Qin Fen pocketed the cash without lingering on the second basement level, taking the elevator back up to the lobby to return his numbered token to the front desk.

The attendant, Lisa, looked at Qin Fen with surprise. Usually, the person holding token number forty-four was one of the establishment's staff. Today, this unlucky number was being returned by the user himself?

Vincent trailed behind Qin Fen, his expression a mixture of elation and disappointment. Qin Fen had just taken down two tough fighters from the second basement, netting Vincent a tidy sum in bonuses. The disappointment stemmed from Qin Fen being alive and unharmed; his hope of getting close to the woman beside him had just been dashed.

Emerging from the bloody chaos, Qin Fen turned back to Vincent, extended his hand, and said, "Hand it over."

Vincent flinched violently, taking a small step backward. He had witnessed Qin Fen’s ruthless, heart-grabbing attack style; Qin Fen had seemed terrifyingly demonic at that moment.

With a cautious dread in his eyes, he asked, "Hand over what?"

"My commission," Qin Fen rubbed his fingers together. "My lodging fee wasn't that high. Return the excess to me."

Vincent’s face immediately soured. He had finally earned a little extra cash, and the principal party was demanding it back.

"Hand it over."

Qin Fen repeated the demand, his tone now carrying a subtle, chilling edge. Hearing it, Vincent felt icy sweat prickling his spine. He glanced up at Qin Fen’s increasingly grim expression and reluctantly passed over the earnings he had made.

Qin Fen looked at the money in his hand, then turned to Lin Ling, his voice softening, "We can find a better place to stay."

Hearing this, Vincent’s heart sank. This was, after all, a business deal! Letting Qin Fen go like this meant the opportunity with Lin Ling was completely lost. In this viper’s nest, who knew what might happen if Lin Ling checked into another hotel and caught the eye of someone else who might make a move against her in secret?

"Don't change," Vincent plastered on a smiling face, drawing out his words. "I have better rooms available too."

"I need to stay closer to Bloody Frenzy," Qin Fen stated plainly. "Your place is too far."

"I... I can provide a car for transport..."

Vincent trailed off as Qin Fen’s eyes fixed on him, sending another wave of cold air down his back. He had never encountered someone so young who possessed eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything. In Qin Fen's presence, Vincent felt stripped of any courage to lie, his limbs trembling uncontrollably.

Qin Fen stared at Vincent for a long time. Only when the man’s forehead was beaded with sweat did he speak coolly, "There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and you, being a businessman, even less so."

"I... I..." Vincent felt Qin Fen’s tiger-like aura recede, and his spirits immediately lifted. His mind raced, scrambling for a response. He feared that a single wrong answer might provoke this young man—new to the Golden Triangle and ignorant of its rules—to suddenly erupt and kill someone on the street.

"I... actually... I enjoy watching Bloody Frenzy too," Vincent confessed, rubbing his hands behind his back. "If I were your agent, I could get in for free. The tickets are too expensive... I can’t bear it..."

Vincent’s voice trailed off toward the end. He lacked the nerve to meet Qin Fen's gaze, unsure if this fabricated excuse would sway him.

Qin Fen remained silent for a few seconds before slowly nodding. "Fine, I’ll trust you this once. If I find out you're lying, then..."

"Never! Absolutely not!" Vincent waved his hands enthusiastically, grinning. "How would I dare lie to you? Trust me."

"Okay, I believe you this time," Qin Fen said, snapping his fingernails. "Then, can you tell me where I can buy guns and bullets?"

"You..." Vincent was slightly taken aback. He studied Qin Fen a few times before speaking, "Before you came here, didn't you inquire about the local situation?"

Qin Fen’s speaking pace matched the slowness of his head-shake: "No. I killed police officers, I killed soldiers. I didn't have time to gather intelligence; I only knew this place offered refuge."

Vincent felt another chill rise from his bones as he watched Qin Fen state "killed police officers" and "killed soldiers" with such a placid expression. Many fugitives in the Golden Triangle had killed police, but only a few had killed soldiers. Yet, those who had committed such acts usually spoke of them with distinct pride and arrogance. Vincent had met several such fugitives before. He had never encountered one who spoke of killing both police and soldiers with such calm neutrality, as if recounting the culling of chicks.

"Do you know?" Qin Fen asked again, pulling the contemplative Vincent back to reality.

"Yes, yes," Vincent nodded repeatedly. "This place is one of the main hubs for the underworld. So there is no black market; everything can be openly traded. There are weapon shops all over the street. As long as you have enough cash, buying a Jungle Ranger wouldn't even be difficult."

