Chapter 41: A Poker Face and a Sharp Tongue Won't Get You Married

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"A wall cabinet?" Fang Qi stared at the display-case-like cabinet, and indeed, he spotted a heavy, matte-black rocket launcher nestled inside!

The massive frame of this black rocket launcher stood over half a person's height, its contour resembling an oversized firearm rather than the conventional, shoulder-mounted tube of ordinary launchers, rendering it far more portable by design.

"Isn't this the one awarded for completing the Resident Evil 1 Remake within three hours?" Fang Qi clicked his tongue in slight amazement. "They can actually reproduce a thing like this?"

Though this launcher was more portable than the one tossed down from the helicopter during that speedrun, it still packed the exact same punch—one shot, one Tyrant—with absolutely no reduction in destructive power!

Fang Qi slung the rocket launcher across his back, opened the door, and stepped out.

The rain was falling heavier now.

"Miss Nalan—!" A sharp, panicked cry pierced the night sky. Lanyan watched in sheer terror as Nalan Mingxue collapsed to the ground, her face deathly pale, leaving Lanyan utterly at a loss for a split second!

"You find it strange, don't you? Why the shadow guardian protecting you hasn't appeared?" The leader of the assassins smiled coldly. "He won't be coming."

Nalan Mingxue's expression turned subtly frigid; this was perhaps the gravest predicament she had ever encountered in her life!

Even during her days of walking on thin ice within the Nalan family, never once had she been backed into such a desperate corner!

"Should I say you are too confident, or simply foolish, Little Miss?" Seeing that Nalan Mingxue no longer posed a threat, the black-clad assassin finally removed his bamboo hat, revealing a gaunt face with a prominent aquiline nose. "In the past, your movements were never fixed. Wherever you went, you would always send scouts ahead to investigate thoroughly. Even though the First Young Master has always wanted your life, he never found the chance."

"The First Young Master asked me to convey his sincere thanks to the owner of that shop. To think someone could actually make the exceedingly cautious Little Miss expose a flaw... truly quite remarkable!" He slowly raised his blade, a ruthless gleam flaring in his eyes. "Though you won't live to hear it!"

Nalan Mingxue slowly closed her eyes.

Knowing full well that every step she took nowadays was a walk on thin ice, she could only blame herself for being too careless!

She let out a soft sigh, having reached the end of her rope. No matter how clever or composed she usually was, she could conceive no way to break this deadlock.

How ironic!

She thought silently to herself.

The blade, laced with a howling, furious wind, slashed directly toward her face. The glare of the steel was so blindingly white it made one's eyes sting to look at it!

She could feel an incredibly piercing, freezing aura growing more intense by the millisecond; perhaps in the next heartbeat, she would be brutally torn apart by this flash of light!

Yet in the very next instant, she heard only a crisp, resounding clash of metal against metal!

Clang!

The bone-chilling dread vanished into thin air!

She opened her eyes, only to find a thick, dark barrel steadily braced against the glittering, cold blade of that sword!

At the absolute precipice of life and death, someone had snatched her right out of the Grim Reaper's grasp!

She genuinely could not fathom who would come to her rescue at a time like this.

One had to realize that at this hour, in such a remote and desolate slum, and on such a rainy night, even the city guards on night patrol wouldn't bother coming to a place like this!

Let alone anyone else!

"O... Owner Fang?!" Lanyan stared open-mouthed at the man who had blocked the strike, waves of shock crashing through her mind!

How could this be?! Why would Fang Qi show up at a moment like this?!

She couldn't think of a single reason for Fang Qi to rush over here, yet he was undeniably standing right there in front of them!

"Who are you?" Nalan Ji paused, lowering his gaze to look at the person who had intercepted his strike.

"Did you fail to notice me earlier because the rain was too loud?" Nalan Ji scrutinized the interloper, who appeared to be a young youth whose cultivation hadn't even reached the Martial Master realm. Perhaps among peers of his age, he could be considered a standout, but before a Martial Grandmaster, he was truly no different from an ant!

Just now, because he was merely executing a defenseless girl, he hadn't exerted an ounce of real strength.

"Fang Qi?" Seeing him, Lanyan felt as though she had caught hold of a life-saving straw. She clung helplessly to his arm, crying out, "Owner Fang! Please, I beg you, save Miss Nalan!"

