I Win!

"The boss is in danger!" Scarface roared toward the sky.

The powerful shout possessed immense penetration, intimidating the punks who were closing in from his direction.

The members of the Lion Group, still caught in the chaotic brawl within the alley, all stiffened, their expressions shifting.

"Get lost! We don't have time to play around with you brats!"

One of the lions barked. His muscles bulged as he hoisted several young punks and charged into the crowd.

Like a heavy tank rolling through, the dense crowd was instantly scattered, and a gap was forcibly torn open.

The lions began rushing toward the opening, having no intention of lingering with these children any longer.

"Don't let them get away!" someone among the punks shouted.

The roar of engines thundered like a storm!

Blinding headlights cut through the alley entrance. Two youths were seen sitting on heavily modified motorbikes, popping wheelies as black smoke billowed from their exhaust pipes. The engines screamed like warhorses as they rampaged through the alley!

"Shit, these kids are suicidal!"

A member of the Lion Group barely dodged a motorbike's collision, only for two chains to whistle through the air and wrap around his forearm and neck.

"Woohoo! Let's take you for a spin!"

The punk's eyes were filled with excitement as he gripped the thrown chains tightly. The strange paint on his face looked like hot blood flowing!

They pushed their motorbikes to maximum power, and the two modified bikes sped off, instantly dragging the lion to the ground. After crashing around the alley, they dragged his burly frame away, disappearing into the distance.

Seeing this, the surrounding punks broke into cheers and whistles.

"Qiao Si!!" one of the lions roared, his eyes filled with rage. "Dammit, this has gone too far! These cursed brats, let's give them a lesson!"

"What 'Lion Group'? They don't seem like much to me! Come on, brothers, let's finish them off in one go!!" the leading youth shouted excitedly, waving his chain.

The crowd swarmed forward once again.

In the midst of the chaos, Scarface's eyes darkened as he knocked down several approaching punks with a few punches.

Just as he reached into his jacket to pull out his gun, his gaze suddenly landed on a figure in a hooded sweatshirt within the crowd. Her hands were in her pockets, her entire face buried in shadow as she slowly approached them.

With just one glance, Scarface sensed a dangerous aura emanating from her.

The girl slowly raised her face. Beneath strands of blonde hair, her eyes were indifferent.

It's this person...

Scarface remembered this girl from the Fresh Meat Restaurant.

There should be a white-haired little girl following her.

Was she the one who planned tonight's attack on them?

Suddenly, the girl pulled a black rod-like object from her pocket and ran swiftly toward Scarface.

Zzzzt—

Electric arcs crackled and jumped across the surface of the rod!

Scarface's eyes widened.

Was her target the boy behind him?

The Substitute lunged forward. Scarface instinctively used his arms to shield the boy, but the Substitute only smirked coldly and slammed the stun baton directly against Scarface's arm.

Intense pain followed by the sensation of muscle paralysis and twitching hit him.

Her target was him!

Scarface growled, trying to grab the Substitute's shoulder, but the paralyzing effect of the electricity allowed her to easily evade his movements.

The Substitute raised the stun baton high to her side and slammed it down again, this time hitting Scarface hard in the thigh.

This girl's close-quarters combat skills were extremely high.

Her movements were agile, clean, and decisive—completely different from those punks!

After just one exchange, Scarface made his judgment.

Half of Scarface's body was paralyzed by the powerful current. He fell clumsily to one knee, cold sweat pouring from his forehead.

The boy was terrified by the scene, shrinking into a corner, paralyzed with fear.

"Run!"

Scarface roared, forcing himself to stand up. He lunged at the Substitute with his arms out in front of him.

The Substitute couldn't dodge in time and was slammed against the wall with a dull thud.

Before his powerful iron grip could seize her, she ducked, gripped her stun baton, and reached toward the boy.

"Ah!"

The boy was frightened out of his wits, his legs trembling so much he could barely move.

"Don't... don't come over here!"

He fell and scrambled back up, his deer hooves seemingly refusing to cooperate. After several attempts, he finally stood and ran blindly toward the exit.

Those deer hooves were fast. The boy stumbled and dodged one grasp after another, actually managing to break through the layers of punks surrounding the alley.

