Chapter 51: The Gun Does Not Discriminate
Chapter 51: The Gun Does Not Discriminate
Over twenty kilometers southwest of the Yashen Base, in a cave on a small mountain, Xu Tiange leaned back in his chair, humming a tune with pleasure.
His mood had been quite good lately. As a standout among the younger generation of the Xu Family, he had been the first to advance to Alloy Level and had received significant responsibilities from the family. There might even be a chance for him to become the helmsman of the Xu Family in the future.
A few days ago, he had discovered a Mutant Egg, and though it had been snatched up first by a merchant convoy from the Lin Family, he had captured Lin Miao, the owner of the Lin Family merchant convoy. It was almost certain that the Mutant Egg would end up in his hands in the end.
Xu Tiange was no fool; he was well aware of the Lin Family merchant convoy’s background and connections.
All three families at Dark Bird Base had good relations with the Lu Family, who had many dealings there. The Xu Family had always wanted to get involved but had found no opportunity.
Moreover, Xu Tiange had heard that Lin Zongzheng and Lin Xiangdong, the real powerhouses of the Lin Family, had not returned to the base in nearly two months, and they were likely in dire straits.
Of course, even if Lin Zongzheng and Lin Xiangdong were around, Xu Tiange wouldn’t care.
How could the Lin Family of Dark Bird Base compare with their own Xu Family? Even if Lin Zongzheng and Lin Xiangdong came together, he would still claim the Mutant Egg. With a Mutant Egg, who among the youth of the Xu Family could contend with him?
He had heard that the Lin brothers placed great importance on loyalty and would certainly not ignore Lin Miao’s safety, so retrieving the Mutant Egg was almost a sure thing.
“Boss, Elder Lei from the Lin Family has brought people back,” the lookout brother ran back to report.
On hearing this, Xu Tiange’s eyes lit up, but he still suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked, “How many people came?”
“Including Elder Lei, a total of three people,” the brother replied.
“Three people, then it must be Lin Xiangdong and Lin Zongzheng who have arrived. It seems the rumors aren’t reliable; they haven’t disappeared after all. I’ve heard those two have some skills, so we need to be careful when dealing with them,” Xu Tiange said thoughtfully.
“Boss, the man calls himself Lin Shen, and the other person is his protector,” the brother quickly said.
“Lin Shen? Who is Lin Shen?” Xu Tiange wore a puzzled look, having never heard this name before.
“Lin Shen is Lin Family’s fifth son, the youngest in the family who has not been involved in the family business, and still without Base Mutation despite being over twenty years old. He’s utterly useless other than eating, drinking, and having fun,” said a white-haired old man beside him, his face devoid of any wrinkles.
“Elder Zhou, you know this person?” Xu Tiange was surprised that a Crystal Base Powerhouse like Elder Zhou would know Lin Shen.
“I’ve heard of him by chance. When Lu Qing from the Lu Family went to Dark Bird Base before, she dated him for a while, but they broke up soon after she returned,” Elder Zhou said.
“So, it’s him.” Upon hearing Elder Zhou’s account, Xu Tiange remembered and laughed, saying, “Such an important matter, and the Lin Family sends him to deal with it; it seems Lin Xiangdong and Lin Zongzheng really are missing.”
“Bring them here.” Since neither Lin Xiangdong nor Lin Zongzheng had come, Xu Tiange no longer had as many concerns.
Confronting Lin Shen, who only knew how to indulge in pleasures, was naturally preferable to facing Lin Xiangdong and Lin Zongzheng.
At the foot of the mountain, Lei, with a grim face, said, “Lin Shen, what exactly do you plan to do? We don’t have the Mutant Egg now; isn’t going there just asking for death? We should head back before Xu Tiange arrives and think of a long-term plan.”
“You go back first,” Lin Shen said indifferently.
“How can that be? Lin Shen, what do you take me for? I’m just an old man; I’m not afraid of dying. I’m worried about you getting into trouble; I wouldn’t know how to explain it to the family heads,” Lei sighed.
