"What are you looking at!"
Lan Yuzai cursed fiercely:
"Looking for a fight, huh? I'll take on all three of you, believe it or not!"
Just as Wang Jixuan was about to tell Lan Yuzai to shut up, the gangsters below had already shifted their flashlights.
The three of them didn't retaliate against Lan Yuzai and continued to follow behind the man and woman, cracking dirty jokes.
"What are they doing?" Wang Jixuan asked casually.
"Catching 'piglets,' a common occurrence down here."
Lan Yuzai whispered:
"We on the Thirteenth Floor have relatively good order, no one dares to mess with 'piglets,' the higher the floor, the safer it is. Below the twenty-eighth floor, this kind of thing happens a lot.
"Those who are caught and taken to Lower City to be sold are called 'piglets.'
"Boss, did you see that woman? She doesn't seem old. I bet she will be raped in front of that man soon."
Wang Jixuan frowned at Lan Yuzai.
Lan Yuzai hurriedly said, "I've just seen a lot, seen a lot, don't get me wrong, Boss. I've never done such a thing; the most I do is squeeze a Blood Bag."
"Blood Bag?"
"That is... like you were before... called a Blood Bag."
Lan Yuzai's smile carried a touch of guilt and awkwardness.
Wang Jixuan said, "Taking away the food on which ordinary people depend for survival, isn't this robbery and murder?"
"Well, if I didn't do it, someone else would."
Lan Yuzai shrugged:
"When I was eighteen, I was a Blood Bag for two years, bullied and beaten.
"Until one day, I snapped and stabbed the guy who was bullying me. I ended up jailed for two years. After I got out, they were afraid of me and acknowledged me as their boss.
"Soon after, a gang from Lower City found me and gave me the business of squeezing Blood Bags. If I refused, they would have killed me and replaced me.
"When I squeezed Blood Bags, I targeted folks with stable jobs and timid characters. Whoever is timid... deserves to be a Blood Bag."
Wang Jixuan slightly frowned and slightly bent his fingers, pressing on a nut cap.
"Wrong, wrong! Don't flick it! My mistake!"
Lan Yuzai quickly squatted down, hands covering his face.
"Hmph!" Wang Jixuan said coldly, "With your crimes, killing you ten times over wouldn't be too much!"
Lan Yuzai defended himself in a low voice, "But I didn't directly kill anyone."
"What's the difference between slow simmering and explosive stir-frying?"
"Now that you mention it, I really seem like a bad person... If I don't bully others, others bully me, and I don't have any skills, so I just get by."
Lan Yuzai grinned sheepishly. Although his mouth was appeasing and pleading, his eyes still held a trace of defiance.
His principles weren't so easily shaken.
Wang Jixuan looked down at the gradually descending lights, thought for a moment, and decided not to get involved unnecessarily.
"Rest well and then we'll continue traveling," Wang Jixuan said indifferently, "Of course, you could also try asking your peers for help."
"Look at what you're saying, I willingly submitted to you! I only respect those stronger than me!"
Lan Yuzai said earnestly:
"When can you teach me the skill of flicking fingers... I want to acknowledge you as my boss! I'll do all your work in the factory, and my guys will call you boss! I'll give you a tribute every month, as long as you teach me this skill! It's so awesome!"
Daoist almost kicked him.
His finger flick was not magic; it was inspired by firearms, realizing the necessity of long-range attacks.
The principle was simple Qi application; the challenge lay in controlling inner energy after stepping into the Qi Refining Realm, and teaching this would essentially be passing on the tradition.
Firstly, he wasn't an elder authorized to pass on the teachings.
Secondly, the rules of the Cultivation World stated that teachings should not be imparted lightly, requiring character, aptitude, comprehension, and fortune, especially to a ruffian like him.
"Lead the way ahead."
"Sure," Lan Yuzai obediently hoisted up two big bags, walking ahead with a flashlight.
Wang Jixuan kept his pistol in his pocket, glancing at the five figures below from the corner of his eye.
The woman was sobbing, and the three thugs were whispering something.
The fire escape staircase flipped every sixteen steps, creating a long rectangular corridor in between.
The group of five below stopped in the long rectangular corridor after a while.
The three thugs clamored:
"Let's do it here, I can't hold back anymore! Hold them down!"
"Behave, you're still not exhausted? Don't make it too dirty, otherwise, we can't raise the price."
"Twist her face towards us! I've said I would finish you off, still feeling tough now?"
Below, the light began to flicker incessantly on a landing.
Not only were the man and woman tied up, but their mouths were also gagged, and at that moment, they started to struggle violently, but having been starved for several meals, they were no match for the three robust thugs and were quickly subdued.
The woman's sobs echoed through the dark, abandoned fire escape.
Wang Jixuan slightly frowned.
He didn't want to complicate matters, but...
These people were blocking his path.
Wang Jixuan turned to Lan Yuzai and asked softly, "What would you normally do in this situation?"
"Do what?" Lan Yuzai muttered softly, "Join them?"
Wang Jixuan: ...
"Just, just kidding, I'm actually experiencing this for the first time."
Lan Yuzai shrugged:
"Stuff like this happens more in Lower City, Boss, you can't handle it all, trust me.
"Of course, if you want to blast them all away, I'd definitely applaud you."
Wang Jixuan gave this gang leader a stern look and shone his flashlight downwards.
