No Hero

Chapter 63

No Hero Volume 6: Heaven or h.e.l.l

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我 (Yu Wo)

Heaven or h.e.l.l, Third Level: Market, Chaotic Bustle and Shouting Enthusiasm—translated by Tentacles (proofread by Trespa.s.serby; C/E edited by lucathia)

First Wind, wait! Don"t leave yet.

"Yes? Do you need something?"

There"s something I want to discuss with you. The tabloids are saying that there"s something going on between us…

"Ah? Is that so? I don"t have a habit of reading tabloids."

…Basically, I just wanted to say to you, there is definitely nothing going on! I don"t have any intention of liking you!

"It really hurts my heart that you"re refuting it so strongly. Am I that terrible?"

N-no, I don"t mean it like that! You"re not bad at all. I just, just… Just don"t have the ability to accept anyone else.

"Do you want to tell me your story? You will feel much better after letting it out."

…Then what about your story?

"Mine? To be honest, my story is quite clichéd. My father became a drug addict after his business failed. He owed many debts and jumped into the sea as a result. After my father died, my mother took my little brother along with her to try to commit suicide via charcoal-burning. Fortunately, I came back home from college at just the right moment, managing to pull the two of them back from the gates of h.e.l.l."

Didn"t you say both of your parents…?

"My mother later jumped from the hospital"s roof." First Wind said calmly.

Isn"t it exhausting? Dragging a pile of debts while taking care of your little brother?

"Haha, after forfeiting the inheritance, the debt wasn"t a problem anymore, although I still got chased by drug dealers for money for a while. But, it"s good that I"m taking care of my little brother! I had to earn money to take care of him, and I also had to quickly pull myself together to console him. If I didn"t have to take care of him, I might have already abandoned myself to despair!"

I feel like I"m asking too much, but tell me something first. You don"t have to answer if you don"t want to… Where did you get the money for modification?

"Hahaha, if I said it, you might not even believe me. I won the lottery."

"Sigh, I"ve always wondered. If my father never jumped into the sea, this lottery could have cleared all his debts. Why did he give up so early, instead of persisting a little longer? Why did he choose to run away by doing drugs…"

I forgot to bring my shopping basket.

From now on, I must remember to bring my shopping basket to cla.s.s. That way, after cla.s.s is over, I can also buy some groceries on my way home. Then once I have arrived home, I can start cooking without any delay. We should be able to have a punctual meal this way.

On the road, many patrolling police cars drove by. The street was full of constantly flashing red lights and ear-piercing sirens. I watched as they rushed eastward and then suddenly rushed westward again like headless flies. They did not seem to be able to find the criminals.

I did not think that the criminals would be this difficult to deal with. Under the heroes and police"s coordination, the criminals were still able to escape successfully. With the heroes becoming stronger and stronger, the criminals were also getting increasingly and unexpectedly strong. It seemed this would continue endlessly…

"We"ve arrived at the market."

I lifted my head. As I handed over the money to the taxi driver, I said, "Thank you, Nitewalker."

"You"re welcome." Nitewalker only nodded and said, "Just doing my job."

"I might have to trouble you frequently over the coming days."

Nitewalker nodded and said, "Then, do you want to directly deposit money here and use a deductible payment method for your car fee? If you deposit over five thousand yuan, I will give you a ten percent discount. If you deposit ten thousand yuan, I will give you a discount of twenty percent."

"What if I deposit twenty thousand yuan?" I asked immediately.

He said expressionlessly, "Last time, Nitesea said that no matter if you take the taxi or go to the nightclub, he"ll give you a twenty percent discount. Now if I give you another twenty percent off, it"ll be a thirty-six percent discount. What more do you want? Me to lose gas money?"

"My apologies…"

After handing over ten thousand yuan, I got out of the taxi. First, I went to the noodle stall by the market entrance and asked if I needed to clear any tabs.

Instead, the noodle stall"s female owner said, "Your police friend hasn"t come by for a long time!"

He really has not come by? I bitterly smiled and said, "Yes, he has been very busy recently."

"Don"t let him get so busy he doesn"t eat again." The lady boss shook her head. "You"re best buds! He always said that if it weren"t for you, he would have already starved to death! You should persuade him to eat more than a meal a day. It"s not good for him!"

