Chapter 2.5 - Gray
Li Gaolei never expected their first gathering in Dragon City to end up like this, turning into a chaotic fight in an instant. He smiled bitterly, and then he suddenly stood up, firmly bashing his head against the jaws of one of the men behind hm, directly knocking him unconscious. He then sent his elbow diagonally backwards, heavily smashing it down on the ribs of another man. That man immediately opened his mouth wide, but no cries could be heard, only the ka cha sounds of bones shattering.
After sending the drunkard flying with a fist, Li continued her assault, sending our a high kick that directly sent a man that was throwing himself towards Sally directly into the ceiling! That big person stuck momentarily to the ceiling with a plop sound, and then he bounced off like a rubber ball while howling loudly. Before he even landed, he was sent flying by a side kick carrying over a thousand jin of power. His body collided into five or six other people along the way.
Sally suddenly stood up, picking up a ceramic jar from the table before heavily smashing it down on a bald man’s head. She then crawled under the table to avoid the large hands that were reaching over from all directions.
Li Gaolei didn’t leave their table. He continuously picked up the chinaware plates and smashed them down on these men’s faces one after another. Combat wasn’t his forte, so he took on quite a few kicks and punches during this chaotic fight. There was even a chair that had been smashed to pieces above his head. However, by relying on his three levels of ability in defense, Li Gaolei’s fighting strength wasn’t affected much.
The men that had gathered around the table cried out miserably one after another. Below the table, Sally unexpectedly held a table knife and fork while inserting them into the calves in her line of sight.
On the other end of the restaurant, only that private first class dragonrider was still calmly seated, maintaining the bearing an official dragonrider should have. However, the subordinates he sat with all stood up, appearing somewhat eager to give it a try. However, due to the fear they felt from Li’s ferocity, they were all still hesitant.
With a whistling sound, Li’s leg lashed out towards a skinny and weak and shriveled man. He flew through a large portion of the restaurant and directly smashed into the private first class rank dragonrider’s table. Two subordinates immediately rushed forward to support this man with a small build and prevent him from smashing into their table. However, who would have expected that this weak looking male’s body carried an almost unstoppable force, directly overwhelming these two subordinates whose strength weren’t all that outstanding!
The three men’s bodies collapsed onto the table together, and then with a crash, the entire table sunk downwards. The food and soup all fell, making a huge mess. Even the private first class’ uniform had quite a bit of salad dressing splashed onto it.
“You…!” The private first class stood up in flusteredness and exasperation. When he backed up, he stumbled on the chair and almost fell backwards. Showing this appearance in front of his subordinates made the private first class furious and humiliated. However, when he saw Li’s combat movements, he himself who was also an ability user that relied on the Combat Domain felt a bit of chilliness inside.
There was still a bit of propriety behind Li Gaolei’s movements, but Li was different. Her movements were clear and simple without any complex changes. It was a style that erupted with pure strength, speed, and accuracy to achieve victory. However, her attacks definitely didn’t show any lenience, and every strike was efficient and deadly. This was a type of combat skill that could only be obtained from the battlefield! The private first class could tell that at least four of the men here were going to be disabled after this, and the drunkard that was blasted flying earlier most likely lost his life.
The private first class hesitated for a bit, and then with a swoosh, he pointed his service pistol towards Li.
Li’s maroon colored hair suddenly fluttered upwards. She turned around, her sword like eyes passing over the dark black muzzle and staring into the private first class’ pupils. The private first class immediately felt his scalp go numb, and the fear he suddenly produced made all of the muscles in his body go rigid. Right at that moment, Li suddenly erupted with power and rushed towards the private! When the man and woman were brushed by her shoulder, their bodies immediately couldn’t help but fly backwards.
The private first class’ heart immediately became cold as soon as he saw Li’s charging motion. This speed that was at least four levels was Li’s true strength. Behind four levels of strength and defense, if she had four levels of speed as well, then the increase in her strength would definitely not be just a small amount.
The private first class knew that the pistol in his hand was already completely useless, but he didn’t even have the time to toss aside the gun and could only send his left fist towards Li, hoping that his four levels of ability could temporarily repel this terrifying woman. He only had three levels of defense, and as for speed, he didn’t even have a single level.
Li similarly threw out a fist, striking down on the private first class’ fist!
When the two fists landed together, an expected but still unbearable pain was transmitted from his arm, as well as the unexpected sounds of bones shattering. Then, what left the private first class the most shocked was that Li’s seemingly empty fist was actually harder than steel. After completely smashing apart the private first rank’s left hand, she was completely unharmed. Another fist smashed towards the private first class’ face!
The private first class had the privilege of once again verifying with the bridge of his nose the terrifying power and toughness behind that fist. Blood and teeth immediately dyed a large portion of the wall red. This fist alone had already smashed the private first class’ face and also knocked him unconscious.
In the private first class’ surroundings, four subordinates stood in a stupefied manner. Every single one of them was much larger than Li, but none of them dared to lift up the unconscious private first class.
Li’s short maroon hair danced about, and her chest rapidly rose and fell. She clenched her teeth while blowing out air from between the gaps, her tightened fists’ bones even releasing crack crack sounds. Her slim body could erupt with astonishing power at any time. Li gave the four subordinates that didn’t even have the courage to have her break their bones a look, and then she suddenly turned around, sweeping a cold gaze over the restaurant in search of the next fellow that wished to be her opponent.