He had only intended to check the path, but... Wang Jixuan saw one of the thugs forcing the woman to kneel on the ground, making her watch as her husband's pants were pulled down and he was pushed against the wall...
Wait;
Hold on!
Wang Jixuan felt his Dao Heart wasn't sufficient anymore!
The woman was sobbing, but her clothes were intact; the man had been subdued, then had his pants taken off?
Lan Yuzai gave a thumbs up: "Three real men."
"Who the hell are you flashing the light at! I'll chop you to death, believe it or not!"
Whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh!
The shrill sound of slicing through the air echoed.
Under the flashlight's beam, three gangsters looked up, three pencil-thick, sharpened pencils simultaneously appearing on their upper throats, half of each pencil embedded.
The three gangsters convulsed as they slowly knelt down, their eyes widening rapidly with bloodshot, covering their necks making heaving noises.
Wang Jixuan curled his lips.
Too dirty!
As a dignified practitioner of Cultivation, even a slight delay in his action made him feel his Dao Heart was getting contaminated!
Although Lan Yuzai was all bluster, this scene also frightened him, his complexion turning extremely pale, his eyes growing brighter.
Too gentle!
The way Mu Liang treated him and his followers before was just too gentle!
Previously, the boss only used nuts to hit them, his real trick turned out to be throwing pencils!
What would be the effect if the pencils were replaced with metal darts? He dared not even think about it!
Wang Jixuan poked Lan Yuzai's side with his pistol: "Shine the flashlight in their eyes."
"Ah, alright, alright..."
Lan Yuzai turned on the flashlight to its brightest setting, causing the startled man and woman to instinctively cover their eyes.
Wang Jixuan calmly walked past the three gangsters, not sparing them a glance, yet perfectly avoiding any bloodstains.
As Wang Jixuan and Lan Yuzai walked away, the man and woman finally came to their senses.
The man forcefully pulled up his pants, and both tremblingly helped each other untie the ropes that bound their hands.
They gratefully looked toward the increasingly distant light source, faintly hearing the conversation coming from below.
"Boss, you're so awesome! Teach me, will you?"
"Shut up."
"I can do any pose! That move is so awesome! You are like a human machine gun!"
"Noisy."
"My mistake, my mistake, I won't talk anymore! Ah! My fingers! My mistake!"
The man and woman who had escaped a disaster looked at each other, seeing each other in the light from their mining helmets, and embraced each other crying.
Wang Jixuan and Lan Yuzai continued downward for about half a minute when suddenly a shadow fell and smashed harshly on a steel structure platform below, the dull impact resounding everywhere.
Wang Jixuan shined the flashlight downward.
It was a gangster's body.
A few steps further, two more bodies fell in succession, smashing into lumps of flesh on another steel platform below.
Lan Yuzai's face turned a bit pale: "Those two piggies were quite ruthless."
"Evil deeds will harm oneself eventually."
Wang Jixuan said calmly,
"If one is kind to others, how could one suffer such misfortunes?"
"Boss, you're always right, since you're so powerful," Lan Yuzai smirked, "but we ordinary folks can only rely on two words to stabilize ourselves."
"Two words?"
"Cruel, ruthless. If you're not ruthless enough, you'll be bullied. That's the rule in the Fortress."
Lan Yuzai changed the topic:
"But if you teach me this technique, I will certainly add 'benevolence' to these two words, and justice will prevail!"
"Buzz off."
Wang Jixuan was also amused by him.
Then he slightly frowned.
Speaking such vulgarities was inappropriate for a practitioner of Cultivation; after all, he was bound for the Immortal Realm and should not harbor such resentment. He needed to be cautious about this matter.
...
Before Lan Yuzai's legs turned to jelly, they finally arrived in the Lower City layer area.
To Wang Jixuan's surprise, the area's fire escape was unchanged, below only a single lonely steel platform connecting to the inside.
Wang Jixuan became more alert.
Although he was holding Lan Yuzai hostage, the place he was about to raid was not familiar territory to him.
However, Lan Yuzai was a frequent guest in Lower City and could even be considered one of the gang's subordinates.
"Boss, you should tuck away your gun, best to keep it close to your body."
"We cannot openly display guns or knives, that's the rule.
"Besides, we are only two people, even carrying four guns here would be useless."
Lan Yuzai spoke warmly.
Wang Jixuan slightly nodded and concealed his pistol inside the inner pocket of his jacket. Then he took a half step forward, grabbing Lan Yuzai's right elbow with his left hand.
Now, he could attack his follower's vital nerves anytime.
"Do not try to leave my sight, you know the consequences."
Lan Yuzai sniffled and with his head down, walked towards the final steel platform, heading towards the two firmly closed doors ahead.
Wang Jixuan closely followed behind him, his right hand reaching to his lower back, lifting up the handles of the two folding rescue knives a bit.
"Generally, no one guards this side; the 46th floor is basically a recreational spot, open to the officials and nobles above."
Lan Yuzai nonchalantly opened the fire door ahead, whose creaking noise floated into the darkness behind them.
Entering their sight was a graffiti-covered wall, boldly marked with the number '46,' spotlights illuminating this wall thoroughly.
A foul smell, like burnt plastic, hit their nostrils.
Wang Jixuan frowned deeply.
Is this Lower City?
Just then, next to the illuminated wall, seven or eight figures suddenly jumped up.