Chapter One Hundred and One: What Will You Give Me for Justice? (Second update; the third update is expected later tonight)

A gagging heave tore from Chen Feng’s throat in the restroom of Jiangzhou First Hospital. For an entire hour he had been retching without pause, until even bile had been driven out of him, yet his stomach still lurched and a suffocating wave of nausea clung to his chest.

The effects of the emotion-suppressing drug lasted twenty-four hours. Once that time had passed, every feeling that had been locked away surged back into his body at once. In that instant, a storm of emotions crashed through Chen Feng’s mind: he had killed people, mutilated one of them into a living carcass, and burned Luo Yongjiang alive.

Killing was not new to Chen Feng. He had taken lives before, and after doing so he had not felt the slightest guilt. But this time was different. This time he could no longer control the turmoil in his heart. In one reckless burst, he had killed nearly forty people, tortured Luo Wenqiang to death by brutal means, and burned Luo Yongjiang alive. Even now, merely recalling it made him feel as though he could not endure himself.

He would never use that drug again. The feeling was far too suffocating, as though he had ceased to be himself altogether. It was an overwhelming suppression: one wanted to feel, yet not the faintest true emotion would rise, only the most minute stirrings of instinct.

No wonder that in those films, once people stopped taking the drug, none of them ever wanted a second injection. The sensation was simply too oppressive.

Time passed.

Chen Feng, weak all over, stood by the sink and washed his hands. Then a strange illusion crept into him: his palms seemed to carry a thick, lingering smell of blood. He knew very well it was nothing more than a psychological phantom.

He shook his hands, washed his face once more, and forced himself to calm down. After drying his palms, he slowly left the restroom, still feeling faint and unsteady.

“Feeling uneasy?”

While Chen Feng leaned against the windowsill and panted, Yu Xiao had somehow appeared beside him. A faint smile rested on her face, like an older sister speaking gently to someone she cared about.

Chen Feng nodded silently, then gave a bitter laugh. “At the time, I didn’t feel much. But now that I think about it, I can feel my blood running cold.”

Yu Xiao looked at him and said earnestly, “You only need to get used to it.”

Get used to it?

Chen Feng fell silent.

Yu Xiao smiled. “Chen Feng, this world is not as simple as you imagine. Do you want to become someone above others? I don’t think you’d be content to remain ordinary. If you want to rise, then your hands will inevitably be stained with blood.”

As she spoke, she suddenly took both of Chen Feng’s hands. He froze for a moment, only feeling that her hands were exceedingly soft and delicate, warm and pleasant to hold. Seeing the faint confusion in his eyes, Yu Xiao smiled again. “If you’ve done something, don’t regret it. There is no medicine for regret in this world.”

“Of course I won’t regret it,” Chen Feng said, his gaze turning resolute. He tightened his grip on Yu Xiao’s pale, slender hands and smiled broadly. “After all, I said I would marry you.”

Yu Xiao laughed, a seductive look surfacing on her face. “Then you’ll have to work hard, little brother. You’re still a little green, you know.”

Chen Feng opened his mouth, about to say more, when the phone in his pocket suddenly rang. Frowning slightly, he took it out. The caller was Xia Yan.

That busty policewoman?

He answered the call. Xia Yan’s voice came through, carrying a faint chill. “Chen Feng, where are you now?”

“I’m at the First People’s Hospital in Donghai.” Chen Feng frowned slightly. “Do you need something?”

“Yes.” On the other end, Xia Yan nodded lightly. “Come out. Let’s find a place and have a meal together.”

“Fine.” After agreeing on a meeting place, Chen Feng looked at Yu Xiao. “Sister Xiao, I’m heading out for a bit.”

Yu Xiao nodded. “Be careful.”

“I know what I’m doing.” Chen Feng smiled at her.

At Brilliant Hotel, the establishment was not especially large by Jiangzhou standards, but its decor carried a certain warmth. By the time Chen Feng arrived, he saw Xia Yan waiting there. Today she was not in uniform; she wore an ordinary dress, and her impressive chest filled the neckline so tightly that she looked somewhat different from usual.

Chen Feng walked over. “Sister Xia, you got here early?”

