Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Battle of Wits
"What?" Honglian immediately retorted, "Of course I’m not! Why am I being connected with the Evangelical Association again? Do I have to join an organization?"
"Because you need my help to find someone. Without this requirement, I wouldn’t bring up the Evangelical Association."
"Are they putting that much pressure on the agency now?" Honglian detected the underlying message.
No one responded from the other side.
But judging from their expressions, she knew she wasn’t wrong.
"Alright, I can tell you unequivocally, I’m not one of them. And of course... neither is my friend here."
"I hope so, but I’ll need to conduct a little test. After all, our enemies are infiltrating us relentlessly." Abigail turned to her adjutant, "Reid."
The latter nodded, took out a revolver from his coat, and placed it on the table.
"The test is simple. Both of you will repeat after me. If you don’t lie, the gun won’t fire; if you do, it will. Because I’ll fully load the chamber with bullets."
As he spoke, he opened the cylinder, loading six bullets one after another.
Everyone saw there was no empty space in the chamber.
"Wait, firing a gun here?" Honglian exclaimed, "That will attract the police."
"No problem. If it fires, it means one of us is indeed an Evangelical, and it’s no surprise if this place turns into a battlefield, let alone a few gunshots." Abigail said, "I didn’t tell anyone about this meeting, but it doesn’t mean I can’t call for agency support. The New City branch is just a street away, and the Execution Team can be here in two minutes after receiving a signal."
"I am not an Evangelical." Reid spoke the first sentence, pulling the trigger with the gun pointed at himself.
Click.
The hammer fell, but no bullet was fired.
This was not Russian roulette, the chamber had no empty slots, he was not testing his luck.
"I don’t plan on joining the Evangelical Association in the future either."
Click.
"Regardless of whether I was involved before, I’m no longer affiliated with them."
Click.
"I’ve known Abigail for a long time."
Click.
"By the way... the last sentence Mr. Wanderer doesn’t have to say, since you’ve never met me before." Abigail added.
After pulling the trigger four times, Reid pushed the revolver to Honglian, "Your turn."
"I assumed you replied to me first because you still had some of that old trust." Honglian gave Abigail a disappointed look, then picked up the gun and quickly followed Reid’s process. After triggering four times, she tossed the gun back to Reid, "I’ve finished proving myself, that’s it."
"Wait, your companion..." Reid frowned.
"I said that’s it, didn’t you understand? He’s here with me, I won’t let him take such unnecessary risks." She interrupted, "I don’t want your help either, Abigail, just pretend I never came."
"Are you sure?" Abigail raised her head, "Just comply once, and I can tell you what you want to know. Yes, I know this person, Rodiya."
To her surprise, Honglian replied without hesitation, "Who knows if you’re telling the truth or not? Without trust, our meeting is nothing more than a guessing game. Shixin, let’s go."
"Wait." Chen Xuan grabbed his companion who had already turned away.
He then voluntarily took the gun.
"You..." Honglian’s eyes widened as she watched him aim the gun at Abigail.
Chen Xuan’s lips curled, deliberate in his words, "I am an Evangelical."
Bam!
The muzzle burst into flames, the bullet flew out of the chamber, brushing past the opponent’s cheek, the heat leaving a scorch mark on the black blindfold.
Things changed too quickly, leaving the two across no time to react.
Not until the gunshot echoed did Reid recoil in shock, leaping towards Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan calmly shifted his aim, "I am planning to join the Evangelical Association."
The gun fired again.
This shot aimed straight at the black man’s face.
He was forced to abandon his lunge, tucking and rolling, narrowly avoiding a direct headshot.
"I have substantial ties with the Evangelical Association." The third shot was also aimed at Reid, driving him into a corner.
"I’ve known Abigail for a long time." Chen Xuan turned again to Abigail, the fourth bullet skimmed past the other side of her cheek, tearing the blindfold, revealing a pair of emerald green eyes beneath.
"So, if the gun truly fires upon lies, have I passed the test?" he asked.
Reid’s eyes sparkled with anger and shock, "What... what have you done?"
"Just said it backwards." Chen Xuan tossed the gun back to him, "That should count as proof too, no need to thank me."
The series of gunshots had already alarmed the guests outside.
Screams penetrated the private room’s door.
If they didn’t leave now, the police would arrive.
Honglian glanced at her motionless companion, then pulled him away from the scene quickly.
"What happened just now?" On the way, she couldn’t help but ask, "Did you play some kind of trick?"
"Why does it have to be me playing a trick?" Chen Xuan pouted.
"Uh... because I think they shouldn’t have left such a big loophole in the test. I thought those bullets might have some mystery to them, or Reid could control whether the gun fired."
"If that were the case, wouldn’t the outcome be entirely up to him?" he sighed, "Would you still dare to test yourself then?"
"Even if she doubted me, I didn’t think she’d really shoot me dead, I saw through her already." Honglian said as if it were nothing, "Abigail isn’t that kind of person, I could feel her inner conflict."
"You think you have a telepathic connection with her?" Chen Xuan rolled his eyes, "She set us up the moment she walked in."
"How do you mean?"
Chen Xuan explained the ability he had seen, although he framed it as an idea transmitted to him by Shixin rather than witnessing it himself.
"Trembling Explosive Bullet?" she repeated in astonishment, "That doesn’t sound like a truth-detecting ability."
"That’s the key, then."
This ability’s trigger wasn’t directly related to telling the truth or lies. It was more like a game of chicken, whoever hesitated first lost. Chen Xuan observed that when Reid spoke those sentences, a curse-like ability of the same name also appeared on his body, likely preventing the bullet from firing.
So, when Honglian took the gun, he reapplied the "Curse: Trembling Explosive Bullet" he had removed, activating the Divine Eye Technique as a backup. In case the gun misfired, he’d summon the Thousand Thoughts Sword to deflect the bullet right away.
In a way, her feeling about Abigail was correct.
Because those four shots didn’t fire either.
Lastly, the four shots he fired. He had no curse upon him, and all four shots rang, indicating the revolver Reid had brought was indeed functional.
But what if, without removing Trembling Explosive Bullet, the internal panic set in? Was it really just about making the gun fire?
Chen Xuan didn’t think so.
Abigail clearly knew Honglian’s ability. Firing that shot probably bypassed any teleportation to trigger the curse, though whether it would immediately kill the cursed was another matter.
After hearing this, Honglian hurriedly checked her body, "So, is the curse still on me?"
"Don’t worry, Shixin removed it right after you pulled the trigger."
"Shixin is so approachable after all..." she murmured, "I thought such a mysterious presence, a consciousness of ability, would be as elusive as a deity and indifferent to people."
"Well... it does sometimes act like you said, maybe because its attention isn’t focused on our world," Chen Xuan teased, "It observes numerous worlds at once, and we’re just one of them."
Honglian glanced around, lowering her voice, "Did it tell you about Abigail’s ability?"
"You don’t know?"
"In training, our abilities are kept secret unless voluntarily disclosed," she shook her head, "Of course I didn’t reveal mine to others either."
So it seemed Abigail took advantage of her position at headquarters to learn about Honglian.
"Well... it did tell me," Chen Xuan replied, "About Abigail’s ability."
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