novelraw Chapter 1101: Kindred
Chapter 1101: Kindred
Picking up a strapping man on the road—except he had amnesia. Later, it turned out he had a mysterious background and was some sort of domineering CEO. Then, after a string of unspeakable events, he pulled off a miraculous reversal, married into wealth, became the chairman’s wife, killed off her husband, inherited a fortune, kept a few attractive “pets,” and lived a blissfully scandalous life, ultimately becoming a member of the “winners of life” club…
Impossible. That kind of thing will never happen.
What kind of domineering CEO shows up on the highway missing an arm, reeking of excrement, and literally falling from the sky?
“You really don’t remember anything?” Ren Ziling still hadn’t let go of the tree branch in her hand.
The one-armed man had already been awake for a while. Other than giving his name as Wang Hu, he couldn’t remember a single thing.
Yeah, a name like Wang Hu was way too low-tier for a CEO—that alone convinced the three women that he definitely wasn’t one.
Wang Hu shook his head again—he couldn’t remember how he lost his arm, why he was covered in crap, or how he ended up falling from the sky.
He also had no form of ID on him—no wallet, no identification, nothing.
“What now?”
Leaving Wang Hu off to the side, the three women started quietly discussing it. Since he clearly wasn’t a CEO, their enthusiasm for dealing with him dropped considerably… In the end, they decided to just hand him over to the police.But after waiting on the road for several hours, no police ever came.
Impatient, Ren Ziling called emergency hotline again, only to be told that the local government had decided to begin evacuating the town’s residents early. The police and auxiliary officers were busy maintaining order and couldn’t spare anyone—then the call abruptly ended.
This was the kind of situation that truly tested human nature.
Wang Hu was awake and clearly not dying anytime soon. Maybe his family or friends were already looking for him. Why not just stop worrying about him?
Although Wang Hu likely wasn’t a CEO, he clearly wasn’t some regular Joe either—there had to be some unknown story behind him. That was the instinct of Madam Ren, a veteran newswoman.
But before they could make up their minds, a second Santana car—same model, different color—suddenly appeared on the road. Four men of varying builds stepped out.
They looked like locals… maybe. But judging by the vibe, these four didn’t seem like good people.
“Well, well, ladies. Need any help?” said the lead guy, a man with a little mustache, smiling in a “kind” way—except he had a butterfly knife in his hand.
Seeing the thugs approaching step by step, Ren Ziling frowned. Though she knew things were chaotic due to the mist event and that some criminals had started taking advantage, she hadn’t expected to run into it herself.
She quickly assessed her side’s combat power: Li Zi, a standard foodie, only fought fiercely when someone stole her snacks. Most of the time, she was sweet and docile. Akiko, a college junior doing her internship, petite and delicate—she was already doing well not to scream. As for herself?
Ren Ziling wasn’t confident she could take on four armed men and protect the other two.
“Didn’t expect another bunch of juicy targets. And they’re all women. Damn, nice bodies... That older one’s mine.” The mustached guy snickered.
“Who are you calling old?!”
Before Madam Ren could blow up, a figure suddenly burst forward—it was Wang Hu!
And what happened next was unbelievable.
Wang Hu charged forward. His arm moved so fast it left afterimages—one punch per guy. The four thugs were knocked flying and hit the ground, coughing blood, unable to get up.
“Are you all okay? I saw those guys meant you harm. You saved me, so I couldn’t just watch and do nothing,” Wang Hu said calmly, his presence oozing testosterone despite the missing arm.
“Damn… he may not be a CEO, but he might be a martial arts master?” Ren Ziling widened her eyes, then rushed over to check if any of the thugs were dead.
Being robbed was one thing—having someone die was another. If Wang Hu killed them protecting the three of them, that would be a whole other issue.
The four were barely breathing. If not for being relatively healthy, they might’ve already died.
“Don’t just stand there! Help me!” Ren Ziling shouted.
Li Zi said nothing and helped Ren Ziling lift the injured men into the car.
“They tried to hurt you. Why save them?” Wang Hu frowned. “Scum like that should be wiped out. Saving them just means they’ll hurt someone else someday.”
“Are you a cop?” Ren Ziling turned back and asked.
Wang Hu shook his head. “Can’t remember. Probably not.”
“A soldier?”
He shook his head again.
“Then who gave you the right to kill people?” Ren Ziling said seriously. “You think you can kill anyone just because you’re strong? This isn’t some apocalypse! The law still exists! The country still exists! Just because society is a mess doesn’t mean you get to go around acting like a beast. I saved them not out of virtue—but out of respect for life.”
Wang Hu frowned but said nothing.
…
Li Zi also had a driver’s license, so she drove the rental car while Ren Ziling drove the thugs’ Santana. They sped to the town’s only small hospital.
Once the four men were wheeled into the ER, Ren Ziling finally breathed a sigh of relief.
During the chaos, she went to the front desk. She’d also found a bag of loot in the thugs’ car—likely stolen during previous robberies, maybe even the car itself was stolen.
Using the hospital’s phone, she called the police.
“Don’t tell me you’re too busy! Four wounded robbers here, stolen goods too. Come or don’t!”
