Chen Hong saw Tang Zheng enter and immediately began to struggle, making soft whimpers, trying to get him to rescue her.
Tang Zheng surveyed the living room and found no other anomalies. The mysterious woman whose face was hidden seemed to harbor no malice; otherwise, she would have killed Chen Hong already. As for using her to threaten him, that possibility seemed quite low.
Tang Zheng didn’t speak. He didn’t want to be passive, so he acted as if he hadn’t noticed the woman and walked over to the fridge to grab a can of beer.
A hint of appreciation appeared on the Masked Woman’s lips, and suddenly, with a twist of the dagger in her right hand, she extended her arm and thrust it toward Chen Hong’s back.
Tang Zheng’s eyes narrowed, his leg muscles tensed, and he had three Moon Blades ready to launch. If this woman dared to harm Chen Hong, no matter her origins, he was prepared to take her life.
The Masked Woman flicked her wrist, and just as the dagger was about to pierce Chen Hong’s back, it abruptly changed direction and shot towards Tang Zheng’s cheek, swift as lightning.
Tang Zheng dodged to the side and pulled out a Thunderstorm rifle, shooting at the woman to force her away from Chen Hong, then quickly closed in, hurling a Moon Blade from his waist, aiming for her neck.
Chen Hong was too close to the Masked Woman, which made it risky to use many of his heavy weapons for fear of accidentally injuring her.
The Masked Woman now looked displeased, her lips twisting into a mocking curve. She didn’t attempt to dodge and instead drew a heavy Gravity Gun, an S-grade weapon, to trade shots with Tang Zheng. The Moon Blade that had almost reached her face halted mid-air as if ensnared by something, stopping its motion abruptly.
The Thunderball blasted against the Masked Woman without doing any damage, while black Gravity Balls shot out, obliterating any object they hit as if it had been bitten off by a black hole.
"S-Class firearms?" Tang Zheng didn’t want the woman to know he was wearing an SS-grade Tyrannosaurus, so he activated the Light Defense Shield and charged forward without dodging. He flipped his left hand, drew out the Demon Slaying Holy Flame, and fired a Golden Deer Projectile at her, then grabbed a bundle of five Rabbit Explosives and hurled them towards her.
"Useless." The Masked Woman spoke for the first time, her voice magnetic and laced with a light mockery. Indeed, the flaming Buckshot stopped before hitting her, hanging in the air as if grasped by an invisible hand.
But the next moment, the Masked Woman shut her mouth. After the Rabbit Explosives were blocked, they suddenly exploded, shrouding the area in a fog of mystical energy that obscured the view.
"S-grade? Not good." Just as the Masked Woman thought to retreat, dozens of Spotted Arrows shot forth, enveloping her completely.
Boom, boom, the speckled arrows continuously exploded before the Masked Woman, clearly hitting some invisible matter, and clumps of sticky white fluff drifted down.
The Masked Woman’s defense in front of her had been breached, and Chen Hong, now showing some intelligence, rolled under the sofa to hide.
Tang Zheng quickly pulled out a Heavy Magnetostorm Rifle and swept fire towards her, Electromagnetic Storm Balls howling towards her, about to rend her apart in an instant.
Having underestimated her opponent, the Masked Woman was now on the back foot. Although she too released a Light Defense Shield, it wobbled under the barrage from the Heavy Magnetostorm Rifle and shattered within a breath’s time. Tang Zheng’s shield was also destroyed. Once the Shield was deployed, attacks below S-grade were ineffective, but against S-grade attacks, it could only withstand four hits, hardly a fine piece.
The Masked Woman’s heart chilled as she realized she had underestimated her adversary. The young man’s S-Class Weapons appeared to be plentiful; in the blink of an eye, at least five had been revealed. She didn’t choose to tank the Magnetostorm Balls head-on and decided to evade instead.
Tang Zheng lunged forward, reaching to grab the Masked Woman’s shoulder, intending to dislocate her arm.
Whoosh, a Moon Blade shot out from the Masked Woman’s waist side, aiming for Tang Zheng’s armature. It was clear she had no intention of killing him, or she would have aimed for his head.
Tang Zheng slapped with one hand, deflecting the Moon Blade with his armature. Since the Masked Woman showed no intent to kill, he also restrained his lethal intent, ready to subdue her.
"SS level?" Noticing that the Moon Blade had cut through the sleeve but not the Protective Clothing underneath, the Masked Woman’s eyes sharpened, and her expression turned grave; she knew she had been presumptuous.
Having heard from her companions that this young man was not easy to deal with, she was initially skeptical. But once they clashed, a few exchanges had her at a disadvantage.
Just as Tang Zheng grabbed the Masked Woman’s shoulder, she twisted her body, slipping away like an eel, and then hesitated if she should release her power. If she couldn’t suppress him now, recruiting him into the Alliance later would challenge her status.
"Distracted during a fight? Are you looking down on me?"
Hearing this reprimand, the Masked Woman froze, and the next moment, she felt a heavy punch to her waist-eye, propelling her body involuntarily to the left.
Whoosh, Tang Zheng’s fist carried the sound of tearing through the air, striking at the Masked Woman’s nose.
"Don’t you know how to treat a lady?" The Masked Woman was furious, upset by Tang Zheng’s ’brutality’, and she erupted with full power to resist. But as she reached out her hand, she found that the punch aimed at her face was a feint.
Tang Zheng’s right fist clenched tight, a hook punch landed in the pit of the Masked Woman’s stomach. Had she not been wearing the Firefly Protective Clothing, the blow could have shattered her stomach.
Due to inertia, the Masked Woman was flung away, her offensive moves falling void.