Mixed in the apocalypse, become a fairy alone. 7

Chapter 7: Confirming the Threat

Zhou Zhengde, protecting the ‘important witness’ Wei Na in the witness protection room at the Thirteenth Precinct’s headquarters, was completely stunned by the report from a rushing officer.

What did it mean, one person beating up over a dozen?

The witness protection room was about the size of a typical single-person apartment, so Wei Na naturally heard the officer’s shout. Her face was still pale, clearly still recovering from the previous shooting. She whispered, “Did a bunch of thugs beat up that Mu Liang?”

“It’s unclear who beat who right now. Both sides are pretty badly hurt. They ran through several streets, so a lot of people are paying attention.”

The officer frowned at Wei Na before continuing his report to Zhou Zhengde:

“Captain! A few of the thugs have connections within the precinct. The ringleader, nicknamed ‘Rotten Fish,’ is seriously injured. He was covered in blood when we arrived and has been sent to the hospital next door!”

“What happened?”

Zhou Zhengde cleared his throat, hands behind his back. “Doctor Wei, please continue resting. The testimony you provided is very helpful in our investigation of this illegal weapons case. Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll go take a look.”

Zhou Zhengde turned and hurried away.

Wei Na called out, “Could it be related to the Black Fire Gang? They couldn’t find me, so they went after Mu Liang?”

“Let’s hope not.”

Zhou Zhengde murmured, the alloy door of the witness protection room slamming shut.

The Thirteenth Precinct headquarters was located next to the central corridor. There was a circular plaza there, with a dozen or so Thirteenth Precinct government agencies clustered around it. In the center of the plaza was an elevator shaft encased in thick concrete walls. There were three entrances to the central corridor elevator shaft, with the permanently open elevator entrance directly opposite the precinct’s main door.

The Fortress authorities didn’t prohibit civilians from using the upper and lower passageways, but each use of the central corridor cost 10 universal credits. The other passageways and the dozen or so elevators located in the four directions only cost 2 universal credits per use. This made the central corridor an exclusive passageway for government officials.

—Government employees can use Fortress public facilities free of charge.
—These elevators cannot directly reach the lower city and have complete monitoring and automatic defense systems.

Consequently, the central corridor garden was also considered a ‘luxury green belt’ that only the ‘management class’ could enjoy; ordinary citizens rarely strolled there.

Today, however, was different. The Thirteenth Precinct’s circular plaza was quite lively. The precinct’s large-scale deployment to arrest a group of young people fighting had attracted a crowd of onlookers. There was simply little entertainment available within the Fortress’s limited resources and its internal entertainment ban. Rarely did they have such exciting event.

Wang Jixuan sat on a bench next to the main entrance of the elevator shaft, flanked by two precinct officers with sidearms. In front of him, over a dozen thugs were squatting with their heads down, most of them bruised and battered, their hands bound with belts. The worst off was the ringleader, who was lying on a stretcher, covered in blood, being carried into the nearby Thirteenth Precinct hospital.

Wang Jixuan believed he had used restraint. The ringleader shouldn’t bleed to death, and this incident shouldn’t lead to official repercussions against him. He learned two new terms from Mu Liang’s memories—self-defense and justifiable self-defense.

Wang Jixuan was also a little annoyed. He had… gotten lost…

The ‘Shenxing Spell’ (a spell allowing for rapid movement) only lasted for a dozen breaths. The layouts of the various passages were very similar, and he ran too fast to discern his direction, ending up circling back and running directly into the thugs’ ambush.

These thugs were far more vicious than he expected. He used the strategy of ‘capturing the leader first to capture the whole gang,’ grabbing the Rotten Fish, but several of his thugs ignored this, directly attacking him with metal pipes. If he hadn’t used the ringleader as a shield, he would likely have been seriously injured himself.

Oh, heavens above! He, a mighty… Never mind. A hero doesn’t dwell on past glories. He had, after all, failed his tribulation and was only in the initial stages of his comeback. He could find his Dao heart again later.

Just then, Captain Zhou, whom Wang Jixuan had only met once, hurried over. Zhou Zhengde frowned, staring at Wang Jixuan and the thugs on the ground.

“Lock them all up!” Zhou Zhengde roared in his deep baritone, “Good-for-nothing loafers! Not contributing to the Fortress! Disrupting public order! We, the Thirteenth Precinct, must severely punish these brawlers!”

Sparse applause broke out from the onlookers nearby.

Zhou Zhengde walked up to Wang Jixuan, frowning as he looked him over. He noticed several large bruises on Wang Jixuan, his clothes torn, yet he sat straight. Zhou Zhengde felt an inexpressible sharpness emanating from him.

“Let’s talk inside.”

An officer immediately stepped forward to put handcuffs on Wang Jixuan.

“No,” Zhou Zhengde shouted, “He’s a victim! Why handcuff him? Do you want the citizens to write complaints about our improper law enforcement?”

The officer quickly nodded, changing his actions to supporting Wang Jixuan and escorting him into the precinct.

Half an hour later.

Zhou Zhengde leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his forehead. Wang Jixuan sat on a hard metal bench, examining a large photograph on the wall. The photo showed Zhou Zhengde in a crisp light blue uniform, receiving a medal from an old man. That must have been Zhou Zhengde’s moment of glory.

“Tsk,” Zhou Zhengde messed up his neatly combed hair, throwing the statement file onto the desk. “Good fighting skills. So many of them against one, and you didn’t get too many injuries.”

“I secretly practiced free fighting for a few years,” Wang Jixuan said honestly.

