Chapter 956: Chapter 956

Outside the Low-rise District

Gang members, each armed with firearms, hid in the shadows alongside the road, slowly approaching the dark SUV parked at the curb.

Dressed in a black short-sleeve shirt, Crimson Claw walked at the forefront of the group. He glanced at the SUV’s tightly closed doors, then turned his head to look at a skinny gang member beside him, "Are you sure no one came out of the car?"

"As soon as you told us to watch this side, we’ve been nearby on guard, and at least while we were watching, no one came out of it."

The skinny gang member immediately replied.

Crimson Claw turned back, hiding behind a large rock, looking towards the dark SUV.

He spread his palm toward his back, "Give me the electromagnetic cannon with armor-piercing projectiles."

A crimson glow flowed through his palm, faintly revealing the mechanical structure buried under the semi-translucent faux skin.

Upon hearing his words, two subordinates immediately dragged over a large-caliber, wheel-mounted, modified miniature electromagnetic cannon and handed it to his palm.

Crimson Claw grabbed the installed handle on the electromagnetic cannon and easily hoisted the bazooka single-handedly. Then, he touched his earpiece, "When I fire, you all open fire with everything you’ve got; let’s give the guys inside the vehicle a big welcome."

Ignoring any response from the earpiece, he then lifted the heavy electronic cannon onto his shoulder, manually aimed at the black SUV, and pressed the firing button.

Accompanied by a crisp sound, Crimson Claw stepped back half a step. The fired projectile blasted out of the muzzle, smashing towards the dark SUV.

The armor-piercing projectile, filled with explosives, exploded violently, creating a brilliant burst of flames.

Immediately following, countless bullets poured down like torrential rain, mixing in the surging flames, striking the outer shell of the black SUV, creating sharp noises.

Those following behind Crimson Claw also picked up submachine guns, ready to shoot at the black SUV.

But just then, Crimson Claw, who had just fired the armor-piercing projectile, raised his hand to stop his subordinates.

He looked at the SUV covered in flames, at the completely private windows that prevented peeking inside, furrowed his brows, then raised the electromagnetic cannon again, looking at the dark SUV, and pressed the firing button.

But this time, before he could press the button, the dark SUV suddenly started, instantly maximizing its horsepower. It lightly turned the steering wheel, passing through the still-lingering flames and the sudden barrage of bullets, rushing towards Crimson Claw.

Only at this moment did Crimson Claw clearly see where the SUV had been hit by the armor-piercing projectile: it was at one of the rear doors. The dark shell was now dented at that spot, revealing a hard, alloy bulletproof panel beneath.

What kind of bulletproof level is this, is this a tank?!

Crimson Claw glared, and at this moment, the heavy SUV had already rapidly closed the distance between them.

Watching the heavily accelerating vehicle, Crimson Claw had no time to be surprised. He immediately dodged, but in that instant, the SUV quickly turned, passing by Crimson Claw’s side, speeding away.

The other party did not intend to hit him, but merely wanted to scare him, to make him clear a path.

Almost instantaneously, Crimson Claw realized he had been played by the person in the SUV. He immediately turned around, aiming at the rear wheels of the SUV, and fired a shot.

Just before he fired, the SUV seemed to anticipate his action and shifted slightly to the side.

The armor-piercing projectile hit the road right behind the right rear of the SUV, causing an intense explosion.

The distance of the SUV kept increasing.

An off-road vehicle equipped with a light machine gun swiftly approached from behind and stopped beside Crimson Claw. "Boss, get in the car."

Crimson Claw, carrying the electromagnetic cannon, jumped onto the vehicle, looking ahead at the other off-road vehicle and roared angrily, "Shoot the tires, shoot his tires!!! Hit them hard, I want him dead today!!!"

The gang members who were originally ambushed around quickly got up and pursued the off-road vehicle.

Meanwhile, on the side of a collapsed half-wall next to the ’hill’ by the roadside, a young man in a suit holding a handgun tilted his head, watching the off-road vehicle chasing down.

He lifted his wrist, glanced at the bracelet that could not find a signal, and the message he had received earlier on the bracelet, then quickly turned and ran towards the side of the hill, away from the Low-rise District.

Inside the Low-rise District

The cool night breeze blew across the smoky cigarette butt in the mouth of the grey-haired old man, carrying it into the depths of darkness.

"Many different guests have visited the Southern District,"

A hoarse, cold voice spread from the depths of darkness and the street lamp shining a weak glow in the darkness gently swayed, seeming like some intangible darkness was slowly approaching, covering up the already dim light.

