Chapter 54 The Ruthless Lone Wolf

Jin Hu is dead?

Ai Chu sat in the command room, his brows tightly furrowed, his expression dark and cold.

Jin Hu, like Tu She, was one of his most trusted lieutenants—possessing immense strength, rarely meeting an equal. Yet, even with five men under his command, he had fallen to Chen Yi, a mere youth. From Tu She's report, Ai Chu learned that the five men with Jin Hu had also perished, leaving Tu She with only two remaining subordinates.

It was only at this moment that Ai Chu realized how little he truly knew about Chen Yi. What little information he had came from Feng Kun.

Turning his gaze sharply to Feng Kun, Ai Chu's voice was cold and cutting: "Do you have nothing to explain?"

Feng Kun instinctively took a step back, his voice trembling with fear. "I… I don't know. I truly didn't know Chen Yi was this powerful."

His face was pale. The only time he had seen Chen Yi fight was during his scuffle with Li Guangmang. The two had fought barehanded for over ten minutes before a victor emerged. At the time, Feng Kun had thought Chen Yi was merely skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine this young man to be a god of slaughter, capable of taking down eight skilled fighters with nothing but a compound bow.

And these weren't just ordinary men—they were all seasoned warriors. Any one of them could easily handle seven or eight street thugs alone. Among them was Jin Hu, whom even Ai Chu held in high regard, yet all of them had been wiped out in less than half an hour!

If he had known this earlier, would he have dared to provoke Chen Yi? Would he have dared to compete with him over a woman? That would've been no different from courting death!

"Hmph, you cost me a great general, and you think a simple 'I didn't know' is enough to excuse yourself?"

Ai Chu suddenly stood up, his movements so swift that Feng Kun couldn't react before Ai Chu's hand was around his throat, slamming him against the wall.

Feng Kun's back hit the wall with a force that seemed to shake his internal organs. But with Ai Chu's iron grip around his neck, he couldn't even cry out in pain. Like a fish out of water, he opened his mouth in vain, struggling for air.

Just as he thought he was about to be strangled to death, Ai Chu flung him to the ground.

Freed from the grip, Feng Kun clutched his neck, gasping desperately for air. Only now did he truly understand the value of breathing.

Han Wenxue, watching the scene unfold, showed neither sympathy nor satisfaction. She simply sat quietly, her eyes distant and unfocused, her breathing slightly quickened, her delicate face flushed with excitement.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through layers of concrete and steel, across the barriers of space, envisioning Chen Yi with his bow, standing against eight enemies, his body stained with the blood of their leader. He was like a war god descending upon the battlefield, his valor and might striking terror into the hearts of his foes.

This man had come to save her. That alone was enough. The outcome no longer mattered.

Though regret lingered, she was already content.

In the shadowed corners of Wu Pangzi's heart, where despair had long taken root, a glimmer of hope now shone through. His admiration for Chen Yi surged like the relentless Yellow River, vast and unending.

No wonder he dared to emulate Guan Yu, entering the enemy camp alone with a single blade!

No wonder he dared to mimic Zhao Zilong, charging through enemy lines to rescue his lord!

His courage was matched only by his unparalleled skill.

If Chen Yi managed to rescue him, Wu Pangzi swore he'd marry his daughter to Chen Yi without hesitation!

It wasn't about fear of death—it was about having such an extraordinary son-in-law, someone who brought unparalleled honor and pride!

"Young master, this boy is no ordinary opponent. Allow me to face him myself," said the ever-composed Elder Ai, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in quiet meditation. He now stood up, requesting permission to act.

Ai Chu returned to his seat, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. Waving dismissively, he replied, "No need. If Tu She can't handle him, then he's not worth keeping. I don't raise useless men."

Elder Ai gave Ai Chu a thoughtful glance but said nothing, resuming his meditative pose.

Chen Yi's expression was grim. Blood continued to flow from the wound in his side, where an arrow had pierced him. He had already removed his shirt, using it as a makeshift tourniquet, but it was futile. Before long, the fabric was soaked through with fresh blood.

He was no battle-hardened veteran, and this was the first time he had suffered such a serious injury. For the moment, he couldn't think of a better solution.

As he sat in a concealed spot, feeling utterly helpless, he suddenly noticed a faint warmth spreading from his wound. His face lit up with joy.

The spiritual energy within his body had begun to repair the injury on its own, just as it had when he was struck on the head by Thief Three and his spiritual energy had healed the wound while he was in the hospital.

Within minutes, the bleeding slowed and eventually stopped entirely.

Though the pain remained, he no longer cared.

Three malevolent auras—two ahead and one behind—were slowly advancing through the emergency passage, closing in on him.

Chen Yi sneered, seeing through their ploy. Picking up a discarded brick from the ground, he silently approached the entrance to the emergency passage.

