Give You a Hand

Feeling the hard touch against his forehead, a red gleam flashed deep in Chen Chong's eyes. He stared fixedly at Liu Xun's finger resting on the trigger.

But before he could make a move, Liu Xun lowered the gun with a sharp motion.

"If our company didn't strictly follow the rules and regulations, I'd really want to kill you right here! Hmph, forget it! I'll spare your sorry life for now. Once we get back, I'll report you to the General Manager and make sure you're dealt with!"

Liu Xun, of course, wouldn't attack him here. Otherwise, who would take the blame when they got back?

After putting on a show, he shoved Chen Chong hard with his gun.

But he found that he couldn't move him.

Chen Chong hadn't resisted, but he hadn't moved either. He stood before him like a silent mountain, utterly immovable.

Liu Xun's expression instantly darkened, but he didn't say anything more. He just snorted and went back to check on the wounded.

The team members were still confused by Liu Xun's attitude.

In their eyes, Chen Chong had been a huge help. After all, they hadn't expected the bar fighter to be of any use in the first place—and that included Liu Xun.

But Chen Chong had used his own strength to resolve the crisis caused by the Twin Dragons. If he'd been any other Official Fighter, their team would have suffered several more deaths at best; with a little less luck, they could have been wiped out.

Capable people earned respect wherever they went, or at least were taken seriously. The team members had clearly become much more respectful toward Chen Chong.

But then their captain suddenly listed three major offenses committed by this hero. Though the team members sensed that something was off, they naturally stayed silent behind their captain.

They looked at Chen Chong with hostility again, but no one dared to provoke him to his face.

After all, they were no match for either their captain or an Earth Dragon.

Chen Chong, meanwhile, pulled a whole lot of Nutrient Paste out of his pocket.

He started tearing open the first packet.

A while later.

Liu Xun felt that Chen Chong had been watching him the whole time. He turned around, his face dark, and said,

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, sir."

Chen Chong stared at him, then tore open another Nutrient Paste and put it in his mouth.

Liu Xun's gaze followed the falling plastic wrapper to the ground by Chen Chong's feet. There was already a pile of Nutrient Paste wrappers there.

His eyelid twitched.

That looked like more than he could eat himself. He was a fighter who had broken through the Beam Setting checkpoint. Even if Chen Chong needed to replenish his energy because of his injuries, could he really eat more than Liu Xun?

But as the Security Department's captain, he'd never had to live on Nutrient Paste alone, so he couldn't say for sure. Still, Chen Chong's gaze made him deeply uncomfortable. He felt as if the other man was looking at him the same way he looked at the Nutrient Paste.

It was making him restless. Liu Xun snorted and simply stopped looking Chen Chong's way.

He didn't realize that, deep down, he already didn't want to provoke Chen Chong.

Chen Chong certainly didn't think of Liu Xun as Nutrient Paste. In his eyes, Nutrient Paste was much more likable.

5%.

He glanced at the number before him. As expected, the Third Form was even harder to unlock than before. After two days, this was all the progress he'd made.

It had only been a little while since he activated the Second Form, yet the energy he'd built up along the way had already been completely used up.

He looked at Liu Xun, estimating how much Nutrient Paste he'd need to activate it once more.

Then he could kill the bastard.

If it came to it, he could even burn through his progress.

Chen Chong took a breath.

Calm down first.

Letting your emotions run wild only helped in the moment. A fighter who could control his emotions could last.

If he killed Liu Xun in front of everyone, he'd probably have to face the entire Thunder Dragon's pursuit in the unfamiliar Wasteland.

He needed to find an opportunity.

He wasn't sure whether the convoy had a detailed map or enough fuel. Even if he stole a vehicle and fled, he might not make it out of the Wasteland, let alone with pursuers on his tail.

But if Liu Xun pointed a gun at him again...

Chen Chong's gaze turned cold.

"Why haven't they come back yet?"

Meanwhile, Liu Xun was growing more and more anxious.

Normally, a Security Department captain who'd seen countless battles wouldn't be this restless. But first, trouble had come one after another since they entered the Hunting Grounds today; second, Chen Chong's presence unsettled him on an instinctive level; and third...

The area around them had been quiet for too long.

Liu Xun frowned and scanned the surroundings. Then he suddenly shouted,

"Stay alert!"

The Security Department members who could still move immediately raised their guns. Chen Chong frowned too, about to head to the camp and grab an unclaimed gun, when Liu Xun held out an arm to stop him.

