Chapter 171: It

At night, the main street hardly has any pedestrians, but every now and then a vehicle passes by.

The Poor District is unsafe at night, and the Outer City District is only marginally safe; especially if a woman walks alone after dark, the chance of danger is still quite high.

It's just that a recent incident has increased the number of Law Enforcement Bureau personnel patrolling the streets.

Even at night, you can still see some.

Near the urban village.

Two Law Enforcement Bureau officers walk side by side down the street.

"Sigh, where the hell is that guy? How many days have we been looking for him?" one of them complained. "Usually at this hour I'd already be off work. Damn it, if I find him, I'll have to kill him!"

"Your idea sounds pretty nice."

The companion snorts.

"Manager Wan has put out a bounty; any useful lead nets a reward of one hundred thousand. If we catch him alive, three hundred thousand! That's enough to buy a house in the city. Such a big break could fall on the two of us, huh?"

"Indeed."

The former sighed upon hearing that.

If he got that three hundred thousand, he'd even wake up laughing in his dreams.

Suddenly, a faint footstep sounded, coming toward them.

The two instinctively lifted their heads.

It would be fine not to look, but once they did, their eyes went wide.

A person walked up ahead, head down, wearing a mask over his face.

It was clear he was a man.

The two quickly exchanged glances.

No way? This can't be such a coincidence, can it?

At that moment, the other seemed only then to realize someone was ahead; he lifted his head, and a flash of panic flickered just right in his eyes.

"There's a ghost."

The two Enforcement Squad members both thought those two words in their minds.

Adding to that, the other was wearing a mask.

"Hey, you, come over here a second."

One of them hooked his finger.

The other hand reached for the handcuffs at his waist.

Whether he is or not, cuff him first.

Jiang Cheng stopped, extended his right index finger, and pointed at himself.

"Exactly, you. You, walking alone at this late hour with a mask on, are very suspicious," the other said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes.

Upon hearing that, Jiang Cheng bolted away.

"Stop!"

"Don't run!"

In an instant, the two Enforcement Squad members got excited, every cell in their bodies buzzing.

Originally they were fifty percent sure the person they met on the road was the killer.

Now they were almost one hundred percent certain this man was the killer!

Otherwise, why would he run? "Stop! If you run again, I'll fire!"

One of them drew his Handgun.

"Don't kill him."

The companion reminded, "If he dies, it's only two hundred thousand; alive, it's three hundred thousand."

"I know."

The two were speaking as Jiang Cheng was about to dash headfirst into the alley.

They quickly pulled the triggers.

"Bang—Bang—Bang."

Muzzle flashes erupted, and the harsh gunshots shattered the quiet night.

But it seemed a step too slow; the bullets struck the wall or just the air.

"Damn it!"

The two cursed and rushed into the alley, gave chase for a while, only to find the figure had long vanished within the passage, even the footsteps gone.

The two, guns in hand, stared at each other, "You look at me, I look at you."

He disappeared? Damn! That's three hundred thousand! "It's all your fault for not letting me shoot; if I'd fired then, I'd have hit him, and he wouldn't have gotten away?"

"You! You didn't shoot? Did you hit him?"

The other was quite angry.

"You damn need a face?"

"If you could have hit him, you would have done it earlier. 'It was within reach, just a little off; it's all your fault, three hundred thousand, gone like that.'"

"Bullshit, even if I hadn't warned you, you still wouldn't have hit him!"

While the two argued, unaware, a dark silhouette slowly approached, arriving behind one of them.

"Click."

A crisp sound rang out.

"Who is that!"

The other man jumped in fright; just as he was about to raise his gun, a cold gun was already pressed against his forehead.

The opponent saw the person before them and the companion on the ground whose neck had been twisted, and their legs trembled with fear nonstop.

This killing method.

Good news: the masked one in front of us is the murderer they've been looking for for days! Bad news: he's isolated, and the opponent got there first, pressing a gun to his forehead.

"No, don't kill me."

He cried out, "If you let me go, I can pretend I never saw you tonight."

Jiang Cheng said nothing extra and asked directly, "Who sent you to look for me?"

"It's, it's Gao Team—oh no, no, no, it's, it's Maiken Club's Manager Wan."

The man glanced at Jiang Cheng fearfully, "He's the one you killed, the woman's son."

"Gao Team?"

Jiang Cheng felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity upon hearing the term.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

"What's the name of your Gao Team?"

"Gao, Gao Songbai."

The man said honestly.

"It's really him!"

Jiang Cheng was internally startled.

That guy is the mastermind behind the Wild Wolf Gang, or one of them; he originally planned to wait until he was stronger before taking this guy down.

But the opponent got there first, looking for trouble with him?

Indeed, after breaking iron shoes searching in vain, it arrived without any effort.

"How strong is your Gao Team?"

"Huh?"

The opponent was startled, seeming not to understand Jiang Cheng's meaning.

"Can't understand? Fine, I'll be more specific: has your Gao Team ever cultivated Secret Martial Arts? Including that so‑called Manager Wan."

"I heard Gao Team has cultivated, something like Level One, or maybe a Second-level Force Warrior."

The man thought for a moment and said in an uncertain tone.

"As for Manager Wan, I don't know; I haven't dealt with him before."

"Level One, Second Level?"

Jiang Cheng squinted.

Fortunately, he's also Second Level, and with Gunmanship, he's confident he can fight the opponent.

For this battle, he deliberately familiarized himself with the environment of this urban village; perhaps aided by memories of his former self, walking through these alleys gave him a feeling of being home.

Just in case, he spent thirty‑thousand yuan to buy an Iron Wall Talisman.

If he kills the opponent, not only will he avenge himself, but might also obtain a Secret Martial Arts technique from the opponent's mouth.

"I… I'm done speaking, can you let me go? It's not that we wanted trouble; Gao Team made us do it," the man begged.

Regret swelled in his heart, beyond remedy.

Had he known, he shouldn't have chased so recklessly; he should have called for more people.

He knew the chance Jiang Cheng would let him go was low.

But he truly didn't want to die; even if only a sliver of hope remained, he would fight for it.

"I'll make a call to your Gao Team."

"?"

The man was stunned.

"Just say that after tailing me all the way, they found I live here, and tell them to rush over to support."

"Y‑you're serious?"

The man was dumbfounded.

These people have been looking for him all along; if he makes that call, in less than five minutes Gao Team would arrive with all their subordinates! This kid is alone—won't he be doomed?

(End of chapter)