The mag-lev vehicle hovering in the air shook violently, its instruments behaving like wild horses, digital readouts flickering hundreds of times per second as the fuselage slowly descended toward the ground.
Shot down? The young, spoiled martial artists were utterly stunned. Someone had actually used a motorcycle helmet to bring down an expensive mag-lev vehicle? What kind of monstrous strength was that?
Liang Tao frantically stabbed at the buttons with the few fingers he could move, his eyes fixed in terror on Qin Fen below. This man was even more ruthless than those dandies. If he were caught by him...
A blast of icy cold shot straight up Liang Tao’s spine to his brain. His fingers hammered the controls at high frequency, yet he could barely halt the vehicle’s descent.
Qin Fen stopped watching the slowly dropping mag-lev vehicle. He bent down, picked up another motorcycle helmet from the ground, and fixed his gaze directly on the group of spoiled martial artists clustered at the alley entrance.
As Qin Fen’s stare swept over them, the young brutes instinctively jumped back a pace, their hearts hammering more than ten times in a single second. These were eyes filled with a ferocity none of them had ever witnessed.
Normally, relying on their family backing, they could get away with whatever they wanted outside; most people dared not resist, fearing retribution from the powerful families behind them.
An incident like today—where someone completely ordinary, without any backing, dared to fight back, and had already crippled a man with just one strike—had simply never happened before.
In his left hand, Qin Fen held an AK47 radiating a chilling murderous intent. With a flick of his right hand, he drew out a bullwhip, which cracked through the air with a sharp snap!
The young martial artists felt a streak of dark light flash before their eyes. The rush of air whipped past their ears, stinging their faces and the tips of their ears. The deep, booming sound of displacement was like a heavy motorcycle roaring past them.
At the other end of the alley, the young martial artist whose arm was broken and who was still convulsing in agony and screaming, suddenly felt a dull thud resonate from his chest. A series of bone-cracking sounds followed. He was thrown backward, spitting a mouthful of blood, sliding nearly ten meters before collapsing onto the ground...
The youths who had just been knocked down and were climbing back up stared blankly at Qin Fen, their minds screaming in disbelief. Madness! This Qin Fen is insane! He’s showing absolutely no mercy with his attacks.
Another helmet flew out. The firearm lying on the ground in the distance was smashed into several pieces by the impact of the helmet.
The moment Qin Fen picked up yet another helmet, every young man instinctively retreated, their hearts chilled as they watched the helmet capable of downing a mag-lev vehicle.
“You…” Qin Fen pointed at the person who had been controlling the mag-lev sword earlier. The helmet in his hand shot forward. The young man’s only desperate defense was to cross his arms over his chest...
In the alley, now so quiet a falling needle could be heard, a rapid succession of bone-snapping sounds erupted. The arms the young man had crossed over his chest, and the bones beneath, shattered instantly. Without even a chance to scream, the sheer impact of the helmet knocked him unconscious.
“You… what do you think you’re doing…” Someone finally snapped out of his terror and remembered his status and family background: “I’m telling you, we all have powerful connections! Don’t think you can just act like this because you’re a mere Lieutenant Colonel…”
Qin Fen let out a cold laugh. Things had already come to this, yet these people were still thinking of using their status to suppress others, instead of reflecting on their actions!
“Why… why are you laughing…” Another person regained a shred of courage, puffing out his chest: “Do you even know who my father is?”
Qin Fen’s smile grew colder. If he backed down now simply because they flashed their status, these men would only become more arrogant, perhaps plotting some new scheme the moment he turned his back.
“I don’t know who your father is,” Qin Fen said, his face grim as he slowly walked forward. “And I have no interest in finding out. Today, I just want you to know who I am.”
“What… what do you plan to do?” At Qin Fen’s single forward step, dozens of young men shrieked and shuffled back in unison: “You need to think clearly about the consequences of offending us.”
“That’s right! That’s right…”
“Think it through…”
Dozens of young men slowly backed away, yet they dared not flee. Everyone in Shengjing’s minor circles knew about today’s events. If they ran away like cowards now, they would have no standing among the young elite of Shengjing in the future.
