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After confirming it was that chubby cop who changed his fate, Shawn Young suddenly had the urge to turn around and leave. He was worried the guy would recognize him, and if he ever spilled the beans about Shawn's "failed attempt" and embarrassing disaster, his "glorious" reputation would be ruined!
Just as Shawn was feeling anxious and conflicted, a coughing sound came from inside the temple, followed by a weary, aged voice saying, "Officer Zhang, what's going on outside? Why are those people surrounding us but not making a move? It's really strange!"
Shawn's hearing was sharp. Upon hearing that male voice, he immediately recognized it as Felix Eagleclaw. So he put aside his urge to leave for now—after all, he came here because Felix had asked him for help. Shawn poked his head out again, wanting to greet Felix in the temple, but as soon as he did, Martin Zhang spotted him and, without hesitation, raised his pistol—"Bang!"—and fired a shot!
The gunshot rang out and the muzzle flashed. Shawn quickly pulled his head back, and the bullet—"Whoosh!"—skimmed past his scalp, scaring him. Seeing he'd wasted another bullet, Martin Zhang got frustrated and started cursing at the doorway: "Damn it, you little bastard out there! If you've got guts, stick your little thing in here again! Let's see if I don't blow your junk off with one shot!"
"Damn, this guy's skills aren't much, but his temper sure is! And his cursing is nasty as hell!" Shawn fumed at Martin Zhang's insults, remembering how he'd been chased all over by him that night. Annoyed and frustrated, Shawn bent down, picked up a stone, channeled a bit of energy, and flicked it—"Whoosh!" The stone flew straight into the temple—"Smack!"—hitting Martin Zhang squarely in the mouth!
"Aagh!" Martin Zhang was caught off guard, screamed in pain, and lost a tooth, spitting out blood onto the floor. Clutching his swollen mouth and whining, Shawn darted into the temple. Martin Zhang panicked and tried to shoot, but Shawn was ready. With a flick of his right hand, another stone flew—"Smack!"—knocking Martin's pistol away!
"Ah!" Martin Zhang shrieked, totally rattled. He knew he was no match for the intruder. Suddenly, Sergeant Hannah Pan beside him let out a surprised cry, lunged forward, and swept a powerful kick at Shawn's head. Shawn didn't hesitate, gathered some inner energy, and slapped her incoming leg—"Boom!"—with a dull thud. Hannah felt like her leg had been hit by a truck, a surge of overwhelming force sent her flying, crashing into a wall. Stars danced before her eyes, her ears rang, and she couldn't even stand, instantly losing the ability to fight.
"Hey! You bastard, hitting a woman! I'll fight you to the death!" Martin Zhang yelled, baring his teeth and charging at Shawn, ready to go all out.
Before he could get close, Shawn kicked him hard in the stomach—"Thud!" Martin Zhang cried out, flipping over and landing right on top of Hannah Pan. By sheer coincidence, his hands ended up grabbing her ample chest.
"Ah—Martin Zhang, you—damn it, let go! Stop grabbing!" Hannah Pan felt Martin Zhang's fat hands clutch her chest, a sensation she'd never experienced in her twenty-some years. Her face instantly burned red, and she screamed in embarrassment and rage.
"Uh—s-sorry, Deputy Pan, I—I didn't mean to, I didn't know that was your chest—" Martin Zhang quickly let go, frantically trying to explain himself.
"Damn it! Stop talking! Just shut up!" Hannah Pan screamed again, feeling like this was the most humiliating moment of her life.
"Heh—what a pair of lovesick idiots!" Shawn Young watched the scene, finding it hilarious.
At this point, Felix Eagleclaw inside the temple recognized the intruder as Shawn Young. He immediately stood up and rushed outside, exclaiming with joy, "Oh! It's Brother Shawn, thank goodness you finally made it!"
Shawn nodded at him and said, "Yeah, I made it. Mission accomplished!"
"Uh—you guys—you know each other?" Martin Zhang and Hannah Pan stared in disbelief.
"Yes, that's right. Brother Shawn is the backup I called for. With him here, we've got a real shot at getting down the mountain alive tonight!" Felix Eagleclaw said.
"Ah! So you're one of us! I got beat up for nothing—and even lost a tooth!" Martin Zhang cried out, looking thoroughly depressed.
"You think that's bad? I got it even worse—uh—never mind!" Hannah Pan wanted to mention her chest being grabbed by Martin Zhang, but realized how embarrassing that was, so she just glared at him, cheeks blazing, and clammed up.
"Uh—Brother Shawn, who's the woman you're carrying? Why is she unconscious?" Felix Eagleclaw asked curiously, noticing the stunning female ninja in Shawn's arms.
"Oh, she's a ninja—an enemy! I knocked her out and captured her. She's pretty skilled, so I plan to question her when she wakes up and figure out what's really going on!" Shawn explained.
Felix Eagleclaw was stunned. He hadn't expected Shawn to capture an enemy—let alone a female ninja. Knowing about Japanese ninjas, Felix thought for a moment and said, "If she's a ninja, Brother Shawn, your hope of getting the truth out of her might be slim!"
"Huh? Why's that?" Shawn asked quickly, since he didn't know much about Japanese ninjas.
"Ninjas are a special breed. Besides their unique training, they have their own schools of ninjutsu. These ninja clans are rare nowadays, but they still stick to their strict training and tight-knit rules. No matter which clan a ninja belongs to, once they get a deposit from their employer, they'll do anything to finish the job, and only get the rest of their pay after it's done. It's a lot like a hitman organization! But what's different is, when ninjas carry out missions, they use their signature ninjutsu and tricks. If they get caught, they won't spill any info about their employer—they'd rather take poison and die! That's why rich and powerful people hire ninjas for big jobs. So, getting a ninja to talk is basically impossible!" Felix explained.
"What? So even if she wakes up, I won't get anything—and she might even kill herself with poison?!" Shawn couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, that's probably how it'll go—check her collar. There should be a poison pill hidden there for suicide!" Felix said.
"Oh—" Shawn was startled and quickly searched the female ninja's collar as Felix suggested. Sure enough, in the right lapel of her deep blue ninja outfit, he felt something hard. Pulling it out, he saw it was a small, dark pill, giving off a weird vibe.