Hearing this, I was also very worried. I do not know if I can ask Yue Gang"s police friends to help me bring some food to him. If I requested that they conceal the fact that the food was from me, perhaps he would accept it?

Giving him fried chicken should be acceptable. The leftovers can be frozen and reheated whenever he wants to eat. Although it will not be delicious, it can at least fill his stomach… After saying goodbye to the noodle stall owner, I went in front of the chicken-selling stall and said, "Boss, give me a dozen chickens." The main dish for tonight"s dinner might as well be fried chicken.

"A dozen?" The chicken vendor showed disbelief and said, "Charles, every time you come, I can straight up close my stall up for the day! So, who"s new to your family this time? With a dozen chickens, you could open up a business already!"

"No one has been added to my family. It is to be made for my friend to eat." I explained quickly. "Please chop them all. I want to make fried chicken."

"Friend? Is it Yue Gang? I haven"t seen him for a long time! Is he busy arresting people?" The chicken vendor sighed as he chopped the chickens, "Sigh, public security"s been bad lately. Even when I come out to sell chickens, I have to carry two guns to have my peace of mind. I say, Charles! You"re bringing a gun with you when you"re out and about, right?"

"I am!" Only after I pulled out my gun from my backpack did he nod.

"You really can"t go without one!" The chicken vendor complained about the public safety, "But lemme tell you! A gun is not very dependable. It"s just there to scare people. If you really need to shoot, you either miss the target or shoot some bulletproof vest. Completely useless. When s.h.i.t gets real, one better use a knife!"

As the chicken vendor said the word "knife," he suddenly hacked down with his cleaver. With just one strike, he cut the chicken in half.

"If anyone dares rob me, I"ll chop off his right hand so that he can never rob anyone again!" The chicken vendor chopped the chickens as he kept saying that he would chop off someone"s right hand. This caused my own right hand to suddenly feel cold.

Watching another chicken being chopped into a pile of meat, I further regretted not bringing a shopping basket. How am I going to bring this home?

"How about I lend you a cart?" The chicken vendor stared at the mountain of chicken and also felt that it would be really difficult to bring home.

Filled with grat.i.tude, I said, "My thanks."

The chicken vendor helped to put the chicken meat into the cart. After I lifted up my head and was about to give my thanks again, I saw a car crash into the market. This caused some pa.s.sersby to scream and jump away, before surrounding the car to yell and curse. This style of driving is really too dangerous.

The car"s door opened. Five men in black clothing and wearing black helmets jumped out from the car… They are dressed the same as the criminals in the plaza! Have I coincidentally run into two of the five groups of criminals?

Without any hesitation, the men in black opened fire toward the sky and roared, "All of you, hands on your heads and get on your knees!"

The chicken vendor froze for a moment and then gave a violent glare. He turned around and grabbed his knife and gun. He opened fire on the men in black.

"Wait!" I was shocked. If the men in black were to see the people in the market rebelling, I am afraid they would first kill a few to demonstrate…

Being shot at, the men in black did not care at all. Instead, they lifted up their guns and targeted the chicken vendor. Seeing this, the chicken vendor who was in the prime of his youth actually still continued his berserk shooting. He shot while roaring, "d.a.m.ned bulletproof vests!"

Being shot at caused their anger to rise a bit. A few among them pointed their guns at the chicken vendor. Facing the sounds from their heavy firepower, the chicken vendor finally knew fear. He let out a weird scream and quickly tried to run, but his opponents held machine guns. Moreover, they opened fire without hesitation.

At this time, the chicken vendor slipped to the ground in a panic. The gun and knife also flew out of his hands. Gunshots rang out soon after. The chicken vendor hugged his head as he screamed loudly…

"AAAAAAAAAH—"

After screaming for a while, he finally stopped. He even froze for a moment and checked his body and four limbs. He immediately looked up and blurted out, "Charles?"

I stood in front of the chicken vendor and sighed, "Do not be so rash. Did you not say last time that your wife is finally with child? Do you plan to let your young wife take care of your child alone?"

"Charles!" I did not expect the chicken vendor to wail, "Why did you do that?! You still have a bunch of brothers and sisters to raise! Without you, what will they do?!"

