Era of Mist

Outside the shop, Sanfan grew more and more pleased.

‘Just listen to that wild laughter. Things are clearly going smoothly, just as planned!’

‘Now I just have to wait for Ah Hui to carry that guy’s corpse out!’

He waited and waited. The laughter grew more and more distant until it could no longer be heard.

After waiting a while longer, there was no movement. No movement at all.

“Hm?”

Sanfan couldn’t help but frown. ‘What’s taking Ah Hui so long?’

After waiting another moment, Sanfan began to feel that something was wrong. He waved his hand, ordering more men into the small shop to check the situation. But the men who went in quickly came back out, carrying a massive body with its head split open.

Looking at the bizarre grin on Ah Hui’s face, at the meat cleaver in his forehead, thinking about where he must have been when he was killed, and then recalling the wild laughter that still echoed in his ears, Sanfan was stunned as if he’d been slapped across the face. A moment later, a deep sense of humiliation washed over him—the feeling of being played for an absolute fool.

“Get them—!! Kill them all—!!”

CLICK-CLACK. The remaining burly men raised their firearms and advanced on the small shop in unison.

Inside the small shop, the group moved forward nervously. Though panicked, they all did their best to muffle their footsteps. Their confidence hadn’t shattered; through Ah Fei’s exaggerated retelling, everyone now knew how easily and brutally Shi Tiexin had split open the big man.

Their fear of Shi Tiexin deepened another layer, but conversely, they became less afraid of the current crisis. When you’re following someone even more terrifying, an ordinary threat starts to seem insignificant.

The stairs at the back of the shop led to a dilapidated, narrow old building. The building was only five stories high, an old office block with a gloomy, eerie central corridor flanked by rooms on either side. The office building was completely deserted. Not even a handful of the hallway lights still worked, and the floor was littered with trash and scraps of paper.

Normally, a place like this could be used to film a horror movie. Now, it served as a convenient hiding spot for the group.

Reaching the third floor, they pushed open a door and entered an empty room, and everyone breathed a small sigh of relief.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Ah Fei’s fingers flew as he typed out a text message. With no time to worry about anything else, he immediately sent a group message to the other minor bosses, making sure to send a copy to Wang Dafu as well.

After sending the message, Ah Fei quickly looked at Shi Tiexin. “Boss, how are you? Are you injured?”

Being uninjured—that was impossible.

But his injuries weren’t too severe.

Although Shi Tiexin hadn’t yet had time to start practicing the Hard Qi Technique himself, he had already discovered that this body had already cultivated the Hard Qi Technique to the second level.

Force Arts were different from Mind Arts. Mind Arts were related to knowledge; as long as the knowledge was there, the mental energy would be too. But with Force Arts, having a certain level of skill was one thing; whether one had actually trained was another matter entirely. For example, when he had previously descended into the Champion Scholar Stone, Shi Tiexin had brought with him a superior-grade basic Essence Nourishment Technique. But the Champion Scholar Stone still had to re-nourish its essence to facilitate the step-by-step strengthening of its physical body.

This time, however, it was the other way around.

Because he hadn’t had time to train, Shi Tiexin’s own grasp and understanding of the Hard Qi Technique were still shallow. Yet, his self from this world-line already possessed a foundation of two levels in the Hard Qi Technique. And although his insufficient mastery prevented him from fully unleashing the effects of the second level, the severity of the injuries he sustained in the fight was indeed reduced.

He rubbed his wrists. The explosive double-fisted blow he’d just delivered had struck his opponent, but the recoil had affected him as well. However, under the enhancement of the Hard Qi Technique, his wrists weren’t sprained and retained their full flexibility.

‘This is already pretty good!’

Panting, panting, taking deep, long breaths, Shi Tiexin could feel his stamina recovering at a much faster rate than before.

At times like this, he appreciated the benefits of completing the Mandate Missions even more.

“Are you all that’s left?”

Shi Tiexin glanced around. Only Ah Fei, Zhou Nan, Zhou Xiong, the kebab stall owner, and two of his men remained. Everyone else had fled and was now nowhere to be found.

Shi Tiexin didn’t ask any further questions. Teng Chaoguo’s hired goons had been able to run away back then, so it was no surprise his own men could run away today. The only difference was that Teng Chaoguo had been powerless against those deserters. But as long as he, Shi Tiexin, was still alive, he would enforce the gang’s laws and purge the traitors.

DING! Ah Fei’s phone chimed. He glanced at it and immediately exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “Boss, Brother Fa replied! He’s gathering men and heading over. We just have to hold on!”

Everyone was overjoyed.

‘It’s just a game of hide-and-seek. All we have to do is hide.’

But just then, the dense crackle of gunfire erupted, accompanied by a few piercing screams. The only people still hiding in this old building at this point were either homeless people or the deserters from just now.

The volley of shots instantly roused the entire building. The group heard panicked footsteps from the floors above and below, sounding like a swarm of scattering vermin. It seemed that in these desolate times, quite a few homeless people were living here.

But soon, even more intense gunfire rang out, followed by a greater wave of screams.

“Looks like hiding is no longer an option.” Shi Tiexin stood up, walked to the window, and carefully peered down. He saw figures on the first and second floors frantically climbing out of windows and jumping, attempting to flee down the street. But muzzle flashes soon lit up the dark street, and the escapees were shot down one by one before they could run even ten meters.

“And we can’t escape either.”

The gunshots of the cleanup crew drew closer step by step, each one hammering on their hearts. Shi Tiexin pulled out the gun he had tucked into the back of his waistband and swept his serious gaze across the group. “Don’t get your hopes up. The enemy is systematically clearing the building floor by floor; they will find us. We have our backs to the wall here. To not fight is to die. Take out your weapons and fight the enemy bravely. Only those who aren’t afraid of death will survive!”

“Yes, sir!” the others responded grimly. The kebab stall owner also nodded quickly. He was a perceptive man and knew who to stick with to have the best chance of survival.

Although the situation was critical, after passing the recent psychological test, the few who hadn’t run were now even more resolute.

“You few, those with guns, use them. Those without, find other items to use as weapons. Fight a battle of ambushes and delays against the enemy. Don’t worry about how many you kill; just focus on holding them here.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’m going to circle around and kill as many of the enemy as I can. I’ll remain silent while I move, so you won’t hear me. But I need you to trust that I won’t run off on my own. Hold your ground and don’t waver!”

“Don’t worry, Boss, we trust you!” Ah Fei thumped his chest. “Just now, you held them off by yourself so we could find a way out. I’ll trust you for the rest of my life, until the day I die!”

The other men didn’t waver either. The ones who would have wavered had already run off; those who remained were resolute. The great waves wash away the sand, leaving only true gold behind. Looking at their trusting gazes, Shi Tiexin’s heart suddenly warmed. In this chaotic era, he had finally found a sliver of mutual trust.

“Good!” Shi Tiexin clapped Ah Fei on the shoulder. “Ah Fei, you take charge here. You’re the sharpest one. Don’t fight them head-on; focus on pinning them down. Oh, and…” Shi Tiexin hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, “If any of the homeless people do something irrational in their panic—don’t go easy on them.”

“Don’t you worry, Boss. I won’t go easy on anyone!” Ah Fei’s face was a mask of cruelty.

Shi Tiexin nodded, then left the room, gun in hand.