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Chapter 28: The Battle
Surprises are an ever-present element of life.
And no plan survives contact with reality.
Masked Hero, unarmed but emboldened by the advantage of his black attire and sheer audacity, charged headlong into the beams of several flashlights. Shi Rang tried to grab him, but the slippery hem of the wet coat slid through his fingers, slipping away.
In an instant, the shadowy figure crossed the open ground, delivering a flying kick that struck the chest of the henchman holding the shovel, sending him sprawling.
“What the hell is that?!”
The other three criminals were stunned.
To them, this part of the old industrial zone was Blue Signal’s territory—no one should dare challenge them here.
But Masked Hero didn’t give them time to recover. Rising after losing his balance from the recoil of the kick, he swung a punch at another henchman. Blocked, he quickly ducked and knocked the gun out of the man’s hand before it could be aimed at him.
Bang!
The gunshot shattered the night, the bullet narrowly missing Masked Hero as it buried itself in the ground.
“Villains, your end has arrived!”
Sounds of struggle and gunfire echoed near the deep pit.
“It’s that black-clad bastard who got us caught!”
“Don’t let him get close—kill him!”
From over ten meters away, Shi Rang crouched behind a shipping container, his back pressed tightly against the cold metal. His entire body felt frozen, fear overwhelming him, locking his muscles in place.
No one had answered the emergency call. Whatever their original plan had been, it was useless now.
Masked Hero had already been spotted, and rushing out wouldn’t help.
There were four of them—four ruthless criminals, each with blood on their hands and multiple guns between them.
Shi Rang knew he wasn’t strong, didn’t know how to fight, and stepping into the fray would be suicide.
He was here to find clues, to investigate—not to fight, not to die.
Stay hidden. Stay safe here. Don’t move! They’ll leave soon, and you’ll be fine here!
The sound of his chattering teeth was drowned out by the chaos around him. He sank to the ground, clutching his head, sweat trickling down his neck and soaking into his shirt.
Those victims—and even Masked Hero—have nothing to do with you!
With trembling fingers, he forced himself to press the emergency dial button on his phone again.
-----------------
Masked Hero was in trouble.
Its greatest strengths lay in surprise attacks and its ability to blend into the pitch-black environment.
Beyond that—and aside from the peculiar qualities Shi Rang hadn’t fully grasped—it was essentially just a slightly stronger-than-average “person.”
But now, the open terrain worked against it. The enemies had flashlights and guns. The henchman Masked Hero had engaged had emptied his magazine, yet Masked Hero hadn’t managed to take him down. Forced to dodge incoming fire, it retreated behind a jagged piece of iron sheeting embedded in the ground, cornered and surrounded.
Peering out from the shadows, Masked Hero spotted Johnny and Greyhound aiming their weapons, while the first thug it had kicked down was struggling to rise.
It was trapped.
The sound of footsteps splashing through puddles drew closer. Clenching its fists, Masked Hero muttered to itself, “Justice will prevail,” preparing to break cover and charge toward the nearest enemy.
Just as it prepared to leap into the line of fire, a figure appeared behind Greyhound at the edge of the encirclement.
Thud!
A flashlight slammed into the side of Greyhound’s head, shattering its casing and scattering parts everywhere.
Staggered, Greyhound’s gun discharged upward into the night sky.
The other criminals, unprepared for an attack from behind, shifted their focus immediately.
“Well done, Mud Truck!”
Seizing the opportunity, Masked Hero burst from cover, sprinting toward the nearest foe. It delivered a powerful hook to the temple of the henchman it had been fighting.
-----------------
Shi Rang couldn’t believe what he’d just done. Infected by the fervor of “justice,” he had charged recklessly into the fray despite having only a fragile flashlight and his comparatively frail body.
Yet, he had come anyway.
Even he couldn’t explain why—or perhaps, he simply didn’t want to think about it.
He dropped the shattered remains of his flashlight and threw a punch at Greyhound. At that moment, the call connected.
