Chapter 53: White Robe Qian Jindong

Chapter 53: Qian Jindong in White Robes

*Crack.*

The severed head, dragging its spine, smashed at his feet. Fei Baiju lowered his gaze to those dead, hollow eyes, and his face abruptly changed color, shifting from initial shock into rage.

No, did I say something wrong? If I misspoke, you talk back—why tear up the ticket and kill the hostage?

What the hell is inside the heads of you Martial Dao Sequence people?

Fei Baiju suddenly felt a stifling tightness in his chest; even the Gearheart in his ribcage seemed to turn sluggish.

He thought he had offered a clear enough step down. As long as Li Jun released Ruan Hu, he would naturally order the Annan Gang to clear a path for the Paoge Society.

Both sides stop at the point of contact, then pull back. Everyone saves face and goes back to report—wouldn't that be best?

Has Li Jun been in the Consortium for only a day? Does he not understand such a shallow principle as "long-flowing water"?

Fei Baiju’s mind was full of incomprehension and confusion; he simply could not fathom Li Jun’s thinking.

In his eyes, the Paoge Society and the Annan Gang were two unending cash cows.

As long as these two gangs fought for a day, the various aid from the Consortium behind them would continue for a day.

Be it firearms, prosthetics, vehicles, or disability pensions and settlement fees—all were silver notes white as snow, gold coupons yellow as amber...

They, the chiefs and supervisors responsible for Consortium security, could all skim a cut from the middle.

This competitive attrition was a benefit delivered to their door, taken with a clear conscience, with zero worry of a future audit by the Consortium.

Now Li Jun had killed Ruan Yong in front of so many people. It wasn't just flipping the table and smashing the pot; he was forcing a fight to the death.

How the hell did I run into a mad dog like this?!

Rage churned in Fei Baiju’s chest, twisting his features into a savage grimace.

"Li Jun, do you really think I can't beat you?"

*Clang.*

Li Jun drew his saber, spun a flourish, and stepped forward. "If you have the guts, come. If not, get the hell out of my way!"

Fei Baiju’s face flushed crimson. The Gearheart in his chest began to pump at extreme speed; his hem suddenly billowed, and the rain falling overhead slid away to either side.

The scene was as if wind coiled around him, guarding his perimeter.

Blade moves, wind moves too!

Two figures moved simultaneously, swift as startled swans. In the instant they brushed past, blades clashed, grinding out a cluster of sparks, instantly extinguished by the fierce wind.

Fei Baiju looked at the crimson blood beads staining his dagger, and a smirk curled his lips.

Martial Eight? Red Blood? Nothing more than this.

But as he glanced back, he saw Li Jun charging into the Annan Gang’s crowd as if nothing had happened!

The long saber swung wide and heavy, blood splashing, severed limbs flying. The wound he had torn open at the man's waist was instantly covered by fresh gore.

A sense of humiliation at being slighted surged in Fei Baiju’s heart. His Fengbo Gearheart ran at full power; the surging wind howled like a man stretching his neck to roar.

Just as he was about to charge out, a fragmented whisper suddenly came from the comms device in his ear canal.

This Chief of Action Division Two of Tianfu Heavy Industry halted abruptly, lifting his eyes toward the end of the post road.

Several expensive black Yu off-roaders roared into view, the character 'Biao'—Escort—written in seal script on their black bodies.

The reinforcements from Shudao Logistics had finally arrived.

The deafening roar of engines became the last straw crushing the Annan Gang.

These gang members, already scared witless by Li Jun’s killing, couldn't muster a shred of fighting spirit. They turned tail and fled toward Fei Baiju’s direction.

The life-and-death pressure vanished instantly. The Paoge Society members, who had been holding on by a final thread of morale, went limp all over; quite a few simply toppled backward.

Kang Qingyun braced his back against a car wreck to straighten his body, eyes locked dead on the approaching convoy. His crimson pupils were filled with bone-deep hatred.

The lead black Yu crushed the corpses littering the ground as it advanced, only slamming on the brakes when it nearly hit the Paoge crowd.

