“She can dodge bullets!”
“Didn’t they say as long as you don’t listen to her flute, it’s fine? Why is there this trick too.”
“Your intel is wrong! Run, hurry!”
Bai Xia’s guess was right.
These ordinary outer members were indeed just a bunch of thugs with little tactical sense.
But they weren’t picked up off the street—they were originally from that Xinglong International group.
As a company that evolved from street bullies, it was natural for them to keep a group like this.
After the two founders died, they were simply absorbed by the Association.
People like this, because they’ve mixed on the streets and done some dirty work for the company, aren’t exactly battle-hardened, but at least they have some fighting experience.
Not like those thugs who can only win when the odds are in their favor.
But in this situation, even experience is useless.
If the enemy has the ability to kill you easily, that’s terrifying.
But what’s even scarier is when your strongest moves don’t work on her.
The blonde girl was just that kind of threat.
So after witnessing her dodge bullets with their own eyes, those who had gotten their hands on handguns a few days ago and thought they had everything became instantly fragile.
No one could stop them from fleeing deeper into the basement.
“Stop, all of you stop, you idiots!”
The short man with glasses still held his Rubik’s Cube, standing not far away, trying to persuade them.
“That girl only dodges bullets, she doesn’t ignore them! She’ll still die if she’s hit!”
But it was no use.
Everyone knew that before the lucky person who managed to hit her appeared, the rest who missed would suffer.
A few days ago, during a basic firearm training, the man in the cowboy hat had shown off.
To these people, he was like a gun god.
If even the gun god couldn’t hit her and was now missing upstairs, what were they sticking around for?
The more anxious Rubik’s Cube guy became, the faster they ran.
“Idiots, a bunch of idiots!”
Out of options, he turned to look at a man in a gray overcoat.
“Leader, I really don’t understand why we brought these people. Now they’ve taken over our spare warehouse…”
Now that he thought about it, why is an empty room with nothing in it called a spare warehouse anyway—
He suddenly found himself pondering that question.
“Everything has its use, Rubik’s Cube.”
The overcoat man called out to the other side.
“Death Crow, are you ready?”
At that moment, Rubik’s Cube finally noticed another person sitting in the darkness.
He recognized this guy.
At the first team meeting, everyone had shown their faces.
This one, named Death Crow, wrapped the lower half of his face in white gauze like someone living in the desert.
His gloomy gaze always gave people the chills.
Since Death Crow had only attended one meeting, and usually kept to himself, even eating meals delivered to his room, Rubik’s Cube knew little about him.
He didn’t even know what mysterious items he possessed.
But now, hearing the leader’s words, Rubik’s Cube glanced at the “spare warehouse” filled with ordinary members.
“Rubik’s Cube, is the basement area ready?”
The leader’s words pulled him back to reality.
“Ready.”
Rubik’s Cube nodded.
The restaurant’s layout was just a cover—the real core area was always in the basement, and it had been marked long ago.
***
“There are a lot of marks here.”
Bai Xia noticed immediately after coming down.
Every few steps, there were stickers on the walls and floor in six different colors.
Su Qingyu, not wanting to be left out, spoke as well.
“That’s right, I noticed as soon as I came down too. These should be some kind of special… uh, marks.”
It didn’t seem like much progress.
She was about to say more when she suddenly sensed something and cautiously stepped back.
“Aya, Bai Xia, be careful. Someone’s coming!”
A man in a gray overcoat appeared at the end of the corridor, looking in the direction of the three girls.
He was tall, but not overly so—about 1.8 meters.
His appearance was hard to describe, not distinctive, but gave the feeling of someone who could get things done.
“Are you the ‘leader’ they mentioned earlier?”
Bai Xiaoya peeked out from behind Bai Xia, her head tilted.
Strangely, just seeing his face made her think so.
Bai Xia glanced at him, then looked warily at the sticker markings on the walls around them.
“I don’t think we need to be enemies,”
The overcoat man said to them.
“In fact, we could even find some common ground.”
Su Qingyu curled her lips.
“Sen Kui tried to say the same thing before he died, but our talks broke down. You know that, right?”
It was obvious—the Association was really lacking high-level talent.
Every time, they tried to negotiate first.
The overcoat man smiled.
“That’s true. But after you took down Sen Kui, you didn’t call for Association reinforcements either. Judging from your reaction speed now, it’s not because you thought we weren’t a threat.”
Su Qingyu quietly clenched her small fist.
“So the reason is obvious—you and the Association aren’t on the same side, and you have some wariness toward them. Is it because of a little secret? Like your bullet-dodging ability that’s not recorded in any files?”
The refusal to call for reinforcements was too strange.
Su Qingyu, born of a noble Family, faced with a ragtag group, yet still ended up fighting outnumbered.
“So admit it,”
The overcoat man said.
“Compared to us, the Association, full of loopholes in your eyes, it’s the deep-rooted Family that’s your greatest enemy. Isn’t that right?”
“I…”
“You’re right. The Family is indeed harder to deal with than your so-called Association.”
Bai Xia interrupted before Su Qingyu could speak.
“We also have some little secrets, kept from her Family side. Like this bullet-dodging ability, my card playing ability, and many others.”
Hearing her words, the little blonde girl slowly relaxed her small hand.
All that coordination in Zhongye wasn’t for nothing.
As soon as Bai Xia spoke, Su Qingyu understood.
Yeah, no matter who’s stronger, when it came to confronting the Family, there was no need to cooperate with the Association—
Just grow stronger on your own.
It had only been a month and she could already dodge bullets.
Give it a few more months, who knew what she’d be able to dodge.
“You’re right, mysterious sir, but that’s all,”
Su Qingyu smiled.
“I might be wary of the Family, but that doesn’t mean I need to join forces with the Association.”
The moment she finished speaking, her feet moved, stepping aside with Wind Step.
Behind her, Bai Xia swung the iron chair in her hand like a cannonball.
The short man hiding around the corner twisted the Rubik’s Cube in his hands at the sight.
Click, click.
The sound of machinery rang out in the air.
The space shifted, and the chair smashed into the ground with a loud clang.
The overcoat man vanished from his spot, along with the area where he stood, swapped into the neighboring “Cube Grid”.