Su Lun was tied up in a chair, and even his palms were nailed down with daggers, making him seem completely immobilized.
But others hadn't noticed that, due to his previous painful struggles, the ropes bound around his arms had loosened, leaving enough gap to withdraw his hands. He tried moving his arm slightly, feeling the muscles bulging with fullness, and thought to himself with unexpected delight, "Huh, was there systematic training? The original owner of this body had an incredible foundation. The callosities on the index finger and base of the thumb point to extensive firearms training. No wonder I found the gun strangely familiar..."
At that moment, the impatient Cock's Comb slapped Su Lun hard across the face, bellowing, "Kid, if you don't talk, do you believe I'll kill you right now?"
The two were very close, and this guy didn't seem to regard the wounded prey as any threat, completely unguarded.
A trickle of fresh blood ran from the corner of Su Lun's mouth, with no fear in his heart.
The gun was close enough, the dagger was sharp enough, and his physical condition was good enough to support vigorous movements... the conditions were sufficient!
Kill me?
A cold laugh echoed in his heart.
In that instant, Su Lun's expression became stern as he made a move that seemed utterly insane!
He showed no hesitation and fiercely pulled back his right hand.
The next moment, a horrifying "rip" sound arose.
The dagger pinned to his right hand had gone directly through the seam between the bones of the little finger and the ring finger. With that pull, the sharp blade cut straight through the flesh between the bones, and a spray of blood gushed out.
"???"
This action dumbfounded Cock's Comb standing beside him.
The guy, watching the blood spatter on his own pants, widened his eyes in shock, still not snapping out of it.
But his eyes realized what had happened: this kid, in order to free himself from the dagger's pinning, actually forcefully tore through his palm?
Cock's Comb immediately sensed the danger, cursing inwardly for his misfortune!
But it was too late.
With a ferocious smile, Su Lun paid no mind to the stabbing pain in his palm. Though the wound was ghastly, his thumb, index finger, and middle finger could still exert force. With one hand free, he would not give the enemy any chance to react.
Stretching out the withdrawn hand, he quickly snatched the silver revolver holstered at Cock's Comb's waist, feeling a surge of familiarity.
Then without any hesitation, he aimed the gun at the guy's chest and pulled the trigger.
Listening to the "click" of the hammer striking the percussion cap of the bullet, Su Lun realized that the firing mechanism of the revolvers in this world was no different from those in his past life.
He bet right!
The simpler the firearm, the simpler the firing mechanism.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Two thunderous gunshots echoed throughout the room.
The bullets penetrated Cock's Comb's chest and then "pfft pfft" burst out two fist-sized holes in his back, killing him instantaneously.
....
Warm fresh blood splattered on Su Lun's face, adding a touch of ferocity.
The sheer power of the silver revolver was somewhat unexpected, and Su Lun was knocked backward by the weapon's powerful recoil.
Hearing the sound of the gunfire, Baldy with the smoky makeup was momentarily petrified by this sudden turn of events.
The kid he had previously toyed with easily showed such a brutal side?
Seeing his companion's back riddled with two gaping holes, Baldy realized that the prey once trapped by the hunter had suddenly turned into a bloodthirsty wolf.
"Damn it!"
Baldy cursed inside, though his reaction was not slow.
Seeing Su Lun's gun barrel pointing at him, he instinctively lifted his right mechanical arm with a steam-powered cannon, aiming forward and pulling the trigger.
With a loud "boom," the whole study shook.
There was no flash of gunpowder from the barrel, but a "high-pressure air bullet" instead.
And the falling Su Lun, as if anticipating the shot, cleverly twisted his falling angle, narrowly avoiding the deadly aim of the shot.
The sound of the air tearing lasted only a moment as the high-pressure air bullet swiftly pierced through the corner of the chair, then "crack" went through the floor, leaving a black hole the size of a bowl in the wooden floor, disappearing without a trace.
Even though he avoided the direct hit, the blast from the "high-pressure air bullet" still grazed his body, shattering the chair leg and, in the process, also tearing apart the ropes and a chunk of flesh on Su Lun's leg.
It felt like numerous sharp Wind Blades had sliced by, causing the wound to burn and sting intensely.
The moment the chair hit the ground, he moved again.
...
From waking to deciding to make a move, Su Lun took less than half a minute. Although it seemed hasty, his considerations were quite mature.
Before making his move, Baldy's unconscious fidgeting with his mechanical arm revealed to Su Lun that the rough bearings and gear transmissions of the steam-powered arm's joints were not very flexible. The targeting response time would be much slower than that of human nerves.
Moreover, Su Lun could anticipate that if he killed Cock's Comb, Baldy would definitely retaliate immediately under the threat of the gun. The likely trajectory of the gun barrel would be aimed at the chair's original position, and dodging it was not improbable.
And if Baldy took too much time to aim precisely, that time would be enough for Su Lun to fire another shot.
Who would live and who would die was still a fifty-fifty gamble.
So, there was risk, but it was worth taking the gamble.
This was the only chance to break free.
This was also why Su Lun had decisively lashed out to kill, even at the risk of mangling his own palm just moments ago.
Life and hand, he knew which was more important!
....
His thoughts spun wildly in his mind, but in reality, it was all in an instant.
The jet pierced the floor, and the expected explosion of the cannonball did not occur.
Su Lun's expression turned stern.
Now was the moment!
In an instant, he adjusted his curled up defensive posture and, as he fell, raised the silver revolver yet again and decisively pulled the trigger at Baldy.
"Bang!"
The familiar sound of a gunshot, as if freezing the very space around it.
The bullet whistled past, leaving a long trajectory in the air, and then headed straight for Baldy's eye with deadly precision.
The soft blue glow of the muzzle illuminated a terrified face, Baldy was utterly unable to react, and the bullet was already speeding toward his right eye socket.
"Got him!"
Su Lun licked his lips, seemingly quite satisfied with the shot.
It wasn't like when he had the chance to fire two successive shots at close range to kill Cock's Comb. After this shot, the hefty recoil caused the gun barrel to jerk significantly upward, and firing again would not likely hit Baldy's head.
Besides, the recoil from firing the gun had torn the wound on his palm further, the pain making his flexor muscles twitch, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the pistol.
But it was enough.
Su Lun was certain that this shot was sure to hit its mark, enough to blow the guy's head clean off.
But then...
He never expected that this sure-fire shot would misfire.
...
"How is this possible!"
Su Lun's pupils shrank suddenly, watching the scene in disbelief.
The bullet had been aimed at Baldy's eye socket, and in a moment of crisis, he was not slow to react. The instant the gun flared, he instinctively tried to dodge.
With a slight tilt of his head, the bullet struck his forehead.
Under normal circumstances, the impact of a large-caliber revolver, as long as it hit the head, anywhere on it would have burst open like a watermelon.
But right now... that didn't happen!
Watching the bizarre scene unfolding before him, Su Lun was stunned.
He actually watched the bullet strike Baldy's forehead and then... embed in the skull?
"What's going on, why is his skull so hard?!"
At that moment, Su Lun realized he might have come to a world far stranger than he could have imagined.
Steam mechanical arms, humans not dying from a gunshot to the head...
After a moment of shock, Su Lun's gaze regained its clarity.
And at this moment, Baldy, who had taken a bullet to the head and was almost completely unharmed, also turned his malevolent eyes toward him.