Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Could It Be Possible—You're Not a Player!

Everything happened in less than a second. From a time perspective, there’s no one in this world who could believe that the double curve of that bullet just now was actually calculated.

But at that moment, in the central plaza, the loudest gunfire... stopped.

Reno’s continuous barrage of gunfire came to a halt.

Everyone froze. After all, the sudden disappearance of what sounded like a full-scale battle was... just off.

The Shark Fin skidded across the ground, as if it had noticed something, suddenly leaping out of the earth and staring at Reno.

It felt like the battle had hit pause for a split second. All eyes turned to Reno.

His body armor—nearly full coverage.

From the front, there weren’t any visible blind spots at all.

Only the junction between helmet and torso, where two plates of metal overlapped—there was the tiniest of gaps.

Reno's mental state was unstable. Using his powers too intensely always wrecked his mind, but now... he was getting dizzy.

He reached up and touched his neck.

It was covered in blood!

“Impossible!”

The weakness radiating from his body and the blood on his hand instantly snapped him back to clarity.

How the h*ll did I get injured?

Who did this?!

No time to think. That spot was way too dangerous—anyone would guess the carotid artery.

A shot to the carotid? That’s game over.

In an instant, he made the most critical decision: disengage the armor at his neck. The armor on his fingers shifted into spikes.

He shoved a hand into his own neck, tearing through flesh, and yanked the bullet out.

At the same time, his other hand grabbed a bottle of Advanced Healing Potion and chugged it down.

Survival first!

This was the weakest moment for him—but no one around attacked, caught off guard in that lightning-flash moment.

Except Xie Antong saw it.

Watching Reno in his weakened state, she lifted her gun again.

But her hand trembled. After a few shakes, her arm drooped, limp, and even her body wobbled.

This ability was just too f***ing bugged. For a girl who had never fired a gun before to calculate bullet collisions, kinetic decay, and angle shifts—

It had drained nearly all of her stamina. But the effect? Oh, it worked beautifully.

“Hehe, come on, come on~”

“Feeling good?”

“Regret it? Feeling happy? Wanna come over?”

“Wire transfer slip, lighter, Michelin...”

Also, for some reason, those whispers kept echoing in her ear—growing louder, more meaningless.

She really wanted to lie down. But her survival instincts wouldn’t allow it. Rationally, she knew this was one dangerous battlefield.

That strange whispering by her ear... she’d noticed it from the first time she used the All-Seeing Eye.

Every time it ended, a wave of depression would follow. And then a voice would echo in her mind: “You’re useless.” “You’re garbage.” “You’re disgusting.” “No one could ever like you.”

She always thought it was just her own “self-talk,” her inner negativity.

But after the last time—after she faced “Sin,” overdosed on meds—she realized something was off.

That voice was... too real! Like someone was actually whispering in her ear!

She should’ve felt afraid. But the crushing despair and self-loathing drowned out the fear. Looking back later, she began to question—was it a hallucination?

But now, as the potion kicked in, those voices returned again.

Only this time, the voice was cheerful. Unlike that depressed tone from before. But she could tell—it was the same person.

“What kind of... side effect is this?”

As that thought flashed through her mind, she cracked a smile, almost deranged.

“Hehe, Twelfth in the World... Twelfth in the World...”

“Did I just nearly kill the Twelfth in the World?!”

Just as she was slipping into manic muttering, her expression froze.

The chaotic whispers faded from her ear. Her mind returned to normal.

Suddenly, she felt like a stranger to herself.

What was I just doing?

I was trying to kill someone?!

And I was thrilled that I almost succeeded?!

Confused, she slowly raised her head, quickly restoring composure, a faint smile returning to her face.

At that moment, Chiyo Eine no longer needed to fight. She simply turned around—and was staring at her.

“Thanks for not kicking me while I was down,” Xie Antong said with a smile.

“You’re welcome...” Chiyo Eine’s expression was complicated. “That just now... was your doing?”

Seeing the complex look on her face, Xie Antong didn’t answer directly. Instead, she tilted her head curiously.

“What are you thinking about?”

Chiyo Eine: !?

As soon as she heard that, she started frantically chanting in her mind again: takoyaki, takoyaki...

The fear of mind-reading crept back in.

“Uh, seriously, you don’t have to worry. I really don’t have mind-reading powers.”

Watching this overly imaginative woman across from her, Xie Antong couldn’t help but find it funny. In the All-Seeing Eye’s amplified brain mode, she was way more laid-back—so she spoke bluntly.

But Chiyo Eine suddenly leapt a huge step backward, shouting in shock:

“Then how did you know I was worrying you had mind-reading?!”

“You said it earlier...”

“But I didn’t say it just now!”

Xie Antong: ......

Why does every high-ranking player feel like they’ve got a few screws loose?

But from Chiyo Eine’s perspective—this woman had teamed up with “Sin” and somehow made the Twelfth in the World lose combat ability.

And just now, in a few seconds, her face had shifted from despair, to excitement, to joy, to calm—then looked up with a smile...

That was 100% a major villain arc!

If she really could read minds...

Takoyaki...

Chiyo Eine gritted her teeth and snapped, “Leave!”

Xie Antong: ?

“Leave now. Honestly, I still have plenty of killer moves I haven’t used yet.”

“Mm, I know.” Xie Antong nodded.

See! She does know! Chiyo Eine thought bitterly.

“Get away from me. Get away from this battlefield. Go hide out in the Tokyo suburbs and pretend none of this ever happened.”

“Otherwise... I’ll hold nothing back and kill you!”

The words were threatening, but her face was filled with unease.

Xie Antong wordlessly ran her fingers through her hair, giving her a strange look, then paused for a second.

After that last overload... it felt like she’d gotten a little smarter. Some things she hadn’t been able to figure out earlier were clearer now.

“Hey! Do you think there’s a chance—”

“That you’re not a player.”