Qin Fen’s smile seemed frozen. Think it through? There was nothing left to think about! Offending them by fighting was inevitable; would not fighting make them any less offended? Against these types, showing weakness and compliance was useless!
“I… I have thought it through…”
Qin Fen broke into a smile, warm as a spring day, the ice instantly melting from his face.
The dozens of youths also smiled, their eyes gleaming with triumphant smugness. This Lieutenant Colonel clearly knew fear. If they could just survive this, they could hire an assassin later to take him out and restore their honor...
Before the various vengeful thoughts had fully materialized in the young men’s minds, the ground beneath their feet suddenly gave a violent tremor, as if the surrounding buildings were about to collapse...
Before anyone could react, Qin Fen, propelled by the immense force in his legs, materialized before the group. His shoulders suddenly convulsed and shook rapidly, unleashing a torrent of powerful aura from within his body. As his hands lifted, the air was filled with a furious roar faintly resembling crashing ocean waves.
The men’s vision blurred. It seemed as if visible waves of air were churning, making the quiet alley feel momentarily like a stormy Hawaiian beach, where immense surf crashed towards the shore.
[Raging Tide of Fury]!
In the alley, a staccato rhythm of punches and kicks instantly erupted. Qin Fen, moving like a water dragon emerging from the sea, struck through the crowd. The sound of breaking bones followed immediately, and one by one, the young men opened their mouths, spewing jets of blood into the air. In the blink of an eye, the entire alley was filled with the stinging scent of blood, mixed with groans and wails of agony.
The injured youths lying on the ground groaned and watched Qin Fen moving among them in terror. How could this man be so ferocious? He was taking on a whole group single-handedly! And why hadn't he left? He seemed to be searching for something?
“Tear gas… tear gas canisters…”
Qin Fen reached out, tearing off the gas masks from the faces of the injured men, casually weighing a few unused tear gas canisters in his hand. “If there’s a next time, I will kill.”
Those simple eight words momentarily made the youths forget their pain, a wave of icy coldness permeating every pore of their bodies.
Qin Fen tossed two tear gas canisters into the center of the injured group. He turned, listening to the mixed sounds of coughing and moaning behind him, and walked toward the mag-lev vehicle that had finally settled on the ground.
Slap... slap...
Liang Tao hurriedly locked the doors, sealing the cabin completely, before letting out a long breath. This was super-tempered glass; unless Qin Fen used a firearm, the interior of the vehicle was absolutely safe.
Did Qin Fen dare to use a gun? Liang Tao watched the man outside the vehicle with a leisurely air. Shooting someone in Shengjing? If he killed one of the other youths, it could be passed off as self-defense. But killing a man temporarily disabled? Could that still be self-defense? Unless he wanted to die too!
“You think you’re safe?”
Qin Fen wore a half-smile that sent an indescribable chill down Liang Tao’s spine. He watched as Qin Fen gripped the edges of the mag-lev vehicle with both arms, and immediately felt his seat tilt sharply as the vehicle was shoved sideways.
“I can repair Mobile Armors, let alone this vehicle?”
Qin Fen slowly flexed his fingers. If the Nine-Star Dragon-Elephant Prajna Gong wasn’t used for fighting, but for dismantling things...
Ding... dong... ding...
Liang Tao watched in horror through the rearview mirror as the undercarriage of the mag-lev vehicle was ripped off by Qin Fen using only his bare hands.
“The power core has sustained too much shock and entered its self-protection protocol,” Qin Fen said with a smile, examining the vehicle's structure as his hands swiftly modified components within. At the same time, he pulled a block the size of a blackboard eraser from his chest and tucked it next to the power core.
Beep beep... beep beep...
Liang Tao noticed that the various instrument readings on the mag-lev vehicle had indeed stabilized. He looked at Qin Fen in disbelief. Why was he helping repair the car?
“You think hiding inside makes you completely safe?” Qin Fen chuckled lightly, slowly raising his right arm above his head.
