Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Even if it was a guaranteed killing blow, a fool would have learned to dodge it instinctively after dying so many times, would he not?
Right now, besides luck, Huai Shi could only rely on the many fatal experiences he had gone through to turn his luck around.
If he were to rate his opponent according to the Book of Destiny, Red Glove’s specialized dagger combat level was undeniably above LV8. For a lousy weakling like himself, an opponent at such a high level was able to kill him with just one blow.
If he wanted to win…
Huai Shi loosened his left hand in front of Red Glove, causing the heavy weapon that was composed of elementium to disappear in an instant, returning to his soul.
He gave up his most advantageous weapon so abruptly just like that.
The next second, just as he clumsily turned around to dodge Red Glove’s dagger, he swiftly planted both feet steadily on the ground, getting into a horse stance. Then…
The first set and the first form of Basic Military Boxing.
—— Bow Stance Fist Punch!
Bang!
His punch hit Red Glove in the chest and a hint of crimson red stained the bandage over the wound.
The speed of his movements seemed to have doubled after abandoning the heavy ax, but he was still too weak. Compared to a heavyweight boxer’s final knockout blow in a boxing ring, the punch he just threw was near painless.
However, the moment he was hit, Red Glove’s movements suddenly slowed down as his eyes widened in disbelief. His face was so red it was almost bleeding, and he burst into tears in the heavy rain while coughing violently.
“What do you think of the tear gas? Do you like it?”
Huai Shi grinned as he clenched his left fist once again.
As his five fingers tightened, dark black gravel continuously leaked from the gap between his five fingers, which atomized after it came into contact with the water vapor in the air before flowing down.
Disastrous Dust.
The nature of the Trapping Hand lies in the transformation between elementium and substance, which also meant that Huai Shi could transform the elementium that was originally composed of his soul into substance, with the transformation only limited to being within the iron’s vassal state.
As a by-product of Huai Shi’s ability, the sorrowful suffering and sadness that came with the Disastrous Dust was none other than this iron sand that was so small it was almost invisible to the naked eye.
Once they enter one’s bloodstream through the wound, it would immediately explode and transform back into elementium, forcibly instilling Huai Shi’s pain into his enemy!
After combining it with Basic Military Boxing, this trick should be renamed the Deadly Military Punch – Tear Gas, should it not? If he was someone full of positivity, this move could even possibly be called the Merry Cola Punch.
Unfortunately, this was not applicable to him, who was a negativity machine.
With that, he stepped forward while dodging the dagger that was flailing around wildly. Clenching his left fist, he aimed and threw a punch straight at Red Glove’s face.
“This is for Old Yang!”
Then another punch!
“This is for Old Liu!”
Ignoring the dagger that brushed the side of his face, he pounced on Red Glove as the two of them immediately went at each other like wild beasts. In a split second, he blindly swiped at the face in front of him that was on the verge of disintegrating using his Military Boxing punch, unflinchingly sharing all his pain with Red Glove.
Finally, he tightened his fist and channeled all his anger and pain.
“This punch is for me!”
Bang!
The dagger slipped out of Red Glove’s grip and struck Huai Shi’s shoulder just as his head, that was beneath Huai Shi’s fist, rolled off his neck like a deflated basketball.
He mustered all his strength and lifted his feet to kick away the young boy who was straddling him as he staggered up. Clutching his skull that felt like it was about to explode from the painful impact, he roared in rage.
“… What the f*ck are you?!”
“Why are you asking so many questions? Are you recruiting gigolos over your side too?”
In the raging storm, Huai Shi slowly got up from the ground and flashed him a grin. “Huai Shi, male, seventeen years old, a righteous high school senior… Almost.” A wide grin spread across his face that was stained with blood.
This was the first time he had introduced himself.
Immediately after this, Huai Shi opened his arms again, whereby a pale fire ignited from the palm of his hand. Then, using every last bit of elementium that he had, he held onto his invisible weapon.