"Thank you." Qin Fen draped an arm around Lin Ling’s waist and turned to leave. "You can head back. We know the way; we’ll return later."

"Yes, yes."

Vincent bowed and scraped, a cold, sharp light flickering in his eyes as he returned to his car. He lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag. Two plumes of smoke shot from his nostrils, relaxing his nerves, as he muttered softly to himself, "To get that girl, I must kill that man. Keeping him around is too dangerous. Facing him, I feel like I'm up against a ferocious, mutated beast."

Qin Fen and Lin Ling walked unhurriedly along the streets of Lang Nan Ta. Neither a flat map nor a three-dimensional electronic projection could compare to observing things firsthand. The arms shops were just as Vincent had described. While they couldn't instantly drive off in a starship just by paying, if one wanted conventional weaponry, paying the price secured the goods immediately.

Qin Fen and Lin Ling entered an armory. The clerk behind the counter, who had been resting his chin in his hand and lazily swatting flies with a fly swatter, immediately perked up.

"Welcome, esteemed patrons. I am the owner of this establishment. You may call me Zhe Wuyue." The somewhat thin clerk rubbed his hands together, giving the impression of preparing to fleece a rich sheep. "What can I get for you? I have everything that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, and swims in the sea!"

"The lady is so beautiful, perhaps two of the more exquisite PPKuLs? We also have models with dragon and phoenix carvings on the casing—they can impress anyone just by being carried..."

Qin Fen raised a hand, cutting off the sales pitch, and surveyed the merchandise on the shelves. "Guns are for killing people."

Zhe Wuyue, in his early thirties and slightly gaunt, looked at Qin Fen with eyes that now held a flicker of awe. A young man who looked like he was touring for relaxation rather than fleeing persecution had just spoken such a profoundly sensible line.

"Speaking of killing people," Zhe Wuyue snatched an M16 from the shelf. "This one..."

Qin Fen didn't even bother to look, immediately listing its flaws: "Too bulky, inconvenient for carrying, affects drawing speed, overly high precision, difficult to maintain..."

"This one..."

"Caliber is acceptable, but kinetic energy is too low..."

"This one..."

"Caliber is fine, good kinetic energy, but the ammunition is specialized and too expensive..."

"This one, how much?" Qin Fen picked up a G22 and then gestured toward a pile of parts, a set of files, and pliers. "Count all of this together. How much?"

Zhe Wuyue had moved past initial surprise to complete stupefaction. Based on his years of selling firearms, he immediately understood the customer's selections. Those parts and tools were clearly essential for modification, and it seemed this man intended to customize a weapon focused purely on destructive power with immense kinetic energy.

As a shop owner, Zhe Wuyue had hosted many wealthy young masters seeking thrills during their vacations. If those self-proclaimed firearms enthusiasts were at an elementary school level of knowledge, this customer, despite his youth, was undoubtedly at a master level.

"I want this, this, and this too..." Lin Ling also selected a G22 caliber pistol, along with a pile of parts, and even more modification tools than Qin Fen.

Zhe Wuyue reassessed Lin Ling. Is it trendy now for beautiful women to be firearms experts too?

"Excellent! I'll give you both twenty percent off today."

Zhe Wuyue hadn't been running an arms shop for a day or two; he understood the law of survival in the Golden Triangle.

Nature favors the strong; the fit survive.

These eight words described the Golden Triangle perfectly. Here, the concept of "good grades matter less than having a rich father" held no sway. Here, trying to use gifts or connections to secure a good future was utterly impossible. Everyone living here was a wolf, a hyena, or a fox. Only those with genuine capability could gain a firm footing and succeed. Based on the items they ordered, Zhe Wuyue quickly judged that these two were likely to achieve considerable success in the future of the Golden Triangle. Therefore, as a businessman, making a necessary investment should not be neglected.

After Qin Fen paid the required currency, Zhe Wuyue hastily presented a business card with both hands. "Feel free to visit again if you need anything. If you’re looking to gather information, perhaps I can assist you two as well."

Qin Fen carefully tucked the card away and said, "Thank you."

After seeing Qin Fen off, Zhe Wuyue turned back into the shop just as a middle-aged man in camouflage entered and inquired, "What exactly did those two just buy?"

"Oh? You must be General Wang's man?" Zhe Wuyue immediately put on a deferential smile. Wang Hao, the newly rising figure recruiting aggressively, was one of his major patrons, whom he certainly couldn't afford to offend. He quickly poured the newcomer a cup of fine tea. "Those two youngsters are something else. The things they picked weren't expensive, but they are absolute experts with guns. At least with handguns."

