Despite having known Lu Xiang for so long, it was Song Lan's first time riding in her hovercar.
Normally, their schedules were not compatible, so to avoid the attention of their co-workers, Song Lan always took the subway home.
Lu Xiang contacted the aftermath department and set the destination for the hovercar, which then automatically traveled towards the set destination.
When she first started working in the law enforcement department of the 17th District, the locals referred to it as Chai Ke's territory. The citizens of the 17th District seemed to have reached a consensus—that it was not the United Government who was controlling the city, but an infamous criminal.
Chai Ke and his minions were so brazen that it was shocking, disregarding his bounty of 620,000 watts, appearing openly in public places and the local law enforcers not only did not confront Chai Ke but also ignored cases involving his subordinates.
The shadow of Chai Ke is cast over the hearts of everyone in the 17th District, including the officials and law enforcers.
Therefore, the first thing she did after taking office was to arrest Chai Ke.
Perhaps it was because Chai Ke was used to no one daring to confront him that made their arrest operation very smooth.
After the hovercar had traveled some distance, Lu Xiang broke the silence, "Chai Ke's remnants are numerous and they are hiding in every corner of this city."
"Hmm."
Song Lan concurred. Even though he hadn't figured out where Barna emerged from, according to his roar and the reactions of the citizens, he was likely another tough character.
"I can accompany you to the prosthetic hospital now."
"I was also planning to discuss this with you."
Song Lan hands back the work card to Lu Xiang.
The thug who was chasing him was dead, and everyone had seen Barna die due to a ruptured blood vessel from overdosing, so it wouldn't be long before this became national news given the 17th District journalists' keen senses.
And he was just an office worker who had luckily escaped from the hands of the gangsters.
And the reason why he had been able to stay ahead of Barna was explained reasonably—he was on a bike, and Barna was running, and the latter was also slowed down by his followers, so it made sense that he had narrowly beat Barna in the chase.
After this whole ordeal, his plan to fake a "implants will kill" certificate was shot to hell.
But, the appearance of Barna led Song Lan to realize another possibility.
"You were right about people having their limits. I realized through the transplant list from the third-shift prosthetic hospital that for people like me who are not adept at fighting, having an implanted device doesn't help much when faced with real criminals."
At this point, he emphasized his viewpoint, "Lu Xiang, do you truly believe that a normal person equipped with a knife and a gun could handle Chai Ke's remnants?"
"I can teach you to fight."
"No, your initial thought is wrong. If the goal is to survive, it's not always necessary to defeat your opponent."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'll be biking to and from work in the future. I just looked up the prices of bicycles. The highest-tier model costs only 3499 watts."
Although it's a perfect solution, he could easily afford a bike with his own salary.
Not long ago, Song Lan realized the unlimited potential a bicycle could bring him. What he lacked now was not the ability to escape from the thugs but a reasonable excuse.
For instance, if he outran Barna on his own, people would be suspicious. But once he used the power of a bicycle, everything fell into place.
Especially since he only just managed to beat Barna. If Lu Xiang had not descended from the sky to deliver justice at the critical moment, the outcome of the chase would have been uncertain.
"Choosing the most suitable path for oneself is the most important thing. I suddenly realized that I kind of have a knack for biking."
A knack for biking...
Lu Xiang was astounded; she had never heard of such talent.
Yet, if you insisted on the absence of such a talent, before her arrival, Song Lan had been dealing with Barna for quite some time on a bicycle, which not everyone could do.
If it was just a common thug, it wouldn't be a problem to shake them off.
"..."
At a loss for an argument, Lu Xiang was forced to accept Song Lan's "bicycle talent theory".
"You still have work to do, right? You can drop me off at the bike market."
Song Lan was steadfast.
He was determined. From then on, he would be a bike rider.
If anyone disagreed, they were welcome to challenge him on Mount Akina.
"Okay."
Seeing that Song Lan had made up his mind, Lu Xiang could only change the destination of the hovercar.
....................
Meanwhile, in the South District.
After the news of Chai Ke Group's number one enforcer's death spread, the entire street where the incident took place was surrounded by a crowd.
They watched as the law enforcers who arrived later cleaned up the scene, covering Barna's daunting giant body with a white cloth. Several people labored to lift Barna's body onto the vehicle.
Though they wanted to spit on Barna's corpse, thinking about Chai Ke's many remnants still entrenched in the 17th District, they had to suppress that impulse.
"Lu Xiang..."
A man hidden in the crowd murmured to himself with interest. He had witnessed the entire incident. The fatal injury was dealt by Lu Xiang who leaped from the hovercar, seemingly striking Barna with her elbow due to inertia, but she had actually stabbed a concealed weapon into the blood vessel of Barna's nape.
She had fully exploited the recklessness of Barna, and had planned her every move before striking.
This unique approach...
"What do you guys think?"
"I think we're walking into a trap."
The woman behind the man, dark circles under her eyes from exhaustion, yawned lazily, "I don't want to end up killing each other."
"It all makes sense now. The reason why Chai Ke took those hostages and why Angel-Foster met with him privately—their real target is Lu Xiang."
"Heh, a dirty power struggle."
The woman with the dark circles complained, "I'll investigate her background. But just a heads up, if things start looking bad, I'm bailing. Don't blame me for not warning you all."
"Hey, isn't that a bit unprofessional?"
The muscular man out of the three protested.
The woman with the dark circles playfully blinked at him, feigning innocence, "A woman's sixth sense is very accurate. I don't want to die in such a desolate place. I'd rather die at the beach, surrounded by waves, sand, and flowers."