Chapter 214: Resistance

Guan Xiaohui, Chen Chuan’s former schoolmate, was in charge of serving the guests from the city. As she watched the weapons being unloaded into Cai Hamlet from the truck, she exclaimed in delight but also surprise, “Zhen Ping, you brought so many weapons this time!”

Zhen Ping, the one who filled out Chen Chuan’s form when he took his entrance examination, said, “When the gangs fought, we ambushed one of the Blood Scars Gang’s warehouses and found a lot of weapons inside. We also got some from the wilderness. This should be enough to solve your hamlet’s most pressing concern.”

Guan Xiaohui nodded before hissing in anger, “I heard from the group’s senior members that Bao Yuan’s gang did things for their own selfish gains, even though they said it’s for the group. Now, they’ve occupied our hamlet with the Blood Scars Gang. How can he do something so diabolical?”

“Many of the government officials in Yangzhi City are new and don’t have time to care about what’s going on outside, but we shouldn’t be afraid to fight Bao Yuan’s gang and the Blood Scars Gang,” Zhen Ping declared.

Guan Xiaohui became worried. “But I heard that the Blood Scars Gang has quite a number of martial artists.”

“It’s okay. The group sent a few senior members with me. We should be able to help you.” Zhen Ping pointed outside. When the martial artists, easily recognizable as such, saw them look over, they gave them friendly waves.

“That’s great,” Guan Xiaohui said in delight.

They should have been able to take care of their problem with guns alone, but when their enemy had martial artists, things were different. If a martial artist had protective gear, they could charge at the enemy at high speeds. Not only would it be hard to shoot them, but the bullets would also do little damage. On top of that, the moment a martial artist got near, it would be a slaughter.

That was why they needed martial artists on their side, but they hadn’t had enough time to prepare, and the group was short on manpower. There just weren’t enough people who could come. Still, Zhen Ping herself was a first-class student in Martial Valor University and was considered a pretty good martial artist. During critical moments, she could help.

“Zhen Ping, you’re going to graduate next semester, aren’t you? Where do you intend to go? Will you be going where the group tells you?”

“I might be unable to graduate,” Zhen Ping sighed.

“Why?”

“Lao Cai might send me to Central City. Apparently, our colleagues there are in deep trouble and need a lot of people, but it’s hard to get a proper cover to go there.

“Fortunately, most of the top government officials in Yangzhi City have been removed, and the new ones aren’t that strict when authorizing who goes to Central City. That’s why the group intends to send a squad from Yangzhi City, and the senior leadership might send me with a senior member of the group as a student.”

Guan Xiaohui found herself not wanting to part with Zhen Ping. “Is that so? If you go to Central City, it’ll be difficult to see you again, then.”

“It’s okay. I’ll tell our colleagues to send letters to you,” Zhen Ping said with a smile.

After talking for a little while longer, all the weapons were unloaded, and the two girls went to distribute them to the hamlet residents. Just then, Guan Xiaohui saw some people in the distance gesturing at them. She immediately exclaimed, “It’s Bao Yuan’s gang!”

She then hissed, “Last time, Bao Yuan brought Fang Dawei’s group here, and they occupied the hamlet. I only learned later that Black Orchid paid him to do it. It’s all thanks to Chen Chuan killing those criminals that we managed to take revenge for our relatives.”

Zhen Ping was quite surprised. “It was Chen Chuan?”

“Lately, I’ve been hearing his name often on the radio. The news says that he went up against the children from powerful families. Zhen Ping, I remember you saying that you were in charge of filling out Chen Chuan’s form during the entrance examination. Do you think he could become our colleague?” Guan Xiaohui asked.

Zhen Ping shook her head. “I did consider it, but Chen Chuan seldom steps out of his room and practically has no contact with the outside world. All he does is train. The university management is also paying a lot of attention to him. I’m worried that if I approach him, it’d stir up suspicion. That’s why I never talked to him again. Besides, the group believes that he might have ties with the government...”

“Is that so?” Guan Xiaohui felt quite disappointed, but she soon perked up. “That’s fine. As long as we persevere, I’m sure that more people will join us.”

Zhen Ping nodded.

***

Han Chang was in an abandoned sentry post around 1.5 kilometers away. He was staring at Cai Hamlet while wearing the same clothes he’d worn in the city and holding a decorative cane. His hair was combed neatly, and he didn’t look at all like he had fallen from grace.

He had already contacted an important government official to continue his drug smuggling business. He could return to Yangzhi City later with his gang, though they would need to change their name from the Blood Scars Gang.

The Chain Links Gang had suffered a huge loss, and some of the government officials believed that they couldn’t let one gang dominate the underground. They wanted someone to keep them in check, and Han Chang was the best candidate.

Even so, Han Chang had learned the lesson that he couldn’t have the gang’s entire territory be in the city. He needed to have bases outside, and Cai Hamlet was the best place for that. He had thought that he could occupy it easily, but the hamlet residents had weapons and a certain degree of fighting power, which meant that he needed a strategy to get rid of them.

After all, they would pose a threat as long as they were alive and get in the way of business. The hamlet had to be wiped out.

Han Chang’s plan was already set up. Once he took down the hamlet, he would capture the residents and have the cultists conduct a ritual to transfer their vital energy to him. Then, they would cut them up and sell their organs to cover some of the losses.

When he fled, he had brought Du Mian—one of the Five Claws—and other powerful martial artists from the Blood Scars Gang. They were more than enough to defeat the hamlet residents.