Seeing the boy finally disappear from view, the Substitute clicked her tongue.

"What exactly are you trying to do!" Scarface growled low.

"Fulfilling an order," the Substitute replied.

The next moment, both stood up simultaneously, their eyes burning.

The girl nimbly dodged the lion's multiple lunges. She didn't attack proactively; only whenever the lion reached into his jacket did she swing her stun baton, striking his hand viciously.

Scarface confirmed it: she wanted to keep him pinned in this alley!

The Lion Group had a rule: to prevent accidents, gang members were not allowed to carry firearms during daily outings. Only a few people like him could carry a gun.

That was why the girl was focused solely on him from start to finish.

Those punks were ultimately just a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears kids; they would piss themselves and run at the sound of a gunshot.

This suffocating feeling filled Scarface with immense frustration.

Whether it was the girl in front of him or those punks, they were no different from ants in the eyes of a giant elephant. They could be crushed with just a little effort.

A bunch of third-rate punks was actually holding back the members of the Lion Group—names that terrified people in Sector 13—trapping them in an alley and making it impossible to escape.

They would be laughed at if word got out.

It felt as if everything they did was within someone's calculations; they had all this strength but no way to use it!

If this dragged on, it would be too late for the boss!

Thinking of this, Scarface let out an angry roar and reached into his jacket again.

The Substitute, as before, swung her stun baton.

"Caught you!"

To her surprise, Scarface endured the maximum power of the current and lunged to grab her stun baton.

Then, as if he had planned it, he clenched his fist and swung it with a whistling sound toward the Substitute's face!

At the critical moment, a spirited shout came from the alley entrance.

"Everyone stop!"

The brawl in the alley came to a halt. The young punks looked thoroughly displeased.

The Lion Group members were also suppressing a fire within them, with nowhere to vent.

"Shit, I was just getting into it. Who is it?"

But once they saw the figure at the alley entrance, they didn't dare show even a hint of dissatisfaction. Like children who had done something wrong, they put aside their grudges, lowered their heads, and shrank to the sides.

That three-winged investigator badge was too dazzling.

No matter how ignorant these punks were, they knew the name of the Fixer Association.

Forget about them—even the faces that appeared daily on political news could be hauled into the guard bureau for interrogation by this investigator lady if she so desired.

"What do you think you're all doing!?" Bai Youyou barked. "Causing trouble in a public security zone... do you believe I'll arrest you all..."

"Officer! We were just..."

The two groups exchanged glances.

"We were just performing!" a punk shouted.

"Yes, yes, yes! We were just rehearsing a performance!" a lion echoed.

"That's right, a rehearsal. We're planning to film a movie in a few days—a gangster action flick. We're all model citizens!"

The explosive tension from before vanished instantly. One could even see a punk leaning against a tall lion, looking at him with mutual respect as they helped straighten each other's messy collars.

"Alright, alright, rehearsal time is about up, haha. See you next time. Have a nice life!"

"See you next time! Have a nice life!"

Bai Youyou froze.

She watched skeptically as the two groups, who had been in a bloody fistfight moments ago, shook hands, made peace, and dispersed while chatting about daily life.

Shaking her head, Bai Youyou remembered her purpose for coming here.

How did I lose them so suddenly...

I could have sworn I saw Xiaoyou enter this alley just now.

Did I see wrong?

As expected, she still couldn't feel at ease leaving the other person alone outside.

If something really happened to her because of that criminal...

Bai Youyou bit her lower lip gently.

She would be overcome with guilt.

Why wouldn't the other person just stay obediently by her side?

Clearly, she would only be safe as long as she stayed with her.

Only after the investigator lady walked away did Scarface realize that the blonde girl from earlier had slipped away at some point.

There was no time to think about that now. Just as he was about to use his communicator, a hunched lion suddenly appeared beside him and said half-jokingly:

"Leader, why don't we just forget it? Isn't it better if that dead deer dies? Our Lion Group has already grown; we no longer need..."

A heavy, thudding punch nearly dislocated Manji's entire jaw.

"I told you, never say those words again!"

The powerful roar made all the lions in the alley freeze.

Manji clutched his jaw, trembling with fear at the blood-red rage in Scarface's eyes.

