I had intended to return the Dragon Girl's kiss to show my sincerity, but unexpectedly, she squirmed out of my embrace, robbing me of the opportunity, and apologized instead, "Dragon Envoy, I am so sorry, I was rude just now."

I quickly said, "It's nothing, it's nothing, let's hurry and see what's going on."

City Lord Ye wasn't dead yet; he was still a formidable man, though he never imagined that a friend he had known for years would suddenly strike him down. He mustered all his strength for a furious blow against Kang Hui, his iron fist slamming squarely into Kang Hui's head—Bang! Half of Kang Hui's skull shattered, and white brain matter streamed down his face.

But who could have predicted that Kang Hui would act as if untouched, plunging the hand he had driven into City Lord Ye's chest deeper and twisting it inside the body? With his internal organs shredded, City Lord Ye screamed once and died instantly. Kang Hui roared with laughter, "Still not dead? Did you think that could kill me? Hahaha, your twenty flying saucers and one thousand giant soldiers are mine now, hahaha..."

I asked the Dragon Girl in astonishment, "He's fine even with a shattered skull? What kind of person is he?"

The Dragon Girl's voice trembled from the scene in the room, "I don't know. Perhaps it's some new genetic technology."

Kang Hui, with only half a skull remaining, withdrew his hands and casually wiped away the bloodstains. Then, he snapped his fingers, and several more people entered the room. One of them was actually City Lord Ye!

Perhaps it should be said that it was a person bearing an exact resemblance to City Lord Ye. He bowed to Kang Hui and said, "Your command, Master."

Kang Hui instructed, "Train those giant soldiers and flying saucers well, and deploy them immediately if needed."

"Yes!" City Lord Ye acknowledged the order, then directed the others to dispose of the corpse of the real, deceased City Lord Ye.

The Dragon Girl translated this and anxiously urged me, "We must notify Captain Haas immediately about this matter, otherwise this fake City Lord Ye will certainly bring harm to Captain Haas. Right now, the Haas clan is our only hope for defeating the rebels."

I didn't correct the Dragon Girl. The hope of defeating the rebels should not be placed on someone trying to maintain neutrality, much like Yuan Shikai back then—trying to play both sides without offending anyone, only to ultimately ruin the grand plan of the reformers.

The Dragon Girl, in her urgency, made to stand up. Perhaps the residual effects of our earlier kiss had not completely faded, as her footing gave way, and she crushed a pile of roof tiles with a clatter. The noise immediately reached the ears of the people inside the house.

Without the Dragon Girl translating, I couldn't make out what they were shouting, but I could imagine it even with my eyes closed—it was definitely not good news. I grabbed the Dragon Girl, fearing she might slip, then swung my arm and tossed her onto my back.

Just then, a tremendous crash erupted from the roof. The perfectly intact house was forcibly breached by a monstrous shape boring a massive hole through it. I looked sharply—what monster? It was clearly Kang Hui, who had sprouted a pair of wings!

His half-brained head, still oozing fluids, stared intently at us, a pair of enormous wings sprouting from his back. I had no idea how they had grown in that instant; his back had been perfectly normal moments before.

Kang Hui babbled something unintelligibly. The Dragon Girl, tense, did not translate. So I cursed at him, "To hell with your babble! You kill a man and then try to use a body double to fool people. I despise that kind of trickery the most. In a moment, I'll chop that fake one up too. If you like impersonating dead people so much, I'll send you both to hell to play dress-up to your heart's content."

Kang Hui, of course, didn't understand my words, but he was extremely surprised by the Dragon Girl on my back. His tone shifted entirely as he chattered incessantly at her, gesturing wildly with his hands and feet, as if trying to demonstrate his profound, unwavering loyalty. Pah! Even a rebel's loyalty is worthless.

The Dragon Girl spoke back to him in her native tongue. After a lengthy exchange, she turned to me, "Dragon Envoy, Kang Hui wants me to go with him. He says as long as I obey him, he guarantees he won't oppose my brother again."

I gripped the Dragon Girl's rear tightly and said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. At his current state, half a skull, he'll turn into an idiot in a few more days. Doesn't his despicable action just now prove that he is an utterly shameless villain? If you trust him, you're doomed."

The Dragon Girl said something back to Kang Hui, and his face turned green. Half of his eye was fixed on me, clearly burning with jealous rage. It looked like he was about to make a serious move.

Whoosh! Kang Hui flapped his wings once, and his body shot toward me like an arrow. His hands morphed into a long, spear-like weapon aimed directly at my heart.

Carrying the Dragon Girl, I leaped aside, narrowly avoiding his sudden thrust, then kicked out with both feet, sending Kang Hui tumbling end-over-end in the air until he crashed onto the roof. Kang Hui roared, then rapidly beat his wings. Mid-air, his hands and feet began to contort into sharp talons, and his form flickered as he lunged toward my face.

I decided to stop holding back. With a whirr, I activated my lightsaber and slashed forward. The incoming Kang Hui split cleanly in two down the middle. His wings flapped a few times before he finally tumbled onto the roof, crashing straight through it and landing in the hall below.

I jumped down immediately after him, just as the fake City Lord Ye threw a punch my way. I met his strike head-on with my own fist. As the two fists collided, City Lord Ye let out a cry, spat a mouthful of blood, and collapsed onto the floor. The remaining lackeys, seeing how bad things were, tried to flee, but I severed their heads with one sweep of my sword, killing them instantly.

By this time, patrolling soldiers had noticed the disturbance, and the alarm siren immediately blared. I said to the Dragon Girl, "We should withdraw. I fear no matter what we say now, they will assume we are the true murderers of City Lord Ye."

The Dragon Girl finally snapped back to her senses, "You're right. We should avoid the trouble. With the City Lord murdered, they will likely search the entire city. We need to get out quickly; many outsiders might get implicated."

I whisked the Dragon Girl back to the 'Inn' and woke everyone up. Elena was groggy and refused to get up, so I slung her over my back and haphazardly threw a piece of animal hide over her. Xiaoke and Centaur-Horse were completely bewildered. After the Dragon Girl explained things to them, everyone quickly packed their belongings. Fortunately, the food and water had been prepared the night before. We quietly collected them, loaded them onto Centaur-Horse's back, and slipped out of the city.

We traveled non-stop until midday before daring to rest. Elena was furious about our secret actions the night before—not because we had killed someone, but because I hadn't taken her along, choosing instead to go off alone with the Dragon Girl. All along the way, she repeatedly interrogated me in English, demanding to know if anything improper had happened between me and the Dragon Girl.

I replied in English, "Sister Nana, I beg you to stop the cross-examination. Truly, nothing happened. We went to scout for information and ran into Kang Hui killing City Lord Ye. We were accidentally discovered by Kang Hui, so we killed Kang Hui. It’s that simple."