At 12:20 AM, a black hovercar stopped in a dark, secluded alley.

One of the car doors opened. Rong Shi pulled down the brim of his baseball cap and zipped his jacket all the way up, covering half his face. As he walked around the front of the car, Song Yu, also in casual clothes, got out and walked up beside him.

“Why would they arrange to meet in such a remote place?”

“Be careful.” Rong Shi scanned their surroundings vigilantly. His night vision was excellent, but to be safe, he still had 01 activate thermal sensing mode. 

Xuanwu Street was in the old district of Academic Star, mostly filled with low-rise houses and small courtyards, with very low occupancy. Some people who had worked most of their lives on Academic Star and didn’t want to retire on other planets chose to spend their later years here.

Following the house number Qin Lin gave, they exited the alley and walked east along a pebbled path for about ten minutes, finally stopping in front of a door. It was a traditional double-leaf wooden door, with a sign above it that read “Happiness Flower Shop,” and a small line of text in the bottom right corner indicating “Xuanwu Street No. 5.”

Rong Shi gently knocked three times on the door, but after a long wait, there was no sound. Song Yu, impatient, knocked three more times. His forceful knocks immediately revealed something was wrong—the door was unlocked.

The two exchanged glances, quickly drawing their sidearms from their lower backs. Rong Shi gently pushed the door open; it was even darker inside than out. The outer room, about ten square meters, held two trapezoidal shelves stacked with various flowers and plants. Further inside, small potted plants were piled on the floor. Through a small door was a simple lounge with only a bed and a small desk, completely visible at a glance.

Were they too early or too late?

A faint thud reached Rong Shi’s ears. He quickly looked towards the backyard as 01’s voice simultaneously rang out.

[Ahead, a straight distance of three hundred meters, there is a fight involving 32 people, moving west.]

“Go!” Song Yu strode past him, opened the backyard door, and in a few strides, scaled the two-meter-high wall, running towards the target location.

Just as he exited the alley, he caught a glimpse of two men in black dragging a person into the alley to their front left on the main road.

[00: It’s Professor Qin Lin.]

Song Yu’s face darkened, and he sped up. Qin Lin was weak all over, disoriented. He was held by his arms, his feet constantly flailing, trying every means to make some noise.

“Behave!” The man in black on the left growled, “Believe it or not, I’ll kill you!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind came from behind his neck. The man in black’s scalp tingled, his muscles tensed, and he immediately drew his gun and turned around. But before he could even raise the gun, his wrist was forcefully seized. His hand went numb, and his sidearm fell to the ground. 

He was about to call for help, but his throat was gripped first, and he was slammed against the wall. Song Yu didn’t give him a chance to struggle, his hand tightening suddenly. With a snap, bones broke.

A sound came from behind him. Song Yu kicked backward with his long leg, knocking the other man in black’s sidearm out of his hand, then turned and swept his leg across. The man in black had no chance to retaliate. His head hit the wall hard, and he fell to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

Seeing Qin Lin about to fall to the ground, Song Yu grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him towards himself. 

Whoosh! 

A muffled gunshot exploded in his ear. Song Yu quickly pressed himself against the wall, raising his gun and aiming at the front of the alley. But before he could fire, the man in black who had shot was already hit and fell to the ground.

“Get him out,” Rong Shi quickly approached, shielding Song Yu.

Song Yu pulled the person back: “Be careful.”

“Hm.” Rong Shi didn’t say much, firing several shots towards the front. Song Yu’s attack had already alerted all the men in black. In the small alley, dozens of men in black blocked the way, their dark gun muzzles all pointed at Rong Shi.

[01: Five people with an old man have run away, three hundred meters ahead!]

Rong Shi’s gaze swept quickly, and he moved swiftly forward amidst the hail of bullets. Such dense gunfire couldn’t harm him in the slightest.

“Damn it! Kill him!” The leader of the men in black grew anxious. In the darkness, screams and sounds of falling bodies were constantly heard. Watching their teammates fall one by one, the others fought and retreated, their composure gradually breaking. Are they even human?! Why can’t we kill him?!

“Where is he?!” Someone whispered. The person they were fighting was gone! Everyone looked around, their scalps tingling. 

The leader of the men in black seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, meeting Rong Shi’s gaze as he swooped down. 

