Embrace

The newcomer was a middle-aged man in basic body armor, with messy brown hair hanging to his shoulders and an unshaven face. His weapon was nothing special, and there was plenty of commotion outside. Clearly, there were more than just one or two of them.

Chi Li weighed the situation and slowly raised his hands, panic appearing on his face. "Who... who are you? My grandmother is still outside."

The man pointed his gun at Chi Li's head, then toward the door. "Quit talking and get out."

Chi Li took two steps and glanced at the man. After being glared at, he no longer dared lift his head.

Seeing him like this, the man regarded Chi Li even less seriously. He reported to the people outside, "One kid and one cripple. Drag them both out."

Outside, another man handling the transfer watched Chi Li warningly. "Behave yourself. You don't want to get shot, do you?"

Chi Li cooperatively shuddered. The man sneered and shoved him forward. "Move it!"

Chi Li had assumed they would take him downstairs. There were bodyguards below, and if the disturbance grew too loud, it would be enough to draw their attention.

But the route out did not lead downstairs.

It led up.

The residential buildings in this area stood tightly packed together, and it took little effort to cross from one rooftop to the top floor of the next building.

At that moment, quite a few people had already gathered on the rooftops. All the residents were being driven toward the rooftop of the building in the middle.

Chi Li wanted to look downstairs. Such a huge disturbance should, logically, have already caught the bodyguards' attention.

Chi Li had the ability to escape, but he could not expose his identity because of it. That would not be worth the cost.

The instant he glanced downstairs, someone sharp-eyed noticed him. That person threw a stone at him, striking Chi Li in the face. "Want to die? Stop looking around!"

Pain flared across his face, and Chi Li swept the man a cold glance.

The man saw a fleeting killing intent in those eyes, but it vanished at once. When he looked again, the boy's gaze was timid and fearful. Thinking he had imagined it, the man felt a chill down his back, yet unusually, he said nothing more.

After crossing several buildings, Chi Li saw thirty or forty civilians pressed tightly together, with more people being brought over in scattered groups.

Most people living here came from poor families with no influence or power. These desperadoes would gain no material benefit from kidnapping dozens of poor civilians, yet they had made such a grand spectacle of it. It seemed more like they were deliberately trying to lure someone over.

Some people could no longer endure it and began sobbing quietly. Mothers held their children, while those who refused to submit and tried to step forward were shot in the arm and completely subdued...

Chi Li also silently crouched among them, observing everything around him.

A miniature steel knife was hidden in his sleeve, one of Chi Li's favorite weapons. Its handle stored three bullets; once the blade was retracted, it could become a handgun for ranged shooting. It was easy to carry and highly lethal.

He had stuffed it into his sleeve on impulse when he hid the communicator.

Chi Li considered their motives. These people were obviously desperadoes. They did not fear death, which meant there was nothing they feared.

West City's civilian district actually carried a special implication. When people mentioned West City, they thought of decay, corruption, and disease, while East City represented prosperity, wealth, and glory.

Within the Great Empire that championed equality, freedom, and fraternity, there were still clear divisions between high and low, noble and common, rich and poor. What an irony.

When Chi Li saw a small live broadcast drone used for news slowly rise into the sky, he instantly understood the desperadoes' intentions.

Given these desperadoes' character, they certainly were not trying to expose the Empire's ugly side to the public again so it could be resolved. They wanted to intensify the conflict, perhaps to gain something more from it.

The leading man gave the crowd a cursory glance, pointed at a mother and son clinging to each other, a little girl, and several others, before his gaze finally settled on Chi Li.

He pointed at Chi Li. "You too. Come here."

The video captured that scene as well: the trembling mother and child, the crying little girl, and the panicked face of a young boy...

Countless civilians were tied together. Facing the camera, the man's face shone with madness. "I believe the Empire's esteemed officials and the general public have probably already seen this. Let's make a deal..."

Not far away, Si Jinyan, who was racing toward the West City District, happened to see the scene through the live news segment on prisoner coercive intervention.

A few minutes earlier, Si Jinyan had received word from the guards that there was a riot in the West City District and that they lacked manpower, requesting support. At the time, Si Jinyan had been nearby, carrying out the final sweep of another international criminal syndicate case.

Not long after, a message came from the base: prisoners were kidnapping civilians in West City.

When Si Jinyan opened the live news feed, Chi Li's pale face and fragile figure entered his sight.

At that instant, an indescribable and nearly uncontrollable fury suddenly exploded from the depths of Si Jinyan's heart.

Si Jinyan had always been fearless in the face of danger on the battlefield, calm and steady. Yet now, violent pheromones swirled around him, and his bloodthirsty gaze nearly tore apart the man on the screen.

The spacecraft sped toward its destination even faster. At his side, Qiu Rui had already issued orders to the other subordinates, and several military spacecraft were continuously rushing toward the nearby West City District.

On a West City rooftop, the leader of the desperadoes had already shot two civilians. But as he prepared to shoot a third, a clear chime came from the small communication device in his hand, announcing that 100,000 starcoins had been deposited. The man stopped before shooting the third person.

During this livestream that resembled a massacre, the man threatened the Federal Empire: if they paid 500,000 starcoins within ten seconds, they could save one civilian's life.

After two people had been shot, all the civilians on the rooftop had fallen into despair. That bullet of fate might strike any one of them in the head the next second.

Then the man began loudly mocking the civilians again. "They don't care about your lives at all. You're disgusting, lowly sewer rats."

The conflict between rich and poor had long been apparent. Behind the screens, many civilians had already begun voicing their dissatisfaction: Had these criminals gone insane?! Where was the Empire's rescue team? Why was there still no sign of them?!

