The grand hall was in chaos. Although the imposter was not the real Shen Feng, he was a genuine ability user. He unleashed his powers, and the hall quickly became a mess.
Amidst the confusion, "Shen Feng" pulled out a handgun and fired two shots at Chang Jianyi.
At that critical moment, the bullets froze in mid-air. Upon closer inspection, the two bullets traced white trails through the air before stopping in front of Chang Jianyi.
"This scoundrel actually dared to shoot! Fortunately, Luo Qing is here!" Chu Zhaoyan was also startled by the scene. They hadn't searched the imposter, not expecting him to carry a firearm.
"Xiao Jie, take Qianqian and hide. You can't help here!" Chang Jianyi was also taken aback by the sudden gunfire, but she quickly reacted, telling Chang Haojie to take Zhang Qianqian to safety. Although both were ability users, their combat capabilities were clearly lacking. For now, it was best to have them retreat.
Luo Qing's ability was aerogel. She had been anticipating the imposter's sudden move and had deployed a thick layer of aerogel in the air at the crucial moment. Aerogel offered strong defense against bullets. Despite its light appearance, it was sufficient for bulletproofing, comparable to the bullet-resistant capabilities of starch paste.
The hall was in disarray, but at the critical juncture, Guo Pinming and Yang Chang stepped forward. Guo Pinming's body began to flow with molten steel, which instantly solidified into chains. These chains shot out and bound the imposter's ankles. Caught off guard, the imposter was pulled and fell face-first.
"Bang, bang." The imposter aimed his gun at the chains on his feet, intending to shoot them off.
However, the chains were made of steel, and the bullets had no effect. Although there were slight indentations, they quickly reverted to their original shape.
At this moment, Yang Chang's attack arrived. In Yang Chang's hand was a silver iron rod. He rushed forward and struck the imposter's right arm with it, resulting in a "crack" as the bone broke. The man's arm twisted at an unimaginable angle.
Although silver was relatively soft, it was still metal, and flesh and blood could not withstand such an attack from silver.
"Smack." Yang Chang then knocked the handgun out of the imposter's hand. The silver rod transformed into shackles, capturing the imposter.
Guo Pinming also quickly stepped forward and bound the imposter with his chains. With both ability users acting together, they finally apprehended the man who had tried to escape, and the chaos in the hall gradually subsided.
Chang Haojie quickly took Zhang Xixi and ducked under a table. The only place to hide in the hall at that moment was under the tables. The tablecloths hanging from the tables provided at least some visual cover. However, they weren't the only ones with the idea of hiding. Others also scrambled under the tables, and Zhang Xixi and Chang Haojie were pushed out.
From the moment the gunshots rang out, the people in the hall descended into chaos. Even the scientists from the laboratory were hiding under tables.
Now that the imposter was captured and his gun was knocked away, the hall was finally safe. The people under the tables, seeing that the situation had stabilized, finally relaxed and slowly emerged, observing their surroundings. Few were injured, mostly from being bumped into while scrambling under the tables.
Finally, the imposter was tied up and brought to the center of the hall. Chang Jianyi began the public interrogation: "Answer honestly, who sent you to deceive us? If you don't speak, we will resort to torture."
Guo Pinming was carefully examining the imposter's face, trying to find evidence of disguise. He had heard of people-skin masks in the martial world, which were mostly fictional in martial arts novels. However, with modern technology, many silicone masks could be made, and ordinary people wouldn't be able to tell.
As a result, after the examination, there seemed to be no mask on the man's face. Guo Pinming could only believe that the man before him looked exactly like Shen Feng.
The imposter's arms had been ruthlessly broken by Yang Chang. He was in excruciating pain and could only rage impotently after being captured. "Let me go quickly! I have connections! If you don't let me go, I guarantee you two bitches will wish you were dead!"
The last sentence was clearly directed at Chang Jianyi and Chu Zhaoyan. Upon hearing this address, their eyebrows shot up.
"Insolent words, you deserve a beating!" Chang Jianyi said coldly, then stepped forward and slapped the imposter twice.
Instantly, the imposter's cheeks swelled up, both sides bulging high. When he opened his mouth, several teeth fell out, and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, making him look quite pathetic.
"Are you quiet now? Still dare to be arrogant?" Chang Jianyi continued to ask.
However, after suffering, the man remained defiant, saying, "I have connections!"
"I know you have connections, just tell me who! Who sent you to impersonate him?" Chang Jianyi asked coldly.
Helpless, the imposter had to speak. He didn't want to suffer any longer. After much thought, he figured that perhaps by revealing the truth, he might get a chance to live. As the saying goes, "A wise man knows when to yield."
Then, the imposter opened his mouth and said, "I am Tian..."
Before he could finish speaking, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the hall. The bullet directly struck the imposter's brain. The bullet entered through the back of his head and exited through his forehead. Blood and brain matter continuously oozed from both holes, and the man instantly collapsed and died, all life extinguished.
"Who fired? Who did it?" Yang Chang hadn't expected anyone to fire a gun in the hall at this moment. Clearly, most of the people in the hall were on their side, yet someone had fired.
The hall erupted in an uproar. No one had expected someone to silence the witness at such a crucial moment. Who was it? Who still had a gun?
