Gunshot

Feng Yanyi crouched at the entrance of the Border Market stairs.

He wore a trim Western-style vest and a wine-red tie. Despite the gold-rimmed glasses that should have given him a scholarly air, there was not a hint of softness in his expression.

The officers driving the off-road police cruisers crossed the vast expanse of gravel, having completely surrounded the Border Market.

Each of them had a pistol holstered at their waist, already prepared for a firefight.

Leading them, Tian Yuan, the Chief of the Sun City Police Department with the insignia on his shoulder, walked forward with a calm face and finally stopped in front of Feng Yanyi.

Behind Feng Yanyi, the group of thugs acting as the Border Market's guards had faces filled with tension, yet they gripped their weapons with firm resolve.

Further back, the kind-hearted residents from earlier in the day had also picked up kitchen knives, dustpans, and brooms, each of them glaring at the Radiance District officers surrounding them.

They did not want to abandon Feng Zi and Li Wei, but they trusted Feng Yanyi's orders even more.

"I thought you would wait for tomorrow's train to bring people over. It turns out you never left last night at all."

Amidst such a tense standoff, Feng Yanyi remained calm as he handed a cigarette to Tian Yuan.

Tian Yuan took the cigarette and lit it himself. He stood there looking down from above, took a deep drag, and then exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"The Council gave me five days. If Feng Zi isn't brought back in five days, the Armed Council Chamber will intervene."

"Ever since you compromised and threw your lot in with them, you haven't moved up in rank for over a decade. Now, are you going to let them carve away even the little power you have left?"

"My affairs are not for you to worry about. You should be giving me an answer right now. Do you intend to keep protecting these people, or do you want to completely turn against the Council for the sake of Feng Zi?"

The conversation between the two fell into silence, with only the exhaled smoke being swept away by the wind and sand.

A moment later, Tian Yuan dropped the cigarette butt. He stared at the still-silent Feng Yanyi and pulled two sheets of paper from his inner coat pocket.

"I have an arrest warrant and a search warrant here. The arrest warrant is for capturing the undocumented refugees hiding on the edge of the barrier—those who resist can be executed on the spot! The search warrant is signed by the Council, authorizing entry into the Sun City temporary refugee Border Market to search for fugitives. Old Feng, which one of these should I give you? You choose."

Tian Yuan did not lower his voice when saying this, allowing the Border Market residents behind Feng Yanyi to hear every word.

They all held their breath. Although no one dared to speak, they all looked at the man crouching on the ground with expectant eyes.

These people naturally had a unified choice in their hearts. Even though no one spoke, the broad shoulders of the middle-aged man crouching on the ground, bearing the hopes and survival of over a thousand people, slumped visibly.

He did not take the papers from Tian Yuan's hand, only waving his hand toward the residents of the Border Market behind him.

"Put down your weapons, bring the children out, and let them search."

Everyone present, whether police officer or Border Market resident, subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

No one wanted a large-scale, bloody conflict in this place.

Upon hearing this answer, Tian Yuan showed no surprise as he ordered his officers to draw their guns and storm into the Border Market!

He followed at the tail end of the squad into the market, but before leaving, he said to Feng Yanyi:

"Don't carry a psychological burden. Making Feng Zi stop her foolishness is the best outcome for her, for us, and for everyone."

Draped in a burlap cloak the same color as the ground, Feng Zi lay prone on the earth, asking with an uneasy expression:

"Will this really work?"

Li Wei, also wearing a cloak scavenged from the Border Market, had the money box strapped diagonally across his shoulder with a rope. His gaze was fixed on the police cruiser not far away, guarded by three officers.

"What else? Do you think we have any other way to get to the church?"

Licking his dry lips, Li Wei felt the rush of adrenaline surging through his body.

The hand gripping the sword hilt was steady, showing no signs of trembling, as if he were born for this kind of work.

Feng Zi's personality was not timid, nor was she truly some naive fool. The reason she asked such a question was purely out of concern for Li Wei's safety.

But after receiving final confirmation from Li Wei, she lost all hesitation.

The three officers left to guard the cruiser were leaning leisurely against the car doors, smoking and chatting.

They were, of course, happy not to participate in the search operation. Everyone was just a wage earner; they became police officers for the generous salary, not for any lofty ideals.

"You should maintain your gun, Baldy."

The bald, middle-aged officer waved his hand.

"Do you remember when the last firing record at the station was? The city is peaceful. The residents of the Radiance District are well-educated, and those in the Afterglow District are just a bunch of cowardly, spineless wretches. I reckon in another two years, the Council will pass a gun control act, and we won't even need to carry guns on duty."

Another tall, thin officer frowned slightly.

"Don't use the word 'wretches' in a place like this. If outsiders hear it, it's easy to stir up the laborers."

The bald officer laughed dismissively.

"So what if they get stirred up? They'll just go to the church to complain or report us to those self-indulgent councilors. Besides, isn't it just us here right now? No need to—"

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out suddenly, cutting the bald officer's words short!

Blood gushed out along the blood groove on the short sword, splashing onto the other two officers who had been chatting with him, causing their pupils to contract sharply!

They reacted with lightning speed. Before Li Wei could even pull the short sword from the body that had already become a corpse, both of them drew their pistols!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Deafening gunfire instantly erupted across the wind-swept gravel, and the two officers retreated, trying to hide behind the vehicle for cover while frantically emptying their magazines!

Li Wei did not draw his short sword; instead, he used it to prop up the bald officer's corpse, holding it in front of him as a shield.

At the same time, he swiftly drew the pistol from the corpse's waist with his other hand, aimed at one of the officers who hadn't yet managed to retreat behind the vehicle, and decisively pulled the trigger!

"Bang!"

The bullet pierced the officer's chest with pinpoint accuracy, blood sprayed, and he collapsed to the ground, eyes wide open, dead on the spot!

The physical enhancement Li Wei gained from allocating attribute points into [Constitution] was comprehensive; it not only made his body stronger but also heightened his neural reflexes.

It had turned him into a natural-born sharpshooter!

But just as Li Wei quickly shifted his aim to target the other officer and pulled the trigger again, he was met only with the sound of a jammed round!

The consequences of the bald officer's long-term neglect of his weapon had now fallen upon Li Wei.

"Damn it!"

He cursed, wanting to immediately retract his arm to eject the jammed bullet.

But the officer who had already hidden behind the patrol car as cover had also swapped in a new magazine and began emptying all his rounds once more!

The dense sound of gunfire erupted again, like a string of firecrackers going off!

Most of those bullets struck the already riddled body of the bald officer, but one or two—it was unclear which—hit Li Wei in the shoulder!

He felt only a burning sensation in his shoulder, the adrenaline surging through him masking most of the pain.

Just as he was about to grip the barrel with his teeth to eject the jammed round, another abrupt gunshot rang out!

The officer, who was just preparing to change his magazine for the second time, turned around with heavy, ragged breaths, looking behind him in disbelief.

Feng Zi's face was as pale as a sheet, her hands trembling, yet she gripped the pistol she had found in the patrol car tightly.

With a look of desperate resolve and a cold expression, she watched the officer, who had been shot through the back, collapse helplessly to the ground!

This series of intense gunshots had long since drawn the attention of everyone in the Border Market.