Chapter 27: The Guests of Artiste

"You're not Artiste."

Lu Yuansheng stared at the Taoist priest, shouting to the other party from afar across the width of a tunnel, and his voice kept echoing in the empty tunnel.

He could probably guess from the other party's words that this was someone from the Church of Doom, but he didn't know where Artist was hiding.

"I don't know what the layman is talking about."

The Taoist priest took a few steps forward, but did not step out of the narrow corridor.

Lu Yuansheng silently entered the still world, and the other party's initiative to expose it undoubtedly gave him a chance to explore the other party first.

This Taoist priest was wearing a simple Taoist robe, looking a little thin, with a straightened branch stuck in his bun, a bell in his hand, and a cloth bag with a pattern of Qiankun gossip on his back, which should be full of things, looking heavy.

And the shadow he cared about the most was hiding somewhere, which made him afraid to fight in this narrow corridor.

Unable to see why, he returned to his original position, and at the same time picked up a small stone in his hand and hid it in the palm of his hand. The high-speed metal blades are also twisted by the virtual shield like bullets, which is not the case with inorganic stones.

"And what are you doing here? Don't say you're here for a tourist. โ€

The world replied, and he shouted again from afar.

He didn't want to make a move on this Doomsday Church, in case the other party was also a self-destructing truck, it would be troublesome.

He needs to find out where Shadow is, and it's best to find a way to inflict heavy damage on the other side before the battle begins, otherwise he'll have to face two enemies at the same time, or even face a new unknown enemy, which is still too risky.

However, after fighting Shadow last time and referring to some of the battle data, as long as the opponent's fighting style does not change much, he is sure to kill him on the spot this time.

"It's just a matter of serendipity. The poor Taoist name is Zhang Daoquan, who is the Taoist priest of Qingyun Temple, the number of the Taoist of Mingxin, and the number of the Tao - a line. โ€

Zhang Daoquan reported to his home first, and he made a polite gesture.

"Is your Doomsday Church very idle? Don't tell me that you're also here to preach, you're a stinky Taoist priest who doesn't go to worship Sanqingxin or the end of the world. โ€

Lu Yuansheng laughed at the other party, and at the same time, he carefully observed the movements around him.

"Don't get in the way, everything has its way."

Zhang Daoquan was unmoved, and continued to say in a very flat tone: "The layman is a judge? I don't know if we can retreat, then we will have nothing to do with each other, so as not to have unnecessary conflicts. โ€

"Oh? Aren't you waiting for me? โ€

Lu Yuansheng was a little surprised, isn't this an ambush? But he didn't dare let his guard down.

"No, no, no."

"Where's Artiste?"

Seeing Lu Yuansheng mention Atiste again, Zhang Daoquan shook his head and said: "Layman, don't be obsessed with delusions, worry about delusions, and worry about your body and mind......"

"Jingle bellโ€”"

The crisp chime of the bell echoed through the tunnel with his words.

"You don't have to talk nonsense to me......."

Lu Yuansheng wanted to say this, but he obviously finished it in his heart, but his mouth did not move.

Not only that, but he could feel all of his body's reactions becoming sluggish.

Wrong!

Stillness โ€“ Stillness โ€“ Stillness โ€“

He frantically urged his ability in his heart, but fortunately, his ability only needed a thought to operate.

And in the black and white static world, two pitch-black shuriken were stagnant in the center of the tunnel, and if he reacted more slowly, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Stimulated by the icy environment, he finally gradually regained control of his body.

By this time he was already in a cold sweat, and he almost got caught in it when he wanted to talk, and he realized that something might not be right with the bell.

But the shuriken that shot out of the shadows also roughly revealed the shadow's location at the same time.

After spending a lot of money on the countdown again, the stone in Lu Yuansheng's hand broke through the air in the real world and smashed into the shadows.

With a bang, the top of the narrow corridor alone collapsed.

Ying hid in the darkness and didn't dare to act rashly, just now she cooperated with Zhang Daoquan to throw out the poisonous secret weapon, and immediately moved a position in the dark.

This accurate judgment also saved her life.

She watched in the darkness as she watched the smoky, gravel-strewn narrow passage before falling silent again.

Then he took a deep breath of the dirty air, sniffed the various information factors in it, and tried to judge the state of the other party in it.

This judge does not seem to be disturbed by Zhang Daoquan's spirit, and can even make a precise counterattack. As for his location information...... All she could feel was the smell of chaos.

Zhang Dao was carrying a virtual shield all over his body, and he occupied the corridor that should have been able to attack from most ranged ranges. But Ying could conclude at this time that the opponent's high-speed long-range attack just now was not distorted, and there was no breath of gunpowder, and this unknown special weapon made her a little jealous.

