"Your side, that side! Move faster! We have to find that child kidnapped by human traffickers!" Ghost Head shouted as he assigned tasks. His thirty-plus subordinates each took charge of one building and began searching them one by one.
Someone soon came to the residential complex where Chen Nan was hiding. He could not wait any longer. If these people trapped him here, he would have no chance at all.
He had to break out. Before they had fully set up their positions, this was his only chance.
Chen Nan hurried downstairs. He had to leave before they reached this building.
Fortunately, he moved quickly enough, and this residential complex was not the fully enclosed kind. Chen Nan successfully slipped around their line of sight.
The clamor seemed to have been left behind. The main road was already in front of him. As long as he got out of here and hailed a cab, everything would be OK.
But just then, a man guarding the road recognized Chen Nan at a glance.
"Brat, stop right there!" he shouted, contacting the others through his walkie-talkie at the same time. "Target spotted! He's fleeing west along Longhua Avenue!"
That shout was no different from a death warrant. Chen Nan had nothing more to say. Other than summoning those dogs, all he could do was run for his life. At the same time, he waved for a taxi.
The strange thing was, taxis always worked like this. When you did not need them, they were everywhere in front of you; when you truly needed one, not a single one appeared. It really was just like love.
Chen Nan had no energy left to complain. He could only run and leave it to luck.
At the same time, he was not running blindly.
To the west of Longhua Road was a district patrol station. It was like a local precinct dispatched by Earth's public security bureau—the neighborhood police station people often talked about.
This was Chen Nan's first time seeking help from patrol officers, but it was only an emergency measure, his final lifeline.
He had no choice. No matter how little he trusted others, in a crisis like this, he had to trust the nation's armed forces. At the very least, they would not stand by and watch him die, right?
The people behind him came rushing after him. How could a ten-year-old child's short little legs outrun adults who fought and killed all day? Before long, they were less than fifty meters apart.
At this distance, Chen Nan had no way to hail a cab. This was not some film or TV drama where, if someone was being chased, a taxi driver would heroically pull over at once.
In a situation like this, it was doubtful whether the driver would even open the door for Chen Nan.
So his only chance was that district patrol station.
Fortunately, it was not too far away. Unfortunately, those thugs were already less than twenty meters from him.
Seeing that they were about to catch him, Chen Nan had no choice but to send out the dogs he had summoned to stop their pursuit.
Five dogs barked as they launched themselves at the pursuers. Passing cars and pedestrians watched the spectacle as though it were a movie, and with such an immersive front-row view, every one of them watched with great relish.
As for stepping in to help, that was absolutely out of the question.
Still, Chen Nan did not blame the passersby for being cold-hearted. Those vicious-looking men behind him were clearly not people to be trifled with. Who would risk their own life to intervene?
That was only human nature.
The dogs' mournful cries rang out from behind him. Tears slipped from the corners of Chen Nan's eyes, and fear was replaced by grief.
He felt utterly shameless, even more cold-blooded than the onlookers, sacrificing innocent creatures weaker than himself for his own safety. But for someone as weak as him, what other choice did he have?
Fortunately, he could already see the district patrol station. Once he crossed that road, he would reach it.
To hell with the traffic lights. Chen Nan lowered his head and charged across, leaving his fate to heaven.
Several cars that brushed past Chen Nan crashed into one another. Their drivers cursed furiously, and the entire street descended into chaos.
"Help! Officer, help!" Chen Nan screamed at the top of his lungs. The threat to his life drove his voice to an inhuman pitch.
With the disturbance already underway, several patrol officers came out and saw Chen Nan running toward them, with a dog at his side. This dog was rather timid and did not dare rush forward. It merely ran alongside Chen Nan.
"What happened, little one?" one patrol officer stopped Chen Nan and asked.
At Chen Nan's height, even looking straight ahead only brought his gaze to the man's waist. Yet something gleaming there stirred Chen Nan's heart.
It was a pitch-black pistol. Chen Nan immediately activated his phone's recording function and slipped it into the breast pocket on his chest, with the camera facing outward.
"These people are criminals! They're trying to kill me!" Chen Nan shouted, then moved behind the patrol officer.
More patrol officers came out of the building one after another, gathering into a group of around ten.
Ghost Head had already led his people here. Seeing the patrol officers, he gave a strange laugh and said, "What's this, Old Blackie? You want to meddle in your big brother's business?"
The man nicknamed Old Blackie was the one who had spoken to Chen Nan earlier.
