Chapter 42: Run
Li Xin crash-landed into the car across Qi Mo"s legs and shouted, "Drive!" She used to always keep track of time when she fought people — it made it more fun for her and the sense of urgency it created was more exhilarating. She had been keeping track of how long it had been since she knocked those two men unconscious and knew that they were due to wake up. There was no time for her to doddle about.
The second the car door slammed shut, their voices emanated from some loudspeaker into everyone"s ears. The Falcons were in the car in an instant, simultaneously gesturing outside with their hands in command.
All at once, rapid gunfire broke out across the clearing as both Qi Mo"s and Feng Ji"s men opened fire at the same time. Feng Ji, who had followed Qi Mo out, had finally lost his false cheeriness. He pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Qi Mo, anger laced across every inch of his face. "Qi Mo!" he shouted furiously. "The Blue Clan will never forgive you for this!"
Yellow Falcon had a gun pointed at the centre of Feng Ji"s forehead before the man could press the trigger. Shots fired from every angle and every direction. Li Xin heard the deafening sound from where she still lay sprawled across Qi Mo"s legs. The distinct raucous of the gunshots made her extremely uncomfortable; she felt her chest throb with pain every time a shot fired. After all, her wound had not yet fully healed.
She turned towards the driver"s seat and shouted, "Drive! Do you hear me? Why aren"t you driving?"
"f.u.c.k, one of our tires has been shot. What the h.e.l.l did you do?" Red Falcon cursed. Li Xin"s rushed appearance and Feng Ji"s explosive anger had wrecked their original plans. He wondered what in the world Li Xin had done this time.
Thanks to her late arrival, he had taken her place as Qi Mo"s driver. He was fine driving a four-wheel car, but three wheels was somewhat of a challenge. While Li Xin was yelling at him, he turned and fired two shots towards the building at the Wind Clan members who were rushing out. In almost the same moment, he grabbed the back of his seat and maneuvered himself on top of Yellow Falcon on the pa.s.senger side. "You drive," he ordered.
Yellow Falcon aimed his gun out the window and let loose a couple of shots. Just then, it became apparent that the car"s wheels had all been punctured. Driving had been rendered futile.
"s.h.i.t, move it!" Li Xin pushed off Qi Mo"s thighs and brushed past Red Falcon"s body into the driver"s seat. Her foot was on the clutch before she was even properly seated. Red Falcon moved from the pa.s.senger seat to sit next to Qi Mo; Yellow Falcon retreated from his window and turned towards Li Xin, shooting past her out the driver"s window.
All of it had taken place in just a few shot seconds, as if they had rehea.r.s.ed the scene thousands of times.
The queen of racing took over with her foot on the gas pedal. Li Xin pushed it to the floor and turned the steering wheel all the way around. The car"s three remaining wheels rotated rapidly. The Cadillac was a relatively powerful car and it moved right along with her actions. When she leaned right, it did as well, riding on the strength of her momentum and driving skills. She successfully maneuvered the car on three wheels and it sped off at the speed of lightning.
"Good work," Yellow Falcon and Red Falcon complimented. The two men were still rapidly firing rounds out the windows, protecting Qi Mo.
Li Xin grunted. "Obviously. You have no idea how much I"ve practiced doing this stuff." The Cadillac swiftly left the chaotic scene as she spoke, and all three of them unconsciously released the breath they had all been holding.
"I don"t know how you trained, and I don"t want to know either. All I know is that you went against my orders," Qi Mo"s p.i.s.sed off voice interrupted from the back of the car.
Li Xin felt something akin to panic rise in her mind. "Um, Mr. Qi—
She was interrupted by a sudden powerful explosion that came from the building they had left behind in the distance. Fire rose dramatically into the sky, the fierce red flames tinting it the colour of blood. The explosion was so insanely extravagant that Li Xin was rendered speechless. She wondered what Qi Mo had used and marveled at how brazenly and fearlessly he obliterated his enemies.
The Cadillac also announced its utter destruction in the midst of the explosion. It was a miracle in itself that Li Xin had been able to bring it so far on only three functioning wheels. After all, she had never driven a three-wheeled car before either, but she had no choice under the circ.u.mstances. Everything for the sake of survival.
Now, the car refused to move any further no matter how much she tried. Finally, she gave up, shrugging. "This is all I can do," she announced truthfully. She had her limits; she was a person, not a G.o.d.
Qi Mo"s eyes flashed dangerously, but he didn"t have a chance to reply. A Ferrari sped over right at that moment and stopped in front of them. It was the doctor, Li Hu. Li Xin whistled at him warmly, jumping out of the car and getting into his Ferrari. She pushed Qi Mo to the back of her mind.
Li Hu raised his eyebrows, throwing her a smile. "You"re going to die," he commented.
She was about to respond when she suddenly realized that she had been so worried about her own life and getting out of that defunct car that she"d forgotten all about Qi Mo. Christ, it was as if she was asking to die earlier to reincarnate or something. Her body moved instinctually, reacting faster than her brain. She rushed back to the previous car and obediently opened the door for the overlord. She could do nothing but smile helplessly at his already infuriated face.
"Fantastic job," he remarked sarcastically, his voice laced with barely concealed rage.
Li Xin felt her entire body freeze over and the hairs on her back raising ominously. She reached out and touched his arm apologetically, oozing submissiveness as she smiled brightly at him. "My mistake," she said agreeably.
"How so?" Qi Mo probed, eyeing her coldly as he stepped out of the car.
She laughed. "I forgot that the overlord goes first in everything." She helped him over to Li Hu"s Ferrari. They had only taken two steps when she suddenly let his arm go, remembering that he despised being near women. She look at him strangely.
Qi Mo sat in the Ferrari and then grabbed her arm in a flash, pulling her forcefully into the car with him. She fell inside, his arm tightly circled around her waist. She lay on top of his legs, breathing heavily as her chest started hurting again. She didn"t dare move even as pain flared across her chest from where it had impacted with Qi Mo"s knee.
The overlord said nothing more, and so she kept her mouth shut accordingly. She lay against his knees, her legs near his feet. Her entire body was in pain. She felt Qi Mo"s arm circled tightly around her as he rubbed her neck with his other hand. His touch wasn"t gentle or rough; it only signified a subtle but acute threat — one that made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
She understood that Qi Mo was forcing her to reflect on her errors. He wanted her to know what she had done wrong, and he was only giving her one more chance to figure it out. She wasn"t sure whether to feel grateful for this one chance or feel something else.
"Mr. Qi, you see," she began, "it wasn"t that I meant to disobey you. I was just helping you find evidence you could use. Messing with the Blue Clan"s people like that out of the blue would be hard to explain to others in the world of crime. I know you"re not afraid of them, but I still think breaking the rules isn"t a great idea. So you see, I was thinking of you."