Chi Chuchun

The girl with dark red hair vanished into the crowd, her reassuring voice echoing in her ears for a long time. A wave of warmth quietly spread through her chest, and her eyes, long since parched, grew moist.

"Punish the murderer!"

"Punish the murderer!"

The voices of the crowd's protest rose continuously. The hot-blooded youths watched as that demon walked toward the land-air vehicle. Seeing that he was about to go free once more, they could only let out roars of unwilling fury under the blockade of the Mountain Crow family members.

Suddenly, two round metal canisters were tossed into the crowd amidst the chaos. A sharp-eyed Mountain Crow family member saw the 'Night Walkers' insignia on the canisters and immediately realized something. He tried to shout a warning to those around him, but it was already too late. Plumes of white smoke erupted, rapidly submerging the surging tide of people and blurring the outlines of his companions.

People screamed, pushing and shoving one another; footsteps became a jumble, and the cries of children echoed. For a moment, the scene turned into utter chaos.

"What is this!?" A Mountain Crow family member armed with a gun quickly pointed his muzzle forward. As the smoke reached his face, the intense physiological stimulus brought tears to his eyes, forcing him to cover his face and cough uncontrollably.

At that moment, a figure that had been lurking in the mist revealed itself. The youth wearing an owl mask let out a light laugh. He thrust a stun device, shaped like an electric razor, straight into the man's neck. Before the man could even groan, his body stiffened and he collapsed amidst flashes of brilliant white electricity.

"Someone's attacking!" a companion nearby roared, his eyes nearly splitting from the strain, unaware that the tall figure of a girl was walking toward him. She moved through the turbulent crowd, cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders.

"You are—!"

The man's eyes widened. His answer was an iron fist that tore through the air and slammed into his face.

The man was sent flying, crashing into the floating land-air vehicle behind him and knocking it slightly off course. A piercing alarm tore through the thick mist. Before losing consciousness, he saw his companions being taken down one by one in the fog. The girl, wearing a gas mask, was communicating with someone:

"It's your turn to go on stage. The peripheral members of the Mountain Crow family will be here soon, Camellia."

Noticing the man hadn't fully lost consciousness, the girl glanced down, squatted, and held a metal canister still spewing white smoke to his mouth. "Try it. It's our special blend."

The man's eyes rolled back instantly from the stimulus of the gas hitting his brain. "You... you lunatics..."

At the same time, Chi Tianyi, who had been separated from his Mountain Crow family bodyguards in the chaos, was muttering vicious curses as he crawled carefully along the ground. He didn't want to be noticed by the angry crowd at a time like this.

"Damn it, is the Mountain Crow family useless? Didn't they check the people on this street? How could they let those lunatics get this close?"

He had heard of the Night Walkers. They were a criminal gang that had suddenly made a name for themselves in Dragonfly Town a month ago. They robbed the rich to give to the poor, fighting injustice for those trapped in oppression and darkness. They kidnapped villains whose crimes were heavy but who couldn't be brought to justice. He had heard of the fates of those kidnapped; they were usually extremely miserable, subjected to every common underworld torture, and after death, their bodies would be hung in the most prominent locations of their families as a warning.

During his detention at the agency, he had scoffed at this criminal group, thinking they were just small-time troublemakers. He hadn't expected them to be crazy enough to strike right under the Mountain Crow family's nose. Didn't they know he was a member of the main family?

Speaking for the innocent, declaring war on those in high positions—when justice could not be served, they used violence to suppress violence. They used absolute evil to let people see a relative justice, to see light in the darkness.

To act on such naive and ridiculous ideals... if these people weren't lunatics, what were they?

Chi Tianyi did not want to be caught by such madmen. If he were caught, his end would certainly be beyond miserable. Just thinking about the possible outcome made him curse under his breath twice.

Someone in the chaotic crowd noticed him and shouted, "That damn guy is here!"

Someone rushed forward with a roar, the fire in their eyes looking as if they wanted to tear him into ten thousand pieces. Chi Tianyi screamed and crawled backward, snot and tears mixing together in his terror. A Mountain Crow family bodyguard lunged over to block the angry crowd for him, and someone behind him grabbed his collar and pulled him up. A calm female voice reached him:

"Mr. Chi Tianyi, come with us quickly. Leave this place."

