Six o’clock in the evening.
At a bank, Lu Chenzhou had just withdrawn 100,000 and deposited it into his card. He stared at the "large sum" with a calmness that belied his true feelings inside. Excluding the 50,000 from the Hidden Dragon Scholarship, this was the first significant sum of money he had ever earned in his life.
He initially wanted to wire 30,000 to his parents, but Lu Guoping and Li Xianghua adamantly refused, saying the 50,000 he gave last time was still lasting them quite a while.
Besides, it made sense. Now, Lu Chenzhou didn’t spend a penny of his family’s money on his Martial Arts training, and there weren’t any large expenses at home. As for moving to a new house, no one had brought it up again. In half a year, the Dragon City Martial Arts University branch would relocate to their area, and the value of property in the Su Central District was about to skyrocket, second only to the Ancient City District where Pingjiang Martial Arts University was located and the economically flourishing High-Tech Industrial Park.
The rain intensified abruptly and poured down, gradually reducing the number of pedestrians on the street. Lu Chenzhou, now not short of money, called for a ride-share, but after a long wait, no one accepted the job.
As for autonomous vehicles, with the recent precedents at the Du family’s place, he was hesitant to use them.
"Forget it, better take the subway instead, it’s safer." Latest content published on NoveIＦire.net
Weak Void Things feared places teeming with life; the more people, the safer. Subway stations, as densely populated areas, also had considerable police presence arranged by the authorities. It was said that at every station in Su City, there was at least one Third Rank expert on duty.
Some important stations even had Martial Artists stationed there.
Drenched by the torrential rain, Lu Chenzhou hurried towards the subway station.
Suddenly, a deep sound seemed to tear through the heavy rain, ringing in Lu Chenzhou’s ears. His complexion changed, as it sounded like... gunfire.
Then, piercing sirens ripped through the sky. A black car sped past a red light, cutting through the water on the ground, being hotly pursued by the police. With its tires blown, the car swerved uncontrollably and crashed head-on into a nearby bridge pier.
From the police vehicle, three figures in uniform swiftly got out. One stood behind the car door, aiming a gun in the direction of the black car, while the other two, who looked like Martial Artists dressed in specially made bulletproof vests, quickly flanked both sides of the black car.
The officer behind the car door shouted,
"Try to capture them alive, see if we can dig up any clues about the Cult."
The two police officers rushing forward were Dark Force Realm experts, honed through countless fights with criminals. They, too, had guns drawn, aimed at the black car.
"Get out of the car!"
"He’s not in the car!"
They kicked the car doors open, only to find it empty. The windshield had been shattered; most likely, the suspect had smashed the window and leapt out upon crashing into the pier.
Beneath the bridge, within the veil of rain, dodging through the reeds, ran a figure in a white shirt and dress pants, tie flapping. He looked no different from an ordinary office worker, but his Qi-Blood levels were much higher than the average person – he was a Third Rank Martial Artist in the Ming Power Realm.
A series of shots rang out; he had no means of escape.
One of the three shots missed, sending rocks and soil flying. The other two hit his right leg, sparking on impact. Shattered fabric revealed a metallic sheen, bullets lodged in metal, from which electrical currents hissed. Clearly, this was not a leg of flesh and bone.
Taking cover behind a nearby large willow tree, the man quickly ran off.
One of the shooting officers cursed,
"Damn it, that guy’s got Prosthetics?!"
"You cover me, I’ll chase him."
"Be careful; I thought I saw a bystander who might have jumped off the bridge, worried about being hit by accident... Watch out, the criminal might take him as a hostage."
One officer, using his movement technique, descended the bridge rapidly in pursuit.
Da Xia Martial Arts Association had compiled a series of simple and easy to learn military Martial Arts techniques, and the officers were all somewhat trained in them to aid in the capture of criminals.
The officer on the bridge looked grave.
The man in the fleeing white shirt was an accomplice to the Fourth Rank Black Knight murderer from last night’s Martial Arts School student murder case. The Black Knight had already been killed.
"Hope that bystander is okay."
Beside the river channel.
The weeds parted, revealing Lu Chenzhou’s figure.
"What an unprovoked disaster. Luckily, I reacted quickly."
Upon hearing the gunshots, he had instinctively jumped off the bridge, hiding below to avoid accidental injury. Martial Arts, while advantageous, also maintained a high crime rate in every city. Not to mention the constant threats of Evil Calamity, Virtual Disaster, and Black Calamity – many citizens had grown accustomed to these dangers. He sprinted, ready to climb the high wall and leave.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound from within the reeds.
