Wang Jixuan looked at the two Black Fire Gang assassins lying on the ground, and felt a cold sweat break out on his back.
Was the hidden weapon that powerful!?
He looked up alertly, spotting the security cameras turning in the corners.
Wang Jixuan had already figured out that these cameras were controlled by the security team of this layer and could monitor the situation in different places.
Wang Jixuan quickly stepped forward, deftly picked up a handgun, and retrieved the large bag of food he had just thrown out.
The two strong men didn't die peacefully.
One had a folding knife stuck in his forehead, while the throat of the other was deeply embedded with a sharp tile, the somewhat blackened blood already beginning to soak into the metallic floor.
A group of young girls who had come together at a nearby corner were so frightened they collapsed on the ground.
With the security team watching this place, Wang Jixuan didn't dare stay long.
He figured out the direction and hurried to the passage leading to the safe house, stuffing the handgun, which had barely been fired, into his pocket. Just as he was about to enter the passageway, he suddenly turned and dashed the other way, quickly disappearing from the camera's field.
The round hall garden was left with only the chaotic cries of the girls.
About five minutes later, the sound of rapid footsteps rose up as Zhou Zhengde and a group of security team members rushed in.
Seeing the bodies on the ground, Zhou Zhengde's expression visibly turned even colder.
"Search the entire layer! Drive the Black Fire Gang out! Otherwise, I'm firing you all on the spot!" he commanded.
"Mark Mu Liang as a dangerous individual! He's got a gun! Hurry!"
The security team members became immediately flustered and busy.
Meanwhile, Wang Jixuan stopped running, determined his bearings, and rushed toward the district where Mu Liang used to live.
He wasn't sure whether the so-called self-defense law would cover his actions of killing two men in retaliation.
But he was certain;
He couldn't rest his Daoist heart without going to Lower City to seek out the Black Fire Gang and enact justice!
This was an insult that had reached his very doorstep!
Even Buddha has a touch of anger, let alone a Daoist who wields his sword freely!
As for how to get to Lower City...
There was no information in Mu Liang's memory.
But that didn't matter, Wang Jixuan had long thought of a way to get into Lower City.
The first step: eat fish.
...
"What a bunch of trash! Can't find that Mu Liang after so long looking! Don't you want the Black Fire Gang's reward anymore?" 'rotten fish's' curses echoed through the dark capillary corridor.
A common citizen who was about to leave heard his voice and ducked back into his room, closing the door with utmost silence.
The scolded gangsters stood with their heads down, their expressions a mix of helplessness and disdain.
At the end of the corridor, the alloy doors of two rooms had been removed, turning the place into a fairly spacious workshop.
'rotten fish', real name Lan Yuzai, was only twenty-three years old, yet he already had dozens of idlers as his underlings.
They had their own way of making a living—blood-squeezing.
Blood-squeezing involved targeting the timid and easily bullied to rob them of their General Quota and Food Quota, making them gather food and daily necessities. Once they had enough, they would take secret down passages to Lower City, trading for goods not found in Middle City.
For instance, the 3D projection display that Lan Yuzai regarded as a 'symbol of power'.
The only things stored on the display's memory card were a few movies from before the great catastrophe, which had been played over and over for two years. Yet, each time, the gangsters watched with great enthusiasm.
Lan Yuzai was really frustrated.
Intensely frustrated.
He was wrapped in thick bandages around his neck, a wound he viewed as a disgrace!
He, a notable figure of Thirteenth Floor's local area, was countered by a "Blood Bag," who had directly seized him, using him to threaten his underlings not to approach!
The worst part was that Lan Yuzai froze at first, even shouting to his underlings to keep back.
Fortunately, he soon snapped out of it, realizing it was not good for his prestige as a boss to show fear, so he changed his tune, urging his underlings to press forward and declaring he was not afraid to die.
After this incident, what would other leaders in the area think of him?
What would his underlings think?
Wasn't his standing in this area because he was ruthless and fierce?
It had been twenty days since Mu Liang had disappeared without a trace. Lan Yuzai's desire for revenge was unfulfilled. What's more, some of the fair-weather followers had already switched sides to the neighboring area's 'Super Yellow Hair'!
Moreover, Lan Yuzai had a little scheme in mind.
Word from the Black Fire Gang was that anyone who could find Mu Liang and get him to Lower City would have dinner with the boss of Black Fire, earning the gang's gratitude.
Lan Yuzai wanted to join Black Fire Gang.
He often went to Lower City and was well aware of the chaos there, but the disorder was relative to the common people.
As a member of the Black Fire Gang, even the lowest-level lackey could lord it over others in Lower City. There wasn't a security team to worry about, and every day was filled with endless variety—he could enjoy cinemas, dance floors, spice girls, illegal goods, learn a cool robot dance, or even get an impressive hairstyle.
The best part was, no nagging old woman in Lower City would bother him about coming home for dinner.
The thought brought a smile to Lan Yuzai's lips, but the throbbing pain in his neck quickly shattered the pleasant image.
That damned Mu Liang!
"Boss!"
A few gangsters ran over from the end of the passage, plopping down carelessly onto the filthy, discarded sofa.
