Chapter 388: A Show of Force

"Miss Izumaru, has something happened? Do we need to take a detour?"

Ji Xuan sat in the car, using the walkie-talkie to call Izumaru Naomi in the lead car ahead.

Soon, Izumaru Naomi's mature voice came through the walkie-talkie: "No need to worry, there is no need to detour, just follow us."

"Understood, received."

Ji Xuan put down the walkie-talkie, and the vehicles ahead also slowly started moving again at this moment.

The vehicle Chen Che was in followed closely behind, driving slowly through the crowd blocking the road ahead.

As they passed through the crowd, Chen Che saw what these people looked like.

There were men and women, and everyone had different patterns of tattoos on their bodies; those striking marks made it very easy to identify their identity: gangsters from Dongying.

"Gangs are a specialty of Dongying, Special Commissioner Chen need not worry."

Ji Xuan explained to Chen Che while vigilantly staring outside the window at the gang members who were also looking at them.

"The gangs dare to block the Dongying government's cars; do you think this is being bold and reckless, or are they acting under someone's orders?"

Chen Che looked at the crowd outside with interest; they were just standing there or sitting on motorcycles, and the motorcade passed right through the middle of them. They didn't dodge or evade, nor did they put down the weapons in their hands.

Ji Xuan frowned and asked, "Do you mean that the Easterners did this on purpose? But they are just blocking the middle of the road, and we didn't do anything while passing through them, so there shouldn't be any trouble."

Chen Che withdrew his gaze, looked through the windshield at the lead vehicle ahead, and smiled: "If I'm not mistaken, they haven't received the signal yet."

"Whew—"

As soon as the words fell, a sharp whistle sounded, breaking the silence.

"Screech—"

The driver slammed on the brakes and stopped; several gang members inserted themselves directly into the gap between the car and the vehicle in front, forcibly bringing the vehicle to a halt.

Chen Che looked back; the rear of the car was the same, filled with people, and the vehicles in front and behind were forced to distance themselves from the car Chen Che was in.

"Vroom, vroom, vroom—"

The motorcycle engines roared, emitting acrid black smoke. Four or five people rode motorcycles, circling and drifting around Chen Che's vehicle. The dust kicked up by the friction between the tires and the road, along with the black smoke from the engines, rose slowly, gradually obscuring the view inside the car.

For a moment, the car had turned into an isolated island in a fog, and nothing could be seen.

The buzzing of the motorcycle engines still lingered around, and Ji Xuan immediately shouted: "Drive, hurry and break through!"

The driver hurriedly restarted the engine, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas...

"Clang!"

The side window on the driver's side shattered, and an iron rod reached in, striking the driver heavily on the temple.

The driver passed out, and the car was forced to stop again.

"Clang— clatter..."

Immediately after, the sound of clubs and chains colliding, heavy panting, and crazy shouting intertwined, forming a chaotic symphony.

The gang members smashed the car like madmen; all the car's glass shattered, glass shards splattered everywhere inside the car, and the doors and roof were all dented inward, making the already cramped space even more crowded.

Ji Xuan quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed an iron rod that had reached in, and kicked the car door open. With a bang, a gang member blocking the doorway was instantly sent flying.

Ji Xuan got out of the car, holding the iron rod in one hand, shook the glass shards off her body, looked around at the surrounding gang members, and said coldly: "Get lost, all of you, or suffer the consequences!"

Hearing this, the gang members decisively cleared a path, but the next second, the roar of motorcycle engines started up again.

"Vroom, vroom, vroom—"

A red-haired man wearing only a black jacket drove a motorcycle toward Ji Xuan.

Ji Xuan leaped up onto the roof of the car, simultaneously extending the iron rod and thrusting it toward the red-haired man.

The motorcycle flipped, the red-haired man was struck in the throat by the iron rod, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell flat on his back.

Ji Xuan stood on the roof of the car, pointing the iron rod at the crowd below, True Qi slowly surging on her body: "Do you all not want to live anymore?!"

This shout was very imposing; the gang members standing in the front row shuddered and retreated one after another.

However, the gang members standing in the back row rushed forward, each holding a Molotov cocktail, cursing as they threw them over.

"Baka yaro!!"

Firelight flickered in the night, and the homemade Molotov cocktails traced arcs through the air, then smashed violently next to Ji Xuan, onto the car body, and onto the road where the car was, erupting with dazzling firelight and billowing thick smoke.

"Boom!"

Flames instantly engulfed the entire vehicle.

