Chapter 175: Smiling Face Freak
"Brother Lin, someone's causing trouble in the establishment."
Song Xiaoming found Lin Ye who was spacing out and spoke quietly.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Lin Ye suddenly snapped back to reality, feeling like he'd just woken from an extremely long nightmare.
"Brother Lin, someone's causing trouble in the establishment."
Song Xiaoming repeated himself.
"Alright, I'll take a look."
Lin Ye stood up and walked out of the break room, immediately hearing intense arguing as soon as he stepped out.
"You're cheating! Otherwise how could I keep losing!"
Lin Ye pushed open the door to the main floor and saw the burly man causing the disturbance. "So damn noisy."
Lin Ye quickly stepped forward and knocked out the burly man with a single punch. His movements were so fast the surrounding spectators didn't even process what happened.
"Throw him outside."
Lin Ye said to the service staff standing nearby.
"Yes, Brother Lin."
The staff member skillfully carried the burly man away while conveniently pocketing the items from the man's pockets.
Lin Ye turned and returned to the break room, still feeling somewhat disoriented.
"Brother Lin, some water."
In the break room, a young woman wearing revealing clothing poured Lin Ye a glass of water.
"Thanks. Shouldn't you be working?"
Lin Ye shook his head and took the cup, drinking a sip.
"Day off today. By the way, the boss seems to be looking for you."
Xia Yi sat next to Lin Ye, secretly glancing at his profile.
"I'll go see him in a bit."
Lin Ye didn't know what the boss wanted, but it probably had something to do with the gang's business.
"You're the only one in the gang who dares to keep the boss waiting."
Xia Yi looked at Lin Ye with envy. Although the boss usually treated people kindly, that was just the wrapping and ribbon on the gift box—the box itself was filled with brutality and violence.
"Well, I am the gang's trump card enforcer after all. The boss gives me some special treatment."
The Gray Gang was Jinghu City's underground power, and Lin Ye was their trump card enforcer, usually handling the gang's troublesome matters.
Not purely white nor purely black, existing in the space between—that was the Gray Gang.
"You should go quickly. The boss hasn't been in a good mood lately."
Xia Yi pushed Lin Ye and said.
"...Fine then."
Lin Ye walked toward the boss's office.
Knock knock.
"Enter."
Entering the office, Lin Ye sat on the sofa and asked:
"Boss, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, something's not right in the slums recently. Go take a look."
Xu Feng said seriously.
"What happened?"
If it wasn't something major, they definitely wouldn't need Lin Ye to personally handle it.
"I don't know. The gang's outpost in the slums has gone silent. The people I sent over haven't reported back either. Now it's up to you."
There were still quite a few goods at the slum outpost, and Xu Feng needed to find out what was happening there.
"Alright, I'll head over now."
Without saying more, Lin Ye returned to his room to get his weapons, then drove to the slums with two underlings.
"Brother Lin, the road ahead is blocked by the Management Bureau."
Song Xiaoming slowed down and parked the car by the roadside. They had good relationships with some of the Management Bureau's law enforcement officers, but it still wouldn't be appropriate to just drive through.
"Wait here for me to come out."
Lin Ye got out of the car and approached the blocked area. The slums were just ahead—he could bypass the blockade to enter directly, but before taking the detour, he planned to talk with the Management Bureau personnel.
"Brother Lin, what brings you here?"
As soon as Lin Ye approached, he ran into a familiar Management Bureau staff member.
"What's happening inside?"
Lin Ye asked directly.
"I don't know either, but it seems related to the Research Institute."
The staff member lowered his voice.
"Another one of their experimental creatures? Do they really have to research those damned things?"
Lin Ye felt uncomfortable. In Jinghu City, he could handle most problems, except those involving the Research Institute.
If troubles had grades, then those created by the Research Institute would definitely be the highest level.
"That I wouldn't know."
The staff member shrugged, indicating he couldn't help.
"Forget it, I'll go take a look inside."
Lin Ye bypassed the blockade and entered the slums, while the surrounding staff pretended not to see him.
The slums were the most chaotic place in Jinghu City, inhabited by true madmen and truly impoverished people.
Lin Ye quickly moved toward the Gray Gang outpost, but as he passed through a narrow alley barely wide enough for one person, he encountered a smiling researcher coming from the opposite direction.
The other wore protective gear without a helmet, with slightly long hair messily parted on both sides. Their eyeballs protruded outward, and their exaggerated smile revealed ten gleaming white teeth.
Upon seeing Lin Ye, the researcher charged toward him with that same smile, eyeballs mostly protruding from their sockets.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Ye drew his pistol and fired a shot at the researcher's head.
Bang!
The researcher suddenly jerked their head, causing the bullet to graze their temple, leaving a bloody mark.
The shot didn't stop them—instead, it made them accelerate.
The soundless smile continued to bloom on their face until it tore the corners of their mouth.
They ran toward Lin Ye while shaking their jaw and tongue.
Bang bang bang!
This time Lin Ye waited until the researcher closed to a certain distance before firing, with each bullet incorporating some degree of prediction.
The moment Lin Ye fired, the researcher jerked their head again, but this time the distance was too close. Combined with Lin Ye's preemptive aim, their head exploded.
The researcher continued approaching Lin Ye with half their head shattered. Lin Ye kicked them in the chest, sending them flying backward.
The corpse twitched on the ground for a while before finally going still.
"Damn! What the hell is this thing?"
Close-range bullet dodging—this was the first time Lin Ye had seen something so absurd.
Before Lin Ye could catch his breath, several more smiling figures squeezed into the alley from the opposite end.
Lin Ye immediately turned to run, but as he turned around, he saw several eerily similar smiling faces.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have taken this shortcut..."
Lin Ye drew the short blade from his waist with a reverse grip and charged toward the entrance.
He had to fight his way out before the smiling freaks behind him closed in. Once surrounded, the trump card enforcer would become the trump card smiling freak.
Even using his feet to think, Lin Ye could guess this strange condition would infect others.
'Just don't know what the transmission method is. Better not be airborne...'
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Lin Ye rapidly emptied his pistol's magazine, then holstered the weapon and simultaneously drew another short blade.
Through prediction and concentrated fire, these eight bullets exploded three smiling freaks' heads, with three more just squeezing into the entrance.
Lin Ye also reached near the entrance.
The closest smiling freak lunged at Lin Ye, who slashed at the freak's neck. The freak blocked Lin Ye's blade with its forearm while simultaneously biting toward Lin Ye's head.
The freak possessed considerable strength, but Lin Ye's strength was greater. Lin Ye forcefully drove his second short blade into the freak's neck, using it to keep the freak's head away from himself.
Simultaneously, he twisted the blade, severing the freak's cervical spine.