The door opened. A boot extended, hovering over the muddy road for a moment. Finding no way to avoid the muck, it finally descended with helpless resignation.

A pristine, brand-new silk white robe emerged from the vehicle, standing amidst the carnage, blindingly conspicuous.

"Qian Jindong, why are you only here now! My men are almost all fucking dead!"

Kang Qingyun’s eyes split at the corners; his seething resentment was practically tangible.

The only reason he had willingly walked into the Annan Gang’s trap today was because this supervisor, ranked third in the Shudao Logistics Security Department, had personally promised him a plan to turn the trap against the enemy.

Let Kang Qingyun lead the Paoge elites to lure out the Annan main force; he, Qian Jindong, would then reinforce, forming a pincer to swallow the Annan Gang whole.

The result: the dozens of Paoge elites he brought were whittled down to fewer than ten standing men before the man finally showed his face.

If Li Jun hadn't arrived in time, Kang Qingyun would likely be a pile of scrap metal by now.

Hearing Kang Qingyun’s furious accusation the moment he stepped out, Qian Jindong’s temper flared instantly.

This supervisor was about to open his mouth and curse back, but suddenly sensed a pair of icy eyes sweeping over his face.

The words already at his lips took a sharp turn. On a handsome yet stiff, surgically altered face, the ferocity that had surfaced instantly morphed into helplessness.

"Chief Kang, it's not just you fighting for your life; this Supervisor is fighting for his life too!"

"On the way here, we ran into an ambush by Fei Baiju’s Division Two. We also fought a bloody battle to break the encirclement. We didn't even dare catch our breath before rushing straight over. You can't blame me for this."

Dismissing Kang Qingyun with a few perfunctory sentences, Qian Jindong strode straight to Li Jun and said solemnly:

"You're Supervisor Li Jun, Li Jun? Good thing you got here first; otherwise, today we'd have lost a round to Tianfu Heavy Industry."

The Consortium's victory or defeat—not the Paoge Society's life or death.

Kang Qingyun smiled miserably. His clenched right hand suddenly felt weak; his saber *clattered* to the ground.

He really had been too naive.

"Supervisor Li, I'll thank you properly later. The rest is up to me now."

Qian Jindong ignored the pairs of hateful eyes boring into his back. He stepped forward to stand before Li Jun, brow furrowed, cold-eyed, wide sleeves fluttering, striking a pose of perfect momentum.

"Fei Baiju, with that little processing power in your chip, you're qualified to design ambushes against us? What a joke. Look at all these dead—let's see how you explain this when you get back!"

Qian Jindong's words were sharp and grating enough, but to Li Jun's ears, they carried a strange flavor.

*Explain when you get back?*

Li Jun chewed on those four words, narrowing his eyes at the white robe before him. Blood-stained fingers scraped across his brow, leaving a crimson streak.

Fei Baiju’s taut face visibly relaxed, though the viciousness in his eyes didn't diminish by half.

"Qian Jindong, what the hell are you to yell at me? Today I *must* avenge Brother Ruan Yong!"

Li Jun killed Ruan Yong?! This brute strikes hard. No wonder Fei Baiju looks like his wife just died.

Qian Jindong sneered performatively. "One versus two—do you have the skill for that?"

Fei Baiju roared: "My Division Three reinforcements are arriving any second!"

"So what, who the hell doesn't have soldiers?!"

Qian Jindong matched his volume. "Today, both of us Chief Supervisors are here. You're bringing this mob of trash—what are you going to use to fight us to the death?!"

Fei Baiju played the role of the cornered man to perfection, his silence pitched just right.

Qian Jindong understood instantly; with a flourish of his wide sleeve, he sneered, "Then take your people and get out—now!"

Fei Baiju whipped around to scan the Annan Gang, his eyes brimming with stifled grievance and rancor. Finally, he forced three words through gritted teeth, "We're leaving!"

"Not a chance."

Two gazes snapped over in shock. Li Jun clamped the long saber under his arm and drew it through in a single wipe; the blood vanished, the edge flashing once more with a cold, lethal light.