Inside the small warehouse, seven burly men stood holding pistols. One man lay on the ground, his life force so weak it seemed he could die at any moment.
'What's going on?' Ellen frowned deeply.
'Could the man on the ground be Kai? Did these other guys turn on him? They happened to find Kai when he came out alone to get my "surprise" and attacked him?'
Ellen thought it over carefully, hesitating. If he went in and exposed his superpowers, his days of peaceful training would be over.
He took out his phone. Kai, you're not in the warehouse, are you?
He decided to test the waters first, but he watched as one of the thugs skilfully took a phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and typed a reply.
Kai: Leo, we had a deal. You said if I showed up, you'd always make models for me, right?
Seeing the message from "Kai," Ellen's heart sank with disappointment.
Leo: Kai, you lied to me. You're here with weapons. What do you want?!
Watching the real Kai, gun raised toward the door, with three men hiding in ambush nearby, Ellen's eyes turned cold.
A piece of metal melted into a thin mask, which he pressed onto his face.
He tossed his small schoolbag aside and strode toward the warehouse.
...
Inside the warehouse, one thug said to Kai, "Boss Kai, I've got a bad feeling. What if he doesn't come alone?"
"Kill anyone else. I just want Leo. I want him to make models for me. No one stops that," Kai replied.
"What if he refuses?"
Kai's eyes reddened slightly. "I get what I want, whether he wants to or not. Tie him up first. I have my ways."
BANG!
The small iron door slammed against the wall, stirring up dust. Sunlight streamed through the doorway, casting a long shadow.
The two men near the door, not seeing clearly, immediately jumped up. The third quickly stepped outside, looked around, and confirmed Ellen was alone.
In the dusty haze, the two thugs who tried to grab Ellen misjudged his height and slammed into each other right in front of him.
With a thought, a piece of sheet metal shoved the two men back forcefully. They tumbled several times before hitting a steel rack, looking like they wouldn't get up.
Ellen gently raised his hand, and the iron door slammed shut behind him.
Click.
A soft sound as the door locked, leaving only the dim glow of a fluorescent tube hanging from the high ceiling.
He was surrounded—one man behind him, six in front.
As the dust settled, Ellen's small figure was revealed. His 1.2-meter frame looked incredibly frail among the group of men all over 1.8 meters tall.
He looked at the large white man standing in the center. "Kai?"
"Who are you? Where's Leo?" Kai stared at the small figure, confused. What's going on?
"I am Leo. Kai, what is the meaning of this?" A slightly distorted voice came from under the mask, though the youthful tone was still audible.
"You're Leo? The one who makes the gold models?" A twitchy Kai laughed to the men around him. "Haha, he says he's Leo!"
"Listen, kid, don't mess with me. Where is Leo?" Kai aimed his gun at Ellen's head.
"Kai, you've disappointed me. I thought we could be friends. The model in your pocket is the Ace I made for you last time," Ellen said flatly.
Kai looked at Ellen and laughed. "Ahaha, so Leo is just a little kid! No wonder you never wanted to meet!" His tone suddenly shifted. "Tie him up!!"
The man behind Ellen grabbed him, and several others surrounded him, quickly binding him tightly with rope.
He was dragged in front of Kai without resistance. Kai grabbed his head, speaking with a savage edge. "I don't care if you're Leo or not. I need models. You're the best at making metal ones. Otherwise—"
He squeezed Ellen's head, smiling cruelly. "I'll melt you down into a model myself, hehe!!!"
"Let's go! Boss Crow just messaged. We're out of time!" Kai led the way out.
One thug stopped him. "Boss Kai, he's still breathing. Do we take him with us?"
Kai glanced at the man still lying on the ground, pulled out a pistol fitted with a silencer.
"Let him die." He was about to pull the trigger.
But a tremendous force wrenched his arm, twisting it violently. Thump, thump, thump... A series of soft sounds, like someone knocking frantically on a door.
In just two seconds, all six thugs were shot through the heart by Kai.
The six men stared at Kai, who had raised his gun and fired at them. With their dying breaths, they couldn't fathom what they'd done to make Brother Kai turn on them.
Kai looked at the six bodies at his feet, his arms trembling.
"Why... why is this happening? I didn't shoot! It wasn't me!" he shrieked.
Ellen, now standing free, gave a slight push. Two silver flashes came from behind him, and all the ropes binding him fell to the ground.
"It's you! It was you!!" Kai swung his gun back, aiming at Ellen's head again, his finger tightening on the trigger. "You killed them!"
Ellen didn't even flinch. The pistol in Kai's hand shuddered, the magazine falling out. The barrel bent back, and the chambered bullet flew out, pressing against Kai's own forehead.
"You were the ones who tried to kill me first! Kai, I really didn't want to kill you. You were my best customer!" Ellen said, sounding genuinely pained. "But you crossed a line!!!"
"No, no!! Leo, I didn't want to kill you! I just wanted to take you to Africa with me, to make models for me! I didn't want to kill you!" Kai felt the cold bullet on his forehead, his voice shaking.
"Models? Kai, you're truly insane!!" Ellen's eyes were full of disappointment. He'd thought he'd found a new friend after over a year of business, but this model obsession had led to threats on his life.
Ellen turned to the injured man on the ground, rolled him over, and looked at the large, cracked wound on his head. He patted his face. "Hey, hang on! Stay with me!!!"
He didn't know who this man was, but he didn't seem to be with Kai, and he was badly hurt.
Seeing this, Kai drew a knife from his waist and stabbed toward the back of Ellen's head. The knife stopped centimeters short, frozen in the air, completely out of Kai's control.
Ellen turned and looked at Kai, whose face was a mix of madness and fear. "Who is he? An innocent bystander?"
"Let me go, and I'll tell you!" Kai released the knife, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at Ellen, his spirit seeming to break.
'Agh...' The man on the ground groaned feebly, his strength fading.
Ellen just glanced at him sideways.
In the blink of an eye, Kai pulled the metal model from his pocket and hurled it at Ellen with all his might.
That action was the final straw. Ellen turned his head, his eyes locking onto Kai. Two dazzling golden beams suddenly shot from his eyes, shining directly onto Kai's body.
His clothes and flesh began to metallize, starting from his chest and rapidly spreading up and down his entire body.
"Since you love models so much," Ellen said coldly, "you can become one. Forever."
Five seconds later, a shiny metal statue stood in the middle of the small warehouse. It held up the small metal figure it could no longer let go of, the two forms perfectly fused together.
The exquisitely detailed metal face was frozen in an expression of utter despair and horror.
"Hey, man, who are you? How did you get here?" Ellen knelt beside the injured man, pulling out his phone to call for an ambulance.
The man's lips moved, a few syllables escaping.
"What did you say?" Ellen leaned down closer to listen.
"G... Crow... U... Ulysses... C... Crow." Before he could finish, his head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.