Free Web NovelChapter 41: A Life With No Guns
Under the afternoon sun, a black sedan pulled up at the entrance of an alley not far from the Mainland Auto Shop. Lu Feng stepped out of the car, glanced around, and after making sure no one was paying attention, waved back at the driver.
“Thanks. I’ll pay you back soon.”
“Won’t you reconsider?” The driver was a slightly dark-skinned woman. The tattoos on her arms were nearly identical to Lu Feng’s, and a scar ran across her neck. Her gaze, usually sharp, was unusually gentle right now. “We go way back. If you join us, I can get you shares... heard your little sister got into university. Tianmen University isn’t cheap. Without a windfall, you might spend your whole life paying that student loan.”
“Give me a break. I don’t want anything to do with that stuff anymore. As for the loan... honestly, I think there’s nothing wrong with just paying it off peacefully for the rest of my life.” Lu Feng smiled and shrugged. “And if it comes down to it, don’t I still have you guys?”
Layla looked a little surprised. “Is that so? That doesn’t sound like you.”
“My younger siblings are doing well now. They don’t need me anymore.” Lu Feng sighed and looked toward the familiar scenery in the distance. “When I was a kid, I thought if I wanted to climb up, to make something of myself, I had to be ruthless, strong, and intimidating. So I fought my way for years, from Cliff City to the Central Lands, then into that godforsaken pit. In the end, I got nowhere.
“At first, I thought holding a gun meant I could control my life. Later, I realized that once you pick up a gun, that’s all your life becomes. I nearly killed myself trying to crawl back from the Central Lands, just so I wouldn’t have to live in the gutter anymore.” He paused. “But every gutter’s the same.”
After a moment of hesitation, he reached behind his back, removed the holster, and handed it over.
Layla froze. As she opened it and stared at the familiar pistol inside—a weapon passed down among generations of elite airborne troops—disbelief filled her eyes.
“You serious? Haven’t you always had your eye on it?”
Lu Feng seemed completely at ease. There was a faint smile on his lips.
“Here, take it,” he said. “Consider it repayment. Just knock a bit off the interest for me, will ya?”
Layla just stared. After a long time, she said, “Fine.”
“Hm?”
“I mean it. This is for the best. Living a peaceful life, that’s what really matters. A life where you don’t have to rely on a gun to get by, that’s a good life.”
The expression on her face was hard to describe. Whether it was shared relief or a trace of unwillingness buried deep inside, even she couldn’t tell.
In the end, she simply said, “Congrats.”
“Thanks.” Lu Feng waved and turned to leave.
Layla sighed, feeling a bit helpless. “One more thing. I remember you mentioning that kid with the burn scars on his face. You know, the good-looking one?”
Lu Feng nodded. “That would be my brother. What about him?”
“You better watch out. Someone’s been looking into him lately.” Layla took a drag from her cigarette, trying to suppress her irritation. “I couldn't find out more details from the Wasteland Assembly, they probably skipped it entirely. Looks like they’ve put out a bounty in the local circles.They’re probably up to no good.”
Lu Feng froze, then he saw what she was holding out to him again. It was that gun.
“Think it over, Lu Feng,” Layla said. “You want to put the gun down and live a good life. But sometimes, without a gun, you don’t get to live peacefully.”
He instinctively reached out, but the moment his hand touched the holster, he stiffened like he’d been shocked. After a long pause, his fingers finally spread and tightened around the weapon.
“Thanks,” he said.
“I still miss the old days when you were in the Central Lands. Back then, there was no way words this pathetic would ever come out of your mouth.” Layla shook her head. “I’m off.”
With a stomp on the gas, she sped away in the car without a second glance, leaving Lu Feng standing alone, like he didn’t know what to do. He stood there for a long time before lowering his head and lighting the cigarette at his lips, the tip already damp. With his head down, he breathed in the smoke in silence.
In the shadows where the sunlight couldn’t reach, his gaze slowly turned cold and fierce.
The youngest sibling poked his head out from the shop entrance. “Bro, you’re back? Stop dawdling! Hurry up and bring the brake pads inside, or Mom’s gonna yell at you again!”
“Oh, yeah, coming!” Lu Feng snapped out of it, looked up with a gentle smile, and patted his head. “Look at me, I’m getting forgetful. Be right there...”
But then, his phone started vibrating violently again, and he felt his heart drop to his stomach.
Incoming call: Lu Ling.
“Bro, help! Someone’s trying to grab me! There’s a bunch of them, and, and—” her familiar voice came through, choked with sobs before turning into a terrified scream. “Don’t come any closer!!!”
Crack!
A fracture spread across the phone screen.
Without a second thought, Lu Feng took off running and charged into the shop. Ignoring everything else, he jumped into the delivery van and floored the accelerator.
But he was still too late.
Ten minutes later, when he arrived at the scene, all that was left was chaos.
***
Half an hour earlier, in North Mount District, the East Road wet market was loud and bustling. freēwebnovel.com
Lu Ling squeezed through the narrow aisles, eyeing the lively seafood swimming in the tanks. “Hey, how much for this grouper? That’s way too expensive! Give me a better price. These have clearly been sitting for days here. You’re pumping oxygen like crazy and they’re already losing their scales, how is that fresh? Fine, I’ll take some tiger prawns too. I’ll get half a kilo. No, wait, make it a kilo!”
A few minutes later, pleased with her bargain, the girl walked out carrying two bags. She checked her phone for the grocery list her mom had sent, thinking about how Ji Jue said he’d be coming home for dinner tonight.
