By now, night had fallen. The leaders of the Jihadist Brigade were still animatedly watching TV, their voices raised in heated discussion. Fiona Tang had already pulled Shawn Young outside, and Colonel Hank Han had originally wanted to leave with them. But when he saw how naturally and intimately Fiona Tang was holding Shawn Young’s hand, he figured the ‘young couple’ wanted some alone time. With a knowing smile at Shawn Young, he stayed in the room, continuing to watch the ‘live broadcast’ with the Jihadist Brigade leaders!
Fiona Tang and Shawn Young walked downstairs to the market office. Peshawar was still bustling, with a festive vibe in the air. Gunshots rang out through the city—clearly, people were so excited by the TV broadcast that they fired their guns in celebration. Fiona Tang gazed up at the pitch-black night sky, suddenly feeling uneasy. She said to Shawn Young, “Let’s go check out the warehouse. I can’t shake this feeling that something’s brewing tonight. You know how chaotic Peshawar is, and with all the commotion from this incident, I’m worried enemy spies are already sneaking in to gather intel.”
Shawn Young nodded, sighing, “Yeah, you’re right. This place really is a mess. Our country is so much more stable.”
Fiona Tang smiled softly, “Exactly. If it weren’t for people like us, Colonel Hank Han, and the folks in national security, our country’s shield would’ve been torn apart by those who covet us. Sure, our work is dangerous, but knowing I’m helping keep our nation safe… I’m willing to give it my all!”
Listening to Fiona Tang, Shawn Young felt a surge of emotion. He stopped, and in the dim night, looked at Fiona Tang’s delicate profile—now touched with a sacred glow. Moved, he blurted out, “Fiona, you’re so beautiful!”
Fiona Tang’s body trembled gently at his words. She turned in the dim light, her dark eyes shining as she gazed at Shawn Young. He couldn’t see the blush spreading across her face in the gloom, but seeing her look at him so intently, he quickly said, “Uh, Fiona, I… I really mean it! Honestly… you looked so beautiful just now!”
Under the muted night sky, Fiona Tang’s face—normally pale from exhaustion—was now flushed with shy red, though Shawn Young didn’t notice. Fiona blinked at him and said, “Uh—I know you mean it. But you know, this is the first time anyone’s ever complimented me to my face and survived! Hehe!”
Shawn Young was taken aback. “Oh? What happened to the guys who complimented you before?”
Fiona Tang pursed her lips, shook her head, and leaned in close with a mischievous smile. Shawn Young caught a whiff of her sweet breath, his mind wandering. Fiona giggled, “Hehe, as for those guys… take a guess! But don’t expect anything good.”
“Oh—” Shawn Young was still puzzled when suddenly, he sensed a huge wave of danger behind Fiona Tang. He couldn’t quite explain what it was, but it felt like a venomous snake lurking in the darkness, ready to strike. Shawn Young knew that if he didn’t act immediately, both he and Fiona Tang would be in serious danger.
Without hesitation, Shawn Young rushed forward, wrapping one arm around Fiona Tang’s slender waist and the other around her shoulders, pressing her against the wall beneath the market office. His body leaned heavily into hers, and the two of them were instantly locked in a rather intimate pose.
“Ah! Don’t—don’t be so hasty! I… I’m not… ready yet… If your girlfriend finds out, she’ll—she’ll be mad!” Fiona Tang thought Shawn Young was making a move, her heart racing and body stiffening. She’d braced herself for something, but Shawn Young’s sudden, ‘aggressive’ action left her completely startled.
At that moment—bang! A gunshot rang out. Shawn Young yanked Fiona Tang aside, and where she’d just been standing, a smoking bullet crater appeared. Immediately, “Bang! Bang! Bang!” more shots echoed. Shawn Young clung to Fiona Tang and performed a series of chaotic rolls, narrowly avoiding the deadly barrage.
