I Am the Law

For a brief moment, Xiang Kun had a strange intuition that made him subconsciously look out the porthole on his right.

Far away from the plane, a large bird was flying rapidly away.

The sky was blue, the weather was fine, and visibility was excellent, but a normal person wouldn't even notice or see the large bird because it was so far away.

Even Xiang Kun couldn't make out what kind of bird it was.

But he knew he had that intuition, so there must be something wrong with the bird.

After determining the bird's location, he immediately switched to infrared thermal imaging mode. He could vaguely see a very tiny blue dot, like a dead pixel on a screen, rapidly moving away. However, even with his eyesight, he could no longer see it after two seconds, which showed how far away it was.

It should be a mutated bird of prey. As for whether it is a falcon, goose, stork, or some other large bird, or a small bird that has mutated into a large bird, we do not know for the time being.

Xiang Kun wasn't too surprised by this sudden discovery, since the first Mutated Creature he encountered was an owl. Statistically speaking, there are obviously more other Mutated Creature in the world than human vampires.

Did it just happen to be passing by?

Xiang Kun mentally constructed a map of the surrounding area, comparing it with the direction the large bird flew away, and speculated on where it might have gone.

Based on the behavior of the non-human Mutated Creature he had encountered, they were all very wary of humans, knew how to deliberately avoid them, and generally did not easily enter human settlements, even in the air.

Its presence here suggests that, like that Giant Owl, it has undergone a certain number of blood-drinking mutations and now needs to consume the blood of other Mutated Creature.

Xiang Kun didn't think too much about it; in the short term, he didn't have a strong interest or need to track down this possible mutated bird.

After all, the area that large bird might travel to is too vast and too unpredictable. The chances of finding it based on this fleeting glimpse in the air are extremely slim.

Upon arriving at the airport, the old friend You Meng and his wife Liang Yulong, each in a car, had been waiting for a long time.

This time, they flew directly to Jianzhou City instead of going to Citong City first. They planned to go directly to Tongshi Town today, where they had booked a hotel for Tongshi Town Tang Baona and the others.

After all, the main activity area for the next few days will still be in Tongshi Town and its surrounding areas.

After disembarking the plane and exiting the arrival gate, Xiang Kun introduced Tang Baona, Yang Zhuo, Zhang Qian, and others to You Meng and his wife. Then, they split up in the parking lot and got into the car the couple had driven.

When picking him up from the airport, You Meng naturally didn't drive his beat-up little van; instead, he borrowed a Corolla and a Sagitar.

Seeing the towering mountains along the national highway, Yang Zhuo's girlfriend, Xiao Min, asked curiously, "Is this Brother Xiang's hometown?"

Liang Yulong, who was driving, smiled and said, "Brother Xiang's hometown is in Citong City. This is Tongshi Town, which is under the jurisdiction of Jianzhou City. It takes about four hours to get there by car on the highway. Of course, it might be faster by high-speed train. But my husband told me that Brother Xiang Tongshi Town for a long time when he was a child, so he should be considered half a Tongshi Town native."

"How did you come up with the idea of opening a rabbit meat restaurant here?"

"My husband's family has always been in the restaurant business. He started in this industry a long time ago, but it hasn't been very successful. The rabbit meat was suggested by Brother Xiang when he came last time. The video that was leaked online before was also filmed at that time. He was really telling us how to make food videos to promote our restaurant," Liang Yulong said honestly.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Zicheng sighed, "Back in college, Xiang Kun couldn't cook at all. His cooking skills were basically on par with mine—just instant noodles with ham, and I was even better at it than at peeling ham. I never imagined he'd stop studying code and start studying cooking, and he'd become quite skilled. Chang Bin told me Xiang Kun's cooking is pretty amazing now. We're on his turf this time, so we'll have to get him to show off his skills."

On this bus, apart from Liang Yulong, who had tasted the half-cooked bamboo rat meat Xiang Kun had made last time, Yang Jie, Yang Jie, Yang Zhuo, and Xiao Min in the back seat had never eaten Xiang Kun's cooking before. However, from Yang Zhen'er's address of Xiang Kun as "Chef Xiang," they could make a basic guess about Xiang Kun's culinary skills, and they were all looking forward to the meals in the next few days. After all, in their impression, Xiang Kun was an all-rounder who could do anything very well.

