Master of Chinese Martial Arts: I Can Steal the Skills of a Grandmaster from the Republic of China E

Chapter 107 You have no idea how strong I am

Inside the dock, the noise of the outside world was kept at bay.

It was very large, very empty, and very dark.

This place used to be a repair shop for small riverboats, but it has long since been abandoned.

The air was thick with the smell of rust, the decay of rotten wood, and the chill of years of water stains.

A few rays of light slanted in from the broken ceiling, but instead of illuminating the space, they fragmented it even more. Within the beams of light, dust swirled slowly.

The massive gantry crane and ship frame were covered in dark red rust.

Rusty bolts and broken steel plates were scattered on the ground. Stepping on them would either creak or clang, and the echoes would hit the walls with a muffled sound.

Deep inside, there is a pool of black water that absorbs light, where the sound of the waves crashing against the shore is amplified and distorted, becoming a hollow echo.

Renault leaned against a cold steel pillar, his breathing low and rapid.

Those vertical pupils contracted and expanded in the darkness, like a night owl adjusting its focus, scanning inch by inch across this steel maze.

My ears filtered the sounds of water, heartbeats, and flowing blood. My nose twitched, trying to distinguish the smells of gunpowder, blood, and the faint warmth from living people.

He is waiting.

The muffled thud of the explosion still rolled across the rocky shore, black smoke curling upwards with sparks. The air was thick with the acrid smells of gunpowder, gasoline, and burnt flesh.

Right hand, Hans' Lebel revolver, six shots, heavy and weighty. Left hand, his own Colt, seven shots, warm against his palm.

He slid down the pile of stones like a wisp of smoke, slipped through the breach in the dock, and landed silently like a cat.

After a few leaps, it disappeared into the shadow of a crooked steel walkway on the second floor.

Squat down, close your eyes, and then open them again.

Listen to the force spread out.

The distant clamor has completely subsided, leaving only the dying embers of flame, the crackling of metal shells shrinking, and the hollow echo of water lapping against the dock—

Along with the subtle vortexes of airflow and the groans of steel beneath my feet, everything transformed into clear lines and flooded into my mind.

He heard it.

Below, about fifteen steps away, in the shadow of that row of huge rusty ship frames, a slow, strong heartbeat and a long, drawn-out breath, deliberately suppressed yet still unusually deep, could be heard.

Renault. There.

Zhou Xing did not rush forward. Instead, he slid silently to the side seven or eight steps, like a gecko clinging to a wall, and changed to a tricky angle.

At the same time, he hooked half a rusted nut from the ground and weighed it in his hand.

"despair."

The nut slipped from his hand, landed on the concrete ground on the other side, clattered twice, and rolled away.

Almost at the same moment!

"Bang! Bang!"

Two gunshots shattered the silence!

The bullet grazed the corner of Zhou Xing's clothes and struck the metal edge of the platform with a loud "clang," leaving a deep dent in the metal.

Anticipate and fire.

Renault completely ignored the sound; he was calculating people, their positions, and their movement patterns.

The instant the gunshot rang out, Zhou Xing had already changed direction, ducked down, and slipped like an eel into the pile of tangled iron chains on the other side.

Colt raised his left hand at the same time, not aiming at the figure, but at a thick, diagonal steel pipe on the ship's frame.

"Bang!"

A flash of gunfire, and a bullet left the barrel.

The bullet struck the middle of the steel pipe!

Clang! Buzz!

The roar of the impact exploded in the dock, and the steel pipes trembled violently.

The angle of impact was tricky; the bullet whistled and deflected, shooting into a shadow behind the steel pipe!

Chi!

The ricochet grazed some metal, bounced off, and eventually landed somewhere unknown. There was no dull thud as it struck flesh.

After a brief exchange of fire, a deeper silence followed. Only the low hum of the steel pipes and the sound of rippling water remained.

Zhou Xing leaned against the iron chain, slowly catching his breath. His senses were taut as a string.

In the shadows, Renault's heart skipped a beat, his breathing momentarily erratic, but he quickly regained his composure. He didn't move, and it became even quieter.

The air was filled with a mixture of various smells.

The stench of blood, gunpowder, and dust emanating from Zhou Xing was palpable. Renault, with his superhuman sense of smell, likely detected it as well.

