Free Web NovelChapter 43: Good Luck Arrives
As evening approached, a battered van pulled into the quiet garage.
After the messy consequences of shooting a gun in his own van earlier, Lu Feng refused to bring his family vehicle for work again, no matter what. Fortunately, the three “helpful” kidnappers had generously lent their own rides before leaving, letting the boys drive as much as they wanted, for as long as they wanted.
Thus, Lu Feng skillfully drove through Cliff City with Ji Jue, finally arriving at a dilapidated, run-down single building. Before the car even stopped, his head popped out the window, and he flashed a dazzling, sycophantic smile at the scar-faced woman leaning by the door.
“Layla, uh...” He bobbed and nodded, rubbing his small hands together. “Got any guns left?”
Layla was silent for a long moment before taking a deep breath.
For the next ten minutes, Ji Jue got a full demonstration of just how artful the Federal language could be. It was like watching a master of street slang and folk culture who had the skills of a national-level oral gymnastics athlete. So many curses, and not a single repetition!
“Do you remember just a few hours ago, some fucking bastard told me he wanted a life without guns?” Layla slapped Lu Feng hard on the forehead. “You think this is a supermarket? We’re a bloody security company, not a hitman organization! The damn sign isn’t even up yet, are you in such a hurry to see me dead, motherfucker?!”
“But last time—”
Layla’s anger flared, unleashing another tirade packed with expletives. “You’ve got the nerve to bring that up! Do you even realize how fucking big the mess was last time? If I hadn’t acted quickly, the Security Bureau would have come knocking on our damn door!”
“They didn’t come in the end, right? I already told you, I handled it.” Lu Feng boldly leaned in, draping an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, help me out. It’s an emergency, okay! Once this is all settled, I promise... yeah, I’ll work my ass off and pay my debts properly.”
Layla punched him square in the stomach. “You might as well sell your fucking ass at this point.”
“Uh...” Lu Feng hesitated. “That... didn’t hurt much...”
Immediately, a few burly men nearby erupted into loud laughter. Layla’s slightly tanned face darkened, and before she knew it, she had added a bruise to Lu Feng’s face. Blood came streaming from his nose.
“Jeez, I can’t believe I have to deal with your dumb ass!”
Still not satisfied, she kicked him once more before turning around and storming into the building.
Lu Feng got up like nothing happened before motioning for Ji Jue to follow. When they passed the doorway, he casually greeted a few muscular guys and even introduced Ji Jue. “This is my brother, Ji Jue. Help me look out for him from now on.”
“Oh, it's Ji Jue, huh.”
“Hello, Ji Jue.”
“Come by sometime, we’ll take you shooting. It’s riveting.”
Lu Feng let out a cold laugh; anyone could tell exactly what they were planning.
Shooting? When the kid handled a gun for the first time, he hit all four shots on a fifty-meter moving target. Anyone dumb enough to gamble with him better be ready to lose their entire net worth.
The group treated the brothers like old friends and led them straight into the basement equipment room. After peeling back a couple of wall panels, a densely packed, dazzling armory was revealed.
Ji Jue’s eyes went wide.
You’re telling me this is a security company? What security company hides this many automatic weapons in its stockroom? From handguns to rifles to shotguns, almost every model I read about in books is here.
At the front, Layla, scowling like usual, laid out the entire inventory. She crossed her arms.
“Take what you need and get out. Every time I see you, you bring me trouble,” she said in an icy tone.
“Wow, Feng,” Ji Jue whispered. “If we don’t offer our ‘services’ to pay our debts now, that’d really be rude.”
“You better shut your mouth.”
Lu Feng smacked him on the back of the head, then swaggered in to go “shopping.” Left alone, Ji Jue looked around and touched everything. He was completely fascinated, especially when he noticed a rotary-style press in the corner. These guys really went overboard with their retired veteran club’s collection.
Even now, Lu Feng was still whining and nitpicking, complaining this wasn’t good enough, that wasn’t good enough. In the end, he just shook his head. “I was hoping there’d at least be a full set of power armor.”
Layla exploded. “A set of powered fucking armor?! If I had one, I’d crush your shitty head!”
Lu Feng shook his head again. “Ah, look at you, getting all worked up again.”
“Motherfucker... you...”
Just as they were about to slip into their usual bickering, Ji Jue interrupted them. “Layla, can I borrow this?”
Moments ago, when he instinctively tried to use his ability, he felt a strong, unprecedented resonance. It was as if a dying shrill had erupted right by his ear, drowning out all other noise. It sounded like a buried, dying being, gasping for life and refusing to succumb quietly.
Though the sound was muffled, it was impossible to miss in the silence.
On the display shelves along the wall was a dust-covered, long-untouched, fearsome weapon. When Lu Feng looked in the direction Ji Jue was pointing, he couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.
“Holy shit. You really have one?”
It was a Mammoth II anchor-style assault gun, a prestigious product of Sentinel Industries. It had been feared and respected for decades, leaving countless bloodshed and death in its wake.