Just as Yang Zhuo and Xiao Min continued to ask Zi Cheng and Liang Yulong about Xiang Kun's cooking skills, the Sagitar driven by You Meng suddenly swayed violently from side to side a few times, like it was drunk, and drove in a serpentine manner before gradually pulling over to the side of the road and stopping.

Fortunately, their speed wasn't too fast, and they weren't too close together. Liang Yulong braked in time, avoiding a rear-end collision.

However, instead of catching up with the car in front, they were rear-ended by the car behind.

One minute ago, in the Sagitar that You Meng was driving.

Xiang Kun was confirming the dinner menu with You Meng. Before coming, after confirming the people traveling with him, he had already arranged the hotel and air tickets, and discussed with You Meng to have him pick him up from the airport. He also discussed the general tastes of the people traveling with him, what dietary restrictions they had, what kind of eating habits they had, and what kind of dishes would be suitable.

Although he had never personally cooked for Zhang Qian, Yang Zhuo, and Yang Jie, he had eaten with them once or twice, so he had a basic understanding of their tastes. As for Zi Cheng, needless to say, he had lived with him since college, and he knew exactly what this guy liked to eat.

Following Xiang Kun's instructions, You Meng had prepared all the ingredients: some were chopped into pieces, some were soaked in water, and some were marinated.

Once they arrive at their destination, the two of them will prepare dinner together, each preparing several dishes to speed things up and make the meal more varied.

Just listening to their discussion, Yang Zhen'er in the back seat couldn't help but swallow hard, and then she boasted to Zhang Qian looked on with curiosity, about Chef Xiang's amazing cooking skills.

Xiang Kun You Meng Xiang Kun it was better to add a little spice to a certain dish or just add garlic, suddenly reached out and grabbed the steering wheel.

You Meng was stunned, but before he could even react with a question, with a loud bang, the car body suddenly tilted to the left and was about to turn left. But Xiang Kun's hands gripped the steering wheel firmly like iron clamps, pulling it slightly to the right, then to the left, then to the right again, constantly and rapidly turning the steering wheel at different angles.

At the same time, Xiang Kun said to You Meng, "Release the accelerator, don't step on the brake yet. Let it slow down and pull over to the side before braking. The left rear tire is blown out, but it's a minor issue, it's okay. There are no other cars around, don't worry. Your wife's car was rear-ended, but it was going very slowly, it's fine, at most the bumper will just get a scratch."

His voice was steady and slow, without a trace of tension or panic. His tone was no different from when he was talking about adding chili or garlic, giving Zhang Qian, Tang Baona, and Yang Zhen'er in the back seat the illusion that they were still having that discussion.

Moreover, after the tire blowout, apart from the initial shudder, the car didn't experience much shaking and steadily moved towards the side of the road.

By the time Tang Baona and her companions realized they had a flat tire, the car had almost come to a stop, and they didn't even have time to feel panic or fear.

After the car stopped, I realized that Xiang Kun's "operation" just now was a bit too... nonchalant, wasn't it?

"Are you all alright, distinguished guests?" Xiang Kun asked with a smile after the car came to a stop.

He had actually spotted an irregular piece of metal on the opposite lane beforehand. It was kicked up by a speeding dump truck and shot towards their vehicle. After quick calculations and predictions, he deduced that it was hit by the left rear wheel.

If he were driving the car, he could control the accelerator and brake to prevent the piece of metal from hitting the tires or even the car itself.

But he was just a passenger in the front passenger seat, and it was too late to order You Meng by voice. He could only help You Meng stabilize the steering wheel, and then, relying on his perception of the car's posture and his judgment of the contact friction and adhesion between the tires and the road surface, he quickly adjusted the car's posture and kept pulling it back from the edge of losing control.

Fortunately, they weren't on the highway and their speed wasn't high. Plus, it was a rear tire blowout, not a drive tire, so he managed to keep the car under control. The three ladies in the back seat didn't even really feel the car going out of control.

However, the car Liang Yulong was driving was rear-ended, which was an unexpected problem.

Of course, compared to the much bigger car accident caused by their car going out of control, these two minor issues are hardly a problem.

Zicheng and Liang Yulong got out of the car to check the damage from the rear-end collision. The car behind them was an Audi A8L. Actually, both cars had almost stopped, and the collision wasn't serious.