Before Lin Shen could say anything more, someone from the mountain shouted, “Lin Shen, our boss invites you up for a talk.”
Without hesitation, Lin Shen walked up the mountain, with Wei Wufu following closely behind.
Lei muttered to himself, “May Heaven protect us, hopefully nothing goes wrong.”
The trio walked up the mountain trail, watched by many Mutators on either side. As they entered the cave, they saw Xu Tiange sitting confidently in a chair like a bandit chief, with Elder Zhou, who had white hair, standing behind him.
“Tie them up,” Xu Tiange commanded from his lofty position, staring coldly at Lin Shen.
He thought that a sheltered kid like Lin Shen, who had never seen much of the world, could easily be frightened and manipulated, so his first step was to intimidate him.
After all, it was just the three of them, and with Elder Zhou, the family-appointed Crystal Base protector, Xu Tiange was not afraid that they could turn the sky upside down.
At his command, several of his men rushed forward, attempting to grab Lin Shen and his companions outright.
“Ah!”
A scream stunned everyone, as the Mutator rushing forward was beheaded by Wei Wufu with a swift stroke of his Alloy Blade, the body crashing down while the blade still dripped with blood.
His Crystal Base Tang Sword had been lost on that planet, and Lin Shen didn’t have the means to provide him with a new one, so he had to make do with an Alloy Blade for now.
Xu Tiange was momentarily dazed. He hadn’t anticipated that, under these circumstances, Lin Shen and his men would dare to strike, and to behead someone at that. Were they reckless or just foolish? Didn’t they realize that Lin Family’s caravan members were in their possession?
Lei was also dumbfounded, not expecting that the guard Lin Shen brought, who had remained silent the entire way, would draw his sword and kill without a word—wasn’t this seeking death?
“You’re courting death,” Xu Tiange raged. The moment he stood, his body was enveloped by an Alloy Carapace.
The Mutators from the Xu Family also underwent Base Mutation, brandishing their weapons.
“Misunderstanding… it’s a misunderstanding…” Lin Shen began.
“You’ve killed a man; how can there be any misunderstanding?” Xu Tiange asked fiercely, his eyes filled with rage.
“My brother here, he’s socially anxious. Too many strangers coming at him and touching him made him uncomfortable; he had to act,” Lin Shen explained earnestly.
“You call this social anxiety? I’ve got the nerve of a bull, just kill them,” Xu Tiange said through gritted teeth.
“Don’t move!” The Mutators, wielding their Base Mutated powers and readying their weapons, were about to jump in to punish Lin Shen’s trio, but Lin Shen’s commanding shout stopped them.
Lin Shen held a revolver in his hand, its barrel pointed at Xu Tiange, and said, “You’d better not do anything rash, or my gun won’t discriminate.”
After a moment of silence, the room burst into laughter, even Xu Tiange, who, after laughing, pointed at his heart and spoke ominously, “Come on, aim here. If you can so much as damage a single hair on me, you can take my surname from then on.”
Xu Tiange didn’t recognize the Pet Capsule Pistol and thought it was just an ordinary revolver in Lin Shen’s hand. Even if the bullets were armor-piercing, they wouldn’t penetrate his Alloy Carapace.
The others also regarded Lin Shen’s antics as a joke, threatening an Alloy Level Mutator with an old revolver—wasn’t it laughable?
Even Lei, his comrade in arms, thought this younger brother Lin Shen was far too outrageous, sighing inwardly, conscious that things were likely to go poorly today.
Elder Zhou watched Lin Shen coldly, like one would observe a fool performing; not only would bullets from a handgun not harm an Alloy Mutator, but even if they could, as a Crystal Base Powerhouse, he could pluck them out of the air effortlessly.
“Bang!” The gunshot sounded, and in the midst of everyone’s laughter, Lin Shen actually pulled the trigger.