Chapter 49: Are These the So-Called Four Heavenly Kings?

If it were ordinary mercenaries facing an ambush, they might not have noticed it so quickly.

However, Lin Xinghai was different, because his sensory perception was directly comparable to Fang Tianhe's—no, at this point, it should be said that it had already surpassed Fang Tianhe's.

Just as Roger had said, Lin Xinghai's sensory perception would continue to strengthen over the next few days.

Right now, his perceptual range had already reached 110 meters.

Within this range, anyone harboring hostility toward him could be detected.

At this moment, within Lin Xinghai's perceptual range, hostility was being sensed, and from more than one person, coming from both ahead and behind.

Coupled with the fact that the path they were taking—though not quite a narrow alley, was certainly not a main thoroughfare—was extremely well-suited for an ambush, everything became crystal clear.

Lin Xinghai's sudden words genuinely startled everyone present.

"Is it those people from the Axe Gang?" Liu Miaomiao reacted the fastest, asking immediately with a tense expression.

Upon hearing the words "Axe Gang," the expressions on the faces of the young women became even more nervous.

They had deliberately made inquiries about the Axe Gang earlier that day.

Although compared to mercenary groups, it could only be considered a third-rate organization, it still boasted over a hundred members. If they really came to trouble them...

The young women did not dare to imagine further.

"It should be the Axe Gang, but it's fine." Lin Xinghai closed his eyes, sensed the situation slightly, and then smiled to reassure them.

Because within his perception, there were no formidable fighters around, not even a single Genetic Optimizer.

Clearly, no members of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group had come.

Yet, even upon hearing Lin Xinghai's comforting words, the expressions on the women's faces did not relax in the slightest.

Although they knew Lin Xinghai possessed strength and had witnessed him in action yesterday, the fact that the Axe Gang still dared to come after them undoubtedly proved that they had made thorough preparations.

"Ah-Xing, where are they lying in wait? Is it still in time for us to retreat now?" Liu Miaomiao asked anxiously.

Before Lin Xinghai could reply, however, a gloomy voice drifted from a street corner ahead: "Where are you beauties rushing off to?"

Flying Axe Huai swaggered out accompanied by the Four Diamond Kings. Although a smile hung on his face, his expression remained grim.

He had no idea where his setup had gone wrong, allowing the target to detect them in advance.

Otherwise, once Lin Xinghai reached this corner, the Four Diamond Kings could have launched a sudden sneak attack, resolving the situation in the shortest time possible.

Yet now, the sneak attack had been converted into a frontal assault, and since Lin Xinghai leaned toward speed-type abilities, the variables were simply too high. He lacked absolute certainty that he could keep the target pinned down.

Whether due to excessive tension or the ultimate recoil of extreme suppression, Wang Yao suddenly took a step forward, pointed at Flying Axe Huai, and demanded, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that someone wishes to see you. As long as you lovely ladies are willing to come with me, you can ask whatever you want later," Flying Axe Huai said, still smiling, though his slightly narrowed eyes made the women even more uneasy.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but I must tell you that our current status is official personnel of the Municipal Administration. If you dare lay a hand on us, you will definitely come to a bad end," Wang Yao said with a cold face, despite her inward trepidation.

At this moment, Liu Miaomiao also stepped forward, adding, "Maliciously harming employees of the Municipal Administration is definitely a criminal case, and the Security Team will undoubtedly investigate it to the very end. As long as even one of us manages to escape and identifies you, your illegal organization, the Axe Gang, will probably be dissolved today."

Liu Miaomiao's words served a dual purpose: warning Lin Xinghai while also forcing the adversaries to hesitate due to potential consequences.
And her words indeed took considerable effect; the expressions of the Four Diamond Kings, led by Steel Bear, clearly showed a trace of hesitation.

Even Flying Axe Huai couldn't help casting a couple of extra glances at Liu Miaomiao, realizing that the woman before him was not only beautiful but also sharp-witted.

Unfortunately, she had overlooked one thing: for the sake of this kidnapping operation, he had already staked his entire livelihood and life. How could he possibly stop now?

At this thought, the smile on his face finally morphed into a ferocious grin.

"That assumes one of you actually manages to escape."

"Everyone, charge together!" he shouted the final three words aloud.

As his voice fell, more than twenty people stepped out from various parts of the street.

These were all elites of the Axe Gang, with genetic optimization levels of at least 20%.

Combined together, and spearheaded by the Four Diamond Kings, they possessed enough force to hack even a veteran mercenary to death with a flurry of axes.

With matters having progressed to this point, how could Lin Xinghai still fail to understand? The other party wasn't simply avenging a subordinate; rather...

He glanced at Liu Miaomiao and the other women, sighing inwardly, "Beauties are indeed a curse!"

Yet he did not hesitate, striding forward to meet the Four Diamond Kings charging toward him.

Just as he had surmised, everyone was targeting him alone; no one paid any heed to Liu Miaomiao and the women.

Even so, the women had nowhere to run, as several Axe Gang members remained stationed at both ends of the path to seal off any escape routes.

In the blink of an eye, the Four Diamond Kings had closed the distance, with the leader, Steel Bear, raising a massive hammer to smash down toward Lin Xinghai's head.

The force of this blow was undoubtedly immense, yet no matter how powerful a strike was, it had to hit its target to take effect.

Lin Xinghai merely sidestepped, easily dodging the blow before smoothly kicking out at the back of the man's knee.

Instantly, Steel Bear lost his center of gravity, turning his full-strength hammer strike into a full-strength face-plant.

As he lunged downward, Lin Xinghai had already slipped behind him and landed a vicious stomp squarely on his back.

Bang!

Steel Bear crashed onto the hard concrete pavement in the textbook posture of a dog eating mud; anyone watching would have felt the pain vicariously.

As for Lin Xinghai, he leveraged the momentum to leap upward, perfectly evading two heavy axes cleaving toward him, before lashing out with both legs simultaneously.

The thick soles of his tactical boots struck fiercely against the faces of the two attackers.

Lin Xinghai's 21 points of strength might not seem like much among elite mercenaries, but when used against the so-called Four Diamond Kings, it was far beyond what they could endure.

Struck squarely in the face, their features instantly distorted. Their nasal bones were undoubtedly shattered, and their front teeth failed to survive either. Whether they would suffer from concussions was something Lin Xinghai didn't know, but the agony was absolute.

Steel Leopard possessed the highest speed among the Four Diamond Kings. A speed stat as high as 28 points had always given him the upper hand in clashes with ordinary thugs.

In this battle, under the cover of the others, he leveraged his speed to circle around behind Lin Xinghai, executing his self-created technique, the Single Dragon Pierce.

Although Lin Xinghai's instant knockdown of three men had shocked him to the core, the dagger in his hand was now less than twenty centimeters away from the target's back.

He could even imagine the generous rewards awaiting him once he pierced the opponent's heart and became the greatest contributor to this mission.

Yet the back of the target seemed to sprout eyes; a hand reached out backward and effortlessly grabbed his wrist, twisting it sharply.

Crack!

A crisp fracture echoed from his wrist joint.

"Are these the so-called Four Diamond Kings?" Steel Leopard heard Lin Xinghai's slightly mocking voice ring in his ears.