Fear, terror. Chris's eyes were wide open, the threat of death so directly and abruptly entering his vision. Enveloped by death, he was like a paralyzed insect, unable to even control his breathing.
Tears and snot flowed uncontrollably, Chris, completely crushed by the pressure, exposed his ugliest side. He wailed silently, collapsing powerlessly on the ground.
"Chen Tianwu, what are you doing, hurry up and finish him off." The gang member wearing a mask who had launched the attack also noticed Chris, and shouted at the man pointing the gun at him.
"Tch!" Chen Tianwu clicked his tongue impatiently. He hated it when people used a commanding tone with him, but he didn't mind eliminating enemies.
The flames were burning fiercely. Chen Tianwu stood in the flames, slowly placing his finger on the trigger. The scorching air licked at the two of them, bringing the man's desperate murmurs, but his movements suddenly stopped.
"Sister…"
"Sister…"
Gunfire, flames, ruins.
"Brother… Save me… Brother, where are you?" A girl's voice rang out in Chen Tianwu's mind. His breath hitched, and painful memories washed over him.
Chen Tianwu freezing in place quickly caught the attention of his accomplices. After impatiently finishing off all the police officers, the squad leader of the Thousand Fists Gang forcefully shoved him.
"Taking so long just to kill one person, you really are trash. If it weren't for the boss valuing your reconnaissance abilities, your corpse would probably be rotting by now." The squad leader cursed, loaded his gun, and aimed it at Chris.
Bang—!
The gunshot rang out, but the bullet landed on empty ground.
The squad leader looked at Chen Tianwu, who had pushed his gun away, in disbelief. Anger gradually welled up, "Kid, are you trying to betray us?"
Click, click, click.
The members of the Thousand Fists Gang all raised their guns and aimed them at Chen Tianwu. However, he still looked indifferent, only saying softly, "This guy is a good tool. The Fang He Gang is planning to use him as a scapegoat, so let's use him to mess with their plans."
Staring at Chen Tianwu intently, the squad leader's finger repeatedly touched the trigger, then slowly released it. Although this guy was lazy and indolent, he did have some skills, and was considered one of the smarter ones in the gang.
More importantly, the boss seemed to appreciate him very much, and even wanted to transfer him to a place outside of the West Country. If that really happened, he, the small squad leader of this small area, would be at the mercy of others, and nobody would know if he was buried in some flower bed.
"Hmph!" He snorted coldly, seemingly agreeing to Chen Tianwu's actions.
After the people from the Thousand Fists Gang dispersed to deal with the bodies, Chen Tianwu kicked Chris on the ground with his foot, "Get up."
Unfortunately, Chris's eyes were unfocused, completely immersed in his own world. Chen Tianwu frowned slightly, and pressed the long barrel of his gun to Chris's face again.
"3…"
"2…"
Before the last number could be spoken, a set of sharp teeth bit down on the barrel of the gun. Chen Tianwu gasped, meeting a pair of emotionless eyes.
Despair? Sorrow? No, nothing at all. Chen Tianwu couldn't find any emotion in those eyes. He was like a broken doll, like a corpse without a soul, waiting to be pecked at by the circling vultures, waiting to be torn apart by hungry wolves.
Waiting to be controlled by the puppeteer's strings.
Vaguely, Chen Tianwu seemed to see a wolf shrouded in black mist in those eyes, letting out excited howls.
"Hey, kid, there's still someone waiting for you to come home."
His voice was cold and calm. He didn't look at Chris, whose humanity had been stripped away, only looking into the distance. No one knew if he was talking to himself, or to Chris.
The already excited wolf howls gradually subsided, the ancient and long-standing predator captured by the black and white mark, gradually becoming dormant.
But it had not yet disappeared. It was merely waiting for the next hunt.
No one noticed that a black and white mark had been branded on Chris's back, nor did anyone hear the sound of gears turning in the Theater of Dominance.
His unfocused pupils gradually came into focus, and Chris's eyes gradually regained their spirit, even though they were full of fear, even though his body was trembling uncontrollably, even though he was constantly dry heaving due to the intense nausea.
But he was still like a child who had found his way home, he had a direction to move forward.
"Go and correct this wrong world."
…
…
Dusk, along with the sound of brakes, a white medical vehicle stopped steadily in front of Chris's house. Several figures got out, all wearing the same blue medical uniform and black leather shoes.
One of them rang the doorbell of Chris's house.
Not long after, Corina, pale and haggard, opened the door. The cool evening breeze blew, almost making her collapse.
Seeing Corina in such a poor state, the medical staff in charge of the treatment quickly supported her, helping her back to her room.
After some emergency treatment, Corina gradually recovered.
"Corina, retired Valkyrie of Schicksal, I am Eureka, in charge of your treatment this time. I have to remind you that although we will provide you with long-term and effective treatment, in the last battle, your body has suffered serious erosion, and you need long-term rest."
"…" Corina didn't say a word, only looking towards her brother's room from time to time. She had already tidied up the room, and even specially bought a new set of gaming equipment. But so far, she still hadn't seen the figure she had been wanting to see.
"Chris…"
Seeing that Corina wasn't cooperating, the logistics personnel in charge of treating her felt a little helpless. Corina's body was already on the verge of collapse. Even with Schicksal's medical team in charge of her treatment, she had less than two years left to live.
They had also seen Corina's resume. As a rare A-rank Valkyrie, Corina had been fighting on the front lines almost from the year she awakened at the age of 12, and had only decided to retire a few years ago when her parents died unexpectedly. But before that, the Honkai energy erosion in her body had been quite severe, and she could only rely on special painkillers every day to maintain a normal life.
A Valkyrie with such outstanding contributions should be enjoying a better environment, but she had given up on a better life, choosing to take care of her brother. To prevent her brother from finding out about her condition, she even chose to receive treatment at night. But today, something had changed, Corina's body had collapsed again, almost negating months of treatment.
"Also, please stop using these special painkillers. They're not good for your body." Eureka put away the painkillers that looked like sugar pills from the box, and said patiently.