The Corolla's rear bumper has a slight crack and some paint chipping, and the A8L's front bumper also has some paint chipping, but neither seems to be in serious condition.

The four people in the Audi also got out. Apart from the driver, who was a tall and strong young man in his twenties, the other three were middle-aged men who looked to be between thirty and fifty years old. They were pot-bellied, had flushed faces, and reeked of alcohol.

"Did you even take your driving test? How can you drive like that! You're just messing around!" A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses got out of the back seat and inspected the damage to the A8L, saying with obvious displeasure.

The bald, middle-aged man who got out from the other side of the back seat glanced at Liang Yulong and chuckled, "A female driver, it doesn't matter whether she has a license or not."

Yang Jie, who had also gotten out of the car, was very unhappy to hear this. She frowned and said, "There was an emergency ahead, and we braked suddenly without any problem! It's because you didn't maintain a safe distance or were driving too fast that you couldn't stop in time and rear-ended us. This is entirely your fault! It's clearly your problem, yet you're still spouting discriminatory remarks against women. Where is your sense of decency?"

Liang Yulong glanced at their license plate, looked at them, tugged at Yang Jie's hand, and whispered, "Don't argue with them. We'll call the police and our insurance company to handle it."

"Miss, judging from your accent, you're not a local, are you? Are you here for a visit? Oh, there are quite a few fun places in Tongshi Town. I've only been here for two days and I'm already having so much fun I don't want to leave. Would you be interested in traveling and having fun together?" The bald middle-aged man wasn't angry at all after Yang Jie's rebuttal; he just chuckled and moved closer.

His words didn't seem to contain any profanity, but his lewd expression, his suggestive and lewd gaze, and his flippant tone made everyone, including Yang Jie, frown and feel extremely uncomfortable.

Since he had already developed a liking for Yang Jie, upon hearing this, he couldn't help but step forward and block Yang Jie's path, saying to the bald middle-aged man, "You better stay away from me."

"Hey? Are you this young lady's husband? If not, it's none of your business if I'm talking to her." The bald middle-aged man took a step forward, and the two were almost touching.

Zi Cheng frowned, overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol, and instinctively shoved him, saying, "Get away from me!"

The bald, middle-aged man took a step back, and the tall driver and two other middle-aged men immediately surrounded him. "You little brat, do you have any manners? Do you know who you're talking to? Do you know who President Qi is? If you bump into or hurt President Qi, believe me, you won't be able to leave Tongshi Town alive!"

Yang Zhuo, who was already prone to impulsiveness, stood with Zicheng, looking ready to fight.

Seeing that the group was pushing and shoving each other, and it seemed like they were about to fight, Liang Yulong, Yang Jie, and Xiao Min became anxious and tried to separate them, but they couldn't.

But the next moment, another bald man suddenly appeared, forcibly inserting himself between the men and separating them.

This bald man was none other Xiang Kun. Faced with his overwhelming power, the group of people were weaker than kindergarten children.

Of course, he only targeted the few people who got off the A8L. With a pinch of his hand, he made them obediently let go of the knuckles that were gripping Zicheng and Yang Zhuo's clothes, and then used his strong body to separate them.

In just two or three seconds, the three people over there were pushed aside.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Hey, hey, hey..." The middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses was blocked and almost tripped. He barely managed to stand by grabbing the driver's pants tightly, and his face, which was already flushed with the smell of alcohol, turned even redder with anger.

"Don't resort to violence, let's talk things out. We're all adults, let's be reasonable and respect the law." Xiang Kun spread his arms wide, looking like a peacemaker.

But the next moment, his gaze became somewhat deep and strange, and he turned directly to the bald middle-aged man behind the three of them, their eyes meeting for a moment.

When he arrived, he immediately deduced that the car belonged to the middle-aged man with the gold-rimmed glasses, and the driver was also one of his men. However, among the four people in the car, the one with the highest status was probably the bald middle-aged man.

"Reason? Let me tell you, here, I am..." The middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses adjusted his glasses, his neck stiffening as he prepared to unleash his "slogan."

Suddenly, a terrified scream came from behind them, making the man with the gold-rimmed glasses swallow his next words. He instinctively turned around to look at the bald middle-aged man behind him.

The bald, middle-aged man known as "General Manager Qi" was looking at them with Zhengyi School fearful expression.

