“Well said. If you hadn't put it that way, I wouldn't have even thought of becoming a dictator.” Feng Jun directly led his people into the Bounty Hunter Guild’s hall. Hei Qin and Jiang Xueling followed closely behind him, one on each side.
A group of Imperial Guards quickly surged in from behind, swiftly occupying the second floor and surrounding areas of the hall, their Bolters already pointed at the group of Bounty Hunters who were shouting slogans in the hall.
When Feng Jun arrived at the Bounty Hunter Guild, he happened to witness the scene that had just unfolded. So, he crouched by the doorway and listened for a while, realizing that this fellow named Shi Ke was truly delusional, actually trying to incite this group of people against him. Didn't they know why Zhu Wenyao and Jiang Si Yuan were honestly working for him?
After hearing the continuous shouting of slogans inside, Feng Jun finally couldn't hold back and directly led the Imperial Guards in. Feng Jun’s gaze swept around, finally resting on Shi Ke and a few others who were standing on tables, leading the chanting.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly solidified. The Bounty Hunters, who had been so passionate, now looked like frost-bitten eggplants. Most of them crumpled and lowered their heads. However, a few individuals remained standing in their original spots. These few had been standing alone in the fringe areas from the beginning and had never participated in the discussions with the others. Even when Feng Jun’s Imperial Guards rushed up to them with guns, these individuals merely shifted their bodies to stand on the other side, still coldly observing everything happening in the hall.
“These people are Evolvers.” Feng Jun felt that familiar sensation. After a quick glance, he found that there were twelve people standing around the hall, and he could sense the unique feeling of Evolvers from all of them.
Hei Qin clearly saw the situation in the hall. She leaned slightly and whispered into Feng Jun’s ear, “Be careful of that brother and sister pair by the wall in the northeast corner. They are very troublesome Bounty Hunters. Both are highly evolved Evolvers and possess special abilities. The other few are also formidable individuals.”
Feng Jun nodded, indicating he understood. The reason the Bounty Hunter Guild in Huaicheng District was so free before was twofold: first, the five factions were divided into two opposing sides, mutually restraining and countering each other. They tried their best to win over the Bounty Hunters to prevent them from completely defecting to the opposing side. Second, there were many powerful and cunning individuals among the Bounty Hunters. These people neither wanted to join any faction nor did they want to secure some special privileges for the existence of Bounty Hunters. That's why these Bounty Hunters were so disgusted by Feng Jun’s control policies.
However, looking at the current situation, only some insignificant small fries had come out to stir trouble. The truly formidable individuals were watching from the sidelines and hadn't made a move. Since that was the case, it was even more necessary for Feng Jun to put these people in their place. He would not allow New Shangqing City to return to its previous state of freedom and chaos.
“I hadn't even realized I’d become a dictator,” Feng Jun said slowly, his eyes scanning the group of Bounty Hunters, his gaze finally settling on Shi Ke, his expression suddenly turning sharp. “’No dictatorship, only freedom’—was that your line? Say it again, I want to hear it.”
Shi Ke was also an Evolver, though his evolution was minimal; his physical body was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person’s. However, relying on his pre-war military experience and his equipment, he had a minor reputation among Bounty Hunters.
On a side note, Shi Ke had served in the United States of America’s army before the war. In this world, the United States of America was still an immigrant country, and people of East Asian descent still comprised a significant portion of its population. Because the Ming Empire was an empire with the Hua ethnic group as its primary population, and a strong Great Hua nationalism culture prevailed, some minority ethnic groups and conquered ethnic groups whose nations had been destroyed lived very poorly within the empire. Therefore, after the United States of America was established, these minority ethnic groups immigrated to the United States of America en masse, and Shi Ke was a descendant of the conquered natives from South Asia in the Ming Empire.
When the war ended, Shi Ke was one of those American soldiers abandoned in the Ming Empire who hadn't returned to the United States of America. Originally, people like him were supposed to be captured by the Ming Army and sent to concentration camps after the war, or even if they survived, they would be treated as slaves. However, his East Asian face saved him, and the Gene Agent he injected was relatively mild. Although his combat power didn't evolve much, his lifespan was greatly extended.
Realizing that Feng Jun was deliberately targeting him, Shi Ke felt somewhat embarrassed, but he still stood up and said loudly, “So what if I said it? Are you not going to let people speak? Your actions are dictatorial.”
“Very well said. I’ll give you a chance. If you can defeat one of my Imperial Guards, I will lift all restrictions. You can move freely in New Shangqing City without curfew restrictions, and you can carry various weapons and enter and exit the city gates freely,” Feng Jun said.
Shi Ke was somewhat shocked after hearing this, but he immediately agreed. Among Bounty Hunters, there has always been a form of judgment similar to a duel. When two parties have conflicts and disagreements, they will decide the outcome through a duel witnessed by others. “Alright, you can’t go back on your word. Also, my Ripper Electromagnetic Claw is part of my body and cannot be counted as a separate weapon.”
“You can use any weapon you like, I have no objection.” Feng Jun turned his head and shouted towards the door, “Fang Xinglong, it’s your turn.”
Upon hearing the name Fang Xinglong, the smile on Shi Ke’s face instantly froze. Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a robust figure, two and a half meters tall, appeared in his sight.
A tall figure, over two and a half meters in height, strode forward, clad in heavy ceramic-steel armor. Each step was accompanied by a slight tremor of the ground. The sound of metal plates rubbing and clanking echoed with his movement, particularly jarring in the quiet environment.
After Fang Xinglong pledged allegiance to Feng Jun, Feng Jun first arranged for him and his wives to be together. Since he had already pledged allegiance to Feng Jun, Fang Xinglong would naturally no longer be kept in prison. Because Fang Xinglong’s appearance was too terrifying, Feng Jun ordered Yan Xin to forge him a full-body ceramic-steel armor. This type of armor was used for new Power Armor, offering better defense and weight than ordinary armor, but a single suit of armor weighed nearly two tons. Only a monster like Fang Xinglong could move this armor with his brute strength.
Shi Ke was stunned and frozen in place. As an old-timer in Huaicheng District, he naturally knew Fang Xinglong’s reputation. After all, among the five faction leaders before, only he was a high-level Evolver, and the kind who could kill people with a single strike.
Now, Fang Xinglong wore a helmet, but through the gaps, one could still see his pair of scarlet eyes. After just one glance, Shi Ke peed himself on the spot. Regardless of whether this person was Fang Xinglong or not, he knew he couldn't beat him.
“I surren—” Before Shi Ke could finish the word “surrender,” Fang Xinglong rushed in front of him, pinching his chin with one hand and lifting Shi Ke up with a single hand.
The sensation of impending death enveloped Shi Ke’s entire body. His mind was in chaos, only thinking, “I want to live,” but with his mouth pinched shut, he had no chance to beg for mercy. His two hands flailed wildly at Fang Xinglong’s hand, his left Ripper Claw even scratching the armor.
“Hmph!” Seeing his armor scratched, Fang Xinglong became somewhat angry and directly crushed Shi Ke’s left arm with his hand. Then, he extended two fingers into Shi Ke’s mouth, clamped onto his tongue, and pulled it out.
The tongue, along with a large amount of flesh, was pulled out by the root. Shi Ke coughed up large gouts of blood. However, Fang Xinglong had no intention of letting him go. With a slight squeeze of his fingers, Shi Ke’s neck and jaw were snapped, and his corpse was thrown to the ground like trash.