Chapter 5: The Captain, Downtown, and the Black Fire Gang

Thump thump thump!

The urgent knocking on the door startled Wang Jixuan from his meditation.

He nimbly jumped to his feet, and the tiny, newly formed wisp of Qi within his body immediately retreated back into his Dantian in his abdomen.

Wang Jixuan glanced at the clock on the wall; he had only been cultivating for less than two hours, or three and a half hours in the local parlance. He had thought he could recover some of his strength, but at this moment, he helplessly realized…

The Spiritual Qi here was too thin;

He had a wealth of insights but hadn’t even crossed the threshold of the Qi Refining Realm. He had only managed to slightly enhance his five senses, increase his physical strength, and gain a basic internal breath.

‘Later, I still need to find a way to get some Spirit Stones to set up a Formation for gathering Spiritual Qi.’

Thump thump!

The person outside knocked with more force.

Wang Jixuan could vaguely sense that there were three people outside.

Gang retaliation?

He flashed behind the door and feigned sleepiness as he asked, “Are you knocking on my door?”

“Thirteenth Floor Security Squad! Open up! Assist with the investigation!”

Wang Jixuan was skeptical, but he was also bold due to his skill. With the wisp of Qi he had just obtained, plus the four-foot-long metal pipe behind the door, which served as a collectible, he was confident he could repel any attackers.

So, he raised his hand and pressed the electronic lock, holding his breath and standing still against the wall.

A thick calf in a half-boot kicked the door open.

Two men and one woman, three Security Squad members in light blue uniforms, squeezed into the standard room for a third-class citizen.

‘Indeed, they are officials.’

Wang Jixuan subtly placed the metal pipe back in the corner and spoke first:

“Is there something you need me for?”

The three were clearly startled, and the somewhat slender girl instinctively retreated two steps.

The leader of the three was a middle-aged man with a slicked-back, three-seven parted hairstyle that shone with oil. His light blue uniform was clean and crisp, completely out of place with the consistently dim atmosphere around him.

The man had a proper appearance; while not particularly outstanding, his nose bridge was high and his eye sockets deep, giving him a “righteous” feel.

Wang Jixuan noticed that the man had a small bauhinia badge pinned to his chest.

This seemed to be a symbol of official rank.

Behind the middle-aged man, the muscular Security Squad member glared and cursed, “What are you hiding there for! Come here and cooperate with our investigation!”

“Don’t be so fierce,” the middle-aged man frowned and said, “You two go wait outside for me.”

“Yes, Captain!”

The two team members saluted in unison with a swing-arm-to-chest gesture. The strong young team member glared at Wang Jixuan again before leaving, as if warning him to behave. The female team member, holding a folder, smartly closed the alloy door.

The light in the room was dim. The middle-aged man walked over to the side on his own, found the lighting knob, and turned it to maximum.

Immediately, the room became much brighter.

“My name is Zhou Zhengde,” he introduced himself, his hawk-like eyes scanning Wang Jixuan up and down. “Wei Na’s ex-boyfriend. She sent me to find you.”

Wang Jixuan leaned against the wall without moving, his hands in his pockets.

Although he really wanted to appear a bit nervous, which would better fit Mu Liang’s personality, he…

He truly couldn’t feel nervous.

“Do I need to testify for her that it was self-defense?”

“You’ll help, right?”

Zhou Zhengde’s gaze softened a bit, and he sighed:

“She’s a good person. I mean, she’s a good person. Although she’s not a good woman, when we were in a relationship, this open-minded person didn’t betray me, which gave me a very good dating experience.

“You know, the environmental pressure is too great, and sexual openness has become a lifestyle for half the population, but our officials do not advocate it.

“Back to the point.

“Later, you’ll need to sign a few documents, and I’ll also record the entire process as evidence for the Administrator’s judgment.

“Now, can you tell me… what exactly happened then? The real situation. This trouble is very tricky.”

Very tricky?

Was the Gang so powerful that even the officials were wary?