Most importantly, this thing wasn’t even meant for humans! It was a weapon module designed for standard military exoskeleton powered armor. Even with a fresh coat of paint and a few cosmetic tweaks, Lu Feng recognized it immediately.
“When we sourced it from Central Lands, the local tribe gave it to us as a bonus. It’s long been decommissioned.” Layla shook her head. “Kid, that one’s unusable. Its chamber will explode.”
Ji Jue smiled. “Relax, it won’t. At least not today.”
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a portable spirit probe. All this time learning alchemy, and finally, he found a use for it...
***
Though they arrived empty-handed, they left with so many guns, ammo, and equipment that Ji Jue almost couldn’t carry it alone. Seeing their collection and fortune stripped away in just minutes, Layla’s face darkened. She followed closely, wary that they might take something else.
Only when the battered van disappeared from sight did she finally relax.
The big guy missing a middle finger peeked out from a corner. “Hey, they’re leaving already? He sounded so damn sure last time, I thought there was no more hope.”
“Him?” Layla couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. “That bastard is just putting on a pretence. Who the hell doesn’t know what kind of beast he really is?”
Live a normal, peaceful life? Are you the type of person to do that, Lu Feng?
Even after all these years, she couldn’t forget the first time she saw him. In a crater blasted out by the Empire with smoke rolling thickly around, a man sat atop corpses with a lit cigarette between his lips. It was his first time on the battlefield, yet he had no fear at all. Instead, he had a calm, almost joyful smile, as if he were coming home.
“He’ll come back sooner or later,” Layla said softly. “He can’t let go of the gun.”
Just like a person could never forget how to breathe.
***
In the passenger seat, Lu Feng finally exhaled. “Damn it, I’m suffocating. I thought that miser Layla would lose it when she saw us carrying all this stuff, but it seems like your good looks came in handy, Jue!” freewёbnoνel.com
Ji Jue rolled his eyes. “Good looks, my ass! Don’t you get it? She’s doing you a favor. Think with your invincible pectorals, Feng. What is she after? My car-fixing skills?”
“Maybe. When you pulled out that probe, her eyes practically lit up.” Lu Feng draped an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “If she comes to ask for your body later, don’t underquote, got it? I’ll get you the military’s maintenance quotation form, just follow that!”
Military? Quotation form? You mean that coffee mug that costs over two thousand Empia per unit? You’re giving that to the person who saved your life twice?
Ji Jue’s eyes went wide in shock, and when he looked back at Lu Feng, his expression was one of grudging admiration. “You’re way more of an asshole than me, Feng!”
“What are you saying, you little brat!”
“Shh...” Ji Jue raised a finger, cutting him off. “Someone’s calling.”
One of the three men’s phones lit up, flashing the contact name Mr. Ming. Judging from the information found on the phone, he had to be their leader, Scarface Ming.
Once connected, an irritable voice came through, “What the hell is going on? Why now—”
From Ji Jue’s hands, the phone dutifully broadcast the original owner’s voice, jubilantly reporting, “Hello? Mr. Ming, we got ’em! We already caught them, we even nabbed that kid. Heh, we’ll deliver them straight to your doorstep!”
“What did you say?!” The man on the other end froze, seemingly stunned. “You got that kid too?”
“Yeah. Just after a bit, that kid caught up and wanted to tussle with us. But our buddy here swung a stick at the back of his head, and down he went.”
Amid the slightly chaotic background noise, another voice barked, “Switch to video call and show me!”
The call ended, and soon he received a video call.
As expected, through the phone’s camera, all they could see was a face barely able to contain its excitement, two injured men, and Ji Jue barely alive in the van’s cargo area.
But the face on the other end of the video call made Ji Jue freeze for a moment.
That scraggly, half beard... He had seen it clearly that very morning! This guy had to be the Qi Qin mentioned in one of the text messages.
Once Qi Qin saw “Ji Jue,” his eyes lit up. “Bring him back first! Take him straight to the office. Boss is ready!”
“Should we kill him right away?” Ji Jue asked cautiously.
Qi Qin’s face darkened. “You fucking idiot! Bring him back in one piece, got it? If he so much as loses a single hair... damn it, nothing can go wrong right now, you hear me?!”
“Yes, yes, we’re on our way!”
The false, flattering faces in the call smiled obsequiously.
After the video call ended, the van fell silent.
Lu Feng quietly adjusted the weapons in his hands: one pistol, two submachine guns, one shotgun. He was careful, meticulous, and precise. After checking and tuning every weapon in his bag, he slowly raised his head with a wide smile. But this smile was completely different from before; it was cold, fierce, and savage, like a bloodthirsty beast eager to gorge on his prey.
“Ready, Jue?”
Ji Jue rolled his eyes and raised a hand. “Of course I am! Did you think I’d let you go in alone? We’ll burn down this guy’s whole family and beat up his mother!”
Lu Feng’s smirk grew wider. “Yeah, we’ll burn down his whole family and beat up his mother!!!”
Amid the low growl of the engine, the van roared down the road, like thunder unleashed. And so, to the celebratory tune of festive melodies on the radio, it sped toward the dazzling neon lights.
Night fell.