She hung up, then quickly jotted down a few lines on paper:
—The four guys just brought in are robbers.
—These are stolen goods.
—I’ve called the police!
Then she stuffed the note and dashed out of the hospital, got into the rental Santana, and drove away quickly.
On the road, Ren Ziling pulled over, had Wang Hu get out, and said, “Here’s some money. You see that building ahead? That’s the police station. Go tell them you’re injured and have amnesia. Let them help you. We’re taxpayers, they’re supposed to help. You saved us, so we’ll pretend nothing happened. Goodbye, and good luck.”
The car sped off, leaving Wang Hu standing there, stunned.
They drove for a while, and at a red light, Akiko suddenly exclaimed, “Sister Ren, that guy’s still behind us! He followed us!”
Ren Ziling was shocked. Even if she hadn’t driven that fast, how did he manage to catch up?
Looking in the mirror, she saw Wang Hu was indeed behind them.
She quickly pulled over. All three got out and faced Wang Hu.
“I told you to go to the police station. Why are you following us?” Ren Ziling frowned.
But Wang Hu replied, “I’m not following you. I’m following her.”
He looked straight at Li Zi, then said with a furrowed brow,
“I think… she and I are the same kind.”
Li Zi blinked, instinctively reached into her chips bag—only to realize they were gone.
“Psycho!” Ren Ziling muttered, grabbed Li Zi’s arm, and the three women rushed into the car. “I’m telling you, stop following us!”
With a burst of acceleration, they sped away.
Wang Hu frowned as he watched the car disappear into the distance, but still quietly followed behind—he really did feel that this girl called Li Zi was his kindred spirit, though he couldn’t remember why.
He also had a strong sense that he had forgotten many things—but he didn’t want to remember them. Somehow, using the name Wang Hu gave him a strange sense of ease.
…
That night, a shadow moved silently through the alleyways.
Wherever this shadow passed, a thin trail of frost would form on the ground—like a venomous snake lying in wait in the alley.
A scruffy-looking homeless man carrying a large bag of trash shuffled past—only for the shadow to suddenly lunge out, grab him, and vanish back into the darkness.
A terrified scream rang out.
As warm blood slid down its throat and entered its body, the creature let out a satisfied sound.
The homeless man, now completely drained of blood, lay shriveled and lifeless.
The shadow then raised a hand. A blue-green flame rose from its palm—a beautiful and eerie sight. The cold fire lit up the creature’s face.
It stared obsessively at the flame in its palm… If Ming Tushan were here, he’d instantly recognize it: this was the transformed Flameflow.
“The Vermilion Bird clan’s flame demonic energy… completely gone, replaced by this freezing cold energy,” Flameflow muttered to himself.
He felt incredible—his congenital illness, which had tormented him for years, was seemingly gone. Power surged from every part of his body.
But at the same time, he felt unbearably cold. Only when drinking blood did that chill recede—and the act of feeding strengthened him further.
What Flameflow didn’t know was that he had originally been undergoing a genetic transformation aboard the Leixia Ship—a process meant to remove his illness and reshape his body.
But the transformation was interrupted—thanks to Ming Tushan and others who freed him from his containment for unknown reasons.
While the illness was gone, the incomplete transformation left new flaws in his body… and his personality seemed to have shifted as well.
As night deepened, Flameflow climbed to the rooftop of a building near the alley, gazing at the distant mist ahead, lost in thought.
…
This particular task force was made up of five Management Bureau agents, two Demon clan members, and three Daoists.
Among the Management Bureau members, two wore black hoods that covered their entire heads, leaving only eyes and mouths visible—one of them even kept his eyes closed the entire time.
The Daoists and Demons evaluated the team. This group had been reshuffled under Yan Xiaoxi’s orders to balance strength across teams.
But the other two teams had Cang Jinshui, Yan Xiaoxi, Hanyang Zhenren, and Zi Xing, among others… by comparison, this squad clearly looked like the weakest.
Sure, the Daoists and Demons here considered themselves decently strong, but against those powerhouse lineups, they felt sorely lacking.
Could those two mysterious hooded men be hidden trump cards?
Regardless, everyone silently hoped the sixth Jade Dragon Pillar wouldn’t appear at their location.
But fate rarely listens to prayers.
A beam of radiant light suddenly burst forth.
A powerful gust instantly blew away the surrounding mist, revealing the area in sharp clarity.
At that moment, one of the hooded figures dashed forward with lightning speed toward the source of the light.
A Jade Dragon Pillar was rising slowly from underground.
The mysterious figure didn’t hesitate—he slammed his palm down onto the pillar, forcibly halting its ascent.
The earth trembled violently.
Suddenly, another figure surged in at high speed and struck out with a palm strike at the Bureau’s powerhouse.
He responded in kind, clashing palms midair with a resounding bang.
The Bureau agent was forced back, returning to the team’s side.
The attacker now stood atop the Jade Dragon Pillar—a breathtakingly handsome young man, who looked down and said coolly:
“Entering the Dao through martial power… and to achieve this level in the mortal world… You must be the so-called ‘strongest human’—the Firecloud Evil God, right?”
(End of Chapter)