Lu Chenzhou turned around, his expression guarded, his body tensed like a coiled spring.
The man in the dress shirt appeared abruptly, coldly staring at Lu Chenzhou. His prosthetics were damaged, it shouldn’t have been possible for him to run; his instinct was to take the person before him as a hostage.
He clenched a Tiger Claw in his right hand, reaching for Lu Chenzhou.
It was a coincidence that this man also practiced the Black Tiger Fist.
But before Lu Chenzhou, it was like performing a sword dance in front of Guan Gong. He spread his right hand outward to deflect, and with his left hand he reached for the man’s chest. The man, being quite agile, dodged and, accompanied by the screeching of metal against metal and the sound of electricity, delivered a Black Tiger Tail Sweep towards Lu Chenzhou.
Lu Chenzhou crossed his fists with the backs of his hands facing inward, using them to block.
He thought he could easily deflect the attack, but a tremendous force uncontrollably sent him flying backward, a bloody imprint emerging on his sturdy arm, instantaneously turning purple and blue.
Using "Black Tiger Roll," he rolled on the ground to dissipate the force, then stood up. The man’s raised right leg came down, stomping fiercely on the ground and lunging at Lu Chenzhou once more.
It was then that Lu Chenzhou saw sparks of electricity and silver metal pieces beneath the man’s trouser legs. Lu Guoping worked at a prosthetic parts factory, so he recognized these as prosthetics.
This was a Martial Artist with installed prosthetics.
If the martial arts skills aren’t up to par, technology compensates.
The iron foot smashed into the ground, sending dirt and rocks flying.
Lu Chenzhou had suffered a silent loss and learned his lesson.
He absolutely mustn’t clash head-on with those legs.
Black Tiger Fist was a close-range Boxing style.
Within a six-foot range, Lu Chenzhou dodged several kicks and quickly returned to his own attack rhythm. After once again avoiding the prosthetic leg’s kicks, he found the perfect opportunity and, with a "Black Tiger Enters Cave," ducked under the man’s swinging fists and moved behind him, wrapping his arms around him.
Thirty-third move—Black Tiger Throws Bull!
Lu Chenzhou became the Bengal tiger that preyed on water buffaloes, his bones and organs trembling, gathering all the power of the Dark Force in his body and erupting it in an instant, violently throwing his enemy backward!
The man’s arms were locked by Lu Chenzhou, unable to break his fall. Then, like a reverse-planted onion, he was pressed to the ground by Lu Chenzhou. He even heard the sound of his cervical spine breaking and felt a sense of foreboding within—could he have been killed by his own hand?
He had only intended self-defense.
He loosened his grip, and at that moment, the man was spitting blood, the shattered bones of his cervical spine flying out with tremendous force, puncturing his neck. His gaze dissipating, he reached out to grab Lu Chenzhou, but he fell powerlessly to the ground, breathless.
Lu Chenzhou exhaled and remained standing at the scene.
"I just wanted to leave, why did you attack me..."
He posed the question to the dead man before him.
He was just a high school student passing by.
At the brink of life and death, he had to unleash the Black Tiger Fist to protect himself. From being ambushed to the death of his assailant, everything had occurred in a very short span of time.
Perhaps the Tiger Form Fist had immersed him in the Fierce Tiger’s aura, because Lu Chenzhou was abnormally calm despite having just killed a man.
He remembered what Cha Chihu had said.
"Tiger Fist is a fist for taking life!"
The running police officer stopped in his tracks, breathing lightly. He looked at the expressionless short-sleeved, sport-shorts-wearing boy, and then at the corpse on the ground.
The boy had killed someone but was eerily composed. He was like a successful hunting tiger, making eye contact that even made this Dark Force expert uncomfortable.
The officer verified the death of the criminal and put down his gun.
"Kid, have you ever killed anyone before?"
The boy shook his head.
"Relax, it was just an accidental death in legitimate self-defense against a cult member, nothing to worry about. Wait here, my colleagues will be here shortly."
Lu Chenzhou put away the Void-breaking Gloves, folding them neatly into his pocket.
He stood leaning against the wall, looking at the man’s broken neck, blood profusely flowing out, getting diluted and washed away by the heavy rain into the swelling river below... He hoped this incident would be over soon, without affecting his martial arts training.