Netherworld Retrograde

Within the darkness of the night, a flash of lightning flickered deep in the sky, cutting across the horizon, thunder shaking the heavens.

It made people on the street click their tongues in astonishment and hasten their steps homeward, fearing a downpour might follow.

However, if they could look up at the sky and catch up to the speed of that lightning,

they would see an eerie figure...

More than thirty seconds later, Li Yelai had already arrived above the target platform.

He dismissed his Dragon Colt summon and, with the Big Black Umbrella slung on his shoulder, briskly entered the platform.

Indeed, as the subway train approached, the sound of beetles in Li Yelai’s arms became increasingly dense.

The Flying Gunman was on this train!

”Finally found you!” Li Yelai was exhilarated in his mind, all that remained was to pick out that person from the crowd.

And through his Bluetooth earpiece, he said to the Ye Boshou team, ”I’m boarding the train to look for the Flying Gunman.”

This Ye Boshou team was also Yin Fire’s personal guard group and processors who were privy to parts of Li Yelai’s plans.

”Understood, there will be two colleagues boarding with you to assist, while the remaining three Ye Boshous will hurry to all forthcoming subway stations to prepare for backup,” a comrade from Ye Boshou responded, ”Night General, public safety must come first.”

”Mhm, I’m aware. I will protect the people,” Li Yelai responded as he carried the Big Black Umbrella into the subway carriage.

Soon, the subway started again, and hundreds of meters from leaving the platform, the Companion Beetles on Li Yelai still emitted sound.

This signified the Flying Gunman hadn’t gotten off, still on this subway!

What remained was to find him on the subway! Even possessing Absolute Spirit Weapon, he wouldn’t be a match for the two Ye Boshou and Li Yelai!

As the night deepened, there weren’t many passengers on the subway.

Li Yelai then picked up his Big Black Umbrella and walked back and forth through the train.

The Flying Gunman’s Spiritual Ability Equipment was traded from Buttercup and the Black Umbrella, consisting of five throwing spears, each about one meter long.

To conceal his Spiritual Ability Equipment properly, the Flying Gunman either wore loose clothes, hiding the weapons behind him,

or, like the Big Black Umbrella, stashed them inside some piece of equipment.

Li Yelai moved his gaze around, covered the beetle in his arms to muffle its sound as much as possible, and observed the passengers nearby.

He looked through one carriage after another.

Yet, something eerie happened.

When Li Yelai reached the third carriage, the beetle’s sound suddenly disappeared?

But the subway hadn’t stopped, and it was still a few minutes away from the next station.

”The sound’s gone!” Li Yelai swiftly notified Ye Boshou, ”Has anyone disembarked?”

”No, the subway is intact, there’s no damage, nor have any doors or windows been opened,” Ye Boshou quickly replied.

That insight made Li Yelai’s expression change; the subway hadn’t reached the station, nor had any doors or windows been opened. How did the Flying Gunman disappear?

Based on the previous sounds, he was definitely on this train.

Was there some oversight that allowed the Flying Gunman to detect them in advance?

No, the other party probably didn’t know they were being tracked.

Could it be...

Li Yelai looked out the subway window, where the pitch-dark tunnel was akin to the Abyss.

”Alright, I get it now. No wonder I couldn’t sense him no matter where I went. He’s really good at hiding!” Li Yelai thought, immediately instructing Ye Boshou, ”Please mark the position where the sound disappeared when the subway was there! That bastard must have a hanging ticket!”

Elsewhere, a strange figure clinging to the outside of the subway carriage landed on the ground holding a large plastic bag.

He wore a trench coat and had curly hair, ignoring the departing subway; he walked through the pitch-dark underground tunnel.

Indeed, he had boarded the subway, but not completely.

Suddenly, he arrived at a concealed safety door on the edge of the tunnel.

As he passed through the safety door, he entered another empty tunnel.

This was an abandoned subway tunnel, built before the Calamity, and completely sealed off after the roads were cut off.

Now, it had become his safe house. Who could find them here?