Seeing them turn around, "General Manager Qi" quickly opened the car door and got in, shouting before getting in, "Let's go! Let's go!"

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses and his two employees looked at each other, completely bewildered.

The car door opened again, and "Boss Qi's" bald head reappeared. He glared at them and yelled, "Are you fucking deaf?! Get out of here! Get the fuck out of here!!!" Although he was shouting and cursing, the panic in his eyes was overflowing and anyone could feel it.

Although he didn't understand why, he knew that "General Manager Qi" was a powerful figure and that the man with the gold-rimmed glasses needed his help, so he didn't dare to be negligent. He turned around and glared at Xiang Kun and the others before getting back into the car with the driver.

But Xiang Kun strode over and blocked the driver's seat, saying to the man with the gold-rimmed glasses, "You think you can just leave like that? That would be hit-and-run!"

"You..." The man with the gold-rimmed glasses was about to explode again, but after glancing at President Qi, who was clearly acting strangely in the back seat, he could only suppress his anger and said to the driver, "Give him a thousand yuan!"

When the driver reached for his wallet, Xiang Kun shook his head. "One thousand yuan isn't enough. Look how badly that car was hit; the bumper will probably need replacing. It'll cost at least three thousand."

"What the hell? Three thousand for a little paint chip on that piece of junk? One thousand is enough for you to replace two bumpers!" The tall, muscular driver, nearly 1.9 meters tall, shouted angrily as he walked toward Xiang Kun.

Although Xiang Kun was half a head shorter than him, he wasn't worried at all and said with a smile, "Why don't we call the police, wait for the traffic police to come and determine liability, and then go through insurance? You should have third-party liability, right? We'll see how much the insurance company determines, and that's all we'll pay."

Not far away, Yang Zhuo, Zi Cheng, Yang Jie, and Zhang Qian, Tang Baona, and others who had come from the Sagitar, all watched in astonishment as Xiang Kun forcefully demanded "compensation." They couldn't understand why these people, who had just been so arrogant and unreasonable, had suddenly become so submissive in front of Xiang Kun.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses didn't actually want to back down. This was Tongshi Town; he had no reason to back down, especially not in front of President Qi. He glared at Xiang Kun, then glanced at Liang Yulong and the others not far away, before slowly saying, "Young man, what's your name? You're probably not from Tongshi Town, but you should have some friends Tongshi Town. Go and ask around..."

At that moment, the rear window of the A8L rolled down, and a furious shout rang out, "Liu Feibao! What the hell are you babbling about! Hurry up and give him three thousand yuan! I'll make it up to you with thirty thousand later!"

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses turned around in confusion, only to be met with President Qi's fierce, bloodshot eyes, as if he wanted to kill someone.

He was startled and quickly told the driver to pay.

The tall driver said awkwardly, "Boss, I don't have enough cash..."

"Then transfer the money!"

The driver then looked at Xiang Kun and said, "WeChat payment!"

Xiang Kun calmly shook his head. "I want cash, or we'll have to wait for the police and insurance company to arrive."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses glanced back at President Qi, who was staring intently at him from the back seat, gritted his teeth, and turned back to rummage through his pockets with another employee. After searching through all his pockets and taking out the change from the glove box and armrest box, he managed to scrape together 2,800 yuan in cash. Xiang Kun let Zicheng take it before moving away from the driver's side door.

After the A8L left, Yang Jie, Yang Zhen'er, Zicheng, and the others gathered around, asking in surprise, "What's going on? Why did that bald boss seem so afraid of you?"

Zi Cheng couldn't help but scrutinize his friend and said, "You don't have some kind of hidden identity like a 'ruler of the underworld' or the 'illegitimate son of a big boss,' do you?"

"Hide my foot! You've been reading too many fantasy novels!" Xiang Kun laughed and kicked Zicheng, then said to Yang Jie and the others who also looked puzzled, "Do you know what happens when two positively charged particles meet?"

"Repulsive? Why are you suddenly bringing this up? What does it have to do with anything?" Yang Zhen'er asked, puzzled.

Xiang Kun laughed and said, "When one bald man walks towards another bald man, they will both generate a repulsive force. The uglier bald man will be scared away, while the handsome one will stay. This is the bald man repulsion theorem."

