Wandering Knight

Firearm Proficiency: 86%.

A cold sensation traveled from his palm, and his muscle memory instantly awakened.

Scenes of grueling, day-and-night training at the police academy flashed through his mind like fragments: the perfect scores on the firing range, the glory of being top of his class... every sensation returned in full.

He raised his arm, aimed, and pulled the trigger—the movement was as fluid as flowing water, so fast it was almost impossible to track!

"Bang!"

A crisp, explosive crack tore through the silence of the rainforest.

A bullet engraved with a subtle Anti-Magic Rune spun out of the barrel, striking the Shark Person with pinpoint accuracy right in the hollow of her left knee!

"Hiss-aaah—!"

The Shark Person let out a shrill, agonizing shriek. The anti-magic power contained within the bullet instantly invaded her body, brutally unraveling the secret art that maintained her human leg form.

Her legs were seen rapidly adhering and undergoing Metamorphosis within a distorted halo of light; their color shifted to a deep, ghostly blue as dense scales sprouted and spread wildly—

In the blink of an eye, a massive fish tail covered in dark blue scales, strong yet capable only of flapping helplessly in the mud, replaced her legs and was left completely exposed to the air!

Having lost all mobility, she rolled and struggled in the slick mud of the forest, covered in dead leaves and filth, emitting painful whimpers.

She jerked her head up, her wet, long hair plastered against her pale face. Those inhuman pupils contracted from the intense pain and extreme shock, staring fixedly at the pistol in Chen Jin's hand, her voice shrill and trembling:

"Mechanism Art?! You... are you a Wandering Knight of the Mohist School?!"

"Wait, wait a moment! There's a misunderstanding here!"

[Mohist School]

[Originating from Mozi, it advocates "Universal Love" and "Non-Aggression." Its philosophy is rooted in benefiting the world, willing to sacrifice oneself for the cause. Disciples value practice over empty talk, maintain strict discipline, and form a self-contained system. During the Warring States period, it was considered a prominent school alongside the Confucian School.]

[Mohists not only value righteousness but are also masters of ingenious crafts. Their Mechanism Art and Puppet Art are peerless; they can build scaling ladders and suspension carts, repeating crossbows and sluice gates, wooden kites that fly for three days without falling, and bronze beasts that guard cities without sleeping. Legend has it that a Grandmaster can pilot giant puppets, one machine capable of holding off an army, though such secret arts are rarely seen in the world today.]

[Han Feizi, in "The Five Vermin," bluntly pointed out that "Confucians use literature to disrupt the law, while knights use martial arts to violate prohibitions," viewing Mohist Wandering Knights as national parasites that must be eradicated. Later, when Qin unified the six states and strictly enforced Legalism, the Mohist doctrines of universal love and non-aggression, along with their tendency to form factions and wield martial arts, all violated the law, leading to their suppression and gradual disappearance into the undercurrents of history.]

[Wandering Knight]

[Treating life lightly and death as trivial, enduring extreme hardships, sacrificing oneself for righteousness, and willing to suffer from head to heel to benefit the world—most wandering knights in the world are inspired by the Mohist spirit.]

[There exists a class of people in this world: agile in movement, swords that never return, believing that justice must be upheld by one's own hands, and that fighting violence with violence is also a path. They call themselves "Wandering Knights," seeking no fame, forming no factions, and proving their knightly name only through their deeds.]

[Since the Warring States period, they have walked alone among the states, punishing evil and helping the weak, seeking no reward and leaving no name. Wandering knights usually fight alone, with little or no connection to one another, sometimes not even knowing each other. However, the identity of a Wandering Knight requires no certification; whoever possesses the spirit of chivalry can be a Wandering Knight.]

After reading the prompt from Ren Tu, Chen Jin understood perfectly. He leaned into the Shark Person's suspicious gaze and frankly accepted the identity: "That's right, I am indeed a Wandering Knight of the Mohist School."