Chi Tianyi nodded frantically as if grabbing a life-saving straw, though a hint of doubt flickered in his mind. The status of women in the Mountain Crow family was always low; except for the patriarch's wife, most women existed only as appendages or tools, used as rewards to be ordered around at will.

But he couldn't afford to think too much at this moment. The lunatics who wanted to tear him apart were right behind him. He followed the girl and sprinted toward a land-air vehicle not far away. Every so often, maddened people would rush out of the white smoke, only to be tackled to the ground by lunging bodyguards, their faces as hideous as blue-faced demons. He finally understood the saying his father always muttered: water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. These commoners, who usually seemed honest and obedient under the suppression of the Five Great Chi Families, had such a terrifying side when they lost their minds. He couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

That damn old bastard father of his was a piece of trash himself. Every time he saw the man, he was surrounded by a swarm of wives and concubines. He really should throw that old lecher here too, so he could see how the raging currents flip a small boat. After cursing the Night Walkers, he started cursing his own old man.

"Go!"

"Mr. Chi Tianyi, go quickly!"

As those bodyguards were pulled into the crowd, every one of them let out heart-wrenching roars. Chi Tianyi sneered inwardly. Of course he knew to go quickly—did they expect him to stay here and wait for death? The dogs of the Mountain Crow family were certainly loyal, being ordered around by the main family for their entire lives.

Finally, the longest period in Chi Tianyi's life passed, and he sat inside a jeep. He smelled the scent of leather mixed with agarwood and cedar. Feeling the texture of the genuine leather seats, a sense of security unlike anything he had felt before made him breathe a sigh of relief. He glanced contemptuously at the commoners rushing to the window and pounding on it, letting out a cold laugh.

"Look at their stupid faces. Once I get back to the Chi family, I'll definitely make these damn low-lifes pay. They've ruined my clothes. I'll find someone to break all their joints and let them watch as they're buried alive in concrete pillars!"

After a round of angry cursing, seeing that the jeep hadn't yet started to drive away, Chi Tianyi frowned. He leaned back leisurely with his hands behind his head and kicked the back of the front seat hard.

"Drive."

The girl in the front didn't respond to him, silently adjusting the vehicle's radio. Chi Tianyi heard the noisy voices of the Mountain Crow family branch members.

"Mr. Chi Tianyi, where is he now!?"

"Unclear. Keep looking! Deploy intersection spikes at the major transport junctions. Get someone to drive the armored vehicles over. We must intercept Mr. Chi Tianyi before those lunatics disappear!"

What were those people saying?

Wasn't he sitting perfectly fine inside the vehicle right now?

Chi Tianyi glanced toward the side window and was startled. He saw those Mountain Crow family bodyguards also pounding on the window with all their might, looking into the car with terrified eyes.

Countless metal locks extended from beneath the seat, pinning Chi Tianyi's entire body to the chair until he couldn't move a muscle. He finally realized something was wrong. "Damn it, you are...?"

His answer was a baseball bat that smashed his nose and shattered his teeth, leaving his face covered in blood.

"Whew. Finally caught you myself. This feels so satisfying."

A somewhat familiar young girl's voice was heard. The anger rising in his heart vanished the moment he saw the face of the dark red-haired girl in the front seat. He subconsciously murmured:

"Chi Chun? No, little family head... why are you here?"

There was a hint of hope in Chi Tianyi's eyes, and he didn't dare entertain any wicked thoughts. The hierarchy in the underworld was strict; any disrespect toward someone of higher status would result in having one's tongue removed, all teeth shattered, and a brand seared into one's face.

"Quickly, let me go. It's me, little family head. Hurry and let me go."

Camellia frowned. "What 'little family head'? Call me Camellia. Also, I'm here to send you to hell."

Another baseball bat strike landed squarely on Chi Tianyi's face. Following the dull thud, the man slipped into unconsciousness. The jeep accelerated, charging out of the crowd and forcibly ramming through the land-air vehicle in front, breaking through the heavy encirclement.