The gunfire abruptly ceased. The Punishers still held their weapons raised, all looking at Yin Chen, awaiting his signal.
Yin Chen let out a low, mocking laugh.
You Mingxu was ruthless—swiftly switching the dagger to her left hand while her right gripped his gunshot wound, making him grunt in pain. His entire body trembled from the agony as she continued dragging him backward.
"Hahaha—" Yin Chen gasped through the pain, actually breaking into loud laughter. "It seems today will be a fight to the death."
You Mingxu shouted sharply, "You're exactly who I'm here to arrest! Everyone squat down! Don't move!"
But Yin Chen said, "You can't capture me today."
You Mingxu paused, then retorted, "If Mother knew I caught you today, would she be happy? She definitely would, right?"
The smile vanished from Yin Chen's face, replaced by a gloomy expression. He actually allowed her to drag him back two more steps. Meanwhile, the Punishers advanced with their guns, step by step. Behind You Mingxu, under Yin Feng's direction, Guan Jun and Lao Jiu slowly moved forward, guns drawn in confrontation, ready to support her.
As long as they captured Yin Chen, the Punishers would be leaderless. The police were probably about to arrive too—this time, they could round them all up!
At that moment, Yin Chen suddenly commanded, "Now!"
You Mingxu's heart jolted. She sharply looked up, but saw the Punishers across from them hadn't fired. Instead, they were all staring behind her.
Behind... her?
Suddenly, she heard the distinct sound of a blade piercing flesh, followed by someone's sharp, choked gasp. Instinctively, she turned her head and saw both Lao Jiu and Guan Jun behind her also twisting around to look...
Yin Feng had been standing at the very back, with no one behind him. Now, a sharp knife protruded from his chest, soaked in blood. Yin Feng's face stiffened momentarily. Behind him, Xing Yanjun—who had been unconscious or pretending to be unconscious—had somehow risen, head bowed low, gripping the knife.
Before anyone could react, Xing Yanjun yanked the blade out. Yin Feng nearly collapsed instantly, but then Xing Yanjun stabbed him again, this time in the abdomen!
This was no longer the Xing Yanjun everyone knew. His handsome face was now twisted and ferocious, filled with madness and exhilaration. After delivering the second stab to Yin Feng on the ground, he finally lowered his head and laughed softly, murmuring, "All good is dead, only evil prevails... Heh... only evil prevails!" His voice trembled between joy and tears, clearly suppressing extreme, unstable emotions.
From the car opposite came Xing Jifu's shocked cry: "Yanjun!"
Xing Yanjun didn't hear him at all.
He just stared at the severely wounded man on the ground, his mind flooding with memories from his own short twenty-plus years of life... the fear and disgust in others' voices when they mentioned his father; the seemingly perfect but ice-cold marriage between his parents since childhood; the vaguely heard rumors of his father's heinous deeds; the group he'd met while studying abroad. They believed in fighting evil with evil. They showed him photos of the victims harmed by those they punished. They also showed him files about people his father had hurt. Those terrifying, bloody, unforgivable images had kept him awake night after night, even in America.
He also knew the police had been investigating his father, knew his father would inevitably die one day and atone for his crimes."But the Xing family fortune was built upon the blood and lives of others as stepping stones. Can you truly rest easy being the so-called white path Crown Prince?" the Punishers asked him.
"...Then what should I do?"
"If you also punish evil, that would be different. You could atone for yourself and for your father."
"Can I?"
"Of course you can. Our target for this hunt is your father. We'll stand by while the police dismantle the entire criminal organization. As long as you hand your father over to us, your sins will be cleansed. You can forget everything, all accounts settled. You can start a clean new life."
"You are no longer his son - you are a Punisher."
"You can certainly continue to love him. Precisely because you love him, you must punish him."
Using the son of sin to punish sin. This was both Yin Chen's trump card against Xing Jifu and his contingency plan for Yin Feng. Because he knew Yin Feng would never kill indiscriminately and would surely save Xing Yanjun along with the others.
...
You Mingxu stared at Yin Feng who had collapsed on the ground, her mind going completely blank for a moment. His eyes showed a flash of confusion before his body curled up in pain, breathing becoming shallow and labored.
You Mingxu couldn't bear it. Taking advantage of her distraction, Yin Feng delivered a heavy punch to her abdomen. You Mingxu grunted in pain, released him, staggered a couple of steps, then rushed toward Yin Feng.
Nearby, Lao Jiu and Guan Jun were terrified out of their wits, scrambling over from both sides. Chen Feng's face turned ashen as he abandoned Xiao Yan and Tuya, rushing over from another vehicle.
Amid their chaos, someone seized the opportunity to escape.
In the distance, dense police sirens began to sound.
Clutching his shoulder wound, Yin Feng glanced at the chaotic scene and decided not to prolong the confrontation, ordering all Punishers to immediately board the vehicles and leave. Xing Yanjun had only run a few steps when he suddenly heard a hoarse, shrill laugh behind him. Terrified, Xing Yanjun turned to see an old man with an expression caught between laughter and tears, charging toward him with a gun - it was Lao Jiu.
You Mingxu threw herself down before Yin Feng, trembling at the sight of his blood-soaked body as he gasped for breath. He stared back at her, his gaze neither joyful nor fearful, just stubbornly fixed on her. Unaware of the tears streaming down her face, You Mingxu wanted to hold him but didn't dare, instead clutching one of his hands while choking back sobs. Even his hand felt limp. She heard him struggle to form words: "What a sight... I'm not dead yet..."
"Don't talk!" You Mingxu shouted. Guan Jun and Chen Feng paid no attention to anything else, urgently pulling bandages and medicine from the first aid kit to administer emergency treatment.
As vehicle engines roared to life, You Mingxu snatched up the gun Guan Jun had dropped and stood up, ready to fire. But what happened next would be etched in her memory forever.
Just as Xing Yanjun jumped into the SUV and the driver floored the accelerator, the door beginning to close—
Someone was still in hot pursuit.
It was Lao Jiu.
Screaming "Aaaah!", flailing his limbs, his aged and stooped body now running like a hunting dog! He raised his gun, shouting: "How dare you hurt Teacher Yin! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" His voice carried the crying tone of a child.You Mingxu watched this scene, her chest feeling as if struck by a heavy blow. She immediately fired at the tires, but with Lao Jiu blocking the way and the car speeding off, several consecutive shots missed their mark.
Yet, when a madman suppressed for too long finally breaks, what astonishing power might erupt?
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