In the darkness, the two looked at each other with their ears, noses, and skin.

"Bang!"

Gunfire erupted again, this time from the side of the ship's hull!

Renault has moved!

The bullets struck the pile of iron chains, sparks flying and a clattering sound.

The moment Renault stood up, Zhou Xing rolled to his side and backward. His right hand, Lebel, following the sound of the gunshot, fired two more shots!

"Bang! Bang!"

The bullet passed through the gap in the ship's frame and hit the concrete pillar behind it, sending up two clumps of white ash.

I didn't win.

Zhou Xing landed, curled up, and hid behind a half-fallen wooden winch. Renault also disappeared once more.

In the next few minutes, the dock became a cage of bullets.

boom!

Reno fired, the bullet grazing past Zhou Xing's ear, followed by a loud crash of scrap metal behind him.

boom!boom!

Zhou Xing retaliated, blocking Zhou Xing's movement with two shots, and sparks flew out on the steel frame.

boom!

Renault changed position again and fired, sending debris flying.

boom!

Zhou Xing fired a burst of fire; the bullet grazed Renault's head, extinguished a surviving explosion-proof lamp high above, and shrapnel flew down.

boom!boom!

The two fired almost simultaneously, the two bullets crisscrossing in the dim light. The scorching air grazed Zhou Xing's ears and passed by Reno's shoulder before disappearing into the darkness behind him, striking metal or rotten wood with muffled thuds.

Gunshots echoed back and forth in the empty shell, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

Gunpowder smoke filled my nostrils, mixed with rust and dust.

Both men were moving, pausing, and firing at high speed.

Reno's marksmanship carried the cold rhythm of systematic training—efficient, ruthless, and imposing.

Zhou Xing's shooting was unpredictable and precise, always hitting the enemy at their most vulnerable moments, with bullets aimed at their blind spots.

Their energy was rapidly depleted, and their hearts were pounding like drums.

Zhou Xing's hand holding the gun remained steady, but his breathing became hot. On Renault's side, that inhumanly cold aura also fluctuated.

"Click".

Zhou Xing pulled back the slide of his Colt in his left hand and stopped, having fired seven rounds. His right hand, holding a Lebel revolver, also had only one round left.

Almost simultaneously, from the shadows of the ship's frame, came the soft click of a firing pin hitting empty air. The Reynolds' specially made double-barreled pistol must have run out too.

Suddenly, all sound vanished. Only the sound of waves crashing against the shore remained deep within the dock.

The two faced each other from a distance, separated by darkness, scrap metal, and gunpowder smoke.

Zhou Xing leaned against a huge gearbox, held his breath, and focused his attention on Renault's direction.

The other party was also in the shadows, motionless.

Suddenly, Renault's voice broke the silence from deep within the ship's deck: "Zhou Xing?"

Zhou Xing was silent for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

"Is Hans dead?"

"Yes."

Why?

Renault didn't seem angry; he was more puzzled. "What do you want?"

Zhou Xing chuckled softly, his voice echoing in the empty dock: "I've come to judge you. You said you'd wait for me to judge you."

A brief silence.

Renault chuckled softly, the sound echoing strangely through the steel: "So—it really is you, Judge of Tianjin."

He shook his head: "I don't understand. The path I paved for you was a ticket to France, the power of the concession, and visible civilization. Why insist on taking a dead end?"

He seemed to realize something, and said sarcastically, "DuPont? You want to get on his lousy ship?"

Before Zhou Xing could answer, he chuckled and said, "No, that idiot—you'll get him killed sooner or later."

Behind the gearbox, Zhou Xing scoffed, "You're wrong. You don't represent civilization. You so-called great powers are nothing more than robbers who break in while the lion is dozing."

"You are a barbarian."

In the shadows, Renault's aura suddenly turned cold. Then, the warmth in his voice vanished, leaving only indifference: "You're stubborn, Zhou. But don't you understand that the reason the great powers are great powers is because—"

He said, word by word, "I am better than you."

Zhou Xing leaned against the gearbox and slowly straightened up.

"Yeah?"

In the darkness, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, "You have never known how strong I am."

7

As soon as Zhou Xing finished speaking, Renault sprang out of the shadows in the next instant!