"There's no need to go out there, Boss. We don't need to worry about him."
Out on the distant sea, the derelict ship was slowly sinking before everyone's eyes. On the shore, Wen Jifei gave Boss Dao a tug, stepped closer, and said earnestly in a low voice:
"That's not what's truly important right now."
There were three truly important matters at hand, and Wen Jifei laid them out one by one:
First, search around to see if there were any working trucks left. If not, demand vehicles from Black Hand's people. If there still were none, steal them.
In short, no matter what, the Azure Dragon Gang had to head back to the city before Shu You returned to shore, disarming all of Black Hand's men and bringing them along in the process.
Black Hand's men had not planned on returning when they left the city, so they had definitely brought their worldly possessions with them. In all likelihood, the loot was hidden nearby. Interrogate them, find where it was, and haul it away.
Second, once back in the city, immediately split off a group to take control of Black Hand's turf overnight, along with all their immovable assets, including the refining workshops.
With one of the City of Iniquity's four super factions gone, this juicy piece of meat would definitely be carved up later. How it was divided among the other three would be a problem.
Therefore, the Azure Dragon Gang needed to occupy it first. Occupying it before negotiating would give them the upper hand no matter what. Besides, since an all-out war had already been declared before coming here, this was territory won through factional warfare, giving them every right on their side.
Third, bring Theodore's body back from the ground over there, and bring the shaken Doctor Zhe back as well. Later, send the wounded to the hospital, and assign a few of the most trustworthy men to follow Doctor Zhe's instructions.
"Makes sense. We'll do as you say." Having drifted through the world for more than thirty years, Dao Dali quickly understood the logic.
Nodding, he hurried back a few paces with his men... then abruptly stopped. After a moment's thought, he doubled back and called out, "Little Chick!"
"Yeah? What is it, Boss?" Wen Jifei asked. "Does something feel off?"
"No." Boss Dao waved a hand. Hesitation flashed across his face before turning resolute, and he whispered, "I just suddenly realized something... From now on, aren't there actually still four super factions in the City of Iniquity?!"
He asked with great caution.
"That's right, Boss," Wen Jifei answered.
"Us?!" Boss Dao asked tentatively, his eyes tense yet full of anticipation.
"Right. From now on, we count as one," Wen Jifei smiled.
"Understood!" Boss Dao suppressed his excitement and nodded slowly. "Then that super who came with you from Huaxia—huh, wasn't he just by the sea a moment ago? Where did he go?! Anyway, you look after him first, and I'll make arrangements later."
As he turned to leave, walking as if lifted by an unseen breeze, Dao Dali puffed out his chest, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode forward with steady steps.
Now, he was the boss of the Azure Dragon Gang, one of the City of Iniquity's four super factions.
***
Having arranged all this and seen the Azure Dragon Gang spring into motion according to plan, Wen Jifei felt at ease to continue walking toward the seashore.
By now, the spectating crowd had swarmed the beach.
Seeing him walk over carrying his rifle, everyone stared at him and the lethal sniper rifle in his hand. Yet the scene was unexpectedly quiet; not a single person made a sound.
Because they all knew: the person walking before them was a killing machine. To everyone in this world below top-tier, at least, he was the Grim Reaper's scythe.
In the reflection of the firelight, Wen Jifei suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure...
Then, under the crowd's gaze, this cold-blooded god of slaughter—who had stood with rifle in hand just moments ago, holding off a thousand foes alone—suddenly broke into a boyish, mischievous, and smug expression as he strode briskly up to them.
"Sis!" Wen Jifei called out brightly toward the crowd.
"Ah, hey." With cluster upon cluster of envious gazes landing on her, the landlady felt somewhat flustered and nervous, unsure whether she should address him next as "you brat," "Little Chick," or "Second Lieutenant Wen."
"How come you're here too?" Wen Jifei continued asking.
At those words, an awkward look flickered in the landlady's eyes.
She was here, but she had not helped earlier. She lacked the strength for such a confrontation, and her reason for not stepping forward was not hard to explain, but facing him now, she still could not help feeling a pang of shame and self-reproach.
Yet Wen Jifei did not seem to have given that a second thought at all. Grinning, he lifted the sniper rifle in his hands, patted it, and bragged smugly:
"How about that? I told you long ago I was an expert, didn't I? You just wouldn't believe me, Sis."
He was showing off to an acquaintance.
With the spectacle of the battle just now, he seemed to have no need to do this at all.
Yet he was doing it nonetheless.
"Yeah..." The smile on the landlady's face had barely spread when it abruptly morphed into sheer panic and terror. Her arm shot up, pointing behind Wen Jifei as she cried out, "Little Chick!"
Wen Jifei was standing near the water's edge, his back turned to the sea as he spoke.
Rusty Sister had not come over with him.
A wave surged onto the shore.
Beneath the water and drifting sand, someone sneaked in along with it.
This person came from the sea, so he was almost certainly one of Alphonse's men. No one knew whether he was someone who had fallen into the water from those two boats earlier or someone sent into the depths even earlier to scout the situation—yet he was a top-tier!
The violent eruption of source energy proved he was a top combat power.
Blade in hand, the man burst violently from beneath the seawater and sand, lunging with a slash at Wen Jifei... Wen Jifei was also on the Alphonse family's vendetta hit list, marked as someone who had to die.
In truth, the landlady's warning was already too late, just as the crowd's gasps came too late to leave their throats.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Three rapid gunshots rang out.
Wen Jifei fired three consecutive shots the instant he spun around.
The opponent was a top-tier, not easy to kill.
However, because he had lunged upward from beneath the water, his motion carried an upward trajectory.
After the three gunshots...
This top-tier fell backward, collapsing onto the sand on his back.
It was over.
"How many shots hit?"
"All three hit."
"Then why is there only one bullet hole?"
"Only one? Where?"
"The heart."
"So... tracking shots?!"
As the top-tier lunged upward, Wen Jifei tracked the target through his upward arc and fired three successive shots. All three struck the exact same spot: the first bullet shattered the top-tier's source energy defense, the second penetrated skin and muscle to carve a wound, and the third pierced through the heart.
At this moment, the entire beach fell dead silent.
Including Wen Jifei himself.
Because he had just gunned down a top combat power whose source energy was fully erupting—and at close quarters, no less.
Wen Jifei knew very well that this was actually his first true top-tier sniper kill.
Qu Zongxing had been sneaked on and killed.
With Qu Zongyan, he had merely provided supporting fire and suppression...
He had hit Fonseca, but had not killed him; Wu Xu had delivered the finishing blow.
He had been bragging just moments ago.
*Maybe one day I really can snipe a super! I seem to have gotten stronger, Teacher... somehow, inexplicably stronger,* Wen Jifei said happily in his heart. *You're in Xiongzhanli—you must have a source energy firearm too, right? I really wonder just how terrifying you are to this world when you have a gun in your hands.*
*When we meet again, ask Qingzi for some bone blood—no, bone source...* he thought.
Wen Jifei's teacher was named Milla Joe. She was once the only person in the entire Huaxia Sole Witness Legion granted special permission to use firearms on the front lines.
The relevant research institutes of the Azure Alliance had custom-built six generations of dedicated firearms for her, naming the line after her.
Because Miss Milla disliked even numbers, the firearm series was numbered: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11.
Chapter 505