Volume One, Chapter 17: The Launch of the Base Construction

“Is this Thunder God Base?” Scarface was still far from the foot of the mountain, yet he shouted hoarsely, his voice rolling like thunder. “I’m Hu Biao! I brought my brothers over to have a little chat with whoever’s in charge here!”

Li Hexuan didn’t even raise an eyelid, treating him as if he were invisible.

Seeing no response from the mountain, Hu Biao sneered and raised his voice even more: “These days, going it alone doesn’t get you far! We’re all men licking blood from the edge of the blade. I think this place looks good. Why don’t we join forces? There’s strength in numbers! From now on, we manage Falling Leaf Mountain together—how about that?”

His underlings jeered along, waving their shabby weapons arrogantly, each one full of swagger.

“Manage together?” Zhang Nan spat contemptuously onto the ground. “Sounds more like they want to snatch our turf!”

Li Hexuan waved his hand, signaling Zhang Nan to keep silent.

Alone, he strode to a protruding rock halfway up the mountain and looked down coldly at Hu Biao and his gang.

“Falling Leaf Mountain belongs to the Li family,” Li Hexuan said quietly, yet his words struck every ear like a hammer blow, laced with icy finality. “If you want to live, follow my rules. If not, leave now.”

Hu Biao’s scar twitched involuntarily, surprised by this young man’s bold tone.

A skinny monkey-faced man beside Hu Biao, holding a homemade gun, sneered venomously, “Kid, big mouth, huh? Just you alone, and you dare talk back to Hu the Boss like that?”

The skinny man pointed the dark muzzle of his gun at Li Hexuan with ill intent.

“Looking for death!” Li Hexuan’s eyes flashed with a deadly cold light.

Just as the skinny man raised his gun, a condensed blue electric snake shot from Li Hexuan’s fingertips!

“Shhhk!”

The electric snake sliced through the air and struck the homemade gun dead center.

“Ahhh!” The skinny man screamed in agony as the gun’s barrel instantly twisted and melted black from the intense heat, the powerful recoil shattering the skin in his palm, blood gushing forth. The gun slipped from his grasp and fell into the water.

The move was so fast it made heads spin, so fierce it chilled the bone.

Hu Biao and his men were dumbfounded. Their arrogant bravado vanished instantly, replaced by sheer terror.

“What the hell kind of trick is that?” someone stammered.

“Demon… sorcery!” another voice shook.

“Damn it! All together! Take him down!” Hu Biao, the leader, reacted first, his scar twisted in rage and fear.

He refused to believe in such nonsense—so many of them, how could they be afraid of one kid who could shoot electricity?

With a shout, more than a dozen men wielding sticks charged ashore, trying to force a landing.

Li Hexuan snorted coldly, his figure flashing as he leapt down from the rock and charged straight into the chaotic mob.

—

“Crackle!”

Electricity crackled around his hands as blue arcs danced at his fingertips, weaving a lethal electric net.

One man who had just stepped onto the muddy shore raised his iron pipe to strike, but Li Hexuan didn’t dodge. His left hand shot out like lightning, fingers sparking, and struck the man’s wrist before the pipe could land.

“Szzzt!”

The man’s body convulsed violently, as if hit by a battering ram. The iron pipe clattered to the ground, and he crumpled backward, foaming at the mouth, unconscious.

Li Hexuan didn’t stop. He plunged deeper into the crowd.

Every strike he made was accompanied by flashing electric light and screams of pain.

Those fierce-looking men were as fragile as paper before him—either stunned and paralyzed by electricity or swiftly knocked out by his brutal punches and kicks.

No one could follow his movements clearly—only a flash of blue light, then another man fell.

Halfway up the mountain, Zhang Nan felt a flush of heat surge through him. Holding his semi-automatic rifle, he kept his muzzle locked tightly on Hu Biao, a deterrent against any desperate moves.

Yet in moments, more than half of Hu Biao’s twenty or so men were down.

The rest were thoroughly frightened, retreating in panic, desperate to flee back to the raft as if their lives depended on it.

Hu Biao’s scar trembled like a sieve. Clutching his machete, his palms were slick with cold sweat.

He finally realized he’d hit a steel wall this time—a steel wall charged with high voltage electricity!

“Stop! We’re leaving! We’re leaving right now!” Hu Biao shouted hoarsely, his previous arrogance replaced by bone-deep terror.

Li Hexuan stopped, the electric arcs surrounding him fading away slowly.

He stared coldly at Hu Biao, a look that made Hu Biao’s flesh crawl.

“Remember this: this is Thunder God Base.”

Hu Biao didn’t dare utter another word. Crawling and scrambling, he boarded the raft with the few remaining able-bodied men and hastily paddled away from Falling Leaf Mountain in disgrace.

Watching their hastily retreating backs, Li Hexuan furrowed his brow.

A scoundrel like Hu Biao would surely return.

Peace on Falling Leaf Mountain would be hard to come by.

Chen Hao… the name brought even colder shadows to Li Hexuan’s eyes. That was the true menace weighing on his heart.

—

Hu Biao and his gang fled in utter chaos, and Falling Leaf Mountain quieted—for now.

But beneath this calm, turbulent currents churned. Li Hexuan knew this brief respite was just the eye of the coming storm.

“Brother Xuan! Those cowards! If they dare show their faces again, I’ll smash their skulls with my bare fists and shove them back into their mothers’ wombs to be born anew!” Zhang Nan roared, shaking his huge fists, frustrated by the earlier missed chance to strike.

Li Hexuan patted his sturdy shoulder, then turned to Zhou Yong.

“Old Zhou, thanks for your hard work. The defenses at the foot of the mountain still need to be strengthened. We can’t afford to slack off.”

Zhou Yong’s sun-darkened face bore traces of post-battle fatigue, yet his eyes burned bright.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Li! Hu Biao’s gang may be insignificant, but they served as a warning. I think we can dig deeper in some parts of the mountain and set layered traps. Those scrap electric wires and old batteries we scavenged might come in handy!”

“Oh?” Li Hexuan raised an eyebrow.

“For example, we could bury barbed wire connected to batteries at key defense points. Then you could ‘charge’ them with your ability. Anyone foolish enough to trespass would learn what ‘Thunder God’s Wrath’ really means!”

Zhou Yong grew more animated, gesturing excitedly.

“Or we could rig some tripwire stun devices—not powerful enough to kill, but enough to make intruders tremble and flee!”

A faint smile curled on Li Hexuan’s lips.

“Not a bad idea. Electric defenses will be the way forward. Old Zhou, take charge of this. Make a list of materials you need.”

“Got it! I’ll make sure it’s done right!”

Energized by approval, Zhou Yong’s whole being seemed to ignite with purpose.

Afterward, Li Hexuan called Zhang Nan and Su Mengyi into the villa’s living room.

“To establish a lasting presence on Falling Leaf Mountain, fighting alone won’t suffice. We need rules, a code to govern us.”

Li Hexuan’s fingers tapped lightly on the table.