Tu She and his two remaining men moved cautiously, their every step deliberate and wary. The two in the lead were especially tense, their fingers tightly gripping their triggers, their heavy breaths echoing in the confined space, ready to face the god of slaughter at any moment.

Bang!

A sudden crash shattered the oppressive silence, the sound reverberating sharply through the narrow passage.

The nerves of the two men, already stretched taut like drawn bowstrings, snapped under the shock. Their fingers reflexively pulled the triggers, sending arrows whistling toward the source of the noise.

When they realized what had caused the sound, their faces turned pale with shock.

It was a brick.

Bricks don't grow legs—they don't move on their own. Someone had thrown it!

Realizing they'd been tricked, they scrambled to reload, desperate to prepare before the god of slaughter descended upon them.

But Chen Yi gave them no chance to recover. Sliding across the ground to the entrance of the passage, he loosed two arrows in quick succession, each finding its mark in their hearts.

Tu She, a seasoned sniper who had survived countless battlefields, displayed far greater composure than his companions. The moment Chen Yi threw the brick, Tu She, standing further back on another flight of stairs, seized the opportunity and fired an arrow.

Chen Yi let out a muffled grunt. Though he had killed the two men, Tu She's arrow struck him in the shoulder.

Had he not been lying prone, the arrow would have pierced his heart.

Tu She was surprised that Chen Yi had avoided a fatal blow, but only mildly so. He had seen such unexpected outcomes countless times before.

This time, Chen Yi had survived. But what of the next?

Though unable to fire in rapid succession, Tu She, ever the cautious sniper, always kept a backup plan. With a flick of his wrist, a Browning 1906 pocket pistol slid into his hand from his sleeve.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gun roared, six shots fired in rapid succession, the deafening echoes overlapping in the confined passage.

For the first time, a trace of panic appeared on Tu She's face. Despite the close range, Chen Yi had evaded most of the bullets!

Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, Tu She would never have believed that a human could perform such superhuman feats. Chen Yi moved like a beast in human form, his agility and explosive power undiminished despite his injuries. He leapt and darted through the narrow passage, defying the laws of physics to dodge most of the bullets.

Though Chen Yi avoided four shots, one struck his thigh and another his right chest. The searing pain twisted his expression into a feral snarl, his eyes burning with a wolf-like ferocity.

"Heh, a young man with such skill is truly remarkable. But it's a pity—you'll die here today. Dying by my hand is no disgrace," Tu She said, regaining his composure as he drew a dagger, assuming a textbook Delta Force combat stance.

"Is that so? If you die by my hand, it'll be a disgrace indeed," Chen Yi sneered, his blood-streaked teeth gleaming like those of a predator.

"Then let's fight!"

Tu She roared, lunging forward with his blade.

"Fight!"

Chen Yi gripped one end of his compound bow like a staff, swinging it downward with the force of a mountain, meeting Tu She's attack head-on.

The bow sliced through the air, the wind from its motion lifting Tu She's hair as it hurtled toward his head.

Tu She instinctively dodged, his movements as fluid as a falling tree, his dagger flashing toward Chen Yi's abdomen in a lethal counterstrike.

The blade sank into Chen Yi's flesh with a sickening sound.

Yet Tu She felt no triumph—only a creeping sense of dread. The ease of his success felt like a trap.

Chen Yi's lips curled into a grin, as if the blade had pierced someone else's body. With a surge of strength, he swung the bow again, doubling its speed.

Crack!

The sickening sound of bone snapping echoed as the bow struck Tu She's leg, bending it at an unnatural angle.

Ignoring the dagger buried in his abdomen, Chen Yi surged forward, his right knee driving into Tu She's chest with crushing force, sending him flying like a broken reed.

Pain consumed Tu She as he struggled to rise, only to collapse again. His left leg had been shattered.

For the first time, true fear gripped Tu She's heart.

Chen Yi was no ordinary human.

His speed and strength were monstrous, his endurance seemingly infinite, and he appeared utterly impervious to pain.

In desperation, Tu She slashed wildly with his dagger, carving a bloody gash across Chen Yi's chest. But his face was filled with despair as the compound bow loomed larger in his vision.

Crack!

The final sound Tu She heard was the dull thud of the bow shattering his skull.

Chen Yi, his strength spent, collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The pain from his wounds and the exhaustion of battle hit him all at once.

Buzz. Buzz.

The old Nokia phone in his pocket, miraculously intact after the chaos, vibrated dutifully.

"Hello?" Chen Yi answered.

The voice on the other end was silent for a moment, then spoke with eerie calm.

"I admit defeat. Now, your friends and I are waiting at the plaza beneath Building 15," Ai Chu said, his tone as still as death.