No Guns Life

Under the afternoon sun.

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

Lu Feng stepped out of the car, glanced left and right, and after confirming no one was paying attention, waved toward the interior: "Thanks. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"Are you sure you won't reconsider?"

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

She had a scar on her neck, and her usually sharp, piercing eyes appeared uncharacteristically gentle at this moment: "We're old friends, after all. If you join the crew, I'll give you a stake... I heard your little sister started university. Tianmen University tuition loans aren't cheap. Without a windfall, you might just end up buried in debt for the rest of your life."

"Spare me. I don't want to get mixed up in that stuff anymore. As for the loans... I actually think there's nothing wrong with living a quiet life paying them off."

Lu Feng smiled and shrugged: "Besides, aren't we still here?"

"You're saying that?"

Laila was slightly stunned: "That really doesn't sound like you."

"My younger brother and sister are doing well now; they don't need me anymore."

Lu Feng sighed softly, looked up, and gazed at the familiar scenery in the distance: "When I was a kid, I thought that if I wanted to climb to the top and make something of myself, I had to be ruthless, strong, and imposing. But after fighting with everything I had for so many years—from Yacheng to Central Earth, and then into that mud pit—I ended up with nothing to show for it."

"At first, I thought holding a gun was the only way to master my own life. Later, I realized that once you pick up a gun, that's all your life ever becomes."

"I fought like hell to crawl back from Central Earth just so I wouldn't have to live in the gutter anymore."

He said, "But every gutter is the same."

As he spoke, he hesitated for a moment, unbuckled his holster from his lower back, and handed it over.

Laila froze in place. She opened the holster and looked at that familiar handgun—a weapon passed down through generations of elite soldiers in the Airborne Camp—and found it increasingly hard to believe: "Are you serious?"

"Haven't you always had your eye on this?"

Having made his choice, Lu Feng felt no more burdens. He simply smiled: "It's yours. Consider it a debt repayment. Just go easy on the interest."

Laila didn't speak; she just looked at him with a deep, lingering gaze.

After a long while, she suddenly said: "Good."

"Hm?"

"I said, this is for the best. Being able to live a peaceful life—a life where you don't have to rely on a gun—that's the only kind of life worth living."

Her expression was impossible to describe; it was hard to tell if it was empathy or deep-seated reluctance. In the end, she only said: "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Lu Feng waved his hand and turned to leave, but then he heard her voice from behind.

"One more thing."

Laila sighed helplessly: "I remember you told me about... that kid with the burn marks on his face who looks pretty decent?"

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

"You'd better be careful. Someone has been looking into him lately."

Laila smoked, suppressing her irritation: "There's no news about it at the Wild Bazaar. They're bypassing it entirely and seem to have put a bounty out among the local gangs. I doubt they're up to any good."

Lu Feng froze in place.

Then, he saw her pass the item back to him.

That gun.

"Think about it again, Lao Lu," Laila said. "You want to put down the gun and live a good life, but sometimes, you can't live a peaceful life without one."

Lu Feng reached out instinctively, but the moment he touched the holster, he stiffened as if struck by an electric shock.

After a long time, he opened his fingers and gripped it tight.

"Thanks," he said.

"I still miss you back in Central Earth. You wouldn't have let such cowardly words slip out of your mouth back then."

Laila shook her head and didn't say anything more: "I'm off."

She slammed on the gas.

The sedan sped away without a hint of hesitation.

Lu Feng was left standing alone, dazed for a long time. He lowered his head and lit the cigarette that had been nearly soaked through at the filter.

He stood with his head bowed, breathing in silence.

And so, in the shadows where the sunlight couldn't reach, his eyes gradually turned fierce.

"Brother, you're back?" The youngest, poking his head out from the shop entrance, looked over: "Stop dawdling! Hurry up and come back to move the brake pads inside, or Mom will yell at you again when she finds out!"

"Oh, right, coming!"

Lu Feng looked up as if waking from a dream, a soft smile appearing on his face as he patted his head: "Look at my memory! Coming right now..."

But his phone began to vibrate frantically once again.

It made his heart sink to the very bottom.

Incoming call: Lu Ling.

"Brother, help! Someone is trying to grab me! There are several of them, and... and..." A familiar, choked voice rang out, sounding like a desperate scream: "Stay away!!!"

Crack!

A fissure appeared on the screen.

Lu Feng bolted without hesitation, sprinting into the shop. Ignoring everything else, he jumped into the delivery van and floored the accelerator.

But it was already too late.

Ten minutes later, when he arrived at the scene, only a scene of chaos remained.

Half an hour ago, in the North Mountain District, the East Road Farmer's Market was a hub of noise and activity.

"Big Sister, how much for this grouper?"

Lu Ling wove through the narrow aisles, eyeing the seafood swimming agilely in the tanks. "That's too expensive, give me a better price. It's obvious these have been here for days. With this much oxygen, they're about to flip over; how is this fresh? Fine, give me half a catty of tiger prawns—no, make it a full catty!"

A few minutes later, the girl, satisfied with her successful bargain, walked out clutching two bags. She checked her phone against the list Lu Ma had given her, wondering if she should buy a chicken since Second Brother said he was coming home for dinner. She had ridden her motorcycle here anyway; she could hang it on the handlebars and slaughter it back home—that would be fresher.

Then, she felt a hand roughly grab her hair.

Yank!