A person ran over and said, “Uncle Han, the hamlet residents refused your terms.”

“Alright,” Han Chang replied with no expression.

One of the people next to him said, “Those hamlet residents are so ungrateful. You gave them a chance, but they dared to reject your offer. Serves them right to live out their days here in poverty!”

“They’re just people living in the wilderness. They’re not well-educated, so it’s only normal for them to be so ignorant,” someone else added.

“Since negotiations have fallen through, we fight.”

“Come on then! I’m not scared of them!”

“That depends on Uncle Han. We only fight if he says so.”

They turned to Han Chang and waited for his decision.

“Du Mian, can you defeat them?” Han Chang asked.

A man in his thirties with rough skin and stubble all over his chin stepped forward and said in a hoarse voice, “I can. There aren’t any good martial artists in the hamlet. I can defeat them with one hand.”

“They aren’t as simple as they seem. They have ties with the resistance group. Play it safe. Don’t be careless,” Han Chang warned him.

“As you say, Uncle Han,” Du Mian immediately responded.

Han Chang was satisfied. Du Mian was much more obedient than Zhuo Bao, whose strength was being fearless. It was easier to get Zhuo Bao to do all the dirty, tiring work. It was a pity that the Constabulary had killed him.

“We got the stuff, Uncle Han.” Someone ran over and pointed at the side.

Han Chang took a look and saw a box being carried over. The government official had gotten them some pretty good stuff, among which was a batch of smoke bombs.

They weren’t easy to set off, but they were useful. Once they were thrown into the hamlet, the place was bound to descend into chaos, and the gang could save up on some bullets. Even though Han Chang had taken quite a considerable sum of money when he fled and could arm all the gang members, he couldn’t exactly use his own money to equip the gang, could he?

“Tell the guys to bring their best friends. When the time is right, attack,” he ordered.

“Got it!”

The gang members immediately responded and spread out to get ready. In just ten minutes, they split into groups and started moving slowly toward Cai Hamlet.

Du Mian was at the forefront. He made a sign, and some of the better fighters in the gang moved to the sides with the intention of charging into the hamlet from different directions.

When the residents saw this, they grew nervous and took guarding positions in various high positions in the hamlet with guns in hand.

Just then, an SUV arrived near Cai Hamlet.

Chen Chuan was sitting in the back. When he saw the outline of the hamlet, he said to Xiao Wei, “You can stop here.”

“Got it.” Xiao Wei had the SUV come to a gradual stop.

Chen Chuan opened the door and got out with the Frost King Saber. After taking a cursory glance, he started walking to where Han Chang’s group had set up base. Since they were a large group, he could see them from far away. They were impossible to miss.

This time, he wore the stab proof trench coat from the National General Affairs Bureau and the poison-resistant scarf around his neck. Underneath, he wore the protective gear he got from the storeroom. The gear was on par with the one he had borrowed from Guan Yuming, but it covered even more of his body, though it only felt like a thin layer on his skin. It also didn’t interfere with him using internal breathing.

“Uncle Han, someone is coming,” a sentry pointed out after noticing Chen Chuan.

Han Chang gave a cursory glance at the person before doing a double take and gripping the sentry post railing tightly. After observing the person closely, he whispered, “Those clothes...”

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he tried his best to remain calm and said in as steady a voice as he could muster, “Tell Du Mian and the others to come back. Ignore the hamlet residents for now.”

“Oh... okay?” The gang members were surprised, but when they saw Han Chang’s cold glare, they hunched their shoulders and quickly passed the message.

***

Du Mian had already begun his charge, and the hamlet residents had started firing, but it was useless. Du Mian was just too fast and kept shifting left and right. He also used his arms to shield his head. Even if bullets landed on him, the protective gear prevented them from penetrating his body.

Soon, he arrived at the entrance of the hamlet, and, with a jump, landed on a fence. Then, with a push, he leapt several meters forward, bypassing the trench behind the fence. Once he landed, he tumbled forward before rushing at a panicked but armed hamlet resident.

When he was about to kill him, he realized that something was wrong. Someone was sprinting at him. In an instant, Du Mian changed his attack, and his fist clashed with that person’s. With a thud, the person was thrown back by the force of his attack. When he landed, he even staggered.

But Du Mian was also forced to stop. The basket behind the first hamlet resident was flipped off, and a person jumped out, spread his arms, and grabbed his waist.

The man activated a grappling-type refined force, only to realize that another refined force was blocking his own. Shocked, he cried out, “Damn it, he’s using a two-tier refined force!”

Before his body could react, Du Mian grabbed him, brought his leg up, and sent him flying with a kick. The person tumbled on the ground as his heart sank. They had a plan. One of them was supposed to block Du Mian’s attack while another grabbed him the moment Du Mian was unable to activate another wave of refined force. This was their only way to take him out.

But Du Mian could use a two-tier refined force, a rarely seen skill. Their plan had failed, and if they couldn’t take Du Mian out, the rest of the hamlet would also fall to the gang members. This was bad.

Du Mian sneered. He was about to launch a counterattack at the two martial artists when he heard a shrill whistle, and without any hesitation, he ran back.

The two martial artists were taken aback. What was going on?

One of the resistance group members defending the hamlet from a high position pointed outside. “Look!”

The two martial artists climbed up a roof and saw a young man with a long saber and a black trench coat walking toward the gang about five hundred meters away.