Chapter 24: Airing Out
Shi Tian turned out to be right. The masked men inside the tinted blue van are kidnappers.
"Boss. Boss. He really won't snitch us out?"
"How many times did I tell you? As long as he steps inside a precinct, we can get him out safely!"
Its driver, the boss, had his mask removed. He dislikes it whenever he's driving. He did not have any hair. Several piercings could be seen on his right ear. Everyone who sees him will move away from his path.
"The officials won't care. If they did, won't those monsters be gone in a jiffy?"
"We should say our thanks to them, then?"
"Yes!"
These men talked about the honkai aboveboard. The spread of knowledge about it in Siberia is much worse than Shi Tian expected.
The slavic language swiftly rolled on their tongues. The other men inside the van did not notice people staring in their direction. The boss was focused on driving.
What could people see beneath their tinted windows?
Thus, they did not notice the surrounding people looking above them.
"Walking on walls… That explains the 'stepping unto unbothered clouds' part."
The car going fifty kilometers per hour did not throw Shi Tian off the car's roof. He is standing perfectly still thanks to his technique's operation. His feet stuck closely to the surface. His body experienced wind resistance, to which he withstood.
"It's like glue… but different." He shook his head. "How should I deal with this…"
He thought of the goons inside. Shi Tian hasn't tried whether his body can withstand a gun. There is also the source of that cloud pillar.
If he wasn't tripping, that person must be kidnapped.
It did not take long to decide on his plan of action.
"Heaven and earth implements;
The twin polarity collides;
My decree alone presides;
Reversal thus coincides;
Where the astral path lies…"
Shi Tian held both his hands to the other ends of the roof. His current position made him look like crawling. Wind brushed his face. The strong tie did not allow the hood to be blown off.
Bam-!
Boom-!
The van visibly sank. It caused everyone inside to jump up. The seats they were on sank a few centimeters.
It wasn't only that.
"Shit..?!"
Screech-!
The sudden shift downward caused two of the tires to explode. The emergency sealant began leaking out of the tire. They are forced to a grinding halt. The two flat tires impeded the boss' driving greatly.
They had to make an emergency stop near the sidewalks.
"What kind of shit luck is this?!" The boss cursed. "You. Go get the spare tire."
The one tasked to repair the tires sat on the other front seat. He is one of the few who removed his mask—a plan for times like this.
"Boss…"
"Do it while the girl's sleeping!"
His subordinate did not make more fuss. He hastily stepped out of the van.
To his surprise, he is surrounded by a dozen people. Some of them are pointing cameras at him while the others are whispering to each other.
The subordinate's heart leaped out of shock. He thought they were exposed.
"Where are the cameras? Is it on them? This must be a high-level shoot?"
"Movies or whatnot… how the hell did that guy do it?"
"Oh. It's Arnold Schwitz's movies! The cyborg!"
The hushed whispers and commotion caused him to blank out.
Shatter-!
What came next was someone shattering their van's window. It happened on the opposite side. The people and the scared subordinate could not see things clearly.
From using the elbow to opening the locked door, it did not take three seconds.
There, it was revealed. Three men sat in the middle seat. Another man sat in the back seat. Along with him is a sleeping girl. Her casual dark blue skirt suited her dark blue hair perfectly.
Shi Tian had to take a second look at her before he acted.
"Wha—?!"
The masked goon in the back seat got thrown outside… with one hand.
The hand holding his neck was small. Yet, it was as tough as metal. The very same hand went to his waist in search of something. When he found it, he held that man in front of him.
Shi Tian's right hand picked up the gun. His left hand held the back of that man's neck.
"Hm."
The goons finally started to react. They pulled out their handguns.
Click.
Unfortunately, the hooded man is faster. A simple safety check was enough.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-!
The three goons on the middle seat got shot on their chest. Their hands froze as they dropped the gun. The hooded man did not even flinch with the gun's recoil.
The noisy people in the sidewalks got silent. They could not see things, though they are not deaf to the loud gunshots in broad daylight. The smart ones already started moving.
