Act. 6: Pump It · Keep It Up

[Part 1: Inviting the Target into the Trap]

In the abandoned distillery, Xue Ming removed Lan Yinglong's hood and poured a bucket of cold water on him, immediately snapping him out of his delirious state.

"Who are you? Why are you kidnapping me?"

Mr. Lan still couldn't figure out the enemy's true intentions.

"How much money do you want? How much money can buy my life? Just name your price."

Xue Ming chose an address that was a workshop and tool shed of a winery that had been restructured and went bankrupt more than ten years ago and was eventually abandoned. No one would ever come to patrol here. As night deepened, the sounds of movement could be faintly heard from the basketball court in the workers' resettlement community more than a thousand meters away.

Lan Yinglong's body had been modified by blood transfusion, and the wounds had stopped bleeding on their own. However, shrapnel remained in his body, and he felt a dull pain and itching in his arms and thighs, forcing him to awkwardly straighten up and twist his waist in the chair.

Xue Ming remained silent, holding hands with his lover, and sat down in front of Mr. Lan.

Their hands were still stained with blood and gore, and it would be difficult to clean them in a short time.

They sat on two chairs, both brought from the nightclub lobby, with a small table between them. An upside-down ashtray served as an armrest, and their fingers intertwined, their Steel Heart touching.

The light of the Lord of Cinder can illuminate the Pompeii Sea and reveal the scenery of Shambhala thousands of kilometers away.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared, Xue Ming and Xiao Qi's upper bodies disappeared into the darkness.

In the darkness, only the sound of breathing could be heard. The immense mental pressure, like a mountain, threatened to crush Lan Yinglong. He began to scream hysterically.

"You want to find my godfather, right? He's the one who did it all! It has nothing to do with me! I did nothing wrong!"

"I am a victim too! I am innocent!"

"Don't kill me! Even if I'm gone, someone else will take over my business!"

"It's all that beast Shicun's fault! It's all his fault! I was forced to do his work!"

"Sir, sir."

Jiang Xueming: "Where is Shi Cun Tuozhen?"

Lan Yinglong: "Phone! Give me your phone! I'll help you contact them!"

Bai Qingqing: "I don't believe you."

Lan Yinglong: "My godfather doesn't have a fixed address! If you want to meet him, you can only trust me!"

Jiang Xueming: "You're Chinese, why are you recognizing a Japanese man as your godfather?"

"Eureka doesn't care about nationality! Everyone in this city is equal! If you dare to eat people, it will reward you!" Lan Yinglong said confidently, "I did this to survive! These are the rules of the game in Eureka Volcano City. My lords."

Bai Qingqing: "Stop talking nonsense."

Lan Yinglong struggled, trying to break free from the chair and kneel before Xue Ming.

He said nervously and excitedly.

"You guys bombed New Paris; the neighborhood's informants must have already gotten wind of it."

Before the words had even finished --

--Xue Ming tossed out a package.

Lan Yinglong looked down and his heart sank. Inside the dumpling wrapper were individual fingers. They had been tattooed with a peregrine falcon, the symbol of the Mercy of Eros Gang.

In that case, it seems the fourteen informants around the New Paris nightclub have already been murdered—no, they should be called executed!

In other words--

In other words, my godfather still doesn't know that I, Lan Yinglong, have been arrested! I'm truly all alone and helpless! I'm completely desperate!

"You just said," Jiang Xueming said, resting his chin on his hand and leaning forward, "That even if you die, someone will take over your job."

"No, no, no, no! No, no, no!" Lan Yinglong immediately changed his tune. "I'm important! I'm important! My godfather would never spit on me! That old dog from Shicun would never abandon me! I'm very useful!"

Jiang Xueming: "Prove it to me."

Lan Yinglong stared wide-eyed, straightened up and peered over his shoulder, revealing a glint of metal through the folds of skin on his neck.

"Here! I have the key around my neck! The ledgers and the vault are in my hands!"

After exchanging glances, Xue Ming and Xiao Qi stepped forward and took the key.

Xiao Qi took Mr. Lan's phone from her spoils, unlocked it with facial recognition, and made a call.

"Arrange to meet him."

Wait until the call connects--

"--Is the judging panel ready?" Shi Cun Tuozhen was still driving around, inspecting the accounting and financial records of twelve brothels in the city, all of which required his personal involvement.

Lan Yinglong: "They're all dead! Mr. Ishimura!"

Shi Cun Tuozhen took a deep breath. He knew the gunsmith would come, but he hadn't expected him to arrive so quickly. Clinging to his last shred of hope, he parked the car and walked to a secluded spot on the seaside road. "How did he die?"

Lan Yinglong glanced at Jiang Xueming, unsure how to respond.

Xue Ming pressed the speakerphone button on his phone.

"--Hello, Shi Cun Tuozhen."

