Era of Mist

Shi Tiexin had originally worried that Ah Fei would be too soft-hearted and get bogged down by the vagrants, but he was just judging others by his own standards. People from this chaotic era had a completely different sense of right and wrong than him. Far from being a burden, the vagrants, spurred on by Ah Fei’s savage grin, were forced to become human shields, decoys to draw attention, and cannon fodder to test the enemy’s firepower.

They used every trick they could think of to lure the enemy gunmen here. They even managed to pick off two of them, giving the enemy the false impression that they could turn the tables.

But once the enemy gathered the manpower of three squads, these tricks were useless.

RAT-AT-AT-AT-AT! The violent gunfire surged forward like a tidal wave, washing away any life that dared to stand in its way. When those tools—those men—amassed in such numbers, their force was truly overwhelming and impossible to stop.

The vagrants broke down immediately. Ah Fei and his men were barely hanging on, gritting their teeth as their confidence crumbled.

Just then, with a single CRACK, the only nearby light still on suddenly went out. Then, a few more sharp CRACKS followed. The gunmen’s line suddenly fell into disarray, and their fire weakened.

Ah Fei risked a peek and thought he saw a tall figure flash past in the opposite stairwell, taking down two men with two quick shots. Then the figure flashed past again, dropping another two.

Agile, fierce, and radiating a murderous aura—like a vicious ghost.

“Fire! Open fire!”

Seizing the opportunity, Ah Fei decisively gave the order, telling everyone who had been conserving their ammo to unleash everything they had. Whether the shots hit or not, as long as they created a firecracker-like racket, they could draw the attention of a few more men.

BANG! BANG! POP! Muzzle flashes flickered, illuminating the darkness like some kind of crazed, post-modern photoshoot. With every flash of light, someone fell. After a few more flickers, the number of enemy gunmen still standing had dropped to less than ten.

The gunmen started to adjust their formation, avoiding overly tight positions.

An enemy pulled the pin on two grenades and tossed them over. BOOM! BOOM! Sparks flew and shrapnel sprayed everywhere. Ah Fei ducked back, only to find a large gash torn open on his forehead by a piece of shrapnel. Blood streamed down his face. His ears were ringing from the explosion, and his mouth tasted salty, as if the shockwave had made him bleed internally.

It took him a long moment to recover. Ah Fei was filled with despair, thinking, ‘This is it. I’m going to die here today.’ But then he suddenly realized—the gunfire outside had stopped!

His limbs weak and trembling, he crawled out from his hiding place and looked out. Amidst the bodies scattered everywhere, a tall figure stood firm, like a pillar supporting the heavens.

It was the Boss!

CLICK-CLACK. Shi Tiexin rapidly loaded his magazine, then shook his body. CLATTER. Several slugs fell to the ground. They were slugs that had penetrated the walls. If not for his body armor, they would have been fatal.

He removed the shattered armor plate. The skin where he’d been hit was already a mass of dark bruises, but Shi Tiexin’s expression didn’t so much as twitch. He reinserted the plates that were still usable. Wearing this body armor was like carrying a petite girl on his back.

But that weight was what brought him the greatest sense of security.

CLICK-CLACK. The magazine was loaded. CHK-CHK. He chambered a round.

RATTLE-RATTLE. A flood of footsteps echoed from the stairwell directly opposite him. A quick assessment: six or seven men. Shi Tiexin didn’t hide this time. Instead, he grabbed a tall gunman with his left hand and hoisted the body up as a shield.

He knelt on one knee, reducing his target profile. He aimed his gun forward. Ten meters. His left hand, cut by glass, was bleeding profusely. His right hand, however, held the gun’s grip, steady as a rock. His sights narrowed to a pinpoint, like a distant star.

These enemies didn’t know how to adapt, so their movements were easy to predict.

‘For example—Three… two… one… showtime.’

WHOOSH. A head appeared in his sights.

BANG!

The man dropped.

RUSH. More men charged out. BANG! BANG! BANG! The gunshots were continuous. Some fell, some fired back. THWAP! THWAP! Bullets slammed into the gunman’s corpse he was using as a shield. The large-caliber rounds tore through both layers of the body armor, passed through the gunman’s torso, and, having lost momentum, slapped against Shi Tiexin’s chest and abdomen.

Shi Tiexin shuddered with each impact, but he didn’t retreat. His hands remained just as steady, not moving, not wavering. His aim was dead-on.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK. His muzzle flashed five more times, and then everything fell silent. The barrel of his gun was now scorching hot. Shi Tiexin dropped the corpse with a THUD and strode forward.

At the entrance to the stairwell, blood flowed like a river and bodies littered the ground. Not a living soul remained.

One man’s hand twitched. Shi Tiexin finished him with another BANG, then went back to reloading. CLICK-CLACK. He reloaded as he moved, stalking like a vicious ghost, leaving behind nothing but a floor of corpses and a group of stunned underlings.

Blood from his left hand dripped into the magazine, staining the brass-colored cartridges red.

The oils in his blood could interfere with the gun’s mechanism, but he couldn’t afford to be picky now.

Shi Tiexin walked down the stairs step by step, heading toward the front courtyard.

Halfway there, he glanced outside, then casually pulled out a grenade and tossed it. A deafening BOOM erupted, and the flash lit up the night. Shi Tiexin didn’t spare it a second glance, simply continuing on his way.

Step by step, he reached the small shop from before and walked out through the wreckage.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Three precise shots took down three gunmen as Shi Tiexin stepped out of the shop.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Another three shots killed another three ‘tools’—the last of the enemies controlling the searchlights.

Shi Tiexin continued forward. Ahead of him, a car lay tragically overturned on the side of the road. Just moments ago, Sanfan, seeing the tide turn, had ordered his men to drive away and escape, only to have his car flipped by a grenade.

“Aaargh—!” Amidst the howl of pain, Sanfan lay with his legs pinned under the car, unable to move. Watching Shi Tiexin approach step by step, Sanfan’s face twisted as he pulled out a handgun, raising it with a trembling hand. But with a single gunshot, his hand was mangled and the gun went flying.

Another shot finished off the struggling driver, and Shi Tiexin walked over to Sanfan.

He loomed over him, his face cloaked in shadow.

Sanfan couldn’t make out the man’s expression, seeing only the hard set of his mouth and his terrifying eyes.

Shi Tiexin raised his gun and aimed it at Sanfan’s forehead. “Talk. Where did these things come from? Is it the effect of a drug, or something else? Tell me everything you know. Trade that information for your worthless life.”

Sanfan’s pupils constricted, then dilated. A struggle suddenly appeared on his face.

His mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, but he said nothing.

Shi Tiexin shoved the gun’s muzzle against Sanfan’s face. The barrel, scorching hot from continuous firing, was like a branding iron. With a SIZZLE, it seared Sanfan’s cheek, raising a wisp of smoke.

Shi Tiexin pressed harder, branding Sanfan’s face, his expression as terrifying as King Yama’s. “I’ll ask you one last time.”

Sanfan screamed in agony, but then the scream slowly turned bizarre.

“Heh heh… heh heh…”

A strange smile spread across Sanfan’s zombie-like face, the same one he had seen on the Ouyang brothers and, just a moment ago, on Ah Hui.