North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 172 "My rules are the only rules!" (Two chapters combined, please vote with monthly tickets)

late at night.

A light rain began to fall on the streets of Brooklyn.

This city is so much like Chicago; whenever the weather gets cold, it rains nonstop.

It was nearly 2 a.m., and apart from passersby who had just finished partying at nightclubs and were staggering home, there were hardly any ordinary pedestrians on the road.

In a corner of the street, a warm light flickered incessantly in the rainy night.

This is a sushi restaurant.

Several customers sat at the stall outside, enjoying the fresh and delicious sushi. They would occasionally give a thumbs-up to the chef inside who was skillfully slicing ingredients with a knife, praising him indistinctly.

It's worth mentioning that although the store is small, it has quite a few employees, including two chefs and two short waiters.

One person was enthusiastically greeting customers at the stall outside the shop, while the other was mopping the floor, not missing a single dirty spot.

"Two bowls of ramen."

Suddenly, a man stepped through the rain curtain, sat steadily on the stall, raised his hand, and smiled at the people in the shop.

The shop owner, who was cleaning up the trash left by the previous customer, replied without looking up, "Sir, this is a sushi restaurant. We don't offer free ramen tonight. If you want ramen, you'll have to go somewhere else..."

Halfway through his sentence, the man suddenly fell silent, only gazing intently at the new "guest."

Luo Xia smiled at him, held up two fingers, and said slowly, "Two bowls of ramen, one thick and one thin, one without scallions, and one cooked a little firm."

He slowly lowered his finger, pointing at the seemingly harmless shop owner, his expression gradually turning cold: "If you satisfy my appetite, I'll spare the lives of the four of you."

Inside the restaurant, the chef, who was slicing salmon with a knife, suddenly tightened his grip on the knife. Just as he was about to make a move, another hand pressed down hard on his arm.

The chef shook his head slightly, looking at Luo Xia sitting at the stall with an unprecedentedly solemn expression.

Rorschach Butcher

After a brief silence, the shop owner smiled, nodded to Luo Xia, and went inside the shop.

He gave the cook and the waiters a look, and the group of people silently took out flour, seasonings and other ingredients for making ramen from the cabinet, and started adding water and kneading the dough from the beginning, their movements tinged with tension.

Luo Xia calmly glanced at them, toying with the chopsticks on the table. When he saw the bloodstains on his suit sleeve, he picked up a napkin from the table and gently wiped the bloodstains from his sleeve, looking very relaxed.

This is the last assassin hideout he found tonight that serves the High Table Council.

The "effectiveness" mentioned here does not simply refer to ordinary assassins who accept bounties and carry out missions, but rather to the sphere of influence controlled by the High Table Council in New York.

In the past two hours, he has destroyed a total of nine such strongholds.

Among them are restaurants run by Mexicans, casinos owned by Colombians, tailor shops managed by the French, and watch shops by Germans...

This shows that almost every member of the High Table Council is a unique criminal organization leader from around the world.

Despite each of them possessing seemingly legitimate disguised identities, Harold's incredible hacking skills allowed him to quickly infiltrate the High Table's database through the Continental Hotel's network, thereby obtaining the true identities of the various board members and their hidden distribution of influence in New York.

The sushi restaurant in front of us is the secret hideout meticulously set up in New York by the only Asian member of the council, a Japanese council member.

Luo Xia remained relaxed, casually tapping the table with the tip of his chopsticks, completely ignoring the four assassins in front of him, who were of unknown origin as either Japanese or Vietnamese.

He focused his attention on his mind, where countless, densely packed patches of blood-red light were floating leisurely.

These are the values ​​of justice he has accumulated during his time in New York.

Since he upgraded his Cold Weapon Specialization to Hundred Weapons Martial Arts, he has carefully accumulated every Justice Point he gained, without rushing to invest it in upgrading other specializations or skills.

The reason he did this was to accumulate enough blood energy to achieve a major breakthrough—to completely upgrade his gun-fu technique (580/1000)!
With just 420 more Justice Points, Gunfighting Technique can be successfully upgraded.

However, although the amount of blood light he had painstakingly accumulated in his mind was not small, it was still some distance from the number of four hundred and twenty.

After all, New York is not a battlefield; how easy is it to execute more than four hundred criminals with blood on their hands?

Even including these four people, there's still a considerable gap to reach the target of 420...