What will they do? The more I listened, the stranger it sounded. I said quickly, "I am fine."

Furthermore, when did the misunderstanding that I am raising my siblings start? I remember that the story we spun about my family was that my father, big brother, and two little brothers, May and Dell, all have jobs. I am just responsible for cooking and taking care of the even younger siblings. When did it become that I am raising my siblings?

The chicken vendor wailed even more miserably, "How could you be fine?! Even if you"re wearing a bulletproof vest, your head would still have been shot! I owe you so much, I owe your siblings, your parents, sorry…"

"I really am fine. You do not need to worry…"

Bang bang bang!

Hearing gunshots, I turned around. Those men in black were shooting at me desperately, but their attacks were all blocked by my blood ability. They took out even more powerful guns… I hesitated. I decided to take care of these men in black to prevent the vendors from getting injured or even dying, because then the discounts for groceries I had painstakingly worked for would disappear!

First, I used my blood ability to form a thin defensive barrier. I used it to surround the men in black and me, lest the stray bullets affect the surrounding crowd. After forming my customary rapiers, I used x-speed to dart to and fro around them. They were unable to follow this speed at all, not to mention aim.

As I darted, I occasionally thrust out my rapiers. These people"s bulletproof vests were indeed very st.u.r.dy. Even rapiers formed from blood ability had difficulty penetrating them. But it was only difficult, not impossible.

I purposely attacked the joints. Although they were protected by the clothing too, to allow for movement, the protection was generally lower. With the additional force from x-speed, my rapier"s tip jabbed straight into their human bodies like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter.

The joint of the left elbow, the joint of the right elbow… So long as these two places were destroyed, they would be unable to hold onto their guns. Even a chicken vendor could use a knife to finish a criminal without a gun!

One, two… Ultimately, I finished off all the criminals. Then, I stood in front of the last man remaining. Although he was still holding his gun, he seemed to have lost all ability to open fire. He just looked at me, trembling so hard that the muzzle of his gun shook up and down nonstop…

"Y-You… You monster!"

I walked up to him. I was a little shocked. It had been a long time since I had heard this word. It likely was since… After following the young master, I seemed to have ceased hearing this word. Even under a situation where people suddenly realized I was a vampire, still no one called out this name.

To be honest, most people were just a little surprised. Their reactions could not even be considered shocked. The people around the young master truly were not easy to shock, especially to the point of trembling and quavering while calling out the word "monster."

Sometimes, I almost forget that I myself am actually a vampire, a monster in the eyes of human beings…

Putting away my rapiers, I took hold of the opposing side"s muzzle. After throwing the gun aside, I gave him a single punch, resolving everything.

It is finally settled. Should I call the police and have them arrest these criminals? But the police might want to take my statement. I still need to go home and cook…

While I was hesitating, a voice coming from nearby said, "Ch-Charles, y-you… What in the world are you?"

I turned my head in the direction of the voice. The chicken vendor looked at me with his face full of fear. I turned to look at my surroundings. It did not matter if it was the vegetable vendor or the older woman that sold fish, they all had the same expression—fear.

Usually, these vendors always loved to tug on my sleeve, especially those older women, wanting me to take a look at their vegetables or their unwed daughters. Now, they all stayed far away from me with expressions filled with fright.

I had only thought that if the vendors became casualties, I would not be able to receive any discounts. However, if my ident.i.ty as a vampire were known, then I would not be able to buy groceries here at all.

I smiled bitterly. It was a bit too late to have realized this now. From the moment I used my blood ability to block bullets for the chicken vendor, my days peacefully buying groceries here were over.

I looked at everyone. I apologized sincerely, "I am sorry. I have been deceiving you all. I am actually a…"

"Vampire, freeze!"

I froze for a moment and turned my head to look. That man was actually aiming an energy gun at me with a cold expression on his face. He had a crew cut with only his left bangs slightly longer and dyed light purple.

I blurted out his name, "Xie Wei?"

Aside from Xie Wei, many other police officers stood behind him. Only now did I realize that the market"s exit was already filled with police cars.

Xie Wei coldly snorted and then said, "I told Yue Gang. You and your entire family are problematic. He just didn"t believe me! Show me your hands!"

