More than a year had passed since their "prison break" from Azure following the Xilang Peak incident late last year, and their subsequent departure by ship from Huaxia during the New Year.
Rusty Sister and Zhe Qiuhong finished washing the dishes and headed out together to go shopping. Rusty Sister had long been able to walk freely on the streets, but she still loved strolling around... In the City of Iniquity, remaining fully clad in concealed armor was hardly seen as unusual.
The remaining five men sat in the courtyard, leaning against the wall to bask in the sun and chat.
"Has the gang still turned up nothing on the people who tried to assassinate me last time?" Han Qingyu asked.
Zhu Jiaming shook his head. This fell under his purview. "There's no way to investigate," he said. "They were extremely meticulous. They even hauled away the corpses at the time."
"Then let's just drop the investigation altogether," Han Qingyu said.
"Why?! Why stop looking?!" He Tangtang asked, puzzled.
"Because we're guaranteed not to find anything, and besides, it's bound to be one of the four super factions anyway. Finding out or not doesn't make much difference," Wen Jifei said. "With the Azure Dragon Gang's current momentum and combat strength, the only ones capable of touching us are the four super factions."
This conclusion was not hard to reach. Over the past half year, they had turned the tables. Following the founding of the Azure Dragon Gang, its influence had rapidly expanded, and its effective fighting force had now climbed to three thousand.
At the same time, two new top-tier combatants had emerged within their ranks: Black Tooth and Commander Storm. Thanks to increasingly abundant resources, even more people were on their way toward reaching the top tier.
On the outside, half a month ago, Corpse Man Weize had publicly returned to settle scores, fought a private bout with Rusty Sister, and chosen to join the Azure Dragon Gang afterward. Two days ago, Slog had surprisingly submitted an application of his own accord and joined the Azure Dragon Gang as well... Rumors were also circulating through the streets that Roxanna was very likely to bring her subordinate forces to form an alliance with the gang.
So even with all the rumors running rampant outside claiming Qingzi was The King, those who still dared to fantasize about killing him to gamble for fame and fortune were now few and far between.
"Correspondingly, if there are still people determined to strike at us, they must be getting anxious by now," Wen Jifei said.
"By rights, they should have gotten anxious long ago." Having mentally braced for a battle to the death every single day for the past six months, he was already growing a bit sick of it... He Tangtang said, "If they really have that kind of ability, what on earth are they waiting for?!"
Wen Jifei turned to look at him.
"Let me ask you: right now, when the payoff for killing us clearly no longer justifies the cost, if someone still insists on moving against us, what possible reason or motive could there be?"
"An old grudge," the Little Prince said.
"Which means?" He Tangtang paused for two seconds, then abruptly sprang to his feet. "People working for that old dog Alphonse?!"
"Mm, or people bought off with payoffs. That's the only logical deduction I can make," Wen Jifei said. "In that case, if one of the four super factions truly has ties of interest with Alphonse and is preparing to strike at us...
"What they fear isn't actually us, but Shu You.
"Because once their connection to Alphonse is exposed, it will inevitably bring Shu You down upon them to wipe them out. So over these past six months, they haven't been waiting for an opening—they've been preparing an escape route."
No one knew how that faction lurking in the shadows intended to prepare an escape route.
Because Shu You's might in the City of Iniquity was beyond question. Whether against an individual or an entire faction, he was an overwhelming, crushing presence.
"I wonder what kind of terms could convince someone among the Four Supers to take such a risk for him. I'd imagine that even subordinates he once planted here wouldn't do it unconditionally," Zhu Jiaming muttered in bewilderment.
"Who cares? That doesn't matter. The key question is, when on earth will they be ready, and when are they coming?!" He Tangtang said gloomily.
"Who knows? Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, or maybe after weighing the pros and cons, they'll just abruptly give up."
Wen Jifei stood up and stretched lazily in the sunlight.
"In any case, no matter how much you worry, life goes on. Just make sure you stay ready every day."
He said "you," not "we."