However, Rorschach was not in a hurry.

Not long ago, Harold told him on the phone that although the head of the Antonio family in Italy had recently passed away in secret, there was still an older sister in power in the family, and she was frantically increasing the bounty on him.

A mafia family that has been around for a century must have a number of sinners.

Moreover, even if the justice value is not enough for the time being, there are other council families that can be targeted.

If wiping out one council member family isn't enough, then wipe out two or three!
Meanwhile, Harold continues to actively search for the whereabouts of the High Table leaders.

It is said that he was a mysterious figure known as the "Elder".

However, this person's whereabouts were extremely secretive, as if he had vanished into thin air. Even Harold's superb hacking skills made it difficult for him to find any trace of him for a while.

According to Harold's speculation, this elder is either a key protected figure of a country at the level of one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, or he is hiding deep in the desert or on a remote island where the internet cannot reach.

The thought of being able to access so many side quests in addition to the main quest to overthrow America filled Rorschach with increasing satisfaction, but also with growing hunger.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the owner steadily placed two steaming bowls of ramen in front of him.

A bowl of noodles, thick and chewy.

A bowl of noodles, thin and smooth.

The thicker bowl is garnished with a few bright green scallions, while the thinner bowl is decorated with a row of delicate sushi. The outer layer of rice has been soaked in the rich broth from the noodles, making it look tempting and appetizing.

The chefs and waiters who were busy working in the shop also gathered around, and the four of them tightly surrounded Luo Xia in the middle.

They all adopted a restless, eager stance, as if ready to pounce at any moment.

Rorschach seemed completely unconcerned about all this. He calmly picked up his chopsticks and began slurping without any restraint.

In the blink of an eye, he had finished the bowl of noodles completely, not a single drop left.

The younger cook was already getting impatient, and a sharp fish knife quietly slipped from his sleeve.

But the eldest store manager quickly stopped him with a look.

Compared to them, he, who had been a member of the High Table the longest, received a secret order from the head of the family in Japan not long after the Antonio family issued an arrest warrant for Rorschach.

The content is very simple.

[The elders have decreed that, apart from the Antonio family, no other council member is permitted to participate in the pursuit of Rorschach.]

He had never met the elders. At the entire High Table, apart from the council members, no assassin of any rank was qualified to meet the elders.

Therefore, he found it very strange that the elders would take such "care" of a terrorist, and not allow any council members other than the Antonio family, who had a direct grudge against Rorschach, to take action.

But he could not disobey the orders of the patriarch and the elders.

Therefore, as a top assassin who had been famous for decades, although he coveted Rorschach's high table bounty of tens of millions, he remained inactive and did not make a move.

As for the federal bounty of one hundred million US dollars, that has nothing to do with people in the underworld.

But to his surprise and dismay, this wanted criminal, who was clearly being hunted, not only did not flee in panic, but actually came to him on his own initiative!
Without going into details, right under the noses of these four people, Luo Xia devoured both bowls of noodles in a flash.

After putting down his chopsticks, he exclaimed, "The taste is much better than I expected. I used to think that only Asians could make noodles, but now it seems that you Japanese are really good at making ramen too."

Hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the four men softened considerably.

Clearly, they hadn't forgotten what Rorschach had said when he ordered the noodles.

But then, a sudden gunshot rang out!

The shortest shop manager turned his head in shock and saw that the chef who was about to start cooking had a bullet hole between his eyebrows that was spurting blood!
"clang"

The fish-slicing knife hidden in his sleeve clattered to the ground, and the man fell straight backward into the pool, staring blankly at the night sky, seemingly still wondering when Rorschach had fired the shot.

Not only him, but the other three were also shocked by the speed at which Luo Xia had fired his gun.

In Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) or rapid-fire competitions, seeded shooters typically take between 0.4 and 0.6 seconds from drawing their gun to firing, with extreme cases approaching 0.3 seconds.

But those are all standardized competitive performances. In real life-or-death battles, even the fastest combat shooting expert needs at least 0.8 seconds of reaction time from drawing their gun to firing.

This brief but potentially fatal gap should have allowed the three people present to see every detail of the gun-drawing action.

However, none of the three people present were able to capture the entire process of Rorschach drawing his gun and firing it. This speed of drawing the gun, which was almost against the limits of human endurance, was simply astonishing!
"I was just kidding, you fools."

