Brawl

Yan Junxun was pressed against Shi Shanyan's chest. His gaze quickly swept over the surrounding seats, and he could already see many people turning their heads this way. He struggled for a moment, but Shi Shanyan held him tighter.

"I get very anxious when I don't get an answer." Shi Shanyan felt for Yan Junxun's hand spike, pushing it up for him. The way he tilted his head made it look like he was kissing Yan Junxun. "Or do you want me to feel for it myself?"

"It's fake." Yan Junxun's rabbit ears were crooked. "It's fake!"

The distance was too close, so close that Shi Shanyan could clearly see the panic in Yan Junxun's eyes.

Yan Junxun's bow tie was very cute, resting on his collarbones. His collarbones were so defined, and his skin was so fair... so fair it seemed to glow. Just now, he was standing in the smoky crowd, head tilted up, talking to a bad guy, with only a tiny tuft of a tail.

"It doesn't seem like it." Shi Shanyan leaned back with Yan Junxun, not caring about the high heels kicking his suit pants. "Where does it grow from?"

"The dress!" Yan Junxun wanted to pull the tail off to show Shi Shanyan.

But Shi Shanyan's large hand covered Yan Junxun's, and together they rested on the tail.

"If I were to offend it"—Shi Shanyan stared at Yan Junxun, forcing Yan Junxun to look back at him—"you'd forgive me on its behalf, wouldn't you?"

Yan Junxun's face reddened under Shi Shanyan's gaze. He wanted to kick off his high heels, but they were tied too tightly. He also wanted to shout "Close your eyes!" at Shi Shanyan, but if he opened his mouth, it felt like he would be kissed. All his predictions about Shi Shanyan were crashing around in his head, setting off sparks he couldn't comprehend. This time there were no steel balls, no blackboard, only Shi Shanyan.

'You're terrifying!'

Yan Junxun looked at Shi Shanyan as if pleading for help. He was so clearly furious, yet he lacked sufficient momentum. All his fearlessness was collapsing with every breath, forcing him to retreat, yet retreating only led him back into Shi Shanyan's hands. He was trapped in Shi Shanyan's embrace, like a rabbit that had knocked itself dizzy against his chest. His drooping ears showed his frustration. He bit his lip in annoyance, his eyes still resisting the lion that was toying with him.

Cute was a rare adjective.

For Shi Shanyan, this word was truly seldom used. What in this world was cute? His heart was as hard as iron; in his eyes, flowers were no different from the trash in a stinking gutter. But... Shi Shanyan felt the fluffiness of the rabbit tail.

Yan Junxun was genuinely very cute.

The Clown's ten fingers danced in mid-air, making a capturing motion. He said, "Where is it? Our rabbit—"

The tycoons in the hall whispered among themselves, their attention captured by the gimmick of several hundred million.

"—Oh." The Clown took off his hat and bowed respectfully to the tycoons. "That is our finale product." He thought himself very humorous, chuckling "geh geh" as he tossed his hat. He walked briskly through the venue, casually lifting a woman's skirt. Amidst a chorus of whistles, he put on a horrified expression and said, "Miss, your underwear has more taste than your garter stockings."

The tycoons were amused and roared with laughter, the atmosphere becoming even more lively than before.

"This is the first item of the night." The Clown gentlemanly put the woman's skirt back down. As he turned, he raised his arms and shouted, "The bidding starts at ten thousand! You can take her and play with her as much as you want!"

The light screen next to The Clown suddenly lit up, shamelessly broadcasting video recordings of the "item" with no regard for privacy. The "item" stood in front of the light screen, maintaining a smile for the audience, a stark contrast to her video self behind her, turning her into an object being displayed from all angles.

"That's a woman from the Stagnation Zone," a tycoon said to his companion. "She can't have children, no need for any precautions."

"This is illegal." Jue was dumbfounded by the content on the light screen, if it had a mouth to be dumbfounded with. "All this video data comes from local system surveillance."

