As Chen Ling swallowed a gun and committed suicide right in front of everyone, the world fell into a deathly stillness.
Everyone looked at that empty corner of the cliff in astonishment. For a moment, their thoughts stalled...
"He committed suicide?" Yan Xicai stared blankly for a long time. "I thought his bones were so tough... But he just committed suicide like this??"
"Something seems wrong... Did you guys see that just now? In the instant he was shot, his face turned into someone else."
"I saw it. What's going on?"
"I already felt it was strange. How could a minor Law Enforcer from District Three dare to confront Young Master Yan so unscrupulously... So, he wasn't Chen Ling at all?"
"He is a Fire-Stealer."
Right when everyone was discussing animatedly, Pu Wen suddenly spoke up.
His expression was incredibly solemn!
"Fire-Stealers!?"
Upon hearing these words, the expressions of everyone present drastically changed!
"Is that the evil organization wanted by all Human Domains? Have they also come to the Aurora Domain?"
"I've heard of them. Every single member of the Fire-Stealers is a Possessor of the Path of the Thief. They can easily steal anyone's face and then blend into the crowd..."
"They take pleasure in stealing everything from others. Identity, money, memories, emotions, family... It's said they can even steal someone else's Divine Path?!"
"So the one who died just now wasn't Chen Ling at all, but a Fire-Stealer who infiltrated among us?"
"They've infiltrated the Ancient Vault of the Military Path?!"
Everyone spoke one after another, and an atmosphere of horror and terror rapidly spread within the closed-off Ancient Vault!
Meanwhile, the Fire-Stealers to the side were also dumbfounded.
They originally thought Chen Ling had counter-killed Number 13, and then pretended to be a Fire-Stealer to infiltrate them... But just now, after Chen Ling was shot, he clearly turned back into Number 13's appearance!
So, Number 13 didn't fail? Everything done just now was by Number 13 himself?
He betrayed them?
But... but what was he after?
All the Fire-Stealers felt their brains couldn't process this. They exchanged glances, only seeing confusion in each other's eyes...
"He just said that all of us will die." Lu Xuanming, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
If Chen Ling had said this, everyone would only find it ridiculous. After all, he was just a powerless, minor Law Enforcer from District Three... But if the one who said this was a Fire-Stealer disguised as Chen Ling, then the nature of it was different!
At this moment, as the crowd reminisced about the words, expression, and smile Chen Ling had right before his suicide... they only felt a chill run down their necks.
"But he's dead now... can he still kill us?" Among the Law Enforcers, someone asked hoarsely.
"What makes you so sure that only one Fire-Stealer has infiltrated us?"
The moment this sentence was uttered, everyone's hairs stood on end!
The hearts of the Fire-Stealers sank to rock bottom!
"The Fire-Stealers infiltrating the Ancient Vault of the Military Path must have a massive scheme... Do you think they would only send one person?" Lu Xuanming's deep voice echoed in everyone's ears. "Look at it from another angle. If it was only him, why would he take the initiative to provoke Yan Xicai and make us all attack him? Isn't this actively exposing his identity and courting death?"
"You mean, he was actually actively drawing our attention? To cover for his other accomplices?"
"That doesn't make sense either... Once he dies, we'd also know that Fire-Stealers have infiltrated. Wouldn't that make it even easier to expose his teammates?"
"Could it be that internal strife occurred within the Fire-Stealers?"
"We can't rule out this possibility... but I still feel something is wrong."
Chen Ling stirred up the Killing Intent of the Aurora City Law Enforcers, toyed with the Fire-Stealers until they were dumbfounded, and then this mysterious young man standing on the cusp of the storm actually committed suicide so cleanly... leaving them with nothing but endless mysteries.
Yan Xicai's expression was incredibly ugly. He originally thought that after entering the Ancient Vault, he could slaughter that Chen Ling to vent his anger. But he absolutely never expected that he would feel even more uncomfortable instead...
"So, Fire-Stealers really have infiltrated among us?" He gritted his teeth and spoke. "Who is it?!"
The crowd exchanged glances, and a trace of wariness and hesitation appeared in the gazes they shot at each other... According to what Lu Xuanming had just said, anyone around them might have been swapped by a Fire-Stealer.
"If I remember correctly, that Chen Ling should have taken the same train as the Law Enforcers from District Three, District 5, and District 6." Pu Wen seemed to have thought of something. "Together, there are only eight of them. If someone were to swap them on the way, they would be the most suitable candidates?"
Swish——
Everyone abruptly turned to look at Number 8 and the others.
"And they arrived a day early." A Law Enforcer from District 4 immediately followed up. "They are very close to Winter Harbor, especially District Three. Thinking about it carefully, there was no need to arrive a day early at all... Even if they came to have fun, bumping into the Law Enforcers from District 5 and District 6 who also came to have fun along the way is too much of a coincidence!"
"Speaking of which, while on the ship, the conversation between that Chen Ling and their District Three Captain was also very strange..."
Following the crowd's conversation, the hearts of the seven Fire-Stealers grew increasingly tense. They could clearly feel the gazes of others looking at them fill with fear and suspicion, and then rapidly distance themselves from them. Some people among them even revealed Killing Intent.
'Fuck... what kind of bullshit is this?!'
The seven Fire-Stealers now wanted to cry but had no tears.
They had obediently disguised themselves in the Law Enforcer team and hadn't done anything. As a result, their identities were suddenly about to be exposed... Moreover, with Chen Ling dead, all clues were cut off.
Seeing that their identities were about to be exposed, the gazes of the several Fire-Stealers began to converse, and a vicious look surfaced on their faces.
'Since we're about to be exposed, why don't we just kill them all directly?'
'Anyway, once inside the Ancient Vault, no matter how much of a massacre we commit, the outside won't know... Although there's a tenfold difference in numbers, the vast majority of the other side are Ordinary Persons. Killing them won't be difficult.'
"District Three Law Enforcer Jiang Qin." Lu Xuanming crossed his arms and spoke slowly. "We need to verify the authenticity of your faces. Do you agree?"
Suspicion had already arisen. If they didn't confirm the identities of this group from District Three, who could still train in the Ancient Vault with peace of mind?
"How do you intend to verify?" Number 8 asked in return.
"I've heard that when Fire-Stealers use Theft of Face, they merely drape the other party's flesh over their own facial skin. If you let me slice open your face and see if there's another face underneath, we'll naturally be able to verify it."
Instantly, all the muzzles turned, aiming at the seven Fire-Stealers.
Seeing this, Number 8's expression changed repeatedly. He was silent for a long time, took a deep breath...
And spoke viciously:
"Do it!!"
Since things had come to this, even if they refused verification, it would be meaningless. Rather than that, they might as well just attack directly and kill this bunch of bothersome Law Enforcers!
The moment these two words were uttered, the faces of the seven Fire-Stealers simultaneously changed, reverting to their original appearances!
Witnessing this scene with their own eyes, everyone was greatly shocked in their hearts. They had almost let these few Fire-Stealers deceive them... At the same time, they pulled their triggers without hesitation!
But the next moment, the guns in their hands vanished out of thin air, and instead appeared in the hands of the seven Fire-Stealers.
"A bunch of kids whose hair hasn't even grown in fully... We've tolerated you for a long time!"
Number 8 spat, and the flashes from the gunshots instantly illuminated the edge of the cliff!
A slaughter raised its curtain.