Blood splattered.
The leading thug bellowed angrily, "You little—"
Wu Xiaode paid him no heed, kicking another young man who lunged at him so hard that he tumbled away.
Seeing Wu's adept martial skills, the head honcho pulled out a fruit knife from his pocket and said viciously,
"Schoolboy, instead of studying properly, you dare to brawl in the streets?"
The moment Wu Xiaode saw the fruit knife, he felt as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his head.
It was you.
So you were the one who stabbed me from behind!
Those who normally fight on the streets know the rules well, and they understand one truth—
Win a fight, go to jail; lose a fight, end up in the hospital.
Therefore, people usually don't aim to kill, but engage in a few rounds of fighting, exchange threats, and then conclude the dispute.
Wu Xiaode had been fighting for years and was well aware of this principle, and he would avoid fighting if at all possible.
If he really had to fight, it was nothing serious—just a bit of shirt-pulling, pushing and shoving, grappling each other's arms, and making a scene, for fear of any real trouble.
—Because if you did cause a serious injury, neither paying compensation nor going to jail was worth it.
What else could you do?
The police would arrive very quickly after all.
So Wu assumed it would be just another fight to help his neighbor's sister out, no big deal.
Unless it could be fatal, people usually wouldn't use knives.
But now that the other side had revealed a knife—
Without saying a word, Wu Xiaode turned and ran.
"Stop right there!"
"You rotten kid!"
The thugs chased after him, shouting fiercely.
Wu Xiaode just kept his head down and ran straight into a barbecue stand, grabbed a meat cleaver from the kitchen cutting board, snatched up a fish cutting knife from a fish basin, and turned around—
"You want to die?"
He asked the thugs who followed him in, his voice soft.
The thugs had chased him in furiously, only to find that the kid wasn't actually running away.
He was there to grab equipment!
For a moment, the thugs all froze.
Wu Xiaode didn't care about that, he lifted the knife and hacked at the thugs.
A bunch of trash!
It was you guys who caused me to encounter that horrific incident!
You want to die, do you?
Come on!
All of you, die!!!
The meat cleaver swooshed past one thug, slicing a long gash in his jacket.
Wu Xiaode stepped forward and held the fish cutting knife straight out, his cold gaze aimed at the man's belly.
In such a tight spot, if he really stabbed with that knife, it wouldn't be a fish he'd be slicing.
"This kid's for real!"
"He's a murderer!"
The thugs turned and ran for the exit.
Wu Xiaode chased after them, shouting, "A bunch of trash, have the guts not to run!"
The thugs scattered.
Only the one holding the fruit knife moved towards him step by step.
"Help! Someone call the police!" a woman screamed.
"Don't fight!"
"Murder!"
People around them shouted one after another.
Even the thugs were getting nervous.
"Schoolboy, you're asking for death," the lead thug said with a cold laugh, holding the fruit knife and stabbing towards Wu Xiaode.
Wu Xiaode didn't even glance at the fruit knife in his hand, meeting his assailant head-on, switching to the meat cleaver and viciously stabbing towards the other's chest.
The lead thug couldn't complete his stab.
—The blade of the fruit knife was only about 8 centimeters long, while the blade of the meat cleaver was a full 20 centimeters or more.
Before he could stab the student, the student was able to stab him straight through!
The gang leader, seeing that things were not going his way, suddenly leaped to the side.
He created some distance and, wielding the knife, cursed:
"You son of a—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Wu Xiaode stabbed the air, but the Fish Cutting Knife in his other hand had already retracted a little and was now closing the gap towards him.
Seeing the Fish Cutting Knife hidden behind him, gathering strength in his hand, raised in the wind, his bloodshot eyes stared at his own neck.
This knife was aimed to chop a head off.
The gang leader couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine and took a few steps back.
Wu Xiaode didn't care whether he advanced or retreated and yelled fiercely:
"Come on, let's die together!"
Before he could finish speaking, he charged forward with two knives in hand, not caring that he knocked over several tables along the way, his knife always aloft, just waiting to chop down when he reached the hooligans.
——This kid really intends to kill.
For a moment, this thought crossed the minds of all the gang members.
Although the thugs were fierce, having fought on the streets for years, they understood one thing clearly—
Sometimes the younger ones are the most dangerous in a fight.
Because they don't think about the consequences.
Facing such a brash youth, even the police daren't approach carelessly, only waiting for them to come back to their senses, to be taken to court if they must or executed if need be.
"Damn it, he's a maniac!"
The gang leader put away his fruit knife and turned to sprint towards the alleyway's exit.
Seeing this, the other hoodlums immediately followed.
Wu Xiaode chased them until the mouth of the alley, realizing he couldn't catch up, he finally stopped, panting and sheathing the two knives before turning back.
The neighbor sister stood in the middle of the road, looking at him with a complex expression.
"Little Wu," she called out.
"As long as they dare to bother you again, I'll definitely chop them up," Wu Xiaode gestured to the neighbor sister not to worry.
The neighbor sister grabbed him and walked to the side of the road, whispering, "You didn't have to do that, it was too dangerous earlier."
Dangerous!
The dangers I've been through are far more terrifying than this.
Seven days later—
Wu Xiaode shook his head, ceasing his train of thought, and felt he had to clear things up, so he began:
"Sister, we've grown up together since we were kids, there's no need for all of this."
Xia Huilan shook her head, "Too dangerous."
"What, you want me to watch someone bully you?" Wu Xiaode adjusted his expression and grinned.
Xia Huilan was in her twenties, while Wu Xiaode was only seventeen, so Xia Huilan patted his head, "Next time, I'll be more careful."
"Right, you must learn to protect yourself," Wu Xiaode said earnestly.
Xia Huilan looked at him, her gaze softening.
Without any prior indication—
A phantom lamp suddenly emerged in the Void.
The moment the lamp appeared, it burst with a "clang" noise, then quickly transformed into a blazing starburst.
Everyone around, including Xia Huilan, saw none of this phenomenon.
Wu Xiaode, however, was taken aback.
Isn't this the power of the Book of the Dead?
What is it doing popping up now?
As he was pondering, he saw the starburst swiftly scatter into countless points of light, merging into the Book of the Dead.
The pages turned automatically, revealing lines of text that exuded a chilling aura:
"Congratulations!"
"You have gained Xia Huilan's acknowledgment and admiration."
"Current approval level: Two stars (the limit for ordinary people)."
"The book has resonated with Xia Huilan and will randomly extract something valuable from her."
"Xia Huilan is just an ordinary person; her most precious assets are her knowledge and skills."
"Knowledge extracted:"
"92025-type High-level humanoid combat machine curved bearing design pattern · Modified."
"Prerequisite basic knowledge and related knowledge have merged into your mind, becoming part of your personal memory."