Chapter Thirty-Seven: Ma Yi Takes Action

Even from such a distance, Ma Yi could sense several powerful presences at the center, though judging by their auras alone, they weren’t nearly as impressive as those three little mice. Don’t underestimate them—those mice were now close to reaching the gold level. Their skin, gray as if corroded by acid, would soon reveal golden patterns with just a bit more effort.

After watching Li Li negotiate the wheat processing deal, the two headed back. The person handling the wheat was also a first-level Evolver, apparently an old acquaintance of Li Li's, suggesting they’d worked together before.

Just as Li Li was about to show Ma Yi around the inner city, a few whistles sounded, and some men approached them with grins. One glance was enough for Ma Yi to see they were Evolvers—and their faces made it obvious they were nothing but local bullies.

“Well, if it isn’t Lili, my dear! So, have you agreed to the terms I offered?” A bald, burly man smiled and reached out to touch Li Li’s face.

“Oh, Tiger, you’re teasing me again! Everyone knows you already have two beauties at home. Don’t joke around with me,” Li Li replied with a forced smile, stepping back.

“Hey, Tiger, don’t tell me you’ve already slept with her—look, she’s even got a kid now. That bald head’s got to be yours!” A sleazy man beside the bald one pointed at Ma Yi and cracked a joke. Ma Yi had been curious how Li Li would deal with this “Tiger,” but suddenly he was being dragged into the mess himself. That would not stand.

“You can eat shit, but you can’t talk nonsense,” Ma Yi said, instantly angered.

But with his childish appearance and immature voice, his words only made the sleazy man laugh more crudely, his grin even more arrogant.

“Even the way he talks is just like you, Tiger,” the sleazy man said, prompting the bald one to look Ma Yi over with a puzzled expression, scrutinizing him carefully.

“So, girl, when did you steal my seed? How come I didn’t know?” The bald man burst out laughing, clearly mocking her.

“Courting death,” Ma Yi fumed. These scum—useless, yet always so good at provoking the wrong people.

He stepped up to the bald man, clenched his tiny fist, and landed a punch on the man’s thigh. Even then, Ma Yi held back.

Crack! The bald “Tiger” collapsed instantly, his smile freezing, sweat beading on his forehead, and a pained howl ripping from his throat, echoing through the inner city. No wonder they called him Tiger—even his screams were loud.

“Tiger! Tiger!” His cronies rushed over, startled by his cries, eager to help him up.

Ma Yi then turned to the sleazy man. Under Li Li’s astonished gaze, he grabbed the man’s shirt. The scene was bizarre: a child lifting a grown man. With a simple tug and a powerful swing, the sleazy man shot out like a cannonball.

A dull splatter sounded as, thirty meters away, a bright red blossom bloomed against the city wall—a flower of flesh and blood.

“Holy shit…” Tiger’s remaining lackeys saw the boy grab the sleazy man by the neck and hurl him away. In a blink, he was gone, and when they looked back, they saw his body plastered against the wall, a mangled mess. There was no telling if even his corpse could be scraped off in one piece.

“Courting death,” they snarled, still acting like bullies, unaware of the danger. Clenching their fists, they charged forward.

A flurry of slaps rang out. Their faces swelled, teeth flying from bloodied mouths.

Only after being beaten did these thugs realize they had stumbled onto real trouble.

“We’re sorry! We’re sorry!” They ignored the moaning Tiger on the ground, falling to their knees to beg for forgiveness. Apparently, pain was the only lesson they understood. After all, one of them had already been reduced to a bloody smear—yet they’d still dared to attack.

“What’s going on here? Looking for death, all of you? Tiger, are you trying to scam someone by lying on the ground?” Just as Ma Yi was about to scold them further, three uniformed men approached.

“Captain Gu, my leg’s broken!” Tiger sobbed. Ever since becoming a second-level Evolver, he hadn’t been injured—he was somewhat famous in Changfeng Base, and no one dared provoke him. Today was just bad luck.

“What happened?” Captain Gu, the head of the City Guard for this district and nearly a third-level Evolver, was in charge of local security. Though he usually kept the peace with Tiger’s lot, who knew if they had dealings behind the scenes?

“Help, Captain Gu!” Tiger’s henchmen crawled to his side, as if he were their last hope. Usually, these bullies harassed others and watched them complain to Captain Gu; now, they were the ones seeking protection.

Li Li, worried they’d exaggerate, hurried over to explain.