Bang-!
Crack-!
Shi Tian shot the boss' window, only to get hindered by the window. It turned out to be bulletproof glass.
Naturally, he pointed the gun inside the van.
Just then…
Swoosh-!
The man who got dragged out pulled out a knife. He tried to stab him at the waist…
Crack-!
"Argh!!!"
…only to be stopped by his other hand. It shifted from his neck to his wrist. Shi Tian briefly hesitated before gradually twisting his arm.
"Argh!"
Clang-!
The knife fell to the ground as the man's wrist got broken. His use as a perfect meat shield was over.
Amidst all the commotion, Shi Tian saw the boss crawling on the other front seat. He wanted to escape to the other side—the sidewalks.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-!
"Aurgh!"
The boss' torso got riddled with bullet holes. He could not come to the other side.
"Huff…"
Shi Tian breathed out of his mouth. The entire minute-long showdown took a toll to his mind.
"I did not expect…"
He looked at the sleeping girl. It was none other than Seele. The events that he knew started to come back in his mind.
Seele has a natural stigmata. It gave her natural talent when it comes to honkai. That stigmata caused her to have another personality, however. The said personality remained dormant until a certain event… which is this kidnapping. It slowly awakened until the X-10 experiment happened.
Shi Tian released his grip over the goon's badly fractured wrist. His current strength allowed him to brute-force many things. His insane reaction speed despite his lack of planning was all due to his strengthened bodily senses.
He is now a bonafide gorilla who can beat up a hundred men alone.
Shi Tian unhesitantly pulled out the goons in the open one by one. He remained alert for the appearance of other weapons. Fortunately, the shots he gave incapacitated them enough. Their collective groans and screams filled up the street.
By the time he cleared out the entire van, he saw a lot of people looking his way.
"Am I famous now?"
*****
Beating up the gang of kidnappers took three minutes. I leaned inside the van. I placed my finger on her nose.
"Breathing… That's good."
I touched her forehead and found her to be slightly hot. Other than that, there's nothing else.
"Fu…"
I looked around. I thought of these kidnappers as zombies. Me shooting them on their torso and not their heads… I hesitated. I can't bear to do something this brutal…
Then again, they are bastards.
That's it. I will leave them alive for Cocolia to deal with. I hope her influence is enough to handle this case. If not, it's best we leave Siberia immediately.
So many days have passed since I came to this world, but I can't shake off my imaginary fear towards Otto Apocalypse.
…
It's pun intended.
"How can I leave…"
The city we are in, Irkutsk, did not have many alleys. It is a city where every street is populated.
I don't know how to leave.
I had to think for a while. I scanned my surroundings. The people across the street had their phones on their ears. They must be calling 999… or something similar to it. The people who gathered on the opposite side of the van also fell silent. The gunshots scared them shitless.
As for the remaining henchman…
I did not see him. He must have ran away.
What should I do…
My contemplation stopped when I saw Kiana rushing to my side. She weaved through the populated waves of people. Nearly everyone in this street are curiously watching over me—over this shooting incident.
No, no, no.
Will it be troublesome to be exposed in front of so many people?
My eyes landed in an incoming truck. It is the one used for towing cars.
No, wait.
I can't leave Seele alone...
"Huh."
I noticed my feet. My shoes are broken. My socks are torn off. The crazy running I did obliterated my shoes.
Just then, a black car stopped not far away from the opened van. It flashed hazard lights continuously.
The people who came out all had badges on their waist. Their casual attire made them lore-accurate secret agents.
"Hm..?"
When I saw one of them, my eyes widened.
Although blurry, I recalled more about that manhua. I don't know how those people did it, but they managed to slip past Cocolia's guards and kidnap Seele. The details are unclear.
It could be Bronya and Seele going out to this city. It could be them raiding the orphanage itself. There are a lot of ifs.
It doesn't matter.
I recognized that one guy.
He's one of the kidnappers.