In the end of the world, I become an immortal alone

Zhou Zhengde, who was protecting the 'important witness' in the witness protection room of the 13th floor's Public Security Brigade headquarters, was dumbfounded when he heard the news that a team member ran over to report.

What do you mean, one person beat up more than a dozen people?

The witness protection room was about the same size as an ordinary single-person apartment, so Wei Na naturally heard the team member's shouts.

Her face was still pale, obviously not yet recovered from the previous shooting, and she asked in a low voice, "A group of gangsters beat up that Mu Liang?"

"It's hard to say who beat who right now. Both sides are seriously injured, and they ran through several streets, causing a lot of people to pay attention."

The team member frowned at Wei Na and continued to report to Zhou Zhengde:

"Captain! Several of the gangsters have acquaintances in the team. The leading gangster is called 'Rotten Fish', and he's seriously injured. When we arrived, his clothes were covered in blood, and he's already been sent to the neighboring hospital for treatment!"

"What's going on?"

Zhou Zhengde cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, and said:

"Doctor Wei Na, please continue to rest. The testimony you provided is of great help to our investigation of this illegal weapons case. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Let's go take a look up front!"

Zhou Zhengde turned around and quickly walked away.

Wei Na called out, "Could it be related to the Black Fire Gang? If they can't find me, they'll go after Mu Liang?"

"Let's hope not."

Zhou Zhengde replied in a low voice, and the alloy door of the witness room was heavily closed.

… …

The headquarters of the 13th floor's Public Security Brigade is located next to the central passage.

There is a circular plaza here, with more than a dozen official institutions of the 13th floor compactly arranged around the circular plaza.

In the center of the square is an elevator shaft wrapped in thick concrete walls. There are three entrances to the central passage elevator shaft, and the main entrance of the elevator room, which is open for a long time, is directly opposite the gate of the Public Security Brigade's station.

The Fortress government does not prohibit the public from using the upper and lower passages, but each use of the central passage costs 10 universal credits. The other passages and more than a dozen elevators distributed in the four directions only cost 2 universal credits each time, making the central passage an exclusive passage for government personnel.

—Government employees can use Fortress public facilities for free.

—These elevators cannot directly reach the lower city and have complete monitoring and automatic defense systems.

Consequently, the central passage garden is also regarded as a 'luxury green belt' that can only be enjoyed by the 'management class', and ordinary people rarely stroll around here.

Today is a little different. The circular plaza on the 13th floor is very lively.

The Public Security Brigade dispatched a large number of people earlier to arrest a group of young people who were fighting, which also attracted a crowd of onlookers.

There's no way around it. The Fortress has limited resources and entertainment is prohibited internally, so there are very few novel and interesting things to see.

Wang Ji Xuan sat on a long chair next to the main entrance of the elevator shaft, with two public security team members with guns at their waists beside him.

In front of him, more than a dozen gangsters were squatting with their heads in their hands. Most of the gangsters had bruised noses and swollen faces, and their hands were tied with belts.

The most miserable was the leading gangster, who was lying on a stretcher covered in blood, being carried into the 13th floor hospital not far away.

Wang Ji Xuan believed that he had acted with restraint. The other party would not die from excessive blood loss, and this matter should not trigger the constables to target him.

He learned two new words from Mu Liang's memory—legitimate defense, self-defense counterattack.

Wang Ji Xuan was also a little upset now.

He actually!

Got lost…

The Swift Steps Spell only lasted for about a dozen breaths. The layouts of the various passages were very similar. He ran too fast and failed to identify the direction. After turning halfway, he plunged into the encirclement of these local ruffians.

These hooligans were even more vicious than he thought. He used the tactic of capturing the leader first, grabbing the Rotten Fish, but several of the other guys were not intimidated and rushed up to hit him with metal pipes.

If he hadn't used the leading rogue as a shield, he would probably have been seriously injured himself.

Immeasurable Heavenly Lord!

He, a dignified!

Forget it, a hero doesn't mention his past bravery. After all, he failed his tribulation and is now only in the initial stage of making a comeback.

