Chapter 37 Sorry_1

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After a swarm of question marks popped up in the tracker's mind, he pulled out his phone, sent a WeChat message, and then walked in casually as if simply browsing around. He spent fifteen bucks for an entry card and pushed open the dressing room door.

A blast of hot, humid steam hit him in the face.

Among several rows of lockers, naked men were walking around, getting dressed, but Huai Shi was nowhere to be seen. All he managed to catch was the rubber curtain that separated them from the bathing area fluttering slightly—someone had already gone through.

Holding back his confusion and anxiety, he pretended to be nonchalant as he opened up a locker, stripped off his clothes, and made his way toward the bathing area.

When he pulled back the rubber curtain, he was greeted by the dull expression of a teenage boy, fully clothed from head to toe.

He stood there, dumbfounded.

What the heck?

"Why are you following me?" Huai Shi asked directly.

"...What did you say?"

The muscle man's face twitched, and quickly, he looked utterly confused, not understanding at all, a bit impatiently he waved his hand, "Can you move?"

"Sorry, no." Huai Shi sighed, then stepped forward.

Bang!

The tracker's vision went dark, and only then did he hear the heavy sound of a fist smashing into his face. His feet slipped, and he fell backward onto the ground.

"I'm asking you—"

Huai Shi knelt beside him, bending over to look at his face, repeating the initial question, "Why are you following me?"

"Fuck…"

The burly man erupted in anger, lifted his arm intending to slap him, but as soon as he moved his arm, his vision went dark again.

With all his might, Huai Shi threw another punch.

Bang!

In the midst of the changing room's startled stares, Huai Shi grabbed his hair, lifted his head, and dragged him into the dressing room, brutally smashing his head against a locker.

Once, twice, thrice!

Until a huge dent appeared in the thin metal locker, the man struggled fiercely, but he couldn't break free from Huai Shi's grip.

For the last time, he asked:

"—Why are you following me?"

"Go fuck your mother!"

In excruciating pain, the tracker cursed out loud, desperately lifting his legs to kick at Huai Shi. Regardless of his hair being torn, he seized the moment Huai Shi released him to scramble up from the ground.

Without retaliating, he bolted straight for the dressing room exit and ran for his life.

Bang—the cheap, plywood door bonded with tri-ply veneer shattered. The long spring attached to the doorknob lashed against his body, leaving a gash.

He nearly crashed into the counter.

Amid the shocked and bewildered cries of the counter lady, he grabbed several bath baskets from the counter and hurled them at the teenage boy chasing him. Then, without as much as a towel around him, he rushed out of the bathhouse's entrance, sprinting with all his might...

Huai Shi charged after him relentlessly.

The hunted became the hunter.

Now, it was the tracker, bare-bottomed and shoeless, who was tearing down the street with Huai Shi hot on his heels.

Ignoring the odd sensations and pain from his bare feet against the ground, he pressed on amid the screams of passing women, like a wild dog that had slipped its leash.

Whether it was the sacrifice of his dignity that granted him power, or a newfound liberation from being captured by dozens of cell phone cameras, the guy somehow picked up speed again, and Huai Shi found it hard to catch up for a good while.

Not until he couldn't run anymore was he cornered by Huai Shi in an alley, gasping for air as he shimmied backward and realized there was no more retreat.

"Why are you following me?"

Huai Shi stood at the mouth of the alley, calmly regarding him: "Are you going to be straightforward, or shall I find the answer myself?"

"I don't know..."

The naked tracker leaned against the wall, struggling to breathe, "I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Seems like you've chosen the second option."

Huai Shi fell silent for a moment, then raised his head to look at him: "To be honest, I didn't want to do this."

The sound of bone cracking abruptly erupted from within the alley.

Then the tracker saw a shadow grow rapidly before his eyes. As the pair of worn leather shoes trod down, the alley's cobblestones suddenly caved in, squeezing out the foul-smelling sewage from below.

And Huai Shi, he was right there in front of him.

Bang!

The tracker abruptly bent over, feeling as if his insides were about to be pushed out of his mouth. His naked feet almost left the ground, and his arms placed in front of him were flung aside by the severe impact.

Before he could regain his footing, the descending fist turned into a palm, pressing against his face, nudging him backward, further back, until... Bang!

His head smashed against the wall.

Instinctively, he tried to bend forward and hunch over, but then he felt a sudden coldness between his legs and something kicked up into the space between them amidst a howling wind.

A strange cry escaped him.

His eyes nearly bulged out of his face.

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"Go to hell!"

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In the midst of excruciating pain, that face twisted into a ferocious grimace, and while dodging, he picked up a bottle from the ground, smashed it, and stabbed it towards Huai Shi's neck.

However, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his wrist, his arm was bent into a strange angle, and the broken bottle lodged into his own thigh, blood gushing like a fountain.

Immediately after, the sharp agonizing pain from his broken arm and slashed thigh burst forth.

He screamed in horror, then realized a hand was lodged in his neck, lifting him up and smashing him against the wall. Huai Shi looked at that contorted face and roared with fury, "Why are you following me?"

Silence descended abruptly.

The man suddenly stopped struggling, looking at Huai Shi's furious face as if he saw a joke, and it made him laugh.

A smile squeezed out of his convulsing face, unclear whether it was mockery or an attempt to please.

His lips trembled, struggling to part as if confessing,

"I just... wanted some money... "

Huai Shi fell silent, looking at his own suit whose cuffs were starting to unravel and the worn leather shoes whose seams were coming undone, trying to believe this explanation. But in the end, he couldn't help but lower his eyes.

Slowly, he unclenched his hand, letting the man fall to the ground, gasping for breath, coughing violently, convulsing in throes of pain.

"Alright."

Huai Shi suddenly said, "I'll give you money."

Just as the man looked up in astonishment, Huai Shi reached out, covering his mouth and nose—then, he poured the costly Apocalypse into his mouth.

In that instant, as his fingers pinched together, a blood-curdling scream came from the clenched mouth. The man began to convulse violently, disregarding his wounds as he struggled frantically on the ground.

An indescribable fear and Sorrow flooded his body, tormenting his Soul, as blurred voices emerged from his throat, but they were firmly pinched by Huai Shi, unable to be released.

It wasn't until Huai Shi heard the sudden sound of screeching brakes at the end of the alley that several men with masks jumped out of a van that had pulled up, blocking the entrance to the alley.

Their hands were all stuffed ominously inside their bulging coats, wordless, their malevolent gazes fixed on the teenager in the alley.

In the silence, Huai Shi finally let go of the tracker, turned his head slowly, and looked at the menacing newcomers, finally understanding why that guy brought him to this kind of place.

"It's him!"

As the man sprawled on the ground, convulsing, raised a hand to point at Huai Shi, the first person reached inside his coat, withdrawing a machete wrapped with a dark green strap. Following that, the silhouettes of various controlled knives were also spotted.

Huai Shi, taken aback, raised his eyebrows, somewhat disbelieving.

"Doesn't anyone want to explain?" he asked with curiosity. "For instance, how it makes sense that an auto repair shop employee carries controlled knives around?"

A bizarre chuckling arose from behind him.

"Someone... paid money... to buy... to buy your life..."

Amidst strenuous coughing, the man lying on the ground struggled to prop himself up with one hand, squeezing out a cold smirk on his twisted face, "Be smart, don't struggle... it's too unsightly..."

Huai Shi remained silent, raised his foot, and viciously stamped on the man's head.

Bang!

The man completely collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Huai Shi turned back, looking at the few approaching men, couldn't help but sigh, "It seems there's no peaceful way out, is there?"

No one responded to him.

In the deathly stillness, Huai Shi raised his hands, unbuttoning his coat, then took off the suit that had been with him for some years, folded it, and carefully placed it on a clean spot atop the naked man on the ground.

Finally, he stood up, bent down, and bowed.

That attitude was sincere and humble.

"I'm sorry," he said. "My friend has passed away, and I'm in grief."

"..."

In a moment of bewilderment, the men paused, holding back a laugh.

But then, they saw the young man slowly raising his head, looking at them expressionless: "So, if there's anything inappropriate later, let me apologize in advance—"

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hands, positioning himself in a combat stance at his chest.

Offering his enemies the last shred of pity from his heart.

—Rome Dagger Boxing Technique·Level 6!

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"This place is still so desolate."

The Teenage Girl in the wheelchair sat in front of the desk, surveying the surroundings, "Seems to have gotten even bigger."

This is the city's library.

To be precise, it is the underground storage warehouse of the city's library—under the monotonous glare of cold fluorescent lights, colossal shelves stretch on to the end of one's sight, disappearing into unseen darkness.

Counting forward, everything published on paper within Xinhai City for the past sixty years—periodicals, newspapers, official announcements, and all administrative regulations... in short, everything that would be printed on paper was stored here with a backup.

Even the electronic versions were kept in the server room next door, ready for retrieval at any time.

Although this is one of the responsibilities of the city library, their exaggeration to this extent can be attributed to the man behind the desk—the current librarian of Xinhai City and the Sublimator known as 'Professor.'

It wasn't wrong to call him Professor, as the degrees piled upon this man were so numerous even he lost track—in fact, his greatest hobby was to hole up in this vast underground warehouse and read books.

Refusing to budge.