His heart pounded. He raised his gun and shouted, “Up—ugh!” He only managed to utter one word before feeling a tightening sensation in his neck. With a snap, he completely lost consciousness.

Rong Shi pressed the button on his launcher and quickly retreated, flying back to a large tree in the adjacent courtyard. The others, hearing the commotion, panicked and immediately retreated to the side, unleashing a barrage of gunfire into the center. “Ah—!” The alley descended into chaos, many men in black injured by their own teammates.

Rong Shi slid the slide, picking off the remaining few, effortlessly dealing with twenty-two men in black.

[01: Those people are stopped one hundred meters ahead with a hovercar!]

Rong Shi’s expression changed, and he took a shortcut over the rooftops, giving chase.

“Let me go!” At the end of the alley, an old man was held between two men in black, twisting and struggling non-stop.

“Old man, I advise you to come back with us obediently. If you anger the master, you won’t get off easy.” The leading man in black was aggressive in his demeanor, using a respectful title but with a contemptuous tone. The old man’s expression was furious, his voice hoarse and unmistakably weak: “I am not a prisoner! He has no right to confine me!”

Man in black: “You can tell him that yourself.”

“Ugh!” One of the men in black to the left and back suddenly fell. The others immediately drew their guns and became alert.

“Ugh!” The man in black to the right and back fell.

The leading man in black’s face was grim. He made a gesture: “Get the old man into the car!” The two men holding the old man quickly ran towards the hovercar. The old man, seeing the unfavorable situation, struggled with his last bit of strength, but it didn’t do much good.

“Ah—!” The man in black on the left fell. Losing half his strength, the old man was pulled down towards the ground. The man in black on the right roughly picked him up, preparing to carry him into the car. If he got into the car, there would be no escape.

The old man took a deep breath, opened his mouth wide, and bit the man in black’s ear. “Ah! Let go!” The man in black cried out in pain and hit the old man several times. “Mmm mmm!” The old man’s eyes welled up with tears from the pain, but he refused to let go. “You damn—ugh!”

Just as the man in black angrily tried to throw the old man into the car, he suddenly convulsed, uncontrollably falling forward. The old man fell to the ground, slowly rolling backward once.

“Ow.” The leading man in black, seeing all his subordinates dead, quickly ran towards the old man. The old man struggled to flip over and kneel on the ground, holding his back and unable to get up.

“Hiss—” Hearing the commotion, he looked up, meeting the gaze of the man in black who was charging towards him. He cautiously took a step back, quickly changed direction, and crawled forward using all fours.

“Don’t run!” The man in black chased after him.

“Hiss—Grandson, you tell me not to run and I won’t run? Ow—” The old man grumbled and gasped as he crawled forward.

Whoosh! Highly compressed air pierced the pebbled road, leaving behind bullet holes. The man in black dodged awkwardly. Though not hit, he couldn’t get within a step of the old man.

Rong Shi used his launcher to hook onto a tree branch, swung down from the tree, and kicked the man in black. The man in black seemed to sense it, raising his hand to block, but was still forced back several steps. After stabilizing, Rong Shi swept his long leg, kicking away the man in black’s sidearm, then formed a fist into a palm, aiming for a vital spot. The man in black staggered back two steps, quickly adjusting to counterattack. In just a few seconds, they had exchanged a dozen blows.

The man in black grew more and more alarmed as he fought. Who was this person?! Why did every move counter his?! The old man, startled, had already crawled out of sight.

Rong Shi, fearing another accident, put force into his hands, breaking the opponent’s defense. He kicked the opponent’s head hard with his long leg, defeating him in one move. The man in black’s head took a heavy blow, and he couldn’t stand steadily. Rong Shi raised his gun, aiming at his forehead, his voice deep and cold: “So, you were never one of my people from the start.”

Hearing the voice, the man in black squinted. As his vision gradually cleared, he only saw a pair of eyes as cold as ice chips. “It’s you—!”

A gunshot. The man in black fell.

[01: Chen Risheng, captain of the First Legion’s assault team, was actually an enemy mole, sigh.]

Rong Shi holstered his gun, took one last look at his “comrade” from his previous life, and turned to walk towards the old man. The old man’s knees were throbbing from crawling, and his palms were scraped raw. 

He was a little breathless, thinking he’d check where the pursuers were. He turned his head and saw that the man in black was gone? He looked around. Where was he now?

