Chapter 79

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 79: A Shot from the Russian Blond

Trelik, Gamanbay, and Tursen must be the group of kids helping Buka. All of them are orphans, and in this chaotic area, many orphans cannot survive and perish while the ones who struggle to live are often recruited by certain forces to become thugs, suicide squads, and key members. Under the pressure of survival, truth often becomes completely non-existent, and not everyone can afford to discuss justice and morality—Lin Mo deeply resonated with this.

"Poor Buka, come on, let me take you to eat something first and then get you a bath." Lin Mo stood up, sighed, and patted little Buka’s head. "My name is Morin, and I was sent by your father’s friend to find you."

The little boy Buka managed to stop his crying and obediently followed Lin Mo out of the kitchen, although his eyes occasionally flickered with caution. Given the sudden upheaval in his life, it was unlikely he would fully trust Lin Mo right away.

The outside of the house was shabby. It seemed that during the time Aji’s family encountered trouble, their home had suffered significant looting. Little Buka’s survival thus far could be attributed to both his quick wits and a bit of luck.

It appeared that this line was broken. Lin Mo needed to inform his superiors and think of another way.

As Lin Mo held Buka’s hand and walked through the main hall toward the front yard, he saw a group of people surrounding the courtyard gate, gathering around the Kazakh man Baletaberke, who had come with Lin Mo to the town.

Baletaberke gripped his horsewhip tightly, his face red and neck thick as he confronted the others. Clearly, something had transpired between them.

"Buka! You go inside for a bit!" Lin Mo turned to see the little boy trembling all over, looking pale like a frightened rabbit. He comfortingly patted the boy’s head, pulled his hand away, and gently pushed him back into the house.

"What’s going on, Baletaberke?" Lin Mo stepped out of the front yard and joined the Kazakh man, giving the unruly group surrounding the yard a quick scan.

Seven or eight young people clearly did not look like respectable folks. There were Russians and Uyghurs among them, all provocatively glaring at Baletaberke and Lin Mo.

"Han man! Do you know where you are? Hand over your horses alongside your companions, and consider it a protection fee. We promise not to trouble you." A man wearing a leather jacket, with his chest hair exposed, pointed a shiny sabre at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo recognized that he had struck a nerve, and the man spoke with a forceful, arrogant tone, looking as if he had already secured the advantage over both Lin Mo and Baletaberke.

"This bunch wants to rob us of our horses! Damned thugs!" Baletaberke was clearly furious, his grip on the horsewhip revealing bulging veins.

"You’re all talking too much!" Suddenly, Lin Mo’s figure blurred, followed by a series of screams and loud thuds.

Baletaberke rubbed his eyes; in just a brief moment, the thugs had all collapsed, forming a pile on the ground.

With widened eyes and mouth agape, he gawked at Lin Mo, who stood just a few steps away, as he hadn’t even seen Lin Mo’s movements clearly. This Han man was extraordinarily fast; the figures moved so quickly that his eyes couldn’t keep up.

No wonder he managed to retrieve the chestnut horse from the robbers, unarmed. Baletaberke had never seen such skill and had never even heard of it.

"Alright! Baletaberke, let’s go!" Lin Mo clapped the dust off his hands, dismissing the small-time thugs. "There’s no need to waste time explaining anything to them; I’m in a hurry." He called into Aji’s yard, "Buka, come out! It’s all okay now. Let’s go!"

The tightly shut door opened slightly, and the little boy peeked out. Seeing only Baletaberke and Lin Mo standing, while the others lay flat, he cautiously walked over, recognizing the thugs sprawled on the ground as notorious local bullies known for picking on outsiders.

"Don’t be scared, Uncle just taught these bad guys a lesson," Lin Mo reassured the little boy, who had been frightened all day.

In the town’s cleanest and best little restaurant, a square table by the road was piled high with chunks of roasted meat, as the little boy devoured the food ravenously.

"Slow down! There’s no one else to steal from you!" Lin Mo poured a glass of camel milk for little Buka, gently patting the overeager boy who turned pale and almost choked on his hurried bites.

It seemed since the boy lost his parents, his life had been tough, and he was clearly starved.

"Mmm!" Buka showed no restraint, stuffing himself hungrily until his stomach bulged, breathing heavily yet still fixating on the food on the table.

