Chapter 52

The palace.

“What did you say?!”

General Bude, a towering giant with lightning-like hair, known behind his back as “Old Stubborn” for his rigid integrity and unwavering oath of loyalty to the imperial family, showed an unprecedented look of shock and disbelief on his face.

“The Ghost of Ouka, Secretary of State Xigong, Count Gale, and even that bastard Onest—all of them are dead?!”

“And their corpses weren’t just cut in half by a single slash—they were reduced to shredded meat?!” Bude’s hands trembled slightly—not from fear, not from anger, but because—

“Good! Hahahaha! Perfect!!”

His boisterous laughter shook the entire palace, as if the floor itself were trembling.

Though he followed ancestral tradition by believing generals must not interfere in politics, allowing ministers to manipulate the emperor and oppress the people, that did not mean he was like them—in fact, the opposite was true: he served the empire with single-minded devotion, free of personal ambition.

Now that half the empire’s tumors had been cut away by unknown assassins, how could he not be overjoyed?

But after his laughter faded, his expression turned grim: no matter what, such acts could never be permitted—even if they were just.

To uphold the empire’s laws and dignity, he would spare no effort in hunting down these assassins who carried out terrorist attacks—no mercy whatsoever!!

A terrifying aura radiated from him: this violent act, descending like a hurricane or tsunami upon the capital, would be stopped by him—Bude!

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“I’ll stop you!”

Jia Ji, recently pulled a big job and was now wanted, was strolling aimlessly down a capital street, chewing on a lollipop he’d stolen earlier from Chelsea, when he stumbled upon a “justice enforcement” scene in progress.

The “justice” side was a cute girl with brown hair and brown eyes, tied in a single ponytail, wearing the uniform of the Security Corps, with a tiny white puppy trotting at her side.

The thief she had stopped lay prostrate on the ground, slapping the pavement with his hands, his neck pinned beneath her knee as if he couldn’t breathe.

Oh oh—it’s “Justice Partner” Searu!

A disciple of the “Ghost of Ouka,” whom I punched into a pancake yesterday—but she probably doesn’t know about it yet.

A righteous fanatic who believes in “Evil Must Be Cut Down,” a twisted character suited for the Navy to replace some general—or for Gotham to go on a killing spree.

Since I ran into her, I can’t just ignore it.

Jia Ji slipped silently behind her and delivered a palm strike to her neck, knocking her out cold.

As for the “Demon Beast Transformation: Hundred-Armed Giant,” the sentient dog-like Imperial Artifact called “Xiao Ke,” Jia Ji grabbed its owner, forcing the intelligent creature to hesitate, then unleashed a series of solar plexus kicks, spinning whirlwind strikes, and CPR maneuvers to fully subdue it.

“My favorite thing to do is correct these twisted bastards.” Jia Ji casually tossed the girl and the dog to Esdees, explaining the situation briefly—they were barely alive but still salvageable.

“Here, Xiao Ai, you take care of them!”

He had absolute faith in Esdees’s ability to retrain them.

Najeta, who had come here to lie low, stared in disbelief: so you didn’t even do it yourself, yet you’re acting so smug?

Before Esdees could respond, Jia Ji dashed out the door, dragging the unconscious thief to the Security Bureau. If yesterday’s chaos hadn’t nearly crippled the capital’s functions, he’d have received an Imperial Citizen of the Year award.

The next day, addicted to doing good deeds, Jia Ji finished his morning cultivation and headed out for another stroll—this time, he wandered into the lower city.

“There’s no way I’d run into another one two days in a row… Huh?!”

A wild, naturally ditzy girl appeared, her long purple hair flowing freely, violet eyes, dressed in a lavender qipao-style long dress, purple boots, white thigh-high socks, and purple-framed glasses.

“Xi’er?”

A Night Raid assassin named after a certain two-game character!

“Huh?… Who’s calling me?” She turned her head dazedly, only to see a spiky-haired brute swinging a palm strike laced with wind toward her neck—though her body instinctively tried to resist, she was still struck.

Jia Ji glanced around—no one in sight—and hoisted Miss Xi’er onto his shoulder, then ran off.

“Xiao Ai, come collect this one.”

Same trick again—after all, picking up one was the same as picking up two; with Esdees’s ability, it was no problem.

He trusted Esdees more than himself.

Another clear, sunny day. Jia Ji, the great villain whose motto had abruptly changed three hours ago to “Do One Evil Per Day,” wandered aimlessly into the capital’s outermost slums.

As he walked, suddenly—he heard hoofbeats rapidly approaching from afar.

Jia Ji instinctively turned toward the sound and saw several men galloping wildly down the narrow street; passersby scrambled in panic to avoid being trampled, stumbling and falling everywhere.

Arrogant, extravagantly dressed fools—clearly brainless noble brats—were playing a cruel “stepping-on-heads” game right here, in this lawless place where lives were worth less than ants.

Literally: riding horses to crush people’s skulls.

A child screamed for help; the nobles didn’t rein in their horses—they laughed louder and spurred them harder.

These horses were tall, muscular, far sturdier than ordinary breeds—each hoofstep carried enough force to crush a skull and splatter brains.

“Come on, guys—how dare you?! Didn’t I just kill a bunch of nobles yesterday? It’s only the third day!”

Jia Ji was furious!

His five fingers suddenly began to gather power.

The Imperial Model Citizen roared and launched a punch into the air—directly, perfectly, smashing into the horse’s head!

The horse couldn’t withstand the brutal force; its eyeballs exploded from their sockets, the punch’s energy surged through the skull and crushed the brain into pulp. One rider tumbled off; the other three nobles froze in terror.

Not done yet—Jia Ji pulled out “Prometheus” and fired four rounds in quick succession, killing them all on the spot, blood splattering the street.

“Good, good—the day’s quota is met.”

He nodded in satisfaction, ready to slip away—when his peripheral vision caught a flash of dazzling gold.

“This… this can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

Jia Ji muttered under his breath, then darted forward silently to follow—his palm strike already unconsciously charging with power.

Not long after,

“Xiao Ai! Look…” Jia Ji’s excited voice rang out before he even entered the door.

“Stop bringing home stray cats and dogs!”

Esdees finally snapped at him—every day he dragged home another person—did she run a stray cat and dog shelter now?!

Bringing home animals was one thing—but he dared to bring home beautiful girls too!

This chapter’s title is a nod to the famous Da Bing’s “Crowded, Our City.”

Hey, how did I end up on the righteous path? I was supposed to be writing about beautiful girls! I'm tired of constantly pushing this annoying plot forward with battle chapters and overused tropes—I'm returning to my roots (for now)!

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(End of Chapter)