The Overlord of Puluo

He’s going to kill me!

Li Banfeng couldn’t accept this reality.

The large-eyed man couldn’t accept the order either. ”Deputy Xiao, all he did was take something. You want to kill him just because of that?”

—This is an order, Lightbulb. You don’t understand how important that thing is. You have no idea how many people will end up dead because of it! Don’t forget how your parents lost their lives. And never forget what kind of enemy we’re dealing with. For the safety of the majority, we must kill him immediately. That’s our duty, our mission.

”But Deputy Xiao...”

—No buts. Find a secluded spot and take him out. Grab the item and bring it to me. Hide the body. I’ll send someone to get rid of it.

Xiao Zhenggong ended the call.

Lightbulb stood there silently for a moment, his eyes wide and blank. He didn’t know what to do.

A minute or so later, he steadied his breathing, walked to the entrance of the supermarket, and peered inside.

Li Banfeng bought a bottle of Coke, two cans of chips, and two packs of latiao, the extremely spicy kind. Then he casually walked to a checkout counter.

After paying, Li Banfeng exited the campus supermarket and stepped onto the paved pathway between Academic Building 2 and the library. It was lunchtime and close to summer break, so there wasn’t a single person on the pathway.

The pathway would lead him close to the university’s east gate. Then, from the gate, the subway station was less than eight hundred meters away.

Li Banfeng was walking briskly along the path when Lightbulb suddenly blocked his way. They were less than five meters apart and stared at each other for a moment.

Lightbulb took a deep breath and recited in his mind the words he was supposed to say.

Put your hands on your head and squat down. Please cooperate with our investigation.

Once Li Banfeng squatted down, that would be the best moment to kill him.

Yet, Lightbulb said something entirely different. ”I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t follow my orders, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

That wasn’t something an agent of the Dark Star Bureau should say. However, Lightbulb was very nervous, and the words just slipped out of his mouth. He truly didn’t want to kill anyone.

Lightbulb continued giving Li Banfeng instructions. ”Put your backpack on the ground first, then hold your hands out. You will stay here with me and wait for someone.”

Then he pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

Lightbulb’s plan was to restrain Li Banfeng and wait for Deputy Xiao to arrive. If Deputy Xiao still insisted on killing Li Banfeng even after meeting him, then it would prove that Li Banfeng truly deserved to die.

Li Banfeng nodded, took off his backpack, and slowly placed it on the ground.

Lightbulb kept his eyes fixed on the backpack. When it hit the ground, he finally relaxed.

He’s just a student, after all. He doesn’t know anything. Capturing him is easier than catching a chicken. When Deputy Xiao sees him like this, he’ll probably let him live.

As Lightbulb approached with the handcuffs, he didn’t notice Li Banfeng pulling a strip of the extremely spicy latiao from his pocket.

With a flick of his wrist, Li Banfeng hurled the strip of latiao at Lightbulb. And of course, if the target was within five meters, he never missed.

The strip of latiao struck Lightbulb’s left eye, causing searing pain to shoot through it. He immediately placed his left hand over that eye.

At the same moment, Li Banfeng flicked out a second strip of latiao and smacked Lightbulb square in the right eye.

Lightbulb had not expected Li Banfeng to attack him. He clamped his right hand over his right eye. He couldn’t see from his right eye at the moment.

It was true that Li Banfeng never wanted to get involved. However, it was also true that since he was involved now, there would be no turning back.

Grimy, oily slime oozed out from all over Lightbulb’s body. He braced himself, ready for a brutal fight with Li Banfeng.

Lightbulb was very nervous. This was his first real battle since joining the Dark Star Bureau. Faced with this sudden turn of events, he instinctively activated his Dark Ability.

How ruthless! This guy’s tactics are so ruthless and underhanded!

Lightbulb had underestimated Li Banfeng. Now that he had lost his sight, he absolutely couldn’t act rashly. Otherwise, the battle would surely end disastrously for him. He had to stabilize his footing first, set up a solid defense, then counterattack!