Ji Xuan immediately brandished the iron rod, True Qi swirling around it, and all the flames were absorbed onto it.

Swish!

With a flick of the iron rod, all the flames were returned exactly as they were.

"Boom!!!"

Explosions rang out one after another in the crowd; the gang members were knocked over by the heatwave, and everyone was set on fire.

Ji Xuan threw away the scorching hot iron rod, rubbed her scalded red hands, and jumped off the car to check on Chen Che's situation.

"Special Commissioner—"

"Whew!"

Just as one leg jumped off the car roof, a True Qi Bullet grazed her other ankle, which was supporting her on the roof. Ji Xuan instantly lost her balance and plunged headfirst toward the road.

Ji Xuan did not fall onto the cold road as expected, but instead crashed into a warm embrace.

"Special Commissioner."

Ji Xuan steadied her body, stepped out of Chen Che's embrace in embarrassment, and stood to the side.

Chen Che glanced at Ji Xuan's ankle; it was nothing serious, then he looked toward the high-rise building opposite.

"Special Commissioner, I'm sorry, I didn't expect them to do this, it is my dereliction of duty... but please rest assured, with me here, I will definitely not let you suffer even the slightest harm."

Ji Xuan guaranteed with a serious face: "Even if they want to kill you, I will die before the Special Commissioner!"

"Don't talk about dying at every turn; they don't have the guts to kill me in broad daylight yet."

Chen Che looked around at the gang members hurriedly putting out the fires and said slowly, "A show of force... they also wanted to test how much weight I, this Special Commissioner, carry. As for that gunman over there... that was also a deterrent; otherwise, that shot just now wouldn't have just grazed your ankle."

Ji Xuan said shamefacedly, "In any case, it's my fault. I should have taken a detour."

"You don't need to blame yourself. Who could have guessed they would use this method to welcome me... but since they want to play, I should naturally accompany them to the end."

Chen Che patted Ji Xuan on the shoulder, "Get in the car."

Ji Xuan looked confused, but still helped Chen Che move the unconscious driver to the back seat, then watched helplessly as Chen Che sat in the driver's seat, while she returned to the passenger seat.

"Special Commissioner, what are you going to do?" Ji Xuan couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Chen Che inspected the car and said, "It's fine. Although this piece-of-junk car they provided isn't bulletproof, it's quite durable; it can still start even after being smashed up like this."

"Vroom—"

The vehicle started. Chen Che gripped the steering wheel, looked at Ji Xuan, and asked, "Have you seen Fast and Furious?"

"Yes."

Ji Xuan felt inexplicably excited and nervous; she hurriedly fastened her seatbelt and gripped the handle.

"Vroom—vroom—"

Chen Che stepped on the gas pedal, his sharp gaze fixed on the not-so-distant front, where three cars, including the lead car of Izumaru Naomi, were parked quietly, observing the situation here.

"They've had their fill of watching the show; now I'll make them become the show!"

Chen Che released the handbrake and floored the gas pedal; the already half-wrecked car roared and charged out.

Izumaru Naomi sat in the car, watching the situation in the middle of the road through binoculars.

The black smoke from the Molotov cocktails and the motorcycle exhaust had not yet fully dissipated, and even with binoculars, she could only clearly see Chen Che and Ji Xuan getting back into the car.

However, the situation of those gang members was in full view; they were all on fire and were putting each other out.

"The gangs here are truly unreliable; they can't even deal with one woman." Izumaru Naomi snorted with dissatisfaction.

"That woman is a Martial Artist after all, and those gang members are just ordinary people. Being able to smash the car like that is already considered a decent job."

A rough male voice came from the earpiece; it was the gunman hiding in the shadows.

"That's true, the money wasn't spent in vain." Izumaru Naomi adjusted the focus of the binoculars.

The gunman's voice continued, sounding quite smug: "I fired a shot just now. That woman's foot was grazed, nothing serious. Now they've both sat back in the car; they're probably scared."

Izumaru Naomi laughed: "Who knows, this young Special Commissioner might really be scared enough to wet his pants... Alright, it's my turn to make an appearance; I can't let the guest be too embarrassed."

After speaking, Izumaru Naomi put down the binoculars, opened the car door, and stepped out.

At this moment, the gunman's voice suddenly roared from the earpiece: "Naomi, don't get out of the car! Watch out!"

Izumaru Naomi had only just stepped out one foot when she froze in place.

The ear-piercing roar of an engine reached her ears at this moment; the half-wrecked welcome car charged out from the black smoke ahead, heading straight toward the vehicle she was in.

………