VESSEL - Extinction Countdown 935: Specter’s Soul Hunt

Yi Qing unbuckled her seatbelt, turning to Ye Shisan. “Stay put. I’ll handle this.”

“It’s not your fight…”

Before he could finish, Yi Qing’s face hardened. “Can you even understand what I just said? I've seen plenty of people like this. They'll cling to you like flies, relentless and unyielding, constantly pestering us. Do you still think you can investigate in peace?”

As a seasoned cop, Yi Qing had dealt with more of these bastards than Ye Shisan had ever encountered. Having been detached from society for so many years, Ye Shisan is naturally ill-equipped to interact effectively with ordinary people.

Ye Shisan thought it over, then fell silent.

Yi Qing stepped out. The mob’s clamor died. These Shamate, none past thirty and averaging mid-twenties, had never beheld such a captivating, curvaceous beauty, buzzing like they’d shot up testosterone.

Whistles erupted. Some stared, drool dripping to their necks before snapping out of it.

Yi Qing strode to the jeep’s front, her icy gaze piercing Master Hao as she demanded with chilling calm: “Does this count as robbery?”

Master Hao failed to recognize her, his memory fixed on You Long’er from that fateful night.

But now, confronted by this even more mesmerizing beauty, the self-styled Casanova felt his blood roar with primal desire.

*Good lord!*

Her black eyepatch only amplified her allure, outshining every woman he’d known. An air of icy indifference imbued with a lofty arrogance—she was a wild mare.

Master Hao swallowed instinctively, the sharp pang in his wrist jolting him to clarity as he sneered with venom: “What’s this? That coward’s cowering behind a woman’s skirt?”

The Shamate roared with laughter, banging bats and pipes on the ground, raising a racket.

“Look at this coward! Hiding in the car like a scared rat!”

“Too late! We’ll beat him till he can’t wipe himself!”

“Mess with Master Hao? He’s got no lives left!”

As his lackeys hurled insults at Ye Shisan, Pang Hao stood atop the hood, slamming his foot down with a thud and pointing at Ye Shisan through the windshield. “Thought you were tough that night? Mark my words—if I don’t cripple you today, I’m not a Pang!”

Master Hao, whose true name is Pang Hao, carries a reputation that resonates throughout Pang Family Town. Any sensible folks would typically steer clear of those bearing the Pang surname.

“Enough!” Yi Qing shouted, flashing her badge. “Police business. Clear the road, or I won’t be polite!”

“Ha! A cop?” Pang Hao grinned, hopping off the hood. “Cops think they’re big shots? Our cars broke down. Can’t park here?”

He inched closer, thrusting his scrawny chest at Yi Qing.

A few punks joined, mimicking him, crowding her with their chests.

What might seem like a provocation between men had, in this moment, it was blatant sexual harassment. Yi Qing, towering over these Third-Rank Wastes, stood out like a crane among chickens.

Instinctively, she shielded her chest, retreating a step to adopt a wary, defensive stance. “Last warning—take another step, and I'll show no mercy!”

“What’s that? We’re just innocent passersby—dare you strike us?”

“Yeah, we’re only passing through, and everyone’s watching!”

“Help! The cop’s attacking!”

They cried, their taunts a vile prelude to their brazen groping, hands lunging toward Yi Qing, desperate to defile the captivating beauty they’d long coveted.

Pang Hao had already tossed Ye Shisan out of his mind. With his crew blocking the view, he slithered forward, leering to embrace her, puckering his wax-yellow lips, leaning in as if to kiss. “How’s this? Spend a night with me, and I might spare your man…”

As the words trailed off, the jeep’s door slammed open, smashing Pang Hao’s face, sending him sprawling to the ground and clutching his shattered nose with anguished howls.

Ye Shisan emerged in silence, his hand flashing out to deliver a brutal slap to the nearest Shamate, the wiry punk soaring three feet before collapsing, unconscious, with a pained yelp.

Ye Shisan grabbed Yi Qing, shoving her into the jeep.

From the crowd, a furious cry erupted: “Master Hao’s down! Brothers, get him!”

Instantly, four or five assailants lunged, their hands clawing at Ye Shisan’s clothes and arms, while a hulking brute seized his throat in a crushing grip.

With a muffled shout, Ye Shisan unleashed the strength in his legs. a loud 'boom' echoed as all four or five people were shaken and sprawled to the ground.

In a flash, Ye Shisan clamped the brute’s wrist, wrenching a guttural, pig-like scream from the depths of his throat: “Argh—my hand!”

Simultaneously, a figure darted in from the side, swinging a bat that smashed into Ye Shisan’s shoulder with a resounding crack, the wood splintering on impact. Ye Shisan’s backhand sent the assailant crashing to the ground, but more surged forward, their bats and solid steel pipes raining down in a frenzied barrage, heedless of where they struck.

Tough as he was, even Ye Shisan couldn't withstand the brutal beating; he crumpled to the ground with a heavy, resounding thud.

Pang Hao’s maniacal roar shattered the air. “Get out of my way! I’ll crush him!”

Blood streamed down Pang Hao’s face, likely from a shattered nose, as he wildly swung a carbon steel bat, shoving his lackeys aside to carve a path through the mob.

Charging forward, he unleashed a savage barrage on Ye Shisan’s crumpled form, the air filled with the sickening thud-thud-thud of relentless blows, blood drenching his chest and face.

Only when his men dragged him back did Yi Qing’s anguished, piercing wail echo from the jeep, cutting through the chaos.

Pang Hao regained some sense of clarity and took another look—Ye Shisan’s head had been smashed into a pulp!

Killed him!?

Pang Hao jolted, hastily threw away the bat in his hand, randomly pointing at his lackeys. “You lot—clean this up. I gotta go!”

His crew exchanged uneasy glances, some slinking to their cars and speeding off, mere thugs unwilling to cross into murder’s territory.

Dazed and distraught, Pang Hao stumbled into his vehicle, flooring the gas to escape the carnage, his followers scattering like rats the moment he vanished, leaving the blood-soaked scene abandoned.

On the early morning road, there remained only a lone jeep parked in solitude, accompanied by slowly congealing blood and the heart-wrenching cries of a woman.