Jiang Nian’s heart skipped a beat.
He never expected these people to be this underhanded. At the drop of a hat, they’d launch a volley of cold arrows—and crossbow bolts, no less. Those things packed way more destructive power than a handgun bullet. A single hit would either cripple or kill.
Sure, Jiang Nian was a first-class martial artist with internal energy to back him up, but that didn’t mean his flesh could withstand weapons of this caliber. A modern compound crossbow could fire a fifty-gram bolt at a muzzle velocity of 150 meters per second and still pierce 1.7 millimeters of low-carbon steel from over five hundred meters away.
With that kind of penetration, was the human body supposed to be tougher than steel?
“Still, even if I can’t tank it head-on… why do I feel like I could actually catch one?”
The thought flashed through his mind, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. The first volley had barely passed when the next one came right on its heels.
His instincts screamed danger. He didn’t dare hesitate. Wrapping his arm around Gao Yuan’er’s waist, he dashed through the hail of bolts, taking three steps at a time, and ducked into a shop.
By now, the mall had descended into total chaos. The random volleys had also knocked out the building’s electrical circuits, plunging everything into darkness. The scene was utter pandemonium.
Gao Yuan’er was petrified. All she could hear was the relentless swish-swish-swish of bolts whizzing past. Her mind went blank, and she could only stare at Jiang Nian in a daze. “Tea—Teacher Jiang, what is going on?”
“Exactly what it looks like,” Jiang Nian said between breaths, hiding inside the shop. “We’re being hunted. Exciting, huh?”
Gao Yuan’er’s lips twitched.
Exciting didn’t even begin to cover it—she’d nearly pissed herself from fright. She wanted to say more, but Jiang Nian had no interest in idle chatter right now. Once he noticed the sound of bolts had stopped, he prepared to peek out and assess the situation.
But the moment he stuck his head out—
Whoosh—
“What the hell—!”
The bolt came flying at him instantly, blasting a chunk off the wall right next to his face. Jiang Nian cursed and yanked his head back.
He wasn’t about to test whether his skull was tougher than a solid wall.
Damnit! They were watching way too closely. And with the mall pitch-black, how could they even see him?
Unless…
“They’ve got night vision goggles?”
The thought crossed his mind, and it wasn’t far-fetched. After all, these guys were bold enough to bomb an entire building, and their execution was frighteningly sharp. The moment he’d called for backup, the arrows were landing at Jiang Nian’s feet.
Sure, crossbow bolts weren’t exactly rare these days, but they weren’t something just anyone could get their hands on—let alone use with such deadly precision. That kind of marksmanship took years of practice. And those heavy crossbows, practically sniper rifles in their own right—every detail screamed that these people were no ordinary thugs.
So, night vision goggles? Seemed perfectly plausible.
“Damn. They’ve got such good gear—if they had guns, they’d rival SWAT. Who the hell are they?”
Jiang Nian cursed under his breath.
“Team B, Team B—how’s it going?”
While Jiang Nian hid in the shop, trying to figure things out, the sunglassed man wasn’t idle either. Noticing that Team B had stopped firing, he pressed his earpiece.
“Team B here. We missed all three shots. Target’s taken cover in a shop—blind spot, no clear angle. We’re repositioning. ETA about half a minute.”
A reply came through, followed by another question: “How’s Long?”
Long was the “salesman” Jiang Nian had slapped to death.
The sunglassed man glanced at the body. “Dead. Team C will need to clean up.”
“Team C received. We’re en route. Also, we spotted another group. Looks like they’re also after that guy. Should we deal with them?”
“Are they cops?” asked the sunglassed man.
“No. Just some thugs.”
“Then ignore them. Our priority is retrieving the detonator. What about the police?”
“No movement yet, but they’ll be here soon. We need to detonate the bomb before they arrive.”
“Good.”
The sunglassed man nodded, then turned to the remaining two. “You two, with me. We’ll hold him in place until Team B is in position.”
“Yes, sir.” They nodded and followed him as they crept toward the shop.
Inside, Jiang Nian’s keen senses picked up the approaching footsteps. He knew it had to be the sunglassed man and his crew.
If not for that earlier rain of bolts, he would’ve struck first the moment they got close. But now he hesitated.
After advancing to first-class martial artist, his skin had been reinforced—enough to withstand light slashes from blades. But against a bolt as thick as a finger, it would still punch straight through him. And in the pitch-dark mall, the archers were hidden hundreds of meters away, impossible to locate. That put Jiang Nian on the back foot.
Of course, he had confidence in his own survival—but with Gao Yuan’er by his side, he couldn’t just cut and run. And more importantly, he had the detonator on him. His main goal was to escape and lure the terrorists away. Even if he won the fight, if the building went up, he’d still lose.
“Think I could catch one barehanded?”
“Risky though. What if I miss and get skewered…”
While he was still weighing his options—
Suddenly, the shuffling footsteps stopped not far away.
Jiang Nian’s attention sharpened. Judging by the last direction and volume of the sound, the sunglassed man and his two companions had spread out, positioning themselves about five meters from the shop entrance. The distance between them was roughly three meters.
That was a safe setup.
Five meters gave them enough reaction time to counter any sudden charge from Jiang Nian. Three meters allowed them to support each other instantly if one was attacked.
On the surface, it looked unremarkable.
But Jiang Nian wasn’t just anyone. Through the memories of Du Gao and Yu Huatian, he’d been through countless life-or-death battles—and Yu Huatian had put him through hellish training. That experience made him realize something right away:
The sunglassed man and his crew weren’t here to bait him into attacking—they were here to box him in.
