"Before you reject me yet again, you might as well listen to my terms."
Hong Fei turned to face Deadshot.
"Uh-huh?"
"Work for me, and I will help you solve all your troubles. Not just the safety of your ex-wife and daughter, but all the needs for your future life together. I guarantee that from now on, you only need to focus entirely on your professional work when I need you; otherwise, you will have plenty of time to use as you please."
"At the same time, you may also receive unimaginable rewards. I don't mean money, but other things that money cannot buy, including but not limited to weapons, equipment, and some special powers."
"Finally, if anyone causes you trouble, they are causing me trouble. If you are caught, I will save you just like I did today, and make the other party pay the corresponding price until he or she gives up, or faces death."
Deadshot finished listening and raised an eyebrow, "Wow, that sounds great."
"Believe me, you won't find better terms anywhere else in the entire world."
Deadshot nodded and commented, "You must be someone planning to do big things."
Hong Fei, "I have done many things, and basically none of them were small."
Deadshot tilted his head and looked up, "Mysterious friend, you should know that there are many factions and stances in this world—just, evil, those wandering in between, or those leaning more towards one side. I don't know which one you belong to, but I want to say that when you want to do things, there will always be many people standing on the opposite side. Especially for someone like you who wants to do big things, you will surely have many opponents." Having said that, he pointed at himself, "I, Deadshot, am a killer. I am used to acting alone. I take money to do things, and I take the money first before doing the job. This is to avoid disputes as much as possible. I don't want to act with others and split the money, nor do I want to face that bullshit betrayal. So I hate teams, and I love freedom..."
The cell suddenly went quiet. After a moment, Hong Fei spoke, "Is this your answer?"
Sitting on the bed, Deadshot composed himself, took a deep breath, and spread his hands, "Alright, sir. Although I don't know who you are, I am very grateful that you came here to invite me. I really appreciate it, but I'm afraid I cannot agree. It's not just because of my personal thoughts, nor just because of my ex-wife and daughter. To tell you the truth, the bigger reason is that I don't want my daughter to keep thinking that I am a bad person. She knows I am a killer."
"You want her to change her opinion of you?"
Deadshot gave a self-deprecating smile, "I certainly want to, but I know there is no way. So I can only stay in prison to serve my sentence, paying the price for my past actions. Maybe this will let her know that her father is not a complete bastard, but a man who dares to act and take responsibility!"
By the end, his expression was very serious. The gaze behind the two white crystals on the iron armor locked onto Deadshot. After a few seconds, Hong Fei shook his head and sighed softly.
"I'm afraid she won't know."
Deadshot's brow tightened immediately, "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said."
Hong Fei slowly drew the Cross-blade.
"You want to kill me?"
Deadshot was stunned, then immediately became angry, "That's not a good choice. You will attract a lot of prison guards."
"I won't."
As the words fell, the iron armor suddenly broke through the air, its silver-white blade as agile as a dragon, arriving in an instant. Deadshot's pupils contracted, and he immediately moved his butt off the bed and rolled away on the ground. However, following his movement, the blade light shifted to the same side without any hesitation, following closely like a missile that had locked onto its target. Deadshot knelt on one knee, facing the surging killing intent rushing towards him.
Judging from the distance that he could no longer dodge, he steeled his heart, tightened his leg muscles, and lunged horizontally along the ground like a projectile towards Hong Fei's legs. Just as his large hands were about to grab the iron armor's knees, Hong Fei suddenly jumped up swiftly. Two figures, one above and one below.
Deadshot looked up, first seeing the tip of the blade, where the sharp edge condensed, stabbing towards the back of his head, and then glimpsing the emotionless mechanical white glow in the eyes of the iron armor in the background.
When the hairs all over his body suddenly stood on end, and the back of his head seemed to already feel an incomparably real stinging pain, he forced a sentence out from his throat.
"I agree!"
In an instant, Hong Fei, who was in mid-air, suddenly twisted his waist and abdomen to the right. Then his body flipped to the right in an extremely agile and elegant posture, the Cross-blade moving with his wrist, the tip of the blade seemingly bringing up a real, dazzling silver glow. With a soft sound, Hong Fei stood steadily beside Deadshot. Throwing down an assault rifle and a half-empty magazine, he turned around directly, "Let's go."
Deadshot looked at the gun and bullets pressing on his arm, thinking of the feeling of being on the verge of death just now, and couldn't help but lie on the ground and gasp for breath a few times. The cell door rattled. He grabbed the gun, slung it over his body, and followed closely behind Hong Fei. They went out, and the corridor was very quiet.
Deadshot followed Hong Fei cautiously with his gun in a ready position, licking his lips, "Did you really want to kill me just now?"
"Yes."
Deadshot's eye twitched, "You could have tried to persuade me more."
"I felt your determination to refuse."
"..."
"And you reminded me of something I had forgotten."
"What?"
"Instead of wasting time preaching and inviting while in stealth mode, it's better to just take action. If someone would rather die than comply, then let them die."
Deadshot's face twitched, "Do you call this an invitation? It's clearly a threat."
"A threat is also a form of invitation."
Deadshot snorted two puffs of hot air from his nose. After walking two steps, he added, "If it weren't for the fact that I don't want to never see my daughter again, I would never have agreed to you. Also, how are we getting out? Have you arranged an escape route?"