"Buka!" Some little heads poked through the restaurant window, looking at the overstuffed Buka with envy, joyfully shouting his name, their eyes shining as they drooled at the sight of the food in front of him.

"Trelik! Kuozi! Balabek! Anarhan! Gamanbay!" Buka’s eyes lit up as he saw his friends who had survived alongside him after losing their parents. After being well fed, he waved at them, glancing back at Lin Mo. Though he didn’t speak, his bright eyes sparkled with hope.

"Get lost, little brats!" The restaurant worker recognized the town’s orphans and hurried over, rudely shooing them away, knowing they often stole food from him.

"Hey, don’t chase them away! Let them in!" Lin Mo stood up to block the worker, gesturing to the little ones gathered outside, "Come on in! Let’s eat together!"

"Yes, yes!"

Lin Mo was a valued customer, so the worker nodded submissively and stepped back.

"Come on in!" Buka waved repeatedly to them, eager to alleviate their hesitation. "He’s my father’s friend!"

Laughter erupted as the nine children rushed in, surrounding the table tightly, stretching their small hands to grab the food. Luckily, Lin Mo had ordered enough, and Buka watched his friends eat joyfully, grinning widely while occasionally passing a leg of lamb to one of them.

Lin Mo smiled as he watched the homeless children scramble for food. Just then, a commotion erupted outside the restaurant, and someone rushed in.

It was Baletaberke, who had gone out to inquire about satellite phones, looking disheveled and with a bruised face; he stumbled in, appearing quite in a predicament, landing on the ground. Following him were several stout Russians dressed in old, faded camouflage, each carrying a gun.

One blond Russian man with a short haircut picked Baletaberke up roughly by the collar and pressed a pistol against his head, grinning while eyeing the restaurant’s interior with a bloodthirsty gaze.

The children who were fighting for food at the table instantly fell silent, staring wide-eyed at the armed Russians who had burst in. Several diners quietly rose and hid against the walls while the restaurant workers retreated behind the counter, seemingly accustomed to such scenes.

Lin Mo’s expression changed as he looked at the children and waved for them to step back.

"Uncle, it was them who took my father!" Buka trembled as he clutched Lin Mo’s shirt, a mix of fear and hatred in his gaze directed at the uninvited guests.

Buka would likely never forget the golden-haired Russian who had a gun pressed against Baletaberke’s head; that night, this same man had held a gun to his father’s head, taking him away, leaving Buka’s parents forever gone. There had to be a connection between them.

Buka’s teeth ground together, making muffled sounds of anger. If not for the guns in their hands, he would have rushed at them to fight back.

"Is it them?!" Lin Mo pushed Buka behind him, standing up as his cold gaze swept over the Russians. These men wielded AK74s and radiated an aura of indifference to life, clearly a gang of hardened criminals.

It was these people who had kidnapped Aji and his wife, obstructing Lin Mo’s mission. The enemy had appeared at his door just when Baletaberke went to inquire about places for making international calls. Although he didn’t know how they crossed paths, in a chaotic place like this, it was impossible to explain; anything could happen.

"Han man! Hehe, don’t act recklessly; your Kazakh buddy is in my hands!" The blond Russian spoke Chinese with a flat intonation, like a foreigner struggling with the language, as he exchanged cold, viper-like glances with Lin Mo.

"Are you the one who took Aji away?" Lin Mo’s demeanor shifted completely, as if he had returned to a different world. The supremacy of the Dragon Knight surged through the restaurant, creating an almost tangible pressure that gripped everyone present, rendering them unable to move even a finger.

"You! Who the hell are you?" The blond Russian’s forehead began to bead with sweat, sensing the young Han’s hidden power like a ferocious beast. What was this cold and bone-chilling pressure weighing down on him?

The blond Russian removed the gun from Baletaberke’s head and aimed it at Lin Mo, while the other Russians took an aggressive stance, all guns trained on the unarmed Han man, viewing him as an extraordinary threat.

"What am I? First, I want to know what you are—why did you capture Aji?" Lin Mo ignored the guns pointed at him and slowly advanced toward the blond Russian holding Baletaberke.

Bang!

Without concern for human life, the blond Russian recklessly fired his gun directly at Lin Mo.