Translator: AnubisTL
Ma Zi's gang had fled.
After spending so much time in the Wasteland, any rational person would have considered what to do if they were discovered, prompting them to plan an escape route.
Ma Zi's group was now swiftly executing their pre-arranged escape plan.
Chen Jiang had naturally memorized this route.
Of course, Ma Zi would never have allowed him access to such information, as Chen Jiang wasn't a trusted confidant but a recent recruit who often clashed with Ma Zi.
But... nothing can remain hidden from a determined mind.
With enough resolve, no secret can stay buried—not even this supposedly impenetrable escape route.
Chen Jiang and Scar Dog stood motionless, gazing at the half-human-height pipe lying on the ground beside the shipping container, neither speaking.
The pipe was just another piece of trash—construction debris. The Wasteland typically dumped such bulky waste on its eastern edge rather than incinerating it, likely reserving mass destruction for scheduled periods.
Under the cover of darkness, Ma Zi's men had connected these haphazardly scattered pipes from the Wasteland's eastern edge, aligning them to form a continuous tunnel leading outside the Wasteland.
Just in case, some Wasteland patrols happened to be coming to their area—a place they almost never visited.
They planned to use the pipeline to quickly escape the Wasteland.
Of course, Ma Zi and his crew weren't foolish enough to connect all the pipes end-to-end. That would have been utterly idiotic, especially under the watchful eyes of the crane operators during the day.
It would have stood out like a rhythmic, crawling insect suddenly appearing on a chaotic oil painting—glaringly obvious.
Instead, the pipe sections weren't connected.
Between each pair of linked pipes, there was a gap of several meters.
Ma Zi had already prepared these gaps.
Some were covered by half-buried shipping containers, others led through tunnels beneath trash heaps, and still others were surrounded by scattered debris.
The goal was to minimize the chances of being spotted during these exposed intervals.
Moreover, this wasn't just a single pipeline.
There were seven or eight of them.
These pipelines were scattered haphazardly across the eastern part of the Wasteland. For example, after emerging from one pipe, you might find two more ahead, allowing you to choose either route to continue your escape.
In short, Ma Zi had mastered the art of "a cunning rabbit has three burrows."
In this situation, Ma Zi and his crew would have been impossible to catch unless the Wasteland authorities had specifically targeted them.
However, even a cunning rabbit with three burrows can still be caught by a hunter.
As Chen Jiang casually waved his flashlight, Ma Zi and his men obediently followed the pre-planned route through the pipes, heading toward the Wasteland's perimeter.
The flashlight's beam was weak, but sufficient for Ma Zi and his men to see clearly.
Chen Jiang kept the beam angled downward to minimize the risk of detection.
"Damn it!"
Ma Zi had just crawled out of one pipe and was eyeing the two ahead when a flashlight beam suddenly shone from the east.
After cursing under his breath, he immediately dove into the western pipe without hesitation.
Tonight, the Wasteland's security guards were acting like madmen, patrolling everywhere.
Normally, they'd be in the western guardhouse playing cards all night.
What had gotten into them tonight?
"We're here," Chen Jiang announced, stopping beside a pipe and watching the dozen or so men crawl out of the pipe ahead.
This was the edge of the Wasteland.
A few more steps would lead them into the desolate wilderness.
And the turret they had buried in the pit was hidden nearby, just ahead of Ma Zi and his crew.
He glanced back at the wasteland behind him, and seeing no movement, turned his gaze to Ma Zi's gang, who were fleeing frantically into the night.
Just a few more steps.
The group had already entered the turret's firing range.
At that moment—
Ma Zi, running in the middle of the group, instinctively glanced back to see if the security guards were pursuing them.
But the moment he turned, he caught sight of Chen Jiang and his companion standing by the pipeline. A flicker of disbelief flashed in his eyes, and he cursed instinctively, "Fuck! Are the enforcers from City 18 a bunch of useless bastards?"
"How could they let two living people escape?!"
Without hesitation, his face darkened, and he abandoned his subordinates, striding off to the side with surprising speed.
It was clear that Chen Jiang and his companion had lured them out.
Undoubtedly, Chen Jiang had set a trap ahead, though Ma Zi didn't know what kind.
But knowing Chen Jiang as he did, now that Chen Jiang had survived and found him, there was no room for peaceful negotiation. Only one of them would live.
At that moment, Chen Jiang's eyebrow twitched slightly. Without hesitation, he pressed the silver-white button in his hand.
Click-clack!
A faint metallic sound echoed from the pit near Ma Zi and his men.
In an instant, a dust-covered, vaguely silver-white turret emerged from the ground.
Above it, a semi-transparent holographic display flickered with sci-fi-esque data streams.
[Steel Sword Autonomous Rotating Turret activated]
[Hostile entities detected within territorial perimeter]
[Initiating indiscriminate sweep]
Almost the instant Ma Zi bolted sideways, the menacing turret roared to life with its unique, furious bellow.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
Accompanied by ear-piercing sonic booms, pure white energy projectiles, resembling tiny chicks, streamed forth in a relentless barrage.
One after another, they formed a searing line that swept across the fleeing group like a scythe through wheat.
The men at the front barely had time to react before collapsing silently, blood pooling around them in crimson pools.
By the time the men behind realized what was happening and roared in fury, preparing to return fire, it was already too late.
This was a turret, not a machine gun.
The fist-sized energy blasts didn't pierce or wound their targets; instead, they shattered limbs into a crimson mist that filled the air.
The battle was over in less than a minute—barely a dozen seconds.
The commotion could easily alert the security guards stationed on the western edge of the Wasteland. They needed to finish this quickly.
Chen Jiang and Scar Dog exchanged a look and jogged over to the pile of corpses.
Without hesitation, they each shot the intact bodies in the forehead, one by one, to prevent any sudden reanimation.
Ma Zi, who had managed to flee some distance, now lay collapsed on the ground. As Chen Jiang approached to deliver the final blow, the dying man's throat gurgled with frothy, viscous blood. His eyes burned with a desperate will to live as he pleaded with Chen Jiang.
"I was wrong... I was wrong."
"Please... please forgive me. Let me... let me live."
Chen Jiang calmly raised his hand cannon, aimed it at Ma Zi's head, and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
Blood splattered onto his clothes.
He glanced across the desolate wasteland, his brow furrowing slightly. Without a word, he turned back toward Scar Dog, ready to finish the job quickly.
Throughout the entire ordeal, he hadn't uttered a single word.
(End of the Chapter)
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