"No rush, I still need to find two people."
"Huh?"
"You can put the gun down. I don't want to disturb them just yet."
Deadshot nodded, but did not do as told. Perhaps holding the gun could give him a greater sense of security. Arthur invaded the surveillance system. The positions and movements of all prison guards along the way could not escape its surveillance. And Hong Fei, as if having a full map hack, led Deadshot straight through, avoiding countless risks of being discovered.
Deadshot, who was following stealthily behind, finally discovered the problem. When Hong Fei pressed him against the wall again, he finally couldn't help but ask in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "You actually hacked all the surveillance here?"
Hong Fei nodded slightly.
"How did you do it? This is Belle Reve!"
"No matter how secure a prison is, it will have flaws. The more mysterious a place is, and the more it doesn't want outsiders to know about it, the easier it is to be breached from the inside."
Arthur's entry point was all the staff of this prison. It hacked all the devices held by the relevant personnel, and along with all their activities in the prison, it finally entered the interior of the prison silently.
Avoiding the last wave of patrollers, the two arrived near their destination. Deadshot stuck to the corner of the wall and saw a three-man team inside. He quickly pulled his head back, "Brother, three people. If you let me shoot, I can find a suitable angle in a short time to take them all out in one shot."
"No need."
Hong Fei strode out without hesitation, Deadshot's suspicious gaze following his every move. The black-gold armor accelerated in an instant, transforming into a blur of motion. His footsteps were silent, but the rush of air betrayed his movement. One guard barely had time to turn his head before catching a glimpse of steel in his widening pupils.
He tried to jerk his head away, but the Cross-blade was faster, piercing clean through his forehead. The body crumpled backward. The other two guards spun around just in time to meet Hong Fei's fists slamming into their faces. The sickening crunch of bone echoed as they collapsed in unison.
Hong Fei spun his blade and turned to face Deadshot, who stood half-exposed in the doorway, his expression a mix of shock and confusion. Hong Fei leveled the hilt of his blade at him.
"You should call me boss."
He knelt to retrieve the keys from the fallen guard, unlocked the circular alloy door in the floor, and glanced up.
"Wait here."
With a single step, he leapt into the darkness below. The dull thud of his landing reverberated through the damp cave.
Inside the armor, Hong Fei's vision adjusted instantly, revealing the monstrous figure standing before him. Killer Croc matched his height but dwarfed him in sheer bulk, his massive head and scaled body resembling a grotesque fusion of man and reptile. The creature's breathing produced a guttural rumble, a sound more beast than human.
"Waylon Jones," Hong Fei began, his voice steady.
"Also known as Killer Croc. Listen carefully: come with me, and I promise you'll never be imprisoned again."
Killer Croc's lips curled back, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. The sight was enough to send chills down any spine.
A sudden rush of air signaled Killer Croc's attack as his massive fist swung toward Hong Fei's head. The sheer size of that fist, easily as large as a sandbag, spoke volumes about the raw power behind it. In the blink of an eye, Hong Fei vanished from Killer Croc's line of sight.
Ducking low, Hong Fei twisted his wrist, driving the blade diagonally across Killer Croc's chest. The sharp edge met the creature's scaly hide, sparks flying as it scraped against the tough surface. With a firm press, the blade found a gap between the scales, slicing through flesh and armor alike. A tearing sound followed, and blood sprayed.
Killer Croc froze, momentarily stunned. He touched the wound on his abdomen, his nostrils flaring as he caught the scent of his own blood. His eyes burned with fury.
Though mutated and gifted with superhuman strength, speed, endurance, reaction, and regeneration, Killer Croc's abilities paled in comparison to true powerhouses like Superman. His potential was limited, his development incomplete.
"If you refuse," Hong Fei warned, "you'll die in this sewer." Killer Croc responded with a deafening roar, charging forward once more. A flash of steel, and blood spurted from his arm, but the injury did nothing to diminish his ferocity. He attacked relentlessly, his eyes wild with the desire to tear Hong Fei apart and devour him whole. He'd done it before—a prison guard's arm had been his gruesome meal.
But Hong Fei moved with precision, dodging and shifting with ease. Whether gripping the hilt with one hand or two, he circled Killer Croc like a predator, his blade flashing like a meteor. Each strike cut through scales, leaving trails of blood in their wake. Within moments, Killer Croc was drenched in crimson, his chest and back crisscrossed with deep, bleeding wounds.
Killer Croc's movements grew sluggish, his massive frame turning with agonizing slowness. As he swung his fists in a lumbering arc, Hong Fei seized the opening. His long leg swept upward in a devastating spin, the sole of his boot crashing into Killer Croc's collarbone with bone-jarring force.
The impact sent Croc staggering back. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Three thunderous steps and the monstrous figure smashed into the wall, bricks crumbling around him. Before he could recover, a razor-sharp blade flashed through the air, its deadly edge seeking flesh.
"I'll come with you!"
Hong Fei's voice rang out.
The armor froze mid-motion, the blade's tip hovering less than a millimeter from Killer Croc's murky eyeball. With a resounding clang, the cross-blade slipped from armored fingers and clattered to the ground, its edge already marred by dozens of nicks from countless battles.