The Three People Who Were Not Below Me!

Old Pi had come through, so naturally Li Congxin couldn't let the old man down.

Just as Madame Gao cried out in pain and raised a hand to cover her face, he had already gathered all his strength and swung his staff backhanded, smashing it directly into her chest and abdomen.

With a deafening bang, Madame Gao's scream abruptly cut off. Li Congxin's blow sent her flying more than ten meters before she finally stopped after crashing through the men's restroom behind her.

On the other side, Murakami, driven into a frenzy, took a bullet from the Punisher in the leg and still managed to stab a transparent hole through the latter's stomach.

Just as he was about to raise his butcher's knife and chop off the head of this detestable man who had caused them countless losses, countless flying ants suddenly swarmed over his face.

Murakami hurriedly drew in a deep breath and blew hard, scattering all the flying ants in front of him. By then, however, Li Congxin had already rushed forward and shielded the Punisher behind him.

Seeing that Li Congxin had freed his hands, then looking at Old Pi, who was also watching him from the other side, while the wailing police sirens drew closer and closer, Murakami finally realized that today's operation had ended in complete failure.

What had originally been designed as a deadly finishing move had instead ended with both sides suffering heavy losses...

Although he was unwilling to accept it, he decisively made the correct choice after realizing that the situation could no longer be salvaged. He suddenly retreated several meters, then shouted at Bakuto, who was still beating Daredevil on the other side, "Stop wasting your strength. Take Madame Gao. We're leaving!"

By then, Madame Gao had already burst out of the rubble after being knocked into the men's restroom. Bakuto pulled her up, and together with Murakami, whose leg had been shot, they quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

Li Congxin and the others did not stop them from leaving.

In fact, even with Old Pi's addition and the fact that they had caught their opponents off guard and severely wounded Madame Gao, the combat strength of both sides could at most be considered evenly matched. Their side did not possess an absolute advantage.

The fact that their opponents were willing to stop was already the best possible outcome.

From here on, everyone had the same thing to do: return and tend to their wounds, sharpen their claws and fangs, and wait for their next clash before delivering a truly fatal blow to the other side!

"It's over... It's over... It's over..."

As the sirens drew closer, more than a dozen police cars drove into the park. Just as Li Congxin had helped the seriously wounded Punisher to his feet, groups of police officers emerged from the vehicles. They first raised their shields, then hid behind them as rifles and pistols all pointed at the group of superheroes.

Among the police, a middle-aged white man who appeared to hold a slightly higher rank took out a loudspeaker and shouted, "People on the other side, listen up! You're surrounded. Put down your weapons, turn off the speaker, and kneel on the ground with your hands clasped behind your head!"

"You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be used as evidence in court!"

What a familiar line!

Li Congxin had seen lines like that countless times in movies, but this was his first time encountering such a situation in real life.

Still, this was probably just a routine opening statement, like bandits saying, "This mountain is mine to open." It had no substance whatsoever.

He could tolerate being told to put down his weapons and such, but they actually wanted him to turn off the speaker?

Were they kidding?

The music was playing automatically after being activated. He couldn't control it at all, could he?

"Where is there an undefeated champion? Where is there someone who never departs? Where is there an endless song? Where is there a feast that never ends? Only affection deep as the sea and boundless loyalty remain, no matter how the clouds scatter and the winds gather..."

Fortunately, the system seemed to know that the battle was over. As soon as the final lyric finished, the background music finally stopped.

Li Congxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but still decided not to act rashly. Instead, he turned to Old Pi and sought his guidance, preparing to follow his lead.

Old Pi handled the same situation much better. He calmly raised both hands and said with a smile, "Officer, I think you must have misunderstood. We're all law-abiding citizens. We were attacked by criminals and had no choice but to act in self-defense. Police Chief Gordon can testify to that."

"Hmph!" The white officer in charge snorted coldly. "I've never seen law-abiding citizens wearing masks and carrying weapons get attacked by criminals. Enough nonsense. Do as I said. Throw down your weapons, put your hands behind your heads, and kneel!"

At the white officer's command, the policemen loaded their weapons and prepared to unleash a barrage of gunfire if the group refused to cooperate.

"Hey!"

At that moment, a sudden voice came from the radio clipped to the white officer's waist. "Is this Officer Solomon? This is Gordon!"

The white officer known as Solomon froze, then hurriedly pulled out his radio and said, "Police Chief Gordon, I'm leading my men in arresting criminals. What are your orders, sir?"

Police Chief Gordon's gentle voice came from the other end. "You've done well. You actually eliminated dozens of gangsters in one go, making an outstanding contribution to the security of New York City!"

After praising Solomon lavishly, Gordon changed his tone. "As for those few injured hostages, leave them alone. I'll arrange for someone else to take them to the hospital. Clean up the scene, then you can call it a day. I'll be waiting to celebrate your success!"

Gordon had already put it so plainly. If Solomon still couldn't understand what it meant, he would never have risen to his current position.

First, the fully covered man on the other side had claimed to know Police Chief Gordon. Then Gordon had issued an order that sounded absurd. Who would believe this wasn't a dirty backroom deal?

But Solomon wasn't an idiot.

He was clearly one of the beneficiaries of this deal as well.

The men pretending to be superheroes wanted to leave, so the credit for eliminating the criminals would naturally fall to their police department. As the department's supervisor, Police Chief Gordon would gain another achievement. Meanwhile, the men pretending to be superheroes would avoid a great deal of trouble.

Everyone benefited. Everyone was happy.

As for the truth of the matter...

Heh!

What was that supposed to be? Did it really matter?

Everyone climbed into Old Pi's van and headed toward the hospital. Only then did Old Pi remove the mask covering his face and say, "I saw that viral video online of you parkouring across the street. I knew something was up, so I made preparations ahead of time. Fortunately, I arrived in time."

Waving off Li Congxin's explanation, Old Pi asked directly, "Do you know who they are?"

Li Congxin's eyes immediately lit up at the question. After glancing at the system interface, he said, "I only know that those three old fellows are incredibly powerful. Not one of them is below me!"

Thanks to reader Daihao for the 300 Qidian coins!