Walkers of Yanfu have rules: try not to use legacies or abilities and items that clearly do not belong to this world. Although one can defend oneself when necessary and Ren Tu will help clean up the mess, one must also accept scrutiny.

Chen Jin had previously worried that the firearm was an item incompatible with this world, but it seemed the Mohist School of this world had already taken the blame for him.

"So, can you tell me now who sent you to assassinate me?"

The Shark Person was clearly shaken; her tail flapped uneasily in the mud, and a look of struggle and calculation flashed in her eyes.

She was silent for a moment before finally shaking her head: "I... I cannot say. But... I can pass a message for you. There must be a misunderstanding here. If you are a Wandering Knight, we should be natural allies."

"Whether we can be allies is too early to say, but at least there is now a possibility for negotiation."

Just then, a chaotic and hurried sound of footsteps came from afar, mixed with the clanking of armor plates and several all-too-familiar shouts—

"Fu!"

"Heifu! Did you catch that thief?!"

His fellow Guards had arrived!

Chen Jin's thoughts raced: Why was it them again? Was the team configuration fixed for every law enforcement mission?

This was vastly different from his past experience in the Field Operations Team under Director Xu.

Back then, his teammates were never fixed when executing missions, partly because many infiltration and surveillance tasks required him to use his [Metamorphosis] ability to change his appearance. But then again, he had rarely built deep bonds with his team members because of this.

Chen Jin was used to obeying orders and hadn't thought much of it, but now it seemed there might have been a deeper meaning to such arrangements all along.

The Shark Person clearly understood her situation. She raised her pale face, her eyes filled with fear and pleading, her voice thin as a thread: "Please... let me go..."

At this moment, her secret art was broken and she was suffering from a severe backlash, leaving her extremely weak. If he kicked her into the river, she might have a slim chance of escaping.

But it was unlikely Chen Jin would help her escape.

Setting aside the absurdity of her trying to brush off an assassination attempt with "it was all a misunderstanding," even if he took a step back, having a hostage would put him in a favorable position for future negotiations with the people behind the Shark Person.

Chen Jin whispered: "In a moment, just pretend you don't understand human speech and don't say anything."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Wu and two other Guards rushed out of the rain, sprinting toward them.

They were panting slightly, their gazes sweeping across the scene and locking onto the massive fish tail struggling in the mud, expressions of astonishment and confusion appearing on their faces simultaneously.

"This... what is this?" the Guard "Ju" exclaimed, instinctively gripping his long halberd.

Wang Wu's brows were locked in a deep frown, his sharp gaze passing over the Shark Person and toward the dark, churning river: "Where is the thief? And where did this Shark Person come from?"

In the common understanding, Shark Persons were aquatic creatures; leaving the water to land was akin to seeking death, let alone being linked to some "thief."

Chen Jin had already prepared his excuse. He pointed toward the surging river: "That scoundrel was slippery. Seeing there was no way to escape, he dove straight into the river!"

I dove down and felt around a few times, but I couldn't even snag a scrap of clothing. I reckon he's drowned by now, and his corpse has likely been swept out to sea.

He paused, then tilted his head and gestured with the tip of his halberd at the still-twitching Shark Person. "Just my luck, I happened to spot this thing by the river, shedding beads in the dim moonlight filtering through the dark clouds. Real shark pearls, they are!

It's my lucky day, so I snatched it up. Even though the thief got away, with this haul, the brothers haven't made the trip for nothing."

The Guard, Ji, said with undisguised envy, "There's a legend that a Shark Person once took shelter with a Nongjia School family while in distress. To repay their kindness, it wove Shark Silk to sell and help with their expenses.

This Shark Silk is as thin as Zhufuyu and doesn't get wet even when submerged in water. It's worth over a hundred gold pieces, and upon parting, the creature would ask its benefactor for a plate, filling it with tears turned into pearls as a parting gift."

"If that's the case," Wang Wu finally spoke, "we'll report it as you said. The thief drowned, and the body is lost. As for this Shark Person..."

"Bring it back with us and let the superiors deal with it."