He had just married a policewoman when he was diagnosed with criminal genius.

After another fierce slash, the vulture did not continue its pursuit, but instead leaped backward, widening the distance between the two.

Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out something, and threw it forcefully at the ground beneath Lu Chen's feet.

That was a smoke bomb.

laugh……

Thick white smoke spread out instantly, enveloping the entire rooftop in a white haze.

Visibility dropped sharply to less than a meter, completely blocking Lu Chen's view.

He immediately stepped back, leaning against the railing at the edge of the rooftop to prevent vultures from attacking from behind.

But the vultures did not take the opportunity to attack.

A vulture's voice echoed from within the smoke, darting left and right, unpredictable: "You know what, Lu Chen? My greatest skill isn't direct confrontation, but hunting in chaos."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold light pierced through the smoke, heading straight for Lu Chen's nape.

Lu Chen almost instinctively dodged to the side, the blade grazing his earlobe and severing a few strands of hair.

He swung his knife in a backhand motion toward the direction from which the cold light was coming, but missed.

The vultures had once again disappeared into the smoke.

This is how vultures fight.

Using smoke to block vision, then relying on hearing and experience to navigate through the smoke, launching a surprise attack from an unexpected angle.

In this environment, Lu Chen's visual advantage was completely stripped away, leaving him only able to defend passively.

Another slash came from the left front, targeting the lower abdomen.

Lu Chenge blocked it, but a second slash followed from the right, cutting his upper arm.

The third cut, the fourth cut, the fifth cut...

One slash after another, like a storm, swept in from the smoke.

New wounds kept appearing on Lu Chen's body. Although none of them were fatal, the accumulated blood loss was gradually weakening his strength.

He needs to break this deadlock.

Lu Chen closed his eyes.

Since vision is no longer useful, let's just give it up.

He held his breath and focused all his attention on hearing and touch.

The changing sound of the wind, the friction of footsteps against the ground, the subtle whistling of a blade cutting through the air, even the rhythm of a vulture's breathing...

All the information came together, constructing a dynamic picture in his mind.

Then he heard it.

Three steps to the left, there was an extremely faint sound of fabric rubbing together.

That was the sound of the vulture's clothes brushing against its waist as it turned around.

It's now!

Lu Chen suddenly opened his eyes and lunged forward to the left like a cheetah, thrusting his dagger straight in that direction!

Ding! !

Blades clashed, sparks flashing and disappearing in the smoke.

A hint of surprise flashed in the vulture's eyes.

He hadn't expected Lu Chen to be able to accurately pinpoint his location under these conditions.

But he had no time to be surprised, because Lu Chen's offensive had already begun like a tidal wave.

The dagger in Lu Chen's hand transformed into a streak of light, stabbing, slicing, chopping, picking, wiping, and slashing.

Every movement was clean and efficient, without any unnecessary actions.

His attack speed was almost twice as fast as before, as if he had been suppressing his strength until this moment when he was finally unleashing it.

The vulture was forced to retreat repeatedly, and its knife parry became increasingly difficult.

He suddenly realized something: Lu Chen had been playing the victim all along.

From the very first encounter, Lu Chen appeared to be at a disadvantage, passively defending and struggling to hold on.

This gave the vulture the illusion that it had the upper hand.

But now he realized that Lu Chen had been seducing him all along.

Lure him to lower his guard, lure him to expend his energy, lure him to use those tactics he thinks are brilliant.

Then, at his most confident moment, crush him in one fell swoop.

"You—" Before Vulture could finish speaking, Lu Chen's dagger had already broken through his defenses and was aimed straight at his heart.

The vulture dodged to the side at the last second, and the dagger pierced his left shoulder instead of his heart.

He grunted, swung his right-hand military knife horizontally, forcing Lu Chen back, then staggered back a few steps, clutching the wound on his shoulder that was bleeding profusely.

The smoke gradually dissipated.

The moonlight illuminated the rooftop once more.

The two men were five meters apart, both injured and breathing heavily.

Vulture's left shoulder was pierced, and blood flowed down his arm, pooling into a small dark red puddle on the concrete floor.

His face was pale, but his eyes remained bright, even carrying a strange sense of satisfaction.

"I lost," said the vulture.

When he said this, his tone was as calm as if he were stating a fact, without any resentment or anger.

Lu Chen remained vigilant, the dagger still gripped in his hand: "Do you have any last words?"

The vulture chuckled and shook his head. "Last words? There's nothing to say. I've done a lot in my life, not many good things, but plenty of bad. Having come this far, I have nothing to regret."

He looked down at the wound on his shoulder, then looked up at the moon overhead, and let out a long breath.

"Do you know, Lu Chen? I actually had many opportunities to kill you."

"I can arrange for snipers on your way here," Vulture said.

"I can detonate the explosives remotely while you dismantle the trap."

"Even in the battle just now, I could have mixed poison gas into the smoke grenades."

"I have countless opportunities to kill you in a more 'efficient' way."

"But you chose to fight head-on," Lu Chen said.

"Because I'm very curious." The vulture's gaze fell on Lu Chen, carrying a complex emotion.

"I've heard too many legends about you. One person destroyed three of my strongholds, one person chased my men across half of the Xia Kingdom, and one person forced me to flee like a stray dog."

"I've always wanted to know, what kind of person are you really?"

He paused, a somewhat bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth: "Now I know. You truly deserve that title."

Lu Chen remained silent for a moment, then slowly lowered the dagger in his hand.

Upon hearing this, the vulture paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

The laughter aggravated the wound on his shoulder, causing him to cough a few times, but he still laughed heartily.

"To be called a worthy opponent by Lu Chen, I can say that my life has not been in vain," he said.

The laughter gradually subsided.

The vulture leaned against the railing at the edge of the rooftop, slowly slid down, and sat on the ground.

His breathing grew weaker and weaker, his eyes began to glaze over, but the smile still lingered on his lips.

"Lu Chen..." His voice became very soft, almost as if it were being carried away by the night wind.

"Um."

"In the next life... if there's a chance... I hope we can stand on the same side."

Lu Chen remained silent.

The vulture slowly lowered its head and closed its eyes.

The night wind continued to blow across the rooftop, dispersing the last wisps of smoke and drying the bloodstains on the ground.

Lu Chen stood there, silent for a long time.

He then bent down to pick up the military knife that the vulture had dropped on the ground, glanced at the vulture sitting there as if it were just asleep, and turned to walk towards the stairwell.

Behind him, the moonlight quietly illuminated the rooftop, shining on the man who had once been a powerful figure but ultimately met his end in this unknown corner.

The vulture is dead.

He didn't die on the battlefield amidst gunfire, nor in a meticulously planned conspiracy, but in a fair and square duel.

Perhaps this is the ending he wanted.