"Station chief, this... isn't that too many people?"
A rider turned to Li Jinshui and swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly.
The others all looked toward Li Jinshui as well.
Even these veteran riders, who had spent years roaming the city and witnessed plenty of street battles between gangs, had never seen anything on this scale.
It was just a tiny station that hadn't even officially opened yet, with barely a dozen people. Was there really any need to call in this many? There had to be at least six or seven hundred of them altogether.
That was a far cry from the dozens or hundred people they'd initially expected.
Even if the company had made preparations, had it really prepared for a situation like this?
"Don't panic!"
In the darkness, Li Jinshui stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his tone calm and composed. He showed no trace of alarm or unease.
By contrast, Vice Station Chief Lin Zhen looked visibly uncomfortable. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he could barely hide the panic in his eyes, though the darkness kept it from showing.
This situation had already gone beyond what he'd anticipated. Huang Lichen had let him in on the plan: more than a dozen First-rate Martial Artists would come to help tonight.
But now it seemed they'd all underestimated Wei Hu Security's nerve. They'd actually dared to go this far.
If there were a large number of casualties tonight, the Inspection Bureau would certainly step in and hold them accountable.
By then, the station... might be shut down and investigated too!
"Station Chief Li, should we first..." Lin Zhen finally couldn't hold back. He gestured toward Li Jinshui as if making a phone call.
Without getting a clear answer about the situation, he just couldn't bring himself to stay.
As tempting as double the station chief's salary was, he needed to be alive to spend it.
"..." Li Jinshui gave a slight nod. They did need to ask.
Although he looked calm and unruffled, he was already stunned inside.
The other side had brought far too many people.
Damn it, they weren't playing fair. They'd gone all in on a human-wave tactic?
Several hundred people surrounding one lousy station didn't sound all that terrifying. But standing upstairs and watching them actually swarm in from all directions was another matter entirely.
"Bzz, bzz!"
Just then, the phone he'd set to silent began vibrating in his hand.
Li Jinshui picked it up and saw that Huang Lichen was calling.
"Hey, A-Shui, something's wrong. I suspect there's a mole among us. The plan's changed. Get everyone out of the station, now." Old Huang's voice came through the moment the call connected, tense and slightly breathless.
"Old Huang, have you contacted Supervisor Ye? What did she say?" Li Jinshui asked quietly.
He still preferred hearing Ye Mei's opinion over Old Huang's judgment. That woman knew what she was doing.
"Damn it, she's not answering. Neither are Chen Yu and Zhang Li. I think we've been set up. I..."
Old Huang hadn't even finished speaking when a dull BANG came through the phone, followed by a jumble of noisy commotion.
"Hello?! Old Huang! What's happening over there?" Li Jinshui's expression changed.
"Shit! Someone at the Thousand-Jun Realm has joined the fight. They're coming for me! Now I know why those three didn't answer. Damn it, you ambushed me? I'll kill you..." Old Huang roared. A frightening burst of Qi-Blood rang out from the other end, then the call abruptly cut off, leaving only a string of busy tones.
"..."
A chill ran down Li Jinshui's spine, and his scalp prickled.
How had things fallen apart so quickly?
No, this wasn't how the story was supposed to go! There was supposed to be a gradual buildup, starting small and working up to the climax. How had they gone straight to being completely overwhelmed in a major battle?
Had his four kind, approachable former bosses—elite fighters at the Thousand-Jun Realm—really been picked off one by one just like that?
Ye Mei was unreliable! At the Youth Training Camp, she'd been the scheming big-sister type who had everything under control. And yet they'd been utterly crushed right from the start?!
"Station Chief Li, what... what's happening?" Lin Zhen had already come closer. He'd heard enough to know something was wrong, and his face was deathly pale.
"..."
Li Jinshui didn't answer. He calmly raised a hand, signaling Lin Zhen not to panic yet.
Then his gaze slowly swept over the people around him, who were clearly starting to panic.
Should he sacrifice someone else to save himself?
No. Li Jinshui had never entertained such a shameless thought.
He was simply considering how to make good use of the strength-in-numbers principle to help himself escape.
But after looking everyone over, he could only shake his head helplessly.
No chance!
Chen Dali and the others were only Third-Rate Martial Artists. The ten veteran riders were all second- or third-rate, and even Lin Zhen had only recently reached the First-rate level.
Against a human-wave tactic, their strength was useless. Throw them out to draw fire and they'd be taken out in an instant—not even good enough to serve as bait.
"Sigh!"
Li Jinshui let out a long sigh and reached for the outside of his thigh. With a CLICK, he flipped on the electric scooter's overload switch.
"I'd planned to get along with you as an ordinary person and keep a low profile. But it seems... I'll have to step in myself and make my name known to the world."
Bzzzz—!
A piercing electric crackle filled the air.
In an instant, a string of deep-blue arcs coiled around Li Jinshui's legs.
Cold blue light cut through the darkness, illuminating his youthful, handsome face.
"You all stay put on the second floor and keep out of sight!"
He turned his head slightly, a faint smile slowly lifting the corner of his mouth. "I told you: even if the sky falls... I'll hold it up."
Whoosh!
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jinshui's figure blurred, transforming into a dazzling streak of blazing blue lightning. He swept out through the window and charged straight toward the crowd by the low buildings nearby.
"Lightning Pulse Step, First Form—Shadow Chasing Chain!"
From far away came Li Jinshui's thunderous shout, shaking the surrounding area.
A move only reached its full potential when shouted aloud. That was how to make the scene look as cool as possible!
Lin Zhen and the riders stood rigid by the second-floor window, staring outside in astonishment, their breathing halted.
Under the night sky, Li Jinshui became a human lightning bolt and crashed straight into the dense crowd of gang members. His legs launched into a flurry of midair kicks, leaving behind a vast web of electric afterimages!
His surging Qi-Blood power shook the air. Countless red and blue leg-shaped afterimages wove together, pounding the first dozen gang thugs head-on.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The dull sound of bones breaking, mixed with the crackle of lightning, rang out across the area.
In a single exchange, more than a dozen figures screamed as they flew backward, crashing into the packed crowd behind them and knocking down a whole swath of people.
Whoosh!
The next moment, Li Jinshui planted a foot on a gang member's head and leaped into the air. His body traced an elegant curve before he sped back toward the station.
He didn't go upstairs. Instead, he swept toward the side of the building.
"Lightning Pulse Step, Second Form—Wind-Speed Lightning-Flash!"
With Li Jinshui's low, booming shout, he spun into a flying kick right where he stood. His ferocious Qi-Blood power intertwined with the lightning, forming a several-meter-long, crescent-shaped arc of thunder that swept across the crowd.
BOOM—BAM BAM!
Another huge group of gang members fell in response, their screams and groans rising one after another.
"Hiss—!"
On the station's second floor, everyone sucked in a sharp breath. The whole crowd was stunned!
What kind of strength was this?
Such tremendous Qi-Blood power, such terrifying explosive force—were those really moves from Lightning Pulse Step?
Why didn't our kicks look like that?
Had we been learning a knockoff version?