The Villain Is Too Popular

Facing the formidable Coral Knight, Caroline, who had been hiding her strength, finally unleashed her true power. Seeing this, even Tendo, who believed he knew Caroline inside and out, was somewhat shocked.

This was because, in the original plot, Caroline not only discovered the Coral Knight's abnormality early on but also guessed that the strange mist pervading the entire parking lot was created by their instructor, Yunmeng.

Therefore, although she still displayed considerable combat power in the original plot, it was far from reaching the exaggerated level she showed now. It could be said that if Tendo hadn't chosen to 'feign death,' causing Caroline to completely lose her rationality, the calm and intelligent Caroline would have quickly figured out everything that happened here and once again chosen to 'protect herself.'

Thinking of this, Tendo suddenly became curious. Curious about the true extent of Caroline's current strength. After all, judging from the current situation, she, nominally the Stars Child NO. 4, was slightly stronger than Chenxing, the Stars Child NO. 2.

Meanwhile, sensing Caroline and Chenxing's extraordinary strength, the Coral Knight also gradually got serious. And as the Coral Knight became completely serious, Caroline and Chenxing, who could barely hold their own against him, quickly fell into a complete disadvantage.

This was because neither Caroline's 'Overload' nor Chenxing's 'Karma Fire' could shake the Coral Knight, a Second-Tier Star Emissary, due to their lower 'star energy values,' even though their attacks far exceeded the average for their tier.

This became especially evident after the Coral Knight had learned his lesson from Tendo. Because now, the Coral Knight wouldn't underestimate any 'First-Tier Star Emissary.' Or rather, he would no longer treat any 'Stars Child' as an ordinary 'First-Tier Star Emissary.'

When steadfastness became the Coral Knight's main theme, there was naturally no possibility of him losing, as he completely dominated Chenxing and Caroline in terms of star energy value, combat experience, and Star Source development. Unless, of course, some other variable appeared. Like... a certain unnoticed 'old six' (a derogatory term for someone who waits for an opportune moment to strike, often from the shadows or when their opponent is vulnerable).

In the real world, Station 13.

Watching Caroline and Chenxing, who, despite fighting with all their might, were still utterly dominated by the Coral Knight, the audience immediately understood the vast gap between them and the Coral Knight. At the same time, they also understood the enormous gap between them and Tendo. After all, this Coral Knight, whom they struggled to defeat even by teaming up, had previously been utterly defeated by Tendo in an almost crushing manner!

Encountered a Second-Tier Star Emissary, fought with all my might but couldn't defeat them.

Tendo: Strange, was this guy that hard to beat? Felt like I kicked him to death in one go.

Caroline: Bad, this is a high-stakes game!

Just as Caroline and Chenxing seemed to be on the verge of defeat, the camera suddenly switched to Chenkong. Facing this sudden scene change, the audience knew this was to create a highlight moment for the protagonist, Chenkong. They all sat up straight, anticipating Chenkong's performance.

At this moment, Chenkong was secretly hiding behind an abandoned car at the edge, cautiously observing the fierce battle not far away. And because he had already activated his 'First Star Core: Mark of Emptiness,' the fighting Coral Knight didn't even notice his presence, completely ignoring him.

"One chance, I only have one chance..."

Looking at the Coral Knight, covered in coral armor, with a gauntlet on his left hand and a spear-gauntlet on his right, the highly nervous Chenkong was not only sweating profusely but his right hand was also trembling non-stop.

The dimensional audience, however, wasn't too demanding of his performance. After all, they were very clear about Chenkong's strength. As an innate powerhouse, Tendo not only had to win, but he also needed to win spectacularly and magnificently to meet the audience's expectations of him. Similarly, as an innate weakling, the audience's demands for Chenkong were very low.

He didn't need to win, just to not lose too badly. Because weakness is never a fault; willingly giving up is.

Therefore, regardless of whether Chenkong would succeed later, simply having this thought now and being willing to act on it already earned him the title of 'protagonist' in the audience's minds. After all, not everyone is named Tendo Simei, and not everyone... has the courage to face difficulties head-on.

In the parking lot, as Caroline was sent flying by the Coral Knight's punch, falling to the ground unconscious, and Chenxing was entangled by the Coral Knight's flexible spear blade, her demonic blade falling to the ground, completely losing combat capability, Chenkong, who had been hiding nearby, knew he couldn't wait any longer.