Luo Xia lightly blew away the wisps of gunpowder rising from the muzzle of his revolver, and winked playfully at the short shopkeeper. "Even if it's delicious, I'll still kill it." "Baka—!"

The store manager's furious curses shattered the brief silence.

At this moment, all the director's instructions were thrown to the winds, and two thin, cicada-wing-like swords slid out of the kimono sleeves with lightning speed!
Two cold beams, one long and one short, slashed past each other, their blades only centimeters away from Luo Xia's throat.

"Oh!"

Rorschach quickly lowered the revolver's hammer with his left hand, firing almost at the man's chest, but what happened next made him raise an eyebrow slightly.

"Qiang!"

Blinding sparks flew between the two as the Japanese swordsman actually used his blade to precisely deflect the whistling bullet!
"tsk"

Luo Xia was genuinely shocked this time. Apart from himself, this was the first time he had ever seen someone deflect bullets with a melee weapon!

Before he could fire again, the enemy on his right pounced on him, delivering a Vietnamese ground kick that swept across Luo Xia's lower body, forcing him to take a step back. Then, the last man seized the opportunity and unleashed a Muay Thai killing move at Luo Xia!

A sharp tug around the neck!

The protruding knee slammed into Rorschach's face like a battle axe!

At the critical moment, Luo Xia suddenly twisted his waist and shook his head, and the Muay Thai fighter's knee grazed his cheekbone.

Using the momentum of his backward lean, his back slammed heavily against the kitchen counter behind him, scattering porcelain bowls, sauce dishes, and soy sauce bottles all over the floor with a piercing shattering sound!
"Such a big reputation, but all you've got is this much ability?"

The store manager looked at the somewhat disheveled Luo Xia with a cold smile and uttered a sarcastic remark.

The three men surrounded Rorschach in a triangular formation, trapping him in a corner. In this narrow space of less than five square meters, all escape routes were completely blocked.

Although their faces were full of contempt, their three pairs of eyes remained fixed on Rorschach's every subtle movement.

The unpredictable speed at which they drew their guns just now left none of them with any confidence that they could dodge the next deadly bullet.

However, under their watchful eyes, Rorschach did something crazy that none of the three of them expected.

"Click——"

Luo Xia twisted his stiff neck with one hand and looked at the three people in front of him with great interest.

Japanese Iaijutsu, Vovinam Vit Vo, and Muay Boran (ancient Muay Thai).
He truly hadn't expected that these Asian assassins, hiding in a sushi restaurant in Brooklyn, were all martial arts masters, and that they used the most refined killing techniques from various countries.

"Interesting. It seems I underestimated you."

Rorschach smiled and nodded, spat out a mouthful of saliva, and gave the revolver lever a sharp push with his thumb, causing the cylinder to pop open with a "click".

Under the bewildered gazes of these men, four brass bullets clattered and rolled into the pool of blood.

"Then we won't need guns!"

He flung the revolver away with a thud, his knuckles cracking with a sickening sound.

Without any hesitation, the three assassins pounced at the same time like three bloodthirsty beasts!
With a flash of light, Rorschach ducked to avoid a fatal blow aimed at his head.

Then he suddenly sprang into action, combining the American-style "linear personality" attack with the Filipino "Cali" short knife technique, and thrust forward!
Although he had no weapon in his hand, his hand chop still accurately struck the wrist of the person holding the knife.

"Crack!"

With a crisp cracking sound, the Japanese assassin's wrist bone shattered!

Almost at the same instant, Rorschach arched his back like a snake, barely dodging the high whip kick that came from the side.

Just as his opponent had exhausted his old strength and had not yet generated new strength, he twisted his body strangely, and the Russian Sambo joint lock precisely locked the supporting leg. He completed a second twist in the air in a posture that violated human ergonomics, and the Japanese "Aikido" throwing technique slammed his opponent heavily to the ground!
"How can it be"

The other Vietnamese assassin's pupils constricted. Was this guy's spine made of springs? Not only could he perform two impossible waist twists in mid-air, but he could also use the momentum of the air to throw people off balance?!

At this moment, the Japanese man, who had already lost one hand, endured the excruciating pain and stabbed with his other short sword!

