Chapter 17 Conflict

The neighborhood is going to be destroyed?

Li Mochen thought to himself, could the consequences really be that dire? Isn't it just a conflict between gangs?

But then a strange glint flashed in his eyes. Having sorted through the original owner's memories, he was no longer completely ignorant of the current state and history of America.

Since the founding of the Federal Republic of America, gang forces had been a chronic disease of the country. And over the past few centuries, more than one neighborhood had been destroyed due to conflicts between gangs.

The most famous was the 'Prohibition War' that broke out between the Capone family and the Lemire family of the Mafia 229 years ago. Both sides mobilized hundreds of outlaws, forcibly erasing a small border town called 'Ricardo' on the East Coast with a population of 100,000 from the map.

Although this tragedy thoroughly enraged the American government, which tirelessly struck against these two families over the following decades, causing their influence to wane and fall out of the top five Mafia powers, the flames of war between gangs continued unabated. Neighborhoods and cities destroyed by conflicts among outlaws were everywhere, and the number of civilians killed or injured each year reached hundreds of thousands.

But after recalling these dark histories of America, Li Mochen still felt that the guy beside him was being overly alarmist.

"You're taking things too seriously, William."

Li Mochen allowed his friend to pull him across the street, simply because that was what the vast majority of people on the street were doing at the moment.

"Look at how few of them there are? And there are four police cars right next to them. The American police can't just sit by; they're already paying attention."

"But this is the territory of the Black Prison Skulls! Don't you find it strange, A-Mo? Those guys are all Bloodfang's combat units; I recognize them. Damn it, they dare to show up right in the lair of the Black Prison Skulls—"

William looked uneasy: "You don't know, my neighbor's family has a buddy named Noah. You should have met him once. He's one of the Black Prison Skulls, but I haven't seen him for several days in a row. My mom is a bit worried."

Li Mochen frowned. Hearing William say this, he also felt the situation was unusual. But then he looked at the latter thoughtfully: "But William, what does this have to do with you? I can see you're worried about something?"

William paused for a moment, then scratched his head in frustration: "You're right, it's none of our business."

Li Mochen could tell from William's expression that the guy was holding back and unwilling to tell the truth.

But he himself had no intention of digging deeper. He shook his head slightly: "I don't know if there will be a war in this neighborhood, but I do know that if we don't hurry up, we'll definitely be late. I bet you forgot who the duty discipline inspector is today, William?"

"Inez? Damn!"

William dared not dawdle any longer. He started running on the spot and sprinted toward the school bus stop at lightning speed.

Inez was the coach of the Comprehensive Cold Weapon Combat Club and also the teacher who guided him in swordsmanship. William would never dare leave a bad impression of being unpunctual in this teacher's mind. The key point was that this teacher had a particularly rough temper. Even being caught by the school's discipline inspector would be better than falling into Inez's hands.

Behind him, Li Mochen's eyes were strange as he discreetly glanced back.

He wasn't looking at the Bloodfang gangsters at the street corner, but at a certain spot to his left rear. Someone there made him very uncomfortable—a feeling of being closely watched, under constant surveillance.

Earlier, when he had cultivated the Heavenly Mind Divine Illumination to the third realm in his apartment, he had already sensed it. And today, with his heart on alert, even without using this mentally draining secret technique, he could still detect some clues.

Was it Jennifer's people? That wouldn't be surprising. If his half-sister, intending to drag him into the Wiltonshire family infighting, was foolish enough not to care about the safety of the original Li Mochen, then she would be incredibly stupid!

Of course, there was also the possibility of being wrong. After all, this body of his had died under unknown circumstances, and Li Mochen had not found any relevant evidence in the original owner's memories.

This cast a shadow over Li Mochen's mind. But then he shook his head and also started sprinting toward the school bus stop. He noticed a school bus slowly approaching at the end of the street.

…

Ten minutes later, the school bus they were on slowly drove into Linden Academy, where they studied. Unlike on Earth in the United States, the school here had walls around it. Li Mochen even saw traces of a magic array on the walls.

His 'Heavenly Mind Divine Illumination', even when not activated, still had strong perception, allowing him to accurately sense the flow of magical energy around him.

At this moment, in Li Mochen's eyes, the school, covering an area of six hundred acres, was like a closed loop, completely isolating the inside from the outside. This should be a measure taken by the American government to ensure student safety, guaranteeing that even if a major battle between top outlaws occurred next to the school, the students inside would remain safe.

After entering the school gate, Li Mochen clearly felt that the true energy flowing smoothly in his body became sluggish and depressed.

Linden Academy was a large private school that also received government funding and assumed many public school obligations. As far as Li Mochen knew, several streets around it were within its school district, with a total student population of over four thousand. Walking among the crowd, he and William were inconspicuous.

But before Li Mochen could find his locker in the corridor, a large group of people came toward them from both front and back, vaguely forming an encirclement.

One of them walked in front, wearing a red jacket, a gold ring in his nose, and his head full of braided dreadlocks, staring fiercely at William Jacques.

Li Mochen's eyes showed alertness, and he instinctively reached for his sword bag. The school's cold weapon combat club required students to bring their own equipment, and the sword the original owner carried to school daily was not only unsharpened but also had an additional sealing array to prevent injury, but it was more than enough to handle the current situation.

What slightly troubled Li Mochen was that, involuntarily, a sense of excitement arose in his heart again, a feeling of eagerness to try.

No, it couldn't be called eagerness; it was more like an urge! Almost uncontrollable.

He really wanted to take care of these punks. Especially! It should be something he could handle with one hand.

William, however, greeted them with a full smile: "Hey! Hancock, long time no see. You got a nose ring? It suits you—"

But as soon as he stepped forward, Hancock pushed him in the chest: "Don't give me that! Where's Andy? Where is Andy?"

"Andy? Andy Jalen?"

William looked puzzled: "How would I know where he is? You've got the wrong person, Hancock."

"You're playing dumb with me, William!"

Hancock continued shoving William until he pushed him against the locker and tightly gripped his throat.

"I know you hang out with that group! You know where they are, right? William?"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't do this, okay? I don't even know what's going on."

William spread his hands in a gesture of surrender: "I've hung out with them a few times, but you know, Hancock, I don't really fit in with them, just like I turned you down, buddy—"

Hancock's demeanor was like a bull, his arms muscular and strong, his grip making William's neck bones crack: "Shut up! Who's your buddy! Listen, kid! Our people saw you with Andy Jalen the day before yesterday. You didn't tell me the truth! Right? William! You're asking for death! Are you forcing me to take action against you?"

William was already having trouble breathing, his eyes rolling back.

Just then, a flash of sword light struck from the side, lightly tapping Hancock's right wrist joint with a 'smack'. Li Mochen clearly didn't use much force, but Hancock felt his bones go numb and had to let go.

He immediately turned his head and glared at Li Mochen, who now had his sword in hand. Not only him, but the surrounding group also glared at Li Mochen.

"Kid, you're called Andre, right? William's friend? You want to stand up for him?"

Li Mochen held his sword, his expression cold, with no intention of answering. He had already entered the state of 'Heavenly Mind Divine Illumination' and considered these guys as scum, like ants or weeds, not worth his effort to speak.

But at that moment, a shout came from the other side of the corridor: "Hey! What are you guys doing gathered here? This is Linden Academy, not a place for you little bastards to run wild!"