This was the first time Mr. Ishimura had heard the gunsmith's voice, and his eyes turned fierce. He switched to Japanese and cursed, "You bastard! If you dare lay a finger on my godson!"

"Please calm down, Mr. Ishimura," Jiang Xueming said gently, reminding Mr. Ishimura.

Shi Cun Tuozhen: "Hahahaha! How despicable and laughable! You killed my men and kidnapped my son, and now you want me to calm down?"

Jiang Xueming: "I need you to calm down—Mr. Ishimura, my students, and my sister are all in your hands."

Shi Cun Tuozhen remained silent. Thinking of how Chairman Kang Que treated the gunsmith differently, he simply clenched his fists and looked at the seaside scenery with resentment.

Jiang Xueming continued in Chinese.

"I should be the one who's angry, and I should be the one who's nervous and excited, not you, Ishimura."

"Now I hope to get some information. As long as you're willing to speak, whether it's good news or bad news, I will put Lan Yinglong back by your side."

Shi Cun Tuozhen switched to broken Chinese and said, "Your sister and the students are not dead. They are not injured, but they have no food or water—they won't live long."

"Can we meet?" Jiang Xueming leaned closer to the phone, her tone friendly and warm.

Shi Cun Tuozhen: "With your sister? Chairman Kang Que originally wanted to entrust me with the task of using elite soldiers to extricate your sister from my Soul Force—but you shameless bastard, you actually killed her!"

"I want to see you," Jiang Xueming interrupted, emphasizing repeatedly, "I want to see you."

Shi Cun Tuozhen's eyes flickered frequently.

For a fleeting moment, he felt he could do it again.

Kang Que Connor repeatedly emphasized the importance of not provoking the gunsmith. But if you strike first and kill the gunsmith, wouldn't everything be over?

Don't think Mr. Ishimura is naive; his country's generals thought the same thing during World War II.

As long as the gunsmith can be killed, the menu sent to the customer doesn't need to be taken back, and it won't be considered impolite.

If they can kill the gunsmith, President Kang Que will surely understand who is stronger, who is more beautiful, and who deserves more attention!

"You want me to personally pick up Yinglong?" Shi Cun Tuozhen exclaimed excitedly. "Where?"

Jiang Xueming: "You came alone?"

Shi Cun Tuozhen: "No problem."

Jiang Xueming: "I'm warning you beforehand, the view from here is good, especially if you've brought other people."

Shi Cun Tuozhen interrupted, "I'd also like to meet you—gunsmith. I'm very interested in you."

Jiang Xueming: "Turn on location sharing, and the GPS will tell you how to get there."

[Part ②: A Little Surprise]

Shi Cun Tuozhen is not that naive--

--Going to the meeting alone? He would never do something so foolish!

When he got the location information, he immediately summoned the elite soldiers from the nearby city, temporarily ordered more than 70 brothers, and called out half of the armadillo hunters from [KINGDOM·Kingdom], a total of 150 people, and divided the troops into six groups to kill towards the ruined winery house.

These soldiers had dealt with psionicists before; they were not security guards from the New Paris nightclub, nor were they just any ordinary people. They were the main fighting force of the Mercy of Eros.

Among the Armadillo Hunters, there was a brother who kindly reminded Mr. Ishimura.

"Should we talk to the president about this?"

Ishimura was quite impatient. He had already spent a lot of time mobilizing vehicles and troops; what if he was a few steps slower and the gunsmith got away?

He didn't think much of it, but he found it a little strange.

--The Eureka Volcano City has only one entrance and exit, located in a rift valley on the Great Plains near the Pompeii Seaside coast, with three passes, five checkpoints, and sixteen outposts.

These outposts require all vehicles and personnel entering and leaving to register their identities. Unless they used fake documents or fake identities, how could the Mercy Society's informants not have discovered the gunsmith?

--Can they fly?

The convoy of vehicles drove one by one into the old street of the distillery.

The neighbors curiously opened their windows, and the uncles and elders at the basketball court also stopped, their eyes filled with intense hatred.

An elderly woman, upon seeing the emblem of the Mercy of Eros, threw her grandson's stroller from the third floor, smashing it against the windshield of the car in front of her.

"They've fucking rebelled!" The driver's expression suddenly changed; he wanted to stop the car and go kill someone.

Mr. Ishimura said with a grim face, "Keep going! Don't stop! Don't waste time! We'll settle the score later!"

Before this distillery closed down, it was an important rum production area in Eureka Volcano City.

Rum was an inexpensive and delicious treasure for seafarers and the shipping trade.

--the Mercy of Eros buy the factory, shut down the sugarcane raw material processing, the high-temperature distillation workshop, and all the factory buildings. They will process retirements for the employees, provide them with minimum living allowances, and build them a basketball court and a senior activity center.

What is the price? The price is that rum prices have skyrocketed, and the elderly people in the old town of the distillery have to watch helplessly as their children become thieves or prostitutes.