Piao Lin was stunned by the cheers in the venue. "Should I call the police? Such a serious information leak, I've never heard anyone mention it!"

"Information trafficking has always existed. That's the downside of a surveillance society." Su Heting rotated the camera. "Did you hear what The Clown said? He's going to use 7-001 as the finale product. Lixing's doors are all closed; their people are looking for Yan Junxun."

Jue shouted frantically, "How on earth was this leaked!"

The arguments grew more intense with the bidding competition, and shouting filled the air. Shi Shanyan saw bodyguards standing at the corner of the corridor, and thugs had already entered the venue. He tilted his head up, his gaze sweeping over the second floor and continuing upwards.

"Uh oh." Su Heting suddenly made a sound. The tracking on the screen showed a red warning dot. He grabbed his headset and said, "Power Dog, there's a Power Dog in here! Did you fucking hear me? There might even be a sniper here! Yan Junxun, protect your head!"

Before he could finish, the connection was lost. Not only was Su Heting's call cut off, but Jue's and Piao Lin's were too. Yan Junxun's Communicator fell silent. He tried to stand up, but Shi Shanyan didn't let him move.

The light shining on The Clown in the hall suddenly exploded. A brief silence fell over the venue, followed by an eruption of chaos.

"Gunshots!" a tycoon shouted. "Who brought a gun!"

"Sir, you're overreacting." The Clown pointed to the shouting tycoon on the second floor. "Please sit down and stay where you are."

The moment The Clown finished speaking, the tycoon was shot. His body toppled over the railing and crashed into the hall, unleashing a wave of hysterical screams and nearly causing the "items" standing nearby to faint.

"We've only just begun," The Clown said in a chiding tone. "Please remain quiet and do not interrupt me..." No one paid him any mind. He stomped his foot, pointing around, and said irritably, "Quiet, quiet!"

Amid the screams, gunshots followed where The Clown pointed. The shooter's hand was steady, not missing once.

"Alright." The Clown showed a gratified expression in the finally quieter hall. "It should have been like this from the start. Don't make me angry." He cleared his throat, scanned the darkness, cupped a hand to his ear, and asked in a strained voice, "Yan Junxun, where are you?"

There was only the sound of sobbing and low coughs in the hall.

"Yan Junxun." The Clown stomped his foot again as if throwing a tantrum. "Come out..." He turned his head, his finger sliding, finally landing on a spot, pointing to a sofa in the darkness. "I found you."

Shi Shanyan threw himself forward, holding Yan Junxun, as a bullet pierced through the leather sofa. The wine glass on the table exploded with a "peng," and glass shards and wine showered all over Shi Shanyan's back.

"Kill that Lead Dog," The Clown said loudly. "We only want Yan Junxun."

Shi Shanyan kicked the table over, and gunshots exploded right next to their ears. Everyone around them was running towards the corridor. Overturned trays crashed to the floor, scattering glass fragments everywhere.

Positioning.

Yan Junxun yanked off his Communicator.

He had a tracker on him!

A thug rushed out from the side, a Ghurka Knife swinging at Shi Shanyan's head. Shi Shanyan was already on his feet. He dodged in the dim light, then slammed his elbow into the man's face. Caught off guard, the man bent over in pain. Shi Shanyan grabbed his hair and smashed his forehead against his knee several times, leaving him with a face and mouth full of blood.

"Kill this Lead Dog," Shi Shanyan mimicked The Clown, a laugh escaping his throat as he issued an invitation to the chaotic darkness. "Hurry up."

Shi Shanyan picked up the thug's knife and swung it behind him. The heavy-backed, front-heavy knife had astonishing chopping power, felling the opponent instantly. Blood soaked Shi Shanyan's suit jacket. He straightened his jacket and said with regret, "Shit."

