Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

"Grenade!"

Li Zhaoning's scream exploded in Mi An's mind via telepathic communication.

"Run! Take Carol with you and get out the door!!"

The pungent smell of sulfur and gunpowder instantly filled my nostrils, and the shadow of death loomed over the entire small room.

Mian was confident that his unseen divine armor could withstand the explosion. But not every superhuman could withstand the close-range burst of modern weaponry, especially since there was a completely mortal person present—Carol.

Mian's body moved faster than his mind. At the same instant Li Zhaoning gave the warning, he had already used his ability, shooting tentacles out from his sleeves like the strongest ropes, instantly wrapping around Carol's waist and violently pulling her away from the center of the explosion.

"Ain, keep up!"

Mian roared in the telepathic connection, while holding Carol and slamming her with all her might against the door that had just been pushed open by the "police" and was not yet fully closed.

boom!

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted behind them. The violent shockwave, like an invisible giant hammer, slammed into Mian's back, sending him and Carol flying.

A scorching wave of heat, carrying wood chips, glass shards, and acrid smoke, instantly engulfed the narrow corridor at the entrance. The world was left with only blinding flames, deafening roars, and suffocating heat.

Mian felt a sharp pain in his back. The light of the holy armor flickered violently under the impact, offsetting the fatal injury, but some indescribable power still made his blood surge.

Clearly, that grenade was not simply a modern weapon, but rather incorporated some extraordinary elements.

He held Carol tightly in his arms, and the two tumbled and fell onto the cold, dirty floor of the corridor.

"My lord!"

Ain's small figure rushed out of the dust and smoke, covered in ash, and holding the bird in her arms. Clearly, the little knight had also taken a great risk to rescue his familiar friend.

Li Zhaoning followed closely behind, her cloak transforming into threads that wove into a shield, protecting the little knight from the remaining impact.

"Damn it, it wasn't just those two cops lying in wait. There was another guy."

Li Zhaoning couldn't help but curse.

Behind her, Carroll's small apartment was engulfed in flames, thick smoke billowing and flames shooting into the sky. Screams from neighbors and passersby filled the air. The explosion had thrown the surrounding area into complete chaos.

"Hurry up!"

Li Zhaoning called out to the crowd, but his eyes were scanning the surroundings, planning an escape route.

However, at this crucial juncture, Mian suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He saw the street and buildings across the street, but only a few familiar white lights flashed faintly in the darkness.

"Shooting!"

Mian gave a loud reminder.

Li Zhaoning reacted almost immediately.

A sturdy shield, woven from countless silver-white threads, unfolded like a spiderweb, instantly spreading between the gun barrels and the crowd.

Then came a barrage of bullets, raining down from the muzzles of guns hidden in the shadows, striking the silken shield with a series of sharp, piercing sounds.

The shield fluctuated violently, and the threads groaned under the strain, but it ultimately bought Mian and the others a precious chance to catch their breath.

Ayn kicked open the door to the next room, and Mian covered Carol as they rushed in. With the wall as cover, they felt a little safer, but when Mian turned around, she found that Li Zhaoning was still standing in the same spot, motionless.

Unfurling such a massive silken shield seemed to have finally reached the limit of Li Zhaoning's abilities. Maintaining the shield alone had exhausted all her energy, leaving her unable to move even an inch further.

But in order to cover the retreat of Mi An and the others, Li Zhaoning gritted his teeth and persevered.

She is a "skin transmigrator," and although she is merely a human imitator, her physical body is far stronger than that of an ordinary person.

If someone has to bear the brunt of the gunfire, then it should be her, and it must be her.

The power and rate of fire of a rifle far surpassed that of a pistol. Under the coordinated attack of several rifles, the shield woven from silk threads finally shattered. A dense hail of bullets hurtled straight toward Li Zhaoning's face.

If she had cast a spell in time, she might have been able to dodge, but now that the previous spell had just been broken, Li Zhaoning no longer had the ability to avoid these bullets.