Success or failure... depended on this one move!

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Chenxing, her body entangled by the Coral Knight's three-meter-long coral spear blade, coughed violently while desperately grabbing the end of the spear blade at her neck with both hands, trying to breathe normally.

However, in the face of an absolute disparity in strength, Chenxing simply couldn't break free from the spear blade's restraint. She could only feel her thoughts becoming clouded and her body slowly losing consciousness, powerless and unable to change anything.

Looking at Chenxing, who was about to fall unconscious, a hint of hesitation flashed in the Coral Knight's eyes beneath his mask. Because according to his own personality, the so-called test was pretty much over at this point. But according to Tendo and Yunmeng, it would be best for him to render Chenxing completely unconscious. Because only then could she truly feel how 'weak' she was in front of him.

However, for some reason, the Coral Knight always felt like he had forgotten something. But what this missing thing was, he couldn't recall, as if some invisible force was suppressing his thoughts and perception. This strange feeling made the Coral Knight inexplicably annoyed.

But at this moment, the Coral Knight suddenly felt a strange movement behind him. He sharply turned his head, only to see Chenkong had appeared behind him at an unknown time, and was aiming that special black gun... at him.

Staring at the suddenly appearing Chenkong, the Coral Knight's pupils constricted. When?

Bang bang bang—!

Without giving him time to think, accompanied by three loud gunshots, the black gun in Chenkong's hand fired three special bullets. These three bullets, carrying air vortices, flew towards the Coral Knight's face at an astonishing speed.

Out of his terrifying combat instincts cultivated over many years, the Coral Knight immediately subconsciously raised his right hand. The gauntlet on that right hand reassembled into a small shield in an extremely short time, attempting to directly block Chenkong's sneak attack.

Crack!

To the Coral Knight's surprise, his shield, which could withstand attacks from ordinary Second-Tier Star Emissaries, failed to completely block Chenkong's three bullets this time. The first special bullet Chenkong fired, which hit his shield, immediately caused the star energy on his shield to become chaotic. The shield instantly developed significant cracks.

Then, the second bullet hit the exact same spot as the previous one, and after completely piercing the shield, touched the helmet on the Coral Knight's face. It not only left a noticeable bullet mark on the helmet but also caused a strange crack in the Coral Knight's helmet. Finally, the remaining third bullet followed the trajectory of the first two bullets, accurately striking towards the Coral Knight's face.

Although these three bullets arrived almost simultaneously, the Coral Knight, upon sensing the anomaly of the first bullet, immediately shifted his head. As a result, this last bullet ultimately failed to critically wound the Coral Knight. It only broke through the helmet on his face and created a scratch on his cheek, from which dark red blood flowed.

Three bullets, one wound.

Chenkong looked at the Coral Knight, whose cheek was only lightly bleeding, with a stunned expression. He clearly hadn't expected his long-prepared sneak attack to yield only such a result. He looked at the two-meter-tall Coral Knight in front of him, covered in grotesque coral spikes, his expression turning ashen, his eyes filled with despair. Because he understood that he had completely run out of opportunities.

Thump, thump, thump—

The Coral Knight released the unconscious Chenxing, took heavy and slow steps, and walked silently to Chenkong's front. He looked down at him and slowly raised his hand.

And looking at the calm eyes beneath the Coral Knight's helmet, and the slowly flowing blood on his cheek, Chenkong shivered, his mind blank, and despairingly closed his eyes. But strangely, after waiting for a moment with his eyes closed, the imagined sharp pain did not appear. Instead, there was the Coral Knight's gentle pat on his shoulder, and his strange, approving words.

"Not bad. I didn't expect you to actually be able to wound me. None of you Stars Children... are simple, indeed."

"By the way, I can sense that the three bullets you just fired shouldn't be ordinary bullets. They seem to contain some special Star Source characteristic. Otherwise, I don't think ordinary bullets could so easily pierce my 'Coral Armor' and successfully injure me."

"Can you tell me how you got those bullets? I'm quite curious."

Chenkong opened his eyes, staring blankly at the smiling, friendly Coral Knight in front of him. After a long pause, Chenkong finally managed to squeeze out one word.

"Huh?"