Instead of retreating, Luo Xia advanced, first picking up a few scattered chopsticks from the ground. He then used the blocking techniques of Spanish "stick fighting" combined with the unarmed knife disarming techniques of Israeli "Krav Maga". He pushed his speed and power to the limit. In the blink of an eye, before the Japanese man could react, the short knife in his hand had been plunged into his own neck!
Before he could retaliate or retreat, three chopsticks had already pierced his throat with a "plop" sound!

Arterial blood gushed out like a fountain, turning into a scarlet rain of blood under the dim streetlights!
At that moment, the Vietnamese assassin, who had been waiting for an opportunity, suddenly launched his final attack, a calloused hand clawing at his Adam's apple.

The "Throat-Severing Hand" of Yuewu Martial Arts!
This deadly technique combines the coordinated force of the fingers, palms, elbows, and wrists, emphasizing the explosive power of "inch strikes," which can crush an enemy's throat bone in an instant!
Rorschach took a deep breath, his muscles contracting like springs, and then—

break out!

The Russian-style "Battle Sambo" swing swing, combined with the brutal assault of American "power fighting", and further combined with the martial arts Bajiquan Bengjin, creates a triple force stack!
Bang!
The fist collided with the skull!
The Vietnamese assassin's head snapped back, his neck twisted at an eerie angle, and his body was flung several meters like a rag doll, crashing into three wooden tables before finally rolling into the dark rain.

Chinese-style force, American-style advance, Russian-style electric cannon!

Rorschach named this punch—

"The three highest-ranking officials!"
What could possibly harm him in the face of that punch? And what could possibly kill him?
That damn madman! Don't even mention three, he'd be just as good as thirty!

"Uh"

A painful groan suddenly rang out.

The Muay Thai fighter who had been knocked away by Rorschach struggled to his feet. When he saw his companion lying lifeless in a pool of blood, his heart sank to the bottom.

"Do you even know who we are?" His lips trembled, his voice hoarse. "You not only broke the rules of the Continental Hotel, but you also trampled on the ironclad rules of the High Table! You...you absolutely won't live past tonight!"

"rule?"

Rorschach slowly lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then gave him a look of utter contempt: "There's only one rule in New York tonight, and that's my rule!"

Holy crap, a bunch of killers and criminals are talking to me about rules here.

This is absolutely the best black comedy of the year!
The Thai man swallowed hard. At that moment, he finally understood why this man dared to kill someone in a mainland hotel and even break the director's son's leg.

This madman never took the High Table Conference seriously from beginning to end, and didn't even bother to consider it an equal enemy.

Extraordinary skills, unpredictable marksmanship, and an unbridled personality.

It seems this time, the high table has kicked up a red-hot iron plate!

He took a few deep breaths, watching his companions of more than ten years die tragically. Knowing he was no match for them, he still let out a beast-like howl, stomped his feet on the ground, his muscles tensed like iron, and leaped high to deliver a fatal flying knee strike straight for Luo Xia's temple!

"boom--!"

Gunshots rang out.

The Muay Thai fighter, who had been leaping into the air, fell like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing heavily into a pool of blood.

"Stupid."

Rorschach holstered his pistol and casually dusted off his suit.

Upon discovering that his coat was stained with too much blood, he simply took off his suit jacket and draped it over his shoulder. The cigarette he was holding flickered in the rain, its bluish-gray smoke quickly dispersed by the rain.

In the distance, sporadic gunshots suddenly rang out.

A well-dressed, long-haired man is being relentlessly pursued by more than a dozen assassins.

He ran while turning back to fire, each bullet hitting his pursuer's vitals with pinpoint accuracy in the darkness.

But on such open streets, even the most skillful marksmanship is no match for overwhelming firepower.

Facing a dozen guns, including rifles and submachine guns forming a barrage of fire, even though his semi-automatic pistol was unerring, he couldn't escape being suppressed.

The small bulldog, hidden inside the suit jacket, whimpered in fear in his arms.

John Wick's expression grew increasingly serious.

They had only been a few hundred meters from the mainland hotel when they were ambushed by more than a dozen groups of assassins.

Even a legendary assassin like him was feeling somewhat powerless at this moment.

Just as he was about to rush into the roadside shop and use the narrow space to engage in his best indoor close combat, a familiar voice suddenly came from the rain ahead.

Rorschach exhaled a puff of smoke, extinguished the cigarette butt with the sole of his boot, and nodded to John, who was fleeing in a disheveled state.

"Did they get a new dog?"

"."

(End of this chapter)