They quickly pressed themselves against the wall and ducked into a narrow alley in the market, squeezing together behind a pile of wooden cabinets to hide. Fiona Tang, still shaken, whispered, “It’s a sniper. He’s hiding in the dark corner across from us, but I can’t tell exactly where!”
With gunfire ringing out all over the street as people celebrated, no one paid attention to the sniper’s shots—making his job all the easier.
Shawn Young thought for a moment, then quickly shoved one of the wooden cabinets out into the open—bang! Splinters flew as a sniper round punched a hole through it. He yanked the cabinet back, smashed it open, and found a hot sniper bullet inside. Touching the bullet, he activated his Celestial Essence and quickly used Oracle Vision. In his right palm, an image appeared: a gunman with an Arab scarf over his face, crouched on the rooftop opposite the alley, aiming a night-vision sniper rifle at the alley’s entrance, patiently waiting for a shot.
Shawn Young quickly pulled Fiona Tang up and whispered, “The sniper’s waiting right outside the alley. We can’t go out that way—let’s circle around and use the other exit. I’ll figure out how to take him down.”
Just as they turned to leave, three burly men with automatic rifles appeared at the other end of the alley. They spotted Shawn Young and Fiona Tang, hesitated for a split second, then raised their guns and opened fire. Three streams of bullets swept past as Shawn Young grabbed Fiona Tang and rolled them both to the ground, dodging the shots.
As Shawn Young hit the ground, he quickly formed a sword sign with his fingers, channeling Celestial Essence and chanting: “Boundless heavens, golden light appear! Thunder, heed my call! Fivefold thunder, gather! Heaven and earth, break! By my command—strike!” He flung his hands upward, and instantly, three bolts of lightning flashed out, striking the three men!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three men were hit instantly, letting out shrill screams as they were blasted ten meters away like broken kites. Their chests and heads were scorched black by the lightning, eyes wide and blood streaming from their orifices—they died on the spot! Shawn Young had just unleashed the deadly Fivefold Thunder Invocation.
Seeing his attack succeed, Shawn Young’s mind raced. Without stopping, he grabbed two pieces of wood from the ground, chanting another spell: “Mystic powers of heaven and earth, balance of yin and yang! Across all realms, let the spirit emerge! Puppet Manifestation—appear!”
With the spell cast, he tossed the two pieces of wood outside the alley, pointing a sword sign at them. A flash of white light enveloped the wood, and in an instant, they transformed into puppet versions of Shawn Young and Fiona Tang, looking panicked as they sprinted out of the alley—Shawn Young had used the Puppet Manifestation Spell.
The puppet doubles of Shawn Young and Fiona Tang burst out of the alley. The sniper, who had been waiting, saw them and immediately fired—Bang! Bang! Two bullets pierced the foreheads of the ‘Shawn Young’ and ‘Fiona Tang’ puppets.
But to the sniper’s surprise, instead of the usual spray of blood, the ‘Shawn Young’ and ‘Fiona Tang’ puppets kept running as if nothing had happened.
The sniper was baffled. As a seasoned killer, he trusted his marksmanship—but these two shots didn’t take down the targets? Shaking off his confusion, he kept aiming at the running ‘Shawn Young’ and ‘Fiona Tang’.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He fired four rapid sniper shots—a signature move. Through his night vision scope, he saw all four bullets hit ‘Shawn Young’ and ‘Fiona Tang’. But then, something bizarre happened: the puppets were blasted into the air, landed, and turned into two chunks of wood riddled with bullet holes.
The sniper lost his composure, mouth agape as he shouted, “What the hell? What kind of freaky stuff is this?”
Suddenly, a thunderclap roared overhead. The sniper instinctively looked up—just in time to see a massive bolt of lightning streaking straight for his head. Eyes wide, mouth open, he didn’t even have time to scream before the lightning struck, blowing his head apart and charring his body. The deadly, snake-like sniper was finished—taken out by Shawn Young!