Dragging the heavy ax, he stepped forward. “Come on, my friend, the intermission and introductions are over.
“Let us ——”
A piercing scream broke the stillness of the air. The invisible ax left deep marks on the ground, causing sparks to fly out in the raging storm.
The invisible ax was singed red by the sparks, illuminating the young boy’s pale face as well as his ferocious smile.
“Let’s begin again!”
A bolt of blazing lightning flashed across the dark sky, the violent light shooting through the torrential rain moments before the thunderbolt appeared.
This was the end of the battle.
Behind Red Glove, the rock song being blasted in the convertible could be heard, with the singer belting out the climax of the song. The hoarse singing echoing in the rain seemed to drown out the rest of the world.
Expressionless, Red Glove slowly stood up.
Facing Huai Shi, Red Glove clenched both his fists. His knuckles crackled as they rubbed against each other.
He was about to use a standard Roman freehand fighting technique.
This time, he showed no sign of hesitation or fear.
Even if it meant both of them dying together.
All he needed was one hit.
At that moment, both their battle cries and the sounds of metal clashing could be heard cutting through the rain and thunder.
Huai Shi gave a loud cry as he dashed forward. Mustering all his energy, he flung his ax out. A mournful whistle sounded as it sliced through the rain.
The edge of the ax disappeared from sight, cleaving into Red Glove’s shoulder.
The sound of his clavicle breaking was like the sound of firewood crackling in the fire.
Red Glove did not have time to dodge the attack at that moment. The young man crashed into his body and he immediately felt ice-cold iron penetrate his body.
Meanwhile, the dagger stabbed Huai Shi’s shoulder a moment earlier.
The tremendous force pushed him backward step by step until he had backed up against the scrap convertible, the dagger that had pierced his body was wedged between his body and the car, like a nail pinning him to the vehicle.
“Farewell, Red Glove.”
Huai Shi muttered his last words.
As Red Glove gradually slipped into unconsciousness, he seemed to hear Huai Shi saying something, but he could not clearly make it out when he lowered his head as the rain was too loud.
The only thing he could hear was the singer’s husky voice from the broken CD player lingering in his ears.
“You’re face to face…
“With the man who sold the world…”
The one standing face to face with you was the person who abandoned the world.
The second he saw Huai Shi light a match, he laughed at himself as his eyelids drooped wearily. “Ah, so you’re an East Xia high school senior… Also another group of monsters…”
In the never-ending storm, the match fell slowly from Huai Shi’s hands.
Then, it fell into the cracked hydraulic cylinder.
Very soon, a loud rumble erupted as the singing came to a halt.
Blazing fire spewed out from the scarlet red convertible and rose toward the sky, engulfing everything within reach.
It burned everything to ashes.
Within seconds, the fire died out, leaving only pungent smoke in the air. Aside from Red Glove’s burnt carcass lying quietly in the wreckage, nothing else was left.
“It’s finally over,” Crow landed on his shoulders and let out a soft sigh. “As beautiful as a miracle. Not bad, Huai Shi.”
Under the pouring rain, Huai Shi remained silent as he leaned on a container behind him.
Without knowing why, his mind drifted to a time seven years ago when he had held a weapon for the very first time.
If the old Huai Shi could see the scene in front of him right now, he would cry out weakly, would he not?
However, that was all in the past. The Huai Shi in the past had already been killed by him with his own hands, along with the nightmare…
This must be what people call growth, right?
“I gazed a gazeless stare at all the millions here…”
He closed his eyes as he continued singing the end of the song softly, “We must have died along, a long long time ago…”
All of us would have died one after another, a long long time ago…
And a long long time after.
.
.
Not long after, the screeching of brakes could be heard in the distance.
A row of huge headlights shone directly at Huai Shi.
Following the sound of heavy footsteps, the entire scene was soon surrounded by the familiar-looking Ascenders suppression troop.
