Chapter 97: Master!

“Y-yes! We are… we’re just…”

Under extreme terror, Brother Wang was shaking his head frantically, snot and tears streaming down his face as he stammered incoherently, trying to save his life by degrading himself.

“Big… big bro… grandpa! We’re just the lowest guys in the gang who collect protection fees! We’re nobodies! Just crap! Please, sir, be generous—just treat us like farts and let us go!”

The Akagane Gang…

The moment the man confirmed it, Luo Shaotian’s thoughts—which had been muddled by the drugs—suddenly spun with unprecedented speed.

After the Akagane incident, he hadn’t been idle.

He had used all his information channels, digging into everything about this gang like a paranoid wolfhound.

This gang wasn’t a band of mere riffraff.

Its strict internal structure was heavily influenced by its roots in Huaxia Heavy Industries, functioning like a highly efficient underground factory.

At the very bottom were the “straw sandals,” people like Brother Wang—
a group abandoned by the times, surviving only through collecting protection fees and picking fights to give themselves a sense of existence.

They were cannon fodder.

Above the “straw sandals” was the true combat core of the Akagane Gang, internally referred to as the “Master Craftsmen.”

They were once the elite young technicians of Huaxia Heavy Industries.
Now, they were the gang’s fiercest enforcers—its “red sticks.”

Rumor said every single one of them had transformed their bodies through extreme methods. They were genuine “monsters,” troublesome enough to give even SWAT units headaches.

“The Wrench”…

Luo Shaotian’s pupils narrowed slightly.

The West Hall Lord of the Akagane Gang—a mysterious figure known only through fragmentary intel from informants—responsible for the gang’s weapons and vehicle modifications.

It was said he had once been a top-tier senior fitter at Huaxia Heavy Industries, fired for indulging in illegal mechanical modifications.

Most of the “Master Craftsmen” under him displayed a similarly heavy, deranged mechanical augmentation style.

Luo Shaotian slowly released his grip, letting Brother Wang’s corpulent body collapse to the ground like a pile of mush.

He understood now.

That crippled thug earlier—the one who said a “Master Craftsman” would come “teach them a lesson”—hadn’t been bluffing.

The “Wrench” was their real problem solver.

A genuine…
professional killer.

A killer.

Interesting.

Finally… someone worth fighting?

A shiver of excitement and murderous intent spread from Luo Shaotian’s spine to every limb.
He could even feel the blood in his body heating up with anticipation.

The joy of clashing with a stronger opponent made him momentarily lose focus.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu was on the verge of breaking down.

She pressed her hand against her inner thigh, gripping the psychic handgun, unsure whether she should shoot Luo Shaotian.

Logically speaking, this thing wasn’t very lethal to humans—it only caused mental shock.

If she looked at it that way… maybe she could use it to knock Luo Shaotian out, then force-feed him the inhibitor?

After all this trouble…
did they still need to resort to the most direct method?

Then what was the point of all the seduction she’d endured these past days?!

Seriously…

Eh—

Wait.
Why did her body suddenly feel prickly?

Was something—

Lin Yu instinctively looked up toward the dark, hollow shell of the unfinished building beside them.

There was nothing there—only concrete structures outlined by moonlight.

But an overwhelming sense of lethal danger crashed down from above, pressing on her so hard she could barely breathe!

She didn’t know what it was.

But her body screamed:

Danger!

If she didn’t dodge now—she would die!

And Luo Shaotian… would die too!

“Above you!!!”

Almost the instant her voice rang out, Luo Shaotian violently leaned back and rolled to the side!

And the very next second—

BOOM—!!

A pitch-black figure plummeted from the fifth floor of the abandoned building, tearing through the air like a falling meteor.

With crushing force, it slammed into the spot where Luo Shaotian had been standing.

The hard concrete ground, under that horrifying impact, shattered like a biscuit struck dead-on by a battering ram—instantly cracking and caving in!

Debris and dust blasted outward in a ring, forming a violent shockwave that blew the surrounding thugs off their feet like rag dolls.

Brother Wang, who had been collapsed on the ground mere seconds ago, was flung into the air, rolling several times before stopping.

As he looked up in terror, he saw the “devil” that had descended from the sky—landing less than half a meter away from him.

It was a figure larger and more massive than any fighter he had ever seen; even crouched, it radiated—

Pressure.

But when Brother Wang finally saw who it was, his fear-twisted face suddenly erupted with ecstatic relief.

“Mas… Master Craftsman!”

Like grabbing his last lifeline, he crawled and rolled forward, clutching the man’s leg—hard as forged steel—crying uncontrollably.

“You finally came, Master Craftsman! It’s him! That kid! It’s him!”

The other thugs, after recovering from the chaos, also recognized the newcomer.

“It’s… it’s the Master Craftsman!”

“Great! Wre—”

“That brat is dead now!”

Morale surged.

But the “Master Craftsman” ignored Brother Wang’s wailing entirely.

He didn’t even glance down at the man clutching his leg.

He merely stood up, very slowly.

Creak… ka-chunk—

The sound of rusty mechanical parts grinding filled the air as something inside him moved.

Hiding behind the shopping cart, Lin Yu clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.

Before her was…

something that could hardly be called “human.”

He was massive—bigger even than Luo Shaotian, who stood at 1.9 meters.

His loose black industrial work jacket and pants covered him completely, except at the collar and cuffs, where a patch of exposed skin showed.

It wasn’t normal human skin.

It was a sickly bluish white—like—

Not skin.
More like scar tissue from a severe burn, uneven and lumpy, like melted wax that had solidified again.

He tore off the hood he had been wearing low over his head.

Underneath was a bald skull—no hair left.

An old-fashioned industrial respirator covered two-thirds of his face, with several thick black tubes extending downward and disappearing into his chest.

His legs were not human legs.

They were mechanical prosthetics composed of complex hydraulic structures.

One of his arms was still human.

The other had been replaced entirely with a black mechanical limb.

Five metallic fingers opened and closed slowly, gleaming coldly.

He looked like a ghost crawling out of an industrial accident, his shattered body crudely reassembled with rusted steel.

The “Master Craftsman” didn’t acknowledge the man hugging his leg.

He simply waved his mechanical arm casually, as if swatting away a fly.

THUD—!!!

A dull, heavy impact.

Brother Wang’s 180-pound body was swept up easily, thrown across the air like a ragged sack, slamming into a distant wall before sliding limply to the ground.

He twitched twice—

Then went completely still.

The surviving thugs, who had been watching like spectators, froze instantly.

They finally realized that this “Master Craftsman”…

hadn’t come to save them.

“…Heh…heh—”

The Master Craftsman’s gaze drifted past the groaning, defeated “straw sandals” on the ground—discarded like trash.

Finally, his eyes locked onto Luo Shaotian.

The huge protective goggles on his mask reflected twin cold glimmers under the dim streetlight, hiding his expression completely.

Time seemed to stretch.

He stared at Luo Shaotian.
For a long, long time.

At last, a rasping voice—mixed with the hiss of the respirator—slowly emerged.

“Officer Luo…”

The voice paused, as if recalling something from far away.

“…long time no see.”