Zhang Daoquan was not frightened, and did not move in the smoke and dust, but he chanted the family name with some pity.

As a member of the Church of the Last Days, he had no fear of death. In the teachings of the Church of the End times, dying before the end times is a rather fortunate relief.

And Lu Yuansheng had long been hiding far away in the tunnel, not giving the other party any chance to fight back.

"Why are you so angry when you meet?"

After the blasting had calmed down, a new sound rang out from the narrow corridor.

"Give face to the next one, and everyone will be kind to each other."

In the innermost space of the corridor, a small door appeared that was only large enough for one person to pass through, and the light from it barely illuminated this small space, which was a stone cave that had been dug out, and there seemed to be no trace of transformation.

A man dressed in a biochemical suit carried what looked like an old-fashioned kerosene lantern, with a transparent cylindrical overlay on the outside, and two thick silver countertops on top and bottom of it, sandwiched between two diamond cones, their pointed ends facing each other, and the very center of which shone with a faint blue light, but which seemed to have no illuminating effect.

But if you look closely at the position of the faint blue light, you can see that the blue point of light is like a tiny ball of lightning, which has nothing to rely on between the two cones, constantly oscillating up and down slightly, and flashing an electric arc from time to time.

"Down there is Artiste, but it's been a little different recently."

Atiste carried this thing in front of him, stepped over a pile of gravel, and Zhang Daoquan had to make way for him when he saw it.

Fearlessly walked out of the corridor, he stood at the edge of the tunnel, took off his mask, looked left and right and didn't see Lu Yuansheng, so he had to shout: "Mr. Judge, Miss Ying, and a group of Taoist friends, you are all my guests, we might as well show up and talk together." โ€

Lu Yuansheng was unmoved, but just stepped forward to take a sneak peek in the still world.

Artiste's appearance was different from what he had seen on surveillance, and he had changed into a man in his thirties with black hair.

And when he saw what Artiste was in his hand, he couldn't help frowning slightly, and he had a guess in his heart, but he didn't dare to be sure.

In the end, he chose to return to a hidden location in the distance, and as long as the shadow did not appear, he would not show up.

"Ugh." Atiste sighed, turned to the back and shouted, "I remember you came to cooperate with me, that's your attitude?" If that's all there is to it, then forget about the good cooperation. โ€

As his words fell, Zhang Daoquan walked out first, wanting to sing the Taoist honorific title as usual.

"You, without my permission, are not allowed to say half a word, and besides, put away your broken bell."

But Artiste immediately reached out in a forbidden gesture, interrupting his movements.

Zhang Daoquan didn't speak, showing a smile that was neither deep nor shallow, and stood quietly to the side.

The shadow still didn't appear, just a cold voice came out of the shadows: "Why is he here?" โ€

"Because I like it, Mr. Judge is my important guest. Miss Ying can leave if she doesn't like it, anyway, you are not the key to this cooperation. โ€

Atiste raised his left hand holding the ghost lamp and pointed in the direction of the track, while bowing slightly with his right hand on his back to make a Western-style farewell gift.

After a while, Ying also came out of the shadows, but she did not leave, but hid by Zhang Daoquan's side.

"Well, very well, Miss Shadow, as long as your life is not threatened, then please don't do anything special, okay?"

Shadow's eyes rolled to glance at him and what he was holding, and nodded.

Artiste also nodded in satisfaction, and at the same time shouted to the tunnel: "Now, Mr. Judge, can you show up?" โ€

Lu Yuansheng cowardly revealed his figure at the farthest point where he could see them, and for the sake of safety, there was no shame in it.

"Okay, then I'll just say a few words first."

Artiste cleared his throat.

"Thank you all for participating in this feast, today's banquet and performance will not disappoint everyone, and I hope we can work together regardless of each other."

"What do you want to do?" Lu Yuansheng said from afar.

"Don't be so nervous, our purpose is somewhat similar to yours, we all want to save some poor people."

Artiste spread his hands with a sad expression on his face.

"Are you really so anxious to die?"

Listening to the other party's hypocritical tone, Lu Yuansheng's heart had gradually ignited a flame.

Atiste lifted the faint blue light, stretched out his hand and flicked it, and the crisp sound made Zhang Daoquan and Ying on the side a little nervous at the same time.

"Mr. Judge, don't be so angry, in addition, I have to remind you that this is a limited-level high-energy compression thunderstorm bomb that uses Yaojing constraints, called 'Thunder Lantern', which can be as powerful as a small nuclear bomb, and the quality of this product is worth guaranteeing."

