No Guns Life

Under the afternoon sun. A black sedan pulled up at the mouth of an alley not far from Dalu Auto Repair Shop. Lu Feng stepped out of the car, looked left and right, and upon seeing that no one was paying attention, waved toward the driver. "Thanks. I'll pay you back as soon as I can." "Sure you won't reconsider?" The driver was a slightly dark-skinned woman with tattoos on her arm identical to Lu Feng's. A scar ran across her neck, and her usually sharp eyes looked unusually gentle at the moment. "We're old friends, after all. Join us, and I'll give you dry shares... I heard your little sister got into college. Student loans for Tianmen University aren't cheap. Without a windfall, she might end up shackled to them for the rest of her life." "Spare me. I don't want to get mixed up in that stuff anymore. As for student loans... personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with paying off loans peacefully for a lifetime." Lu Feng chuckled and shrugged. "Worst case, she still has us, doesn't she?" "Those words?" Layla looked slightly startled. "Really don't sound like you." "My little brother and sister have both made something of themselves. They don't need me anymore." Lu Feng sighed softly and looked up at the familiar scenery in the distance. "When I was a kid, I thought making it big and getting ahead meant being ruthless enough, tough enough, and imposing enough. But after risking my life fighting for so many years—from Yacheng to Mid-Continent, and then into that muddy cesspit—I didn't manage to get anywhere. "At first I thought holding a gun was the only way to control my life, but later I realized that once you pick up a gun, it's the only thing left in your life. "I clawed my way back from Mid-Continent with everything I had just because I didn't want to keep living in a gutter." He added, "A gutter's a gutter, no matter where you are." With that, after a moment's hesitation, he unhitched the holster from his lower back and handed it over. Layla froze. She opened the holster, looked at the familiar pistol—a weapon passed down through generations of the Airborne Battalion's point men—and grew even more incredulous. "You're serious?" "Haven't you always been eyeing this?" Now that the choice was made, Lu Feng felt no lingering attachment. He merely smiled. "It's yours. Take it as paying off my debt, just go easy on the interest." Layla didn't speak, only staring at him with a wistful gaze. After a long silence, she suddenly said, "Good." "Hmm?" "I'm saying, this is for the best. Living peacefully. A life you can live without relying on a gun is what a truly good life is." It was impossible to put that expression into words, or tell whether it was empathetic joy or deep-seated indignation. In the end, she simply said, "Congratulations." "Thanks." Lu Feng waved and turned to leave, but heard a voice from behind. "One more thing." Layla sighed helplessly. "I remember you telling me... about that decent-looking kid with burn scars on his face?" Lu Feng nodded. "My little brother. What about him?" "Be careful, then. Someone's been looking into him lately." Taking a drag of her cigarette, Layla suppressed her irritation. "There's nothing on the Wild Gathering. They bypassed it completely and seemed to have put out a bounty through local gangs. Can't be up to any good." Lu Feng froze where he stood. Then, he saw what she held back out to him. The gun. "Think it over, Old Lu," Layla said. "You want to put down your gun and live a good life, but sometimes, without a gun, there's no way to live in peace." Lu Feng subconsciously reached out, but the moment his fingers touched the holster, he froze as if struck by lightning. After a long pause, his fingers splayed open, then clenched tight around it. "Thanks," he said. "I still miss how you were back in Mid-Continent. A pussy word like that would never have come out of your mouth back then." Layla shook her head and said no more. "I'm off." A stomp on the gas. The sedan sped away without looking back. It left Lu Feng standing alone where he was, as if in a daze, for a long time. He lowered his head and lit the cigarette at the corner of his mouth, its filter already nearly soaked through. With his head bowed, he breathed in silence. And so, in the shadows untouched by sunlight, his gaze gradually turned savage. "Bro, you're back?" The youngest sibling poked their head out of the shop entrance and called over. "Stop dragging your feet! Hurry up and carry the brake pads inside, or Mom's gonna yell at you again when she finds out!" "Oh, yeah, coming!" Lu Feng looked up as if waking from a dream, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he patted his head. "Look at my memory! Be right there..." Yet right then, his phone began to vibrate violently once more. Causing his heart to sink straight to the bottom. Caller: Lu Ling. "Bro, help! Someone's trying to grab me! There's a bunch of them, and... and..." A familiar choked sob rang out, followed by a terrified scream: "Stay away from me!!!" Crack! A fracture spread across the screen. Without a second thought, Lu Feng sprinted forward and burst into the shop. Ignoring everything else, he leaped into the delivery van and stomped the gas pedal all the way to the floor. Yet he was still too late. Ten minutes later, when he arrived at the scene, only a scene of utter devastation remained. * Half an hour earlier, in Beishan District, the East Road Farmers Market was bustling and noisy. "Big Sis, how much for the grouper?" Lu Ling wove through the narrow aisle, eyeing the seafood swimming around nimbly in the tanks. "That's way too expensive. Give me a discount! These have obviously been sitting here for days. Even with all this oxygen being pumped in, they're practically floating belly up—how is that fresh? "Fine, give me half—no, a full jin of tiger prawns too!" A few minutes later, having successfully bargained a bargain, the girl walked out happily holding two bags. She checked her phone against the list of groceries Mother Lu wanted, wondering if she should buy a chicken as well since Second Brother said he'd be home for dinner tonight. She'd ridden the scooter here anyway; she could just hang it from the handlebars and slaughter it at home for extra freshness. Then, she felt a hand grab a