He will regain his Dao heart later.

Just then, Captain Zhou, whom Wang Ji Xuan had only met once, hurried over from the side.

Zhou Zhengde frowned and glared at Wang Ji Xuan and the gangsters on the ground.

"Lock them all up!"

Zhou Zhengde scolded in his rich baritone voice:

"Not doing your jobs and loafing around! Not providing value to the Fortress! And disrupting social order! Our 13th floor Public Security Bureau must severely punish these brawlers!"

The nearby onlookers applauded sparsely.

Zhou Zhengde walked up to Wang Ji Xuan, frowned and sized him up, finding that Wang Ji Xuan had several large bruises on his body and his clothes were torn, but he was still sitting upright.

Zhou Zhengde inexplicably felt an indescribable sharpness.

"Let's talk inside."

A public security team member immediately stepped forward to put handcuffs on Wang Ji Xuan.

"No," Zhou Zhengde glared and scolded, "He's a victim! What are you handcuffing him for? Do you want the public to write letters of complaint saying we're enforcing the law randomly!"

The team member nodded quickly and turned to help Wang Ji Xuan, inviting him into the main entrance of the Public Security Bureau.

Half an hour later.

Zhou Zhengde leaned back in his chair in his single office, raising his hand to rub his forehead.

Wang Ji Xuan sat on the hard metal long chair, looking at the huge photo on the wall.

In the photo, Zhou Zhengde was wearing a neat light blue uniform, receiving a medal from an old man's hand.

That should be Zhou Zhengde's moment of glory.

"Tsk," Zhou Zhengde ruffled his slicked-back hair with his fingers, throwing the statement file in his hand onto the table, "Not bad skills. So many of them beat you up, but you don't seem to be too injured."

"I secretly practiced freestyle fighting for a few years," Wang Ji Xuan said sincerely.

"This thing of yours."

Zhou Zhengde picked up the thin metal pipe that had been placed on the disinfectant tray, the sharpened end stained with blood.

"This can even be considered an illegal weapon."

"But I can't blame you either. After being bullied for half a year, you'll definitely want to find a way to fight back."

"Considering that we just helped each other once, I'll help you smooth things over this time. Those gangsters also have acquaintances who came to me to plead for them. This incident won't be reported, is that okay with you?"

"Okay," Wang Ji Xuan nodded, not asking anything more of these officials.

He has his own solutions.

Zhou Zhengde wondered, "You have these skills, why didn't you resist before?"

Testing this poor Daoist?

Wang Ji Xuan immediately lowered his eyes and sighed: "After choosing to take a step back from bullying once, I never had the chance to resist again."

"That's true," Zhou Zhengde deeply agreed, "I've seen too many similar things. Your previous self-harm behavior was also related to this, right? However, this time the trouble will be bigger. According to what they said, this time the Black Fire Gang's big boss directly contacted their leader, Rotten Fish, who was the one you cut on the neck with this metal rod. Luckily, it was just a superficial wound."

Wang Ji Xuan was puzzled: "Big boss?"

"Big boss generally refers to one of the top figures in the gang."

Zhou Zhengde tapped the table with his fingers:

"You don't know how powerful the Black Fire Gang is. They are one of the seven major gangs in the lower city. The lower city is a very chaotic place, but there are some… some very valuable resources. Each of these gangs has a very complicated background."

"Wei Na has already told you what the Black Fire Gang does… organ trafficking."

Wang Ji Xuan asked: "Don't you prohibit this kind of thing?"

"Of course we prohibit it. The legal provisions completely prohibit it!"

Zhou Zhengde curled his lips and spread his hands:

"Guess how many guys in this Fortress can afford to pay for organ transplants? And what positions do some of them hold?"

"As far as I know, there are several old guys in the Fortress Public Security Bureau who have shady dealings with the Black Fire Gang."

"The Black Fire Gang is just a black glove."

Wang Ji Xuan suddenly understood.

This is what is commonly known as officials and bandits being in cahoots? He has also broadened his horizons.

"I really don't want to get involved."