The lions had never seen the old leader this angry. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his expression was vicious, like a demon crawling out from a sea of corpses.

After a moment, Scarface's chest settled. He gave a cold snort and released the trembling, hunched lion.

"Phantom, something's happened on the boss's side," Scarface said into the communicator. "Ensure the boss's safety at all costs."

Scarface calmly contacted all nearby Lion Group members through the communicator, locking down the entire block. He then issued orders to the lions in the alley to mobilize as many people as possible to guarantee Mr. Hao's safety.

He didn't notice the venomous glint flashing in the hunched lion's eyes.

Meanwhile, in an old building.

A female sniper leaned against a wall. She took gun parts out of a toolbox one by one, and before long, a light sniper rifle was assembled in her hands.

Lying behind the wall, she stretched lazily.

She set up the rifle, adjusted the scope, and stuck out her thumb to feel the wind speed and direction.

Finally, through the high-powered scope, she locked onto the end of the block.

Locked onto the head of a blonde girl.

Distance of several hundred meters was crossed in an instant. As if sensing something, Anya's ears stood tall, and she gritted her teeth.

【Character Anya triggered passive skill: Danger Sense!】

A notification popped up before her eyes.

Observing the direction Anya was staring at, Xu Xiaoyou noticed a glint of light.

A sniper was aiming at her.

The speed of blood flowing under her skin increased. The burning sensation made her heart race uncontrollably.

Xu Xiaoyou knew she had reached a crossroad of fate.

If she made any out-of-line move now, her head would explode like a shattered watermelon, spraying red juice across the entire street!

"Mr. Hao, you were the one who helped me hold back that investigator in that alley a few days ago, weren't you?" Xu Xiaoyou said.

"I wasn't helping you," the deer-man said coldly. "I was helping her."

"It seems you noticed me long ago. From that restaurant onward, your doubts about me never faded."

"When we were in the slum, you knew someone was following you."

"Hmph."

The deer-man did not answer.

"Your men are closing in. The nearby streets have been completely sealed off; not even a fly could get out."

"A sniper rifle is aimed at me right this second. With one bang, my head will explode."

She spoke with a steady voice, as if the one caught in this dire crisis wasn't her, but just some irrelevant stranger.

Xu Xiaoyou's entire hand was shaking from fear, but the fanaticism in her eyes grew even stronger.

Her fingertips, clutching that peace bracelet, were pale from the lack of blood flow due to her excessive grip.

"You have a lot of nerve," Mr. Hao said. "I thought you were here to collect a debt, thought you were a corpo dog, or that you'd back down when faced with difficulty."

"But I really never expected you'd dare come before me all alone."

Xu Xiaoyou didn't speak, only looking toward the school entrance at the innocent, playful children.

"Mr. Hao, you should know why I chose this place to appear before you."

"If I die, the company will definitely be able to investigate something."

"You dare use my son to threaten me!?"

The deer-man's eyes shifted violently, like an erupting volcano spewing rage!

"Do you want to die?"

The coldness in his words reached its peak.

Xu Xiaoyou knew,

Death was already knocking on her door.

Perhaps in just one second, with a single gesture from the deer-man—even just a nod—the distant sniper would end her life, and those lions would pounce to tear her apart!

The darkness behind the door was about to swallow and consume the girl's thin frame.

"No..." Xu Xiaoyou's throat bobbed. "I'm not threatening you. I just want to offer a suggestion."

"Mr. Hao, you've been troubled by your son's situation lately, haven't you?"

The deer-man remained silent, his gaze deep and mysterious.

"Capital isn't flowing, and the Lion Group needs to grow. Your son is about to enter middle school, isn't he? I think you need a house in the school district, and an identity you can actually speak of in public."

"I've applied to the company."

"The company has approved a larger loan for you, up to six hundred thousand credit points. As for the interest rate and how to repay it later... that shouldn't be a problem for you."

"Just for the sake of your own child, a parent should consider it carefully."

"Once the current debt is cleared, you can receive this funding."

"I believe with your abilities, once you have this money and the Lion Group's capital is flowing again, filling the holes won't be difficult."

With her cards on the table, Xu Xiaoyou said slowly:

"Don't you agree?"