The unusual footsteps made Chongzong instinctively feel danger.

Each of these footsteps felt like stepping directly on Chongzong’s heart. Realizing the situation was dire, Chongzong hurriedly turned around and grabbed Kuroda Soichiro's collar, demanding details.

"...Where in the Fushimi Inari Taisha?!" (Chongzong)

"Near the foot of the mountain, the warehouse..." (Kuroda Soichiro)

Seeing the utility knife in Chongzong’s hand, Kuroda Soichiro weakly spit out the answer.

Even though he wanted to ask for more information, Chongzong heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Unable to continue questioning Kuroda, Chongzong picked up an iron rod from the warehouse floor, decisively went out to investigate.

As soon as he stepped out, Chongzong heard someone shouting loudly in the distance, "Soichiro! Where are you! Soichiro!!!"

Chongzong had heard this voice several times before.

At that moment, Chongzong understood immediately what was happening.

Upon hearing the voice, Chongzong saw a group of over ten people in the distance, each holding a baseball bat, rushing menacingly towards him.

Leading them was Kuroda Koari.

And the one shouting "Soichiro" was him too.

-- This is impossible...

-- How did the information leak? I locked Kuroda Soichiro here last night... How could this happen...?

With no time to think about what exactly had happened, Chongzong had to make a decision immediately, what to do, how to do it.

In a split second decision, facing the unknown number of opponents, Chongzong decided to escape.

Feeling guilty for involving the innocent baseball hall, Chongzong was not willing to run away if he could defeat these people.

But if he lost the fight, it would definitely bring trouble to friends and family, something Chongzong wanted to avoid.

Chongzong took a deep breath, mustered his strength, and fiercely swung the iron rod in his hand towards the approaching crowd, then turned and ran.

Behind Chongzong, there was a crisp clang sound, probably Kuroda Koari who was in the front, blocking the iron rod that Chongzong threw with the baseball bat.

But by doing so, he must have affected the speed of those coming after him.

Chongzong sprinted all the way to the back door of the baseball hall without looking back, just as he was about to open the door to escape, someone from the outside directly pushed the door open and rushed in.

Luckily, Chongzong reacted quickly, dodged aside, and was not hit by the falling door.

In those few seconds, Chongzong did not see who the person was, but based on the current situation and their act of breaking in, he decisively judged that these people were from Kuroda's group trying to flank them from behind.

Chongzong quickly grabbed a mop nearby, tore off the mop head, and used the mop handle as a staff. He struck at the approaching person with a direct blow, knocking him to the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Chongzong slipped out through the back door, using the mop handle as a makeshift door latch to secure the door from the outside as he left.

However, the Kuroda group was no pushover either. Just as Chongzong managed to secure the back door, three more people arrived one after another, surrounding him.

The opponents, thinking their numbers gave them an advantage, did not rush to attack. This gave Chongzong the time and space to think.

In this critical moment, Chongzong had no room to gauge his opponents' strength or show mercy. The best way to break through the encirclement was to create an opening.

Putting all his effort into it, Chongzong swiftly rushed at the thug in front of him, delivering a powerful punch to his face, knocking him down before he could react.

Using the fallen thug as a shield, Chongzong pushed him towards the other two thugs rushing over, dodged past them, and swiftly incapacitated them with two chops from behind.

Hopefully, they wouldn't suffer any lasting effects.

Realizing he may have struck too hard, Chongzong couldn't dwell on it. After various twists and turns, he finally managed to escape from the batting center.

Relieved but still jittery, Chongzong let out a sigh of relief.

Little did he know, a series of unexpected schemes awaited him next.