Zhou Zhengde sighed:

"My current life is great. I have a conservative girlfriend, a decent job, and two hundred subordinates I can directly mobilize."

"But Wei Na… you know, Wei Na is a friend I can't let go of, my best friend."

"The Black Gang's rule is to never stop until their goal is achieved, otherwise they will feel that they have lost prestige and their position has been shaken. I have submitted the investigation into the death of that Hua Ge to the higher-ups, and it must already be on the Black Fire Gang BOSS's desk."

"Wei Na acted in self-defense, in every sense of the word."

"But you and Wei Na will both be targets of their subsequent revenge."

"That Hua Ge is the Black Fire Gang's big BOSS's own brother, which is the biggest trouble."

Wang Ji Xuan pondered in silence.

Boss, seems to mean the gang leader.

"I can only help you for a while," Zhou Zhengde sighed, "I'll get you another safe house to live in. Try to wear a hat and mask when you go out later, or even a helmet. There are many people in the public security team who have shady dealings with the lower city. I'm just a captain who was recently transferred here, and I can't guarantee how long you'll be safe. This is the only thing I can do."

Wang Ji Xuan nodded, looking at the tired-looking captain in front of him, and nodded, saying: "I owe you a favor."

"Tch! Then I look forward to you repaying this favor!"

Zhou Zhengde tried his best not to laugh when he said this:

"It's not like my words are law here."

"I have another suggestion… Although this conflict was self-defense, I can use this conflict to define you as a brawler and directly keep you in the Public Security Bureau's lockup for two months…"

“That won’t be necessary.”

Wang Jixuan shook his head, he didn't like the idea of going to jail, and said with a smile:

“I'll go hide for a bit first; if I can't avoid it, then we'll talk about what can't be avoided.”

“Alright, suit yourself.”

Zhou Zhengde opened a drawer, took out a button-sized alarm, and tossed it to Wang Jixuan.

“If you encounter danger, press it three times. It'll flash red automatically, that’s the alarm, and I'll send someone over immediately.”

“Thank you.”

Wang Jixuan habitually clasped his hands in thanks.

Zhou Zhengde tilted his head, looking at his gesture, then figured it might be some fad among young people and didn't pay it much mind.

The Black Fire Gang had territory, thugs, and a large number of guns in the Lower City; no amount of reminding would help.

Protecting Wei Na was already making him feel overwhelmed; the Black Fire Gang was constantly pressuring him through various connections.

Zhou Zhengde felt he had already done his best for this young man.

“Owing me a favor?”

Zhou Zhengde smiled nonchalantly.

“Quite the character.”

… …

The next day.

Near Central Plaza, inside the security house of the Public Security Team.

Wang Jixuan took off the baseball cap and mask worth 3 general credits and placed two large bags of emergency food on the table.

As a precaution, he didn't return to his residence to retrieve clothing; several groups of local ruffians were already searching for his whereabouts in this area.

The ruffians of each level were an extension of the Lower City's Black Gang forces.

The trusted aide of Team Leader Zhou who brought Wang Jixuan over told him that he could stay here for a maximum of two months.

The security house was no different from an ordinary single room, the only thing that made Wang Jixuan feel uncomfortable was the camera in the corner.

Although it was broken.

Wang Jixuan nimbly took off his shirt, accurately tossed it onto the camera, then went to the washbasin and began to thoroughly clean his body, trying to maximize his speed of absorbing spiritual energy.

In the mirror, the young man was so thin that his ribs were visible, and most of the bruises on his body had disappeared.

Wang Jixuan gently exhaled, then, wearing only his underwear, walked to the single bed, quickly formed hand seals, and assumed a meditative posture with his palms facing upward.

Although cultivation was slow here, persistence was key.

‘Was my previous tribulation failure due to insufficient tempering of my heart in the mortal world?’

‘So be it.’

‘The Black Fire Gang commits evil and harms living beings; I shall act on behalf of Heaven to uphold justice and protect my Dao body!’

‘But first, I must cultivate, at least until I enter the Qi Refining stage.’