"But it’s the first time for the mayor of Yilan City,"

A gaunt figure, like skin stretched over bones, slowly emerged from the darkness, he lifted his head, looked at He Ao, and his lips curled up, revealing a slightly terrifying and bloody smile, "I wonder, what brings you here?"

"Just taking a casual walk in Yilan City,"

He Ao looked up at the profound darkness above the man’s head, then lowered his gaze and calmly looked at the figure in front of him, "As the mayor of Yilan City, I need to understand this city better to govern it better; it’s both my responsibility and my right."

"No mayor who wants to understand the city comes deep into the Southern District; Saint Ilan District is the place to understand the city. It has fine wine and sunshine suitable for an old man like you to retire; you shouldn’t be here."

The gaunt figure opened his mouth into a smile, the bright white teeth surrounded by bright red were exceptionally conspicuous in the darkness,

"As one gets old, he wishes to walk more, only by going deep can one see the true face of this city, isn’t that right?"

He Ao calmly looked at him.

"Mr. Mayor, you’ve wandered too far,"

The gaunt man’s voice slowly softened, his murky, dry eyes looked at He Ao, the tone cold and deliberate, "Wandering too far could lead to danger, and for a distinguished person like you, staying in such a filthy, stinking dump, you could encounter fatal dangers at any time."

"I’m just an ordinary old man,"

He Ao replied calmly, "I feel quite good staying here; this place isn’t filthy, and there are many noble souls here, they are all my people,"

He slightly lifted his gaze, smiling at the gaunt man in front of him, "As for the dangers, trying to accomplish something always comes with a cost, doesn’t it?"

His voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear, spreading through the dim darkness around.

In the quiet and grey buildings on both sides, a faint stir could be heard.

"Mr. Mayor, you are very eloquent; I shouldn’t try to argue with you,"

The gaunt man glanced at the surrounding buildings, lowered his head, stared at He Ao, his voice rising slightly, "Let me be blunt; your journey should end here, you shouldn’t have come here today, and especially not alone, of course, everyone makes foolish mistakes, but it’s a pity you won’t have a second chance."

The silent darkness quieted down again.

"Let me personally send you off,"

The gaunt figure, only bones covered in skin, slightly lifted his head, opened his arms, his face showing a slightly joyful and sanctified expression, he roared hoarsely, "Death is the most beautiful encounter, let me send you back to eternal freedom."

A sharp shriek instantly resounded in the darkness, like some chaotic, twisted music reverberating in the cold night wind, drawing peeks from even deeper in the night.

Figures holding guns emerged from the darkness, aiming at He Ao.

At that moment, He Ao slowly raised his hand and calmly spoke, "Silence! No loud noises allowed."

At that instant, the music emanating from the darkness around him seemed as though it was choked off, abruptly coming to a halt, and even the gang members who were preparing to rush over were momentarily stunned, unsure of what had happened.

The ’delighted’ gaunt man also paused his breathing at this moment, staring at He Ao in shock and disbelief, "What did you do?"

"Perhaps you should learn about the Federation’s ’Noise Control Act’,"

He Ao slowly took off his suit jacket and walked to a side clothes rack that seemed to be meant for hanging garments, "It specifically stipulates that one should not make excessive noise in public places, especially noises from cults that could affect the mental state of citizens."

The gaunt man stared dumbfounded at He Ao, then glanced at the armed gang members surrounding them.

These people didn’t look like they abided by the law.

Moreover, it was the kind of civic-minded suggestion that carried no penalties under the law.

By this time, He Ao had already hung his jacket on the clothes rack.

The fact that these gang members didn’t follow the law didn’t mean that He Ao couldn’t use the law to restrain them.

Talent Sequence 96: Judge

’Judge can make judgments on the target’s actions based on local laws/rules, which will have a certain level of influence and take immediate effect.’

This was Linen’s Talent Sequence. The Judge’s ability was akin to commandment; as long as a judgment was passed under the fulfillment of rules, it would take effect.

The rules the Judge relied on didn’t necessarily have to be laws; as long as they were rules everyone in the area implicitly agreed to follow, a judgment could be made.

Generally, only formally enacted laws would gain subconscious recognition from everyone—even if many people didn’t understand the law itself.

Thus, most of the rules the Judge could utilize were confined to established laws.

Theoretically, when there was a large enough gap in level, a Judge’s ’judgment’ could have significant effectiveness.