"Is that so?" The newcomer seemed skeptical.

"How could I mislead you?" Zhe Wuyue praised them enthusiastically, as if selling merchandise. "Those two just bought a stack of firearm parts and modification tools. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to test them when they finish assembling their weapons."

"Test them?" The middle-aged man stroked his chin stubble. "That's fine too. Killing them would only waste two bullets."

Zhe Wuyue wisely said nothing, but inwardly, he scoffed: Chances are, it might waste two of General Wang's soldiers.

Qin Fen was in no hurry to return to the hotel; both intended to familiarize themselves with Lang Nan Ta, especially the narrow, dark alleys, as these might prove useful later.

After traversing two relatively quiet alleys, Qin Fen and Lin Ling simultaneously stopped. From the alley corner, the sounds of fists and feet colliding could be heard. Alleys? A faint smile touched Qin Fen's lips. He had obtained the liquid metal sphere in an alley; it seemed he had a certain affinity for these tight spaces.

Two dull thuds echoed, and a figure Qin Fen didn't know intimately but recognized spun backward from the corner of the alley. Chen Feiyu barely stabilized himself, leaning against the wall to minimize potential attack vectors, and re-entered his stance, watching the stretch of alley around the corner.

"You’ve been running for years, aren't you tired? Just kill yourself; it saves us the trouble," a cold voice drifted to Qin Fen and Lin Ling from around the corner.

The next moment, three men dressed entirely in black—clearly not locals of the Golden Triangle—slowly came into Qin Fen's view.

"Huh? Someone's here?" The black-clad man on the left raised an eyebrow upon seeing Qin Fen in the alley.

The middle black-clad man raised his arm and wiggled his fingers. "Take them out..."

Before the order was finished, the two men flanking him spread their arms like giant eagles, kicking up clouds of dust as they lunged forward with a rushing sound.

The silence of the alley was instantly shattered by gunfire—two shots fired almost simultaneously. The two lunging men collapsed like sacks, their momentum carrying their bodies several meters across the ground, leaving long streaks of blood tracing from their foreheads.

The black-clad men and Chen Feiyu froze simultaneously. Neither side had expected this man and woman to dare commit murder in the streets of Lang Nan Ta.

In the moment of their shock, two more bullets spun rapidly through the air, carving visible airstreams as they flew toward the remaining black-clad man. Blood sprayed from his forehead. The last opponent couldn't dodge the attack. He stood frozen, eyes wide open, before slowly falling to the ground. A Six-Star expert, killed by a single shot. His final sensation was that he had died unjustly.

Chen Feiyu snapped out of his daze, quickly crouching down to swiftly relieve the fallen men of their wallets before rushing to Qin Fen and bowing deeply. "Thank you."

"No trouble."

Qin Fen uttered a single phrase, then flashed over to the other two corpses, mimicking Chen Feiyu by taking their wallets and the guns they carried. An extra gun, Qin Fen figured, would hardly be a burden.

Chen Feiyu was startled by Qin Fen’s actions. He looked around the vicinity, then sighed. "Lang Nan Ta has rules. Doing what you just did won't get you killed, but it will certainly bring some trouble... The biggest trouble is... never mind! Follow me first..."

Chen Feiyu turned and vaulted over the not-so-high alley wall without waiting to see if Qin Fen would follow.

Qin Fen and Lin Ling exchanged a look and silently vaulted over the wall after him. Following Chen Feiyu, a faint smile remained fixed on Qin Fen's lips. Was he being forced into trouble? No! This was, at most, semi-forced, semi-active involvement in a bizarre incident.

Arriving in the Golden Triangle, Qin Fen and Lin Ling realized this place was far more complicated than the intelligence suggested. In a strange and unfamiliar location, they lacked leads on many things. They needed a local, or at least someone familiar with the area, to act as a basic guide. When they saw Chen Feiyu being attacked, Qin Fen and Lin Ling had already decided to help him; they just hadn't expected the three black-clad men to be so eager and strike first.

After winding through several alleys and crossing several streets—a distance of about ten kilometers—Chen Feiyu finally stopped in front of a dilapidated wooden shack.

"Come in," Chen Feiyu pushed the door open into the dimly lit room and turned to Qin Fen. "I assume you two are overseas Chinese who just arrived in the Golden Triangle? As a fellow overseas Chinese, I feel obligated to explain the rules of Lang Nan Ta to you."

"Brother... back so early today... cough..." A weak, sickly female voice drifted from inside the room.

