Dragons begin with courage

Chu Zihang took out his binoculars. Through the lens, several ragged figures huddled in a shallow hole, a small fire burning weakly, seemingly trying to keep warm. Scattered around them were worn-out backpacks and water bottles.

"They are illegal border crossers," Chu Zihang judged in a low voice.

Almost simultaneously, Juliet's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the screen of the alchemy device on her wrist. On the screen, a simplified map of the canyon unfolded, with several "high-risk areas" marked by glaring red circles flashing—these were the path nodes that Norma had analyzed based on the habits of the "Gira Poison Lizard," terrain data, and residual energy from previous events, indicating the most likely hiding or passage points of the third-generation species. At that moment, the yellow dots representing the immigrants were almost right next to the edge of one of the red circles.

"Their rest stop is less than two hundred meters from the predicted 'Deep Diver' activity corridor," Juliet's voice carried the precision and tension characteristic of data. "A very dangerous location."

The words had barely left his mouth—

"Boom! Buzz—!"

The brutal roar of the engines, like the howl of a wild beast, tore apart the silence of the canyon in the early morning! Accompanied by the screeching sound of tires rolling over gravel and unrestrained Spanish curses, two pickup trucks with mottled paint and covered in mud, like two menacing beetles, wobbled out from behind a rocky outcrop.

"It's 'Viper'." Susie's voice rang out immediately. She had already taken up the high ground on the flank, her sniper scope's crosshairs firmly locked onto the target. She quickly reported the count, "Seven confirmed. Long weapons: three AK-47s, two Remington 870 shotguns. The rest are pistols. No heavy weapons or suspected alchemical equipment found."

The pickup truck braked sharply, kicking up a cloud of dust. The men who jumped out wore garishly colored synthetic shirts and thick, cheap-looking chains around their necks that gleamed cheaply in the morning light. Their faces bore the savagery and ferocity typical of those who had spent years on the fringes of violence. Leading them was a burly man with a shaved head and a face full of scars; as soon as he stepped out of the truck, his gaze greedily locked onto the trembling immigrants below the cave.

However, it's clear that these gang members wanted more than just money.

Lu Mingfei's heart sank. His "mischievous friend" Lao Tang had half-jokingly, half-seriously "warned" him: "Kid, don't think that beacon of freedom is so bright. All sorts of businesses operate in the shadows below. People? They're openly priced! A complete corpse is 'recycled' for seven thousand dollars a day. Alive? Heh, that's even more valuable. After all, there's always a market for fresh 'parts,' and you don't have to go through the hassle of matching..."

These undocumented immigrants, who disappear into the border deserts without anyone asking about them, are probably not even considered "people" in some people's eyes, but just a string of numbers that can be converted into cash, a pile of "raw materials" that can be dismantled.

The footage shows gang members robbing all the illegal immigrants of their money and then using guns to force them into a car.

"President?" Leo's index finger touched the trigger as he looked at Chu Zihang. His eyes seemed to ask: Are you going to do anything about it?

Chu Zihang's gaze swept over the terrified and helpless immigrants in the vehicles, then over the arrogant gangsters. His expression remained unchanged, but Lu Mingfei felt as if the temperature around him had dropped a few degrees.

Chu Zihang paused, his voice cold and clear, and said, "Leo, non-lethal force. Juliet, make sure our vision is clear. Lu Mingfei, stick close to me. Susie, keep watch on our surroundings. Capture them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Zihang, like a ghost in the night, silently slid down the rocks, his speed so fast that he left an afterimage on my retina.

Leo then burst forth from the other side! His massive frame displayed astonishing agility, closing in on the other pickup truck in a few leaps. Instead of charging directly into the crowd, he swiftly pulled a uniquely shaped, matte metallic silver bracelet from the side pocket of his tactical backpack, snapping it onto his thick right wrist with a "click." A faint glimmer of light flowed through the fine gold patterns on the bracelet's surface.

"Stop right there!" Leo roared, his right arm muscles bulging, and he swung it violently towards the pickup truck!

"call out--!"

A sharp whooshing sound pierced the air! A shuttle-shaped dart, with an almost invisible, extremely thin metal wire attached to its tail, shot out from the front of the bracelet! The dart didn't fly in a straight line, but drew a strange arc in the air, and with a "snap," it precisely wrapped around the rear axle of the pickup truck! Leo immediately lowered his waist, his legs rooted to the ground like steel spikes, his tactical gloved hands gripping the other end of the metal wire tightly, and with a sudden burst of strength, he pulled backward with a fierce jerk!

"Squeak—Boom!!"

A sickening metallic creak and a heavy crash rang out simultaneously! The pickup truck, which was moving slowly, was pulled off course by this unbelievable brute force, its rear wheels lifted off the ground, the vehicle lost its balance, and under the force of inertia, it flipped over violently to the side, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust! The gangsters and immigrants inside the truck screamed and rolled around in a heap.

"¡Qué diablos! (What the hell!)" "¡Atacan! (Attack!)" "¿Quién es? (Who is it?!)"

The sudden upheaval terrified all the gang members, and screams and curses filled the air.

[Spanish detected, simultaneous interpretation function activated.] Norma's steady electronic voice rang out in Lu Mingfei's headphones in a timely manner.

"What happened?!"

"Attack! We're under attack!"

"Who did this?!"

Before the gangsters in the other car could even react to the shock of this Hollywood stunt, Chu Zihang had already pounced on their car door like a ghost. The door wasn't even fully locked; with a flick of his fingers, he slid into the passenger seat. The gunman in the driver's seat felt a gust of wind on his neck, didn't see the person's face, and then everything went black before he lost consciousness. Chu Zihang's movements didn't falter; he snatched the AK-47 from the other man's hand, and with a swift motion, slammed the butt of the AK-47 into the third man's cheekbone like a hammer, the clear cracking sound sending chills down their spines.

The last guy in the back seat, who had just pulled out his pistol, saw his companion collapse in a flash, and then the dark muzzle of the AK that had once belonged to his own man was now firmly pointed at his forehead. The gun was held by an Eastern youth with eyes as cold as the Siberian permafrost.

"Holy... shit..." The gang member was completely dumbfounded, his mind blank. Was this guy human or a ghost? How did he get in the car? How did he take care of three people in an instant?

On the other side, several dizzy gangsters scrambled out of the overturned pickup truck. Before they could even regain their footing, a towering, burly man grinned and lunged at them. Leo immediately threw a punch. One of the guys, who had just gotten his hands on a shotgun, was sent flying backward with a scream, as if hit by the truck. His back slammed into the dented door, embedding himself completely, and it was clear he wouldn't be able to climb out.