A sudden whistle sounded outside the building, interrupting their conversation.
The patrolling officers had spotted them!
“Take care.” Xiao Fen patted his shoulder and closed the prison door again.
【Why does this prison feel like his own home? He wanders around so casually.】
【Fang Yama has a good relationship with him. There are insiders in the Pursuit Team, so it’s definitely much more convenient.】
【Makes sense.】
【The argument earlier must have been an illusion, a misunderstanding. Their relationship is actually pretty good.】
【Exactly, otherwise they wouldn’t have been so in sync passing notes in the library.】
【Not bad for the CP I’m shipping.】
The Old Library’s doors and windows were all welded shut with security bars on all four sides, so Xiao Fen could only slip out through the first-floor main entrance.
Before going out, he cautiously peered through the glass in the door. Over a dozen Vice Squad Officers rushed across the plaza, surrounding the area from all directions. A spotlight from the watchtower shone directly on the door and stayed fixed there.
He quickly headed to the duty room.
Thirty seconds later, a man walked out. The Vice Squad Officer in the watchtower subconsciously prepared to shoot but suddenly realized the face looked familiar.
It was a colleague.
Taking a closer look, there was a knife pressed against the man’s neck. Someone behind was holding the Vice Squad Officer hostage, inching step by step toward the road.
“A prisoner is holding a duty officer hostage. Requesting instructions.” He immediately reported the situation to his superior.
“Stand by.” Ulysses said with a cold expression.
By the time Xiao Fen was halfway to the wooden rack, Ulysses and several Vice Squad Officers had arrived.
“Xiao?!” A flash of excitement gleamed in his eyes.
“No.” Fang Si Ting took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
【Fang Yama’s lying with his eyes wide open. That expression shows he already knows who it is.】
“How could it not be him? This guy’s build, his face…” Ulysses didn’t believe it either. Before he finished speaking, he saw that the hostage-taker’s face was covered with a black trash bag, with holes cut out for the eyes and nose, and the bag tied in a knot at the back of the neck.
Fang Si Ting rubbed his forehead in headache.
It was too embarrassing to watch.
“The voice will definitely prove it’s him.” Ulysses said confidently. “I remember his voice.”
“Let me go, and I guarantee I’ll go back to prison.” The H Country-accented voice from inside the trash bag carried an exaggerated curry accent like a big Indian dude.
A suspicious look flashed across Ulysses’s face as he glanced at Fang Si Ting.
Fang Si Ting turned his head to the side.
【Fang Yama’s face is full of rejection: Who is this guy? I don’t know him.】
【He’s suddenly finding the prison night view pretty nice, haha.】
Ulysses’s gaze shifted between the two, confirming the intruder’s identity.
The show had been airing for so many days; this was finally his chance to go head-to-head with Xiao Fen. How could he pass it up?
Before Xiao Fen could say a second sentence, he suddenly pulled the Vice Squad Officer slightly to the side.
A blank cartridge hit the dirt by his foot, kicking up shards of soil.
Immediately after, a gust of wind brushed past, and a black shadow shot out like lightning, closing in rapidly.
Xiao Fen’s attention was drawn to the bullet, and he reacted a beat too slow. He temporarily abandoned the Vice Squad Officer as a shield. The dagger spun in his hand, slicing through the cold wind and harsh spotlight as a cold gleam, thrusting swiftly toward the opponent’s face.
Ulysses looked slim and tall, not particularly muscular, yet he effortlessly raised his hand to block the lethal strike. His fingers spread in a flourish, wrist twisting nimbly to lock Xiao Fen’s wrist joint in reverse, forcing him to release the dagger.
The instant the dagger flew from his hand, an attack came from the other side, which he blocked just as easily.
The captured right hand twisted like a snake, turning defense into offense in the blink of an eye. Ulysses, focused on blocking the left hand, felt his own arm about to be dislocated and hurriedly let go.
The snow-white hand clenched into a fist and smashed two punches into his open chest guard.
So the previous two strikes had been feints.
Ulysses staggered back a few steps, and the other Vice Squad Officers swarmed forward.
Xiao Fen grabbed one man’s arm and twisted it behind his back. His other hand turned the feint fist into a real blade, chopping toward the man’s nape. One went down immediately.