After all, it was the Special Affairs Bureau. Once they mobilized their troops, the entirety of New Ocean would be under surveillance such that not even the tiniest surge of elementium would be able to escape their watchful eyes.
For so many troops to arrive at the scene in ten minutes was by no means slow.
Unfortunately, things ended faster than everyone had expected.
Soon, a middle-aged man in a raincoat emerged from the crowd. He seemed quite aged and had a few streaks of white hair. The outlines of his bulletproof vest could be seen sticking out from beneath his heavy raincoat as well as the vague traces of the heavy firearms.
He glanced around before turning to Huai Shi.
“Where’s Red Glove?” He asked, “Where is he?”
Huai Shi raised his hand and pointed to the wreckage of the car.
“He’s dead?” The middle-aged man looked at the corpse that was burnt to a crisp and the scorched black glove with an unbelieving look in his eyes. “You did this?”
“Nah, it was a bald hero who just happened to pass by.”
Huai Shi let out a sarcastic laugh under his breath. “Just when I was about to be killed, he came down from the sky and rescued me. However, he left in a hurry right after he killed Red Glove with just one hit. If you insist on asking for a name, perhaps you can call him the Peppa Knight of Huaihai Road.”
Obviously, everything that came out of his mouth was nonsense and had no credibility at all.
However, there were still surveillance videos of the site.
The dock security was not stupid after all. They had already contacted the police the second they heard sounds of explosion and gunfire.
“You’re an Ascender huh?”
The middle-aged man hastily looked through the surveillance video and turned to Huai Shi with a confused expression. Although the victim Huai Shi killed was indeed a Green Day terrorist, there were too many questions regarding his actions before the killing… If he allowed Huai Shi to leave the scene just like that and pretend that nothing happened, he would be disrespecting the Special Affairs Bureau.
“Alright…” He sighed, “Son, do you have anything else to say before we officially start our investigation?”
Huai Shi lowered his head and fell deep into thought for a long moment. Scratching his wet hair, he replied, “If I had to share something, I guess it’s that handphones aren’t the best device for listening to rock music, wouldn’t you agree?”
Then, he nodded to himself. “Yeah, I’ll have to start saving up money for a CD player.”
“…”
Speechless at Huai Shi’s mockery, the middle-aged man waved his hand at his troop. A few of his subordinates came forward and handcuffed Huai Shi before lifting him up, bringing him to the armored car behind them.
Looking at the car door that was being slowly opened before him and seeing the separating cell, Huai Shi could not help but let out a sigh. ‘I knew it. I shouldn’t have acted rashly in such a situation. Great, I don’t need to worry about making a living anymore. After all, I might have someone to take care of me for the rest of my life now.
‘Before doing such similar things in the future, I should buy a balaclava first.
‘It’s pointless wearing just a Peppa Pig mask.’
“… So, Chief Fu, where do you want us to bring this member of the Astronomical Association?”
At that moment, he heard a cold voice behind him. “If I remember correctly, although the Special Affairs Bureau has the authority to monitor the members of the Astronomical Association, when it comes to confinement, disposal, and holding trials, I’m afraid only the National Central Administration Committee has the power to do so.
“Besides, he just helped dispose of a tumor tonight that Green Day had embedded in the city on behalf of the Astronomical Association. No matter how you look at it, he shouldn’t be receiving this sort of treatment.”
Huai Shi turned his head in shock and saw a girl in a wheelchair.
It was Ai Qing.
She looked calm and collected, both her hands folded on across one another on top of the blanket covering her knees. Perhaps it was the cold night, for her fingers were so white they seemed almost transparent. Even the veins on her arm were clearly visible.
Behind her, her diligent female driver held a big umbrella over her to shield her from the rain.
The middle-aged man whom she addressed as Chief Fu was stunned for a long time as he stared blankly at Ai Qing. “A member of the Astronomical Association? Him? Since when?” He could not help but look back at Huai Shi several times.