Wang Jixuan nodded and said unhurriedly:

“At that time, Doctor Wei Na examined my mental state and determined that I had no self-destructive tendencies, but had just accidentally gotten a cloth strip caught around my neck, and she issued that certificate for me.

“Those three people who called themselves members of the Black Fire Gang were very vicious. The leader of the thugs was called Brother Hua. He grabbed Wei Na’s hair and dragged her to the ground. He wore hard leather shoes and kicked Doctor Wei Na’s abdomen hard. I was… stunned at the time.

“They said I was Wei Na’s boyfriend…”

“That, ahem! Interrupting for a moment.”

Zhou Zhengde pondered for a few moments:

“Are you? Young man? Are you Wei Na’s boyfriend?”

“I am not,” Wang Jixuan said. “We just met, in the partitioned medical room.”

“Then did you have relations with her?”

Wang Jixuan smiled: “No, I am a sexually conservative person.”

Zhou Zhengde’s eyes immediately brightened: “That’s great! You’ll definitely get a wonderful female partner as your genetic matching recommended spouse on your twenty-fifth birthday… Um, did she tell you that she went through early menopause?”

“Huh?” Several question marks appeared above Wang Jixuan’s head.

“I’m getting off topic,” Zhou Zhengde cleared his throat, raising his voice a bit higher than before and sitting more casually. “Continue.”

Wang Jixuan pointed to his haphazardly bandaged arm: “I was actually terrified at the time. That guy held a gun to me and told me to persuade Doctor Wei Na to accept their invitation to have an organ removal surgery. I don’t know where the courage came from, but I turned around and snatched the gun. He was clearly stunned by my sudden resistance, and then I used all my strength to punch him… People can unleash their potential when they’re angry. My mind was also blank at the time.”

“That’s right, I’ve had similar experiences.

“This Black Fire Gang controls one-third of the organ trade market in the Lower City. They survive by this kind of business.”

Zhou Zhengde’s eyes showed a hint of unconcealed anger:

“These scumbags! Bastards! If it weren’t for… never mind, no need to complain about this to you!

“I know Wei Na’s personality very well. Although her views on gender relations are easily criticized, she aspired to be a doctor since childhood. I grew up with her and used to be the best of friends, but I couldn’t resist crossing the line once, and the nature of our relationship changed.

“You understand, she’s a very feminine woman, and I had a bit to drink.

“It’s just a pity that she wasn’t willing to become my wife and remain faithful to our marriage… She could only accept an open marriage.”

Wang Jixuan rubbed his forehead with his fingers: “Captain Zhou, why don’t we get the evidence now?”

“Ha, of course! However, you don’t need to mention the part where you punched them later.”

Zhou Zhengde narrowed his eyes slightly:

“You just need to say… the situation at the time was very chaotic. These three people wanted to kill you, and Doctor Wei Na jumped up beside you to fight for his gun. During the fierce struggle, you heard seven or eight gunshots, and then you saw Wei Na holding the handgun, trembling, and kneeling down.

“This way, you won’t have any legal trouble, and Wei Na will gain more initiative.

“Is that acceptable?”

Wang Jixuan nodded: “Yes.”

“Great! What a clever young man!”

Zhou Zhengde stood up to call his subordinates.

“I’d like to ask,” Wang Jixuan spoke up, “The implied meaning of ‘no legal trouble’ is that I’ll still have other troubles?”

“The one who died was a minor leader, ranked thirteenth within the Black Fire Gang—a villain, a scoundrel, trash—but he was the Black Fire Gang BOSS’s biological brother.”

Zhou Zhengde clicked his tongue softly:

“The two guys who escaped back have already told the Black Fire Gang’s boss what they saw. Their boss sent someone to deliver me a letter, telling me not to interfere in this matter.

“The Black Fire Gang needs to establish their status and deterrence, so they will inevitably retaliate against Wei Na and you.

“I will try my best to protect Wei Na; she is one of my best friends. Although the Black Fire Gang has some connections, they wouldn’t dare directly attack the Security Office.

