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Chapter 35: The Sudden Battle
"What exactly are you keeping in the basement?" Jinx goes there three times a day, each time taking food with her. It can't be normal.
"Not telling you," Jinx made a face. "If you want to know, go see for yourself."
"Are you willing to let me?" Justin spread his hands. Psychologically speaking, everything in the basement is a reflection of Jinx's innermost thoughts. Unless necessary, Justin didn't want to intrude on her true ideas. Distance is necessary between people—whether it's between parent and child, siblings, friends, or lovers. Justin had always been concerned about one thing: Jinx and he were "too close."
Ever since Jinx got a triple kill with a Hextech Crystal and Vi slapped her, Justin had become her sole dependency, even her reason for being. Her sorrow, laughter, desires, thoughts, even her whole life were tied to Justin.
Now, Jinx's mental state is much more stable than that of the original timeline's madwoman, but this stability is extremely fragile. She doesn't have a strong heart or an independent personality. Like a dodder, she completely relies on Justin, growing as he supports her. If one day, this tree were to fall or leave, she would only be able to crawl on the ground, unable to stand on her own.
Justin was quite pleased to find Jinx having her own secret. In a sense, it felt like an old father discovering his child finally entering adolescence. But what exactly Jinx was keeping in the basement... it seemed it had quite an appetite.
Jinx didn't reply and continued tinkering with her weapons. Assembling guns and explosives was her third favorite thing to do, apart from sticking close to Justin and causing chaos in the upper city. And sipping coffee, lying on a bench, watching savage technology bloom in the girl's hands, was Justin's third favorite thing to do.
Unfortunately, this peaceful joy didn't last long. The coffee on the table suddenly rippled.
"Jinx, don't move." The girl halted, but the ripples in the cup didn't subside; instead, they grew stronger. Justin lay flat on the ground, his ear pressed against it, his expression changing: "Someone's coming, a large group."
Jinx immediately grabbed her weapons and jumped to the northeast corner of the hall. There lay the original coffee shop counter facing the street, a natural barricade. She pulled aside the dust-proof raincloth, revealing a heavy machine gun mounted on the counter and bulletproof sandbags on either side.
Justin chose this place as their base not because of his love for coffee but because of its excellent geographical location. With a machine gun set up, it could lock down the entire street. Justin grabbed binoculars and leapt into the counter, standing on an ammo box, peering out: "...Left street, 500 meters away. Many people… all enforcers."
"Should we just start shooting?" Jinx had already swiveled the gun, ready.
"…Fire!" Bullets poured down like rain.
Justin is a good person… at least, he thinks he is. But no matter how kind you are, you wouldn't bind your hands in front of those with unclear intentions. Facing so many enforcers, the only thing they could rely on was the terrain and range. Whatever their reasons, they couldn't let them get close to this coffee shop, so… let the battle begin!
To guard against Silco, they had been setting up here for years. Ample ammunition, water to cool gun barrels, sturdy barricades, hidden traps… everything unfolded in an orderly manner.
Suddenly attacked, they would surely seek nearby cover. The cover they found—whether it was a corner, streetlamp, container sprawled across the road, or a scrapped car—had all been inspected or deliberately set by Justin beforehand. Naturally, each spot had bombs planted.
"Boom!" Justin pressed the switch, detonating the explosions. Each bomb's power was calibrated just right, causing significant damage to the enforcers while resulting in only a few deaths. After all, a severely injured enemy causes more trouble for the opposition than an extra corpse.
"Heh... the best soldiers are unwelcome instruments, used only out of necessity by wise men. I wonder if this truly qualifies as a necessity?" Justin put down the binoculars, letting out a long sigh. Regardless, the enforcers were now in a grave situation, dead and wounded. The gruesome carnage, visible to him, was hard to stomach.
Jinx, however, was ecstatic, her finger relentlessly pressing the trigger. Even as stray shots chipped the counter, sending wood splinters across her face, she showed no fear. Some people thrive in violent, bloody situations, and on this point, Justin and Jinx were polar opposites.
Several minutes passed, and Justin reloaded the heavy machine gun and poured cold water over the barrel to keep it cool. Amidst this pause, the enforcers failed to mount an effective counterattack, and their firepower density decreased by half.
"Probably split some off to circle around," Justin absently patted Jinx's head, advising, "Keep watch here." He then turned to leave but was suddenly pulled back by Jinx's right hand.
"Hello?" Justin was startled, thinking he was just heading to the other side for vigilance or, in the worst-case scenario, ready to escape through the emergency exit. Was Jinx about to drag out some heartfelt farewell speech at such a moment?
Jinx, silent, wore a mischievous smile as she clasped Justin's arm, placing his hand on her smooth, flat abdomen.
"How does it feel?" the girl playfully asked.
"Oh, come on! Is now really the time for this?" Justin quickly withdrew his hand and knocked her on the head.
Jinx giggled, turning her attention back to maintaining the street blockade. Justin faced the other direction and ran to the hall's other side.
It doesn't seem like they've come yet... Justin squatted to take a cursory look, his right hand unconsciously fidgeting on his knee. So that's how soft a girl's stomach feels... well, not exactly soft, not like a cloud: light and fluffy. Jinx had abs, so there was some firmness. But not bouncy like a ball... Even with his college education, Justin scrounged his mind yet couldn't find an apt description.
"Bang!" A bullet grazed past his scalp, shattering his whimsical thoughts.
They came fast!
The café was at an intersection, providing a broad shooting range but also making it easy to be surrounded from all sides. Trained in urban warfare, the enforcers quickly coordinated, flanking from behind!
Bring it on! Justin had set up another machine gun here and opened fire, pinning the enforcers attempting to outflank them.
Yet... no matter how well-prepared, what does it matter? Behind the enforcers stood the entire police force; a moment's loss just tightened the encirclement, calling for reinforcements.
And behind them, there was only each other.