“These grandsons,” the old man sat on the ground, holding his back, breathing heavily.

“Are you alright?” A sound suddenly came from above him. His scalp tingled, and he was about to run, but then he saw the person lightly jump down in front of him. Just by their clothes, they were different from those who had captured him. The old man subtly assessed him, not rushing to run; mainly, he really couldn’t run anymore.

“Who are you?” Rong Shi squatted in front of him, not answering. The old man’s sweat-soaked face was noticeably pale, and his open palms were covered in abrasions. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard 01’s warning.

[01: The old man has monitoring equipment on him!]

Rong Shi’s eyes changed, and he made a silencing gesture. He raised his hand and pressed on the old man’s neck and wrist, feeling a slightly raised bump. The old man instinctively recoiled, but Rong Shi held him.

“What are you doing?!”

Rong Shi didn’t speak, his fingers lightly tapped twice on his wrist, signaling him not to speak again. The old man froze, looked down at his wrist, and seemed thoughtful. Rong Shi slightly turned his wrist to block the old man’s view. 01 transformed into a thin thread and climbed along Rong Shi’s arm to the old man’s wrist, its tip burrowing into the skin. 

Feeling a slight prickling pain in his wrist, the old man’s hand trembled. Just as he was about to struggle, Rong Shi released him. 01, carrying the listening and tracking device, turned into a small squirrel and scampered onto the wall, then ran off.

“What did you do to me?” The old man saw the small wound on the inside of his wrist, his eyes sharp.

Rong Shi: “You didn’t know you had monitoring equipment on you?”

The old man’s eyes darkened, then he asked, “Then how did you know?”

Rong Shi: “Because I’m smarter than you.”

The old man: “…”

“Can you get up?” Rong Shi helped the old man up. Seeing him holding his back with a pained expression, he tentatively asked, “Did you hurt your back?”

“My back is better than yours!” The old man huffed, shaking off his hand and suddenly straightening up. His face instantly changed, “Ow—my old back!”

Rong Shi: “…”

Rong Shi carried the old man back. Song Yu’s people were already cleaning up the scene.

“How is he? Is this old man injured?” Song Yu walked over, his gaze sweeping over the old man on Rong Shi’s back, frowning slightly annoyed, “He only carried me once. You’re lucky.”

The old man: “…” Where did this child come from? Do you have any manners?

Rong Shi: “…” You’re even jealous of an old man’s vinegar?

The two walked together towards Xuanwu Street No. 5. Rong Shi asked in a low voice, “How’s Professor Qin?”

Song Yu: “He was given anesthetic. I’ve given him medicine; he’ll be fine in half an hour.”

Rong Shi: “Hm, and you?”

Song Yu shook his head: “Just these few people, they can’t hurt me.”

Rong Shi turned his head to look at him: “I mean, does your hand hurt?”

Song Yu realized, his lips curving into a light smile: “If I said it hurt, would you blow on it for me?”

Rong Shi: “I’ll massage it for you when we get back.”

The dead rabbit was getting better at coaxing people. Song Yu felt sweet inside, leaning in to kiss him, but unexpectedly met the old man’s gaze.

Song Yu: “…” This old third wheel is really annoying.

The old man listened to their sickeningly sweet display of affection, feeling uncomfortable all over. He patted Rong Shi’s shoulder and asked, “Why don’t you two go help? If those bodies aren’t cleaned up soon, they’ll be discovered quickly.” It would be bad if either the local residents or the enemy discovered them.

Rong Shi continued to walk forward, his voice faint: “Don’t worry, those people are professionals.”

The old man didn’t immediately understand: “Professionals?” There are people specifically for cleaning up crime scenes?

Rong Shi: “Yes, no one understands body disposal better than them.”

Having his subordinates’ abilities praised was like being praised himself. Song Yu had his hands in his pockets, the corners of his lips unconsciously turned up. Then he heard Rong Shi add another sentence: “After all, having such a violent master, they can’t help it.”

The old man: “?”

Song Yu: “…”

__

Author’s note: 

Rong Bunny: After all, having such a violent—

Song Cat: Hm? [Extending claws]

Rong Bunny: …and cute master, they’re truly happy [smile]

Song Cat: Aren’t they? [Cat licking paw]