Is Li Banfeng skilled in close combat or ranged attacks? I’m not afraid of fighting him at close quarters. After all, Li Banfeng is just a Bleater. If he dares to get close, he’ll be the one who suffers. Ranged attacks though... those will be a problem for me...

Lightbulb waited for a long time, but Li Banfeng never made a move.

Gritting through the pain, Lightbulb opened his eyes... only to find that Li Banfeng was gone.

Did he run?

Yes, he did.

With his backpack in hand, Li Banfeng had already reached the east gate.

Lightbulb quickly concentrated the slime under his feet. He bent his knees, lowered his posture, and began alternating his feet forward, gliding as if he were ice skating. He gave chase at lightning speed.

Nevertheless, Li Banfeng wasn’t slow either. He ran at full speed for eight hundred meters, dashing straight into the subway entrance. As Lightbulb neared the subway entrance, the number of pedestrians kept increasing. He reabsorbed the slime and took on a normal running posture. He didn’t want to draw attention or hurt any innocent bystanders.

By the time Lightbulb entered the subway station, Li Banfeng had already boarded a subway train. Lightbulb rushed toward the doors of a subway car, but he was too late.

Beep, beep, beep, beep!

The subway train’s warning chime sounded, and the doors slid shut.

Lightbulb could only watch as the subway train took off with Li Banfeng in it, vanishing into the tunnel. He waited anxiously for the next subway train to arrive.

Hang on. What am I even doing? My car’s parked at the university, so why the heck am I standing here waiting for the subway?!

Let’s think... Where would he go?

Ugh, how would I know where he’s headed? How would I know which stop he’ll get off at?? Trying to chase someone on the subway is too difficult!

With no other option left, Lightbulb called Xiao Zhenggong.

”Deputy Xiao, I lost him.”

Xiao Zhenggong was irate.

—How could you lose him?! Didn’t I tell you to kill him on the spot?

Lightbulb lied, ”I couldn’t find the right moment to do it.”

He did not dare to admit that Li Banfeng had managed to escape because he had underestimated him.

—Where did he go?

”He just boarded the subway.”

—Which line?

Lightbulb remembered the details very clearly. ”Line Four. It left University Town at 11:45 and is heading toward Beautiful Cloud Plaza.”

Xiao Zhenggong fell silent.

Lightbulb grew increasingly nervous. He knew Xiao Zhenggong was furious, so he quickly thought of an idea and suggested it. ”Deputy Xiao, if we contact the relevant departments right now and shut all the exits on Line Four, we can definitely catch Li Banfeng.”

Xiao Zhenggong snapped.

—Shut the subway exits? Are you out of your mind? Do you want news of this incident to spread across all of Yuezhou? Do you want the whole city to know you’re an incompetent piece of trash?!

Lightbulb gritted his teeth in silence, afraid to make a sound.

Xiao Zhenggong spent a moment thinking about what to do.

—Line Four connects to Yuezhou East Station. If Li Banfeng’s trying to leave the city, you’ll be able to intercept him there.

Lightbulb said quietly, ”We could tell the subway station not to let him board—”

Xiao Zhenggong got angry again.

—How many times do I have to tell you?! We’re dealing with an incredibly important matter. We cannot have any information leaks! We cannot cause the public to panic! The train station is full of eyes and ears. If you spot him, do not engage right away. Wait for the right moment to kill him, but you absolutely cannot get caught doing it!

—Lightbulb, your parents were heroes. I believe you’re not useless. This is a simple task. I know you can handle it. Do not shame the Dark Star Bureau again, and stop disgracing your parents!

Xiao Zhenggong ended the call.

Lightbulb ran all the way back to his car at the university and fired it up.

On the way to the Yuezhou East Station, Lightbulb gripped the steering wheel tightly.

”Incompetent piece of trash!”

”Stop disgracing your parents!”

Lightbulb’s eyes turned red, threatening to tear up. He rubbed them and gritted his teeth.

Isn’t he just a university student?

