Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 107: Chapter 6 Parrots

The woman in the duckbill cap felt an unexplained chill run down her spine. She whispered, her voice as fine as a mosquito’s buzz.

But the person she intended to communicate with heard her loud and clear.

“Quick battle, quick decision, coordinate with Baldie to concentrate fire, and turn him into a sieve!”

Li Yan’s fist slammed into a small shed constructed from iron sheets and wooden planks at the bottom of a building, pulling out the metal and concrete slabs to bury himself beneath them.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Radiant tongues of flame erupted from a birch tree not far from Li Yan and the end of the street, as bullets in a warm golden hue clinked chaotically.

The bald man seized the opportunity, tilting his head to aim and squeeze the trigger in one fluid motion.

The bullet left the gun barrel with a muffled thud, sparks darting about in disarray.

A mess all around.

Hidden behind dense foliage, the man in sunglasses spat out a wad of saliva, sneering, “Stupid asshole.”

That piece of crap won’t stop bullets; he’s dead.

The spear point rested atop the riddled iron sheet, clanging upon contact.

The black spear tip pierced through the metal, and with a flick of the arm, it was hurled towards the dark end of the street. The man in the leather jacket rolled out of the shadows, the iron sheet hitting something as it flew, shattering into pieces on the already cracked ground.

The leather jacket man’s neck was tattooed with a skull, resulting in a gash—blood formed a “river” shape but closed up quickly. Clutching his neck, he looked in the direction from which the metal sheet had come.

Pure black armor connected in one piece, his body bending slightly forward, the Star Helmet in front revealing two eerily red-bottomed, black-patterned pupils. A black short spear was held beneath the Kote Gloves, with several bullets embedded in the Kawa-gutsu Shoes, though they were squeezed out onto the ground after a short while.

Six coins, Ghost Rider.

Ghost Rider shot a short spear towards the birch tree. The man in sunglasses, enhanced by his inheritance to possess extremely high dynamic vision, dodged the spearhead by tilting his head but failed to notice a shadow beneath the dark armor darting out.

“Dayue, let’s go!” the woman in the duckbill cap shouted.

Skeptical, the man perched in the tree attempted to pull the trigger, only to feel the branch under his foot give way. What followed was the deep-seated terror of a blade cutting into flesh.

“Tat-tat-tat~”

Several bullets pierced through Li Yan’s chest. Meanwhile, the Ring Dragon Sword cleaved from the handle of the M249 light machine gun to the gap between the sunglasses man’s index and middle fingers, all the way to his elbow, causing the firearm to collide with tree branches before falling to the ground.

The man in sunglasses had his flesh and bone split in two, as Li Yan’s body lunged forward, his left hand piercing through the sunglasses and deep into the man’s eye socket, reaching the back of his skull. He viciously stirred inside, the warm slimy sensation accompanying the man’s low choking and trembling—after four or five breaths, the man moved no more.

Baldie and the tattooed man with the skull instinctively pointed their gun barrels toward the birch tree, but they couldn’t see anything and dared not shoot.

The neck of the Ghost Rider beneath the tree rigidly pivoted, and with his footwear stepping forward, he surged like flowing black water towards the tattooed man at the street’s end.

“Unfortunately, you didn’t obtain his inheritance,” Li Yan said as he withdrew his left hand, blood trailing stickily. His gaze pierced through the sparse leaves, fixing on the woman in the duckbill cap.

The color drained from the woman underneath the duckbill cap’s face, turning iron-blue as she threw her hat on the ground, filled with annoyance and regret.

“Pack it up; let’s go,” she said.

Baldie was stupefied, letting out an incredulous cry, “Are you joking? What about Dayue?”

“He’s dead~”

The woman said coldly, “We’ll talk after Yunhu finishes. If we force a fight now, we’re just going to lose more men.”

Baldie’s face turned red with anger, unwilling to let it go.

The leaves rustled as Li Yan retracted the Ring Dragon into the Seal Space. He pressed his feet against the branches, diving through the thick foliage towards Baldie and the woman.

Baldie was quick to react, lifting his hand to aim and fire, but Li Yan, mid-air with nowhere to leverage, had no room to dodge.

The M249, not highly regarded in the US military armaments for its short range and low impact, has always been criticized.

Short range is not too big a flaw in street fighting; low impact means that even the most resistant of the Fur Class Inheritances would be as fragile as a tomato within five hundred meters.

Firearms are essential; they require quality ammunition and come with low procurement limits, but they are inexpensive and powerful.

Inheritances are sufficient for survival in the early stages but lack in lethality. To complete events, firearms become incredibly valuable. The lethality of a bullet is incomparable to an inheritance that initially only grants a boost in physical prowess and quality.