Elegy of the Square only had one bullet left. That was not even the worst of it. The worst part was that over the past half year, the existence of Azure's source energy firearms, along with their true firepower and shortcomings, had been thoroughly exposed elsewhere.
Thus, the gun's practical effectiveness and deterrent value had dropped by at least ninety percent.
Because in reality, it could not penetrate a super on guard, and in most cases, two or three shots would not even kill a top-tier combatant—it would only blow the shooter to pieces.
So if a super truly came attacking and a major faction moved to exterminate them, Wen Jifei's role would be practically negligible; joining the fray might only turn him into a burden.
And once that battle truly arrived, it would inevitably be brutal.
Having said his piece, Wen Jifei walked toward the house alone. It felt as though he was about to return to those days when he had to flee the moment fighting broke out—right after firing that single shot. Or perhaps, when the time came, he would roll an 'F' and die under the flying dead iron fragments of a backfiring weapon.
"Then won't Shu You kill us?!" He Tangtang, completely oblivious to anything amiss, called out from behind.
"No," Wen Jifei answered without turning around.
"Why?"
"Because if he wanted to kill us, he would have done so long ago. Nothing escapes his eyes."
He Tangtang thought about it and said, "I still don't get it."
"Because he's too big a figure! So prominent that there's nowhere else for him to go. Don't forget, he knows Chen Buer, and Chen Buer knows him. With Shu You's capabilities, uncovering most of our background wouldn't be difficult. Under these circumstances, unless he absolutely had to kill us, he would never touch us... because if he did, that old man surnamed Chen from Huaxia would definitely grace the City of Iniquity with his presence once more."
By the time Wen Jifei finished speaking, he had already stepped inside.
By the courtyard wall, Han Qingyu suddenly stood up and followed him in.
Wen Jifei turned around. "Something on your mind? Don't tell me you came to comfort me. That'd be sickening."
"Not comforting you. Give me Elegy of the Square to look at," Han Qingyu said.
Somewhat baffled, Wen Jifei went and fetched Elegy of the Square.
Cradling the wooden case, Han Qingyu headed straight back to his room.
A metal block silently dissolved into his body, then two... Finally, bone source surged. He began trying to guide the bone source into the dead iron, just as he had done that morning...
About half an hour later, Wen Jifei saw Han Qingyu walk out of the room.
"What's going on, exactly? I thought you were worried something would happen when I fired that last shot and decided to confiscate it in advance!"
"It's nothing. Here, take it back." A bit awkwardly, like an old friend presenting a gift, Han Qingyu handed the wooden case back to him. "Oh, right. You should be able to fire plenty of shots now... I mean with source energy dead iron bullets."
With that, he turned around, his face suddenly turning deathly pale as blood trickled from his nose.
"Holy... shit! What on earth did you do, Qingzi?" Wen Jifei quickly darted in front of Han Qingyu, took one look, and instantly panicked. "What's happening here?!"
"Bone source permeation. Under ordinary circumstances, it shouldn't blow up anymore," Han Qingyu said in a very quiet voice, his body swaying as his gaze drifted toward the courtyard.
What did that mean?! In an instant, Wen Jifei understood. It meant Elegy of the Square and he would both become a truly unique existence.
Then he froze, looking overwhelmed with excitement, yet somewhat at a loss and sorrowful.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. My body will recover in a bit. Right now, my heart's just aching over the cost. Keep talking and I might just regret it..." Han Qingyu wiped away the nosebleed and walked toward the door.
"But... but I only have two bullets left," Wen Jifei whispered behind him.
"..." Han Qingyu pitched forward and collapsed straight onto the floor.
Twenty minutes later.
"You're awake?" Wen Jifei asked.
Han Qingyu opened his eyes, his vision shifting from blurry to clear, and lunged toward Wen Jifei. "Give me the gun. Give it to me."
"No way!" Having anticipated this all along, Wen Jifei bolted, shouting as he ran, "Give me a couple of days! Let me think of something! If all else fails, I'll give it back to you!"
Chapter 484