Did poor people's lives not count as lives?!

It was only 500,000 starcoins. When they squandered money extravagantly, 500,000 starcoins did not even amount to a fraction...

As the 100,000 came through, the criminal leader mockingly withdrew the gun pointed at a man's head. Behind that man stood a small, weak girl, crying as she called for her father.

The criminal leader continued, "Looks like I underestimated those bastards. Are you surprised they actually saved you? But I said 500,000 starcoins would save one person, and they only paid 100,000. Perfect. Then we'll take an arm instead."

The next second, a gunshot rang out. The man who had thought he escaped death immediately screamed in agony. One of his arms flew off and landed on the ground, the scene bloody and blurred...

Several military spacecraft circled above the rooftop, with more arriving one after another.

A rescue team had also come up through the stairwell. They moved silently, and several guards had already been taken down before they could send out an alarm.

On the rooftop, the criminal leader also realized something was wrong and shouted upward, "I've installed explosives in this building! If you don't want to die with us, withdraw within thirty seconds!"

A full withdrawal was impossible. The subordinates listened to Si Jinyan's command from the command cabin: "A6, A11, A12, fall back. Activate blast-proof interference. All remaining snipers, prepare."

Wild Leopard, the criminal leader, thought his warning had worked and laughed triumphantly.

Then Qiu Rui's voice boomed across the rooftop through the loudspeakers. "We are willing to negotiate."

Wild Leopard burst into laughter, bloodthirsty light gleaming in his crazed eyes. They had never intended to return alive, nor had they expected the Empire's people to truly be willing to negotiate with them. He did not entirely believe it, until 3,000,000 starcoins were directly transferred into his account.

Qiu Rui displayed his sincerity. "You can make any demands you wish, as long as you release these civilians. They are innocent."

Quite a few people watching the news recognized who was speaking and whom he represented. Qiu Rui often represented Si Jinyan in handling official affairs and social engagements, and another considerable uproar erupted across the Empire's network: The Marshal had personally sent someone...

Wild Leopard casually reached toward someone beside him. That person was Chi Li, who had remained quietly inconspicuous at the side. He did not entirely believe Qiu Rui's words, but when the chance of survival and immense wealth truly lay before them, their resolve to die began to waver.

Qiu Rui's voice pleading for peace still rang in his ears. Just as the criminal leader was about to touch Chi Li, a bullet that had long been lying in ambush shot toward him at high speed.

That bullet seemed to signal something. Immediately afterward, bullets flew one after another toward the other prisoners.

Chi Li sensed it the moment that bullet drew near.

He instantly dodged to the side. Wild Leopard was hit in the shoulder, and blood splattered across Chi Li's face.

Wild Leopard realized he had been tricked. The desperadoes began attacking indiscriminately again, but they had already been surrounded by people below and in the sky.

In an instant, the scene became utterly chaotic.

That bullet had clearly enraged Wild Leopard and stirred up his reckless, desperate drive. The bullet obviously could not kill him immediately. If he was going to die, he would kill a few people first. He aimed at Chi Li beside him, the pale and frail boy.

Chi Li dodged Wild Leopard's lunge, and Wild Leopard picked up a gun from the ground.

Given Chi Li's angle and skill, he could have slit the man's throat faster and thrown off his aim.

But Chi Li could not expose himself. He was not sure whether Si Jinyan was here. If Si Jinyan was, he had definitely already noticed him.

The man clearly did not think a child could evade him. He merely believed the boy had been exceptionally lucky to dodge his shot. When the man raised his gun at Chi Li again, Chi Li decided not to counterattack in order to avoid exposing his identity. Instead, he calculated the angle so several vital areas would avoid the bullets.

At that moment, Chi Li also noticed that, not far away, an accomplice who had already been shot down was secretly aiming a gun at him.

To prevent exposure, Chi Li decided to take Wild Leopard's shot. A small section of the gun barrel slowly emerged from his cuff, and he would use a bullet to eliminate the person in the distance first. Amid the chaos, no one would notice that he had fired such a shot.

Just as he was about to fire, he suddenly heard someone shout, "Marshal!"

Chi Li froze. In that single second of hesitation, the hidden bullet had already shot toward him. Together with Wild Leopard's bullet, it flew straight at Chi Li's chest. Chi Li turned sideways, allowing the bullets to avoid his vital organs.

A figure in the distance streaked toward Chi Li at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.

In that instant, time seemed to slow several times over. Yet afterward, whenever Chi Li recalled it, he still could not understand or believe how quickly Si Jinyan had reached his side.

The time the bullets needed to reach him was less than a second.

Yet Si Jinyan arrived before him even faster.

At that moment, even the wind seemed to stand still. It was a speed faster than the wind. Chi Li only felt someone approach from behind and wrap him in an embrace. Then his vision went dark, and Si Jinyan instantly appeared before him.

Chi Li's view was blocked by the taller figure. Then came the dull sound of bullets entering flesh, twice.

Bright red blood splattered onto Chi Li's hands and face. He looked up and saw Si Jinyan's face, heavy and as calm as ever.

Chi Li also smelled the familiar scent of pheromones. He sensed Si Jinyan protectively holding him in his arms with enough force to nearly crush him, and his senses seemed to be magnified countless times over.

The next moment, Si Jinyan's brows faintly furrowed. One of his hands pressed against the back of Chi Li's head, shielding Chi Li's head against his chest.

It was Si Jinyan. Si Jinyan had shielded him.

Chi Li was stunned and unable to believe it, with even a faint, almost imperceptible trace of panic.