Chapter 131: Instant Kill

Those small-time thugs were usually quite professional in their own domain on the streets, possessing a certain degree of organization and discipline, even though they were merely the lowest rung in the criminal underworld. Therefore, they would not actually dare to openly harass beauties right in the middle of the street in a vulgar manner; whistling like that was a common occurrence. According to the code of the street, this was already considered a rather civilized way of appreciating a beautiful woman and expressing admiration.

Ordinary people who encountered them would simply steer clear from afar. Even if someone wasn't a gangster, young people exhibiting such behavior were not entirely unheard of—unfortunately for them, today they had run into terrible luck.

"Ha... rassing..." Before Tang Bing's mind had even fully processed the meaning, a miserable scream had already pierced the air. "Agh... Ah..." The punk standing right at the front, with his two pinkies still jammed inside his corners of his mouth to produce the loudest, longest, and shrillest whistle, didn't even have time to pull his hand back before his body flew backward like a cannonball, smashing through several tables before finally coming to a halt.

Swish... The entire street seemed to fall instantly silent. The stall owners watched cautiously, the clever ones already stepping backward into the shadows. As for the diners, aside from one poor soul who had been knocked unconscious under the table smashed by the flying punk, everyone else scrambled out of the way. Yet, none of them fled the scene entirely; instead, they watched from a safe distance. Xiao Tianci looked on and thought to himself, who says only his compatriots love to gawk at a spectacle? People are the same everywhere; they all love a good show. True, they were watching, but their courage was meager, keeping far away. Back in his home country, he remembered instances of bank robberies where, after a shootout at the front, crowds would actually press forward just to get a better look. Tsk tsk, curiosity kills the cat!

A fleeting thought flashed through his mind as he helplessly shook his head and looked on. He figured he wouldn't have to reluctantly endure the scorching sun anymore; he could just sit back and watch a live martial arts exhibition instead. These little thugs—of all people, they had to go and provoke Fire Phoenix. Now things were about to get interesting.

Xiao Tianci gently forked a small slice of meat, slowly and meticulously savoring it bit by bit while enjoying the live performance. He had been exhausted from work these past few days, and it had been many years since he last watched a movie—he vaguely recalled being dragged to one by Fatty back in his school days.

Suddenly, noticing that Little Princess was eagerly itching to join in the fray, Xiao Tianci said in a deep voice, "Little Princess..."

"Oh..." Little Princess immediately understood, left with no choice but to sit back down and watch Fire Phoenix's performance. Vajra and Chief Steward Lin Jian remained as calm as statues; lacking any orders from their boss, their only duty was to observe.

Fire Phoenix hadn't thrown a punch in many days and was feeling rather irritated inside. She had been genuinely delighted when Xiao Tianci agreed to go out for a stroll today, never expecting that someone would actually dare to harass her.

"Damn it, you stinking bitch, do you fucking know..." A punk who looked like the ringleader began, outraged that this beauty actually dared to strike back. Pointing a finger at Fire Phoenix, before he could even state his affiliation, "Bang..." He too was sent flying, crashing into the men behind him. Four people went down in a heap, and not a single one of them was able to get back up.

At this sight, the rest of the hoodlums were dumbfounded, realizing instantly that they were in deep trouble. However, they were not your typical disorganized rabble who could simply flee upon losing a fight. If they ran away now, the subsequent internal purge would bring far graver consequences. Belonging to a structured organization had its drawbacks!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, they abandoned all talk and rushed forward screaming and roaring, attempting to overwhelm her with sheer numbers. Fire Phoenix's face was filled with utter dissatisfaction after just two moves; truly, these trash were completely boring and utterly meaningless. Therefore, she waited until the very moment they were almost upon her before lifting a single leg, instantly executing a dozen kicks in what appeared to be a single effortless motion. Every single one of those thugs was sent flying through the air, completely silent even as they launched—Fire Phoenix had rendered them unconscious the exact moment she struck them, loathing the prospect of their wailing and howling.