I complied. I did not expect him to grab my hands and handcuff me. The handcuff was even made out of silver… Am I being arrested? Why?

"Why am I under arrest?" I asked calmly, though baffled. If there is no legitimate reason, then I do not need to be obedient and let him arrest me, especially when I still need to go back home and cook dinner.

"You broke the TV wall in the square!" Xie Wei said ferociously, "Don"t you argue with me! Yue Gang reported that you were there! You should have been the one who did it! Only a vampire"s speed could escape the security cameras!"

I was found! And the reason I was caught was because my speed was too fast… Sigh, to be honest, I actually did not need to shatter the TV wall, because the young master went chasing after the criminals. He would not have pa.s.sed the plaza, so he would not have seen the TV. But at this point, regretting it is useless.

I repented wholeheartedly, "I am deeply sorry. I did not mean to shatter the TV wall… Uh, honestly it was intentionally shattered. Anyway, I truly am sorry."

Xie Wei roared back, "If saying sorry were enough, would this world still need police? Follow me to the police station!"

A visit to the police station truly seemed inevitable. Fortunately, only the TV wall was shattered, so the punishment should not be that severe, right?

I nodded and said, "Fine. Could you let me get the chicken meat I bought?"

Hearing this, Xie Wei froze for a second, "What meat?"

"Chicken meat. The meat for fried chicken."

Xie Wei had a confused expression which quickly became an angry one. He roared, "Don"t think I"d give you a chance to grab weapons or call for backup!"

This time, I was the confused one. I quickly explained, "I just need to get my chicken meat. Chicken meat cannot even be used as a weapon."

"Give it a break! "Getting chicken meat" as an excuse? Isn"t this reason too stupid?! A vampire came to the market to buy chicken meat? Who would believe that s.h.i.t!"

I really just want to grab my chicken meat. How do I make him believe me? If I do not take the meat, then dinner will not have a main dish.

"Take him to the police car!" Xie Wei roared to the armed force beside him.

All of the police officers pointed powerful weapons at me. Then, two police officers wearing heavy protective gear came up, used a long hook to hook onto my handcuffs, and then dragged me forward. This equipment is not bad. It can prevent physical contact between the police and non-humans.

A police officer said in a low voice, "Don"t struggle. This hook can release electricity at a high voltage. If you struggle even a little, the hook will automatically electrify you."

…This is truly a very good design. Nearly all non-humans are afraid of electricity. Even the strongest of them just have higher resistance for electricity but no way to completely withstand high voltage.

Now I could only hope that Xie Wei just wanted to take me to the police station and not electrocute me directly.

"Wait!"

The police and I all froze. We turned our heads to look. The one who had shouted "Wait!" was actually a young man—the chicken vendor.

The chicken vendor suddenly shouted, "Charles is a good guy… E-Even if he is a vampire, he"s still a good vampire. He saved my life! Why are you arresting him?"

Xie Wei angrily roared, "Non-humans that have hurt humans should be taken back to the police station for interrogation!"

This was just like what the Church would say but a lot gentler. The Church"s Sin Elimination team would usually say, "Any non-human that has injured a human will be sentenced to death." If it were a vampire, even if he had not hurt humans, he would still most likely be sentenced to death.

"The ones he hurt were criminals!" The chicken vendor angrily roared, "Where"s the logic in this if the police arrest those who protected innocent citizens! Are the police here to protect us or the criminals?"

Hearing this, Xie Wei"s expression turned worse, but he still did not have the slightest intention of letting me go.

"Li Qi." I pleaded, "Could you keep the chicken refrigerated at your home? I will come back to retrieve it at your stall after a few days."

I think there is no way to go back home and cook dinner today.

The chicken vendor—no, Li Qi—said miserably, "Charles! You don"t even know if you can come back out or not. How would you know if you can come back to get the chickens in a few days? Don"t lie to me!"

This expression of grief made it seem like I had been sentenced to death already, causing me to start to feel some fear. How do the police treat non-humans? I have only heard that the NC squad is specially used to deal with non-humans, but how do they "deal with" them after all?

"Everyone please think!" Li Qi shouted to all the vendors around, "Except for bargaining with you guys, has Charles done anything to you?"