brutal fistful of her hair. Yank! Without a word, a burly man who had jumped out of a van dragged her nearly to the ground, hauling her toward the vehicle. Taken completely by surprise, Lu Ling's eyes went wide. She let out an instinctive scream of terror and tried to call for help, only to be drowned out by his preemptive, furious roar: "You wasteful bitch, where did you hide the family's money?!" Another scrawny man rushed forward and grabbed her legs. "Juan, listen to your uncle! Your mother is so angry she's about to collapse! Just come home and admit your mistake!" Before she could even speak, the startled crowd backed away, watching from a distance and pointing fingers. "Listen to Grandma, let Grandma take you home, okay?" An old woman who had appeared out of nowhere leaned in close, holding a damp handkerchief and pressing it toward her face. Lu Ling froze, but her elder brother's past warnings flashed through her mind. She instinctively held her breath. Swinging the grocery bags in her hand, she slammed them into the man's face; grouper and tiger prawns scattered everywhere in a messy heap. And her freed hand finally grabbed hold of something. It was the old woman's sinister face. Without hesitation, her index finger dug in with all the strength she could muster! A piercing shriek rang out. With a squelch beneath her fingertip, the old woman finally let go and staggered back, blood pouring from her eye as she screamed in agony. Lu Ling seized the opening and drove a savage kick straight into the face of the man holding her legs. Her feet touched the ground. Ignoring the hand still clutching her hair, she scrambled forward on hands and knees and sprinted ahead, numb to the pain in her forehead and scalp as a patch of skin tore away along with a handful of hair. She couldn't even catch her breath. Dizzy and disoriented, she plowed through the crowd, knocking over stalls along the way, before shoving her scooter forward, starting the engine, crashing through a bicycle ahead, and bursting onto the road. "She got away?!" The man still clutching the hair froze for a moment, not expecting such a scrawny girl to react so fast. Without giving the screaming old woman another glance, he leaped back into the van. "After her! Catch her!!!" The beat-up van roared to life, tailing her relentlessly like a hound on a scent. In her panic, Lu Ling couldn't tell her directions, having no idea where she had fled. Before long, the van cornered her inside a dead end. There was no way forward. "Is anyone there? Anyone?!" She slammed hard on the shut iron door beside her and screamed, "Help! Help me! Open the door!" There seemed to be some movement behind the door, but in the end, no one answered. Only at the mouth of the alley did the battered van's door slide open. The man from before stepped down, sneering as he shook off the hairs tangled between his fingers. "Run! Go on, run, you little bitch!" Behind him, the driver and another man hopped out as well. This time, they took no chances, carrying weapons in their hands. Knives and iron bars wrapped in black plastic bags—a chilling sight. Lu Ling stumbled back a step. She said nothing more. Dropping the phone before the call could connect, she pulled a weathered flathead screwdriver from the scooter's tool compartment and gripped it tight. Unfortunately, she still stood no chance of fighting back. In just a few brief blows, she would be knocked to the ground. No matter how she struggled, an iron bar would strike her forehead until she lost consciousness. Then, the men would expertly tie her up, throw her into the van, and drive away. By the time Lu Feng arrived, it would all be too late—that was how it was supposed to go. There shouldn't have been any surprises. Regrettably, there are always things no one can foresee. For instance, because Lu Ling was lazy and didn't want to walk when it was her turn to buy groceries, but didn't know how to drive a car, she had messaged Second Brother last night asking if she could borrow his scooter. For instance, when Ji Jue saw it, he agreed without a second thought, and so he walked when he went out today instead of riding. For instance, that battered Little Sheep lying behind Lu Ling, which no one had paid the slightest attention to. For instance, Little Niuma, who hadn't grasped the situation at first. There were far too many unfortunate surprises. So many that the unfortunate story had only just begun. The instant it realized that the god who bought it chicken legs was under threat, the dormant Niuma-brand scooter unleashed a deafening, terrifying roar. Like thunder! No, more like a bomb detonating right beside them! Its battered plastic shell disintegrated in an instant. Then, a ferocious mechanical face rose from within and roared at the top of its lungs! Five mismatched yet horrifyingly sharp talons emerged from behind the wheels, along with a gleaming tail covered in barbs. With a street-blasting roar rivaling the engine of a supercar, Little Niuma pounced, soaring over Lu Ling's shoulders and landing squarely on the leading man. Opening its jaws, it clamped onto his head and snapped shut. Amid bloodcurdling howls of agony, claws slashed downward, tearing through his right arm like dry bamboo. It pressed him down, trampled him, and ground its rear wheel into his face. SPIN! CRAZILY! SPIN! SPIN! SPIN!!!! Shredded flesh and crimson splattered across the mudguard, cutting the howls short. Then, accompanied by the crunch of shattering ribs, Little Niuma vaulted into the air again. Its rear wheel delivered a left front kick, its front wheel whipped around in a right roundhouse, and after its massive jaws crushed a left leg, it tossed its head, flinging the mangled limb aside. Immediately after, it slammed violently into the last "survivor." And then, there were no more survivors. Only Lu Feng's confused voice echoed from the phone that had just connected. Ten minutes later, when Lu Feng arrived at the scene, all he saw were three mangled, dying bastards lying on the ground, drawing their final breaths. Meanwhile, a weird creature that looked like a scooter was crouched at his little sister's feet, wagging its mudguard in frantic fawning, attempting to lick her feet, begging for pets, and playing cute in hopes of trading it for chicken legs.