"Where did he run off to?" Lin Fei puzzled as she searched her surroundings. She only saw Xie Shishi's black backpack stuffed into a trash can by the roadside.
Approaching the trash can, she happened to see a short figure dash into another alley on the left. Lin Fei hurriedly followed.
In both her past and current life, she had never engaged in tracking someone, so she found the experience somewhat exciting and amusing.
Following the short middle-aged man through several circles, she finally arrived in a row of somewhat dilapidated streets.
Two gray dogs chased and frolicked in the street while the passers-by, mostly men, moved with hesitant steps. A thick perfume scent permeated the air.
"Is this the red-light district?" Lin Fei was a bit speechless. She estimated the time in her mind; it had been over ten minutes since she started following the man.
Watching as the short figure entered a store with red lights even in broad daylight, Lin Fei glanced at the shop sign: "Bi Yun Hair Art."
"Bi Yun, Bi Yun, avoiding pregnancy bar…" Lin Fei was utterly speechless and carefully retreated into the alley.
"Now, should I confront him directly, or should I call the police? Calling the police seems like a smart choice, but it might be too late now."
Lin Fei made a slight jump to the left.
"Hiss!" A sharp fruit knife swished narrowly past her, having stabbed from behind and missed her.
The attacker's strike missed, and he quickly retracted his hand holding the fruit knife. At the same time, a burly man with a big beard stepped out from behind Lin Fei, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Lin Fei now could see the face of her assailant clearly.
A young man with a somewhat pale face and bluish rings under his eyes wore a yellow short-sleeved T-shirt. He had a silver skull necklace around his neck, dyed blonde hair, and held the fruit knife as he sneered at Lin Fei.
"Come with us nicely! You've followed me for so long, did you think I'm an idiot?" the short man suddenly burst out from another direction, his face filled with a cold smile.
Lin Fei was now surrounded by the other party, two of whom were holding fruit knives.
"Don't make a sound, or I'll take your life!"
Lin Fei quickly thought, "This is a good chance to follow them to their hideout."
Three people surrounded her, two of them armed with knives, but with her combat experience, just being a bit careful and catching them off guard, she could quickly handle them.
However, she seldom encountered such thrilling scenarios, and she still didn't know Xie Shishi's whereabouts.
"Ah!" Suddenly, a crisp and pleasant scream came from around the corner.
"Who!" The bearded man whispered sharply but didn't move. The other two were the same.
A redhead young man emerged from the corner, holding a small fruit knife against a girl's throat, his arm tightly locking her body to inhibit her movements.
Lin Fei's headache intensified.
This girl was none other than Xu Ke.
"It looks like I need to pick up some reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance skills," Lin Fei thought as she sensed that things were getting complicated. Xu Ke's influential background was undeniable, but knowing her background could have dire consequences at this moment.
These were typical desperados. They could easily escalate threats into kidnapping and murder.
Xu Ke, pressed by the fruit knife, had a pallid face, lacking her usual arrogance. She trembled all over, daring not to move, clearly terrified.
"Boss, this chick was just trailing behind and looking this way, so I caught her," said the redhead with a smirk.
"Please! Don't... don't kill me... my family…" Xu Ke's voice trembled, thick with tears that spun uncontrollably in her eyes.
"Wait."
Just as she was about to spill everything, Lin Fei had to interrupt. He gave the bearded man a calm smile.
"You're the boss, right?"
A subtle surge of energy began to emanate from within Lin Fei, slowly gathering in her eyes as she secretly activated the Visualization Technique she had been cultivating. A sudden chill shot from her eyes straight into the eyes of the bearded man.
"I... thump!" Caught off guard, the bearded man suddenly groaned and was instantly knocked down, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed.
"Big brother!" The others changed their expressions and started to advance.
A strong man with a crew cut suddenly lunged from behind the bearded man, hissing as he flicked a silver knife, stabbing fiercely into the redhead threatening Xu Ke.
The redhead immediately screamed as he released Xu Ke, the fruit knife clanging onto the floor, his palm gushing blood and thoroughly pierced.
The burly man rolled forward, rushed to the short man, and swung his elbow fiercely into the short man's abdomen. The latter immediately rolled his eyes back, screamed, and fell backwards.
Lin Fei was shocked to see the burly man subdue three thugs in just a few moves. He totally hadn't anticipated this turn of events. Originally, he had been prepared to take action himself. Now, it seemed there was no need for that.
The last thug, with a pale face covered in cold sweat, clutched a fruit knife and watched as the burly man quickly took down the boss and the red-haired man among others. Everything happened in a matter of seconds, and the situation had reversed abruptly.
"Ah!" he yelled, charging at the burly man with the knife aimed for a stab. The burly man turned and kicked straight. Following a dull thud, the blonde-haired thug was harshly kicked against the alley wall, his eyes rolling back as blood faintly streamed from his mouth and nose—it looked like he had severe internal injuries.
