Chapter 506: Game and Counterattack

"You failed right after leaving?"

Vulture froze in place.

It turned out Nie Yu had only just set off... So, it seemed he hadn't found the museum's location yet.

With just two sentences, Chen Ling extracted two crucial pieces of information from Nie Yu. He immediately calmed down, and the chill in his expression intensified:"I still underestimated them... All the clues are gone."

Vulture looked at him, and the air suddenly fell silent.

His gaze fell on the wine glass Chen Ling had been toying with. After a moment of silence, he closed the bar door behind him and walked straight behind the counter.

"What can I get you to drink?" Vulture casually tossed a glass, caught it steadily, and began washing it in the nearby sink.

Chen Ling's brow instinctively furrowed.

"I'm not in the mood for a drink right now."

"The clues are gone; worrying now won't help." Vulture, like a true bartender, twirled glasses and ice in his hands and gave him a calm look. "Tequila, as usual?"

"Tequila?" Chen Ling stared into his eyes. "I don't recall drinking tequila often."

Vulture was silent for a moment, his expression finally relaxing slightly.

"...Good. Because you mentioned that the man in brown had the ability to change his face, I always have to be careful."

As he spoke, he took another bottle of brandy from the liquor shelf behind him and began to mix a drink for Chen Ling.

Seeing this, the stone in Chen Ling's heart settled.

On the plane, Nie Yu had known about his face-changing ability. Since Nie Yu and Vulture were close, information would naturally be shared between them. Chen Ling's sudden appearance was bound to arouse Vulture's suspicion. Chen Ling had already become wary the moment Vulture abruptly changed the subject and asked, "What can I get you to drink?"

As he expected, the offer of a drink was just a ruse by Vulture to verify his identity. Chen Ling's answer about the tequila involved a gamble, but it seemed he had gambled correctly.

"What about those assassins?" Vulture suddenly asked. "I've already sent them to find you. Do I need to call them all back?"

Chen Ling's mind stirred, and just as he was about to speak, something unexpected happened!

The instant Vulture's words fell, a gun was clutched in his hand; lightning-fast, he raised it, aimed at Chen Ling's head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

Chen Ling's pupils suddenly constricted!

Bang, bang, bang—!

Three consecutive flashes of flame erupted from the dark muzzle. At such close range, almost no living creature could avoid them!

A spray of blood splattered across the old bar counter. Chen Ling's figure, like a gust of wind, retreated several meters with a whistle, shattering a section of tables and chairs.

Scarlet blood dripped to the floor through his fingers. He slowly raised his bloodied face, his eyes fixed intently on the bartender holding the gun with one hand.

"How... how did you find out?"

Everything had happened too quickly. Chen Ling hadn't sensed that the other party would shoot, so he hadn't even had time to activate his Scarlet Trick...

Fortunately, his own reaction was extremely fast. In an instant, he dodged the first bullet, preventing it from hitting a vital spot, only shattering half of his face. He simultaneously evaded the other two bullets, which left two dark bullet marks on the wall behind him.

"First, Nie Yu usually only drinks whiskey, but the second drink I poured for you just now was brandy, and you didn't react. Second, given Nie Yu's temperament, if he truly failed in a pursuit, that wine glass would have been smashed to pieces by now, not sitting intact on the table. Third..."

A faint wisp of smoke drifted from the muzzle. Vulture paused for a moment, then continued, "That guy is very strong... If his clues were truly gone, he wouldn't come back immediately to admit defeat. Instead, he'd relentlessly continue gathering clues until he had completely killed you. Therefore, your very presence is the biggest flaw."

In the deathly silent bar, Chen Ling silently watched Vulture's eyes, a complex emotion flashing across his bloodied face.

To be able to cooperate with Nie Yu, a Fifth-Order Celestial Wolf, to confidently let him guard the rear, and to effortlessly summon dozens of top assassins—this person was clearly no simple character. Even without any divine powers, Vulture's judgment and decisiveness were terrifyingly potent.

Chen Ling took a deep breath, forcibly digging out the bullet embedded in his face. It clattered to the floor along with fragments of flesh, making his scarred face even more horrifying, like a demon from hell.

"I underestimated you..." Chen Ling slowly raised his head, his gaze as calm as still water. "It's just a pity you couldn't kill me with one shot."

The overhead light in the dim bar suddenly flickered. The next moment, his figure vanished from where he stood.

Vulture's pupils slightly constricted. A figure, like a whirlwind, surged towards his face. He unhesitatingly raised his gun, ready to shoot, but his fingertips only met something hard...

At some point, the gun in his hand had turned into a broken table leg.

Thud—!!

Chen Ling's hand grabbed Vulture's collar and flung him powerfully sideways. The terrifying force directly smashed him through the bar counter like a bowling ball, scattering another section of tables and chairs.

Musty dust drifted through the air, and accompanied by Vulture's groans, he struggled to get up from the floor.

A bloodied face, emotionless, raised a gun in the dim light.

Bang, bang, bang, bang—!

Four gunshots rang out in quick succession. Blood spurted from Vulture's hands and feet, and a scream echoed through the underground bar as his body slumped lifelessly to the floor.

The flickering lights above cast shifting shadows. The bloodied face slowly approached Vulture, and with a forceful tear at the chin, a pristine, undamaged face looked down impassively at Vulture on the floor.

"Besides you, does Nie Yu have anyone else working for him?" Chen Ling's low voice asked.

"Heh heh." Vulture's face was deathly pale, his bartender's outfit covered in blood. He chuckled hoarsely, "Guess?"

"Tell me the truth, and I might let you go."

"Don't joke. We're all desperate people living on the edge; who'd believe anyone's nonsense?"

Chen Ling's eyes grew colder. His gaze shifted from Vulture, finally landing on a cell phone lying in the pool of blood. He bent down, slowly picked up the phone, and lightly pressed the lock button. The faint glow from the screen illuminated a corner of his grim face.

Seeing this, Chen Ling smiled faintly.

"Excellent. I don't need you anymore."

He stared at the phone, not even glancing at Vulture, then casually raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The flash of gunfire momentarily lit up the bar.

Bang—!

Vulture's eyes widened. A ghastly bullet hole appeared between his eyebrows, and he fell lifelessly into the pool of blood. He might have known Chen Ling would kill him, but he never imagined the other party would act so decisively.

Chen Ling walked through the wreckage and blood, finally sitting on a bar stool at the edge of the shattered counter.

In the dim, silent bar, only the faint, silent glow of Vulture's phone screen remained.