We agreed on the twelve zodiac animals, but you've transformed into the Monkey King?

Wen Xiao turned his head. He stared intently at the French police chief behind the sandbag, whose face was full of provocation. Dark golden vertical pupils lit up in his eyes, and the bones in his right hand made a teeth-grinding cracking sound as he stepped off the sandbag.

"Fifth Master! Fight these foreign devils!" The five hundred men behind him roared, raising their iron hooks in unison.

His right hand was already on the hilt of the knife at his waist; he was ready to disregard everything and turn Shanghai upside down.

"You come back here!"

A shrill female voice rang out behind him.

Shelly pushed through the crowd, and just as the Maxim machine gun was about to cock, she grabbed Wen Xiao from behind and pulled him back with all her might.

"Wen Xiao! Look at the people behind you!" Shelly's face was covered in mud and water, ruining her once-perfect makeup. She cried and yelled at him, "Those are machine guns! Those are the state machinery of France! If you step over them, Uncle Biao will have died for nothing! All five hundred brothers behind you will be turned into mincemeat!"

Wen Xiao froze. "Let go," he said coldly.

"No! Going in now is suicide!" Shelly tightened her grip on his arm like a madwoman, pressing her face against his cold back. "You want revenge? I'll find a way! I'll use the Xue family's assets to pressure him, I'll use Jardine Matheson's name to negotiate! Don't act impulsively at this time... please..."

Wen Xiao felt the woman's trembling body behind him and looked at the laborers who, though angry, had stopped because of their absolute trust in him.

He closed his eyes, and the cold winter rain pelted his face, sliding down his jawline.

All I could hear in my mind was that bald man's rough laughter.

He lowered his head and, one by one, slowly but irresistibly, pried open Shelly's fingers that were tightly clasped around his waist.

Then, he slowly turned around and looked at the five hundred Hongmen brothers with bloodshot eyes, wielding machetes and iron hooks.

Clang.

Wen Xiao drew the dagger from his waist and casually tossed it into the muddy water, his voice hoarse:

"Everyone, drop your weapons! Get behind the street corner a hundred meters away! Nobody the hell is allowed to show their face without my order!"

Dead silence.

Five hundred men stood frozen in the rain, staring incredulously at their Fifth Master. Ajiu, kneeling in the mud, cried out, "Fifth Master! That's Uncle Biao! We can't leave him in foreign territory like a dog!"

"I said, get behind the brick wall on the street corner! Get out!" Wen Xiao roared, veins bulging on his forehead. "Are you going to break the gang's hard-won rules today?!"

The tough man shed tears. Amidst a suppressed sob, a series of clanging sounds rang out. Five hundred rusty machetes and iron hooks were thrown into the mud. The laborers gritted their teeth, dragged their heavy steps, turned away in humiliation, and withdrew from the long street, all hiding in a thick red-brick corner a hundred meters away.

The wide street where the Chinese-controlled area met the foreign concessions was instantly deserted.

Wen Xiao was left all alone, standing amidst the mud and weapons.

On the other side of the iron fence, the French police chief's tense nerves relaxed. He chuckled contemptuously, slowly lowering his raised arm, and the gunners of the two Maxim machine guns released their fingers from the triggers.

"A wise choice, Mr. Wen," the French sheriff mocked through the iron gate. "As long as you know the rules, France doesn't mind..."

[You have activated the Shenhou Authority: Battle, currently at 42% risk of spiraling out of control]

"Whoosh—!"

Wen Xiao used his toes to pick up the dagger he had just thrown down from the mud. The dagger transformed into a streak of cold silver light, drawing a hard, cold arc in mid-air.

The rough hemp rope snapped instantly. Chen Jinbiao's heavy, mangled body fell straight down.

"Bang--!"

A dull, loud bang! Without warning, the bluestone slab beneath Wen Xiao's feet shattered into countless fragments!

Just as all his brothers had safely withdrawn from the firepower, and all the foreigners thought he had given up and resigned himself to his fate, Wen Xiao transformed into a violent black afterimage!

Too fast! So fast that the French police chief, who had just relaxed his guard, couldn't even catch a scream in his throat! So fast that the two machine gunners didn't even have time to grip their guns again!

Just as the body was about to hit the ground, Wen Xiao stretched out his arms and pulled the heavy, blood-stained body into his embrace.

"boom!"

Due to the immense inertia, when Wen Xiao's feet landed, the smooth stone pavement of the French Concession was immediately cracked into large, net-like patterns.

At this moment, the foreigners' taut nerves, which had been suddenly tricked, finally snapped completely.

"Fire! Kill this madman who crossed the line!" The French police chief was so frightened that his voice almost cracked. "Click-click-click!" Hundreds of rifles frantically turned their muzzles back.

"Bang!" "Bang bang bang—!"

The chaotic sound of rifles boomed through the iron gates of the French Concession. Flames spat out, and the smell of gunpowder instantly pierced the stench of the rain.

Wen Xiao shielded Chen Jinbiao's body and ran backwards.

"Pfft!"

A scorching rifle bullet pierced Wen Xiao's left shoulder. Blood instantly splattered on his bespoke suit. The powerful kinetic energy propelled him forward, a sharp, tearing sensation shooting straight to his head.

"Maxim! Prepare for the second round of firing!" A crazed killing intent flashed in the French police chief's eyes. He would never allow the dignity of the French Concession to be trampled underfoot by a gangster boss.

The machine gunner yanked the bolt back, the dark muzzle locking onto Wen Xiao's back.

At this critical moment—

"Stop it, all of you!"

A piercing scream tore through the rain.

Shelly, like a madwoman, stumbled and crawled into the deadly open space. Her expensive beige trench coat was covered in mud, and one of her high heels had fallen off.

Just as the Maxim machine gun was about to unleash its fire, she lunged behind Wen Xiao, spreading her arms and using her thin, burning body to block the bullets from Wen Xiao's path.

"I am the eldest daughter of the Xue family! The current head manager of Jardine Matheson & Co., the British Empire!"

Shelly tilted her head back, her usually aloof and elegant face covered in mud, her beautiful eyes bloodshot as she stared at the French sheriff behind the sandbags, her voice hoarse from shouting:

"Pierre! If you dare touch this machine gun today, even if I get a scratch, tomorrow morning, Jardine Matheson's cruisers will blockade all the docks in the French Concession, and the Xue family will pay ten million silver dollars to have your whole family killed! Shoot!!!"

寂。

The only sound was the rain hitting the gun barrel.

The Maxim machine gunner froze, turning his head trembling to look at Pierre.

Pierre's hand, which was holding his pistol, froze in mid-air, his face turning pale and ashen.

"...Cease fire." Pierre forced out the two words through gritted teeth, his voice filled with humiliation.

Wen Xiao felt the woman clinging tightly to his back, trembling all over but not taking a single step back.

Holding Chen Jinbiao's body, and protected by Shelly, he retreated step by step back onto the Chinese-controlled land, stepping over the shell casings and mud.

From behind the street corner, the five hundred Hongmen men who had been forced to retreat rushed out. Ah Jiu knelt before Wen Xiao, looking at the blood gushing from Fifth Master's body and the heavy corpse, and cried her heart out.

"Take Uncle Biao back. Find the best tailor and order the best funeral clothes."

Wen Xiao handed Chen Jinbiao's body to his brothers.

"It must be done properly."