“Therefore, they are very likely to first unleash their anger on a third-class ordinary citizen with no power or background.

“As a return for you recording this evidence, I will immediately arrange another residence for you, but this can only hide you from the Black Fire Gang temporarily… Or I could frame you with a crime and lock you up in the Security Office’s prison, but that would demote you to a first-class citizen and make you lose your currently relatively easy job.”

Wang Jixuan immediately said: “The former is enough, thank you.”

“We both get what we need. The characteristic of us Middle City people is order and principle.”

Zhou Zhengde patted Wang Jixuan’s shoulder and smiled:

“Your psychological fortitude is quite good.

“No wonder Wei Na’s eyes lit up when she mentioned you. I rarely see that expression on her.

“You two really didn’t sleep together? Really, I’m just curious. She’s a sexy goddess, and we’re already over.”

Wang Jixuan put on a distressed expression.

This Captain had a calm aura and sharp eyes, unlike a villain, but he was… a bit of a chatterbox, and overly concerned with Doctor Wei Na’s private life.

‘Tsk, the strange emotions of Mortals.’

…

【13th Floor, District D, Pathway 17, Room 72】.

Wang Jixuan, who had just packed his simple luggage, toyed with the blue card Captain Zhou had left him, wondering how high the possibility of it being a trap was.

He didn’t dare to easily trust a stranger, even if his overall personal impression of this Captain was rather comfortable.

Through Mu Liang’s memories, Wang Jixuan had a moderate understanding of the Fortress.

The Fortress was divided into three parts: Upper, Middle, and Lower. The Upper City comprised the first to sixth floors and was the permanent residence area for the Fortress’s combat personnel and various military factories.

The Middle City referred to the seventh to forty-fifth floors.

Approximately 430,000 people lived here. Each floor had several factories and numerous indoor farms. Every citizen, before losing their ability to work, had to engage in various jobs in factories and farms.

If the Upper City and Middle City were the foundation and pillars of the 76th Fortress, then the Lower City was synonymous with chaos.

The Lower City was home to about 200,000 to 300,000 people. It originally had only six floors of space, but due to various “historical” issues, it gradually evolved into another world.

The edicts issued by the Fortress Administrator could only be effectively promoted in the Upper City and Middle City, and were isolated from the Lower City.

The Lower City was filled with violence and depravity, and liked to use freedom as a slogan to cover up bloodshed and chaos.

The underground Fortresses in the Middle Ancient Basin had already reached the number ‘136’, but there were only eighteen Fortresses currently existing in this region. Most of the Fortresses’ collapses were not due to external Blade Beast attacks, but rather perished in so-called freedom uprisings.

Most critically, the Lower City, after seventy or eighty years of downward expansion, had already damaged the bottom defensive layer of the 76th Fortress.

—All of the above information was once posted on the Middle City street notice boards.

Under these preconditions, members of the Black Fire Gang, rampant in certain areas of the Lower City, brazenly appeared with firearms on the Thirteenth Floor, in the upper-middle part of the Fortress…

If there wasn’t connivance from the Middle City Security Squad behind this, Wang Jixuan wouldn’t believe it, even if Brother Hua was killed several more times.

From this perspective, Wang Jixuan dared not fully trust Zhou Zhengde, unless he could determine exactly which ‘official moles’ were colluding with the Black Fire Gang.

Daoist Wang mused to himself:

‘This Daoist needs to find a place to hide for a few months. As long as this Daoist body enters the Qi Refinement Stage, I should be able to confront these Mortal Gangs head-on.’

‘Those hidden weapons, which are extremely powerful for Mortals, are still a big problem for this Daoist now.’

‘The mechanism art of this world should not be underestimated. According to the original owner’s memories, there are even Yanjia here that can shatter rocks and blast mountains.’

Thump, thump thump!

A sudden knock on the door made Wang Jixuan leap like a nimble cat behind the door, grabbing the metal pipe with a circle of screws bound to its end.

“Who?”