Time had passed, though he knew not how long.
Chen Fei was awakened by the pungent smell of smoke; he struggled to open his lead-heavy eyelids and found himself in a dimly lit place, seemingly a cave, with several not-so-bright camping lanterns placed in the corners.
The Xingdu Kush Mountain Area was known for its countless cracks and caves, some large enough to hide thousands of people. Some local villages were even situated inside these caves, providing shelter from the wind and rain.
Damn... Where is this?
Footsteps approached from afar.
The newcomer, seeing that Chen Fei had regained consciousness, extended a teacup towards him and asked, "Want a sip?"
The strange smell was overpowering. Chen Fei furrowed his brow. What the hell is this stuff?
"Where is this? Who are you? Where is Teacher Shen?"
Instead of answering Chen Fei's questions, the other person took back the teacup, took a sip himself, and said nonchalantly, "You should be aware of your current situation. You shouldn't be asking us these pointless questions. On the contrary, you should honestly answer our questions."
After putting down the teacup, he casually drew his tactical belt from his waist and lashed out fiercely.
Tied up and unable to move, Chen Fei had no way to avoid the blow and took it squarely.
The metal tip of the tactical belt left a bloody mark on his body, even through his clothes.
Growing up, his parents had never laid a hand on him, and today, he was actually struck by someone else. The sudden harsh whip ignited rage in Chen Fei as he glared at his assailant.
Don't let me find out who you are, or my country's battleships will park at your doorstep and blast you and your ancestors with particle cannons until you doubt your existence.
As citizens of the world's foremost superpower, both Chen Fei and Shen Fei stood tall when outside the country.
They were already doing well not to bully others, let alone be bullied.
Sending battleships to protect citizens at someone's doorstep was a routine operation. With ballistic systems on 24-hour alert and ready for global missions, cross-border strikes weren't out of the question.
"I am a bandit from the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area. If you can wipe out all the bandits, you might stand a chance; otherwise, shut up and answer the questions instead of asking me any," he responded with a cold, mocking sneer, then lashed out viciously again, seemingly indifferent to Chen Fei's sovereign citizen status.
This guy was nasty, deliberately shifting the blame to all bandits in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area.
Chen Fei then remembered what Chekhov, the Big Bear, had said—bandits from other areas had drifted near the Aircrew Base.
Local bandits would never target a school, but these unwelcome visitors surely had some nerve!
Being college-educated, awareness wasn't Chen Fei's shortfall, especially since he planned to pursue further studies. He narrowed his eyebrows, deciphering the hidden implications in the bandit's words. Yet, two harsh lashes ignited his fury, causing him to blurt out, "You're not real bandits!"
This young man was unexpectedly sharp, pinpointing the heart of the matter swiftly. The bandit's face darkened as he chuckled coldly and said again, "Caught on, have you? What a surprise! Well, that makes it impossible to let you leave alive."
The Xingdu Kush Mountain Area isn't small but isn't large either. If someone got the location right, the likelihood of being exposed would increase significantly.
Chen Fei inwardly cursed his luck. With his limited experience in Jianghu, he should have kept silent upon seeing through the disguise, but his rash outburst had now brought lethal danger upon himself.
It was too late to fire a signal flare; otherwise, none of these guys would have had a chance to escape.
From Aircrew Base 911 to Teacher Shen Fei's mountain school was not so far. With the A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" light turboprop attack aircraft's speed, stepping on the accelerator would get you there in no time.
If there were artillery guns with calibers over 152 mm, it would take only half a minute for shells to strike, and even if they landed three to fifty meters off target, the outcome would be the same.
Being pushed to this extent only fueled Chen Fei's fighting spirit; his eyes reddened as he struggled fiercely and gritted his teeth. "Go ahead and kill if you dare, just be ready to face the consequences!"
He had already died once; what was there to fear?
Since signing his official contract early, Chen Fei's salary along with his benefits had significantly increased. Though burdened with a debt of 8.8 million Star Yuan, in case of mishap, his death would neatly cancel out his debts.
Perhaps there would still be one or two steel coins left, but they essentially held no significant meaning anymore.
"Not afraid of death? That's brave! But that woman...hehe!"
The man revealed a disgusting smile, actually setting his sights on Teacher Shen Fei.
It was known here that even local bandits dared not target Teacher Shen and the school, which had been established peacefully for many years in the mountain area.
But now, someone had crossed that line.
Chen Fei, already seething with rage, was pushed to his absolute limit, as he hated most having his friends and family threatened.
It was like a string had snapped in his mind.
Chen Fei momentarily staggered, letting out a roar. The ropes that immobilized him unexpectedly snapped one by one, clean cuts as if they had been sliced by a sharp blade.
The moment he was freed, Chen Fei, without a second thought, swung a big slap across, bellowing, "Go to hell!!!"
The adversary could hardly believe his eyes. Chen Fei had managed to break free from the high-strength ropes that could even bind a buffalo. He reflexively dropped his tactical belt and reached for the pistol at his waist.
However, Chen Fei's palm was already inches away.
"I'm going to kill you, and then your whole family!"
The man saw a pair of eyes aflame with fiery rage, the pupils somehow turning into fragmentary gold, the ferocity and brutality hitting straight into the core of his soul.
A splash of hot, stinking blood covered the rock wall, like a bucket of red paint casually thrown onto the rugged stone.
A head, locked in an expression of terror, collided with the roof of the cave and tumbled into the corner, still staring wide-eyed like a dead fish.
"...huff, huff... I... huff, huff,... will... go your... mother's...
Chen Fei seemed suddenly drained of all his energy, his hands on his knees as he panted heavily.
Before him, the battered corpse was no longer human-shaped but a heap of mangled flesh, with a pungent smell of blood filling the air.
Anyone else might have felt weak in the knees or even wet themselves at such a horrific scene, but Chen Fei was completely undisturbed, nor did the increasingly strong smell of blood bother him in the slightest.
It was hard to imagine that just over a month ago, little Chen Fei was still just a well-behaved child, a lawful and good citizen living in a peaceful and stable society.
But now, he could kill without a blink of an eye, and he wasn't sure when this ability had started.
After regaining some strength, Chen Fei spat fiercely onto the ground, glanced at the pile of flesh, and slightly frowned, expecting to feel discomfort or even nausea. However, his mind seemed unusually clear, as if he had drunk a refreshing soda on a hot summer day, leaving him invigorated from inside out, an unsettlingly strange feeling.
Chen Fei shifted his gaze from the grisly scene back to his own hands, still hardly believing that he could distort someone's shape with a single slap, his ferocity beyond comprehension!
He didn't notice that his pupils, which had turned to shattered gold in his fury, gradually faded back to their original black as if nothing unusual had happened.
He frowned as he rummaged through the bloody mess and retrieved a tactical dagger and a pistol.
Utilizing the spoils and continuing the fight was an old tradition deeply ingrained in his bones.
Gripping the deadly weapons, murderous intent naturally arose.
Not far away, someone, unaware of what had just occurred, loudly said, "Qiong En, take it easy, don't kill him too quickly."
Chen Fei didn't hesitate. He carefully loaded the pistol, reversed his grip on the tactical dagger, and cautiously moved toward the direction of the voice.