Staying up half the night wasn't a big deal.
The main thing was having a big shot in front of me, constantly needing to stay on edge, not daring to be careless for a moment, which left me mentally exhausted.
Once I got home and completely relaxed, it wasn't long before Shi Xiaolei fell into a deep sleep, letting out a series of snores.
The tense and busy routine continued uneventfully.
A few more days passed, and with the help of the lawyer sent by Stark, Shi Xiaolei finally completed the transaction with the landlord, acquiring the land where his small shop was located, becoming a newly minted small landlord.
Next, it was almost time to start the shop's renovation.
Contacting designers for plans, taking time to learn from Uncle He, plus the necessary hiring for the shop's upgrade... Although business hours had been shortened, Shi Xiaolei actually became even busier.
When people get busy, it's easy to lose track of time.
Sure enough, after some time had passed without him realizing it, Shi Xiaolei belatedly realized that he seemed to have missed the day for 'opening blind boxes,' and the check-in points he had accumulated daily had even exceeded 400 points.
'How could I have forgotten?' He unconsciously raised his hand and lightly patted the steering wheel, Shi Xiaolei shook his head with a wry smile: "Sigh, I'm really busy to the point of confusion."
Since he remembered, there was no point in delaying further. While driving back, Shi Xiaolei started thinking about 'finding an opportunity to open the blind box as soon as I get home.'
It just so happened to be rush hour, and the traffic was quite heavy, so he couldn't speed up.
Thinking that he had already promised Conna to go back early and teach her how to make pudding, Shi Xiaolei couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.
So, to save time, Shi Xiaolei turned the steering wheel and swerved into an alley, planning to take a shortcut.
And indeed, the alley was quite quiet, with no vehicles coming and going, and even fewer pedestrians than on the main road.
Feeling a bit more relaxed, he lightly stepped on the gas pedal, and Shi Xiaolei unconsciously hummed a children's song he had just learned from Conna a couple of days ago.
"Bang~~!" Just then, not far ahead, a deafening explosion suddenly came from the exit of the alley.
Cars parked on the side of the road shrieked with alarms, and many shards of glass fell from above, raining down on the roof and hood of his car.
The sudden situation startled Shi Xiaolei.
He instinctively stomped on the brakes, and the tires left long black marks on the ground.
Before he could figure out what was happening, a group of people came scrambling out of the alley's exit. Judging by their panicked expressions, something significant had clearly happened on the main road opposite.
Although he possessed 'peerless martial arts,' he wasn't the type to get involved in trouble, plus Conna was waiting at home... After a moment of stunned silence, Shi Xiaolei immediately made a choice, pushing the gear stick into reverse, preparing to back out the way he came.
"Where did all these cars come from~!" After reversing only a few dozen meters, the road behind him was completely blocked.
While cursing, he poked his head out of the car window and craned his neck to look back. What he saw shocked him: several large armored vehicles had appeared at the entrance of the alley.
Seeing those armored vehicles advancing aggressively, crushing other small cars along the way... "What the f***~! What the hell is this~!"
Fearing that his own car would also be crushed and totaled, Shi Xiaolei quickly turned the steering wheel, ignoring a lamppost on the side of the road, and crashed into it, driving his car onto the curb.
He thought that a damaged front bumper could be repaired and was better than having the car completely totaled. But what Shi Xiaolei didn't expect was that even with his quick thinking, he still couldn't save his car—after he drove onto the curb and made an emergency evasion to clear the path, about five or six minutes later,
gunfire like popping beans erupted from the alley's exit. Immediately after, an armored vehicle, which had been parked at the intersection as cover, was flipped into the air as if it were made of paper. And wouldn't you know it, its landing spot was precisely Shi Xiaolei's car.
It was too late to move again. Left with no choice, Shi Xiaolei could only push open the car door and jump out, watching helplessly as his car was crushed into scrap metal by the armored vehicle falling from the sky.
"My car~!"
"Get out of the way, get out of the way~!" Before Shi Xiaolei could protest, several fully armed soldiers rushed up behind him and rudely pushed him aside.
Although the soldiers' rude and impolite behavior was due to their efforts to rescue their comrades in the armored vehicle, from an observer's standpoint, there was no reason to blame them.
But... his car, which he had only bought a few days ago, was totaled just like that. Shi Xiaolei was so furious he lost his mind and had no time to empathize with others.
"I'll f****** kill you!" His eyes widened, and he rolled up his sleeves, forgetting all about being low-key and discreet. Shi Xiaolei's face turned beet red, and he couldn't help but erupt: "You're the ones who should get lost~!"
One by one, like throwing sandbags, he tossed the five or six soldiers who were crowding in front of him, sending them all flying.
In his haste, he forgot to control his strength, and the soldiers flew quite high and far, landing on the ground, each of them dazed and unable to get up immediately.
Looking at this scene alone, Shi Xiaolei had the upper hand. But if you broaden the view, it didn't seem to be the case—the two teams of soldiers following a step behind, seeing this situation, immediately stopped, formed a combat formation, and raised their submachine guns, pointing them at Shi Xiaolei.
"HQ, HQ, at the exit of 43rd Street, another dangerous individual has appeared~! Repeat, at the exit of 43rd Street, another dangerous individual other than the target has appeared~!" The soldier responsible for communications in the team had already picked up his walkie-talkie and reported the situation to his superiors immediately.
"Eliminate immediately~!"
"Yes~." Upon receiving the order, the soldier immediately took action, raising his gun and shouting at Shi Xiaolei: "You~! Hands on your head~! Squat against the wall~! Quick~!"
The dark muzzles of the guns made Shi Xiaolei calm down a little.
After regaining his ability to think, he began to ponder how to respond, but just then, another voice came through the Bluetooth earpiece he always wore.
"Locke, where are you? This is Stark! I need your help~!"
"Huh?" Halfway through raising his hands, he suddenly heard Stark's call, and his tone seemed a bit anxious. Involuntarily, Shi Xiaolei got distracted again, and his movements stopped accordingly.
Because Shi Xiaolei stopped halfway, the soldiers, who were in a state of tension, also instinctively reacted.
"Click, click~!" Several continuous soft clicks, anyone familiar with firearms would know, was the sound of the safety being disengaged.
Coordinating with the movement of his fingertips, the captain leading the group gave one last warning: "Hands up~!"
Should he obey the soldiers' command and surrender? Or should he ignore the current situation and respond to Stark's call first? In a flash of thought, Shi Xiaolei made his choice.