Seeing the mess of flesh stuck to the wall, Captain Gu’s gaze landed on Ma Yi with fear. No matter how weak the sleazy man had been, he was still a first-level Evolver. Even as someone close to the third level, Gu couldn’t have thrown a man thirty meters and smashed him to pulp. This childlike figure was clearly a master—one Gu dared not provoke.

“Let’s go, Sister Li. I’m hungry,” Ma Yi said, glancing at Captain Gu. To him, the man was nothing special—just another easy kill. Since he’d already dealt with the offenders, there was no reason to linger. He waved to Li Li, his dislike for the inner city obvious.

“Oh… okay.” Li Li stared at Ma Yi, stunned by his calmness after killing someone. In the settlement, killing without permission was a grave taboo—punishable by public execution. Yet when Ma Yi called her, she followed like a puppet.

The onlookers glanced at Captain Gu, then at Ma Yi’s retreating figure. No one could believe someone had just killed with impunity and walked away—even with the City Guard present. In the settlement, starvation and fights were common, but murder was rare—not because people weren’t willing, but because the punishment was so severe.

If a murderer wasn’t dealt with, violence would spiral out of control, turning the settlement into a lawless den of bandits. That’s why anyone who dared kill faced the full force of authority. The news of Ma Yi’s deed spread quickly through the inner city. Everyone waited, silent, to see what would happen to someone who had dared defy the base’s strictest rule.

“What happened here?” From a seat of authority, a square-faced man in a military uniform, his epaulettes gleaming with two stripes and a star, stared down at Captain Gu. He was the base’s chief of city defense, one of its three top leaders—a fourth-level Evolver, once a garrison officer who’d escaped the apocalypse with a handful of soldiers and ended up here.

Officially, only Xiang Tianxiao was a fourth-level Evolver, but if the other two weren’t as strong, they couldn’t possibly be his equals. After all, nobody would willingly elevate someone stronger than themselves—history is full of rulers who dealt harshly with over-mighty subordinates.

“Chief, that child is incredibly strong. I, Old Gu, can hold my own against a third-level, but just looking at him made my heart race. As a first-level Evolver, I might be able to throw someone thirty meters, but to smash a person against a wall and turn them to pulp? I couldn’t do it. Only someone like you, a fourth-level Evolver, could manage that.” Captain Gu was bitter. He’d wanted to detain the child, but his strength was unfathomable—if he’d tried, survival would’ve been uncertain.

“He’s really that powerful? How come there hasn’t been any word about him in the base? That’s a deep cover.” The chief frowned, thinking hard. He had tabs on most of Changfeng Base’s notables and had even secretly supported a few squads.

“I’ve investigated—apparently, the kid was found by a squad outside, passed out from hunger on the road. He’s only been here two or three days,” Gu explained. He’d done his homework; otherwise, he’d have no answers for his boss, with whom he’d once fought side by side.

“An outsider, eh? Interesting—this is an opportunity. Old Gu, since this happened in your district, I’m putting you in charge. Do whatever it takes to recruit him to our City Guard. Name his price—anything but my own position. If he’s that strong, I don’t mind another deputy.” The chief’s face relaxed, a smile spreading. “Move fast. The other two are no fools. If I’ve heard about him, so will they.”

“Yes, I’ll get right on it.” Captain Gu left at once, knowing all too well the open and hidden rivalries at play.

“Really?” Qian Ying stared in disbelief at Ma Yi, who was calmly devouring a cornbread at the table, while Li Li recounted what had happened. To kill someone in the settlement—no matter if they were scum—was a huge deal.

“Incredible! The whole inner city’s talking about it. That mess on the wall is still there—hard to clean up. Amazing,” Yu Chuan said, having run into the city to see for himself. He’d come back and described the bloody smear on the wall.

“Did we find a treasure, or did we pick up a demon?” Qian Ying glanced at Ma Yi with some trepidation. He was a first-level Evolver, just like herself, but he’d killed without a second thought, and even the City Guard hadn’t dared intervene. She’d said plenty of critical things about him in the past few days—would this little terror throw her against a wall too?

“Let’s treat him like a king for now,” Li Li joked, her fondness for Ma Yi only growing after witnessing a fraction of his power.

“What’s going on? I hear everyone talking about us,” the fat man entered the room.

“Shit, we should run. If the three chiefs show up together, we’ll all be arrested,” Qian Duoduo said, and everyone felt she had a point. If this couldn’t be resolved, the authorities would lose face. If they let it slide, it would be a slap to their authority. After all, they’d made the rules. When the three chiefs put on the pressure together, things could get ugly.