When Lin Jie said those words "fire a shot at an invisible target," Marcus couldn't help but freeze.
His brain was already operating under high load from resisting the external pressure, and Lin Jie's surreal command felt like a complex mathematical problem being forcibly crammed into his straightforward soldier's mind.
"What did you say?" Marcus's voice was bewildered. "At a mantelpiece several blocks away? Lin Jie, has that thing driven you insane?"
"Even if we could see it now—which we can't—and even with the Association's most advanced German-made sniper rifle with an eight-power scope in broad daylight, hitting a target at that distance with precision would be absolutely impossible, let alone under these circumstances!"
He spoke the truth—this wasn't tactics, it was delusion.
"No, Marcus, I'm clearer-headed than ever before." Lin Jie spoke rapidly. "Conventional weapons certainly can't do it, but Serene Heart can!"
"Its bullets carry a 'trajectory stabilization' force field. Once fired, their path becomes an absolute straight line—a perfect line that ignores wind resistance, air density, and can even partially ignore this twisted force field!"
He swiftly drew the classically-styled Webley revolver from the holster at his waist.
Under the glow of Marcus's lantern, the diamond-shaped calibrator made from Guardian Scale beneath the barrel emitted a soft blue light, confirming Lin Jie's words.
"Its true body is hiding behind the two coordinates it's using as anchor points. One is this ruin's foundation—its birthplace—and the other is the previous storage location of this Crooked Sixpence!"
"If we can destroy one of these anchor points, this distorted domain will definitely be affected!"
Though Lin Jie's explanation used many mystical theories beyond Marcus's understanding, the clear logical chain and confidence successfully convinced this soldier who typically relied on intuition and strength.
Marcus stopped arguing—this wasn't the time for doubts.
The only thing he could do was place his trust in this young but consistently miraculous "tactical brain" before him.
"Alright!" Marcus made his decision. "What should I do?"
"Give me your hand, Marcus." Lin Jie said.
Marcus immediately extended his powerful, calloused hand, hardened from years of gun handling.
Lin Jie grasped his hand, then solemnly placed the cold Serene Heart into his palm.
"Listen, Marcus. We don't need to see with our eyes or aim with sights. In this twisted world, our eyes will deceive us."
He guided Marcus's hand, slowly raising the gun barrel to point in a specific direction.
"Close your eyes, Marcus." Lin Jie's voice was compelling. "Forget we're in a distorted battlefield. Imagine you're standing on Baker Street in broad daylight."
"Before you are rows of neat apartments. All you need to do is raise your hand and point your finger at the left-side window on the third floor of one building facing the street."
Lin Jie was using his own memory to construct an unpolluted, stable "virtual coordinate system" in Marcus's mind!
Marcus immediately complied. Closing his eyes and relying on his sense of London's layout combined with Lin Jie's verbal guidance, he quickly sketched a virtual yet realistic city map in his mind.
His arm, unaffected by the violently distorted force field outside, steadily rose to point toward that intangible target.
"Perfect, just like that." Lin Jie could feel Marcus's gun hand showed not the slightest tremor, impressively stable.
"Now keep imagining. Behind that window is a fireplace. On the mantelpiece sits an ordinary brown clay jar, and this Crooked Sixpence was once inside that jar."
The difficulty of this task escalated again—they needed to hit not just an invisible room, but a specific clay jar within that room!
"That's impossible..." Even the resolute Marcus experienced a slight waver in his arm upon hearing this target.
It wasn't due to lack of strength, but because the task itself exceeded his understanding of what "shooting" could be.
"Nothing's impossible, Marcus. The one firing isn't you or me." Lin Jie's voice became ethereal and distant, as if he were a "medium" communicating with some higher existence.
He released Marcus's wrist, instead bringing his right index and middle fingers together to gently press against the back of Marcus's hand holding Serene Heart.
Reverberation Touch!
But this time, Lin Jie wasn't interpreting—he reversed the process, channeling his highly concentrated mental energy through his fingers and Marcus's body, pouring it wildly into the frame of Serene Heart.
His goal wasn't to "read," but to "bestow."
He transformed his clear memory coordinates of Weston's apartment, the location of that mantelpiece, the Twisted Man's unique evil spiritual signature... all of it into pure information that he forcibly imprinted upon the dormant Guardian Scale beneath the barrel!
The scale, which had been emitting a soft blue light, blazed brilliantly upon receiving this directed intention!
The blue light was no longer moonbeam-soft, but transformed into a pure laser originating from deep lakes, containing order and divinity!
The entire Serene Heart vibrated slightly in Marcus's hand, as if possessing its own life and will.
It was no longer a tool requiring human operation—it had become the bullet's "eyes"!
"It's... it's guiding me!" Marcus exclaimed in astonishment.
The revolver in his hand was automatically calibrating his arm with a subtle yet irresistible force.
It was actively seeking that spiritual coordinate kilometers away, which had been assigned enemy attributes!
"Now!" Lin Jie issued the final command. "Marcus, trust it! Pull the trigger!"
Marcus placed his thick index finger on the trigger.
In that second, he stopped thinking about distance, wind speed, obstructions, trajectory, or how absurd this shot seemed.
He placed all his trust and hope in this "living" weapon and the man behind him who had created this miracle.
He forcefully pulled the trigger.
There was no deafening roar.
The shot was remarkably quiet.
Only a clear "hum" like a plucked guitar string.
A spiritual bullet shimmering with brilliant blue light slowly "floated" from Serene Heart's muzzle.
Unlike ordinary bullets endowed with massive kinetic energy, it paused momentarily mid-air as if possessing its own life.
Then it moved.
"Whoosh—"
With a sharp whistling sound, the blue dot instantly transformed into a streak of light.
It didn't fly toward the nearby Twisted Man, but shot into the darkness where London's urban area lay.
The most bizarre scene occurred.
When this blue absolute straight line pierced through Marcus's island of order and re-entered the violently distorted domain outside, all the spatial folds and chaotic force fields attempting to approach or pull at it instantly dissolved and evaporated upon contact with the "guardian divinity" enveloping the bullet!
This light could not be distorted!
This light could not be blocked!
Defying all the rules of this twisted world with its brute force approach, it tore through the long night, pierced the darkness, and raced toward the sole destination Lin Jie had imprinted upon it through reverberation.
A cross-block sniper shot spanning multiple streets!