48 Why?

So annoying. So. F*cking. Annoying.

Lukas ran after them.

He knew that he couldn't outrun a car but he hoped that there'd be some sort of traffic further up. This was unlikely. This wasn't the bustling city filled with the sickening smell of car exhaust and pollution. Anyway, there wasn't anything particularly special about the black car. That meant there was no redeeming qualities for him to lock down on.

...Why was he running again? Ah, that's right.

'I'm such an idiot.'

But wasn't he at least a kindhearted one?

He could have left her. It wasn't as if they were close. He didn't know anything about her, and she didn't know anything about him. They were practically unrelated to each other...

Even though this was true...

How could he possibly leave her alone.

He wasn't interested in playing hero but he knew the feeling of wishing that someone would help them. Moreover, the disappointment he'd have to face when he went back home without her... Just thinking about it hurt.

'Wait'

How was he going to find her again?

The situation was getting ridiculous.

Lukas could feel that he had a stitch at his side.

Hmm?

'Guess it's not a stitch after all.'

Having felt a sticky substance dripping down his side, he realised it was probably something worse.

The day was hot, his side was bleeding... How about telling the rest that he tried his best?

Yeah, that sounded good enough. He'd tell them that he'd tried his best but in the end, he was just too outnumbered. Yeah-

Found them.

Lucky or unlucky? Whichever it was, he found the same black car parked at the side of an old restaurant. He knew it was the same black car because one of the men stood puffing on a cigar beside it.

How cliche.

Lukas walked in unhesitatingly.

His face blanched at what welcomed him.

A room filled with a large number of muscly men. Each holding their own stick of poison. A fog seeped over the room, navigating its way through his nostrils and down his windpipe.

Disgusting.

The smell... This place was no place for an innocent boy like him. No. It wasn't even a place for food. How could this place be called a restaurant? Just the mixture of their breath and sweat-

"Ugh-" Lukas clamped his mouth shut. No matter what, he did not want to taste the smell too.

One of the men stopped puffing on his cigarette and focused his attention on Lukas.

"Sorry kid. No food for you here. Get out." The guy's voice was so low, it was practically a growl.

'He must be joking. As if any sane person would choose to dine here.'

Lukas raised his hands and blinked innocently.

"Oh, sorry. I think I walked into the wrong place. I'll be going now."

He left the suffocating place.

'Oh fresh air, how I've missed you.'

As he came out, the smoker next to the car simply nodded at him and walked into the restaurant to join his other buddies.

Good.

Nobody suspected anything.

Lukas took out his phone and snapped a picture of the restaurant. He sent it to Mike with the single message,

'Bring everyone.'

With that, Lukas pulled himself together and re-entered the place. The man who had spoken to him before didn't look too happy.

"F*ck off kid. I thought I already told you to get lost."

Lukas tried to exude a menacing aura.

"Where's the girl?"

The men looked at each other.

"You're here for that sl*t?"

Another spoke up.

"You can join her if you want."

A heavy-handed fist came flying out of nowhere and slammed straight into Lukas's perfectly chiselled jaw. Lukas felt his neck crack and he teetered on his feet. It was hard to get rid of the mind-numbing pain and he just stood there for a while.

...It seemed that his aura wasn't good enough.

He hadn't felt that much pain in a long time.

He wasn't exactly the most grateful for that.

With the hot-bloodedness befitting a young teen such as himself, Lukas pushed his body back into gear and swung his own fist at the man. Then he recoiled in pain. It felt as if he'd punched a metal plate.

Really annoying. Couldn't they just talk it out?

The man smiled, showing off his gold and blackened teeth. This time, he aimed a kick for the young lad's stomach. A fatal weak spot.

Lukas saw it coming, but couldn't dodge in time.

Lukas's face paled drastically. The sickening stench in the room only served to make the pain worse.

His only hope at this point was Mike.

Wait, Mike was in the mansion and it took a seriously long time getting from the mansion to town. Adding that to the length of time they'd spend searching for this place... Would they only arrive after he'd been crippled?

Maybe he really should abandon Xiaozhi?

It wasn't as if his wound had fully healed. Even after the fight against Wu Shen's gang, Lukas had suffered some minor bleeding from the stab-wound but now, after running a marathon and attempting to fight huge men who ate nothing but protein, that wound was thoroughly soaking his shirt in a gooey substance that could only go by one name - blood.

