Chapter 20: A Fight to the Death |
Lin Xian’s heart pounded wildly as he stared at Liu Wei, who was sprawled on the ground.
The blood, the pain—it all seemed to ignite a frenzy deep within him.
I can’t die. I don’t want to die!
The primal instinct for survival surged within him, numbing the searing pain that wracked his body. With Liu Wei momentarily knocked down, Lin Xian didn’t waste even half a second. He turned and raised his hand, unleashing another Wind Cannon directly at Liu Wei’s face.
Whoosh!
A bloody hole burst open on Liu Wei’s face.
“AHHH!”
Liu Wei howled in agony, his four tentacles whipping into action. They swept up the smooth pebbles from the riverbank and hurled them at Lin Xian with such force that the stones whistled through the air.
Lin Xian didn’t dare underestimate the attack and immediately sidestepped to evade.
Through the chaos, Liu Wei began to analyze the situation. The young man before him seemed to rely heavily on agility. Aside from that ranged attack, which acted like some kind of hidden weapon, the youth didn’t appear to have any other threatening abilities.
If he were truly powerful, Liu Wei reasoned, he would have already bombarded him non-stop like an automatic rifle. The fact that Lin Xian hadn’t done so yet meant that his abilities likely consumed a significant amount of energy.
Despite his brutish appearance, Liu Wei had a knack for keen observations. After all, years of running a small business had sharpened his sense of judgment.
“You’re running out of tricks, aren’t you?” Liu Wei sneered, trying to provoke Lin Xian.
Lin Xian remained impassive, his expression unreadable. Raising his right hand, he pointed his index finger directly at Liu Wei’s face.
On instinct, Liu Wei raised his tentacles to shield his head. But while protecting his face, he couldn’t see what Lin Xian was doing next, and that uncertainty unnerved him.
Thinking quickly, Liu Wei split his focus. While two of his tentacles guarded his head, the other two scooped up more rocks and flung them at Lin Xian.
Lin Xian, seeing Liu Wei’s divided attention, narrowed his eyes. He tilted his head slightly to dodge a flying rock, then subtly shifted his aim downward. His finger was now pointed… at Liu Wei’s crotch.
Whoosh!
The Wind Cannon tore through.
Liu Wei’s entire body shuddered violently as an explosive wave of pain overwhelmed him. He opened his mouth wide to scream, his face twisted in horror.
He had spent the entire fight guarding against an attack to his head. He never imagined Lin Xian would aim for his “little Liu Wei.”
“AAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
As Liu Wei screamed, his focus shattered. In that fleeting moment of agony, Lin Xian darted forward like a ghost, closing the gap with terrifying speed. Sensing the approaching threat, Liu Wei’s primal survival instincts kicked in. His four tentacles lashed out in unison, aiming to obliterate Lin Xian.
“Die, you bastard!”
Boom!
Liu Wei’s tentacles smashed down with all their might, only to collide with a suddenly conjured ice wall. The impact shattered the wall into shards, sending icy fragments flying in all directions.
Before Liu Wei could register what had happened, Lin Xian had already slipped through the gap. By the time Liu Wei turned his attention forward again, all he saw was…
A single finger.
A finger pointed directly at his eye.
“Wait!”
In that split second, regret flooded Liu Wei’s mind.
Whoosh!
The Wind Cannon pierced his left eye, leaving behind a bloody hole. Liu Wei’s body stiffened as he collapsed backward, his once-defiant form now lifeless.
He could never have imagined that despite possessing a “Doctor Octopus”-level superpower, he would meet his end at the hands of a seemingly insignificant young man. He had ruled as a self-styled warlord for mere days, only to die so suddenly and absurdly.
Cough, cough!
Seeing Liu Wei fall, Lin Xian immediately spat out a few mouthfuls of clotted blood. But he didn’t allow himself a moment of rest. He grabbed a large pebble from the ground, staggered over to Liu Wei’s corpse, and raised the stone high.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Each time the rock came down, Liu Wei’s tentacles twitched in eerie, lifeless spasms.
