Zhou Zhengde, who was in the witness protection room at the Thirteenth Floor's law enforcement brigade headquarters protecting an "important witness," was baffled when he heard the news a team member rushed in to report.
What did it mean, one person beat up over a dozen people?
The witness protection room was about the size of an ordinary single-person living space, and naturally, Wei Na heard the team member's shouting.
Her complexion was still pale, clearly not yet recovered from the previous shooting incident, she asked quietly, "Was that Mu Liang beaten up by a bunch of thugs?"
"Right now, it's unclear who beat whom, both sides are badly injured, and they even ran through several streets, causing a lot of people to pay attention now."
The team member frowned and glanced at Wei Na before continuing to report to Zhou Zhengde:
"Captain! Some acquaintances of the thugs are in the team, the leading thug is called 'rotten fish,' and he is badly injured. When we arrived, his clothes were all bloody, and he's been sent to the hospital next door for treatment!"
"What happened?"
Zhou Zhengde cleared his throat and said with his hands behind his back:
"Dr. Wei Na, please continue to rest. The testimony you've provided is of great help to our investigation of this illegal weapons case, and we thank you for your cooperation.
"Let's go check out the front!"
Zhou Zhengde turned around and walked away briskly.
Wei Na called out, "Could it be related to the Black Fire Gang? They couldn't find me, so they went after Mu Liang?"
"I hope not."
Zhou Zhengde muttered back, as the witness room's alloy door was shut with a slam.
...
The headquarters of the law enforcement brigade on the Thirteenth Floor was right next to the central corridor.
There was a circular plaza here, with more than a dozen official institutions of the Thirteenth Floor compactly lined up around the perimeter of the circular plaza.
In the center of the plaza was an elevator shaft wrapped in thick concrete walls, with three portals to enter the central corridor's elevator shaft, the permanently open main elevator room entrance faced directly opposite the law enforcement brigade's main gate.
The fortress authorities didn't prohibit the public from using the elevators to move up and down, but using the central corridor required spending 10 general quota credits each time, and the other corridors in four directions and the dozen or so elevators each required only 2 general quota credits to use, making the central corridor a dedicated passage for official personnel.
——Government workers could use fortress public services for free.
——These elevators didn't reach Lower City directly and had complete monitoring and automatic defense systems.
Consequently, the central corridor's garden was considered a 'luxury green belt' that only the 'management class' could enjoy, and ordinary people rarely strolled around here without good reason.
Today was somewhat different, as the circular plaza of the Thirteenth Floor was bustling.
The law enforcement brigade's major operation to apprehend a group of young people fighting and brawling also drew the attention of onlookers.
Helpless, fortress resources were limited, entertainment was banned inside, and fresh amusements were scarce.
Wang Jixuan was sitting on a bench next to the main entrance of the elevator shaft, with two law enforcement officers armed with pistols by his side.
In front of him were a dozen or so thugs crouching with their heads in their hands, most of the thugs were bruised and swollen, their hands bound by belts;
The worst off was the leading thug, who was now lying on a stretcher covered in blood, being carried into the nearby Thirteenth Floor hospital.
Wang Jixuan believed he had shown restraint in his actions, the other party shouldn't bleed to death, and this incident shouldn't trigger the government officers to target him.
From Mu Liang's memories, he learned two new terms—legitimate self-defense, counterattack.
Wang Jixuan was also feeling a bit aggrieved now.
He, of all people!
```
I got lost...
The Divine Movement Spell lasted for only about a dozen breaths. The layout of the passageways was very similar all around, and he ran too fast to distinguish the directions. After running in circles, he plunged headlong into the encirclement of these local thugs.
These thugs turned out to be even more vicious than he had thought. He used the military tactic of "Capture the leader first to capture the followers," seizing that rotten fish, but some of the gang didn't seem threatened at all and charged at him, wielding metal pipes.
If he hadn't used the leader of the thugs as a shield, he likely would have sustained serious injuries himself.
Wuliang, that Heavenly Venerable!
He, so mighty!