This is also the principle that Kang Que Connor told Ishimura: when one path is blocked, life will naturally find another way out. People always have to live, and they are willing to do anything for a bite to eat.

When they were about 400 meters from the abandoned houses on the inner road of the factory street, Shi Cun Tuozhen told his brothers to get out of the car and walk, so as not to alert the enemy.

They changed into bulletproof vests in the trunk of the vehicle, and each formation was fully equipped with FOB (Free On Board) equipment, making them a professional combat team to deal with terrorist groups.

They picked up their weapons and checked their equipment, not forgetting all kinds of explosives. The 150 men were divided into ten groups and made their way into the abandoned house from six different directions.

Right now, at this very moment--

--Shi Cun Tuozhen's phone rang. He immediately looked around alertly, but there was no sound except for the quiet night. Suspiciously, he answered the phone.

Gunsmith: "You told me you wouldn't bring anyone else."

"I came to see you alone." Shi Cun Tuozhen tried to argue, "These people are just here to escort me; they won't do anything else."

Gunsmith: "Then please get out of the car now and come to the abandoned house. Leave the rest of you here."

Shi Cun Tuozhen: "Good"

With that, Mr. Ishimura neither hung up the phone nor got out of the car.

He ordered his team to immediately approach the abandoned house and search the entire building.

The vanguard team consisted of twenty-six people. The leading group threw flashbangs into the house, then immediately broke down the door and took up arms to stand guard.

About twenty seconds later, the order to lift the alert came from FOB radio.

A large shark doll was strapped to the hostage chair; Lan Yinglong had already been moved.

The vanguard leader said, "There's no one in the room, only a rag doll."

Mr. Ishimura cursed, "What the hell do you want, gunsmith? You wanted me to come see you, and I'm here! But..."

Before the words were finished, a piercing scream came from the radio.

Those were two groups stationed at the flowerbed southwest of the abandoned building; gunfire erupted in chaos, and a firefight had already broken out.

"Damn it! What are they shooting at?" Shicun was completely baffled. He put on his night vision goggles and looked into the distance. He saw a group of people about 100 meters away, huddled together back to back, stiffly and nervously firing their guns.

Gunfire shot towards the withered bushes in the distance, bullets striking the stone walls and bricks of the factory.

In the next second, without any warning, both groups of people, enveloped in darkness, collapsed to their knees like wheat stalks blown down by a gust of wind, their bodies limp and turning to mush.

Ten seconds passed --

--Ishimura Shi Cun Tuozhen sensed a strong surge of spiritual energy; a terrifying pressure emanated from the area where the fighting had taken place. It was as if the ocean was churning its tides, finally bringing this power to the shore and slapping it onto his face.

A wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him, almost forcing Mr. Ishimura to cover his mouth and nose, nearly causing him to vomit.

He pressed his head and rubbed his temples, feeling as if insects had entered his brain and were gnawing at the very essence of his skull. This discomfort was almost driving him to complete madness.

Something is slaughtering his soldiers! That thing is definitely not human! No psychic could unleash this level of spiritual pressure!

Even a powerful Morpho butterfly like President Kang Que doesn't possess such terrifying spiritual pressure!

Is it a calamity beast? Or some other unknown, great being?

"Gunsmith! What are you doing?!" Shi Cun Tuozhen screamed into the phone.

The intense psionic fluctuations have distorted electromagnetic signals, and cell phones have stopped working.

"Wake up! What kind of evil magic is this?"

The driver in the front seat had bulging eyes, his face tilted back, mouth agape, foaming at the mouth and convulsing, as if he had lost consciousness in an abnormal spiritual pressure environment.

Ishimura, now a Morpho Butterfly, could resist the onslaught of spiritual pressure. His eyes were bloodshot, and he finally began to plead for mercy.

"Do you even know that you have a chance to rise to the top? Why waste your life working for Ming De?! The power you've shown..."

Halfway through his sentence, Ishimura saw a huge shadow outside the car window, revealing a pair of golden pupils staring straight into the car.

The soldiers in the distance howled mournfully, as if they had seen an ancient god they could not look directly at; their eyes were filled with blood and tears, and they knelt on the ground, almost fainting.

Two dark figures, guns drawn, took turns striking the heads of the remaining soldiers on the battlefield; it was Xiao Qi and Xue Ming at work.

--Only Ming De's personal attendant came to Mr. Ishimura's side.

The Hunter King has a pair of cat ears. She remains fused with the Red Mountain Stone, exuding the terrifying pressure of Taowu beast, and slowly opens the car door.

I'll give you one more chance to rephrase your words.

The BOSS leaped onto the Hunter King's shoulder, embarking on a personal expedition to Eureka Volcano City.

"What do you mean by 'Why bother working for Ming De?' -- Are you trying to sow discord between me and the gunsmith?"

Sorry, I have a terrible headache today, so it's been a bit short. I'm feeling really unwell.