Faced with the overwhelming barrage of bullets, Li Zhaoning prepared to close his eyes and withstand the onslaught.

However, at that moment, Mi An rushed forward and stood in front of Li Zhaoning, and to Li Zhaoning's surprise, she pressed her down.

The bullets whizzed past her ears, striking the corridor walls and iron door frames with a crisp, shattering sound.

Even with the body of a superhuman, facing this density of gunfire, Li Zhaoning's condition would definitely not be much better than that of the wall and door frame.

But at that moment, the man stood in front of her, taking all the bullets for her.

She knew the man before her possessed some kind of magical ability that allowed him to withstand considerable attacks. But this endurance had its limits, and under the barrage of attacks, Li Zhaoning, skilled at observing and mimicking humans, could easily detect the marks of pain emanating from the man's muscles.

Even so, the man in front of him just gritted his teeth and remained silent, showing no sign of dodging or fear.

Seeing this, Li Zhaoning gritted her teeth, revealing two canine fangs. Then, the silk threads on her body scattered and hooked onto the iron railing of the balcony of the room behind her. She then grabbed Mi An, who was protecting her, and slid with him to a room with cover.

"Idiot, you say you know your limits?"

Li Zhaoning looked at Mi An and raised his eyebrows as he spoke.

In response, Mian simply released Li Zhaoning, leaned against the cover, rubbed his back which was riddled with bullet wounds, and said succinctly:

"In this situation, you are more useful than me."

This was Mian's honest opinion. In this complex urban warfare environment, compared to himself, who had lost his sword and could neither cast any spells nor deal much damage, he was far more useful.

He was just telling the truth, but little did he know that this very truth would give the cunning girl in front of him a perfect opportunity to prove himself.

"snort."

A rare look of embarrassment and annoyance appeared on Li Zhaoning's face.

"You're the sharpest-tongued one."

Having said that, Li Zhaoning once again focused on observing the battlefield. She cautiously glanced outside the door and immediately discerned the attackers' situation.

"They are mercenaries, nine in total, well-equipped and highly trained."

Mian, panting, scanned sharply towards the source of the gunfire. Just as Li Zhaoning had said, figures dressed in dark combat uniforms and wielding automatic rifles appeared in the windows of the low-rise buildings across the street, on the rusted fire escape stairs, and even on the roof of a nearby building. Their movements were professional and ruthless, their firepower overlapping and suppressing the enemy.

"Damn it, I didn't detect them before. They probably have some kind of 'moth' technique."

As a seasoned superhuman, Li Zhaoning made this judgment. This was certainly not good news, since Ryan, who was theoretically specializing in attacking "Moths," was still asleep in Mian's consciousness space.

However, misfortunes never come singly.

"Boom!"

A deafening crash came from the still-burning Carol's room, from which they had just fled! Burning debris and fragments of the walls were smashed open from the inside by a brute force!

Two figures slowly rose amidst the flames and thick smoke.

It was those two "police officers".

Their police uniforms were mostly destroyed by the explosion and fire, revealing their charred, burn-scarred skin underneath.

But what's chilling is that beneath these charred skins, dark red, serpentine patterns, like those of a living creature, are slowly writhing and emerging, emanating a nauseating and sinister aura.

The short, stout man looked down at the burnt remains of the body camera on his chest and let out a hoarse, unpleasant laugh, like a broken bellows.

"The body camera is destroyed, do you know what that means, Bob?"

The taller one nodded silently, stretched his neck, and his bones cracked.

The short, stout policeman's smile turned ferocious and cruel.

"That means... what we do next won't be recorded in that damn file."

He licked his charred lips.

The tall policeman nodded heavily again, letting out a beast-like growl.

"Kill them all!"

The short, stout policeman suddenly roared.

As soon as he finished speaking, the tall policeman roared like an enraged bull, smashing through the wall and charging towards the crowd.