Chapter 26: A Helping Hand

The pistol, of course, was effective.

Everyone froze, instinctively taking several steps back, their expressions grave as they stared at the gun in Sun Xiaoyun’s hand.

Panting, Sun Xiaoyun walked over to Lin Qi, ensuring he was unharmed before surveying the surroundings. With a furrowed brow, she demanded, “Who are you people?”

Lin Qi could tell these were no ordinary characters. Worried that staying any longer would lead to further complications, he murmured, “Don't bother with them. Let's go...”

But before he could finish, a refined-looking middle-aged man approached slowly.

“Waving a gun around—who do you think you’re scaring?” The man smiled, clearly unimpressed by the weapon in Sun Xiaoyun’s hand.

“Chen Yuannan?” Sun Xiaoyun’s brow knit even tighter.

“Oh? You know me?” The man’s smile broadened with amusement.

As a member of Special Operations, Sun Xiaoyun naturally recognized Chen Yuannan—a heavyweight who was well-known in the bureau.

Lin Qi suddenly realized—so this was Chen Yuannan, the very man who’d been mentioned at the detention center, and again by Black Bear.

But Lin Qi couldn’t fathom why Chen Yuannan had come looking for him.

“If you recognize me, why don’t you put down the gun?” Chen Yuannan’s face darkened, his smile vanishing as his gaze turned razor-sharp. An overwhelming pressure crashed down, as if a mountain pressed upon them.

An ordinary junior agent would have been drenched in cold sweat by now.

But Sun Xiaoyun didn’t back down. She pulled out her credentials and flashed them, her tone icy and unyielding. “Chen Yuannan, I thought you’d turned legitimate, but here you are organizing such a violent affair in secret. Come with me. You have some explaining to do!”

Special Operations?

Chen Yuannan’s brow twitched. He genuinely hadn’t expected Lin Qi to have a Special Agent at his side, but he remained unfazed. He replied coolly, “Enough. This is out of your hands. Go back. I’ll explain everything to Wei Qianzhong myself.”

Wei Qianzhong, head of the Special Operations Bureau.

Without connections, how could Chen Yuannan have survived this long?

Sun Xiaoyun’s frown deepened. “So you’re colluding with our chief? All the more reason for me to take you in for questioning!”

With that, she pulled out a pair of handcuffs and strode toward Chen Yuannan.

Chen Yuannan drew a sharp breath. He hadn’t anticipated Sun Xiaoyun being so stubborn. His voice remained cold. “I said, this is none of your concern. Leave now.”

“We’ll see about that.” Reaching Chen Yuannan, Sun Xiaoyun moved to cuff him.

In that instant, Chen Yuannan’s wrist flicked, and he snatched the handcuffs from her grasp.

“How dare you!” Sun Xiaoyun exclaimed, shocked, raising her gun to press it against his forehead.

With a sudden sidestep, Chen Yuannan seized her wrist, his arm darting forward.

“Aaah!” Sun Xiaoyun cried out in pain, the pistol falling from her grasp.

“Just a junior agent, and you dare meddle in my affairs?” Chen Yuannan’s eyes gleamed with menace as he slapped her hard across the face, then followed with a kick that sent her sprawling to the ground.

Ordinary thugs would have been unnerved by a Special Agent’s presence.

But Chen Yuannan was no ordinary thug.

“Beat her!” he barked, pointing at Sun Xiaoyun.

Immediately, four or five hulking men surged forward, raining punches and kicks down on her.

With her physical training, Sun Xiaoyun could normally take on three or five opponents with ease. But this time, having lost the initiative and been knocked down, she simply couldn’t get up.

“Stop!” Lin Qi roared furiously, brandishing a steel blade as he prepared to charge forward.

“Him too—kill him!” Chen Yuannan ordered, pointing at Lin Qi.

A horde of men swarmed at Lin Qi, and the two sides clashed in a raging melee.

Lin Qi was certainly formidable, but not enough to break through such a crowd in an instant. Watching Sun Xiaoyun being beset by four or five brutes, he couldn’t help but shout, “Chen Yuannan, she’s no ordinary agent! Her status is exceptional—think twice before you do something you can’t undo!”

“Hah! Trying to scare me? Do you think I, Chen Yuannan, was raised on fear? Beat them! Harder!” Chen Yuannan sneered, his contempt plain.

Lin Qi knew Sun Xiaoyun was no ordinary agent, but he wasn’t sure of her exact identity, unable to name her rank or connections—hardly enough to cow Chen Yuannan.

He understood that Sun Xiaoyun was suffering this ordeal because of him.

Anxious and furious, Lin Qi cut down assailant after assailant, but the enemy’s numbers were overwhelming, surging forward in wave after wave.

“Chen Yuannan, curse your ancestors for eight generations! You’re dead! You’re dead!” Lin Qi bellowed, his eyes blazing red with rage. In that moment, he seemed transformed into a god of slaughter, burning with the urge to tear Chen Yuannan limb from limb.

“Heh, Boss Chai said you could fight, and now I see it for myself. Good thing I brought plenty of men…” Chen Yuannan stood to the side, arms crossed, watching with satisfaction. “What a talent. If I hadn’t already taken money for this job, I’d have recruited you myself, let you challenge Black Bear…”

Before he could finish, another fierce cry erupted all around. At least a hundred men surged toward them, wielding blades and clubs, their murderous intent palpable.

“What’s going on?!” Chen Yuannan exclaimed, stunned by the scene unfolding around him.