now all started to take action.
The seemingly fat merchants who were talking to each other delightedly a moment ago unleashed the most intense killing intent. Their bodies were instantly reduced, transforming them into brutal wolves, while they lunged at the Commodity Market like arrows that had just been released from the bow. Covered in the most colorful brilliance, they were all equipped with the most advanced crystal suits.
The elite bodyguards who were pretending to be the common police finished the implementation of crystal suits in the blink of an eye too. The glamorous styles and the aggressive flames on their crystal suits alone were enough to prove that they were not simple patrollers.
The two groups of people happened to be running at each other. Looking at each other, they immediately recognized who the strangers were and attacked at the same time. Rushing bullets, scorching mystic rays, and earsplitting chainswords and vibration sabers became their only language!
They were not the only chess pieces moving in the game of assassination.
More assassins and bodyguards had torn apart their disguises, either attacking Jin Yuyan or standing before Jin Yuyan fearlessly so that he could retreat.
Li Yao even detected that at least five snipers were aiming at Jin Yuyan or each other on the top of the skyscrapers around!
However, none of those people were the targets that Li Yao was really looking for. They were not capable and experienced enough to be the main players of the game.
“Black Flag King, Red Lady, Hanged Man, Revenant Of The Dead Sea… Where are you hiding, you ‘gods of death’? Show up! Show up now!”
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yao observed every detail in the murky, chaotic environment around the market through the thirty spiritual bugs.
Right then, the spiritual waves next door suddenly became disordered, before exclamations and fighting noises echoed.
“It seems that the few assassins who chose the same spot as we do were noticed by the defenders of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors too, which means that this place is no longer safe. We will be watched too, or at least examined.”
Li Yao said without looking back, “Jialing, clean it up and let’s go!”
Li Jialing absorbed the gadgets on the floor into his Cosmos Ring and put on the broad black goggles as well as the cape again. Then he nodded his head.
“After we’re out, we’ll split apart. Your mission is to collect as much intelligence as possible, and I’ll go and talk with Jin Yuyan!”
Li Yao smiled. “Let’s go!”
Opening his hands, he aimed at the wall in front of him.
As brilliance flashed on his palm, the same colorful ripples appeared on the wall too.
When his spiritual energy surged out, the wall was obliterated into powder without a sound, and a giant hole appeared on it.
Also, not just the one wall ahead of them, but all the walls between them and the wall had exactly the same hole.
Shua! Shua!
Li Yao and Li Jialing turned into two streaks of brilliance. Before the defenders noticed or blocked them, they had rushed to the smoky street into the havoc.
Laying low, Li Jialing soon disappeared into the crowd.
Li Yao, on the other hand, was truly like a loach or an eel as he went against the current and swam toward the Commodity Market.
In the meantime, every detail in the chaotic world nearby, including temperature, wind, humidity, the micro-expressions on the panicked crowd, the movements of the fighting assassins and bodyguards, the sniper spots on the skyscrapers, and the people around Jin Yuyan far away, was displayed inside his head without leaving out any information.
“Brother Yao, I’m ready!”
Li Jialing’s voice came over from the communication chip deep inside Li Yao’s ears. “However, this place is too messy. There’s no telling who are assassins and who are bodyguards at all!”
“It’s alright. The guys who are fighting passionately right now are just secondary characters that are not important. Focus on the people around Jin Yuyan.”
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yao moved toward Jin Yuyan like a ghost, reaching three hundred meters, two hundred meters, and one hundred meters from Jin Yuyan. “If my guess is correct, the four families must’ve bought over one of the four gods of death, and that ‘god of death’ is right next to Jin Yuyan while preparing to launch a critical strike in the chaos!”
“Then—”
Li Jialing gasped hard. “Wouldn’t Jin Yuyan be in danger? Brother Yao, you are playing with fire by stimulating the assassins in such a way!”
“It doesn’t matter. Everything is under my control. The assassins do not stand any chance at all!”
Li Yao smiled. Neltharion had long entered the stealth state under the control of the mental devil, hiding in the smoke while observing everybody around Jin Yuyan.
“Right now, Jin Yuyan is under my full protection. Not a needle is going to get close to him!”
Li Yao told Li Jialing.
Right then, when Jin Yuyan was about to return to his bulletproof limo under the protection of his bodyguards, unexpected changes happened again!
Three bodyguards next to him, and four magnates not far away, suddenly attacked Jin Yuyan, with aggression beaming out of their eyes!
On a higher tower nearby, the most unstoppable killing intent was pouring out like a flood that had surpassed the dam too.
“What a remarkable sniper!”
Li Yao’s pupils constricted violently.
Just now, he had scanned all the possible locations for snipers in the high buildings nearby dozens of times, but he did not notice that such an awesome sniper was hiding there.
The person was the most terrifying sniper that Li Yao had seen in his entire life, possibly in the Divinity Transformation Stage. Only sensing the existence of the person already gave Li Yao a creepy feeling.
“Is that so, Red Lady?”
Red Lady, leader of Bloody Skull, was one of the best gun experts of the Imperium who was best at shooting over a long distance. Other than her, Li Yao really could not think of a second person who could bring him such a sense of horror as if a viper was staring at him.
Right when the seven assassins hiding around Jin Yuyan revealed their real appearances and lunged at Jin Yuyan, the super sniper, suspected to be “Red Lady”, launched a critical strike too. The bullet vanished into thin air after it slid out of the barrel, covering a thousand meters in between in the blink of an eye and did not crawl out of the void again until it was only twenty meters away from Jin Yuyan’s head.
Everybody’s attention was focused on the melee assassination from the seven killers. None of them noticed the bullet that was rushing close without a sound.
Li Yao, however, had been locking onto the ballistic trajectory the whole time. Neltharion turned into an aggressive streak of bloody brightness and hit the bullet precisely, blowing the bullet away from Jin Yuyan’s body!
“As long as ‘Vulture Li Yao’ is here, nobody is going to touch Jin Yuyan today!”
Li Yao sneered, with unparalleled confidence—the confidence that was beyond the Divinity Transformation Stage!
In the next second, Jin Yuyan’s head exploded like a watermelon that had fallen to the ground from the tenth floor.