The restaurant was in a mess. There were bodies lying about in an absolute disorder, many of them groaning on the ground without any dignity. The ones that could still move immediately shrunk into a corner, never again showing the bravery they had when they initially rushed forward.
Li Gaolei had many bruises on his face, and his lips were broken too. A piece of the wooden chair still stuck to his short hair, but he was still standing and even maintaining quite the unsightly smile. Sally made her way out from beneath the table, one hand holding a short blade while the other carried a wine bottle. Her pretty little face was full of killing intent.
The battle thus ended.
Li Gaolei and Li walked out from the restaurant shoulder to shoulder with Sally in the middle holding their hands. From the distance, they looked just like a three member family that was full of warmth and gentleness.
The battle that took place in the restaurant wasn’t long, but it couldn’t be considered short either, so the people on the streets nearby had long been startled. There were still a few people who were fleeing from the back door of the restaurant to explain the situation that happened inside to the others that were hurrying over. That was why when the three individuals walked out from the restaurant, the situation was already somewhat wrong. In the darkness, the sound of a gun bolt being pulled open sounded.
Li Gaolei suddenly pulled out a pistol and fired four shots with lightning speed. The sharp and clear sounds of gunshots immediately tore through the night sky! A large blast of sparks flashed through the night sky, and then the sound of metal breaking as well as several shouts of alarm sounded. However, there were no miserable cries before death. Li Gaolei then pointed his pistol into the darkness, and after taking aim a few times, rustling sounds could immediately be heard from each place the muzzle pointed at. There was even the sound of a heavy object falling, and then there was a cry of pain.
In the darkness, four shooters with different identities looked at their pistols that had broken into two pieces in a stupefied manner. If they were given another opportunity, they would still never dare to take aim at those three individuals that were gradually departing into the distance, because if they did that, the bullets’ next target would be their necks. Meanwhile, those unfortunate individuals that already fled for their lives or fell from the roof were still groaning in the alley filled with trash.
Only when there was a fair amount of distance between themselves and gray street did Li Gaolei say, “Li, don’t be so aggressive next time. This is Dragon City, so we can’t give our leader trouble. It seems like he is already dealing with quite a bit of trouble.”
“I just wanted to shut that fellow up quicker!” Li somewhat harshly said. She did not explain her reasoning for doing so, however.
Li Gaolei shrugged his shoulders and didn’t seem like he was going to continue this subject. Even though the road was long, the three of them walked quite quickly, and they soon entered Dragon City. Li rather abruptly told Li Gaolei to go back first and that she would send Sally back home. Li Gaolei expressed his agreement, because as long as Li decided on something, he would pretty much always agree.
The night was cold and dark. On the way home, Sally was unusually quiet. She leaned against Li while silently walking. Only when they almost reached her home did Li say with a sigh, “Sally, are you short on money?”
“...yes.” Sally only replied after a while.
“Uncle Li Gaolei should have given you enough money!” Li already developed some beginner understanding of currency and prices of Dragon City, but if they went further to economics and currency, those digits would immediately make her feel a great headache. What was extremely strange was that if similar digits were used on military affairs, Li would instinctively be able to understand it.
Sally continued to remain silent. Li scratched her hair and decided that she wouldn’t continue asking. Either way, these experiences were definitely not cheerful memories. When she first saw Sally, Li could smell a heavy oldor of men. This smell shouldn’t be on Sally’s body, and when she heard that drunkard’s words, her suspicions were confirmed.
“It looks like you really are lacking money. Give me two days and then I’ll give you some!” Li thought for a long time, and in the end, she could only use her own way of helping Sally.
Sally carefully looked at Li, and then after a while, she shook her head and said, “Older sis Li, I have my own things I need to do which need a lot a lot of money, so you cannot help me. If you really want to help me, then don’t talk to Uncle Li Gaolei about this.”
Li still wanted to advise Sally, but she unexpectedly saw that her little face was full of confidence and resoluteness. Sally already wasn’t that sickly little girl who did not know the affairs of life. From a certain aspect, she was even more mature than Li. Her eyes carried steadiness and dedication, making Li forget everything she wanted to say to convince her otherwise.
“Older sis Li, don’t blame those men. They give me money and allow me to continue doing what I want to do, so I don’t hate them and instead am thankful towards them. Let’s end it here. Older sis Li, I’m going back!” Sally suddenly turned around and quickly disappeared into the dark corridor.
Li sat there silently for a long time before slowly leaving. Everything in Dragon City was unfamiliar to her, and perhaps asking Su for advice tomorrow might not be a bad choice. In fact, Li’s intuition told her that Helen was the better person to ask, but Li found her extremely annoying and didn’t want to say anything to her. As for the reason, it was just a simple and pure dislike.
At this moment, Li Gaolei didn’t return to Helen or their arranged temporary residence and instead walked slowly and aimlessly through the inside of the Black Dragonriders’ city. There wasn’t any warmth or gentle smile on his face, and his brows were instead tightly locked. His narrowed eyes were just like those of a hawk’s. His arms were inserted into his pants, his forefingers continuously tapping lightly on the trigger of the pistol in his hand. Right now, he truly wished for a target to unload the sixty plus rounds inside this pistol onto.
A wrinkled piece of cloth seemed to continuously flutter at the end of Li Gaolei’s field of view.