"They said they couldn't find Mu Liang over there either! It's been many days, could Mu Liang have gone to another layer?"
"Boss, I heard from my uncle that Captain Zhou, who came down from Upper City, has a strong background. It would be easy for Captain Zhou to hide Mu Liang in another layer, right?"
"What do we do now? We can't just kidnap Captain Zhou and force him to talk. The security team is armed, and they're rumored to have even sniper rifles."
—The news of the recent shootout and counter-killing had yet to reach this place.
"Shut up! Grow a brain, will you!"
Lan Yuzai slammed the table and yelled at the top of his lungs:
"This shit happened on our turf!
"Hua from the Black Fire Gang got whacked. Do you realize how serious this is?
"If we can't find Mu Liang, before Black Fire Gang takes me out, I'll chop you lot first!"
The underlings shivered a bit.
Even though they knew Rotten Fish had never actually chopped anyone, he had been arrested for fighting and brawling several times a few years back and was a Level 1 Citizen with a good number of priors (lowest level).
Having vented, Lan Yuzai's mood seemed to have slightly improved.
He glanced at the boxes in the room to his left: "Combine these supplies and see if we have enough for a box. If we do, I'll bring it down myself and scout out the situation."
"We're not there yet, Yu! We just made a delivery last week!"
"Not enough? What the hell are you all still doing here? Go to the blood bank and squeeze some blood!"
Lan Yuzai glared with his bulging fish eyes as he swore:
"Anyone who dares to resist, beat them! Don't just scare them this time! I'll cover for you if something goes wrong! Go on, what are you waiting for!"
The underlings quickly agreed and hurried out with their heads down, leaving only three thugs in the room, guarding several cardboard boxes and the holographic projection screen.
Lan Yuzai lit a cigarette, curled up his left foot, rested it on the edge of the chair, and gazed at the dimly lit ceiling lights in the corridor as he leisurely blew a smoke ring.
He wasn't actually pondering anything; he was just zoning out.
He thought about the cigarettes laced with something extra, which always felt so comfortable and relaxing every time, but after smoking, he was left feeling deeply empty.
"Who's there!"
"Ah!"
"Yu, save me!"
Screams and cries for help suddenly came from the end of the corridor.
Lan Yuzai froze for a moment, cigarette in his mouth, head tilted, and instinctively squinted, focusing on the dimly lit passage.
The low-intensity energy-saving lights only managed to reveal the silhouette of a slowly collapsing figure.
Lan Yuzai could tell that it was one of his underlings.
Collapsing as if completely exhausted and ready to sleep.
Within the shadows at the end of the corridor, a figure stood silently.
Lan Yuzai's Adam's apple bobbed up and down a few times.
He reached under the table and felt for a wooden knife handle; he drew a slender, sharp machete and gripped it tightly.
"Who the fuck is that!"
Lan Yuzai spat out smoke and shouted with all his might.
The few thugs inside the adjacent room looked at their boss in a daze before comprehending the situation and rushing out after him, each grabbing metal pipes to follow Lan Yuzai.
Whoosh!
A sudden sharp whizzing sound exploded.
Before Lan Yuzai could react, one of the underlings beside him grunted, clutching his neck and making a choking sound, his face turning red as he fell to his knees, weakened.
Clang—
A screw cap as thick as a thumb rolled onto the concrete floor.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The dark hallway echoed with whizzing sounds!
The three underlings behind Lan Yuzai were almost simultaneously struck in the neck. They couldn't even scream as they slowly fell to the ground, and three nuts clinked crisply on the concrete.
Clang clang clang—
Naturally, they couldn't see the fine streams of Qi wrapped around those nuts.
The thugs wouldn't die; they'd just suffer for a while, at most faint from the shock and possibly have some persistent symptoms.
What, what the hell...
The draft from the vent made Lan Yuzai's back turn icy cold.
The sweat-soaked shirt clung to his back.
His hand gripping the machete was shaking uncontrollably as he stared down the hallway.
What kind of monster is this?
How is this possible? Screw nuts?
Is that guy Mu Liang?
Wang Jixuan stepped into a slightly brighter area, with a mask on, hands clasped behind his back, advancing slowly. Each step seemed to press on Lan Yuzai's nerves.
Lan Yuzai's nostrils quivered as he suddenly let out a pointless shout and charged at Wang Jixuan with the machete raised!
"Ahh—"
Wang Jixuan was exceptionally calm, leisurely pulling out a police alarm that Captain Zhou had given him and gently pressed it three times, the alarm blinking a faint red light.
After completing this, Lan Yuzai had just reached nearly in front of Wang Jixuan.
The gang leader, faced with the fear of the unknown, had gone berserk and raised his knife to strike!
Wang Jixuan methodically drew a pistol from his coat, pressed the dark barrel against Lan Yuzai's forehead, and naturally flicked off the safety.
Immobilization spell, pistol firepower limited edition.
Clank, clank clank.
The slender machete fell on the metallic floor.
Lan Yuzai fell to his knees with a thud, his Adam's apple trembling, his eyes slightly moist:
"I give up, boss. I give up. Please, don't shoot…"