Then he snapped a kick upward, landing a full-force blow to another’s chest, sending him flying two meters away.
Two more flanked his center. Xiao Fen blocked a punch with one raised hand while seeking an opening to break through.
After several exchanges, a pale golden glow flashed behind one Vice Squad Officer. Ulysses blocked the ferocious punch aimed at that officer, grabbed Xiao Fen’s arm to pull him in close, and drove his other fist straight at Xiao Fen’s face.
Xiao Fen arched his flexible waist and abdomen backward, spun two full circles to steady himself, then reached out to attack again.
The pale golden long hair was like the scythe of the Grim Reaper under moonlight, dancing in the air with Ulysses’s increasingly sharp and tricky movements, tracing faint trails of light—holy yet piercing.
Ulysses’s face strike was blocked. He reached for the waist and abdomen next—a feint as well. As the opponent moved both hands to block, he withdrew in time, leaped sideways, and chopped toward the carotid artery on the neck.
Xiao Fen hurriedly raised his arm to block. After taking two punches on the outer side, he spun and swung a fist at Ulysses’s chin.
Ulysses tilted his head just in time to dodge, spun 180 degrees in place, and dropped low to attack the legs.
Xiao Fen was like an elf in the wild shrubs, hopping back just in time to evade. He feinted a retreat, and sure enough, the pursuer followed. After just a few steps, he suddenly spun around. His forearm lashed out in a short, sharp burst of inch strength, his fist exploding toward the opponent’s face.
Ulysses took it square on, his head spinning in dizziness. He still instinctively raised his hands to block the follow-up kill.
But his brain had slowed.
Next came an elbow strike, followed by two resounding slaps echoing in the open space.
Less damaging than fists, but far more insulting.
Finally, the curved index and middle fingers thrust toward the vulnerable collarbone and throat.
At the critical moment, an arm blocked the killing move in time.
Unwilling to give up, Xiao Fen jabbed his index and middle fingers together toward Ulysses’s brow center, only to be parried by an upward force that dissipated it harmlessly, with a strike to the wrist as well.
Both arms seized, he couldn’t break free. Instead, he bent at the waist again, pulling off a golden cicada shed—slipping his arms free from the thick cotton jacket.
Ulysses felt a black shadow whip past him, carrying the thick night wind across his ear. It met Xiao Fen’s incoming fist with a spinning kick, forcing Xiao Fen to bring his hands back to block.
Seeing who it was, the tongue behind the trash bag licked a small canine tooth. The sharp sting made him grin involuntarily.
Through the rough-edged hole, two cognac-colored pupils locked dead onto Fang Si Ting. The fox-like eyes narrowed with excitement like finally scenting meat, brimming with mad craving for the bloodshed to come.
He was a born carnivore; piercing prey with sharp claws was instinct.
Xiao Fen darted back and forth around the encircled clearing, his gaze never leaving the tallest figure in the crowd.
Fang Si Ting stood before Ulysses, thick brows furrowed, unmoving. His pitch-black eyes, admitting no light, warily tracked the prowling prey.
Xiao Fen saw him as prey, but he was one too.
Yet he was a steady hunter.
The other Vice Squad Officers were stunned.
First-time live viewers were stunned too.
【Oh my god, I can’t believe my eyes. Xiao’s this strong? Ulysses is the nine-time national Vice Squad Officers’ combat champion!】
【Xiao’s so handsome, I love him!】
【Me too!】 In seconds, he gained hundreds of thousands more fans.
【I don’t know how inflated your numbers are, but you all saw it—he’s way better than Xishi Bro.】
【He was a bit weak in the First Episode, more technique than power. Now Brother Fen’s at his physical peak. In the whole show so far, only Fang Yama could match him.】
【Pay attention, friends. He’s just starting to show his real strength now.】
Finally, Xiao Fen charged first, fists whipping up a fierce gale.
A front kick and back kick repelled two close Vice Squad Officers. He blocked Fang Si Ting’s punches from both sides, turning his right hand into a blade that struck Fang Si Ting’s elbow.
Fang Si Ting’s fist was already heading for his face.
Xiao Fen blocked the force again, but his other hand’s back suddenly struck out, sneaking toward the temple.
