Night Journey

Chapter 117 Pale Six Eyes
When the desperate howls reached Cillian's ears, he knew that those unfortunate fellows had been wiped out by the Reverse Falcon.

Cillian was once complacent about his efficient killing, but after encountering the real Reverse Falcon, he realized that the other party was the walking meat grinder.

The falcon flew low overhead without stopping.

Immediately afterwards, numerous figures were sliced ​​to pieces by chain-like blades and pierced by jagged iron feathers, like livestock on an assembly line, almost formulaically shattered into pieces on the ground.

The foul-smelling blood splattered indiscriminately, and shrill screams echoed through the narrow space.

"Haha, is this the true stance of the Reverse Falcon?"

During his escape, Cillian still had the leisure to glance back once or twice.

The reverse falcon remained silent, offering no response; the only possible reply was the whistling sound that tore through the air.

The sound became increasingly high-frequency, sharp, and piercing, like ghosts roaring.

Boiling Sword cleaved through the barrier, rusty metal flying everywhere. After Cirion pierced through yet another dusty iron gate, haphazard pipes, like roots burrowing deep into the earth, intertwined and supported the underground space.

The cast iron and brass pipes are covered with oxidized verdigris and scorch marks from steam. The main pipe, several meters in diameter, is fitted with maintenance hatches with gear locks. Each hatch is equipped with a copper pressure gauge, and the red needle on the dial vibrates slightly on the green painted scale.

Pursued relentlessly by the Falcon, Cillian fled in a panic, completely unaware of his current location.

boom--

The roar of a giant flywheel echoed from the dim depths. Cillian leaped downwards, and the towering condensation tower came into view.

Like a silent giant, it stands in the dim depths, its tower body covered with heat dissipation fins, from which icy condensate drips down, creating tiny silver waves in the water tank below.

"who!"

Exclamations rang out from the suspended iron lattice walkway as the spirit craftsmen maintaining the facility discovered the intruder, Ciri.

A series of source energy reactions rose up, and subtle arcs of electricity surged around the spirit craftsmen. Clear angles were highlighted beneath their robes, and gun barrels emerged, steadily locking onto Ciri.

"Good evening everyone, I'm just passing by, I'll be leaving soon!"

Even in this situation, Cillian still had the leisure to greet the spirit craftsmen.

The figure flashed by and quickly disappeared into the darkness below. Before the spirit craftsmen could identify it and fire, the Reverse Falcon followed closely behind with a howling wind.

Ciri thrust out his Boiling Sword, slashing a huge wound in the iron wall to steady his falling body.

Looking down at the scene below, if he wasn't mistaken, this should be the cooling center of the Lighthouse.

The cooling pool is located at the bottom, with a faint blue phosphorescent glow on the surface. Several spiral copper pipes are submerged at the bottom of the pool, connecting to the heat pipe network of the Lighthouse. Three giant water pumps with brass casings stand by the pool, their pistons reciprocating under the power of the pump, pumping the cooled water into the upward pipes.

The spirit craftsmen sounded the alarm, and a commotion arose overhead.

Along with the sounds of gears meshing and water droplets falling, they also reached Cillian's ears, weaving together to form a symphony of the underworld—the lungs of the city, where rusted machinery and boiling steam sustain the burning of the beacon.

The damp air was filled with a strong smell of rust.

Cillian held his breath and silently slipped into a shadowy corner, hiding in the steel jungle.

Seconds later, the terrifying bird calls drew closer.

"Cuckoo..."

The falcon landed gently on the high ground, its six pale eyes scanning back and forth.

Hiding in a corner, Cillian observed that if the chase continued, he would inevitably be caught. He had to find a way to break free from this predicament.

"Cuckoo..."

The bright six eyes contracted strangely for a moment, and suddenly, the Falcon turned its head to look at the shadow where Cirion was.

This is no coincidence.

The moment he looked at Cillian, a dense barrage of iron feathers came flying at him.

Does it have night vision capabilities?

Ciri leaped out of the shadows, iron feathers landing one after another behind him, piercing through pipes and iron walls, the bursting compressed steam scalding his skin and bringing waves of pain.

The materials provided by Dai Lin included a series of analyses by the City Guard Bureau on the Reverse Falcon.

In his past actions, Reverse Falcon never showed any obvious signs of destiny, simply relying on his powerful strength and tactics, as well as his strange and ever-changing weaponry.

Among them, the most iconic weapon is the six-eyed winged helmet.

Through the analysis of numerous cases, they deduced that the six-eyed winged helmet likely possessed multiple visual functions.

Now Ciri can confirm for the city guards that their deduction is correct.

The six-eyed helmet has night vision capabilities, allowing it to easily see through the darkness and pinpoint its location.

Looking at the helmet I was wearing, besides recording a bunch of bird calls, its only function was to emit flashes of varying intensity.

This function might be useful against some Chaos cultists, but against the Reverse Falcon...

Perhaps he, under the six-eyed winged helmet, would laugh at himself upon seeing his own explosive flash.