This wasn't working. He was merely lucky that they weren't taking out knives or any other weapons. He'd be dead if they did. Guess being a kid really let their guards down.

Lukas discreetly felt in his back pocket. For a while now, Mike and him would carry a gun on their persons on all occasions. These were dark times. Yes. Living in the slums really makes you worry if you're going to be mugged by some random guy. Very scary. Anyway, he didn't want to waste any bullets but now he felt that it was inevitable.

Whipping out the gun he carried in his pocket, he took pleasure in seeing their mocking expressions turn to alarm.

"Hey, kid. That's not a toy." One of the men tried to reason with the boy with the gun.

Lukas cocked an eyebrow. "I know it isn't."

"You'll go to jail for this."

"No I won't."

"?"

Did the boy have a good background? His father worked in the government or-

"Because no one will know it was me."

Lukas aimed at one man's shocked face and shot him squarely between the eyes.

As the man fell to the floor, Lukas surveyed the room and gazed into each individual's eyes. "That was a warning shot."

He used the gun to point at another thug. "Anyone moves and I shoot."

What could the thugs do at this point? Nothing. They didn't own a gun. Sure, they had knives of their own but what would the point of that be? To act as a meat shield for their fellow comrade to find a chance to attack the murderer in front of them? No way.

It remained like this for a very long time. Lukas was, effectively, buying time for the others to come. He couldn't just shoot everyone; he didn't have enough bullets for that.

*Ding* *Ding*

The doorbells chimed as the door crashed open. Lukas glanced back and was inwardly shocked. The people who stood behind him with red faces and sweat pouring down their necks were not Mike, but Wu Shen and his people. Though, now that he thought about it, they were the closest to his location.

"What happened to school?" Lukas had to ask a question that bugged him. They were supposed to be sitting obediently in class, but here they were. They weren't that loyal.

"Ran out." Two words. Not out of disrespect, but because he was so freaking worn out. Wu Shen had received a message from Mike filled with all sorts of threats and indecencies to get him to run right out of class with his followers and find some restaurant he'd never heard of before.

Whatever. Lukas gave the gun to Wu Shen and stood off to the side. Wu Shen understood.

"Get them!"

A teenager vs gangster fight played out.

Lukas, having regained his strength, thought about what he had to do next.

At this point, he couldn't be bothered at all but he still searched any other rooms for Xiaozhi. Thankfully, the thugs hadn't really thought that there'd be someone coming so they'd just thrown her in the kitchen.

There she sat. Tied in ropes and bearing an ugly bruise on her eye. Lukas took in her otherwise uninjured person and sighed in relief. He wouldn't have to deal with Tingting's complaints at home.

"Come quickly. Let's go." Xiaozhi blinked at him as if her brain was only just registering the fact that Lukas was in front of her. And then, contrary to Lukas's expectations-

"No!" Xiaozhi slapped Lukas's outstretched hand away.

"What?" Lukas's eyebrows furrowed in irritance. It took quite some effort to smooth them back out.

"Is it because you think I'm dirty? You never look at me properly. Never smile at me. You don't treat me like you treat the others." Tears pooled in her eyes as she spilled her inner insecurities out to him.

'No, it's because you're annoying.'

"It's because you're older than me."

"What? So you saw me as a dirty old hag?" The tears finally fell and wet her clothes.

'How do I even respond to this?'

"It's just...I didn't know how to act around you."

"Huh?" She was lost for words.

'I've become soft.'

"I'm sorry."

Lukas apologised in the most wholehearted tone he could manage and once again offered for her to take his hand.

"Shall we go now... Big sis?"

Xiaozhi's bruised eyes widened, making her flinch in pain. She giggled,

"Don't call me that. I feel old."

"Then... My lady?"

Lukas flashed her a charming grin that he hadn't used in a long while. He used to use this tactic a lot at school to get the girls to buy him things. He missed those days... Or maybe not.

It still held the element of old age but Xiaozhi was too mesmerized by his princely aura that she completely didn't realise this.

'I have finally appeased her.'

Lukas escorted the young lady outside and had her call for a taxi. They waited together with the sound of shouts and clamour behind them.

As he felt the warm blood slowly slide down his side, Lukas stared into the sky.

'I'm such a good person.'