Another heavy kick landed on the man and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. At this point, Song Xingchen yelled, "Let’s go!"

We tore hell for leather out of there when Song Xingchen suddenly pulled me into an alley. Right where I just stood, a brick on the wall had been blown off, scaring the daylights out of me.

I gasped, "It seems the reward order has gone up yet again! These criminals don't care whether I live or die!"

"Let’s go back to the motel first,” suggested Song Xingchen. “The streets are too dangerous."

When we returned to the motel and entered our room, we were greeted by a pair of guns. Song Xingchen raised his sword reflexively. After a brief stalemate, the Wolf King put down his guns and sighed with relief, "Where have you been? Don't you know that it’s dangerous? How can you still wander about?!"

"Just tell us your purpose," Song Xingchen coldly demanded.

The Wolf King spread his hands, "Why are you so suspicious? What purpose do you think I have? You lead the Tyrant Tiger out and I’ll kill him to avenge my buddies!"

Since Song Xingchen spoke his mind, I decided to cut straight to the point. "I saw the text message you sent this morning."

Surprised, the Wolf King took a moment to respond, waving his hand. “We’ll talk inside.”

When we entered the room, the Wolf King sat on the bed and said, "In fact, there’s something I didn't tell you. At six o'clock this morning, your bounty was updated, not the reward, but three words were added–dead or alive!"

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?” I accused. “I was almost killed just now."

"Didn't I tell you to stay here?" retorted the Wolf King.

"Don't change the subject,” I said. “Tell us why you’re helping me."

"It’s for the money! But also to keep you alive," added the Wolf king.

It turned out that the Wolf King learned about the bet through his own channels, but he put all his money on the lowest odds–that I would survive. With his understanding of this area, those criminals were just small fry. The Tyrant Tiger was the one who posed the greatest threat. In the underworld, he and the Tyrant Tiger were equally matched. So, as long as he was my "bodyguard,” it wasn’t difficult to keep me alive. After all, it was against his principle to kill the innocent.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" I argued.

The Wolf King smiled, "Because the odds are against you surviving are, thirty to one. I’m putting my reputation on the line here by personally guaranteeing your safety. On top of that, you’re more valuable to me alive! You can ask this young man here about my character!"

I looked up at Song Xingchen who explained that the cropping earlier had been faked. In fact, none of the hostages were injured.

From my observation of the Wolf King, his microexpressions suggested he was telling the truth. Never in a million years would I have guessed his motives!

It seemed that the real reason behind the no-kill order yesterday was to heat things up for the bet to gather these hunters. Thus, I was trapped like a turtle in a jar! Then, when the Infernal Bone Trader lifted the restriction, these criminals would be all blood and guts.

"How did you know about the bet?" I asked.

"Because this isn’t the first time they’ve held such a bet. A mass murder happened on a cargo ship a few years ago. In the end, only a few sailors survived out of the dozens that went out to sea. Everything transpired solely for betting. At the time, tens of thousands bet on the lives of these sailors but the police weren't aware of this. They simply regarded it as a murder."

"Who could have planned such a thing?"

The Wolf King shrugged, "Apparently, it was the work of a powerful organization. Being part of the underworld for so many years, I’ve heard a little about this organization, but they have always remained mysterious. Every time the organization does something, they pull out all the stops. For nobodies like us, this organization is the crème de la crème.”

"You must really want to join them then!" I sneered.

The Wolf King pondered for a moment and shook his head, "No, I'm used to working on my own. Although it would be cool to join them, having people ‘supervise’ me would be so annoying."

Judging by everything the Infernal Bone Trader did so far, he was definitely a shrewd businessman who bought lives with money and earned money by sacrificing lives.

Right then, the lights in the room flashed and went out. A burst of gunfire blasted from below.

"Fuck, they’re here!" The Wolf King lifted the mattress and pulled out a huge bag full of guns.

Upon noticing my stupefaction, the Wolf King chuckled, "You don't think I meant instant noodles and mineral water when I said I was getting supplies, do you?” Then, turning to Song Xingchen, he asked, “Can you use a gun?"

Song Xingchen shook his head. Thus, the Wolf King carried a submachine gun on his back and four pistols in his belt. With a bulletproof vest and terrorist mask on, only his eyes and mouth were exposed.

He handed us two wireless headphones and mics, "I'll head out first and clear the way. You guys run out of the room after me. Don't die. I bet all my money on you!"

With that, he opened the window and climbed up from the third floor. In the alley down below, there came another burst of gunfire and terrified screams from passers-by.

There were two bulletproof vests laid out on the bed, one for each of us. After putting them on, we stepped out of the room and slowly explored the corridor. A man in sunglasses armed with guns was waiting for us at the end.

"Duck!" yelled Song Xingchen as he kicked the fire extinguisher to the ground, first plunging his sword into the extinguisher, then the man’s chest. In the chaos, the man fell out of the window.

The fire extinguisher was filled with dry ice, the white smoke spreading through the stairwell. With one hand on the handrail, Song Xingchen nimbly jumped down, and soon, the rapid sound of slashing accompanied by messy gunshots and shrieks filled the stairwell.

A few seconds later, his voice sounded from the headphones, "You can come down now!"

As I walking down the stairs, all I saw were bodies of our attackers strewn all over the floor, some still alive. Song Xingchen was about to end their lives when I stopped him, “Don’t! Let the police interrogate them.”

Downstairs, I was greeted by a bullet-ridden front desk and bloody walls. The receptionist lay limp on the ground, devoid of breath–yet another innocent life taken. A deep sense of guilt welled up inside of me.

We ran out of the motel and into the alley. From time to time, the roar of gunshots filled the air, announcing the ongoing fight. When we turned the corner, the Wolf King was crouching behind a car as cover against the bullets coming from across the street. Aside from us and these criminals, there wasn’t another soul in sight.

It was as if time had rewound back to the 80s and 90s. Although I didn’t experience it personally, it was common knowledge that various criminal gangs and organizations rose up during the start of the economic reform so the streets were often filled with fierce gunfights. At the time, there were numerous violent confrontations. The Wolf King most likely made his name in that era.

Right now, the Wolf King and our attackers were in a stalemate.

"Young Master, I’m going to help him," said Song Xingchen.

"Be careful,” I reminded. “There may be snipers."

Song Xingchen climbed up the wall and jumped onto the roof effortlessly, keeping his body lowered as he sprinted across the roof. A scream suddenly echoed through the alley. The Wolf King stood up from behind the car and waved at me.

As soon as I came out of hiding, I witnessed Song Xingchen slice those gangsters down as if they were meat on a chopping board. Not too far off, a man lay on top of a parked vehicle, a Tang Sword embedded in his chest. The impact of his fall flattened and deformed the car.

The spot where he lay was directly below one of the windows on the third floor. Clearly, this was the man who had previously ambushed us.

Pulling the sword out of the body, Song Xingchen wiped the blade using the dead man’s shirt and returned the sword to its sheath.

"Great skill you got there!” praised the Wolf King. “Would you be interested in joining me?"