"Oh... My god..." Gasps of amazement rippled through the surrounding crowd. It was simply unbelievable to witness Fire Phoenix dispatch these men with such absolute ease—so effortless, in fact, that most of them hadn't even clearly registered what had happened. Someone initiated a round of applause, and though the stall owners knew the situation was far from simple and wisely kept back while dodging further away, they felt an immense wave of satisfaction deep down inside. Damn it, they had finally run into someone truly ruthless!

By this time, Xiao Tianci had just finished eating that tiny sliver of meat. He walked over to Fire Phoenix's side and said, "Well... How was that, martial arts heroine? Did that satisfy your craving?"

Fire Phoenix glanced at the thugs sprawled across the ground and remarked, "What's satisfying about a bunch of trash like this? They didn't even serve as a proper warm-up."

Xiao Tianci smiled and replied, "Alright, skip the warm-up then. Look at how many people are watching now. I think we'd better clear out before things get complicated."

Only then did Fire Phoenix notice the sizable crowd gathering around. Tossing her head with a supremely cool demeanor, she declared, "Serves them right. Who told them to provoke this young lady?"

With that, she slung her small handbag over her shoulder and continued walking forward as if no one else was around. Xiao Tianci nodded in respectful admiration; indeed, she was fierce enough. He could only smile, reach out to take Little Princess's hand, and follow behind, while reminding the young girl, "Remember, you are not allowed to casually charge into fights on your own hereafter, you hear me?"

"Big Brother..." Little Princess swayed Xiao Tianci's hand, attempting to negotiate, but Xiao Tianci was immovable on this point. "Be a good girl, Little Princess. Big Brother will never change his mind on this matter, so you don't even need to ask."

"Oh..." Little Princess lowered her head, while Tang Bing behind them was happily pondering yet another lesson learned. Walking along, he muttered to himself, "Ah, so this is what harassment is. Harassment means eliminating the other party without hesitation. Right, if anyone ever dares to harass me..."

Yet, disrupted by this commotion, none of them retained much appetite. As they reached the street corner, before they could even discuss where to head next—whether to return or visit somewhere else—four pairs of figures materialized simultaneously from the front, back, left, and right. Each man wore a sharp suit and brandished a firearm, though newspapers were draped cleverly over the weapons to keep them concealed from casual view.

Moving in synchronized harmony, one could tell instantly that these were true professionals—the underworld at work.

A man in his forties with a slight belly and a pair of dark sunglasses approached from the opposite street, speaking up as he drew near, "Well... well... My friends, do you really think you can just walk away like this? I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

Xiao Tianci nodded inwardly, thinking that their reaction time was quite impressive—at the very least, far more efficient than the police. Yet, it was almost *too* fast; it seemed obvious that they had been stationed in this exact vicinity all along.

Upon seeing them, Fire Phoenix showed not a hint of fear. Her phoenix eyes narrowed as she readied herself for action. Xiao Tianci immediately reached out to pull her back, saying softly, "Don't move just yet."

Fire Phoenix cast a puzzled look at Xiao Tianci. Although these men were holding guns that certainly didn't look like mere props, and their posture was decent, they posed absolutely no real threat in her eyes. Fire Phoenix, Vajra, and Tang Bing could easily dispatch them before they even had a chance to pull the trigger—not to mention Chief Steward Lin Jian, and even Little Princess, who was vastly superior to these men in combat prowess. As for Xiao Tianci? Fire Phoenix hadn't even factored him into the equation...

Though she didn't know what Xiao Tianci intended to do, Fire Phoenix restrained herself and stood her ground. Since the enemy held firearms, she carefully adjusted her breathing, remaining acutely aware of every subtle shift in the surrounding environment, down to the minutest muscle twitches and finger movements of the enemies standing right before her.

Xiao Tianci looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "Why not? I think things are going rather swimmingly!"

The man sneered coldly, "You few don't look like locals. To dare and come cause trouble on the Cherry Blossom Group's turf—you must have grown tired of living."

"Hold on," Xiao Tianci interrupted. "The Cherry Blossom Group should be a Japanese syndicate, shouldn't it?"

