The air in the alley seemed to freeze.
The dark-green figure crouching on the fire escape, his hawk-sharp eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, visibly flashed with startled disbelief. He had been ready for pleading, excuses, even a thug's counterattack, but never for such a brazen question.
His carefully staged, intimidating entrance-descending silently like a ghost in the night, then delivering his long-rehearsed opening line in a low, judgment-laden voice: "You have failed this city"-jammed in his throat, stuck halfway out in an agonizing limbo.
After that brief shock, irritation at having his entrance ruined surged up, replacing his readiness to deliver a lecture. The menace and mystery he had so painstakingly cultivated deflated like a punctured balloon.
"I just saw you strike viciously, without a shred of mercy!" His voice came from beneath the hood. "You think answering violence with even more brutal violence is the solution? Look at them! Is this really the result you wanted?"
He pointed at the two screaming men, trying to regain control of the conversation and reclaim the moral high ground. He had to make this dangerous man understand that uncontrolled violence could not be allowed to spread through Star City.
"Oh."
Li Jie answered without expression. "It's not like I strung them up from a streetlamp. Besides... I'm the one who got robbed, okay?"
"I..."
The hooded man was momentarily speechless. When he arrived, he had only caught the final instant of Li Jie's ruthless attack and jumped to the conclusion that a dangerous man was committing an assault. Only now, noticing the gleaming switchblade and screwdriver on the ground, did he realize he might have targeted the wrong person.
Heat rushed into his cheeks, thankfully concealed by his mask. His righteous interrogation now sounded like a bad joke. Without