B-Bargaining is also counted as a bad deed?

Li Qi jumped onto a random stall. He shouted to the grandmas and mothers below, "Charles saved me just now! But, you also have to thank him! If the criminals just now did seize us, who knows how many people would have died before the matter was resolved! Tell me, how can we let the police take Charles away? Of course we can"t!"

"Let him go! Let him go! Let him…"

His provocative words caused all the vendors to shout with him. The people of the market normally shouted and quarreled every day. Each of their voices was astonishingly loud and clear. This combined shout had the volume of an energized army singing a military hymn. The vibrations even hurt my eardrums a little, and my chest also vibrated with the rhythm of "let him go."

Even though I knew Li Qi was an overly lively young man, I really did not expect him to have the bravery to go against the criminals and the police. Neither did I expect that… He would be willing to confront the police for a customer like me, who was even a vampire.

However, I could not let him do this, because I was certain I would be fine. I quickly shouted, "Li Qi! I truly am fine. Please do not…"

I had only said half of what I had planned before giving up because even I could not hear my own voice. My ears only heard Li Qi"s shouts, the vendors" agreements, and the older women"s loud cries.

One side only had knife-holding vendors and basket-holding grandmas and mothers. The other side had the heavily armed, silent police force. This picture was completely disharmonized. I simply could not imagine the tragedy if they ever clashed against each other.

I turned to meet the police officers" eyes, hoping they would receive my hint to take me away. However, all the police, except Xie Wei, avoided my gaze. Why?

"You foolish citizens!" Xie Wei roared, "Who do you think we are protecting?"

He even used the word "foolish." Would this not make the situation much worse?

"Protecting the criminals, of course! Who else are you protecting?" Li Qi roared back.

Hearing this, Xie Wei"s complexion grew worse, his expression horrifying. Not only him, other police officers" faces also changed. Some had faces red from anger. Some were dismayed and lowered their heads.

The conflict between both sides is worsening. If this goes on, the surreal scene of police officers and citizens killing each other in the marketplace might really happen. This is definitely not what I would want to see.

"Be quiet!"

I used my vampire ability Hollow Roar. Not only did it drown out everyone"s voices, it also made the whole site completely silent.

I turned to Li Qi and roared, "I am a vampire! I do not need a random person to interfere with my business!"

Li Qi was stunned along with the vendors, grandmas, and mothers. Seeing their expressions, my heart suddenly felt heavy.

Even with the acknowledgement of the existence of non-humans, even knowing that a pa.s.serby might be a non-human, there might still be a huge difference when seeing the actual horrific side of a non-human.

I turned my head to a nearby police officer and said, "Please take me away quickly."

The police officer was surprised for a moment but then quickly took me to the car.

"Sorry, Charles!"

Surprised, I looked at the police officer by my side. He did not dare to look at me because of his guilt, but he did steal a glance at Xie Wei. Seeing that Xie Wei had not noticed, he then felt relieved.

I smiled, thinking, Going to the police station should be safe!

After being escorted to the car, the police car did not leave immediately because the police officers still needed to escort the men in black to the car as well. Also, I had broken their joints, so just moving slightly caused them to wail in pain. This gave the police huge headaches. Without any better options, they called an ambulance.

"I thought they had all died." Xie Wei came into the car. He said, "You actually didn"t kill them! Why? A vampire, but still overflowing with compa.s.sion?"

I earnestly said, "I just thought that if I killed them, it would be very troublesome for me."

Hearing this, Xie Wei frowned. He did not say anything further. He just gave an order to the two police officers sitting in front, "Drive."

The car set off. As Xie Wei took off his helmet, he sarcastically said, "Don"t tell me you think Yue Gang will cover for you, so you let yourself be arrested?"

No, I did not think so. I just thought that the police would not go to the point of killing me.

"Don"t be stupid. He"s so angry he"d send you to the Church!"

The Church… The most that would happen is that Father Yue will just force me to eat dinner, right?

Xie Wei narrowed his eyes and growled, "Tell me! What were you doing at the market?"

I was a bit surprised and honestly said, "Buying groceries."

m.u.f.fled laughter came from the front seats.

