"You must be Haigang's Fifth Leader, Hailey Zhou, right?" Ian Song didn't answer but asked in return, since he could sense this woman had late-stage Force-Refining strength, matching exactly what Ergou and Sanwa had described about Hailey Zhou.
Hailey Zhou looked a bit surprised at this, but ignored Ian and instead ordered the burly man with a rifle behind her, "Da Dong, go check on those guys at the gate."
"Yes, Sister Hailey!"
Da Dong answered and quickly ran toward the gate.
After checking, Da Dong found that all eight gatekeepers had been killed by something that pierced right through their brows.
He was instantly shocked.
Even though those guys were much weaker than Da Dong and the others, they weren't pushovers—and they had guns. Yet they hadn't even managed to fire a shot before being killed. That meant one of the man and woman at the gate was a real expert.
Da Dong returned, gave Ian and Liu Yingying a wary look, then lowered his voice to Hailey Zhou: "Sister Hailey, those eight were killed by a hidden weapon straight through the brow! And there are no signs of a struggle—they didn't even get to fire. So one of those two must be a hidden weapon master!"
"Alright, I got it."
Hailey Zhou nodded calmly, but her eyes swept back and forth between Ian and Liu Yingying. She wasn't bothered by the deaths of those eight—they were all Jason Gao's men anyway.
She really couldn't stand Jason Gao and his crew. In the base, they were notorious for bullying men and harassing women. Because of this, she'd clashed with Jason Gao more than once.
But Jason Gao wasn't weak either—he was a mid-stage Force-Refining martial artist, a crack shot, and most importantly, he had several hundred guns at his disposal. Although her combat strength was higher than Jason's, Hailey only had a few dozen die-hard followers.
Plus, Jason Gao was extremely cunning. After several rounds of infighting, she always ended up on the losing side.
"Which one of you killed those eight guys? Or did you do it together?" Hailey Zhou was silent for a moment before asking.
"I did," Ian said calmly.
Hailey's eyes lit up. Since the dead were Jason Gao's men, she didn't feel the slightest bit sorry—in fact, she was a little pleased. She pressed on: "Why did you kill them?" At the same time, a trace of doubt flashed in her eyes. Neither Ian nor Liu Yingying looked like experts—how could they have killed eight armed men so quickly?
"Because they deserved it," Ian said coldly.
"Kid, you sure talk big!" Da Dong was annoyed by Ian's attitude. He chambered a round in his rifle with a loud click, and the others followed suit, aiming their guns squarely at Ian.
Ian glanced at Da Dong, his tone flat. "I'd advise you not to point your guns at me. Otherwise, you'll end up just like those eight. You might be a bit tougher than those losers, but not by much. If I want to kill you, you won't even get the chance to pull the trigger."
"Hell! Now I really want to try!" Da Dong shouted angrily. "Let's see if you get turned into Swiss cheese first, or if you take us out!"
"Lower your weapons!"
Hailey Zhou suddenly barked out the order.
At Hailey's command, Da Dong and the others could only lower their guns, clearly unwilling.
"Smart move," Ian said with a smile.
Hailey Zhou frowned and looked at Ian. "I don't like your tone. But I'll give you a chance: if you can defeat me, I won't hold you responsible for killing those men. But you'll have to work under me. If you lose, I'll kill you!"
Ian shook his head. "I don't like your options either. So here's my proposal: if you can handle three of my moves, I'll work for you. If you can't, how about you work for me instead?"
"Kid, don't push your luck!" Da Dong couldn't help but interrupt again.
"Annoying!"
Ian's face suddenly turned cold. He flicked his hand casually, and Da Dong was sent flying by a tremendous force, crashing several meters away.
"What the—?"
Everyone, including Hailey Zhou, was stunned by the scene. Sending someone flying without touching them—what kind of martial artist was this?
"Have you decided yet? If you refuse, I'll kill every last one of you. Don't doubt me—I'll really do it!" Ian's lips curled into a menacing grin as he spoke.
"Hmph! Fine, I accept!" Hailey Zhou snorted coldly. She hated being forced into this position.
"Smart choice!" Ian nodded approvingly.
"Take this!"
Suddenly, Hailey Zhou moved. With one step, she seemed to shrink the distance and appeared right in front of Ian, throwing a full-force punch at his chest. The blow looked ordinary, but it packed all her strength, making the air hum with power.
She was confident she could smash even a stone man with that punch.
But at that moment, Ian vanished. Her fist hit nothing but air.
Suddenly, a hand pressed against the center of her back. Hailey Zhou's body froze—she knew she had lost.
Ian withdrew his hand, smiling. "Alright, you lost. According to our bet, you're my subordinate now!"
The others could hardly believe it—Sister Hailey had been defeated in a single move by that man. In the base, she was supposed to be unbeatable.
Hailey Zhou's face looked grim. After a moment's silence, she said, "Don't worry, I'll keep my word."
"In that case, take me into the base," Ian said.
Hailey replied coldly, "I'd advise you not to go in. Your strength may be unfathomable, but you killed Jason Gao's men. He has hundreds of guns and he's the vengeful type. When all those guns open fire, even you won't walk away!"
"That's not necessarily true," Ian said confidently.
Ian was full of confidence. Ordinary guns, even machine guns or rockets, couldn't break his true essence shield. Only a missile might pierce it—but he wasn't stupid enough to stand still and wait for one!
"Suit yourself. Just don't blame me if you end up dead," Hailey said icily.
Just then, the half-closed iron gates swung open with a bang. A dignified middle-aged man appeared at the entrance, flanked by hundreds of people.
"Not good, it's Jason Gao! You'd better run—otherwise you're dead for sure!" Hailey whispered urgently.
Jason Gao's face turned icy as he looked at the eight corpses by the gate. He glared at Ian. "Kid, did you kill my men?"
Earlier, Ergou and Sanwa hadn't gone far after entering the gate—they'd hidden nearby and watched as Ian killed those eight. They decided to report it to Jason Gao, hoping for a reward.
"What do you think?" Ian replied with a smirk.
"You've got guts, I'll give you that! Killing my men—you must be tired of living!" Jason's eyes flashed coldly. With a wave, his men surged forward, hundreds of guns aimed at Ian's group—and even at Hailey Zhou's people.