Book 7: Chapter 2: Violence Gang

“Brother Xiaonan, please don’t eat me! Xiaoya doesn’t taste good!” Tears and snot covered Xiaoya’s face. Her black eyes, which looked especially large because of her small face, were filled with uncontrollable fear.

Although Meteor Street had “street” in its name, it was actually like a small self-governing area. Most of Meteor Street was a desert filled with poisonous dust, with huge piles of trash everywhere. Only the northeast part, which was close to the big forest, had slightly better air quality and was suitable for humans to live in.

Meteor Street had a council made up of elders. But since the things needed for life mostly came from recycling trash, it didn’t really have a strong ruling class. The Council of Elders was made up of respected old people. They were responsible for settling daily fights between the big and small Violence Gangs in Meteor Street.

Because the living conditions were extremely harsh, Meteor Street basically couldn’t produce crops or meat. Compared to everyday items, the thing that was most lacking there was actually food. In many parts of Meteor Street, cannibalism was very common.

Meteor Street had many abandoned babies and orphans. Most of them had disabilities and found it hard to make a living like normal people. Because violence and conflict were everywhere, women and children who lost their men often couldn’t survive either. These two groups were the most common victims of cannibalism.

Hearing Xiaoya’s cries, Xiaonan’s body stiffened. He slowly raised his head and looked at his terrified little friend. A look of utter despair slowly appeared in his eyes. He suddenly grinned, making a strange sound that was like crying but not crying. “Xiaoya, I won’t eat you. You will live.”

The boy slowly stood up and took off his vest, revealing his scrawny, rib-showing body. His voice sounded like it came from far away, carrying a creepy calmness. “Boss Gutou, how many days of food can I get for this?”

“Are you really going to do this? You should know that without you, Xiaoya won’t last more than a few days. It would be better to just… Three… One week. Xiaoya can get one week’s worth of rations.” Gutou had only spoken halfway, but when he looked up and saw the expression on Xiaonan’s face, he fell silent.

“Boss! This kid isn’t even enough for one meal for us. He’s worth three days at most…” From the group behind Gutou, a slightly hunchbacked strong man jumped out angrily. This person’s left arm was somewhat shriveled, while his right arm was several times thicker than a normal person’s. His face was covered in lumps. He was the second-in-command of this Violence Gang, called Dubi.

“Shut up!” Gutou’s face darkened. His vulture-like eyes glared fiercely at Dubi. Dubi backed down awkwardly, but his gaze was shifty, secretly making his own plans.

Gutou had seen the expression on Xiaonan’s face many times before. It was the expression of someone who had completely given up on life. Having grown up as an abandoned child himself, he understood how Xiaonan felt. But as the leader of a Violence Gang, he couldn’t go against the law of the jungle. Increasing the rations from three days to one week was already the biggest help he could give Xiaonan and Xiaoya.

“Brother Xiaonan, I don’t want you to die! Don’t leave me all alone!” Although Xiaoya was young, living in a place like Meteor Street had made her grow up fast. She immediately realized that Xiaonan wanted to trade himself for her chance to survive. She began sobbing and held tightly onto Xiaonan’s arm.

“Dubi!” Gutou turned his face to the side and called out.

“Hehe!” Hearing the boss’s call, an ugly sneer appeared on Dubi’s face. He stepped out from the crowd, stretched out his thick right arm, opened his big fan-like hand, and reached for Xiaonan’s slender neck.

“Bang!” Right at that moment, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the open space.

“Ugh!” Along with the gunshot, there was a muffled grunt. A bloody hole instantly appeared in the palm of Dubi’s right hand, and blood poured out.

“Who’s there?” A sharp light flashed in Gutou’s eyes. The Violence Gang members who had been lazily scattered around all stood up. Their faces showed fierce expressions as they looked in a certain direction.

“I’ll take those two.” Qin Lun wore a gentle smile as he slowly walked into the open space from afar. A wisp of gun smoke still rose from Angel’s Praise in his right hand.

Qin Lun had been hiding in the shadows, observing the situation here. The results of his observation surprised him a little. Most members of this Violence Gang, led by Gutou, were deformed people with physical disabilities. This even included their leader, the walking skeleton-like Gutou.

However, this realization made Qin Lun more cautious.

The survival conditions in Meteor Street were extremely harsh, so it wasn’t strange for newborns to have various deformities. But the fact that these deformed children could survive in Meteor Street and grow up was itself very telling. If they didn’t have stronger abilities than normal people, they would have died long ago and become “rations” in other people’s mouths.

Harsh lands breed tough people; this saying wasn’t just talk. The worse the living conditions, the more likely a fierce and hardy character was to develop. This was even more true for Meteor Street, which was full of Violence Gangs. Even though Qin Lun was skilled and brave, he had deep concerns about interfering with the life and death of Xiaonan and the other.

Although Xiaonan and the other were likely clues for a mission arranged for him by Shattered Starry Sky, Qin Lun also had to consider whether angering this Violence Gang was worth it. However, when he saw that the Violence Gang leader seemed to sympathize with Xiaonan and the other, he decided to step in and save this pair of orphans.