The burly man who had jumped out of the van didn't say a word. He dragged her toward the ground, pulling her toward the vehicle. Caught off guard, Lu Ling's eyes widened, and she let out an instinctive, terrified scream. She tried to call for help, but the man's aggressive roar cut her off first: "You spendthrift woman, where did you hide the family money?!"

Another emaciated man rushed up and grabbed her legs. "Juan, listen to your uncle. Your mother is so angry she can barely hold on. Just come back and apologize."

She didn't even have time to speak. The shocked crowd around them began to disperse, watching from a distance and pointing fingers.

"Listen to Grandma, let Grandma take you back, okay?"

An old woman who appeared out of nowhere crowded in, pressing a damp handkerchief against her face.

Lu Ling stiffened. Recalling what her Eldest Brother had once told her, she held her breath by instinct. She swung the bag in her hand, smashing it into the man's face. The grouper and tiger prawns spilled out, creating a mess.

Her free hand finally touched something.

It was the old woman's sinister face.

Without hesitation, she dug her index finger in with all her might!

A piercing shriek rang out.

Amidst the sickening sensation of her fingertip breaking through, the old woman finally let go, stumbling backward and screaming as blood poured from her eye. Lu Ling finally found her chance to struggle; she lifted her leg and kicked the man holding her firmly in the face.

She landed on her feet.

She no longer cared about the hand that had been pulling her hair.

Using both hands and feet, she sprinted forward, unable to feel the pain in her forehead and the back of her head, where a patch of skin had been torn away along with a clump of hair.

She didn't even have time to catch her breath.

Dizzy and disoriented, she crashed into the crowd, knocking over stalls as she pushed her way through. She reached her motorcycle, started it, rammed into the bicycles in front of her, and surged onto the road.

"She ran?"

The man who still held a clump of her hair in his hand froze, not expecting such a scrawny girl to react so quickly. Ignoring the screaming old woman, he jumped into the car.

"Chase her! Get her!!!"

The battered vehicle roared to life, tailing her closely, refusing to let go.

In her panic, Lu Ling lost her sense of direction. She didn't know where she had ended up, and before long, she was blocked into a dead-end alley by the car.

There was no way forward.

"Is anyone there? Is anyone there!"

She pounded on the closed iron gate nearby, shouting, "Help! Help!! Open the door!"

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

Only at the mouth of the alley did the door of the battered car slowly open. The man from before jumped out, sneering as he shook off the hair tangled between his fingers.

"Run, you little bitch, keep running!"

Behind him, the driver and the other man jumped out as well. This time, they didn't show any negligence or carelessness; they were both carrying things.

Black plastic bags were wrapped around knives and iron bars, a chilling sight.

Lu Ling stumbled back a step.

She didn't speak again.

She dropped her phone, which hadn't finished dialing, and pulled an old flat-head screwdriver from the motorcycle's toolbox, gripping it tightly.

Unfortunately, she had no power to resist.

In just a few moments, she was beaten to the ground. No matter how she struggled, the iron bar smashed into her forehead until she lost consciousness. Then, the men skillfully tied her up, threw her into the car, and sped away. By the time Lu Feng arrived, it was all too late—that was how it was supposed to go; there shouldn't have been any surprises.

But unfortunately, there are always things you don't expect.

For instance, because Lu Ling was lazy and didn't want to walk when it was her turn to buy groceries, but didn't know how to drive, she had messaged Second Brother last night to ask if she could borrow his motorcycle.

For instance, when Ji Jue saw the message, he agreed without hesitation, and as a result, he hadn't ridden the bike when he went out today.

Take, for instance, that dilapidated Little Lamb lying behind Lu Ling, which no one had even noticed.

Take, for instance, the Little Cow and Horse that hadn't understood the situation from the beginning.

There were too many unfortunate accidents.

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

The moment it sensed that the god who bought it chicken drumsticks was being threatened, the silent Cow and Horse Brand Motorcycle let out a deafening, terrifying roar.

It was like thunder!

No, it was more like a bomb being ignited right at one's feet!

The tattered plastic casing fell apart in an instant, and then, a hideous mechanical face lifted from within, roaring at the top of its lungs!

Five messy yet terrifyingly sharp claws extended from behind the wheels, along with a tail covered in cold, gleaming barbs.

Amidst a street-shaking roar comparable to a sports car engine, the Little Cow and Horse lunged, vaulting over Lu Ling's shoulder and pouncing directly onto the man in the lead.

It opened its maw, clamped onto his head, and snapped shut.

Amidst a shrill wailing, its claws slashed down, tearing through his Right Hand like a hot knife through butter, pressing down and trampling as the rear wheel ground into his face.

Spin! Crazy! Spin! Spin! Spin!!!!

Flesh and crimson spray splattered onto the mudguard, the wailing came to an abrupt halt, and then, amidst the sound of shattering ribs, the Little Cow and Horse leaped into the air once more, delivering a left front-kick with its rear wheel and a right whip-kick with its front, biting off a left leg before tossing the mangled limb aside with a shake of its head.

Immediately following that, it slammed ferociously into the last "survivor."

And then, there were no survivors left.

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

Ten minutes later, when Lu Feng arrived at the scene, what he saw were three mangled, dying men lying on the ground, on the verge of breathing their last.

And a "thing" that looked like a scooter was lying at his sister's feet, wagging its mudguard in a frantic display of flattery.

It was even trying to lick her feet and beg for pets, acting cute in hopes of being rewarded with a chicken drumstick.