Five Days

"Kill God" was the center and hub of the City of Iniquity. Taking just the top ten into account, the assassin rankings served as the power rankings, as well as the sole existing order. Every change that took place here had to go through them. On the day the relevant notice was posted outside the Hall of Definitive Kills, all twenty-five districts across the city were thrown into an uproar. It had been a very long time since a new major faction had emerged in the City of Iniquity. The last shift in power here had occurred when Bird of Paradise chose to voluntarily downsize and surrender their power after Marshal Hua departed with a large contingent of their core members. That was a surrender, not a birth. With that, the number of major factions in the City of Iniquity had frozen at twelve. Now, a thirteenth faction announced its establishment. The Wild Band Alliance did not yet have a formal name of its own. After internal deliberations, the territory they requested from Kill God was centered on the Third District—home to the highest concentration of Huaxians—and realistically spanned the entire Third District, as well as portions of the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Districts. This meant: First, within the city, the factions originally in control of these territories would have to surrender all associated interests in their hands, including shop rent-collection rights, external freight rights, and workshop operation rights. Second, outside the city, fixed hunting zones would be carved out from the pertinent factions in matching proportions in all four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—and transferred to the new faction. This meant war. No one would willingly part with the interests in their grasp, let alone these major factions. Thus, over forty years ago, the rules for crushing nascent factions had been born out of necessity. Five days. This time, the crushing period granted by Kill God was five days. Centered on the Third District, if the Wild Band Alliance could still stand firm after five days and five nights without choosing to give up, they could dispatch people to take over all the aforementioned powers and claim their own official banner. Any war after that would be a war between recognized factions. The reaction on the streets fell mainly into two camps. The first view held that, having already provoked the major factions anyway, the Wild Band Alliance was making a desperate deathbed struggle—a reckless, cornered gamble to burn its bridges. They were basically doomed. The second view held that Dao Dali had concealed his strength and bided his time for over a decade precisely for this day. The whole move had actually begun when he stepped forward to subdue the Three-Band Alliance some time ago, and now he had quietly gathered so many wild bands under his banner. He had to be confident. "Hey, Xiao Ji, tell me—has your Boss Dao actually lost his mind? Two months in the limelight and his head's completely swollen." Inside the convenience store, the proprietress was not even in the mood to crack melon seeds today, keeping her voice low in a hushed whisper. Wen Jifei skillfully handed over cigarettes, collected the money, and waited for the customer to leave before turning back with a smile. "He might be a bit swollen with pride, but losing his mind... Sis, why would you say that?" "Because I'm afraid you'll end up dead," the proprietress teased, yet genuine concern shone in her eyes. "People are going to die. With your ragtag outfit, sure, you have enough bodies—over a thousand blades—but where are your top fighters?! Even if Boss Dao really is top-tier, he's only one man. How could he possibly hold his ground?" "There's me too! I'm an expert too, Sis," Wen Jifei joked with a cheeky grin. "Get lost! You? You're great at flapping your gums, but once you pick up a blade and march into battle, you're pure cannon fodder." The proprietress rolled her eyes in annoyance and said exasperatedly, "Can you be serious for once? I'm in no mood to mess around with you today. I'm telling you seriously: when the time comes and you see things going south, run immediately, got it? Take A-Jing and the others with you, and go hide out in the desert for a few days. Nobodies like you—nobody's going to remember to hunt you down." "Ah... alright." Feeling a warm glow in his heart, Wen Jifei considered it for a moment, then added, "Sis, what if our Boss Dao really does hold out, and this place goes back to being run by Huaxians? Would you be happy or not?!" "Lower my rent and I'll be happy," the proprietress said frankly. "Lower your rent? No way," Wen Jifei said. "Sis, you count as the exploiting class. At most, I can guarantee that nobody will bully you ever again." "Oh, listen to you, making it sound like it's already done," the proprietress chuckled. While the two of them were talking... Out on the street, Han Qingyu and Wu Xu were helping Ao Yong and Qian Daofeng sweep up. Rusty Sister and Zhe Qiuhong had returned from shopping and were sitting inside the garbage truck, watching and chatting. As usual, the Young Prince sat at the entrance of the alleyway, watching the girls across the street at the brothel. This time, Zhu Jiaming had made up his mind: he was going to throw everything into the fight. Because once they succeeded, that shop across the street would fall under their jurisdiction. When that time came... the mere thought of it was wonderful. "Hey, Old Tang," the noodle shop boss suddenly called out beside the steaming pot. He Tangtang turned around and slammed the dough in his hand onto the surface with a thud. "How many times do I have to tell you?! Don't call me Old Tang! I'm nineteen! Nineteen! You're in your damn forties, and you're calling *me* Old Tang?!" "Alright, alright, Young Tang, Young Tang." The shop boss offered an ingratiating grin, sidling close and slinging an arm over his shoulder in a hushed whisper. "Hey, Young Tang, tell your bro... err, uncle, the honest truth: just how strong is your Boss Dao? Is he confident?" He Tangtang looked at him in confusion. "Why do you ask?" "So I can place a bet! The casino opened the book last night and closes it tonight at seven—wagering on whether you guys can hold out." The shop boss's eyes gleamed. "Failing to hold out pays 1.3 to 1, which isn't too shabby..." "And what about holding out?" He Tangtang cut in to ask. "Ten to one," the shop boss said. "Oh... Well, something just came up. I need to take a leak." He Tangtang dropped the noodle-shaving knife, spun on his heels, and sprinted off. One look was all it took to know Young Tang was definitely off to place a bet, and in all likelihood, bet on the Wild Band Alliance to win... "Fuck! Wait for me! Count me in! You're part of one of the involved factions, you're not allowed to place bets! Tell me what you want to wager, and I'll place it for you!" Keeping his voice down, the shop boss abandoned his shop completely, grabbed three source energy blocks and a handful of dead iron fragments from the bottom drawer, engaged his apparatus, and bolted after him. ... Twenty minutes later, he emerged from the casino, clutching source energy blocks as he wound through several turns before ducking into an alley. He Tangtang flicked away his cigarette, stood up, looked around in all four directions, and asked under his breath, "Well? Did you place it?" The shop boss looked at him. After five full seconds, he shook his head. "I couldn't bring myself to do it. You almost had me fooled back there. Luckily, right before I let go of the money, I snapped out of it... You? What the hell do you know? You think Boss Dao is all that... Do you even understand what caliber of gang war this is?!" "What the fuck caliber could it be?!" He Tangtang thought to himself, *Uncle, we've even killed a Super! Uncle, Han Qingyu! Uncle, Wu Xu! Uncle, Rusty Sister! Uncle, Plague Chicken still has that shot!* But none of this could he say out loud. "Fire Scorpion, Dongliu..." The shop boss counted on his fingers, listing two of the faction names the Wild Band Alliance would be facing, and couldn't even be bothered to count the other three. He shoved He Tangtang's two source energy blocks back into his hands and turned straight around. "Forget it. I'm done talking to you. There's no making you understand. I'm going back to sell noodles."