Puff!

Yang Jie, a graduate student majoring in physics, was listening attentively, expecting Xiang Kun to have some profound insights. However, she couldn't help but burst out laughing when he said something so serious.

Yang Zhen'er also looked stunned, with a feeling of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

However, after Xiang Kun's meddling, the anxiety caused by the minor accident involving the two cars, as well as the annoyance caused by President Qi and his group, almost completely dissipated.

After inspecting the Corolla's rear end and confirming that there was only a minor scratch on the bumper and a crack that was unclear whether it was from a previous collision or recently, and that there were no other problems, everyone went together to help You Meng change the spare tire.

After the two cars got back on the road, more than forty minutes had passed since the accident, and it was getting dark. They were running out of time to cook when they got back.

On the bus, through sensory information such as heartbeat, smell, and facial expressions, and then through a detailed cognitive model, Xiang Kun knew that Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, and Zhang Qian in the back seat had regained their high spirits. The negative impact of the small accident had turned into an interesting topic of discussion because of Xiang Kun's performance.

In fact, when Xiang Kun got into a verbal altercation with Zi Cheng and Yang Jie in the A8L, several solutions popped into Xiang Kun mind.

Rationally speaking, he should have adopted a more conservative approach, which would have ensured the safety of his companions and minimized potential future troubles.

However, Xiang Kun ultimately chose a slightly more radical approach. His stance was that Yang Jie, Zi Cheng, and the others were friends he had invited to Tongshi Town, and he couldn't let them suffer any injustice, not even psychologically.

So after separating the two groups, Xiang Kun immediately made eye contact with the bald-headed CEO Qi, giving him a "projection".

That was a "projection" he "summoned" by sensing the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving," a monster image originating from his fear.

Before this period of blood-drinking, Xiang Kun needed to influence others through "Projection Manifestation," which required first affecting their emotions before "opening a channel" to transmit the images he wanted to Projection Manifestation. Initially, he used "Emotional Assimilation," but later, at Chang Bin's wedding, he used a combination of "Mental Intimidation" and "Projection Manifestation" to create a knock-off form of "hypnosis" or coercion.

However, after this period of blood-drinking, Xiang Kun directly obtained the new ability that Little Apple had "developed".

In this new ability, by sensing the "Emotional Injection" into the wood carving, the images represented by those emotions are brought to life and directly and forcibly projected into the target's consciousness.

Because the projection obtained through "Emotional Injection" is "integrated" with the target's own emotions, it can directly open the "channel" and forcibly present a complete image in the target's perception system, while simultaneously bringing emotional influence.

After making eye contact with Xiang Kun, Bald Qi saw a terrifying monster, over two meters tall, with eight arms, eight eyes, and covered in disgusting tumors, appear beside Xiang Kun.

This was not a simple projection of the wooden carving; it was a vivid and unvarnished manifestation of Xiang Kun's initial fear, terrifying and grotesque.

Mr. Qi's first reaction was probably that he had drunk too much and was hallucinating, experiencing an unreal, surreal feeling. But the next moment, the monster walked up to him, raised its hand and grabbed his bald head. The stench, the touch on his head, the powerful sense of oppression, and the fear in his heart all gave him an extremely strong and impactful sense of reality.

The monster, speaking in a voice that sounded as if it were chewing on chunks of meat, posed a direct threat to him, forcing him into the car and then sitting with him in the back seat. Its enormous body almost completely filled the back seat, and he could even feel the car's chassis sinking significantly under its immense weight.

In summary, Qi Zong felt not only fear of monsters and doubt about his own senses and existence, but also a deep-seated fear that his body was rapidly decaying from the inside out.

He just wanted to get rid of all this, just wanted to leave as soon as possible, just wanted to confirm whether he was alive, or having a nightmare, or was already in purgatory.

The projection of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster" was only directed at President Qi; no one else felt it.

The middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, named Liu Feibao, was clearly a powerful figure in the area.

Xiang Kun naturally wanted to prevent their retaliation afterward, not against their retaliation against him, but against You Meng and Liang Yulong.

He believed he could achieve this through the influence he exerted through General Qi, but just to be on the safe side, when separating Liu Feibao and his group from Zicheng and Yang Zhuo, he secretly slipped a "Super-Sensory Link" bead into Liu Feibao's coat pocket.