"Company regulations say you can't use a gun without training."

Chen Chong gave Liu Xun, whose expression was icy, a long look, then slowly withdrew his hand.

He went over to the deputy captain's corpse and picked up the Alloy Combat Blade.

This time, Liu Xun only frowned and touched his own saber. He didn't say anything.

He scanned the surrounding wilderness but saw nothing unusual. Still, his extensive experience told him there had to be something wrong nearby. After another look around, his gaze settled on a gentle slope. He raised his arm and fired a burst of bullets at its crest.

"Come out!"

Liu Xun's shout carried far across the open plain, but no one answered for a long while. Just as the team members began to think their captain was being overly cautious, a bald man stood up behind the slope.

"Hey, hey, hey, friend. Why so jumpy?"

The man spread his hands and called out with exaggerated enthusiasm.

He was tall and lanky, wearing a leather jacket. A conspicuous skull tattoo marked his sunken right cheek.

Liu Xun's voice turned cold at once.

"The Skull Gang?"

"Thunder Dragon?"

The bald man mimicked Liu Xun's tone, then immediately broke into a grin.

"We're old friends. Why act so surprised? You'd think we didn't know each other."

"Hmph. These are Thunder Dragon's Hunting Grounds. What are you Skull Gang doing here?"

"Having a picnic. Is that a problem?"

The man smiled.

"I saw a few big Earth Dragons come out, so I thought I'd get a share."

Liu Xun raised his gun and pointed it straight at him.

"In your dreams."

"Oh, whoa, whoa! Easy, easy!"

The bald man raised both hands, then whistled.

More than a dozen figures sprang up along the crest of the slope.

Some wore leather jackets, others trench coats or padded coats. Their hairstyles were all over the place: shaved heads, afros, hair dyed red, green, pink, and white. The only thing they had in common was the skull tattoos on their faces and heads, marking them as members of the Skull Gang.

Compared with Thunder Dragon's neatly equipped security team, the Skull Gang members looked disorganized and scruffy, like a band of refugees.

Yet the security team didn't feel the slightest bit superior. If anything, every one of them looked tense.

Because all but the bald man leading them had guns trained down at the security team from their elevated position.

"See? I told you to stay calm. Someone might accidentally fire."

The bald man kept his hands raised and grinned.

Liu Xun's expression was grim.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to stop pointing your gun at me."

Liu Xun's expression shifted several times before he slowly lowered his gun.

Only then did the bald man lower his hands and whistle again.

"That's more like it."

Ignoring Liu Xun's face, dark as the bottom of a pot, the bald man continued,

"Like I said, we came out here for a picnic today. The only trouble is, after searching high and low, we're still short a main course. Hey, you were here just now. Did you happen to hunt any delicacies?"

Liu Xun fell silent for a moment, then said coldly,

"That was a mission personally assigned by the General Manager. I have to bring—"

"Looks like you don't get it."

The bald man cut him off with a mocking grin.

"When the Skull Gang goes on an outing, we have to eat. If there's no Earth Dragon Meat, then the only thing on the menu here is you lot."

Liu Xun's expression darkened.

They had just fought a fierce battle with the Earth Dragons and suffered heavy losses. Only five or six of them were still able to fight.

The Skull Gang's arrival couldn't have come at a better time. They also had the advantages of higher ground and greater numbers.

More than a dozen dark gun barrels were pointed at them, and beads of sweat had appeared on some of the security team members' foreheads.

As for the leader facing them, he might not have a gun, but even unarmed, he put Liu Xun under considerable pressure. Clearly, he was an expert.

Liu Xun wrestled with himself, but in the end, he gave in to the pressure.

He slowly reached out and beckoned one of his team members over, about to give him an order.

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out beside him.

"Captain Liu, you can't!"

Liu Xun whipped around and saw Chen Chong looking at him with an inscrutable expression.

His heart lurched. Before he could stop him, Chen Chong spoke with righteous indignation.

"Company regulations strictly forbid handing company property over to the enemy, especially hostile forces like the Skull Gang.

"Captain Liu, your will to fight is so weak that you'll probably be punished under company law when we get back. Let me give you a hand.

"Scum from the Skull Gang, listen up! Thunder Dragon would rather die than surrender. If you've got the guts, then open fire!"

He shouted, drew the dagger at his side, and hurled it with all his might!

The dagger shot through the air like lightning and plunged into the eye socket of the nearest Skull Gang member.

The man didn't even make a sound before falling backward.

Everyone present fell silent.