Cillian dodged and weaved among the numerous pipes, but was still cornered by the Reverse Falcon. Left with no other choice, he plunged headfirst into the cooling pool.

Reverse Falcon stood above the cooling pool, somewhat surprised that Cillian would do such a thing.

Beneath the churning water, Cillian's body plummeted to the bottom of the pool like a lead weight, the feeling of weightlessness lingering for several seconds.

His gaze fell upon the hazy, shimmering water. Cillian couldn't see it, but he knew the Reverse Falcon was waiting for him above, ready to unleash a furious onslaught if he dared to surface.

"Calm down, Cillian, think of some other ways to retaliate..."

A chill ran through him, almost freezing him, but it also calmed his restless mind.

Soon, a somewhat crazy plan appeared in Cillian's mind.

He didn't think he had a chance to kill the Reverse Falcon, but just being able to repel him and buy himself time to escape would be enough.

"Cuckoo..."

A death-defying bird cry rang out, and the Falcon tilted its head, its six eyes contracting strangely once more.

From the perspective of the reverse falcon, the cooling pool presents a completely different scene.

The cold water presents huge, low-temperature color blocks interwoven with indigo and jet black. Ciri is the only heat source island in this ice field, its orange-red outline resembling a hot iron that has been soaked in water.

Reverse Falcon took out the gun from his waist, a large-caliber weapon that resembled the Jetstream Revolver.

If Bruce were here, he would immediately recognize that this is the Raging Stream Revolver, which was modified and upgraded by the Myriad Machines Academy based on the Jet Stream Revolver.

Pull the trigger.

Amidst the deafening gunfire, amplified by the source energy and propelled by gunpowder, the large-caliber bullet shattered the calm of the water's surface, sending up a trail of bubbling flames.

Gunfire continued, bullet after bullet sank into the water, and the ripples caused the cooling pool to boil.

After emptying all six bullets, the reverse falcon popped open the smoking magazine and began reloading.

As the reverse falcon prepared to fire again, a bloody smell filled the damp air.

Crimson blood spread rapidly in the cooling pool. Cillian had been shot, the bullet hitting his torso and causing massive bleeding.

Reverse Falcon raised his sword, preparing to deliver the final blow to Cirion.

A splash of orange-red flashed in the vision of the six-eyed winged helmet.

From the perspective of thermal imaging, the cold water surrounding Cillian instantly boiled, and a ring of blazing white steam exploded around the outline of his orange-red body.

The water surface was as if a red-hot iron had been thrown in, and countless bubbles burst out from his mouth, nose and pores, turning into a bright yellow fountain.

Cillian was indeed shot, but this was not his death cry, but the clarion call for a counterattack.

A large amount of blood spread into the water, igniting and releasing powerful light and heat.

A very faint white mist-like heat halo rose from the water's surface.

The next moment, a surge of steam rose into the air, impacting the crisscrossing cast iron pipes above. Condensate formed beads on the pipe walls and fell, appearing as discontinuous dark blue dashed lines in the eyes of the Reverse Falcon.

hiss--

A column of scorching steam rose up, a grayish-white plume, while orange-red heat filled the entire space, obscuring everything.

The Falcon couldn't find Cillian, but it heard the rapid climbing sounds and the low hum of a sword piercing an iron wall.

"Damn, they even have thermal imaging?"

Cillian had lost count of how many times he had cursed tonight.

When the Reverse Falcon accurately hit him across the water, he realized that the six-eyed helmet not only had night vision capabilities but also thermal imaging.

These three pairs of pale eyes each possess a visual ability. Ciri has figured out two of them, but it is still unclear what the last pair of eyes can see.

"Ha ha……"

Cillian gasped for breath, clutching his abdomen as blood seeped from his fingertips.

With the enhanced firing of the Raging Revolver, the kinetic energy and speed of the bullets were greatly increased, giving Cirion no chance to dodge or intercept.

Using the steam as cover, Cillian fled upwards, while the humid air gradually became dry and hot.

Deep within the layers of steel, a muffled burning sound emanated, rumbling like the breathing of a giant.

The air grew increasingly hot and dry, as if fire were about to rise out of thin air.

Ciri was getting closer and closer to the array of burning torches, and the surrounding pipes and staircases were becoming denser, like a large metal spider web.

"They really won't give up!"

Cirian unleashed his Boiling Sword, and a suspended ladder snapped in two.

Like a dead iron snake, it crashed down onto the suspended stairs below, collapsing one after another, flying and spinning in the air before falling limply to the ground.

Amidst the continuous collapses, the reverse falcon skillfully navigated through them.

Cillian didn't think this would stop the Falcon's pursuit; it would only slow him down slightly.

The boiling sword turned and pierced through the iron wall on one side, the high temperature melting through layer after layer, until Ciri managed to crawl out of this steel cage.

A cool evening breeze swept over me.

Cirien looked up, the dazzling light was almost within reach.

(End of this chapter)