Chapter 730: Rest

"Bang bang bang!" Amidst the swirling, hazy white smoke, Qing Wanglai's gunshots rang out incessantly. The sounds of bullets tearing into flesh mixed with the gunfire, pushing the assailants back.

After several gunshots, as Qing Wanglai slid out the empty magazine and clicked in a fresh one, Chen Hongyu and Qian Fu dragged a shelf from the wall, toppling it over the masked figures in black, trying to buy Qing Wanglai some time. Behind her, Li Huowang charged forward like a leopard. Raising the kitchen knife in his hand, he swiftly brought it down, striking someone directly in the neck. Yang Na, hiding behind him, shrieked while spraying her self-defense spray vigorously at the attackers.

The chaotic struggle didn't last long. As Qing Wanglai's gunshots resumed, the situation quickly turned in their favor. Faced with Li Huowang and his group's counterattack, the assailants couldn't hold their ground and quickly retreated out of the house. It was clear that the people outside hadn't expected such a fierce counterattack from Li Huowang's group, and they were caught completely off guard.

Once the white smoke inside the house completely cleared, the chaotic scene within fell silent. Panting, Li Huowang touched the blood on his neck and surveyed the scene. Several bodies lay in pools of blood around him; four were masked, and the fifth was Wang Gang. The two other individuals they had captured earlier seemed to have escaped during the pandemonium.

Li Huowang paid no mind to the two who fled; instead, his thoughts lingered on the intense confrontation that had just occurred. He had always anticipated a direct conflict with these people, but he never imagined it would unfold in such a manner.

He walked over to Yang Na, saw that despite her tears, she was unharmed, and held her, softly comforting her for a moment. Then, he moved towards Qing Wanglai, who was squatting on the ground, examining the faces of the deceased.

"You actually have a real gun!" Li Huowang exclaimed, looking at Qing Wanglai in surprise. *This guy really plays dumb to achieve his goals,* he thought. *He just used a fake one to fool us, and I really fell for it.*

"Do I?" Qing Wanglai asked, looking back at him.

"Seriously? Which of my eyes looks blind to you?"

Just as Li Huowang thought Qing Wanglai was deliberately denying the obvious, he saw him turn to Wu Qi, who was bandaging Qian Fu's wound, and ask, "Sister Wu, do you think I have a real gun?"

"No, how could you possibly have a real gun? Carrying a firearm without authorization is against the law."

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately understood Qing Wanglai's implication and nodded. "Alright, if you don't, you don't. Have you figured anything out about these people?"

Qing Wanglai released his grip on the corpse and stood up, addressing Li Huowang. "Based on their features, they don't appear to be Anglo-Saxon."

"What does that imply?"

"It implies that the origin of these individuals' 'projections' is highly complex. We should probably brace ourselves for the worst-case scenario."

"No! That's not right at all!" Yang Na, who had been sobbing, stood up. "The most important thing we should do right now is call the police! Look at the ground! People are dead! Five people are dead already!" As she spoke, she glanced around and then headed for the shoulder bag in the corner, ready to grab her phone and dial for help.

But just as her hand neared the bag, Wu Qi reached out, picked it up, and slung it over her own shoulder.

"Sister Wu!" Yang Na exclaimed, staring in disbelief, as Wu Qi simply shook her head.

"We can't call the police."

"Why?"

Wu Qi shook her head, seemingly unwilling to explain her perspective, and instead looked directly at Qing Wanglai, giving him a slight nod of her chin.

"Because it's not the right time yet. Do you remember what I said about the observer effect?" Qing Wanglai tucked the pistol he was holding behind his back. "When everyone becomes aware of this, it will create interference."

"We can't predict what consequences the global observer effect will have on us if these events become public knowledge."

"Are you insane? What are you even talking about?! Look at the dead bodies on the ground! Dead people!" Yang Na exclaimed, stepping back in disbelief.

Qing Wanglai looked intently at Yang娜, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I agree with calling the police," Li Huowang said as he walked closer. He nudged one of the heads on the ground with his foot. "Last time, I lost two fingers, but they still wouldn't believe I was kidnapped. Now that five lives have been lost, surely they can't dismiss me as crazy, can they?"

Wu Qi stepped forward, her gaze falling on the black square on Li Huowang's ankle. "Are you seriously considering that? Don't forget, three of these five lives were taken by *your* knife."

"Even if you claim they were trying to kill you, or that you're mentally ill and therefore not legally responsible for murder, you'd likely end up confined to a mental hospital for the rest of your life this time."

Hearing this, Yang Na, who had been crying, slowly lowered her head, abandoning any further mention of calling the police.

"Heheheh... fake, fake! What's the point of calling the police! It's all fake!!" Zhao Lei, bound at the limbs, wriggled on the floor.

"Everyone, please listen to me," Qing Wanglai began. "What I just said isn't hyperbole; this point is genuinely crucial."

"If you're still skeptical, after we've resolved this troublesome situation, I can demonstrate that experiment to all of you."

Hearing Qing Wanglai's words, Li Huowang found the situation hard to believe. "It's not that simple, is it? You think if we don't call the police, they won't find out? These are five bodies; how do you intend to dispose of them?" Considering the luxury car from before and the gun in his hand, if Qing Wanglai could truly make these five bodies disappear without a trace, then Li Huowang would seriously have to consider what powerful backing this guy possessed.

"I don't have any special backing," Qing Wanglai clarified. "We don't need to dispose of these bodies; *they* will take care of them, as they also don't want anyone to know. For now, our priority is to extract information: how many of them are coming, and how do they plan to deal with us?"

"Everyone's dead; how do you propose we ask them?"

"Who said everyone's dead?" Qing Wanglai and Li Huowang both looked down at Zhao Lei on the floor.

As Qing Wanglai spoke, he helped Zhao Lei, who was still on the ground, to his feet and brushed some dust off him. "You know I'm a man of my word. We're all friends here. How about this: you tell us everything you know, and I'll forget about what happened earlier."

Facing Zhao Lei, who seemed impervious to both threats and persuasion, Qing Wanglai appeared to be trying a different approach. At this, Li Huowang frowned, his mouth slightly opening before closing again.

Zhao Lei gazed at the five bodies on the floor. The usually chatty man remained completely silent, not uttering another word. After a moment, he spoke: "Unless he returns what he stole from me, there's nothing to discuss."

Hearing this, Li Huowang instantly flared up. He took two quick steps forward. "What did I steal from you?! What are you even talking about? Get a grip!"

Zhao Lei glared intently at him. "Don't play dumb with me! Are you saying you genuinely don't know, or are you just pretending not to?"

"If you're sick, go to a hospital, see a doctor, and take your medicine! Don't act deranged in here!"