“This thing.” Zhou Zhengde picked up the thin metal pipe from the sterilizing tray; the sharpened end was stained with blood. “This could be considered an illegal weapon. But I don’t blame you. After being bullied for half a year, you’d naturally want to fight back. Considering we just helped each other out, I’ll help you settle this. Those thugs’ contacts have also interceded, so we’ll keep this incident off the books. Is that alright with you?”

“Yes,” Wang Jixuan nodded, not asking the officials for anything more. He had his own ways of dealing with it.

Zhou Zhengde was puzzled. “With your skills, why didn’t you fight back before?”

Testing me?

Wang Jixuan immediately lowered his head, sighing, “After backing down once from bullying, there’s no chance to fight back again.”

“That’s exactly right,” Zhou Zhengde agreed, “I’ve seen too many similar cases. Your previous self-harm was also related to this, right? But this time the trouble will be much bigger. According to them, this time it’s the Black Fire Gang’s boss directly finding their leader, Rotten Fish—the one you scratched on the neck with this metal rod. Luckily, it was only a superficial wound.”

Wang Jixuan was puzzled. “Boss?”

“Boss usually refers to a high-ranking member of a gang.”

Zhou Zhengde tapped his fingers on the desk: “You don’t know how powerful the Black Fire Gang is. They’re one of the seven major gangs in the lower city. The lower city is chaotic, but it has some… some very precious resources, and each of these gangs has a complex background. What does the Black Fire Gang do? Wei Na already told you… organ trafficking.”

Wang Jixuan asked, “You don’t ban that?”

“Of course we do! It’s explicitly illegal!”

Zhou Zhengde shrugged: “Guess how many people in this Fortress can afford to buy organs? And what positions do some of them hold? I know of several old-timers in the Fortress’s security bureau who have murky dealings with the Black Fire Gang. The Black Fire Gang is just a front.”

Wang Jixuan understood. This was the so-called collusion between officials and criminals? He’d learned something new.

“I really don’t want to get involved.”

Zhou Zhengde sighed: “I have a great life now. I have a conservative girlfriend, a decent job, and two hundred people under my direct command. But Wei Na… you know, Wei Na is a friend I worry about, my best friend. The lower-city gangs’ modus operandi is to never give up until they reach their goal; otherwise, they feel they lose face and their status will be shaken. I’ve submitted the investigation report regarding the death of that Hua Ge to higher-ups; it’s likely already on the Black Fire Gang boss’s desk. Wei Na acted in self-defense, in every sense of the word. But you and Wei Na will both be targets for their revenge. That Hua Ge was the Black Fire Gang boss’s younger brother. That’s the biggest problem.”

Wang Jixuan fell silent, pondering. Boss, that must mean the gang leader.

“I can only help you temporarily,” Zhou Zhengde sighed. “I’ll get you a safe house. When you go out, try to wear a hat and a mask, or even a helmet. Many people in the precinct system have unclean connections with the lower city. I’m just a newly transferred captain; I can’t guarantee your safety for long. This is all I can do.”

Wang Jixuan nodded, looking at the weary captain and said, “I owe you a favor.”

“Heh! I’m looking forward to you repaying it!” Zhou Zhengde tried to stop himself from laughing: “My words don’t always carry weight here. I have another suggestion… though you acted in self-defense, I can classify this conflict as a brawl and have you spend two months in the precinct’s detention cell…”

“That’s not necessary.” Wang Jixuan shook his head. He didn’t want to go to jail, smiling, “I’ll hide for now, and deal with it if I can’t hide anymore.”

“Fine, suit yourself.” Zhou Zhengde opened a drawer, took out a button-sized alarm, and threw it to Wang Jixuan. “If you’re in danger, press it three times. It will flash red, signaling an alarm, and I’ll immediately send someone over.”

“Thank you.” Wang Jixuan instinctively bowed his hands in thanks. Zhou Zhengde tilted his head at his gesture, then decided it might be a quirky young person’s habit and didn’t think much of it.

The Black Fire Gang had territory, thugs, and plenty of firearms in the lower city; no amount of warnings would help. Protecting Wei Na was already causing him enormous stress, with the Black Fire Gang constantly pressuring him through various channels. For this young man, Zhou Zhengde felt he’d already gone above and beyond.

“Owes me a favor?” Zhou Zhengde smiled unconcernedly. “Quite a character.”

The next day.

Near the central plaza, inside the precinct’s safe house.

Wang Jixuan removed his 3-credit-equivalent baseball cap and mask, placing two large bags of emergency food on the table. For safety’s sake, he hadn’t gone back to his residence for clothes; several groups of thugs were already searching for him in this area. The thugs on each level were extensions of the lower-city gangs. The officer Zhou Zhengde’s confidant who brought him here said he could stay here for up to two months.

The safe house was no different from a typical single-person room. The only thing that made Wang Jixuan feel uncomfortable was the camera in the corner. Though it was broken.

Wang Jixuan quickly took off his shirt, accurately throwing it onto the camera, then went to the washbasin and began to thoroughly clean himself, trying to improve his rate of absorbing spiritual energy. In the mirror, the young man was thin, his ribs visible, and most of his bruises had disappeared.

Wang Jixuan let out a soft breath, then went to the single bed in his underwear, quickly forming hand seals and sitting in a lotus position, palms up.

Cultivation here was slow, but perseverance was key.

‘Did my last tribulation failure stem from insufficient red dust refinement?’
‘Oh well.’
‘The Black Fire Gang does evil, harming living beings. I must act for heaven, protecting my Dao body!’
‘But I need to cultivate first, at least reach the Qi Condensation stage.’
(End of Chapter)

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