Liang Tao gasped as Qin Fen’s arm appeared to inflate like a balloon, thickening in an instant to the size of a normal man’s thigh. The dark, prominent veins spread out like a dense spiderweb, completely enveloping his fist, making it look as if it were forged purely from steel.
Thump!
The entire chassis of the mag-lev vehicle vibrated, the sound as loud as a New Year’s drum, instantly reverberating in Liang Tao’s chest. He stared, astonished, at the super-tempered glass, which was far sturdier than stone. After Qin Fen struck it with one punch, countless hairline cracks appeared.
Thump...
Another punch followed, adding more fine cracks to the existing web.
Qin Fen smiled: “When the glass shatters in a moment, I’ll pull you out, crush every single one of your bones, down to your fingertips. Then let’s see how you plan to cause me trouble.”
The warm, spring-like smile exuded a bone-chilling threat.
Liang Tao looked at Qin Fen’s hammer-like arm, recalling the agony of being heavily injured by him previously. He no longer had the presence of mind to ponder why Qin Fen was repairing the car.
Escape! He absolutely had to get away from here, or he would be beaten to death!
Liang Tao frantically hit the emergency takeoff button. A powerful vortex suddenly erupted from beneath the mag-lev vehicle. The force of the wind snapped Qin Fen’s military uniform taut, and the grounded vehicle finally lifted into the air.
This time, Liang Tao dared not remain at fifty meters altitude. Qin Fen’s helmet attack earlier proved that fifty meters was not safe enough.
One hundred meters, no! Three hundred meters! Liang Tao shot up to three hundred meters, looking down at Qin Fen, a mere black speck on the ground, and spat down venomously: “You got lucky this time, but next time you won’t be so fortunate.”
Having narrowly escaped death, Liang Tao completely forgot to wonder why Qin Fen had helped repair his car. His fingers happily pressed the forward button, terrified that Qin Fen might throw another helmet from three hundred meters up.
The young martial artists lying on the ground, coughing and groaning, looked up at Liang Tao speeding away in the sky, their gazes turning to Qin Fen, confused—why did it end like this?
“Five... four... three... two…” Qin Fen raised a single index finger and said calmly: “One... Detonate...”
BOOM!
A massive explosion sounded in the sky, comparable to a huge clap of thunder in a storm. A ball of searing fire flashed across the sky, instantly splitting into countless fragments that scattered under the powerful shockwave.
The groaning youths momentarily forgot their pain and stopped their moans. They stared blankly at the dissipating fireball in the sky, their sluggish brains finally processing the truth: Liang Tao was dead.
“I will kill,”
Qin Fen’s cold words from just moments before resurfaced in their minds.
A chill swept over their bodies. All the young men understood what that explosion implied. With the fireball fragmenting in the air and the body completely vaporized, investigating this case would become extremely difficult.
Qin Fen watched the fractured fireball in the sky with a blank expression. He hadn't expected the flash-bang rounds he developed for training to be used to kill someone with such effectiveness.
After a long moment, someone finally recovered from the shock: “You... you killed Liang Tao...”
Qin Fen looked at the injured questioner and replied calmly: “If I don’t kill him this time, will he not try to kill me next time?”
The young men fell into a deep silence. Liang Tao was known for being petty and vindictive; if he had escaped successfully today, he absolutely would not have let the matter rest.
“Therefore, I have no reason to let a scourge capable of threatening my life continue to exist in this world,” Qin Fen nodded slightly. “Killing is my area of expertise. I hope we can coexist peacefully from now on.”
Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys? The young men had a thought flash through their minds—a ridiculous concept that they couldn’t afford to laugh at.
Yes, kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. While the method was crude, it was often extremely effective.
“Oh, right. I did strike you all, but I hope you can clearly determine who the real culprit was this time,” Qin Fen pointed toward the dissipating fireball in the sky. “Was it me, or was it him? Who is truly worth being friends with?”
