"Open fire, blow these bastards up!"
In the ruins, a few temporarily modified fortresses had been set up. A burly figure with a face full of scars held a communicator, shouting orders to his subordinates. Following that, the dense burst of machine-gun fire temporarily suppressed the figures making a sudden rush toward the base of a fortress.
This was the site of the old Jielou City, but now it had become a den of thieves, a stronghold for various gangs. Although there was some infighting, due to mutual caution, the sparks had not flared up. However, recently a special force from outside had arrived. They had few numbers, but they showed no mercy to the gangs, aggressively attacking, causing many smaller factions to be wiped out in a matter of days. This put the remaining gangs on edge.
Today, the Black Shark Gang entrenched here encountered the foreign force that had been rumored about.
Squatting behind a broken wall to dodge the bullets flying overhead, Ximu changed the magazine in his gun and loaded it with special sniper bullets. Then, moving into a shadowy corner, he cautiously peeked out again, aiming at the machine gun spewing bullet fragments in the distance.
Following a faint sound of a rifle shot, the mounted machine gun was shattered and silenced. Subsequently, several of their own figures quickly stormed forward, initiating a melee akin to reaping.
From a distance, it was indeed a threat for ordinary people with powerful firearms to face Transcendents, but once you got close, the situation was completely different. Whether it was in terms of reaction speed, agility, or resistance to damage, mortals were far inferior to Transcendents.
Xie Lian, dressed in a black uniform and wielding a Black Steel Blade, quickly incapacitated the enemies inside the fortress and then continued to push inward until he encountered the enemy leader.
"Stop! Otherwise, I'll detonate the explosives!" The previously arrogant man now nervously gripped the detonator in his hand, his finger on the trigger, with many boxes of explosives behind him. The bright yellow casing with black letters and numbers indicated that the explosives were once used for quarrying rocks.
"Is that so? Are you really willing to die here? I didn't want to kill you; I just wanted you to talk some sense into us," Xie Lian said, swinging the blade and creating a spray of sparks, then slowly sheathing the blade.
Seeing him put away the blade, the gang leader and his henchmen finally let out a sigh of relief, though they still pointed their guns at Xie Lian.
Whether to shoot or not was a question wavering in their minds. If they fired and failed to kill Xie Lian, this Transcendent would probably not let them live. But if they chose to negotiate and surrender, they felt reluctant, having taken over this place and established their territory which, if managed well, could promise a comfortable future.
"Fine, now back off slowly. You're too close and I'm afraid I might get nervous and set off the explosives, blowing us all sky-high," said the gang leader, observing Xie Lian putting his blade away and feeling encouraged by the effectiveness of his threat, he spoke up again.
Xie Lian slowly retreated step by step, and seeing him moving further away, a gleeful spark appeared in the eyes of the men holding submachine guns. They couldn't help but entertain some thoughts.
At this distance, they had enough room for several rounds of shooting, and even if the opponent was a Transcendent, he might not be able to rush over in time.
"Fire!" the gang leader suddenly bellowed.
A series of shots rang out, sparks and bullets flying chaotically inside the room. Shortly after the gunfire ceased, sounds of bodies hitting the floor followed, and the ground and walls were splattered with fresh bloodstains.
Unfortunately for them, it wasn't Xie Lian who had fallen, but the group that had just been ready to shoot.
Kinsenke and Guluo jumped in through a window, with the barrels of their guns still emitting wisps of smoke. They checked the fallen men, then lifted the groaning boss from the ground, treated his wounds, and tied him up.
"Don't worry, it looks bad, but it's not lethal yet," Guluo said, supporting him against the wall, while Kinsenke was toying with the explosive detonator, which had been dropped onto the floor.
"However, if you don't cooperate with us, you might indeed die later," Guluo's next words tightened the man's heart again.
In fact, the more a man lived on the edge, the more afraid of death he was. They had become outlaws for a carefree life and the thrill of effortless plundering; dying meant losing everything.
"I'll cooperate, I'll cooperate, just stop the bleeding. There's a Healing Potion in the safe in that room. Please give me an injection; I'll tell you where the money is hidden afterward," he quickly softened his tone.
"Hehe, you're quite amiable, aren't you? Of course, we're not demons. We will save you if we should," Kinsenke said cheerfully. Although he came from a very wealthy family, life always seemed dull because too many things came too easily, leaving little excitement. This had gradually led him to seek out thrills.
Previously in South First District, the most thrilling thing to do was death racing, but unfortunately, that was too dangerous. Kinsenke liked to watch, but he would never participate himself.
Joining the club was an impulsive decision motivated by curiosity about the black-haired girl and as a way to appease his family elders at home. He could claim he was in the same club as his cousin at school and learning from her experience, et cetera.
Deloris was a paragon amongst the older generation, not only beautiful and well-mannered but also engaged in her family's business from a young age, helping her father and becoming a celebrity in the upper circles of South First District. So, this excuse did have its uses, allowing Kinsenke to enjoy himself within the club and also tell his family he was studying hard, and then use this as a reason to relax occasionally.