【That punch wind from Fang Yama—no ten years of grudge could produce it otherwise.】
【He’s trying to beat the guy to death.】
【Aaaah Fang Yama, take it easy!】
【Our Brother Fen’s injured…】
The viewers’ messages popped out half-formed, the rest still in the chat box, when Xiao Fen’s backhand palm smashed into Fang Si Ting’s face.
Then he clenched his fist—one punch, two, three.
He pinned the guy to the ground and pummeled him.
Viewers hurriedly edited: 【Even injured, our Brother Fen is still awesome.】
Fang Si Ting remained composed. Seizing an opening, he swept the legs.
Both tumbled awkwardly on the ground for two rolls. Not fully up yet, their four hands were already trading blows.
They beat each other while struggling to stand. Veins bulged on the back of Fang Si Ting’s hand as he hammered two fierce punches into Xiao Fen’s gut.
Fists landing solidly on flesh.
【My stomach hurts for Brother Fen already.】
【Didn’t watch before—do they have some deep grudge?】
【…I take back what I said.】
【Sigh, me too. Do they have a blood feud or something? Hitting that hard.】
【Whatever, can’t fool ourselves anymore. Check the CP fans’ pleas afterward. We sugar out daily to cover for you newbies—it’s tough.】
【The harder they fight in public, the harder they kiss in private.】
【You get it. I admire you.】
Another punch smashed toward Xiao Fen’s right cheek, barely dodged. Legs swept, both crashed down again.
They traded blows evenly. Ulysses and the surrounding Vice Squad Officers watched with aching teeth, unable to wedge in.
The fist winds from their strikes carried far more sharpness and weight than before.
Ulysses believed that when Xiao Fen had hit him earlier, he’d held back half his strength. Otherwise, with the deadly force he used on Fang Si Ting, one solid hit would’ve knocked him out.
He’d given him face on live camera.
They fought for nearly ten full minutes. Fang Si Ting tossed the cotton jacket onto the ground toward him. His fist followed right after, but the sneaky attack failed again. Both toppled over, then kicked hard at each other in sync, using the rebound to shove each other back another several dozen centimeters across the ground.
Xiao Fen rolled twice and sprang up. A side kick toppled two Vice Squad Officers, cracking the encirclement. He snatched the cotton jacket and bolted toward the barracks gate without looking back.
Ulysses chased after without a word.
Fang Si Ting rose leisurely from the ground, casually brushing dust from his black Vice Squad uniform. His tongue prodded his swollen cheek, a hint of amusement leaking from the corner of his eye.
【Did Fang Yama get punch-drunk?】
【Lost the fight and got triggered, probably.】
Only Fang Si Ting and Xiao Fen knew how exhilarating that duel had been.
Completely unrestrained.
You know my limits; I know your weaknesses.
He’d lost.
But during the heated stalemate, Xiao Fen had leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Shoes, and medicine.”
They were both panting from the fight; if he hadn’t listened carefully, he’d have missed it.
Fang Si Ting pondered as he walked back to the barracks. Two minutes later, he finally got it.
He couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.
Damn, not only got beat, but treated like a mind-reading worm, ordered around with cryptic words.
He really hadn’t wanted to figure it out so quickly.
In the barracks, Xiao Fen arrived first, locked the main door behind him, and bolted upstairs without stopping. He tore off the black trash bag from his face and tossed it casually over the railing.
The bag fluttered down to the empty ground floor.
His thumb scraped away the traces of blood from the corner of his mouth. He stripped off the cotton jacket, T-shirt, and pants, tossing them into some room along the way.
Ou Yu was already waiting with a wet towel and clean clothes.
“Case solved?” he asked curiously. “You look so happy.”
“Yeah, especially happy.” Xiao Fen changed into the clothes.
It had been a long time since he’d had this much fun.
Alarm bells began ringing urgently overhead.
Lights flicked on one by one in rooms and corridors, harsh white light flooding the entire barracks.
Over a dozen Vice Squad Officers wielded batons, cursing as they kicked open room doors, ordering the groggy prisoners into the hallway.
Bruce’s gruff voice came from the loudspeaker.
“Everyone, immediately exit your dormitories and begin the prison sweep!”