"What are you guys laughing at?" Xie Wei glared at the police officers in the front seats. He then said to me, "What groceries does a vampire buy? You guys only drink blood and don"t eat anything else!"

"Yes, but my household members need to eat."

A police in the front seat could not resist turning around to meddle. "Charles is the Angel"s older brother!"

"What Angel. It"s An Xiang Ye!" Xie Wei glared at him and then doubtfully questioned me, "An Xiang Ye really is a human?"

"Yes, Ah Ye really is a human."

Even though I answered, I believed that Xie Wei would not believe my words. Unexpectedly, he just uttered "oh" and did not ask further.

I looked at him curiously.

He frowned and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"You believe my words?"

"Of course not!" Xie Wei roared. He then grudgingly said, "I already found a lot of people to identify him. No one knew what kind of non-human he is. Probably human."

I blinked. This is a little funny.

In the past, not having a human"s appearance or abilities would lead to being labeled as non-human. Now it has become "Because it is not non-human, it is human?"

I looked outside the window. It was near nightfall. In addition to the humans on the streets, there were many non-humans walking around. This made me relax. Even with both my hands handcuffed, I did not feel much obstruction.

"What generation are you?" Xie Wei suddenly asked.

I turned my head to him. I did not know how to answer. Do I answer honestly? But Xie Wei seems to have some understanding of non-humans. If I tell him I am a fifth generation, what reaction will he have?

"Forget it." Xie Wei suddenly became disinterested. "You look weak. Yue Gang also said you"re weak. But you"re not that afraid of the sun, so you should be around tenth generation or higher. Are you over two hundred years old yet?"

"More than a hundred fifty years old."

Xie Wei clicked his tongue, obviously relaxing quite a bit. Even his hostility decreased greatly. "You haven"t even reach adulthood yet. Wandering around so openly on the streets, aren"t you afraid of being exterminated by the Church?"

"Many non-humans live in Sunset City. The Church seldom comes here." It would be best not to clarify that I have already reached adulthood.

"Many? Exactly how many non-humans live here?"

I paused a bit and then said, "Maybe around thirty thousand."

"Thirty thousand?" Xie Wei jumped and almost b.u.mped into the car"s roof. "Sunset City only has six million citizens. There are actually thirty thousand non-humans? Like that, humans and non-humans are at a ratio of two hundred to one!"

I quickly said, "This is only a rough estimate. I am not too sure. Non-humans do not go out to count their populations."

"How is this possible?" Xie Wei still could not believe it. He said, "Other cities" ratios are at least five hundred to one. The countryside is even a thousand to one. Daystar City even claims it has no non-humans! Sunset City is actually two hundred to one?"

That is why the Church never comes to Sunset City. Aside from the numbers, it is said that many legendary non-humans reside here. For example, Mr. Stone. Unless it were a huge incident, they probably would not even appear. Even last time when the Church invaded Sunset City, out of those legendary non-humans, only Mr. Stone made an appearance.

Maybe Poseidynne is one of those legendary non-humans?

It was just that I was not all that familiar with all things a.s.sociated with non-humans. My honorable father had only helped me research vampires. He did not care about other non-human species.

Xie Wei frowned. He muttered, "If a war really started, how could Sunset City hold against thirty thousand non-humans!"

So he is worrying about this? I explained consolingly, "Non-humans are divided into many races. Different races have deep estrangement. They will not easily aid other races. So even an influential non-human cannot gather up more than a thousand non-humans. As you can see from last time, the Church sent so many people to Sunset City, and the non-humans who came out to fight might not have exceeded a thousand in number."

Hearing this, Xie Wei relaxed a bit.

"Do not be so tense." I comforted, "The non-humans would not want to destroy the city they live in."

Xie Wei gave me a glance. He said angrily, "Who knows what those non-humans are thinking?" Then, he turned his head to look outside the window and did not speak to me anymore.

I also turned my head to look outside, wondering if the young master had caught the criminals yet. The young master let DSII be taken hostage while pretending to be him. Nothing would go wrong, right?

The young master is very strong. DSII is also very strong. There should be nothing to worry about. I should be worrying more about how to get myself out from the police station. This seemed more practical. Also, where should I go grocery shopping in the future…
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