Guo Pinming bent down and looked into the imposter's eyes. The pupils had already dilated and lost focus. The man was dead! And they hadn't been able to ask him anything.
Everyone in the hall scrutinized each other, suspecting that a traitor might still be hidden among them. More than a dozen people stared at Wang Ao Ye, almost wanting to rip off his mask to see.
"Everyone, quiet down!" At this moment, Lin Yue shouted loudly in the hall, and the surrounding people immediately stopped their commotion.
Lin Yue stood on a table, listened intently for a moment, then pointed towards the hall entrance and said, "The assassin has escaped, I'm going after them!"
With that, Lin Yue immediately rushed out the door, charging in a specific direction. However, others could only see Lin Yue chasing after something, but they couldn't see the assassin at all.
"I get it, an ability user used invisibility to infiltrate the banquet. Quickly go to the castle and invite Lu Xian!" Chu Zhaoyan was the first to react. Based on what she saw, only an ability user could do this, and many people could use invisibility.
Chang Jianyi could only agree. Otherwise, there was no explanation for Lin Yue chasing after someone.
Chu Zhaoyan knew that only Lu Xian could catch an invisible person. His thermal perception was the most effective counter to invisibility.
Chang Haojie immediately rode the clouds towards the castle, preparing to have Lu Xian play his part.
On Lin Yue's side, he charged forward with his eyes closed. His ability was sound wave control. Although he was only a second-tier ability user, this ability was effective in tracking. The assassin could move while invisible, but the sound of their footsteps wouldn't stop. The faster they ran, the more pronounced the footsteps would be.
"Plop." As Lin Yue was diligently pursuing the assassin, the assassin reached the lakeside and, without hesitation, leaped into the water. The sky was dark, and nothing could be seen underwater. Moreover, the assassin was swimming underwater. At this moment, Lin Yue completely lost track of the assassin and could only stare helplessly at the lakeside.
Lu Xian quickly arrived at the lakeside and asked, "Where's the assassin? Where are they hiding?"
Lin Yue pointed at the lake and said helplessly, "They went into the lake. I don't know if they escaped. Use your ability to check."
Lu Xian didn't hesitate and immediately unleashed his ability. Instantly, infrared images of more than half the palace appeared in his mind. Finally, he sensed an anomaly and pointed towards the distant palace walls, shouting, "Let's go over there, someone is climbing the wall!"
The two immediately rushed towards the distant palace walls. They did indeed find a series of footprints on the ground, but besides the footprints, they saw nothing else.
"I wonder if we can extract fingerprints. If we let this invisible person escape now, it will be troublesome later!" Lu Xian was very frustrated. The palace walls were now covered in water stains, and the assassin had disappeared. They had most likely escaped Fengshen Palace.
"Forget it. Even if we extract fingerprints, what good would it do? In this chaotic era, fingerprint databases are gone. How can we compare fingerprints? I think we can only wait for the crew. There were many crew members who came with the imposter. If we start with them, we might get different results," Lin Yue didn't think fingerprints would be useful.
Lu Xian thought about it and indeed, if they couldn't catch the invisible assassin on the spot, they likely wouldn't have such an opportunity again.
Lu Xian and Lin Yue returned empty-handed, the clues abruptly ending. On the other side, soldiers went to apprehend the dozens of crew members staying at the hotel, but they discovered upon arrival that all these crew members had been killed by cold weapons, likely daggers. To kill so many crew members in such a short time, the killer must have been highly skilled.
Chang Jianyi, upon hearing that all leads had been broken, could only shake her head. However, the banquet had to continue, so she then announced good news. She found a video from the internet and played it on the projector, saying, "Everyone, please don't worry. I received news that Shen Feng is still abroad and is returning quickly. He will be back soon. The City Lord is safe! Yue Hengyi is also safe. Tonight's banquet will continue!"
Upon hearing news of Shen Feng, everyone immediately relaxed. It turned out the City Lord hadn't truly met with misfortune. Many who had been worried about the situation in Yuzhou finally felt at ease. As long as the City Lord was safe, everything else was manageable.
Chu Zhaoyan looked at the mess in the hall and helplessly shook her head. She said to the servants, "Replace all this food. Much of it is dirty. As for the fruit, send it to the orphanage. The other dishes should be sent to the slums, no, to the areas where the transient population gathers!"
The servants immediately began cleaning up the mess in the hall. Most of the food had been spilled during the chaos caused by the gunfire. However, many dishes were still edible, having only gotten a bit dusty.
"Oh, and there's also a dead imposter here. What should we do?" Zhang Qianqian looked at the corpse on the ground with some nervousness. She had never experienced such a tense situation and was now a little scared.
Chang Jianyi looked at the imposter on the ground and said, "We can't waste it. Send the body to the laboratory. Let them extract the extraterrestrial elements. We can still create ability users in the future!"
No one objected to this decision. After having already suffered an assassination attempt, they wished the assassin could be dismembered. Now, merely extracting extraterrestrial elements was considered merciful compared to desecrating the body.
The quantity of extraterrestrial elements was fixed and could be transferred. As long as an ability user was killed, their abilities could be transferred to others. The only pity was that elements extracted from ability users, having already been used once, could only transfer specific abilities after being transferred.
This resulted in powerful ability users being impossible to kill, while weaker ability users, even if killed, would only result in the recipient gaining weaker abilities.