The alley returned to its original quiet. Qin Fen was gone. The young men began making calls, seeking ambulances, but not a single one chose to call the police for assistance. It was as if they had forgotten that just moments ago, someone had successfully executed a mag-lev vehicle bombing.
The young men running the circles in Shengjing, though spoiled, were not fools. Their injuries today were largely incited by Liang Tao. Moreover, he was now dead! What benefit could they gain by being friends with a dead man?
No! No benefit! The young, spoiled martial artists naturally knew how to choose. Although they were severely injured this time, they understood that Qin Fen had shown restraint by not crippling them or cutting off their path to martial arts practice.
“Squad Leader Hao, I killed someone,” Qin Fen said calmly into his mobile phone. “Liang Tao tried to kill me, so I counter-attacked and killed him.”
“Killed someone?” Squad Leader Hao’s brow furrowed, and he quickly moved to a secluded spot. “Was it clean? Can they trace it back to you?”
“It was clean; it will be hard to trace me,” Qin Fen added. “I placed the flash-bang round next to the power core of his mag-lev sword vehicle, causing a rather significant explosion.”
Squad Leader Hao’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed, revealing a relieved smile. “That’s good. We can pin it on terrorists. Go find Zhao Huzi—that guy has a terrible temper, but he likes you a lot, and he has some friction with the Cao family, so he will definitely help cover for you.”
“Understood.”
Qin Fen ended the call, finally relaxing completely. Using an explosive to kill someone in a city like Shengjing, which boasted such excellent public safety, was indeed too shocking. Fortunately, Squad Leader Hao was experienced and had shifted the blame onto terrorists with a few casual words.
“I wonder how many similar incidents are blamed on unlucky terrorists?” Qin Fen mused, stroking his chin. He suddenly felt that being a terrorist was a career with no future; not only did they live like rats, hunted by everyone, but they were also too easily framed.
Outside a massive shopping mall, the music video playing on the large screen suddenly warped, switching to a news broadcast.
“We now present emergency news,” the beautiful, dignified anchorwoman stated with a grave expression. “A mag-lev vehicle just exploded above Shengjing. According to intelligence just received, the Federation’s sixth-largest terrorist organization, the ‘Golden Will,’ has claimed responsibility for this incident. Please watch the footage transmitted by the ‘Golden Will’ now.”
Qin Fen watched with a mixture of exasperation and amusement as a figure wearing a black hood on the huge screen excitedly declared this an alarm bell sounded by the free world against the corrupt Federation.
“Sigh...”
Qin Fen sighed. This world was truly mad. Some people desperately avoided such incidents, while others enjoyed taking ownership of them.
The massive screen quickly changed visuals again. This time, it was the Federation President giving a speech, naturally condemning terrorism and denouncing the terrorist act by the ‘Golden Will.’
Qin Fen shook his head and quickened his pace toward the military sector. He needed to brief General Zhao beforehand. The ambush by those spoiled youths today probably wasn't entirely secret; even without direct evidence, certain connections could easily be inferred. Since Squad Leader Hao vouched for him, it was better to see him first to avoid being caught off guard if issues arose later.
Ambulances whizzed overhead. Qin Fen hailed a taxi instead: “Shengjing Military Compound.”
“Oh? A Lieutenant Colonel at such a young age?” the taxi driver said with a smile. “Young man, you have an unlimited future!”
An unlimited future? Qin Fen managed a dry chuckle. Who had ever seen a Lieutenant Colonel who couldn't even get himself situated in half a day? Unlimited future? It should be a future without light.
Shrugging, Qin Fen gazed out the window at the scenery. A future without light, so be it! He hadn't planned on following the military path anyway. Retiring after reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel should bring a very nice reward.
The journey passed in silence. The taxi stopped at the gate of the East Asia Military Compound.
Qin Fen opened the door and hopped out, turning back to thank the driver.
The two soldiers guarding the gate saw Qin Fen and their expressions became very strange as they stared at him. Is this kid back again today? Surely he’s not planning another scene right here at the gate, with blood splattered everywhere and moans filling the air?
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