No Guns Life

Under the afternoon sun.

A black sedan stopped at the mouth of an alley not far from Continent Auto Repair Shop.

Lu Feng got out of the car and glanced left and right. Once he saw that no one was paying attention, he waved toward the car. "Thanks. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"Really not going to reconsider?"

The woman behind the wheel had slightly dark skin, and the tattoo on her arm was identical to Lu Feng's.

A knife scar ran across her neck. Her gaze was usually sharp and fierce, but now it was unusually gentle. "We're old friends, after all. If you join us, I'll give you a stake... I heard your little sister is in university. Tianmen University's student loans aren't cheap. Without a windfall, you might spend your whole life paying them off."

"Please spare me. I don't want to get mixed up in that stuff anymore. As for the student loans... I think there's nothing wrong with spending your whole life paying them back in peace."

Lu Feng smiled and shrugged. "Even if things get that bad, don't you still have us?"

"That sort of thing?"

Laila was slightly taken aback. "That really doesn't sound like you."

"Little brother and little sister have both made something of themselves. They don't need me anymore."

Lu Feng sighed softly and looked up at the familiar scenery in the distance. "When I was little, I thought that if I wanted to rise above the rest and make something of myself, I had to be ruthless, strong, and impressive. But after fighting tooth and nail for so many years—from Yacheng to Central Earth, then from Central Earth into that filthy mire—I didn't fight my way to anything.

"At first, I thought I could only take control of my life with a gun in my hand. Later, I realized that once I picked up a gun, it was all I would have left for the rest of my life.

"I fought desperately to crawl back from Central Earth because I didn't want to live in a gutter anymore."

He said, "Every gutter is the same."

As he spoke, he hesitated, then took the holster from his lower back and held it out.

Laila froze in place. She opened the holster and stared at the familiar pistol, the weapon passed down through the hands of successive elite soldiers of Airborne Camp. She found it increasingly unbelievable. "Are you serious?"

"Haven't you always coveted this?"

After making his decision, Lu Feng felt unburdened. He only smiled. "It's yours. Consider it repayment for what I owe you. Just charge me a little less interest."

Laila said nothing. She only looked at him with a distant, mournful gaze.

After a long while, she suddenly said, "That's good."

"Hm?"

"I mean, this is for the best. You can live in peace. A life you can live without relying on a gun is the only truly good life."

Her expression was impossible to describe, and there was no telling whether it was joy born of shared understanding or resentment rising from the depths of her heart. In the end, she only said, "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Lu Feng waved and turned to leave, but then he heard a voice behind him.

"One more thing."

Laila sighed helplessly. "I remember you once telling me about... that decent-looking kid with burn scars on his face?"

Lu Feng nodded. "My little brother. What about him?"

"Then you'd better be careful. Someone's been investigating him lately."

Laila smoked, suppressing her irritation. "There's nothing on Wild Bazaar. They bypassed it directly, as if they'd put a bounty out through the local gangs. They probably aren't up to any good."

Lu Feng froze in place.

Then he saw what she was holding out to him again.

The gun.

"Think it over, Lao Lu," Laila said. "You want to put down your gun and live a good life, but sometimes, without a gun, you can't live in peace."

Lu Feng instinctively reached out, but the moment his hand touched the holster, he stiffened as if he had been shocked.

After a long while, his five fingers spread, then closed tightly.

"Thanks," he said.

"I still miss the way you were in Central Earth. Back then, words this cowardly couldn't have jumped out of your mouth."

Laila shook her head and stopped bothering him. "I'm leaving."

She hit the accelerator.

The sedan sped away without a backward glance.

Only Lu Feng remained where he was. He stood there in a daze for a long time, then lowered his head and lit the cigarette at the corner of his mouth, its tobacco already almost completely soaked through.

Head bowed, he breathed in silence.

And so, in the shadows untouched by sunlight, his eyes gradually turned vicious.

"Big Brother, you're back?" Youngest poked his head out from the shop entrance and looked over. "Stop dawdling! Hurry up and carry the brake pads inside, or Mom will notice and scold you again!"

"Oh, oh, I'm coming!"

Lu Feng raised his head as if waking from a dream, a gentle smile appearing on his face. He patted his head. "Look at my memory! I'm coming..."

But his phone began vibrating wildly once again.

His heart sank straight to the bottom.

Incoming call: Lu Ling.

"Big Brother, help! Someone's trying to capture me! There are several of them, and... and..." A familiar sobbing voice rang out, like a terrified scream. "Don't come!!!"

Crack!

Cracks appeared across the screen.

Without a second thought, Lu Feng broke into a full sprint and rushed into the shop. Ignoring everything else, he leaped into the delivery van and floored the accelerator.

But he was still too late.

Ten minutes later, when he reached the scene, only a complete mess remained.

Half an hour earlier, in North Mountain District's East Road Farmer's Market, the place had been noisy and bustling.

"Big Sister, how much for this grouper?"

Lu Ling threaded her way through the narrow aisle, watching the seafood swim briskly in the tank. "That's too expensive. Give me a cheaper price. These have obviously been here for several days. They're nearly shedding their scales from all that oxygen. How are they fresh?

"Fine, give me half a catty of tiger prawns too. No, one catty!"

A few minutes later, the girl came out happily with two bags, having successfully snagged a bargain. She checked the dishes Lu Ma had asked for against her phone and thought about how Second Brother had said he would be home for dinner. Should she buy another chicken? She had ridden her motorcycle here anyway, so she could hang it from the handlebars and kill it when she got home. It would be fresher that way.

Then she suddenly felt a hand roughly seize her hair.

Yank!