Hearing Xiao Tianci's words, the man froze for a fraction of a second, then stared at him. "Are you Japanese tourists? Hmph, if so, consider it your lucky day. Leave all your money behind as compensation and get lost immediately."

Xiao Tianci understood now. Ah, it seemed his guess was spot-on; they truly were connected to the Japanese. However, looking at these operatives, they were clearly Westerners—Americans, most likely. Ah, they must have been bought out or subjugated; this Cherry Blossom Group was merely their master. Heh, he hadn't expected even the underworld to undergo globalization. It appeared that world integration wasn't confined solely to the commercial sphere.

Originally, he might have been willing to chat, but now it seemed entirely unnecessary. "Do as you please."

The moment his voice fell, Fire Phoenix and Tang Bing vanished from their spots like bolts of lightning. Out of nowhere, two small stones materialized in Vajra's hands; without leaving Xiao Tianci's side, he flicked his wrists twice with subtle force. Two muffled *thuds* rang out, and the two men on his side instantly collapsed backward. Simultaneously, the Chief Steward—his weapon equipped with a silencer—was no slower than Vajra, cleanly dropping another two adversaries.

Before Xiao Tianci's sentence had even finished echoing in the air, Fire Phoenix and Tang Bing had already completely neutralized the opposition. The man who had been speaking earlier didn't even understand what had happened. "Wait—" Xiao Tianci watched as Tang Bing grabbed the speaker, intending to issue a command, but Tang Bing's hand had already wrapped around the man's neck. With a subtle twist of three fingers, the matter was concluded instantly.

Originally, Xiao Tianci had wanted to extract some information, but now that was no longer necessary. Yet, looking at Tang Bing's utterly nonchalant expression, and then casting his gaze across the street where nine men had been killed in a single instantaneous flash, a sudden sense of chaotic turmoil stirred within Xiao Tianci's chest. In the span of a single sentence from him, he truly hadn't expected them to slaughter every single one of the opponents. Looking back at Vajra, the Chief Steward, Fire Phoenix, Tang Bing, and even Little Princess, none of them seemed to give the carnage a second thought.

At that moment, Xiao Tianci tried to rationalize it to himself: *They deserved to die. They deserved to die. They threatened me; they threatened me. If I hadn't killed them, who knows when their guns would have ended my life?*

His mind sought to reassure him that such situations would inevitably arise in the future, and he could never afford to harbor a soft heart. Ah, it was simply because he had too little experience with such brutality that he felt this way.

In truth, the reason Xiao Tianci had initially stopped Fire Phoenix was because he knew that striking now was fundamentally different from the earlier confrontation. Those little street punks had posed no genuine threat, and the surrounding civilian density was high.

However, regardless of the crowd size, once these men drew firearms and pointed them directly at their group, all need for hesitation vanished completely.

To act further meant showing absolute, unyielding ruthlessness, because any mercy or hesitation in such a critical moment could ultimately result in the casualties of one's own people. These individuals had all clawed their way out of literal battlefields; hesitation was an alien concept to them.

Earlier, upon hearing that this was a little Japanese organization, a wave of irritation had welled up inside Xiao Tianci—especially since they had mistaken him for a Japanese national, which rubbed him entirely the wrong way. Thus, he had simply given the word for Vajra and the others to act. In an instant—a mere fraction of a second—authority and raw power were demonstrated. That was the gap between them; those men's lives held precisely zero value at that moment.

"Friends, hold on..."

A voice echoed from behind. At that exact moment, Tang Bing, positioned at the very rear, executed a sudden, counter-intuitive physical maneuver, snapping backward and lashing out with three fingers straight toward the source of the voice. The newcomer demonstrated astonishing reflex speed as well, lifting a hand from below to parry and反-grip Tang Bing's wrist.

However, Tang Bing's grip was not so easily locked down. "Wait—" The adversary had barely uttered a syllable when he felt the wrist he held suddenly slip away like an eel. Tang Bing's hand retracted fluidly, striking out once more like lightning to clamp onto the opponent's throat.

"Stop," Xiao Tianci commanded sharply.