-"(Since dealing with the Dragon's Tooth, it's time to take a look at that Bai Yaxin guy.)"
-
As Starry Night was thinking such thoughts, the van miraculously started its engine at that moment.
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After a loud "vroom", the entire vehicle started smoothly.
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This made Starry Night couldn't help but marvel at how strong Bai Yaxin's luck was.
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After all the adjustments he made, and just as he managed to deal with the Dragon's Tooth, the van started.
-
-"(Should I chase after him?)"
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It wouldn't be difficult to catch up with that beat-up van.
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Starry Night glanced around and saw plenty of motorcycles he could choose from.
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However, it seemed unnecessary to give chase.
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Moments ago, a series of accidents caused by a throwing knife by Starry Night himself, resulted in numerous motorcycles and cars crashing into each other, blocking the road out of here.
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If one wanted to leave Erjie City, they could only turn back and drive back to the city, taking a detour from another gate to reach the hospital.
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At this moment, Bai Yaxin's influence in Erjie City was dwindling.
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If, under these circumstances, Chongzong, ManranyamaSouren, and the police couldn't catch Bai Yaxin, it would truly disappoint Starry Night.
-
The prey had already been injured and crippled, but the final step had to be completed by the young ones themselves.
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It would be ridiculous for Starry Night to kill and digest the prey before feeding it to them.
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Moreover, it was not Starry Night's style.
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-"(Don't disappoint my expectations, Chongzong.)"
-
Starry Night, riding a motorcycle, left.
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On the other hand, Bai Yaxin, who was driving himself, was cursing incessantly.
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He cursed the incompetence of the Dragon's Tooth, wasting so much time and still unable to take down a bartender.
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He cursed the incompetence of the Kuroda Group, mobilizing so many delinquents only to end up like this, laughable.
-
He cursed this van, spending half a day trying to start it to no avail.
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He cursed the world for conspiring against him, allowing him to be gradually turned back even with such a huge advantage.
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Now, all battered and bruised, driving a beaten-up van, with no way out, he could only hastily drive back to Erjie City.
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What else could he do?
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If the bartender caught up with him, should he just let him manipulate him?
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Fear-stricken, Bai Yaxin didn't even dare to look in the rearview mirror, unwilling to know if the bartender was catching up.
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He drove recklessly, ignoring the roadblock at the gate of Erjie City, and directly drove into the city.
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-"(Just turn a corner in Erjie City, and you can exit from another gate.)"
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-"(Then, just drive for about ten minutes, and you'll reach the hospital.)"
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-"(It's fine, no one knows who's in the car.)"
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Bai Yaxin slammed the brakes, sharply turned the wheel, then accelerated fiercely, driving the old van as if it were a racing car.
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But what he didn't expect was that several gunshots in succession directly blew out his tires.
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Losing traction, the van immediately veered to the side of the blown tire, combined with excessive speed and unstable center of gravity, the vehicle rolled over.
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Strapped in with a seatbelt, Bai Yaxin tumbled with the car, hitting several somersaults inside until the vehicle crashed into the city wall, finally coming to a stop.
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"Ah...ah..."
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Bai Yaxin gasped heavily, everything in front of his eyes spinning, his intestines churning to vomit, but he gritted his teeth and swallowed it back down.
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At the brink of life and death, his body unleashed energy far beyond his imagination, overcoming all discomfort and pain, leaving only a strong will to survive. As long as he could live, he could endure any physical problem.
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He struggled to unfasten the seatbelt, grabbed an umbrella as a cane, got out of the car, limping towards the city outskirts.
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Struggling for breath, he could recover by gritting his teeth.
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With a broken leg, he could lean on a stick to keep walking.
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If his intestines spilled out, he could stuff them back in.
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All for the sake of staying alive.
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All to avoid being captured here.
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The desire to survive completely dominated Bai Yaxin.
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But, there was still that saying.
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There's a limit to human strength.
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When Kusakura Suzu stood in front of Bai Yaxin with a gun, he tensed up.
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"Surrender meekly, Bai Yaxin."
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Kusakura Suzu stopped using the façade and spoke in her own voice.
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In ManranyamaSouren's voice.
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But Bai Yaxin, body and mind nearing its limit, did not recognize whose voice it was.
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"Please, please don't. I know, I know you're working for ManranyamaSouren, right?"
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Barely, Bai Yaxin spoke between gasps for breath.
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"That girl... has her limits. If, if you kill me here, she won't be able to protect you."
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"According to Japanese law, premeditated murder... at least five years, usually ten, or even more."
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"How old are you? Serve ten years, and you'll... have aged considerably."
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"Little girl, believe me, ManranyamaSouren is just using you."
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Furrowing his brows, Bai Yaxin stared into Kusakura Suzu's eyes, sincere in his words.