Li Yan’s Blood Dip skill was a rarity in offensive abilities, but it required a considerable amount of prior damage and was ineffective with firearm use.

Utilizing firearm firepower for suppression is almost invincible among those below “Ten Cities” in Yan Fu.

A hit means death.

The searing bullet shot from the barrel, burrowing into the center of Li Yan’s forehead.

Dead!

Baldie roared in his heart.

Li Yan’s head jerked back.

“No”

The woman leaped backward on her tiptoes, but it was already too late. A platinum flash burst forth from Li Yan’s hand, three meters long, as Devouring Blade slammed into Baldie’s face, splattering flesh and brain matter.

“Unfortunately, you didn’t receive its inheritance.”

[Gaoliangna’s Lifesaving Hair]

Block a fatal injury once.

Li Yan’s airborne body involuntarily surged forward, he raised his arm and hoisted the spear shaft upward. Devouring Blade slashed down the woman’s arm and abdomen, bursting open a surging wave of blood.

His right foot hit the ground, and crackling sounds burst from Li Yan’s skeleton. With both hands supporting the spear shaft, the spearhead lunged upward like a tiger pouncing on a brook. The spear thrust lifted the woman off her feet.

Tiger Rises!

Then he thrust forward with force, the platinum spearhead breaking through the woman’s chest, piercing out her back.

Beads of blood fell along the spear shaft, like strands of red pearls.

The woman’s hand gripped the spear shaft, Li Yan’s spearhead had already shredded her heart, but she wouldn’t die just yet.

A pool of blackish-red blood formed beneath her. She gritted her teeth, locking eyes with Li Yan, her expression filled with unwillingness.

Seal Space.

“Ten Cities”… truly monstrous.

“Mou~”

Li Yan felt his heart skip a beat; a description-defying restlessness compelled him to let go of the spear shaft and step back, but it was of no avail.

“You have been cursed by the ‘Parrot’, rendering all skills in your skill grid unusable for fifteen days.”

Skills that cannot be used include [A Fleeting Glimpse], [Nine Phoenix Divine Talisman], and [Killing Intent Attack].

Damn it!

Li Yan silently cursed.

“You have obtained the inheritance: Parrot’s Beak·Witch Language.”

At the end of the street, the black Ghost Rider and the man with a skull tattoo wielding a dagger were locked in a relentless struggle, with the former seemingly gaining the upper hand.

“Wu, run! Go find Yunhu.”

The tattooed man was startled; through the corner of his eye, past the arm raised by the Ghost Rider, he saw Li Yan shaking off the long spear, with two men lying behind him.

The cap-wearing woman’s pupils gradually dimmed, as the pool of blood soaked over her nose.

The tattooed man’s fists cracked, he trapped the Ghost Rider’s short spear under his arm, and viciously stabbed the dagger into the Ghost Rider’s Star Helmet. Kicking the Ghost Rider away, he turned and ran.

In the short, chaotic fight, Li Yan had “A Fleeting Glimpse” activated the whole time. Even before he received any inheritance, he was confident that with the “muscle observation” of [A Fleeting Glimpse], he could directly face firearms within eight steps.

But now, Li Yan was in the cooldown state of Blood Dip and didn’t have the Hook Star state on him. This was why, even though he had stepped on a branch and stood right in front of the man with sunglasses, he couldn’t stop him from firing in time.

The subsequent leap out of gunfire and counter-kill was a risky move by Li Yan without the [Hook Star] enhancement. He was merely taking advantage of the element of surprise. However, he also sacrificed the [Lifesaving Hair], a vital item.

Li Yan’s face was somber as he took a step forward, his blood boiling like hot oil surged to his throat, which he gently bent over to spit out.

Three bullets lodged in Li Yan’s chest, one embedded in his lung. The Gu Huo Bird inheritance had not significantly enhanced Li Yan’s physique and resilience, as there was no display on the literal level.

Such injuries were trivial for those with Fur Class inheritance, but for Li Yan of the Feather Class, it heavily impacted his combat capability.

The Lifesaving Hair had been used, and the [Hook Star] would require four hours to recover after being enhanced. With all the skills in his skill grid sealed, it would be rational to avoid further combat.

But Li Yan didn’t see it that way.

He walked ahead slowly but surely, tearing a talisman paper to heal his wounds, as hundreds of Sudu birds scattered, doggedly pursuing the tattooed man.

I’ll pick the softest targets to squeeze on the first night; these few are certainly not tough!

Two Gold bullion coins, the healing effects of the Sweet Dew Talisman, the Great Ming’s black Dragon Flag, Dragon Tiger Qi—I still have plenty of aces up my sleeve.

I said I would slaughter you all, and not a single one of you will escape.