Chapter 40
Night fell with thin mist. The moonlight was hazy, bleak and sorrowful like a weeping widow.
Lower District, Pomo Port.
The sea wind howled as waves crashed against the concrete pier walls. White foam rolled and churned endlessly, pushing into the holes eroded by years of impact.
Pomo Port was one of the few places in the Lower District where you could see a stretch of sea. Once, a courier trade company from Central City had planned to build a decent-sized port here for container handling and cargo turnover. But in the end, they were defeated by the chaotic environment of the Lower District, withdrew their funds, and left behind only the newly built pier.
Because of this, Pomo Port was a very special place. On the land side, there were no container yards or warehouses. Instead, rows of small port houses lined up not far from the pier, stretching all the way back into other streets.
Alex stood on the rooftop of one of these buildings, his back to the moon, hood covering his head. He looked like the Grim Reaper under the moonlight — a dark figure standing in the corner. Through the narrow slits of the smooth silver mask, he watched the transaction gradually unfolding at Pomo Port.
Under the dim yellow lights of the port, two groups of people met directly.
Both groups consisted of tall, muscular men, totaling about fifteen or sixteen people. One group was mostly Black, each openly showing their automatic rifles — cheap AK-47s — and various handguns at their waists.
The group they were trading with were white Russian gang members who also unhesitatingly revealed their firearms, refusing to show weakness.
Both sides watched each other warily, their gun barrels kept in the easiest positions to swing around.
The larger Black group belonged to Jack's Broken Hand Gang — a faction of leaders who refused to accept Jack and wanted to stir up trouble to seize power. Alex's first heroic appearance was meant to help Jack clean up these disobedient elements and solidify Jack's control over the gang.
The opposing Russian gang was also a group of Russians gathered in the Lower District, here to conduct a drug-and-money transaction with the Broken Hand Gang.
From his high vantage point, Alex had a full view of the scene. He saw that it wasn't just these two groups — quite a few other people were hiding in the nearby alleys, clearly planning a black-eat-black ambush.
Alex ignored them. They were perfect for spreading the news of his superhero debut.
"The night is dark and windy. The night of slaughter begins."
Under the howling sea wind, the hem of his trench coat fluttered. Alex reached behind his waist with both hands and drew two black Desert Eagles. He stepped onto the edge of the rooftop, ready to begin his massacre.
"Alex, I'll ask you one more time — are you willing to cooperate?"
Suddenly, the system's voice rang in Alex's ear.
The salty sea wind made the hem of his trench coat flap wildly. The silver mask under the hood was ice-cold. "As long as you lay everything out, we can talk about the rest."
He still didn't trust the system that was clearly hiding things. Until the system revealed everything, he couldn't be bothered to deal with it.
"Refusing the toast only to drink the penalty wine. Alex, I'm going to punish you!" the system roared in anger.
Alex paid it no mind. Ever since the system appeared, it had never truly threatened his life. He had already classified it as trash — nothing more than a noisy, tantrum-throwing brat.
Just as Alex was about to make his entrance and slaughter the gang members conducting the deal…
A massive sound wave suddenly exploded beside him.
Deng deng deng deng deng deng deng…
Zhang Jie's Inverse War blasted out with its heart-pounding, war-like prelude. It was like a huge thunderclap exploding on a quiet plain, sending chills down the spine.
This grand, intense prelude suddenly erupted, echoing through the sky. The sound waves became visible, vibrating the air and spreading ripples in all directions.
Alex quickly retreated three steps to hide his figure. His pupils shrank in shock as he looked toward the adjacent rooftop. Sand and dust on that rooftop were being shaken and sent flying by the sonic waves.
The huge sound waves thundered right beside Alex, erupting from half a meter away. He reached out and touched the air beside him, feeling the powerful, rhythmic sound waves. It was as if a giant speaker had appeared next to him, blasting out the massive, heart-shaking prelude of Inverse War.
"System, what the hell are you doing!"
Alex was dumbfounded. The intense, heartbeat-like music grew fiercer by the second!
He was certain he hadn't been controlled by the system — his magnetic-field telekinesis was still active. This powerful sound wave wasn't coming from him, yet it was erupting half a meter away from his body. The music moved with him, like he had a built-in speaker, making his scalp tingle.
"If you want to be a hero, I'll help you!" the system said viciously.
After the intense prelude, when the singing part began, the system directly simulated a deep, battle-intent-filled voice and started singing.
"On this battlefield where winds and clouds surge… the superhero makes his entrance…"
This voice, in the dark night, was at military loudspeaker level, spreading terrifyingly in all directions. Houses that had already turned off their lights were suddenly lit up by the sound. Lights flickered on one after another across the streets near Pomo Port, like fireflies appearing in the darkness. People wanted to see which lunatic was blasting music at night — and this loudly!
Alex had never planned such a flashy debut. He wanted to start like Batman in the beginning — slowly becoming an urban legend, gradually accepted and known by people.
But now, the system had even changed the lyrics! "Superhero makes his entrance!"
Alex laughed in anger. I have to make my entrance with background music???
The massive sound waves erupted from Alex's rooftop. Although he had retreated a few steps and hidden behind the rooftop edge, the sound was too powerful. It shot into the sky. The two gangs in the middle of their transaction and the hidden ambushers were all startled. They nervously pointed their guns at each other.
"You're buying powder and still playing music? Are you trying to pull something?!" the Black Broken Hand Gang members roared.
"Fuck, you're the ones playing music! Are you trying to black-eat-black? Are you signaling someone? Are you planning to surround us Russians?!" the Russian gang members shouted back, raising their automatic rifles and refusing to back down.
The two groups preparing to trade were now on high alert, ready to turn on each other at any moment. Hearing the sound coming from Alex's direction, they nervously turned their heads.
At this moment, the system's modified lyrics rang out again — a deep, battle-intent-filled voice soaring into the sky.
"In the roaring flames of battle… announcing to the entire world…"
"The signal of flying gunpowder… the era of heroes has arrived…"
The two gangs were furious. They felt someone was messing with them. Pointing their guns in the direction of the sound, they opened fire toward Alex's rooftop.
Da da da da da…
Bullets sprayed, sending dust flying from the rooftop walls. The gunfire perfectly matched the line about "flying gunpowder."
Gunshots and the massive sound waves mixed together, erupting fiercely and shaking everything!
"Who is it?"
"Come out!!"
"Come out!!!"
"Who the fuck is playing BGM at night!!!"
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