"Things wrapped up quickly today," Chen Feiyu said, his smile tinged with fatigue. He held up the packet of herbs tenderly. "I earned quite a bit today. I’ll boil your medicine first."

Earning money? A flicker of surprise crossed Qin Fen's brow as he caught Chen Feiyu giving him a look that clearly demanded secrecy. Qin Fen nodded silently.

The girl in bed looked about sixteen or seventeen. Her complexion was sallow, and even her lips held a trace of paleness. She coughed a couple of times, and when her eyes landed on Qin Fen and Lin Ling, a spark of light flashed within them. "Brother, you have friends over today?"

Chen Feiyu continuously nodded while brewing the herbs, a slightly foolish smile on his face that made it hard to believe this man was once the top fighter in the Five-Star Zone of 'Bloody Frenzy,' a martial artist with dozens of lives on his hands.

"Come, come, please sit," the girl strained to sit up in bed, her smile genuinely happy. "Since coming here, this is the first time I've seen you bring friends back, Brother."

"You should rest," Qin Fen sat on a rather unstable stool. "Just lie down."

The girl offered an apologetic smile and settled back onto the bed. "My brother isn't very social and rarely has friends. Thank you for looking after him all this time."

Looking after him? Qin Fen gave a wry internal laugh. He had just smashed his livelihood today; this seemed a bit much for "looking after." Observing the girl’s features closely, a hint of doubt appeared in Qin Fen’s eyes. While it was common for siblings not to resemble each other, this brother and sister pair...

The girl noticed Qin Fen observing her and asked with a slight smile, "Are you curious that my brother and I don't look alike?"

Qin Fen was slightly surprised. This girl, confined to bed and seemingly never leaving the house, somehow knew...

"Heh heh..." The girl chuckled. "It's nothing. People always look at us that way when my brother carries me out for sunshine every day."

Chen Feiyu then brought over the medicine pot, tilting his head toward Qin Fen. "Shall we go outside to boil the medicine together?"

"Brother, why would you make guests work when they visit?" the girl complained. "It’s the same if you boil the medicine in here."

"That won't do," Chen Feiyu looked at the sick girl with deep affection. "The smell of this medicine when boiling is too pungent; it's not good for your weak constitution if you smell it."

Qin Fen rose silently and followed Chen Feiyu out of the room. The girl in bed watched Chen Feiyu's retreating back and let out a soft sigh. Finally, her mournful gaze drifted toward Lin Ling. She needed someone to confide in. But this time, she had chosen the wrong person. Lin Ling showed no inclination to inquire about her sigh; she sat quietly, staring at the worn floorboards.

Outside the door, Chen Feiyu gently fanned the stove fire, his voice kept low. "Every place has its own social order and rules, and this place is no exception."

"Isn't it simply about the strong dominating the weak here?"

"Do you think you are strong enough?" Chen Feiyu’s tone carried a hint of admonishment. "It is true that the strong dominate here. However, your Five-Star strength is still far from sufficient. Like when you just shot those people—you will be taken to the nearby arbitration authority. Of course, self-defense isn't an issue. But you should try to do that as little as possible. You never know if the next person you kill might be a member of some organization. Then..."

Qin Fen didn't speak, merely nodding. He could tell that the three men just now wore black suits, white shirts, and black ties—attire completely unlike the camouflage favored by the Golden Triangle. That’s why he had been so quick to kill them.

"Also, as for those three men you just killed, just act like it never happened," Chen Feiyu’s voice became a serious warning. "Pretend you never saw those three men. If anyone asks or mentions them, you must claim complete ignorance. Understand? If you don't want to die, do as I say."

"Oh, right. I work at a general store, not in death matches," Chen Feiyu added as a final reminder.

"Aside from the Great Life-and-Death Fist, are there any other fast ways to make money?" Qin Fen asked quietly, gazing at the gentle flicker of the furnace fire.

"Join the organization and become an important member," Chen Feiyu frowned slightly. "I advise you not to do that. The danger of joining the organization is no less than fighting in the Deathmatch. Drug trafficking—that kind of conscience-violating money—should be avoided."

After a brief silence of a few seconds, Chen Feiyu spoke again. "If you aren't desperately short of cash, it's better to keep a low profile in the bloody madness hereafter. Otherwise, if a major organization takes notice of you, they will frequently send you invitations."

Qin Fen squatted down, watching several large men in camouflage uniforms approaching from not far down the street, and subtly tilted his chin. "Like them? Are they coming to invite you?"

Chen Feiyu looked up at the approaching figures, his two sword-like eyebrows slowly knitting together. "They're back again. Wang Hao is truly a persistent man."