Such a major incident at the Bloody Hand Gang's headquarters naturally drew a crowd of onlookers from the surrounding area at once, packing the place until not even a drop of water could get through. Many people stopped to watch from a distance.
Several minutes later, a group of security officers came rushing in by car. They sealed off the intersection and dispersed the onlookers.
Li Xingkong had not gone far. He too was watching nearby to see how things developed.
The impact of his raid was already the biggest incident Freedom City had seen lately. Though things here were never peaceful, this was the first time anything like it had happened in the bustling district.
After all, the small gangs might make trouble, but the bustling district was where their masters stayed. Anyone who came here to cause trouble could forget about ever getting by in Freedom City again.
Li Xingkong was different. He had never planned to make a life for himself here, nor did he need to worry about anyone's opinion. He only needed to care about one thing: whether what he did was true to his own heart.
As for the law, Li Xingkong had always considered himself a man of the Divine Land, and the Divine Land's laws did not apply on the Prisoner Continent.
The security bureau brought the situation under control and began its investigation. The surrounding crowd had been cleared out completely, but the new arrivals gathering around were reporters from all the different outlets, who were far harder to deal with than ordinary onlookers.
Seeing how things had developed, Li Xingkong could no longer stay here and watch. It was time for him to keep out of sight for a while.
He had only one last thing to do in Freedom City.
Find Luke Morgan and kill him.
As for how to find him, Li Xingkong was in no hurry. Compared to him, Luke Morgan was far more eager to find Li Xingkong.
Li Xingkong found an out-of-the-way hotel and leaned back on the sofa. Several phones lay on the coffee table in front of him, all taken from the Bloody Hand Gang's headquarters.
Although the fight had been brutal at times, the phones had been well protected. At least they did not look broken.
He was waiting for a call.
No matter what had happened at the scene, someone would call to ask about the situation. Li Xingkong was waiting for that person.
Waiting alone always took up a large part of everyday life, and much of that time was wasted staring blankly into space. Fortunately, Li Xingkong now had plenty to do.
Over the past few days, he had practically put his Qi Refining progress on hold to practice spells. Now that he had a little time, he could not afford to waste it.
While he waited, he resumed Qi Refining. If so many things had not happened, perhaps Li Xingkong would have made faster progress.
But unfortunately, there were no ifs. If he had simply left the Prisoner Continent and put the past behind him without doing anything, his thoughts would not have been at ease. Cultivation from here on would be a long process. By the time he had achieved something, who knew where these people's graves would be?
He really had not expected things to reach this point. It was all because he had not thought things through.
If he had considered everything carefully enough and looked at the whole picture before acting, he might already have been in the Divine Land.
It was a lesson of sorts: a fall into the pit, a gain in wit. He felt he needed to think more carefully about his future actions and look three times before he leaped.
Just as Li Xingkong was getting into the swing of Qi Refining, one of the phones in front of him rang.
Li Xingkong opened his eyes, let out a soft breath, and released his control over the Spiritual Qi.
He picked up the phone and answered it with a light touch. He said nothing, simply waiting quietly for the person on the other end to speak.
The person on the other end did not speak immediately either. But from the breathing coming through the phone, Li Xingkong could tell the man was not so calm.
"I admit, I underestimated you a little."
Perhaps he had gotten his breathing under control, for a voice came from the other end of the phone.
It was very familiar. The speaker had been standing beside him just a few days ago.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Li Xingkong spoke at last, but did not say much.
"At first I thought it was just those old bastards on the council trying to trip me up. I didn't expect you really did all this by yourself."
The man on the other end was still a little surprised. In all his years, Li Xingkong was the first person he had met with such guts.
"I didn't expect you'd want me dead just because of that, either."
Li Xingkong curled his lip. Whatever else might be said, as he saw it, things had escalated to this point because Luke had started sending people to kill him.
The man on the other end drew a sharp breath. Li Xingkong could hear that he was furious too.
"You made me lose face, so you had to die."
His tone was full of anger, along with an air of lofty arrogance.
"Just because of a honey trap that failed? Just because of some lowlife slut, because of this lousy little thing, this lousy little thing!" A crash came from the other end. It seemed someone had smashed something.
"Over that lousy little thing, you should've died right there! What gives you the guts to come after me?"
Listening to the impotent rage on the other end, Li Xingkong was quite calm instead.
"We're both people. What do you mean, what gives me the guts? Whoever does wrong has to pay the price. What makes you the exception?"
"Because I'm Luke Morgan! I'm the emperor of Freedom City!"
A roar came from the other end, but the voice soon grew quieter. He had gotten his emotions under control.
"Heh, I have to admit, you really are fucking impressive. You fought off so many people and even wiped out my Bloody Hand Gang."
"But I'm guessing you don't know where your friend is now, do you?"
Li Xingkong frowned. He had neither family nor friends on the Prisoner Continent, so what friend did he have that Luke could mean?
"I don't have any friends on the Prisoner Continent. As for the Divine Land, I don't believe you have that kind of reach."
"Want me to tell you his name? Old Mike, I think he's called. You even bought your farm from him."
Li Xingkong's heart gave a sudden jolt. Although he and Mike could not be called friends, they were not strangers either.
"Kid, don't think a little ability means you can turn the sky upside down. Freedom City Prison. I'll be waiting for you here."
Luke Morgan's words had already begun to turn arrogant. He felt he had Li Xingkong in the palm of his hand.
Li Xingkong hesitated a little. Mike was an acquaintance, and it really was not right for him to get dragged into this because of Li Xingkong.
But the man's words were not very trustworthy. How could a scheming old fox like him show up in person, especially in a place like a prison?
This was definitely a trap.
Still, Luke Morgan's whereabouts were unpredictable, and finding him would indeed be quite troublesome.
The prison was indeed somewhat remote, and there might even be a big gift waiting for him inside, but a place like that really was worth a visit.
If nothing else, since Luke Morgan had made arrangements there, it was bound to hold clues to his whereabouts.
Since he needed to make the trip anyway, saving Mike along the way would be only natural.
"Wash your neck and wait for me."
Li Xingkong offered a threat of his own at just the right moment.
"Hahahahaha! But before you get here, I'll send you a big gift first!"
Luke Morgan laughed wildly on the other end of the phone.
A sense of danger rose in Li Xingkong's heart. He crushed the phone in his hand, raced to the window, and pulled open the curtains.
Outside the window, a drone rose into the air in the distance. Two small rockets were mounted on its landing gear, ready to fire this way.
Holy shit! Li Xingkong hurriedly dove back, activating Explosive Reactive Armor at full power as he went.