"Keke!" After dealing with the thugs, the burly man quickly walked over to Xu Ke, who was now completely limp. Seeing the burly man coming, she couldn't help but burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.
"Uncle Wei! Wuu...."
"There, there, don't cry. I came over as soon as I got your call. I'm glad I made it in time."
Lin Fei stood to the side, observing this burly man.
He wore army green camo pants and a black tight tank top that showcased his muscular, bronzed physique. A thin, long scar on the left side of his neck made him look particularly ferocious.
This man must be an acquaintance of Xu Ke. Uncle Wei? His surname is Wei?
Lin Fei evaluated the man's movements from earlier. His actions were decisive and brutal but extremely precise. This Uncle Wei clearly had great confidence in his abilities.
Earlier, when Xu Ke was being threatened with a knife by the red-haired thug, he dared to directly throw a knife that pierced through the red-haired thug's knife-holding palm. Clearly, he was absolutely certain he wouldn't accidentally hurt Xu Ke underneath the knife.
This level of skill was likely honed in the military, teaching combat skills that if compared to his past self, would be slightly superior.
But for his current self, facing this man, he believed he could win, but it would come at a severe cost. Military combat technique was always either fatal or crippling with excessively ruthless strikes; even if he was somewhat stronger, he would still have to pay a considerable price to win. This was fundamentally a difference in style.
"Sir, these people have also kidnapped another girl. Could I please ask for your help in rescuing her?" Lin Fei said, as he saw Xu Ke sobbing and burying her head in the Wei-surnamed man's arms for quite some time. Concerned about Xie Shishi being delayed there too long, he decided to speak directly about the purpose of his visit.
"Another one?" The burly man's expression darkened, a natural aura of dominance emanating from him. "Do you know where?"
Lin Fei shook his head, "That's what I am here for." However, he pointed at the two moaning injured men on the ground. "They definitely know."
In Uncle Wei's arms, Xu Ke's pale face looked up at Lin Fei, her eyes slightly shining.
*******
Xie Shishi indeed had been kidnapped, but when the three found her at Biyun Hair Salon, she had already been tied up in a secret room for a while. There was also an accomplice in the hair salon who was immediately knocked down by the burly man. The incident ended successfully.
Xie Shishi tearfully bowed to thank them repeatedly. Seeing the girl's frightened expression, Lin Fei understood that the transfer from school would definitely not change. However, the sexual assault case involving a female student that made the newspapers would likely not hear any follow-up anymore.
On the way back, Uncle Wei severely scolded Lin Fei. In his view, getting involved in such dangerous incidents without any self-defense capability was either courting death or a rash impulse of youth.
It was apparent that Uncle Wei was a good-hearted man. Lin Fei also learned the reason he came here.
Little Xu Ke had followed Lin Fei secretly, and after noticing him trailing the short man, she recalled the early warnings from the class teacher in the school. Realizing that something might have gone wrong, she made a preemptive call to Uncle Wei, who lived nearby, just in case.
All four members of the kidnap gang were escorted into police cars by the swiftly arriving police, and those severely injured were taken by ambulances for emergency medical care.
By the time everything was sorted out and they returned home, it was almost seven o'clock. The sky had already grown dim.
"Click." Lin Fei gently opened the anti-theft door of the house. The living room light was on, and the classic news broadcast music was playing, already halfway through its routine.
Walking into the living room, he changed his shoes and placed his backpack on the small table near the door.
His sister Lin You was sitting on the sofa, tending to her freshly washed, damp hair, wearing denim shorts that revealed her pale, long legs. She leaned on the sofa, her plentiful bust pressed into an enticing curve.
Seeing Lin Fei return, Lin You glanced over then turned her body slightly with total indifference, not bothering to greet him.
Since his rebirth, Lin Fei increasingly felt like the old version of himself was just like a tragic side character in a young girl's fantasy novel featuring his sister Lin You as the protagonist. His existence seemed merely to spur the protagonist's morale or to fill in some scenes, just adding background.
Imagine, an ordinary high school girl suddenly awakens psychic powers one day, then gets involved in a series of events that pull her into a mysterious world, starting a new grand adventure...
Isn't that exactly the typical plot of a girl's fantasy novel?
Being her brother, he was far less dazzling than Lin You in every aspect, almost without any presence.
"Mom and Dad are eating at the store, they told us to fend for ourselves," Lin You said calmly. "I've already eaten."
Lin Fei nodded, closed the door, went to the kitchen, and found some cold rice in the rice cooker. He quickly made an egg fried rice to sort out his meal.
Then he immediately returned to his bedroom and began his routine visualization and cultivation. He didn't know how strong psychics could be, but he was certain that rapidly enhancing his own abilities was the right move.
Only by quietly accumulating strength before his sister got involved in the psychic world could he possibly avoid repeating the misfortunes of his previous life.