He fell heavily into the mud, landing on his right shoulder with a muffled "kacha" sound.
Wei Tianyang internally cursed his bad luck, as his shoulder had dislocated.
However, what was worse was that the pain in his abdomen exceeded his limits of endurance.
When he had been shot, he hadn't felt much, but now, it felt as if he had a furnace in his abdominal cavity, scorching his organs.
Wei Tianyang reached towards his torn abdomen and felt a mashed mess of flesh and blood; delving deeper, his fingers touched something slippery and warm.
The pain made him curl up involuntarily, a buzzing filled his head, and a hot rush came up his throat. He swallowed several times but couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of hot blood, collapsing onto the ground, gasping in agony.
The officer jumped down from the tank, pried open his double-barreled shotgun, and two red shells popped out with a noise. He took two more from his cartridge belt, loaded them, and skillfully flicked his wrist, snapping the barrel back in place with a "kacha."
He walked up to Wei Tianyang, his blue eyes staring down at him, and said, "You look quite young, about the same age as my son."
With a sigh, the officer added, "I don't want to harm a kid, but everyone has their responsibilities. I came to this godforsaken country with my retired brothers just to earn some pension money."
"I led them here, and now that they are dead, wouldn't I be less than human if I didn't avenge them? I know you weren't targeting them; I don't hate you, but I must settle this for them."
"Remember my face—if you're reincarnated, come find me to take your revenge."
The officer raised his shotgun, aiming it at Wei Tianyang's head.
At that moment, his mother appeared behind the officer.
As the officer fired, his mother lifted his right arm slightly.
The bullet flew into the sky.
"Do you have any other superpowers…?" the officer exclaimed in astonishment, quickly reaching for the handgun in his holster.
The mother clung tightly to the officer, and a little girl also rushed up, gripping his legs.
In that instant of life or death, the one who is slower dies.
Wei Tianyang gathered his strength, endured the pain, and swung his right arm towards the officer; the five Bone Knives sliced through him like paper, cutting his body into six parts along with the cartridge belt, scattering them across the ground in pieces.
Wei Tianyang retracted the Bone Knives and lay on his side on the ground, blood still on his lips.
"Get up, Yang. You're not going to die here," his mother said.
He adjusted his breathing, propped himself up, and slowly got to his feet.
When he looked up, his mother and the little girl had already disappeared.
For some reason, he laughed, then sobbed, and finally clenched his teeth, holding back his nearly overwhelming emotions.
The rain started to fall harder, and he limped back to his bungalow, brought out a chair, and sat at the door.
Wei Tianyang looked up at the sky, where dark clouds slowly moved eastward, and a few birds flew south through the heavy rain, the raindrops blurring his vision.
He slowly closed his eyes.
From the very beginning, he had been wrong.
He should have never gotten into Ruan Yu's car, never should have let those six stainless steel syringes pierce his spine.
If he could go back to that day, he would have loved to hold his mother tightly and not say a word.
Thinking this, he chuckled at himself, looking from afar like a bloodied fool.
The sound of rain continued, but the raindrops no longer fell on him. He opened his eyes and saw a black umbrella overhead.
The sound of rain pattered on the waterproof fabric; looking to the side, a person in a white trench coat was standing there holding the umbrella, and behind him, a woman in a red jacket and jeans, with her hair in a ponytail.
This person was exquisitely beautiful, with skin and hair as pale as the white lab coat they wore, and a pair of impressive amber-colored eyes.
Their long white hair gradually turned tea-colored at the ends and was tied with a dark red silk ribbon, draping over their shoulder.
"Sitting in the rain like this, you'll catch a cold."
The person gave Wei Tianyang a bright smile, their tone lazy, mixed with concern and a hint of mockery. The voice sounded like that of a boy who hadn't yet reached puberty, and combined with a somewhat enchantingly alluring appearance, Wei Tianyang couldn't tell from the start whether they were male or female.
"Who are you?" Wei Tianyang asked, his right hand ready for a sneak attack.
Were they from Tiantai Pharmaceutical? Military backup? Ruan Yu's colleague?
He quietly observed the other party, still trying to determine their sex.
"My name is Yaha, and this is my deputy, Starbucks. We run a hotel... somewhere else," Yaha said.
"I have hardly any money in my pocket, and I also don't have the habit of drinking coffee," Wei Tianyang said.
He looked up again at the surrounding bungalows and continued, "Hey! Your houses have collapsed. Who needs a hotel room? You might even get a coffee to drink."
Yaha and Starbucks exchanged looks, then shook their heads.
Wei Tianyang continued, "I've asked around for you, no one is booking rooms, no one wants coffee, just leave."
"Don't be so standoffish, I can waive your room fee," Yaha said.
"So, what's the price?" Wei Tianyang asked with a laugh, shaking his head.
The pain in his abdomen made him unconsciously curl up his body. He had a premonition that this Yaha was also with the pharmaceutical industry. Because he, too, carried the bitter scent of medicine.
"The price is... you'll have to get used to drinking a cup of coffee every day," Starbucks said.
Yaha looked at Starbucks and laughed, saying, "Oh! That's really a tragedy."
Wei Tianyang held out the Bone Knife, placing it at Yaha's neck.
"This is your last chance, leave or die here."
His eyes were blood-red, staring into Yaha's amber pupils, but he saw no hostility from the other party.
Starbucks quickly pulled out a gun and pressed it against Wei Tianyang's head.
"Calm down, calm down. Starbucks, bring that corpse over," Yaha instructed, hands spread out.
Starbucks confirmed with Yaha through their gaze, slowly lowered the gun, and then picked up the body of the gunman from the mud.
She didn't put down the corpse; instead, she let Yaha's right hand touch the corpse's neck while Yaha slowly grabbed Wei Tianyang's right arm with his left hand.
Wei Tianyang was puzzled. He cautiously stepped back but was stopped by Yaha.
"Don't be nervous," Yaha said.
Then, a miracle occurred.
The fatigue on Wei Tianyang's body was slowly fading, the pain in his abdomen stopped, and his dislocated shoulder returned to its original position.
He withdrew the Bone Knife and touched his abdomen; the wound had actually disappeared, his fingertips felt only smooth skin.
Yaha then released Wei Tianyang and clapped his hands.
Starbucks threw the corpse on the ground.
"You are also…" Wei Tianyang said in surprise.
"We all are, the same type of people, discarded prototypes," Yaha said.
He tugged slightly at the cuff of his left sleeve, revealing a scar on his wrist.