He lifted the thunder lantern above the bottom of his head, revealing a very high-tech, or bell-and-whistle hammer motif engraved underneath.

"I know that I can't beat you, so for the sake of my life and everyone's harmony, I set a passive activation condition. That is, when my heartbeat is above or below a certain value, it will automatically explode and everyone will be buried with me.

And this specific value, please allow me to keep it secret in advance. โ€

His white-gloved right hand stretched out an index finger and gently brought it to his lips as a sign of secrecy.

Really......

Lu Yuansheng's eyes focused on the faint blue thunder lamp, he hid so far to guess that this thing was not simple, but he didn't expect that this was really a high-energy weapon that was explicitly restricted by various countries.

"So, Mr. Judge, even if you hide so far away, it won't really work. If this thing exploded deep underground, it was estimated that it could swallow everything in this tunnel, and the surrounding area was not stabilized with high-strength materials, and it might even cause a chain reaction and cause a geological collapse. โ€

Artist put down the thunder lamp and added, "Mr. Judge, believe me, what we are going to do next is also preparing to save that child." โ€

The next moment, Lu Yuansheng's figure appeared not far from them, and his cold gaze swept over the three of them.

"Okay, let me make sure, will the two of them make a move on me?"

Atiste turned his head to look at the two of them, and made a promise for them: "Before nine o'clock tonight, I can guarantee it." โ€

"Let the two of them talk."

Zhang Daoquan glanced at Artiste, still not allowed to speak, just nodded.

Shadow replied, "If it has nothing to do with me, I won't make a move." โ€

"Then let me make sure again, your thunder lantern won't blow up casually, right?"

Atiste carried the thunder lamp and signaled, "Please trust Atlan's technology, it is very safe unless it is activated. โ€

"Okay."

Lu Yuansheng responded, his surroundings turned black and white, he clenched his fists with a smile and walked in front of Artiste.

The waist and horse were united, and the whole body cooperated with the force with the swing of the fist, and smashed it hard at the face door of Atist.

The feeling of the fist smashing into Artiste's face was completely different from when he beat the shadow, and this punch didn't even feel as strong as the previous transformer.

He really couldn't help but be beaten, and was easily knocked to the ground by this sudden punch, and the thunder lamp in his hand also made a few close contacts with the ground, making a few clanging sounds.

After Lu Yuansheng threw a punch, he fled some distance in the still world, and watched the fallen Atiste sway up in a place as safe as possible.

To be honest, he still saved some strength, after all, the thunder lantern flashing with a faint blue light in the other party's hand still made him jealous, and he didn't think it was a lie used to deter them.

"Hehehe, what a cordial greeting gift."

Artiste held his hands on the ground, shook his dazed head, and then covered his chin with his hand and shook it a few times at the same time, and finally spat out a mouthful of bloody spit.

"But, Mr. Judge, have you not eaten? I didn't even knock out a single tooth. โ€

He crawled up, his face bruised and swollen, and he didn't look like a fake face in disguise. Some blood was bleeding from his nose, but he still straightened his yellow biochemical suit like a gentleman, keeping it as graceful and smiling as he could.

And the two people next to them also watched the play coldly and were unmoved.

"It's really not, I'm just waiting for your dinner, it's a little warm-up before dinner."

This is the truth, Lu Yuansheng really hurried over without lunch.

The punch just now, which was not fully exertive, could only vent some of his anger slightly.

He was thinking about how to deal with the hidden danger of that thunder lamp.

"That's really ....... I was flattered. โ€

Artiste kept a graceful smile and didn't seem to mind what had just happened.

"So, Mr. Judge, how is your anger dissipated, I personally suggest hurrying up, I dare not guarantee that the follow-up time will not be in time."

Lu Yuansheng could hear the other party's threat and showed a sneer.

"Hehe, yes, you go ahead."

He wanted to see what they were planning.

In the underground world, if he can't connect to the internal network, he can't receive any communication signals, and he can't transmit any information to the outside world.

He knew deeply that at this time, he could only rely on himself to find a way to stop the other party's conspiracy.

Ying and Zhang Daoquan walked in front, and Atiste separated the two sides in the middle, but the thunder lantern dangling in his hand seemed to remind Lu Yuansheng not to make any small moves all the time.

"Mr. Judge, please go as fast as possible, this emergency passage can only be opened once, and after that, until nine o'clock tonight, the area below will always be in a completely sealed state."

Lu Yuansheng didn't answer, still keeping a certain distance behind Artiste, behind the small door that was one person wide was a staircase that snaked down, I don't know how deep it was.