Chen Jin

Now!

Borrowing the cover of the smoke, Chen Jin carried Nuonuo on his back, pushing his speed to the limit as he lunged toward the breach.

By the time he had completely cleared the smoke, leaving the churning gray-black zone behind him, those mechanical warriors seemed unable to fully react.

He had successfully broken free.

Temporarily clear of the densest encirclement, the complex ruins and narrow alleyways ahead provided him with concealment.

Chen Jin continued to use the intricate terrain to dash deeper, attempting to shake off his pursuers for good.

However, just as he rounded a half-collapsed earthen wall, putting a little distance between himself and the chaotic clamor behind, Nuonuo, who had been lying quietly on his back, lifted her head.

"Uncle... Daddy... Daddy was taken away..."

His sprinting figure slowed abruptly. Leaning behind a broken wall, he quickly looked in the direction of Nuonuo's gaze—

About two hundred paces away stood a stone watchtower.

His "umbrella," Squad Leader Wang Wu, along with Ju and Ji, were bound tightly with ropes, kneeling on the rain-slicked stone platform.

Standing behind them were three Xuanhu-type Mechanical Garrison Warriors.

The thick, heavy crossbow bolts, capable of piercing bronze armor plates, were pressed firmly against the backs of Wang Wu, Ju, and Ji's heads.

At the same time, Wang Wu spotted him.

"Run—! Heifu! Don't come over! It's a trap! Run!! Don't worry about us!!!"

"Tch..."

When Yanfu Walkers roamed between the various fruits, they were mostly self-indulgent, leaving Ren Tu to clean up the aftermath. Few ever lowered their heads to ask how many of the world's joys and sorrows their footsteps had crushed.

Some of the more malicious ones would even borrow heavily from the indigenous people of a fruit before departing, seeking to maximize their own profit.

But Chen Jin was never like that.

His grandfather, Old Master Chen, had gripped his hand in his final moments and said to him:

"Jin'er, you must remember: look up and feel no shame before Heaven, look down and feel no remorse before men. Grandfather hopes that, no matter where you go, you will always be an upright and decent person, using your strength to make the land beneath your feet... just a little better than it was when you arrived."

"THUD!!"

With a heavy, muffled impact, Chen Jin crashed onto the high platform like a demon descending from the heavens!

The force of his landing made the entire stone platform tremble, sending stagnant water splashing everywhere.

He bent one knee to cushion the impact, landed steadily, and then stood bolt upright.

Wang Wu looked at Chen Jin, who had returned like a divine warrior, and opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but not a single word could escape.

The air on the platform froze.

Even the sound of the rain seemed to be cut off.

In the deathly silence, a rhythmic "click-clack" sound emerged from the shadows in the corner of the platform.

The sound was like delicate clockwork being tapped gently.

Chen Jin's icy gaze swept toward the source of the noise.

A meticulously crafted wooden puppet, clapping its hands made of tiny wooden blocks, "walked" slowly out of the shadows.

Its face was carved with lifelike precision, wearing an eerie, smiling expression, and its joints emitted faint "click-clack" sounds as they moved.

Its movements were too fluid for a mortal creation. It walked to the center of the platform and stopped.

Then, a voice filled with a hint of admiration and amusement emanated from within the puppet:

"To return for the sake of a few 'comrades' you've only known for a few days, and to willingly charge into this hopeless trap... you truly have the spirit of a knight. It is... admirable."

"To be honest, I didn't even expect these few pieces of bait to be of any use."

"This Wandering Knight, there are so many spectators down there, why not introduce yourself?"

Chen Jin scanned his surroundings. The so-called "spectators" were, naturally, not the common folk of Langya City.

With the curfew approaching, any commotion had long since plunged this massive city into a deathly silence, leaving the streets empty save for cold rain and metal.

The "spectators" were the Xuanhu and Vermilion Bird units that had gathered like a tide below. They stood in silence, their scarlet spirit-stone compound eyes focused densely upon the platform, forming a heart-stopping forest of steel.

Chen Jin could feel the Identity Tablet belonging to "Heifu" at his waist growing slightly warm; he didn't need to look to know that this identity had been revoked.

The moment of curfew was near. Once the drums sounded, his current status as an "unregistered person" would immediately invite the ruthless lash of Qin Law.

The puppet's prattle was undoubtedly a stalling tactic, waiting for the curfew to begin so that he would face the judgment of Qin Law, placing him in an even more disadvantageous position.

However, it was also time.

Not to make a declaration to the enemy, but to provide an explanation to those who had been dragged into this because of him, and to sever the final, wretched ties to the identity of "Heifu."

Under the gaze of all, Chen Jin slowly raised his hand and covered his face.

As his five fingers exerted slight pressure, the muscles and bones of his face began to squirm. His skin tone turned fairer, and the facial contours that had once belonged to "Heifu" rippled like water, reshaping...

In the span of a single breath, the palm moved away.

What appeared before everyone was an entirely different face.

The features were handsome, still retaining a hint of youthful air, much like a boy next door.

This face belonged to Chen Jin himself.

"Take a good look."

"I do not change my name when I walk, nor my surname when I sit."

"--Chen Jin."

The heavy sound of the evening drum, like the heartbeat of a primordial beast, rolled in layers, crushing over the sky above Langya City with dull, majestic weight.

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!

The curfew had officially begun!

The moment the drumbeats settled, the intricate puppet on the high platform raised its wooden arm to point at Chen Jin, its voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation:

"Kill."

The order was given, and the slaughter began instantly!

The three Xuanhu who had been pressing their crossbows against the backs of Wang Wu and the others' heads pulled their triggers with metallic fingers, without a moment's hesitation!

Almost at the exact instant the word "kill" was uttered, Chen Jin moved.

His body, like a drawn bow, pivoted rapidly, using the immense power of his core and waist as the fulcrum!

Driven by his rotation, the Symphony of Myriad Phenomena transformed into two rings of death.

The scorching flames spewing from the muzzles connected in an instant, as if bestowing upon him two burning wings of light.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunfire merged into a deafening, continuous, and violent roar with almost no gaps.

The massive sound wave even temporarily drowned out the metallic noise of the mechs, violently assaulting the eardrums of everyone on the high platform.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Crack!

Sparks exploded wildly!

Wang Wu, Ju, and Ji felt the cold killing intent at the backs of their heads suddenly vanish, followed immediately by the deafening gunfire and the sound of shattering metal erupting beside them. The scorching heat waves and flying debris grazed their skin, bringing a shivering terror, yet also the relief of surviving a catastrophe.

Chen Jin's rotation did not stop! The storm of bullets swept across the entire high platform!