Era of Mist

Chapter 179: Chapter 178: Bomb Attack

”Boss, why don’t you test out the new bike’s horsepower?” A lackey rode over, his face full of envy as he urged him on. ”Gun it! Show us what she’s got, Boss!”

Shi Tiexin remained impassive, completely unmoved. The corners of his mouth, hidden beneath his sunglasses, were so cold, so full of swagger.

’My stomach is growling. Who has time to play games and gun the engine? Food is the priority!’

’Isn’t Tokyo supposed to be a metropolis? We’ve been riding for ages, how is it we haven’t found a single place selling food? Oh, wait, there’s one, there’s one! Finally, a roadside stall.’

Shi Tiexin waved his hand, pointing toward the stall. ”We’re stopping to eat.”

But the lackey hadn’t given up. ”Hey, Boss, aren’t you going to gun it just once to see—”

SMACK! A crisp slap landed on his head. Ah D rode up, looking annoyed. ”Watch your mouth. Don’t you know the rules? Is the Boss some monkey performing for your amusement? It’s not your place to pester him about accelerating! Get to the back, and you’re paying the bill later!”

”Oh...” The lackey retreated, rubbing his head and muttering something under his breath. He didn’t dare cross the line again.

By the side of the road was a stall, a mobile food cart. The middle-aged owner was cooking inside. When he saw the roaring Biker Gang approach, his face immediately filled with panic, and he started jabbering away in a foreign language.

”Hey, old man, enough with the chatter! Hurry up and bring out your best food and drinks! You’ll get your money. You... understand?” Ah Fei was the first to go up and sort things out. He managed to spit out a few words in the foreign tongue, his accent atrocious, but it was enough to keep the stall owner from fleeing in terror. The owner, a mix of sycophantic and terrified, nodded and bowed, rushing to get to work.

Guo Bing directed the lackeys to diligently clean up the area. Two young biker chicks swayed their hips as they brought the food over. Bending down, they revealed their deep cleavage and cooed, ”For you, Boss.”

”Mm.” Shi Tiexin sat down like he owned the place and glanced at the lackeys. He realized these guys couldn’t stay still for a second. They were already hooting and hollering, riding their bikes in circles.

’Just look at this bunch of punks. I don’t mind dyed hair, but those tacky, garish colors are an eyesore. I don’t mind you smoking, but it’s not cool when you’re blowing it all over the place and making me choke. And this restless energy, like they’ve got ants in their pants... no discipline whatsoever. They’re the textbook definition of the word ”rabble.”’

Of course, for Shi Tiexin’s entire life, the people around him had been more or less on the same level as these lackeys. The kids at the Orphanage, the troublemakers in the bottom-tier class at Fengming First Middle School—they were all pretty much the same. He’d never thought of them as a ”rabble” before, but today, he suddenly found the way these lackeys carried themselves to be exceptionally irritating.

’They seem a far cry from the elite force I have in mind.’

’But when have I ever seen an elite force? An elite force...’ A cluster in his consciousness vibrated, as if trying to tell him something, but in the end, nothing came out.

He couldn’t grasp the memory no matter how he tried. ’Whatever, I’ll set that aside for now.’ He picked up a piece of his late-night snack with his chopsticks, popped it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed with a GULP. ’Looks like getting out of the game is a must. There’s really no benefit to hanging around with these guys— Huh?’

Just as he was mulling this over, Shi Tiexin’s eyebrow shot up, and he looked down at the bowl in his hands with surprise.

’This food... it’s packed with essence!’

’Ward Heaven! It’s even more potent than those big skewers from the barbecue stall!’

His Excellent-Grade Basic Essence Nourishment Technique automatically activated. In the blink of an eye, two or three wisps of primordial essence appeared. A couple more bites, and another wisp materialized. His stomach was practically turning into an essence engine, producing an endless stream of primordial essence—so much that his Basic Essence Nourishment Technique could barely keep up with the conversion.

Shi Tiexin looked down at his late-night snack. He estimated that if he ate his fill, he could obtain six or seven wisps of primordial essence.

’That much?’

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard the roar of motorcycle engines. Shi Tiexin looked up to see three bikes roaring down the desolate road toward them. They were like predatory wolves, and their intentions were clearly hostile.

Shi Tiexin noticed first, followed closely by his four top lieutenants. The other lackeys were much slower on the uptake. But regardless of who had noticed, the three motorcycles charged forward at high speed, and while still a long way off, their riders hurled something toward the group.

”Heaven’s Wrath!”

”Die!”

They yelled in broken Chinese as a sheet of flame spread out. Three crude Molotov cocktails made from beer bottles spiraled through the air and smashed into the stall. BOOM! A huge fireball erupted into the sky. The explosive force wasn’t strong, but the stall owner was still sent flying, howling as he rolled on the ground, engulfed in flames.

The cooking soup SPLASHED everywhere. Shi Tiexin reacted in a flash, dodging to the side. The lackeys and biker chicks who had gathered closer weren’t so fortunate. They were instantly showered in the hot liquid, and a cacophony of screams and curses erupted.

”It’s those bastards from the New Rangyi!”

”There are only three of them! Nothing to be afraid of!”

”Ouch, my cleavage! It’s blistering!”

”Waste those Jap bastards!”

VRROOOM. A dozen or so lackeys fired up their bikes, howling as they gave chase. The ever-impetuous Ah D took the lead, chasing them down like a madman.

Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed. ’Holy shit, a bombing? Just like that, on the streets of a major metropolis? Is this world really this messed up?’

”Boss, are you okay?!”

”I’m fine.” Shi Tiexin pointed to the stall owner, who was still rolling on the ground. ”Put out the fire!”

The two lackeys he pointed at seemed unimpressed, hesitating to move. ”Didn’t you hear him? Get your asses over there!” Ah Fei kicked them a couple of times before sidling up to Shi Tiexin. ”Boss, those New Rangyi scumbags are tough. Hot-headed D just charged after them, I’m afraid...”

”Let’s go.” Shi Tiexin swung himself deftly onto his bike. ”We’re giving chase!”

’Like it or not, I can’t stay out of this anymore. The whole crew was attacked, my guys are howling for blood as they give chase, and as the boss, I can’t just sit here and do nothing.’

’Besides, if I think about it carefully, I’m the ”Boss” but not the top dog. There are people above me. Who knows how these organizations handle lines of responsibility? What if there are some gang rules for punishing cowards who run from a fight? It’d be a real problem if I ended up losing an arm or a hand over this.’

’So, I have to go after them. Immediately.’

’And not just chase them, I’m going to teach those attackers a serious lesson!’

’I was just trying to have a goddamn meal, and you sons of bitches dare to show up and bomb me? You think I, the Iron Tyrant, am some kind of pushover?’

VRROOOM. With a twist of the throttle, the Black Venerable howled as it shot forward in pursuit, with the able-bodied lackeys following close behind.

In that short amount of time, the first group giving chase had already gotten far ahead. Shi Tiexin did a quick mental calculation. ’I brought more than forty guys with me. Now a few are injured, a dozen or so are chasing up ahead, and about twenty are following me. A single gang, split into three parts.’

Although he didn’t know the first thing about military strategy, he’d read a few things back when he was studying rhetoric, and a feeling that something was very wrong began to bubble up inside him.