Isn’t he supposed to be mentally unstable?

How did he escape from me?

How could I let him get away?

I’m not trash.

If I find Li Banfeng at the east station, I’ll kill him right then and there, without the slightest hesitation.

***

Xiao Zhenggong changed into casual clothes and made his way from the second floor of his villa down to the garage. He got into his car and started it up.

Lightbulb, do not let this matter get out of hand. You must not let anyone find out.

You will kill Li Banfeng and obtain the item.

Then I’ll kill you, and this whole thing will be over.

***

The subway train that Li Banfeng was on arrived at Rockwall Station. The next stop was Yuezhou East Station.

On Li Banfeng’s left, there was a burly man. His dark blue shirt was speckled with ash gray clay.

Li Banfeng smiled at him.

On Li Banfeng’s right, there was a beautiful woman. She had long, shoulder-length hair and earphones in her ears.

Li Banfeng flashed her a smile too.

He hadn’t expected the subway train to be so crowded at this hour. Nevertheless, Li Banfeng unzipped his backpack and began undressing right there.

Alarmed, the passengers around him shot him strange looks and quickly moved as far away from him as they could. Despite being in a crowded subway train car, they instantly cleared a wide berth around Li Banfeng.

After removing his top, Li Banfeng started taking off his pants.

The beautiful woman screamed.

The burly man screamed too.

An elderly passenger covered a child’s eyes.

Many of the passengers stared at him and shouted in unison, ”Pervert!”

Li Banfeng pulled a long-sleeved white dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants from his backpack and quickly changed into them. Then he took out a hiking hat and put it on. The entire process took less than a minute.

The subway train arrived at the east station, and Li Banfeng immediately alighted from the subway train, leaving before the chaos inside the subway train car could fully erupt. He exited the subway station and stopped near the train station’s turnstiles[1] to send a message to He Jiaqing.

Li Banfeng: Have you bought the ticket?

He Jiaqing: Yeah. You can board now.

Li Banfeng swiped his ID and was about to step through a turnstile. Right then, he spotted Lightbulb standing on guard beside the turnstiles. However, Lightbulb didn’t notice him.

Lightbulb was concentrating hard, but he was also very nervous. He was trying his best to scrutinize every person going through the turnstiles. Nevertheless, that was, of course, an impossible feat. Passengers were flooding into the Yuezhou East Station at an overwhelming rate. There were too many people entering, and he was only watching for those wearing T-shirts.

Leaving Lightbulb behind, Li Banfeng passed through the turnstile and felt more at ease. He received a new text message from He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing: Why were so many people calling you a pervert on the subway earlier?

Why is he asking that? Did he not see what happened? Can he only hear but not see?

Li Banfeng: I changed clothes on the train.

He Jiaqing: Are you crazy?

Li Banfeng: I’m not crazy.

He Jiaqing: Were you not afraid of causing a scene?

Li Banfeng: It didn’t even take a minute. It’s not that serious.

He Jiaqing couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

He Jiaqing: You changed that fast?

Li Banfeng thought it was perfectly normal.

Li Banfeng: How do you think I got out of the hospital back then?

He Jiaqing: You ran away? They didn’t catch you and drag you back there?

Li Banfeng couldn’t be bothered to explain.

Why would they catch me? That was just the psychiatric ward of a hospital, not a psychiatric hospital.

***

After standing by the turnstiles for nearly half an hour, Lightbulb still hadn’t caught sight of Li Banfeng, and he was growing increasingly anxious.

Right then, Xiao Zhenggong suddenly appeared in front of him.

Lightbulb asked, ”Deputy Xiao, what are you doing here—”

”Just how long were you planning to wait here?”

Xiao Zhenggong pulled out his ID, said a few words to the train station staff, and led Lightbulb through a turnstile.

After doing a quick scan of the train station’s departure lounge, Xiao Zhenggong and Lightbulb walked to the far end of Waiting Area 2. They went past the restrooms and into an underground passage.

1. The machine that reads your card and then lets you through. ☜