“Five days ago when Huai Shi volunteered himself as bait, he signed the Astronomical Association’s civilian voluntary assistance agreement, the time limit was set at a month, which means as of now, he’s still a temporary member of the Astronomical Association.”
As Ai Qing spoke, she held out a contract from a file and showed it to Chief Fu. “Therefore, his personal safety and actions are the responsibility of the Astronomical Society.
“If you have any doubts about this battle, I can bring him forward to the Special Affairs Bureau either tomorrow or the day after to give you a detailed explanation, but can you please kindly release him from the handcuffs right now?”
With a blank expression, Chief Fu looked down at the agreement in Ai Qing’s hands, not bothering to take it from her. For a long time, he smiled lightly. “This is the first time I’m seeing you behave this respectfully. It’s quite a surprise.”
With a wave of his hand, he ordered his subordinates to release Huai Shi’s handcuffs.
Before leaving, he patted Huai Shi’s shoulder. “Don’t be so full of yourself, kid. I really hope I won’t see you at the prison in the Special Affairs Bureau.”
With that, he got into his car and left with his troop.
Huai Shi remained standing in silence with a glazed look in his eyes beside the girl under the umbrella.
“When did I sign that contract with you?” Huai Shi looked at the agreement that Ai Qing had now thrown into a puddle. “Why didn’t I know anything about it?” He asked blankly.
“I signed it for you. This agreement was printed just over ten minutes ago. It’s still a little warm and the ink hasn’t yet completely dried up. It seems that the fellow saw through me but I guess he was saving me face.”
“… Wait, didn’t you leave for Jinling?”
“Oh, I lied to you.”
Ai Qing continued speaking as she held a miniature hand warmer in her hands, “If I tell you that I had a feeling you were hiding something from me and so placed a location tracker in your pocket, and furthermore, that I saw everything that had happened here from the very beginning, would you be angry?”
Huai Shi remained stunned for a long time before he finally nodded. “… maybe a little bit?”
“Alright then, go ahead and get angry at me. Having one more person mad at me won’t make much of a difference anyway.”
Ai Qing nodded to herself indifferently as she pulled something out of her pocket and threw it into Huai Shi’s lap.
He caught it in a hurry and saw that it seemed to be a key card made of an alloy of some sort. It felt heavy in his hand as he shifted it around to look at it. There was a logo of the Earth printed on the slightly protruding front as well as some thorns and laurel leaves printed on both sides. There was also a pin on the back to allow people to pin it to their chest.
“What’s this?”
“Think of it as your lifeguard.”
She continued icily, “From today onward, you’re the confidential secretary of New Ocean’s attorney under the Astronomical Association’s East Asian sector. To be honest, I don’t care what you are hiding from me, but if you don’t want to be imprisoned for murder, get ready to work hard for me.”
Huai Shi was still in shock. “I… Is this an amnesty?”
Sure enough, Water Margin was right—to become an official, first you shall commit murder and arson, then you shall wait for the election notice to arrive1. In his case, he had just killed someone and literally set a fire, and now he was a member of the Astronomical Association?
To be exact, he was about to be a secretary. A male secretary, in fact. How strange…
“Not an amnesty exactly, think of it more as ‘serving a sentence’.”
Ai Qing glanced at his smirk and ruthlessly popped the last glimmer of hope he had in his head. “Simply put, you have to do your work well, and that includes writing reports, taking the blame for others, and sacrificing yourself… Your job is as simple as that.
“I hope you can prepare yourself before the end of your summer vacation, as we have plenty of tasks waiting for you.”
Huai Shi suddenly felt cold as he thought of Liu Dongli, who was currently still in the intensive care unit. He had a feeling that he would not live much longer and that his life was hanging on a thread.
“One last thing…”
Before leaving, Ai Qing turned around and looked at him one last time.
In that instant, under the lightening rain, Huai Shi saw a tiny, subtle smirk on the girl’s face as she remained under the umbrella.
“It’s been a long time, Huai Shi,” she said.