The burly man who jumped out of the van said nothing. He dragged her so hard she nearly fell, hauling her toward the vehicle. Lu Ling's eyes flew wide, and she instinctively let out a terrified scream. She wanted to call for help, but the other man shouted first, drowning her out. "You good-for-nothing woman, where did you steal the family's money and hide it?!"

Another gaunt man rushed over and wrapped his arms around her legs. "Juan, listen to your uncle. Your mother's so angry she can barely hold herself up. Come home and apologize."

She did not even have time to speak. The stunned crowd nearby scattered, watching from a distance and pointing while whispering among themselves.

"Listen to Grandma. Grandma will take you home, all right?"

An old woman who had appeared from nowhere came over, clutching a damp handkerchief and pressing it toward Lu Ling's face.

Lu Ling stiffened. She recalled something Eldest Brother had once told her and instinctively held her breath. She swung the bags in her hand into the man's face. The grouper and tiger prawns spilled out in a chaotic mess.

Her now-free hand finally touched something.

It was the old woman's sinister face.

Without hesitation, Lu Ling drove her Index finger down with all her strength!

A piercing scream rang out.

Amid the shattering sensation beneath her fingertip, the old woman finally let go and staggered backward. Blood poured from her eye as she screamed. Lu Ling finally found an opening to struggle. She raised her leg and kicked the man holding her feet squarely in the face.

She hit the ground.

She no longer cared about the hand gripping her hair.

Using both hands and feet, she sprinted forward. She could not feel the pain in her forehead or the back of her head; a patch of skin had been ripped away along with a clump of hair.

She did not even have time to catch her breath.

Amid violent dizziness, she crashed into the crowd. She overturned every stall in her path, then shoved her motorcycle forward, started it, knocked over the bicycle ahead, and burst onto the road.

"She got away?"

The man was still clutching her hair. He froze for a moment, never expecting such a skinny girl to react so quickly. He ignored the old woman's screams and jumped straight into the van.

"Chase her! Chase her!!!"

The battered vehicle started up as well and pursued her relentlessly, clinging to her trail.

But in her panic, Lu Ling no longer had time to distinguish directions. She did not even know where she had ended up. Before long, the van blocked her path, trapping her in a dead end.

There was no way forward.

"Is anyone there? Is anyone there?!"

She pounded on the tightly shut iron door beside her and shouted, "Help! Help! Open the door!"

There seemed to be some movement behind the door, but in the end, no one answered.

At the mouth of the alley, the battered van's door slowly opened. The man from before jumped out, sneering as he shook the hair tangled between his fingers free.

"Run, you little slut. Keep running!"

The driver and the other man jumped out behind him. This time, they were no longer careless or negligent. Each of them held something in his hands.

Black plastic bags covered the knives and iron rods, making them chilling to behold.

Lu Ling staggered one step backward.

She said nothing more.

She abandoned the phone that had not yet connected, pulled an old flathead Screwdriver from the motorcycle's Toolbox, and gripped it tightly.

Unfortunately, she still had no power to resist.

After only a few simple blows, they knocked her to the ground. No matter how she struggled, the iron rod smashed into her forehead until she lost consciousness. Then the men skillfully bound her, threw her into the van, and drove away. By the time Lu Feng arrived, everything was too late—this was how it should have gone, with no unexpected turns.

But unfortunately, there were always things no one could anticipate.

For example, because Lu Ling had been too lazy to walk when it was her turn to buy groceries, yet did not know how to drive, she had messaged Second Brother the previous night to ask whether she could borrow his motorcycle.

For example, after Ji Jue saw the message, he agreed without a second thought, and therefore did not ride the motorcycle when he went out that day.

For example, that battered Little Lamb lying behind Lu Ling, completely unnoticed by anyone.

For example, Little Cow and Horse, which had not understood the situation from the start.

There had been too many unfortunate accidents.

So much so that the unfortunate story had only just begun.

The instant it sensed that the god who bought it chicken legs was under threat, the silent Cow and Horse Brand Motorcycle let out a terrifying roar that shook the heavens.

Like thunder!

No, more like a bomb igniting at point-blank range!

The battered plastic shell fell apart in an instant. Then a ferocious mechanical face rose from within and roared at the top of its voice!

Five chaotic yet terrifyingly sharp claws emerged from behind the wheels, along with a tail covered in barbs that glinted coldly.

Amid the street-shaking roar of an engine comparable to that of a sports car, Little Cow and Horse leaped into the air, cleared Lu Ling's shoulder, and pounced directly onto the man in front.

It opened its jaws, bit down on his head, and snapped them shut.

Amid his shrill wails, its claws came down and tore through his right hand with unstoppable force. Then it pressed down and trampled him, its rear wheel rolling over his face.

Spin! Spin! Spin! Spin!!!!

Chunks of flesh and scarlet blood sprayed across the fender. His wails abruptly ceased. Then, amid the sound of breaking ribs, Little Cow and Horse launched itself into the air again. Its rear wheel delivered a left front kick, its front wheel a right whip kick. After its enormous jaws crushed one of his legs, it whipped its head around and tossed the shattered limb aside.

Immediately afterward, it ruthlessly crashed into the final "survivor."

And then there were no survivors left.

Only Lu Feng's puzzled voice came through the phone that had just connected.

Ten minutes later, when Lu Feng reached the scene, he saw three mutilated men lying on the ground, barely clinging to life and looking as though they were about to breathe their last.

And a "thing" that looked somewhat like a scooter was crouched beside his sister's feet, wagging its fender and frantically fawning over her.

It even tried to lick her feet and beg for a pat, acting cute in hopes of trading its performance for a chicken leg.