Regret consumed her heart. She should have stopped Nalan Mingxue from coming here in the first place; now they had fallen completely into the enemy's trap, and even Nalan Mingxue's hidden trump cards had been countered. She truly could think of no other way to escape this situation alive!

Her own talent was mediocre, and her death would be no great loss, but she felt that someone with Nalan Mingxue's brilliant talent absolutely should not die such a pathetic death over a single lapse of judgment!

"Aren't I here right now to save you?" Fang Qi smiled, turning to address Nalan Ji. "Let's negotiate something. If you want to kill someone, how about doing it another time?"

Fang Qi pointed at Nalan Mingxue and said with absolute earnestness, "Otherwise, if word gets out later that people are meeting with disaster on their way home because they played games too late at my internet cafe, wouldn't it make me look quite bad as the owner?"

"Oh?" Nalan Ji was taken aback, but he quickly caught on, followed by a burst of unbridled, mocking laughter.

"So you are the owner of that little shop?"

"That's right." Fang Qi nodded expressionlessly. "Didn't you just say you wanted to thank me? Just take it as doing me a favor and giving me some face."

"Giving you face?" Nalan Ji felt as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world, his features contorting into a snarl. "What kind of trash are you to think you're worthy of my respect?"

"Going back on your word like that is really quite unpleasant," Fang Qi shrugged, speaking in a flat tone. "However, since my shop dares to stay open this late, we naturally guarantee the personal safety of our customers."

Nalan Mingxue sighed softly, never expecting that at a time like this, the one coming to her rescue would be Fang Qi.

Though she knew Fang Qi possessed some strength, the opponent before them was a Martial Grandmaster!

No matter how powerful a sixteen-year-old youth might be, could his strength possibly surpass a Great Martial Master and reach the level of a Martial Grandmaster?

"While I am grateful to you, you are not Chris from Resident Evil, nor are you the protagonists from Diablo. Please do not project their emotions onto yourself. Irrational behavior will only cause you to throw your life away for nothing." She sat on the ground rather weakly, her tone remaining calm and indifferent.

"Miss Poker Face, if you add a sharp tongue to that, you'll never find anyone to marry," Fang Qi told her earnestly. "Although this is my first time fighting in reality, could you have a little faith in my establishment?"

"Po... Poker Face?" Lanyan blinked her wide eyes twice in disbelief.

Moreover, his first time fighting in reality?!

Saying something like that, who could possibly have any faith?! Lanyan wanted to weep but had no tears.

Nalan Mingxue also froze for a moment. Poker face?!

Fang Qi unslung the infinite rocket launcher from his back, waving his hand at Lanyan to signal her to take Nalan Mingxue and step back.

"Hmm?"

"Kill him!" With a command from Nalan Ji, eight assassins lunged toward Fang Qi simultaneously!

These eight assassins were clearly rigorously trained, moving as a single, coordinated unit of eight!

In the very next instant, Fang Qi pulled the trigger!

Whoosh!

A rocket propelled itself outward, trailing a long plume of flame!

"What on earth is that?!" The assassin right in the center saw only a sudden flash of fire and barely managed to raise his blade in a desperate block!

Boom!

An incredibly violent explosion shook the entire street pavement violently!

Of the eight originally menacing Great Martial Masters, four were instantly swallowed by the roaring flames!

"There's nothing a single rocket can't fix," Fang Qi grinned, pulling the trigger once more. Aiming and firing, all in one smooth, seamless motion!

"If there is, then just fire two more."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The remaining four assassins, already mangled by the previous blast, were blown clean into the air.

In that shattering instant, Lanyan felt her mind go entirely blank.

Nalan Mingxue was similarly struck dumb.

"A... a rocket launcher?!" Lanyan gasped in sheer disbelief. "Isn't that thing supposed to be fictional?!"

She had actually witnessed a weapon straight out of Resident Evil in the flesh. What was more, its destructive fury matched the game's rocket launcher to a single, terrifying degree.

What on earth?

Could things even be done this way?

"I told you a long time ago that these things could be made," Fang Qi replied, entirely unfazed.

Of course, there was no telling what kind of face she would make if she knew that Fang Qi had also injected himself with the T-Virus.

Fang Qi hoisted the rocket launcher, aiming it squarely at Nalan Ji. "Well then, now you're the only one left."

Lanyan was speechless.

Nalan Mingxue was speechless.

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