Their very existence, never appearing under the sunlight.

He walked down the tunnel for a few minutes and arrived at the small camp he had built himself.

The camp, constructed from rebar and sheet metal, bore the unmistakable aesthetic of the wasteland, and a faint stench of blood seeped from it.

But he didn’t care, and entered the camp with the plastic bag in hand.

What he saw were a man and a woman smoking.

The smoke twirled around them, but there were bite marks on the man’s face.

The Flying Gunman chuckled coldly, ”Jackal, what have you done now?”

The smoking man didn’t respond, the woman, however, giggled and said, ”Isn’t it because you wanted to try something fresh but ended up getting a face full of scratches? I told you, Spirit Extinguishers have a strong resistance to Spiritual Energy. Serves you right, doesn’t it?”

Jackal’s face darkened, ”What would I fancy about such a filthy, scrawny woman? I just thought she smelled so foul that I wanted to give her a wash. Who knew she’d bite as soon as I got close!”

”So...” the woman sneered coldly, ”you broke her leg, and with her current state, this will kill her!”

”A Spirit Extinguisher’s leg is very good material,” Jackal retorted with a cold laugh. ”I too want my blade to receive the Absolute Spirit Ability. It’s about time since Brother Flying Spear got his Absolute Spirit Weapon.”

”What’s the hurry? You’ll all get your turn eventually. What’s more important right now is to keep her alive!” The Flying Gunman frowned, tossing the plastic bag at Jackal’s feet, ”A living Spirit Extinguisher is worth much more than a dead one.”

”Don’t worry, she’s not dead. But she’s still refusing to eat or drink and is lying in her own filth, which our abilities can’t affect,” Jackal replied, pulling food out of the plastic bag, ”When you cut off her arm, you should have taken her legs too.”

The Flying Gunman walked deeper into the camp, and when he pushed open an iron door,

he was met with a horrifying sight.

A young woman in tattered clothes sat before him, her body emaciated and pale.

Under her messy and withered hair, her once delicate face was now deeply lined.

Her slender left arm was shackled with a heavy iron restraint, hanging from the wall.

Her right arm was severed at the elbow, wrapped in thick bandages that were filthy with seeped blood.

She sat amidst her own waste, her left lower leg twisted outward.

It seemed she heard the door open as the woman opened her lackluster eyes.

Staring dead at the Flying Gunman.

This man had killed all her friends and relatives and had chopped off her arm!

She struggled to part her cracked lips, as if to curse, but she was too weak to make a sound.

The Flying Gunman was indifferent to the woman’s malice, instead sizing her up as though she was a treasured discovery.

This woman was too precious!

”Don’t bother pretending to be strong. The moment I found you, your fate was already sealed,” the Flying Gunman smiled. She would be his greatest fortune, a treasure that could be traded with the families. How lucky he was to have found her, a real favor from fate.

However, just then, the Flying Gunman suddenly heard an odd noise:

’Pitter-patter’

’Pitter-patter’

’Pitter-patter’

The sound grew from distant to near, like the footsteps of some lurking danger.

This jolted the Flying Gunman into action, sensing an imminent threat!

Impossible, this place should have been undiscoverable by anyone, and he had traps laid out all along the path. Why hadn’t they been triggered?

Not just him, but Jackal and the woman outside also heard the noise. They were staggered to their feet.

”What’s happening?” the woman cried out in alarm.

”Something’s approaching!” Jackal raised his long spear, ”Quick, take the Spirit Extinguisher with you!”

The Flying Gunman’s expression changed, ”Stay alert! Don’t be afraid!”

But in the next second, the steel fences of the camp burst apart.

A towering figure emerged before them.

He wore Copper Face, wielded a long spear, and strode upon Thunder!

Beneath the Copper Face, within the Heavy Pupil, was full of savage rage!

”You’d better be afraid indeed!”

With one hand, he brandished his spear like the Grim Reaper swinging a scythe!

(Today there’s only two thousand words, sorry. Tomorrow I have my engagement, a bit busy.)