Forget it, a good man doesn't dwell on past bravery. After all, he had failed his tribulation, and this was just the initial stage of his comeback.
He would find his Dao Heart again later.
Just then, Captain Zhou, whom Wang Jixuan had met only once, hurried over from the side.
Zhou Zhengde frowned and glared at Wang Jixuan and the thugs on the ground.
"Lock them all up!"
Zhou Zhengde cursed in his robust baritone:
"Good-for-nothings loafing around! Not providing value to the Fortress! And disturbing public order! Our Thirteenth Floor Public Order Enforcement will definitely punish these brawlers severely!"
The surrounding onlookers gave a scattered round of applause.
Zhou Zhengde approached Wang Jixuan, scrutinizing him with a frown, noticing several large bruises on Wang Jixuan's body and that his clothes were tattered, yet he sat there ramrod straight.
Zhou Zhengde inexplicably felt an indescribable sharpness.
"Let's talk inside."
Immediately, an enforcement officer stepped forward to shackle Wang Jixuan.
"No," Zhou Zhengde roared, his eyes wide with anger, "he's the victim! What's with the handcuffs? Want to make the public write complaint letters accusing us of arbitrary law enforcement?"
The officer quickly nodded and changed his approach, instead moving forward to assist Wang Jixuan into the main entrance of the law enforcement office.
Half an hour later.
Zhou Zhengde leaned back in the chair of his single-person office, raising a hand to rub his forehead.
Wang Jixuan sat on the uncomfortably hard metal bench, gazing at the gigantic photo on the wall.
In the photo, Zhou Zhengde, dressed in a crisp light blue uniform, is receiving a medal from an old man.
That must have been a moment of glory for Zhou Zhengde.
"Tsk," Zhou Zhengde ran his fingers through his hair, disrupting his neatly parted haircut, and tossed the statement file onto the table, "Not bad, all those people on you and you didn't get hurt too badly."
"I've secretly practiced free fighting for a few years," Wang Jixuan earnestly said.
"This thing of yours."
Zhou Zhengde picked up the thin metal tube resting in a sterilized tray, its sharpened end stained with blood.
"This could be considered a prohibited weapon.
"But it's no wonder, having been bullied for half a year, you were bound to figure out how to fight back.
"Seeing as we've just helped each other out once, I'll take care of this trouble for you. Some acquaintances of those thugs have also come to plead with me. We won't report this incident this time. Do you think that's okay?"
"That's fine," nodded Wang Jixuan, not demanding too much from these government officers.
```
He had his own way of solving problems.
Zhou Zhengde wondered, "With your skills, why didn't you resist before?"
Testing me?
Wang Jixuan immediately became submissive, sighing, "Once you choose to step back after being bullied, you never get another chance to resist."
"That's true," Zhou Zhengde agreed profoundly, "I've seen too many similar cases. Your self-harming behavior before was also related to this, right? However, this time the trouble is going to be bigger. According to what they've said, it was the Black Fire Gang's big shot who directly found their boss, Rotten Fish—the one you cut on the neck with this metal rod. Luckily, it was just a superficial wound."
Wang Jixuan was puzzled, "Big shot?"
"Big shot generally refers to the top people in a gang."
Zhou Zhengde tapped his fingers on the table:
"You don't know how extensive the Black Fire Gang's influence is. They're one of the Seven Great Gangs in Lower City. Lower City is chaotic, but it also has some... some very precious resources. Each of these gangs has a very complex background.
"What Black Fire Gang does, Wei Na has already told you... organ trafficking."
Wang Jixuan asked, "Don't you stop such things?"
"Of course we forbid it. The law absolutely prohibits it!"
Zhou Zhengde curled his lip and spread his hands:
"Guess how many people who can afford the price for an organ are in this fortress? And what positions do some of these people have?
"As far as I know, several old guys at the Bureau of Public Security are in bed with the Black Fire Gang.
"The Black Fire Gang is nothing more than a black glove."
Wang Jixuan suddenly understood.
So this is the so-called collusion between officials and bandits? He reckoned he had learned something new.
