5 Chapter 4 Terror Pea

After spending a night getting familiar, Yan Fei's skill in controlling the drone had greatly improved. The drone, like an extension of his own body, performed dazzling aerobatics according to his will.

During the day, Yan Fei had carefully observed his surroundings and identified several public and hidden surveillance cameras. When nighttime came and it was time for the drone to take action, he intentionally stayed out of the cameras' field of vision as much as possible to avoid being discovered.

The Drone Avatar returned to the nearby park, and thanks to the 360-degree field of view of the drone's camera and its excellent lighting technology, Yan Fei's perspective was extremely broad. Despite it being night, he could still spot many ongoing activities.

In the wee hours, the park was sparsely populated, but at the lakeside, three people were sneaking around. These men were in their thirties and each had a battery on their back, a metal probe in hand, dressed in a set of plastic waterproof clothing, and one of them also carried a large net.

Yan Fei was very curious. He hid the drone under the shadow of a lakeside tree's canopy and quietly watched these three oddly attired individuals, wondering what they were up to.

He then saw the trio busy themselves by the lake, connecting the batteries to the metal probes in their hands. One of them pressed the switch on the battery, and a wisp of blue electricity appeared on the metal probe, along with a "crackling" sound.

The leader nodded and said, "Not bad, the battery power is sufficient this time, we definitely won't have any issues tonight."

Another man hesitated before speaking up, "Third Brother, I still feel this isn't right. The fish in this park are meant for everyone to enjoy for free. If we stun them with electricity and then sell them, isn't that a bit immoral?"

Before Third Brother could reply, another one of the men said discontentedly, "Old Seven, you're making it sound so righteous; I almost didn't recognize you. You haven't done many good deeds yourself normally, so why the sudden conscience today?"

Third Brother "shushed" them and said, "Keep it down, no more arguing. The fish here are overfed and are particularly big, it's a waste to leave them here. If others aren't going to catch and eat them, why can't we catch and sell?"

Old Seven commented, "Third Brother, the fish here are mainly goldfish, which are ornamental. I'm afraid they might not sell!"

Third Brother replied, "There are also grass carp and carp here, and they are quite large too. I've scouted the area during the day. Besides, since we're already here, let's electrocute them first; if we get the ornamental goldfish, we can just take them home to eat."

It was then that Yan Fei realized these three were poachers who specialized in fishing with electricity. He couldn't help but admire their creativity. The fish in these parks were dumb and not afraid of humans, with sizable bodies, yet no one ever thought to catch and sell them—these three were geniuses for coming up with the idea.

Now aware of their intentions, Yan Fei naturally wouldn't allow them to go ahead with the fishing. He maneuvered the drone to get closer to them, still hidden in the shadows of the trees, and aimed the Pea Shooter at them.

The trio was ready and lined up to enter the water when suddenly the leader, Third Brother, was hit by a pea bullet. With a scream, he dropped the metal probe he was holding, which touched the person behind him. That man immediately shuddered and fell to the ground, twitching.

The last man, Old Seven, was startled and asked, "Third Brother, why did you electrocute Little Huang?"

Before Third Brother could speak, he was hit by several more pea bullets, leaping up and shouting, "Damn it, who's shooting at me?"

Old Seven was puzzled, not understanding why Third Brother had seemingly gone mad. It was dark, and the Pea Shooter made no noise when firing. Since the Drone Avatar was concealed in the tree shade, they had no chance of seeing it.

Yan Fei turned the gun, firing off several peas, hitting Old Seven in the buttocks.

Old Seven felt a sharp pain and instinctively pressed the switch on the battery he held. The metal probe he was carrying drooped and happened to touch Third Brother in front of him. Third Brother received an electric shock and fell to the ground, his body rigid and shaking uncontrollably, unable to even make a sound.

After being attacked and accidentally shocking Third Brother, Old Seven was the only one left standing. Startled, he quickly looked around. It was late at night, Yan Fei had carefully hidden the drone, and the peas that had fallen to the ground after the attack were small, so Old Seven was completely clueless about who or what was attacking them.

Looking at the pitch-black lake surface, Old Seven suddenly recalled the urban legend of a woman who had committed suicide by throwing herself into the lake here. Seeing the convulsions of his two companions on the ground, he immediately thought he had encountered a ghost and was scared out of his wits. He froze for a moment, then suddenly shouted, dropped his electrofishing gear, and fled the park, tumbling and crawling away, leaving his two companions behind.

Yan Fei did not chase after the fleeing Old Seven but instead turned the Pea Shooter's muzzle toward the first person who had fallen and was still convulsing on the ground, unleashing several Pea Bullets at him, but the person did not react. After all, the pain from an electric shock was so intense that the pain from the Pea Bullet attacks was negligible.

After attacking the fish-stealing trio, Yan Fei was pleased to see his Merit Points increase by 3 points; his total Merit had reached 8 points, which meant each of these three individuals had contributed 1 Merit Point each. This foray not only stopped the trio from stealing fish but also earned him 3 Merit Points, marking a successful first victory.

