Chapter 45: The Gunshot in the Girl's Hand

"You can stand up!?"

Old Snake and Zhen Qianting heard Liu Ling's words, and expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces at the exact same moment.

"Yes, stand up."

Liu Mengchao laughed, shook his head, patted the back of Akazawa Izumi, who was still weeping, and stood up. The back that had been bleeding profusely was no longer bleeding, and even his somewhat pale face was slowly regaining its color.

"You planned everything!"

Zhen Qianting looked at the Ebony pistol on the ground and shouted excitedly.

"Yes, it was all planned." Liu Mengchao did not look at her; he simply bent down, picked up the gun from the ground, and with a click, chambered a round.

"Ebony and Ivory are the matching enhancements for the Devil May Cry bloodline. In other words..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots rang out. The bullets grazed the tips of Zhen Qianting’s hair, shearing off locks from her forehead that drifted slowly down to the ground before her eyes.

"The only person who can decide the fate of these guns is me."

Liu Mengchao spoke, shaking his head as if mocking the two helpless reincarnators before him.

Silence. Liu Mengchao's words were like the cold, hard reality, completely shattering the fantasies of Zhen Qianting and Old Snake. If Liu Mengchao could control the bullets from his dual pistols, then Liu Ling was clearly not acting alone.

The two of them had joined forces.

Her final chance was gone!

"Liu Mengchao analyzed the candidate for the 'dead one' from the very beginning," Liu Ling said, breaking the silence in the air.

"Just as Liu Mengchao told us at the start, the Main God's mission guides us to look for the 'extra' person among the plot characters, but in reality, the extra person is among us."

"No!"

Zhen Qianting refused to give up, or perhaps she was still clinging to a final shred of hope. "Even if the extra person is among us, it could still be Liu Mengchao!"

"It isn't Liu Mengchao," Misaki Mei interjected. "My eyes can see the death energy of those who are about to die. For instance, black mist is constantly rising from your body."

"This is the verification after knowing the answer," Liu Ling explained from the side. "If we only look at the death energy on a person, we can only know who the next person to die will be."

"But..." Liu Ling paused, then continued, "The situation is different now. We have a point of comparison."

"Comparison?"

Zhen Qianting turned her head in disbelief to look at Old Snake, who had also collapsed beside her. "You mean you are comparing me to him?!"

Liu Ling nodded. "This way, we can distinguish the difference between the two—the death energy of someone who is simply fated to die soon versus the death energy of someone who has been selected as the 'extra' person."

"Teacher Zhang..." Misaki Mei opened her eyes. Her heterochromatic red and green irises appeared strange and eerie under the moonlight of the night sky.

"The death energy on you is different from everyone else's."

"Ha, haha, hahahaha!" Old Snake laughed until tears streamed down his face. "This was all your plan, you planned this all along, didn't you!"

As he spoke, Old Snake struggled to stand up, but unlike Liu Mengchao, who could stand as if nothing had happened despite such grave injuries, Old Snake swayed twice like a fragile reed before a gust of wind knocked him down with a thud.

Lying on the ground, Old Snake stared at Liu Mengchao with cold, serpentine eyes, spitting out every curse he could muster.

"You will definitely die! You won't survive! Definitely, defi—"

Bang!

Before Old Snake could finish, the Ebony in Liu Mengchao's hand fired. The bullet struck the concrete floor right in front of Old Snake's face, sparking a flash of yellow fire.

"I said..." Liu Mengchao looked down at the man on the ground with disdain. "If you are going to die, you should be a bit more dignified. Saying things like that is truly graceless."

"I... I am one of the Main God's people... you..."

"Liu Ling!"

Liu Mengchao had no interest in listening to any more of the rambling from the man on the ground; at the very least, his goal had been achieved.

The prize pool amount: one million!

Liu Mengchao threw the Ebony he was holding in his right hand. It traced an arc through the air, flying straight toward Liu Ling.

Snap!

Liu Ling, clutching her doll, caught the black Ebony, exchanged a glance with Misaki Mei beside her, and they both smiled.

"Ready?"

Misaki Mei nodded, her red and green eyes revealing a resolute expression.

Left foot, right foot; the two girls moved like reflections in a mirror, symmetrical to one another, raising their guns as they walked toward Old Snake.

Raise hands.

On the left, the black Ebony.

Grip tight.

On the right, the white Ivory.

Only then did Liu Mengchao's voice drift over.

"The black Ebony and the white Ivory have no bullets inside. Or rather, instead of bullets, I, as one possessing the Devil May Cry bloodline, infuse them with magic power, turning that into ammunition."

As Liu Mengchao spoke, the fear in Old Snake's eyes intensified.

Having already faced death, to have to face it again was a reality he could not accept, yet one he was forced to endure.

Click!

Two soft sounds. Old Snake stared with trembling eyes at the people opposite him, and the two handguns, one black and one white.

"Now, there is only one bullet in each of these guns. However..." Liu Mengchao turned around and said, "Rest in peace, you dead one who has returned to death."

Triggers, pulled!

Bang! Bang!

Two streaks of orange fire.

Clang! Clang!

Two yellow casings.

Splatter! Splatter!

Two blooms of bright red blood.

Old Snake was dead.

Liu Mengchao also heard the report from Panya in his ear.

"Reincarnator Liu Ling has completed the mission issued by the Main God. The reward is 5,000 Main God points and one D-rank side quest. Do you wish to distribute it? Note: This mission was completed in conjunction with a plot character. If the reward is distributed now, you will not receive the same reward once the plot character joins the reincarnation world."

"The same reward?" Liu Mengchao narrowed his eyes, looked at Misaki Mei holding the handgun, and laughed. "Let's wait until the world ends before distributing it."

"Zhen Qianting, what was written in the letter you received from the Main God?"

Liu Mengchao suddenly waved his hand, stopping Liu Ling and Misaki Mei from their next move, and squatted beside Zhen Qianting, asking softly.

"The letter..." Zhen Qianting mumbled, her eyeballs moving involuntarily toward the bottom left. "Do you want to know the meaning of life? If you want to know, open it."

"That is the truth." Liu Mengchao laughed. "I have decided to spare your life. At least, I won't kill you right now."

"Why?"

"Guess whether or not we received a notification that the mission was completed?"

Zhen Qianting turned her head sharply to look at Liu Ling's expression.

There was no joy on her face!

"Did they kill the wrong person?!"

Zhen Qianting's heart tightened, followed by immense terror. Could the extra person be a plot character?

She didn't know. She didn't know anything. Zhen Qianting's mind was in complete chaos.

Just like the prize pool before Liu Mengchao.

Prize pool amount: 1,005,000.

One can never have too many prize points. Reincarnators who can be utilized should be used as much as possible, shouldn't they?

Liu Mengchao smiled and walked down from the rooftop.

On the rooftop, only Zhen Qianting remained, struggling in agony.