Yan Junxun took out his hand spike, hooking a finger through the ring and spinning it between his knuckles. As an opponent approached, he punched him in the face. The pain of the hand spike hitting the eye stimulated the man's nerves; that one blow was vicious enough.

Shi Shanyan casually steadied Yan Junxun, glanced at his high heels, then back at him, and said in a low voice, "Be careful."

Yan Junxun flexed his foot, tapping out a crisp sound on the floor. The next moment, he suddenly raised his leg and kicked over a thug lunging from the side. He steadily placed his foot back down and raised an eyebrow at Shi Shanyan.

A red aiming dot wavered between the two of them. Yan Junxun acted first, pushing Shi Shanyan's head down. A bullet whizzed past, and a knife swinging from a thug behind them also missed. Shi Shanyan backhanded his knife into the opponent's chest. Before the man could fall, Yan Junxun grabbed a tray from the sofa and swung it at the man's head.

More and more thugs filled the hall, some armed with steel batons. The Clown's projection suddenly became blurry, his image flickering in and out.

"Yan Jun..." The Clown's voice was intermittent. "You... hunt..."

The Clown's projection vanished, and the Communicator on the floor started making sounds again.

"Power Dog serial numbers are 7-234, 7-367." Su Heting raised his voice as much as possible. "I used Shi Shanyan's number to search the mission homepage and found there's also a Lead Dog here. Lead Dog SN 7-020, codename is—"

Su Heting's voice came to an abrupt halt as the Communicator was sniped and exploded.

"Beep—"

A timer started somewhere, the seconds ticking by rapidly. The gunshots followed it, chasing closely at Shi Shanyan's heels. Bullets ricocheted continuously, and the stray shots hit a nearby tycoon whose legs were trembling.

Yan Junxun's hand spike was no longer enough. He picked up a thug's steel baton and blocked another's knife. Before the opponent could raise his leg, Shi Shanyan wrapped an arm around his neck from behind. Yan Junxun's steel baton struck his chest directly several times before Shi Shanyan threw him to the ground.

The sniper adjusted his breathing, aiming at the chandelier hanging from the hall ceiling. Two shots rang out, and the crystal chandelier, weighing dozens of kilograms, came crashing down.

Shi Shanyan pulled Yan Junxun, and the two of them rolled again.

Everyone inside the hall screamed and covered their heads. When the crystal chandelier hit the ground, it shattered, sending fragments flying everywhere.

Yan Junxun was pressed to the floor, still clutching the steel baton. Shi Shanyan gave him no chance to breathe, pulling him to his feet and squeezing into the crowd amidst the chaos. Someone had wet their pants and couldn't even stand steadily. The doors had been locked by the system, and the crowd in the hall was like a school of trapped sardines.

Yan Junxun ran in his high heels, tightly pulled along by Shi Shanyan. They pushed past strangely made-up showgirls and went straight into the emergency exit stairwell. With quick reflexes, Yan Junxun deadbolted the stairwell door.

It was very dark here; the lights wouldn't turn on. Yan Junxun irritably slammed the switch, then bent down to unbuckle his high heels. He was completely off-guard, exposing his straight legs right before Shi Shanyan's eyes.

That small tuft of a tail was sticking up in the air.

Yan Junxun didn't hear Shi Shanyan speak. He turned his head, staring at Shi Shanyan amid his own ragged breaths. Following Shi Shanyan's gaze, he abruptly pulled down his skirt.

He had sweated a lot.

Shi Shanyan sat on the steps, his well-groomed hair not a mess. He reached into his suit jacket, put a cigarette between his teeth, and just watched Yan Junxun.

"Need help?"

Shi Shanyan lit the cigarette, a wicked look in his eyes.

Author has something to say:

Ghurka Knife: Country of origin Nepal, total length 30-40 cm, emphasizes practicality, head-heavy and tail-light, wide at the front and narrow at the back, thick spine and thin edge, blade shaped like a dog's leg, with extraordinary chopping power. —"Global Military Knives"