Chen Ke looked up and gazed into the depths of Red Door, from where an energetic old man emerged from the pitch-dark corridor.
He was probably a head taller than Chen Ke, robust, dressed in a blue polo shirt and gray suit pants, wearing a pair of amber glasses. His forearms were hairy, and he sported a full beard, resembling Pierce Brosnan closely.
The old man waved his hand, signaling everyone to put down their guns, then approached the counter and extended his right hand cordially towards Chen Ke.
"My name is Pihom, the owner of the gun shop. Your actions just now made a deep impression on me and reminded me of my younger days. The conflict earlier wasn't aimed at you, and to apologize, I'd like to offer you 100 bullets. If you don't mind, I would also like to take a few minutes to talk with you," Pihom said, smiling.
Chen Ke looked up at the ceiling of the shop, noticing a camera in one corner aimed directly at him.
"I'm quite busy." Chen Ke certainly didn't have time to have a long talk with an old man who ran a gun shop, and he turned to walk towards the door.
"If we get along well, I might even give you a gun," Pihom called from behind.
Chen Ke ignored him and continued walking past the shelves towards the main door.
"I would like to kindly remind you that the M1911A1 is no ordinary gun. Regardless of how you acquired it, I suggest you get rid of it soon," Pihom continued.
Chen Ke pulled open the door.
"Those wild dogs infected by Spiritual Energy only appear at night; you won't find them during the day," Pihom still didn't give up.
Chen Ke stopped in his tracks, the morning sunlight shining on his slightly pale skin but offering no warmth.
He turned back, closed the door, and pulled out a Glock 17 from his coat, unlocking the safety and pointing it towards Pihom.
Two Black bodyguards and the fat owner next to the counter raised their guns again pointing at Chen Ke.
This time, he distinctly felt their killing intent, the notifications not only counting three added minutes of life per second but also absorbing one point of killing intent per second, the total now reading 40/50.
The tension escalated again.
"Are you spying on me?" Chen Ke asked.
Thoughts raced through Chen Ke's mind—could Pihom be from Si's consortium? Had they seen him use the Holy Relics? Chen Ke was not a registered Spiritual Ability User; who knew what consequences might ensue if the Administration Bureau got involved.
"My men told me this morning that a lunatic appeared in the Lower District last night, sweeping through every deserted factory he could find, leaving nothing but corpses," Pihom replied.
"While those wild dogs aren't hard to handle, they're still a significant nuisance for ordinary people. I admire your courage and...skill, given you're a normal person who can't even use a Spiritual Ability Pistol. So, I'd like to have a chat," Pihom continued, noticing Chen Ke's apprehension.
From what Pihom had said, it was clear he didn't know Chen Ke could use the Holy Relics. After all, the fights last night in the factories were brief, and Chen Ke had left quickly without any delay, so those spying might not have witnessed his combat style.
Pihom, clearly no small figure, might even be a big shot in the Lower District.
Seeing Chen Ke was still skeptical, Pihom spoke, "Listen, kid, this is my territory, and nothing happens here without my knowledge, but I assure you I mean you no harm. So, it's best we both fucking put down our guns and talk like civilized people. Having this thing pointed at one's head is extremely infuriating."
Chen Ke thought for a moment, then lowered his gun. The other three also put down their guns, easing the atmosphere slightly.
"Make it brief," Chen Ke said.
"You like to pick on those monsters, and I can tell you where to kill more of them. So why don't we establish a long-term cooperation?" Pihom said with a smile.
If Pihom really knew where to kill more monsters, cooperating with him wasn't such a bad idea. It was certainly better than running around like a headless fly as he was doing now—more monsters meant a more stable source of killing intent.
But he still wasn't clear about who exactly Pihom was, so it was best to be cautious.
"I generally don't work with strangers. You need to tell me more about yourself," Chen Ke said.
Pihom placed his hands on the glass counter, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's. He looked at Chen Ke and slowly said, "Once you know my secret, you will only have two choices—either join me or become an unnamed corpse in the back alley. So before you trust me enough, and before I'm sure of your strength to join me, why don't we maintain our cooperative relationship with this simple task?"
Chen Ke thought it made sense and replied, "Alright, let's hear it."
Pihom looked at Chen Ke appreciatively. He hadn't seen such a bold young man in a long time, so he proceeded to explain the specifics of the task.
It turned out that in the Lower District, there was a noodle house called "Good Wheat House." A few months ago, it had been troubled by a group of suspicious people. Since the owner had paid Pihom for protection, he naturally turned to Pihom for help.
Pihom thought it was just a small-time thug causing trouble, so he sent people to handle it, but the people he sent never came back. Since that day, the owner had never contacted Pihom again. Pihom had driven past the noodle house and noticed that the business was booming, even better than before.
However, when he made eye contact with the owner standing at the door, the noodle house owner deliberately avoided his gaze. With over 60 years of life experience, Pihom knew that the situation couldn't be so simple.
"The whole thing sounds like a gang fight, where another gang is eyeing your turf, and that noodle house is just the beginning," Chen Ke sighed, having little interest in gang conflicts.
"No, no, it's not that simple. Take a look at this photo. It was taken by one of my informants I had placed in the noodle house, it was late at night," Pihom said, pulling out his slide phone and showing Chen Ke a photo.
Chen Ke stepped forward, took the phone, and looked carefully.
Although the resolution was low, the photographer was only two streets away from the noodle house, and he had forgotten to turn off the flash, so the image was fairly clear.
Chen Ke saw several gaunt, eerie figures in front of the noodle house.
"They don't look human," Chen Ke concluded.
Their limbs were too thin, seemingly without flesh, just bone.
And it looked like they had just come out of the noodle house.
If they really were monsters, that would be thrilling.
"I need more information," Chen Ke handed the phone back to Pihom.
"I would like more too, but the subordinate who took this photo is dead. After we picked up his phone, we found this photo," Pihom said as he pressed a button to bring up another picture.
"Damn, no matter how many times I see it, it still scares me," he muttered quietly, handing the phone back to Chen Ke.
If the first photo was eerie, then this one was downright horrifying.
The screen was a bleak gray, with a small black hole in the top left and bottom right corners. The photo was seriously blurred, possibly due to shaking hands.
Chen Ke carefully examined the phone, looking at different angles, trying to discern what exactly the photo depicted. Pihom gestured for him to hold the phone farther away. After doing so, Chen Ke suddenly realized something, and a chill ran down his spine.