"I actually don't want to get involved."
Zhou Zhengde sighed:
"My life is great right now. I've got a conservative girlfriend, a respectable job, plus about two hundred men I can call on directly.
"But Wei Na... you know, Wei Na is a friend I can't stop worrying about, my best friend.
"The way the Lower City gangs operate is to never give up until their goals are met. Otherwise, they'd feel like they're losing their prestige and their status would be shaken. The investigation into Hua's death has been handed to the higher-ups, and I'm sure it's already on the Black Fire Gang boss's desk.
"Wei Na acted in legitimate self-defense, in every sense of the term.
"However, both you and Wei Na will be targets of their retaliation.
"That Hua was the real younger brother of the Black Fire Gang's big boss, and that's the biggest problem."
Wang Jixuan fell silent in thought.
Boss... that seemed to mean gang leader.
"I can only help you temporarily," Zhou Zhengde sighed, "I'll get you a safe house to stay in for now. When you leave later, try to wear a hat and a mask; if necessary, even put on a helmet. Many people in the security team system have dubious connections with Lower City. I'm just a captain who's been newly transferred here; I can't guarantee your safety for very long. That's all I can do."
Wang Jixuan nodded, looking at the tired-looking captain in front of him, and said, "I owe you a favor."
"Tch! I look forward to you repaying that favor!"
Zhou Zhengde tried not to laugh while saying this:
"I don't have much say around here, either.
"I have another suggestion... although this conflict was in self-defense for you, I could use the incident to charge you with affray and have you stay in a closed detention room for two months..."
"That won't be necessary."
Wang Jixuan shook his head. He didn't like the idea of going to jail and laughed, "I'll go into hiding first. If I can't hide, then we'll talk about not being able to hide."
"Fine, it's up to you."
Zhou Zhengde pulled open a drawer, took out a button-sized alarm device, and threw it to Wang Jixuan.
"Press it three times if you're in danger. It will flash red; that means it's signaling an alarm. I'll send someone immediately."
"Thank you."
Wang Jixuan, out of habit, clasped his hands in thanks.
Zhou Zhengde tilted his head at the gesture, then deciding it might be some sort of quirky trend among young people, didn't pay much attention to it.
The Black Fire Gang had territory, underlings, and a large number of guns in Lower City. No matter how much he warned, it was useless; trying to protect Wei Na had already given him a lot of headaches, and the Black Fire Gang kept pressuring him through various relationships.
Towards this young man, Zhou Zhengde felt he had done all that could be expected of a righteous and benevolent person.
"Owe me a favor?"
Zhou Zhengde smirked dismissively.
"Quite the character."
...
The next day.
Near Central Square, inside the security team's safe house.
Wang Jixuan took off his duckbill cap and mask, both worth 3 General Quotas, and placed two large bags of emergency food on the table.
To be on the safe side, he hadn't gone back to his place to grab clothes, as several groups of hoodlums had already been looking for him in this area.
The thugs on each floor were an extension of the Lower City gang's influence.
The trusted man of Captain Zhou who had brought Wang Jixuan over told him he could stay here for up to two months.
The safe house was no different from an ordinary single room, with the only thing making Wang Jixuan uncomfortable being the presence of a corner camera.
Even though it was broken.
Wang Jixuan quickly took off his shirt and accurately threw it over the camera, then headed to the washstand to thoroughly clean his body, striving to increase his absorption speed of Spiritual Energy as much as possible.
In the mirror, the young man's ribs were visible due to his thinness, and most of the bruises on his body had faded away.
Wang Jixuan took a light breath, then wearing only his underwear, went over to the single bed. His hands moved swiftly to form seals, and he adopted the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture.
Practicing here might be slow, but what mattered was persistence.
'The last time I failed my tribulation, was it because my Red Dust Heart Refining was insufficient?' he wondered.
'So be it.'
'The Black Fire Gang commits misdeeds and harms living beings; it is my duty to act on behalf of Heaven, and protect my cultivation!'
'But first, I must cultivate until I at least reach the Qi Refining Realm.'