Maybe she should grab a chicken too. She’d come on the scooter anyway, so she could just hang it on the handlebar and take it home to slaughter. It’d be more fresh that way.
Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her hair hard and yank her.
The burly man who had jumped out of the van didn’t say a word. He grabbed the girl and nearly smashed her into the ground, dragging her toward the vehicle.
Lu Ling’s eyes widened, and she let out a terrified scream. She tried to shout for help, but before she could, the man cut her off. “You spendthrift! Where’s the money you stole from the house?!”
Another gaunt man rushed over, grabbing her leg. “Juan, listen to uncle. Your mom’s about to lose it. Go home and apologize, alright?”
She didn’t even have time to speak. Shocked onlookers had already begun to gather, pointing and murmuring from a distance.
“Listen to me, sweetie. I’ll take you home, okay?” An old woman appeared out of nowhere, holding a wet handkerchief and pressing it against her face.
Lu Ling froze. Memories of her older brother’s warnings flashed through her mind, and she instinctively held her breath. With a swift motion, she swung the bag in her hand, smashing it into the man’s face. Grouper and tiger prawns spilled everywhere, creating a chaotic mess.
Her free hand finally found something. It was the old woman’s grim, oppressive face. Without thinking, she pressed her index finger down with all her strength.
A shrill scream pierced the air. When Lu Ling finally felt the crunch beneath her fingertip, the old woman released her hold and staggered backward. Blood poured from her eyes as she shrieked.
Lu Ling finally saw her chance. She swung her leg up and drove it into the man holding her, then brought it hard on the ground, landing with a thud.
Ignoring the hand still pulling at her hair, she ran forward with everything she had the moment her leg landed back on the ground, using both hands and feet to bolt. She was oblivious to the pain in her forehead and the back of her head, and she even had a chunk of scalp ripped out along with a handful of hair.
She didn’t have time to catch her breath.
Dizzy and staggering, she barreled into the crowd, knocking over every stall in her path. She shoved her scooter forward and started it, knocking over the bikes ahead as she raced onto the street.
“She ran away?” The man, who was still clutching her hair in his hands, froze. He hadn’t expected this skinny, petite girl to react so fast. Ignoring the screaming old woman, he jumped into the car. “Chase her! Go! Chase her!!!”
The battered vehicle roared to life behind her, keeping tight pursuit.
But in the panic, Lu Ling could no longer tell directions or where she was going. Before long, she found herself blocked by a dead end. There was no way forward.
“Is anyone there? Please, someone!” She pounded on a tightly shut iron door, screaming, “Help! Help me! Open up!”
There seemed to be some movement behind the door, but in the end, no one responded.
At the alley entrance, the car door creaked open. The man from before jumped out, sneering while flicking the hair caught between his fingers.
“Run, bitch. Keep running!”
Behind him, the driver and another man jumped down as well. This time, there would be no mistakes or lapses. Both men carried knives and iron rods covered with black plastic bags in their hands. The sight sent a chill down Lu Ling’s spine.
She staggered back a step, utterly speechless. She tossed aside the phone, her call not even connected yet, and reached into the scooter’s toolbox for an old flathead screwdriver before gripping it tightly.
But it was useless, as she still had no way to fight back.
With just a few blows, she was knocked to the ground. No matter how much she struggled, the iron rod would slam against her forehead until she lost consciousness. Then, a few people would expertly tie her up, toss her into a car, and drive off. By the time Lu Feng arrived, it would have been too late. Everything would have happened as it should have, with no room for accidents.
Unfortunately for the kidnappers, life was full of surprises. For example, because Lu Ling was lazy, she didn’t want to walk to buy groceries herself. But she couldn’t drive either, so last night she had messaged Ji Jue to ask if she could borrow the scooter.
When Ji Jue saw the message, he agreed without a second thought. Today, he didn’t ride his scooter when he headed out. That beat-up scooter lying behind Lu Ling went completely unnoticed. Horsey had been clueless to what was happening around it so far.
There were too many unlucky accidents. And so, the unlucky story was only just beginning.
The moment Horsey realized that the person buying chicken drumsticks for it was in danger, the normally quiet Workhorse-brand scooter let out a deafening, terrifying roar. It was as loud as thunder—no, it was more like a bomb detonating right at your feet! Its broken and battered plastic shell disintegrated instantly.
Then, a monstrous mechanical face rose and bellowed at the top of its lungs. Five contorted and terrifyingly sharp claws emerged from behind the wheels, and a barbed tail glinted coldly in the light.
With a rumble that could rival a sports car engine, Horsey leapt past Lu Ling’s shoulder and landing directly on the first man. It snapped its jaws around his head and clamped down hard.
Amid the piercing screams, the scooter’s claws slashed through his right hand, crushing it into a pulp, while the rear wheel rolled over his face, spinning at a maddening speed.
Flesh and blood sprayed across the fender until the screams abruptly ended. Accompanied by the sound of cracking ribs, Horsey launched into the air again. With a left kick from the rear wheel and a right whip from the front, it crushed a left leg in its huge jaws and shook its head before flinging the broken limb aside.
Next, it slammed into the last attacker. After that, no men were left standing. Only the recently connected phone carried Lu Feng’s puzzled voice.
Ten minutes later, when Lu Feng arrived at the scene, all he saw were three mangled, barely breathing men lying on the ground on the verge of death. He also saw a... thing that looked like a scooter sprawled at his sister’s feet, waving its fender like crazy to get her attention. It even tried to lick her foot adorably, hoping to get a chicken drumstick.
