The gunfire stopped abruptly. The Punishers kept their weapons raised, watching Yin Chen, awaiting his signal.

Yin Chen gave a mocking laugh.

You Mingxu showed no mercy, swiftly switching the dagger to her left hand while her right seized his wounded shoulder, making him groan in pain as his body shook. She continued dragging him backward.

“Hahaha—” Yin Chen laughed through his pain, “Seems today will be a fight to the death.”

You Mingxu shouted harshly: “You’re the one we’re after! Everyone down! Don’t move!”

But Yin Chen said: “You won’t capture me today.”

You Mingxu paused, then countered: “If Mother knew I captured you today, would she be happy? She certainly would, right?”

The smile vanished from Yin Chen’s face, replaced by darkness, yet he allowed her to drag him back two more steps. The Punishers advanced with their weapons, matching their pace. Behind You Mingxu, Champion, and Lao Jiu moved forward at Yin Feng’s signal, guns raised in the standoff, ready to support her.

Once they had Yin Chen, the Punishers would be leaderless, and the police were likely nearly there – this time, they’d catch them all!

Suddenly Yin Chen called out: “Now!”

You Mingxu’s heart jumped as she looked up sharply, but the Punishers hadn’t fired – they were looking behind her.

Behind… her?

Suddenly she heard the sound of a blade entering flesh, followed by a sharp intake of breath. She instinctively looked back, seeing Lao Jiu and Champion also turning…

Yin Feng had been standing at the rear, no one behind him. Now a sharp knife protruded from his chest, covered in fresh blood. Yin Feng’s face momentarily froze. Behind him stood Xing Yanjun, who had been unconscious – or pretending to be – head lowered, gripping the knife.

Before anyone could react, Xing Yanjun yanked out the blade. As Yin Feng began to fall, Xing Yanjun plunged the knife into his abdomen!

This was nothing like the Xing Yanjun they knew. His handsome face was now twisted, showing insane, joyful expressions. After stabbing Yin Feng a second time, he looked down with a smile, mumbling: “All good is dead, evil prevails… hehe… evil prevails!” His voice wavered between joy and tears, clearly showing severe emotional instability.

From the opposite car came Xing Jifu’s shocked voice: “Yanjun!”

Xing Yanjun didn’t even hear.

He just stared at the gravely wounded man on the ground, his mind floating through his brief twenty-some years of life… others’ fear and disgust when mentioning his father; his parents’ seemingly perfect but ice-cold marriage since his childhood; the inhuman acts he’d vaguely heard his father committed; the people he’d met studying abroad. They believed in fighting evil with evil; they showed him photos of victims who’d been hurt by those they punished; they showed him files of people his father had harmed. Those horrifying, bloody, unforgivable photos had kept him awake night after night in America.

He knew the police were always investigating his father, and knew his father would one day die, paying for his crimes.

“But your Xing family fortune was built on others’ blood and lives as stepping stones. Can you be at peace becoming a legitimate young master?” the Punishers had asked him.

“…Then what should I do?”

“If you also punish evil, it’s different. You can atone for yourself, for your father.”

“Can I?”

“Of course you can. Our target this time is your father. We’ll watch the police destroy the entire criminal organization. Just hand your father over to us, and your sins will be cleansed. You can forget everything, all debts paid. You can live a clean new life.”

“You’re no longer his son – you’re a Punisher.”

“Of course, you can still love him. It’s because you love him that you must punish him.”

Using the son of sin to punish evil – this was both Yin Chen’s trump card against Xing Jifu and his contingency against Yin Feng. Because he knew Yin Feng would never kill innocents, would surely try to save Xing Yanjun too.

…

Looking at Yin Feng collapsed on the ground, You Mingxu’s mind went blank for a moment. His eyes showed a flash of confusion before his body contracted in pain, breathing becoming shallow and labored.

You Mingxu couldn’t take it anymore. Yin Chen had already escaped while she was distracted, landing a heavy punch to her abdomen. You Mingxu grunted, releasing him and stumbling as she rushed toward Yin Feng.

Beside her, Lao Jiu and Champion were terrified, also rushing over from both sides. Chen Feng’s face turned ashen as he abandoned Xiao Yan and Tu Ya, charging over from the other car.

In their chaos, some seized the chance to escape.

In the distance, dense police sirens approached.

Yin Chen clutched his wounded shoulder, glanced at the chaos on the ground, and no longer engaged, ordering all Punishers to leave immediately. Xing Yanjun had only run a few steps when he suddenly heard an old, shrill laugh behind him. He turned, hair standing on end, to see an old man running toward him with a gun, wearing an expression between laughter and tears – it was Lao Jiu.

You Mingxu fell beside Yin Feng, watching his blood-soaked body trembling slightly as he gasped for air. He looked back at her, his gaze showing neither joy nor fear, just stubborn intensity. You Mingxu didn’t realize her tears were falling as she wanted to hold him but dared not, choking back sobs while gripping his hand tightly. Even his hand was limp, and You Mingxu heard him struggle to say: “What a ghost… I’m not dead yet…”

“Don’t talk!” You Mingxu shouted. Beside her, Champion and Chen Feng grabbed bandages and medicine from the first aid kit, beginning emergency treatment.

Engine roars filled the air. You Mingxu grabbed Champion’s dropped gun and stood to shoot, but what happened next would stay with her for life.

Just as Xing Yanjun jumped into the SUV and it began to speed away, the door about to close—

Someone was still pursuing it closely.

Lao Jiu.

He ran screaming “Ahhh!”, clawing at the air, his old hunched body now running like a hunting dog! Gun raised, he shouted: “You dare kill Teacher Yin! I want you dead! I want you dead!” His voice carried a child-like crying tone.

You Mingxu watched this scene, her chest feeling struck. She immediately fired at the tires, but with Lao Jiu in the way and the car moving fast, her shots missed.

But when a long-suppressed madman finally snaps, what shocking strength might he display?