Goodwill and Malice

Xia Lin followed Duan Jun to a deserted spot in the parking lot.

Leaning against a load-bearing pillar, Xia Lin spoke slowly. "So, what did you want to see me about?"

Duan Jun lowered his voice and spoke quickly.

"You know who your next opponent in the Savage Martial Arena is, right?"

"I do. Flower Burial, from the Suzuki Consortium."

"Have you read the papers?"

Xia Lin shook his head.

Who read newspapers these days?

Duan Jun spoke quickly. "The Suzuki Consortium and the North Wind Consortium made a deal outside the arena. Suzuki ceded three rich mines to North Wind."

"And you might be part of that deal."

Xia Lin said nothing, his expression unchanged. He simply stared intently at Duan Jun until Duan Jun spoke again.

"Listen, I can't say much more about it. Even what I just told you was only a guess."

"But I still wanted to warn you. For the time being, it's best not to eat the food North Wind prepares for you, and try not to go back to the house they gave you... Find a chance to leave that place."

Xia Lin slowly tilted his head.

"Leave? And then what? Become a drifter? A wanted man?"

He looked at Duan Jun and spoke calmly, as though he had no idea how serious the situation was.

Duan Jun gritted his teeth.

"Fuck, I'm trying to help you!"

Xia Lin spread his hands. "That's what it sounds like. You're helping me. So why?"

A smile returned to his face. He leaned close to Duan Jun and spoke softly.

"I barely know you, and I'm a murderer who slipped through the law's net. So why are you helping me?"

"If I really ran, North Wind would easily trace it back to you. Your career and your life would be ruined. You might not even survive."

"The price is so high. You have no reason to help me, do you?"

When he finished, Xia Lin slowly drew back and looked Duan Jun seriously in the eyes.

Duan Jun looked bewildered for a moment, but his gaze soon hardened.

"Yes, I have no reason to help you."

"But I'd rather see a murderous lunatic like you sent to prison to serve your sentence, or even sentenced to death, than die because of some disgusting backroom deal!"

He growled in a low voice, and this time, Xia Lin stopped smiling.

He studied Duan Jun's face, then slowly reached out and patted him gently on the shoulder.

"A childish rebellion against the established, unjust order?"

"Kid, I have to say, you're actually pretty cute."

Xia Lin withdrew his hand and nodded gently, his expression calm.

"Thank you."

At that moment, there was no arrogance or madness in him, and he had put away his trademark smile. Instead, he thanked him calmly and sincerely.

After saying those two words, Xia Lin smiled again.

This time, his smile was much more handsome.

"To tell you the truth, since I came here, you're the first person worthy of my thanks."

He was also the only person who had shown Xia Lin goodwill.

Even if that goodwill was mixed with other motives and other feelings, goodwill was still goodwill, genuine and real.

"In return, listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

"The day after tomorrow, the day I step into the arena, you'd better take the day off, turn off your phone, and even leave the city."

Duan Jun was taken aback. He didn't understand what Xia Lin meant.

But before he could ask, Xia Lin had already turned away.

Only a few parting words reached his ears.

"This is one way I, Xia Lin, repay goodwill."

Back in the car.

The butler had already repositioned the vehicle.

Only after Xia Lin closed the door did the butler speak.

"Are we going home, or...?"

"Home."

The car started, and the butler spoke again.

"That young police officer just now..."

"Oh, he asked me a few questions about that night. He said the Zaishui Gang might still come after me for revenge and warned me to be careful. Nothing serious, all in all."

The butler said, "Good, as long as it's nothing serious."

The brightly lit streets flashed past.

The heat was turned up a little high in the car, and the intoxicating scent of fragrance wafted over him.

Xia Lin basked in the warmth, watching the streets flash past the window as his gaze slowly grew hazy.

Soon, snores rang out.

He had fallen asleep.

The car continued to speed along.

Soon, it arrived at Xia Lin's residence.

The butler brought the car to a stop in the residential complex's underground parking garage.

Several people had been waiting outside for some time.

The butler opened the door and got out, nodding to the five burly men in black waiting outside.

"The drug has taken effect. He's asleep and definitely won't wake up for eight hours."

The butler had used the Star Blue Hallucinogen.

The high-tech drug had an extremely powerful sedative effect-even an elephant couldn't withstand it, let alone when the butler had massively increased the dose.

The burly men opened the rear door and carried Xia Lin out. The butler continued speaking.

"Lock him in the master bedroom. There's a close-in defense system made by Suzuki Industries in there."

A close-in defense system was a defensive installation.

From the outside, it was a sturdy fortress. From the inside, it was an unbreakable cage.

"Keep two combat robots outside the door at all times. Make sure he can't get out."

"Don't give him a bite of food or a drop of water for the next two days. Make sure to inject him with muscle relaxants too, and turn the air conditioning down below freezing. Wear down his stamina as much as possible. Use hallucinogens, narcotics, anything like that on him."

"Use the maximum dose."

The butler calmly spoke those chilling words. Looking at the sleeping Xia Lin, he sneered.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you had a family? Then we wouldn't have to resort to such crude methods."

A family meant a weakness that could be exploited, a way to make Xia Lin willingly throw the match or even give up his own life.

North Wind had used such methods before. In fact, every consortium had, and they worked every time!

But threats weren't necessarily useful against a man with no one to lose, especially one as unruly as Xia Lin.

So this was the only way to handle him...

What the butler couldn't see was the eerie curl of Xia Lin's lips once he was out of his sight.

He was smiling.

[Martial Artists Do Not Die from Gunfire (mutated): Greatly reduces the damage caused to you by technological weapons and tools!]

Hallucinogens, muscle relaxants, even modern narcotics.

They were all chemical products.

Nature had few potent natural drugs, so technology was needed to purify them, or even recreate and synthesize them to enhance their effects.

That raised a question.

Did these drugs count as technological weapons and tools?

Of course they did!

Did anesthesia, unconsciousness, addiction, muscle relaxation, and so on count as damage?

Of course they did!

Without anyone noticing, Xia Lin's eyes filled with blood red.

The Savage Martial Arena match between Xia Lin and Flower Burial became the talk of Fierce Martial City over the next two days.

It even drew more attention than the high-level Fierce Martial Arts battle that was also about to begin.

There was no helping it. The marketing was good, and the financial backers were willing to spend.

As for the outcome of the match, opinion online was relatively unanimous.

Explosive Bomb Fist would win.

His popularity was one reason, but Xia Lin's fighting power in the low-level Savage Martial Arena was practically unbeatable.

Countless people lamented that a youth as beautiful as Flower Burial was about to be blasted to pieces...

But watching something beautiful be destroyed with one's own eyes was itself a human pleasure.

With all eyes upon it, the battle began.