For instance, if an ordinary person vocally murdered someone in a jurisdiction with the death penalty, and the Judge directly sentenced them to ’death,’ this murderer would very likely immediately commit suicide.

However, there were no death penalties under Federation law, and the higher the transcendent level of the target and the broader the application range, the lower the effectiveness of the Judge’s ’judgment.’

Hence, this could only serve as an auxiliary ability.

Nevertheless, these abilities were quite useful during speeches. Linen often directly used the Judge’s powers to forcibly maintain order at the venue of his speeches, enabling the audience to listen better.

As for the peculiar ’music’ summoned by the gaunt man just now, it seemed to be contacting some twisted form of power, tainted with a slightly higher-tier aura, but its energy intensity was not high and within the capability of the Judge. Thus He Ao simply used the law to shut off his speakers.

At this moment, the gaunt man also realized that He Ao had directly used some ability to break his sound.

He bowed his head, his voice icy, "Old geezer, you really should die."

He Ao, having hung up his clothes, turned around, slightly moving his arms.

His white shirt strained against his solid muscles.

He lifted his head, gazing at the gaunt man, his tone calm, "Death might be a beautiful encounter, but not now."

The gaunt man raised his arm and rasped out the command.

In the silent darkness, it seemed as though mist surged, and after a moment’s hesitation, the surrounding gang members raised their guns towards He Ao.

From the dark on either side emerged flowing glows. Two figures with fully mechanically modified bodies, each holding a metal alloy broadsword, charged at He Ao from the left and right.

He Ao stepped forward, reaching out with both hands, and grabbed the necks of the two Mechanically Modified Persons, smashing them together in the middle.

Accompanied by the splattering of alloy fragments, He Ao let go, and the two attackers separated.

Then, almost simultaneously, each of the attackers pivoted to the side and activated the jet ports behind their large alloy blades, slashing towards He Ao, who stood between them.

But as their blades struck down, He Ao had already moved forward another step, passing between the two of them.

The sharp blades sliced through the night air, dimly lit by the glimmer, each Mechanically Modified Person cutting into the other’s Mechanized Body.

A sudden explosion from compressed batteries ignited behind the elderly person, briefly illuminating the dense darkness around.

One key characteristic of low-quality compressed batteries used by street Mechanized Body modifiers is their instability and tendency to explode.

Shots rang out from the depths of the night, sharp bullets pierced through the arcs of flame, rushing towards the elderly person standing in front of the flames.

He Ao looked up briefly at the incoming projectiles, raised his hand, and flicked his fingers.

Accompanied by a series of crisp sounds, the bullets under the night sky changed direction, flying back the way they had come.

"Old geezer, looks like you aren’t seriously hurt?"

The gaunt man in front stood with his head lowered, eyes brooding as he looked at He Ao, then he raised his hand, his hoarse voice as if disturbed by electricity, dragged out overlapping sounds, "But no matter, no matter how much strength you still possess, you are a dead man today."

Accompanied by a hail of bullets, two figures suddenly burst out of the darkness, charging at He Ao.

He Ao glanced at the attacking figures, feeling the burst of strength those two figures emitted in a short time, then he raised his eyes, observing the corpse-like calm cheeks of the two, and glanced above their heads.

Just then, the two figures also pulled out their waist knives and struck towards He Ao.

He Ao’s hands shot out almost simultaneously, both fists hitting the attackers’ bodies.

The original attackers spat out blood and flew backward, while at that moment, He Ao had already moved past the two, continuing forward, approaching the gaunt man.

"Your strength deviates greatly from what the data indicated,"

The gaunt man lowered his head, looking at He Ao, "but that doesn’t matter either,"

The surrounding darkness writhed instantaneously, as if an intangible, enormous shadow was emerging from the void, unfolding like a massive flower of shadow spanning several tens of meters around the gaunt man’s torso.

Pairs of crimson eyes opened within the darkness, that twisted shadow seemingly baring ghastly white teeth, gazing at He Ao standing in front.

Chilly night winds blew He Ao’s grizzled hair, spreading a twisting, terrifying sense of oppression into every inch of the darkness.

Nearby, a streetlight wavered in this desolate wind, its dim yellow light flickering, making creaking sounds.

The gaunt man opened his mouth, arched his back, showing his pearly white teeth and a ferocious smile, "Remember, the one who kills you is called Black Snake."

He Ao raised his head, looking towards the massive and terrifying shadow in front.

As if some kind of invisible, twisted ravings were resonating around that shadow.