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Kusakura Suzu had been silently listening, but she couldn't take it anymore and interrupted Bai Yaxin's act.
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"Don't talk about using people. You're the master of manipulation, aren't you?"
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"How many people have climbed up with you, only to be discarded? How many people have died for you? Do their ghosts not haunt you when you close your eyes at night?"
-
A series of questions left Bai Yaxin frozen, dumbstruck.
-
These words were obviously not something Kusakura Suzu could say.
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This tone was not the Kusakura Suzu Bai Yaxin knew.
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This voice was not the one Bai Yaxin remembered of Kusakura Suzu.
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Who was the girl standing before him?
-
Bai Yaxin scrutinized the person before him once more, momentarily baffled, wondering if he was hallucinating.
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But the voice speaking...
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"Surprised, Bai Yaxin."
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"A timid person like you, who always uses stand-ins, surely didn't imagine this possibility."
-
The girl standing in front of him, in demeanor, aura, and voice, was exactly like that person...
-
In an instant, all the memories of his interactions with Kusakura Suzu flashed through Bai Yaxin's mind, every gesture, every word she spoke, leading to one conclusion.
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"...So it's you."
-
Momentarily shocked, Bai Yaxin released the umbrella he used as a cane and fell to the ground, lowering his head and muttering to himself.
-
"So that's how it is..."
-
"Hahaha... hahaha... hahaha..."
-
Bai Yaxin slapped the floor with one hand, shaking his head incessantly.
-
He never thought, nor had he ever considered such a possibility.
-
Kusakura Suzu was ManranyamaSouren, and ManranyamaSouren was Kusakura Suzu.
-
The high-class universe-level lady from Kyoto was willing to submit to being an alcohol-serving girl in an enemy's establishment.
-
How great a risk was she taking?
-
No insurance company in the world could afford that, right?
-
It's just too absurd.
-
Too laughable.
-
How could something like this happen?
-
Bai Yaxin refused to acknowledge it.
-
He hadn't lost yet.
-
Glancing around, relieved to see only ManranyamaSouren in sight, as long as he waited for her to expose a flaw, there was still a chance to turn the tables. At most, it was just a little girl...
-
"Don't celebrate too soon, ManranyamaSouren."
-
Suddenly, a manic grin crept onto Bai Yaxin's face, his mouth almost as if it would split open.
-
"All it takes is one phone call, and someone will go after Sugi Chongzong's classmates, immediately, right away."
-
"Katagiri Mai, Kurashige Yui, Eiji Hayamizu...I can have their lives in minutes."
-
"Hehehe, dare to make a move now?"
-
But before Bai Yaxin could revel in his victory, a beam of intense white light struck him.
-
The blinding light from a spotlight was too much for Bai Yaxin to keep his eyes open.
-
"Surrender now, Bai Yaxin!"
-
Someone shouted loudly through a bullhorn.
-
It was the voice of Dojou Kazuaki.
-
Not far away, police officers wheeled Dojou Kazuaki out in a wheelchair.
-
Sitting in the wheelchair, holding a bullhorn, Dojou Kazuaki had a pale face but determination gleaming in his eyes.
Immediately, several police officers rushed out from all directions, holding guns and aiming at Bai Yaxin.
"The person you just mentioned! We have already protected him!"
"Don't even think about making any more moves!"
Bai Yaxin was completely stunned this time.
His eyes trembled, and he seemed to be in a daze, only the shell of a person left.
Trembling and shrinking, he turned his head back to look at ManranyamaSouren again, only to find two more people beside ManranyamaSouren.
Uesugi Chongzong, leaning on a cane, and Van, holding a folder in his hand.
Everyone was looking at him with contempt in their eyes.
Everyone was looking at him as if he were a sewer rat.
-"No, don't look at me like that..."
-"I'm not a sewer rat..."
-"I'm not...!"
-"I am now Bai Yaxin of the Manranyama Consortium!"
-"I am Bai Yaxin, above all, beneath no one!"
-"I am a renowned, powerful, and wealthy man now!"
-"I, I, I'm not a sewer rat!!!"
"Ah—ah—ah—ah—ah!!!"
Bai Yaxin let out a sigh first, then began shouting, releasing all the pent-up anger and resentment within him.
But it was all in vain.
Everything had already come to an end.
Bai Yaxin, now powerless, fell backward on the ground.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The most cunning demon in the human world had finally been caught.
At that moment, a small cylindrical metal canister of ancient bronze color was thrown next to Bai Yaxin.
"Clang, clang."
The crisp sound echoed.
The canister was covered in rust spots and had "M-18 SMOKE" written on it.
It was a smoke bomb.
Instantly, a dense black-gray smoke billowed out, engulfing everyone.