“Sit down.” Xia Yan looked at him seriously. “I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Chen Feng sat down across from her. To be honest, he had never felt anything special toward Xia Yan. Beautiful as this busty policewoman was, he was not the kind of man who lost his footing at the sight of beauty. Up to now, the only person whose charm he had found nearly impossible to resist was Yu Xiao.

“How are your parents doing?” Xia Yan asked suddenly.

“They’re all right.” Chen Feng answered casually, then looked at her. “Sister Xia, if you have something to say, just say it directly. No need to beat around the bush. Is it because of Luo Yongjiang?”

Xia Yan’s hand paused slightly. She looked at Chen Feng. “You are sharp. I only want to ask you one thing: is what happened to Luo Yongjiang related to you?”

“Yes,” Chen Feng said firmly. “I killed his entire family. Luo Yongjiang wanted to harm my relatives. I’m sure Sister Xia knows about that too.”

“Chen Feng, I really misjudged you back then.” Xia Yan’s voice turned faintly distant. “At first I thought that although you could fight, you wouldn’t go so far as to take lives. I never imagined it. I never imagined you would really do something like this. And you really could bring yourself to do it.”

“It’s not about whether I could bring myself to do it.” Chen Feng’s tone turned cold. “If someone were to forcibly demolish your family home and beat your parents, what would you do?”

“I would of course—” Xia Yan instinctively began to say she would call the police, but the words died in her throat.

She knew exactly what had happened that day. Zhang Quan and Luo Wenhao had colluded with each other, and she knew all too well how things unfolded after that. Chen Feng had struck and killed Luo Wenhao with his own hands.

“Can’t say it?” Chen Feng asked gravely. “I once hoped the law would give me fairness and justice. But I gradually realized this world is nothing like I imagined. It is a world ruled by power and money. As long as you hold enough authority and wealth in your hands, you can trample truth and falsehood as you please.”

He went on, still with calm seriousness, “Sister Xia, I thought about letting it go, about sparing them their lives. But what happened? My parents were still retaliated against. My girlfriend was taken away. My parents are now lying in the hospital, alive or dead I don’t know. Sister Xia, what do you think I should have done? If I didn’t kill them, they would have killed me, killed my whole family, and humiliated my girlfriend. Tell me, what should I have done at that moment?”

I...

For a moment Xia Yan was at a loss for words. Chen Feng, however, continued with a smile. “There was no choice. I could only kill them. It wasn’t that I wanted to kill them; they forced me to. Just as an emperor’s rage leaves corpses for hundreds of miles, so a common man’s rage spills blood within five steps. I have neither power nor influence. All I could do was let blood spill within five steps.”

“But you went too far,” Xia Yan said, lifting her head to look at him. “Others are trampling the law, and so are you. What difference is there between you and them?”

“The difference is this,” Chen Feng said solemnly. “They are already dead, and I am still alive. If I want to keep living, I had to kill them.”

As he spoke, the conviction in his heart grew firmer and firmer, and that sense of unease began to fade little by little. Guilt? Regret? Did he truly have to stand still and wait for death?

Xia Yan drew a sharp breath and looked at him. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you.”

“Help me?” A strange smile curved Chen Feng’s lips. “Sister Xia, I’ll ask you only one question: what justice can you give me?”

“What justice can you give me?” Xia Yan stared blankly.

In that instant of her distraction, Chen Feng’s right hand flashed out. With a sharp rustle, before Xia Yan could even react, her handbag was already in his grasp.

“You...” Then Xia Yan saw him take out a voice recorder. Under her gaze, Chen Feng crushed it to pieces, and then said earnestly, “Sister Xia, since I call you sister, you’d better stop playing these little tricks in the future. This world is not as simple as you think. If you cannot give me justice, then I will defend my own justice with my own fists.”

This was the second update. Sorry it was late. This morning I received a message saying that Young Breeze’s flight had been delayed, and he had to go to the bank to change the ticket, which wasted several hours. In the end, I was horrified to discover it was all a gang of scammers. That was a close one. At the very last moment, Young Breeze came to his senses and avoided being deceived. It’s the end of the year, so everyone should be careful not to fall for scams. If you encounter something like this, call the official customer service first and confirm whether there is really a delay. Finally, I recommend a book, Super-Grade Treasure Appraisal! To be continued...