“Who are you?” Gutou glanced at Angel’s Praise in Qin Lun’s right hand. His sharp eyes, like razors, fixed on the young man.

“They attacked me earlier.” Qin Lun didn’t say much more, just looked calmly at Gutou.

Qin Lun’s words caused a stir in the Violence Gang. Many hostile gazes focused on the young man’s face. They looked ready to attack him all at once if Gutou gave the order. The two orphans, however, had calmed down now. Xiaonan held Xiaoya with a numb expression and slowly backed away, clearing the center of the space.

The Violence Gangs in Meteor Street were very united. Even though they had just pushed Xiaonan and the other to the brink, they wouldn’t just stand by and let Qin Lun take them away. A Violence Gang without a backbone wasn’t a good Violence Gang. There was no place for such gangs to survive in Meteor Street.

Looking at Qin Lun not far away, a sly and vicious light flashed in Dubi’s eyes. His still-bleeding right hand quietly reached behind his back and pulled out a thick iron bar. The bar was covered in dark red marks. These weren’t rust, but bloodstains that had seeped into the bar over many years.

“Whoosh!” Dubi’s unusually thick right arm swung the iron bar, silently aiming for the back of Qin Lun’s head.

“Stop!” Dubi’s sneak attack was too sudden. By the time Gutou noticed it from the corner of his eye, it was a bit late. The skin-and-bones Violence Gang leader’s face immediately changed.

Dubi heard his leader’s shout, but it only made him more dissatisfied. He put even more force into the swing of the iron bar. Overlooking the earlier favoritism towards Xiaonan was one thing, but now stopping him from dealing with an outsider could only provoke Dubi’s rebellious feelings.

At this moment, Dubi even made up his mind. Once this matter was over, he would immediately challenge Gutou for the leader’s position.

However, while full of complaints, Dubi failed to notice one thing. Gutou’s shout wasn’t actually directed at him, because even now, the Violence Gang leader’s gaze was still fixed tightly on the outsider.

The smile on Qin Lun’s face remained the same, but a trace of violence flashed deep in his pupils. The Dagger of Sin slipped from his sleeve and fell silently into his left palm.

Dubi only felt a blur before his eyes. The young man who was just standing in front of him had suddenly disappeared. Dubi was shocked. He paused his right hand, forcibly changing the direction of the iron bar that had missed its target, sweeping it in a half-circle in front of him. He had rich combat experience. When his sneak attack failed, he knew he was in danger. Right now, he wasn’t trying to hurt the enemy, just protect himself.

A flicker of novelty appeared in Qin Lun’s eyes, but he didn’t hold back. The black gleam of the Dagger of Sin flashed and disappeared, lightly touching Dubi’s right shoulder.

“Pfft!” A stream of blood shot out from Dubi’s shoulder. His thick right arm went limp and hung down weakly. The iron bar fell from his hand and dropped to the ground.

Qin Lun succeeded with one strike, but no look of triumph appeared on his face. Instead, it became more serious. He flew into a kick, hitting Dubi’s backside. This made the strong man lose his balance and stagger forward, falling just in the way of the pouncing Gutou.

Gutou had been watching him closely. The moment Qin Lun made his move, this Violence Gang leader also sprang into action. He didn’t even look at Dubi falling towards him. Lifting his right foot, he stepped towards the strong man’s abdomen.

A fierce look appeared on Dubi’s face. Not only did he not avoid Gutou’s step, he instead lunged forward, lowering his body by half, specifically offering his injured shoulder up towards Gutou’s foot.

It seemed Gutou knew Dubi would definitely do this. His right foot came down with even more force, landing squarely on Dubi’s shoulder. Another stream of blood shot out from the bloody hole in Dubi’s right shoulder. The strong man’s eyes turned completely red. He let out a furious roar, straightened his upper body, and launched Gutou forward.

The skeleton-like frame possessed surprising Agility. Using the force from Dubi, he sprang towards Qin Lun like a spring. His outstretched hands were like eagle claws. His sharp fingernails gleamed with a blackish light under the sun as they viciously grabbed for Qin Lun’s throat and heart.

The two Violence Gang leader and deputy, who were friendly on the surface but not in their hearts, actually cast aside their distractions at this moment. With incredible coordination, they executed a combined attack.

The smile finally vanished from Qin Lun’s face. He took a side step with his foot, avoiding the right hand clawing at his throat. Lifting his right arm, he trapped Gutou’s left arm under his armpit.

“Snap!” A clear bone-breaking sound rang out. Gutou’s left arm bent back from the elbow in a way no normal person could, showing white bone fragments.

But Gutou seemed to feel no pain at all. A sharp light flashed in his vulture-like eyes. His right hand, aiming for Qin Lun’s throat, suddenly lengthened a section. His wrist flipped, and the sharp fingernails viciously stabbed towards Qin Lun’s left temple.

Ferocity blazed in Qin Lun’s eyes. He tilted his head to avoid Gutou’s claw. Lifting his left knee, he smashed it hard into Gutou’s abdomen, sending him flying backward.