Old Seven's escape made a lot of noise, and soon after, the park management staff noticed the commotion and began to head toward the lakeside. To avoid trouble, Yan Fei maneuvered his Drone away from the park as well.

In the following time, Yan Fei hoped for another chance to perform acts of vigilante justice. However, to his disappointment, the surroundings were quite peaceful. Although there were pedestrians on the road, there were no criminals to be seen, not even a stray dog, which left him extremely frustrated.

By the time the Drone's Energy Points were down to 10, Yan Fei had not encountered any opportunities to intervene. He gave a wry smile, wondering if he should lament this peaceful era for its lack of criminals to fight against.

Just as Yan Fei was flying the Drone back, he suddenly spotted a person on the rooftop edge of a tall building, looking like they were about to jump. He quickly flew closer, only to see a young man with a scruffy beard, tears streaming down his face as he looked at the street below, poised to leap. Behind him, a pair of neatly placed shoes pressed down on a piece of white paper, which also had something written on it.

The Drone Avatar's HD Camera quickly adjusted the focus to close in on the white paper. Although the content was obscured by the shoes and thus unclear, the words "Suicide Note" were dramatically written at the top.

Yan Fei was shocked; it seemed like the scruffy young man was about to commit suicide! His physical self at home sat up and grabbed his Mobile Phone to call the police, but seeing that the man had already lifted his foot, ready to leap off the building at any moment, he knew it would be too late by the time the police received the call and arrived on scene. Without a second thought, he rotated the Pea Gun Muzzle, aiming it at the man about to jump.

Heart filled with despair, the young man was about to jump when suddenly, several Pea Bullets flew out of the darkness and struck him. The pain from the Pea Bullets was excruciating. Instinctively, he pulled his foot back and used his hand to fend off the attack.

Yan Fei controlled the angle of the Pea Gun Muzzle, avoiding vital areas, and attacked the young man again. The man was completely unable to withstand the onslaught of Pea Bullets and hopped around in agony. To dodge the Pea Bullets, he was forced to retreat continuously until he backed into the building and shut the door behind him, escaping the relentless Pea Bullet barrage.

Yan Fei watched, greatly amused. Thinking that someone who couldn't even bear this level of pain was looking to die was absurd. But just as he was enjoying the moment, the man suddenly burst out of the door, charging out. Yan Fei was startled and prepared to attack again, only to find that all the Pea Bullets had been used up in the previous assault. As he was chiding himself, he saw the man quickly pick up his shoes from the ground, stuff the suicide note into his pocket, and run back into the building.

Watching the man's actions, Yan Fei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. However, it seemed the attack had some effect; at least the man wouldn't be committing suicide right there and then. Yan Fei kept the Drone Avatar hovering in the darkness in front of the building, watching what would happen next. A few minutes later, he saw the man, pale-faced and wearing his shoes, leaving the place. As he left, he kept rubbing the spots where the Pea Bullets had hit him…

When the Drone entered standby mode due to depleted Energy Points, Yan Fei had earned a total of 4 Merit Points that evening: 3 from the fish-stealing trio and 1 from the man about to jump. Adding in the 5 points from the previous night, the Drone's Merit Points had reached a total of 9.

Having earned 9 Merit Points in two days, Yan Fei was quite satisfied with the progress. If he continued at this rate, he wouldn't need a month for the Drone Avatar to accumulate enough Merit Points for an Upgrade. He just wondered what the Drone would change into after the Upgrade…

The next day, word of the impending demolition of the area spread further, prompting more and more tenants to come to Yan Fei for information, which he appeased according to the conditions previously discussed with Lü Yangyang.

The government was planning to develop the neighborhood into a Commercial District, and Yan Fei was not opposed to the idea as long as the conditions were right. This house was the only thing left by his parents, and he would have some reluctance to let go of it. But this was an inevitable trend, and Yan Fei had no power to Change it.

Upon learning of the impending demolition, other homeowners in the region were elated. After all, this was Shanghai, the most economically developed area in China, where property prices had already soared to unbelievable heights. Although this was not traditionally considered part of the City area, it was well-connected and bustling. The high compensation they would receive for the demolition was exciting just to think about. With that money, they could simply quit working for good. For those who lived a life of idleness, a demolition was like a pie falling from the sky, perfectly suited for them.

With an indifferent attitude, Yan Fei watched all these developments. During the day, he trained in the gym, harnessing the great strength he had obtained, while at night, he flew the Drone Avatar around the neighborhood to perform acts of vigilante justice. Since the Drone had undergone both external and internal mutations, Yan Fei no longer bothered with official flight approvals to avoid having to explain its origins and to prevent people from discovering its secrets.

Ten days flew by quickly. Yan Fei had fully mastered his newfound strength and was able to use it effortlessly, as light as a feather. Meanwhile, through his bouts of vigilante justice, the Drone Avatar had accumulated 68 Merit Points.

Of course, during this period, Yan Fei had not encountered any real criminals; it was all people and situations that had little to do with serious crime, but which were utterly repulsive. As they contributed to the Drone's Merit Points, a new urban legend about the Terror Pea emerged in the vicinity.