Lin Xian didn’t stop until all movement ceased. Only then did he collapse onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Huff… Huff…
As the adrenaline subsided, waves of sharp pain coursed through Lin Xian’s body. From the intensity of the battle, he was fortunate not to have fractured any bones, but he could feel internal injuries and numerous external wounds all over his body.
Suddenly, a strange light flickered across the sky, catching his eye. His expression shifted.
“Crap!”
Meanwhile, back on the train, Chen Sixuan was pressed deep into the corridor, her nerves stretched taut as she stared at the cockpit door that was being pounded on repeatedly.
“Open the door! Open it now!”
Bang, bang, bang!
A yellow-haired thug climbed onto the windshield, slamming the butt of his handgun against the glass with all his might. However, aside from the initial cracks caused by Liu Wei earlier, the windshield remained unscathed.
“Get the hell out of the way!”
Another man climbed up, kicking the yellow-haired thug aside. With a cigarette in his mouth, he aimed an assault rifle at the windshield and unleashed a volley of bullets.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Sparks flew, and stray rounds ricocheted off the glass.
“D*mn, this thing is tough! Is this bulletproof glass?!”
“Watch it, Da Fei! Bullets don’t have eyes!”
“The door won’t budge either—unless we get a cutting tool.”
“Cutting tool? Where the f*ck am I supposed to find one right now?”
“Forget it, let’s just leave for now. It’s almost nightfall.”
At the mention of nightfall, the group of thugs all froze for a moment.
“The guy’s dead anyway, thanks to Brother Wei. The chick’s as good as canned meat—we’ll come back for her tomorrow with better tools.”
“Heh, don’t worry, I stacked some rocks on the tracks. That train isn’t going anywhere!”
“Oh, Da Fei, about the Zhao family’s car that Brother Wei used to block the road… there’s no space left in the convoy. What should we do? Let them squeeze in somewhere?”
“Squeeze in? Screw that! Tell them to f*ck off. They didn’t bring much to the table anyway, dragging their whole damn family around.”
“Alright, we’ll just leave them, then…”
Cursing and grumbling, the group finally left.
Inside the train, Chen Sixuan watched the clock in the carriage, its hands ticking away second by second. Her heart felt like it was lodged in her throat.
Is he dead?
Night is falling. What do I do…?
Her face was tense, her body frozen as she clung tightly to the lever by the door, forcing herself to remain rational.
Ten minutes later, frantic knocking suddenly echoed from outside. Startled, Chen Sixuan thought it might be Lin Xian and was about to respond when a woman’s urgent voice cried out from the other side.
“Is anyone there? Please, is anyone inside? I’m begging you, let my family in!”
“Miss!”
A bespectacled man climbed up to the window near the cockpit. When he spotted Chen Sixuan, he immediately pleaded, “Please, can you open the door and let us in to hide? It’s almost nightfall!”
“I’m begging you!” the woman outside wailed desperately. Amidst her cries, a baby’s sharp wailing pierced the air, its “wah, wah” sounds chilling to the core.
“Miss, please, we won’t eat anything, we won’t take anything. We just need a place to hide!”
“Our car is destroyed—we have nowhere else to go!”
“Sob, sob…”
“Please, I’m begging you, show some kindness.”
“Here, here!” The woman’s voice turned hysterical. “If you don’t trust us, can you at least save my baby? He’s so little, he won’t eat much—please!”
“Please, I’m begging you!”
The woman’s cries, the man’s pleas, the baby’s screams—all these voices bombarded Chen Sixuan.
Curled up in a corner, she clamped her hands over her ears, tears streaming silently down her face. Inside, she was screaming, Stop it! Please, stop shouting…
The clock in the cockpit continued to tick.
Gradually, the cries faded. The desperate knocking ceased.
Night had fallen.
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