He sneered. "Ghost Head, you're making trouble without even checking whose turf this is. In broad daylight and before all these people, show the law some respect."
Ghost Head immediately glared. "Have you lost your mind? Don't you know what that child is tied to? If you know what's good for you, get out of my way!"
But more and more civilians were gathering around. Under such circumstances, how could the patrol officers simply ignore it?
If they did, today's front-page headlines would be about these patrol officers.
The consequences would be far too severe. Old Blackie could not bear that kind of fallout.
He could only say forcefully, "No one can stand above the law. Get the hell out of here, now! If you make this bigger, you won't be able to swallow the consequences!"
A vicious gleam appeared in Ghost Head's eyes. Watching from behind, Chen Nan sensed that something was wrong. Sure enough, Ghost Head waved a hand, and the people behind him charged forward.
"You dare attack police officers?" Old Blackie shouted in humiliation and fury.
He had just drawn his pistol and had not even had time to fire a warning shot when a baton smashed into his wrist. The gun flew away.
Chen Nan immediately ran over and tucked the pistol into his clothes.
The gun was truly heavy, but he had no idea how to use it.
The police and criminals began fighting. Not only were the patrol officers at a disadvantage in numbers, but judging by their beer bellies, their fighting ability was no match for Ghost Head's muscle-bound men.
Several patrol officers were quickly knocked down. Chen Nan immediately sent out the dog beside him. After it snatched another pistol from one of the officers, Chen Nan took that gun and fled at top speed.
After knocking all the patrol officers down, Ghost Head spat at them and shouted, "Chase that brat!"
They had even attacked the patrol officers. These criminals' eyes had turned red with bloodlust, and they locked onto Chen Nan's backside as they gave chase.
Chen Nan ran while fiddling with the pistol, but he did not know how to use the thing! It was enough to drive him frantic.
Suddenly, something flashed before his eyes. The AI System appeared.
Chen Nan slapped his forehead, cursing himself for being muddleheaded to this extent. He then carefully examined the information in his vision and figured out how to use the pistol.
Based on the structural principles of Earth firearms and an analysis of this pistol's external structure, the AI System had provided a theoretical method of use.
Therefore, that method might not be accurate.
Still, following the prompt, Chen Nan disengaged the safety.
Then he turned around and began aiming at the people behind him. The AI System displayed all kinds of prompts to assist his aim.
He pulled the trigger. With a bang, Chen Nan fell straight onto his backside.
That shot made the surrounding civilians scream in alarm and scatter in every direction. Ghost Head's men immediately covered their heads and hunched over as well.
But not one of them was injured.
Even with the AI System's assistance, Chen Nan's aim had been extremely accurate. Unfortunately, the gun's recoil was too powerful, and the bullet flew wildly off target.
But Chen Nan could see the AI System prompting him that it was conducting a comprehensive assessment based on the firearm's recoil and the strength of his body. The next time he aimed, it would factor those elements in.
The single shot had frightened Ghost Head's group enough that they did not dare rush forward. But when they saw that it had missed, Ghost Head shouted, "He's just a child! Even if he has a gun, there's nothing to fear. He can't hit anything! Charge!"
Those men began rushing forward again.
Chen Nan immediately got to his feet. At that moment, the two sides were still around seventy or eighty paces apart. At such a distance, someone who had never used a gun would find it difficult to hit a person.
But Chen Nan steadied his breathing, gripped the pistol with both hands, and began a new round of aiming. His phone was still recording everything.
The AI System calculated. A virtual crosshair had already settled on the first man's head.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
After twelve shots in a row, the twelve men running forward all had ten thousand peach blossoms bloom across their heads, white snow reflecting crimson stamens—blood splattered, brains burst forth.
Twelve running corpses collapsed to the ground. Under the threat of death, Ghost Head's remaining men all stopped.
They did not dare move, but after a moment, Ghost Head suddenly shouted, "That gun only has thirteen bullets! He fired one into the air, then killed twelve of our brothers. That gun is empty now!"
Even if he said that, who would dare risk going up?
But Chen Nan had already made his own calculation. He threw down that pistol and immediately fled into the distance, pulling the other one from his clothes at the same time.
"Chase him!" Ghost Head shouted. More than ten people remained, and they followed in pursuit.
Dark clouds began gathering in the sky. Before long, raindrops as large as soybeans fell, washing the blood and brains from the ground.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating Chen Nan's cold eyes.
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