Scarlett’s voice boomed loud enough to hear without speaker mode: “Location?”
“The old industrial zone in the north of the city! Hurry!”
Shi Rang’s punch lacked technique and power, but it was enough to knock Greyhound to the ground. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, using his weight to pin the criminal down.
There was no time to worry about the call or reinforcements now. All that mattered was buying Masked Hero some advantage—even if it meant restraining just one person.
The abandoned roads of the industrial zone were muddy, slick with rainwater. Mud splattered everywhere, blinding one of Shi Rang’s eyes. With his remaining clear eye, he desperately fought to restrain Greyhound’s gun hand, prying it with his fingers and stomping on it with his feet. In the distance, he thought he heard Masked Hero take down another opponent.
Finally, Greyhound released the gun—but the next moment, Shi Rang’s stomach took a brutal kick.
Sent stumbling backward, he clutched his abdomen, his body curling into a shrimp-like shape. Acidic bile dripped from his chin as he gasped for air.
“You wanna fight? I’ll give you a fight!”
Greyhound sprang up, cursing under his breath, and delivered a punch straight to the side of Shi Rang’s face, landing squarely on his eye socket.
This wasn’t a wild haymaker—it was a street-fighter’s trained blow.
Crack!
Shi Rang crashed into a nearby puddle, half his body sinking into the muck.
Greyhound wiped at his split lip, searching for his dropped gun in the darkness.
It was pitch black. His flashlight had flown off during the attack and likely landed in some waterlogged pit. Other flashlights lay scattered across the ground…
“Help!” Brother Johnny’s voice snapped Greyhound back to attention.
The black-clad figure was nearly invisible in the poor lighting, but Brother Johnny was unmistakable.
The group had initially gathered near the cart loaded with bodies, but now Brother Johnny and the others were separated by it.
Greyhound realized with shock that the black-clad figure had already taken down two of his henchmen. The man seemed to possess endless strength, hurling chunks of scrap metal at Brother Johnny. The latter dodged while firing wildly, but in the chaos, most bullets missed their mark—hitting only the swirling cloak. Hitting accurately in such conditions required luck.
“Brother Johnny, I’m coming!” Spotting a discarded gun in the beam of a distant flashlight, Greyhound prepared to sprint toward it.
Suddenly, something tripped him. He stumbled, falling to one knee in the mud.
Looking back, he saw the wiry figure clinging stubbornly to his leg.
“Damn you! Let go!” Greyhound kicked at him with his free foot, but restricted by the awkward angle, his blows only grazed the man.
The guy was utterly determined, tucking his head in to endure the kicks, refusing to release Greyhound’s leg.
“Greyhound, where are you?! Get over here!”
“Hold on, Mud Truck—I’m coming to help you!”
Masked Hero kicked a barrel, using the momentum to close in on Brother Johnny. A well-placed kick struck the back of Brother Johnny’s knee, forcing him to stagger. Several bullets forced Masked Hero to retreat momentarily, but Brother Johnny’s clip was empty.
Masked Hero whipped his cloak around Brother Johnny’s head, charging forward. Desperate, Brother Johnny pulled another handgun from his jacket and fired blindly.
Though most shots missed, one bullet grazed Masked Hero’s arm, trailing a wisp of strange black mist behind it.
Masked Hero stumbled but roared defiantly, lunging forward once more.
“This is your end, villain!”
Brother Johnny tore free of the cloak, spotting the eerie black mist dissipating in the air. Panic set in as he fired wildly while retreating. “What the hell is this—Greyhound, what are you doing?!”
Hearing his boss’s urgent demands, Greyhound’s rage flared. He redoubled his efforts to shake off Shi Rang.
Realizing he couldn’t escape the persistent leech, Greyhound reversed course, spinning and diving toward the puddle Shi Rang had just crawled out of.
“I said let go!”
Shi Rang was dragged onto his back, still refusing to release his grip.
The next moment, the murky water flooded over him, submerging his face.
Greyhound pushed both his leg and Shi Rang’s head deeper into the water.
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