After the day’s classes ended, as soon as Wu Ming stepped out of the school gate, he saw James already waiting there.
“How was your first day of school?”
James asked somewhat nervously, “Are you adjusting okay?”
“It’s fine. The classes are interesting, and I’ve made a good friend named Vicky!”
Wu Ming naturally knew how to respond to satisfy James.
“Haha…”
Sure enough, hearing his reply, James laughed happily, “I was originally worried you wouldn’t adapt, since you’re a bit younger than the other kids starting school. But now it seems I was just being overanxious!”
He scratched his head, “I’ll walk you back home today, but from now on you’ll have to go to school by yourself!”
“Don’t worry!”
Truthfully, Wu Ming couldn’t have been happier, as it meant he would finally have a bit of freedom.
When they returned home, Mrs. Sterling had already prepared a sumptuous dinner, and specially added two boiled eggs for Wu Ming: “Steven has already started school, how amazing! These are a reward for you!”
“Thank you, Mom!”
Wu Ming eagerly began eating, while his mind started turning with thoughts.
Perhaps he should find a way to earn some money soon? Otherwise, how could he bear living such a tight life with the whole family?
“Just a pity… it’s still a bit too small…”
Wu Ming looked at his small palms helplessly.
At his age, even if he tried to go out, he probably couldn’t accomplish anything.
How many adults would listen to a six-year-old? Probably only if the whole world had gone crazy.
“There’s another good piece of news today!”
At the dinner table, James said proudly, “My stocks finally haven’t turned into complete worthless paper. Karl Light Industry has started its annual dividend, and I’ll go to the bank tomorrow to cash it out!”
“That’s great!”
Mrs. Sterling cheered, then looked at her husband with anticipation, “We can get a bigger bed, some warmer quilts, and new clothes for Brandon and Angelina… Maybe even move to a new apartment. Mrs. Ward is just too annoying…”
“Well…”
James scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, “It’s only the first profit since the war ended, so the dividend probably won’t be too big… It’s better not to have too many expectations.”
“The bank?”
Wu Ming raised his spoon with his chubby little hand, “I want to go tomorrow too!”
“You still have school! Besides, it’s just going to get some money…”
James frowned.
“Dear, Steven hasn’t really gone out to see anything yet… I remember, the day after tomorrow is a holiday, and school will be closed, right?”
Wu Ming immediately turned to Mrs. Sterling for help, and she immediately said to her husband.
“Okay, okay…”
Facing this double attack, James could only surrender with his hands up, “It’s just going downtown. Back then, I used to drive past there every day…”
…
“Money is time! Money is life!”
Standing in front of the bank, which was built entirely of marble and looked as magnificent as a parliamentary hall, Wu Ming looked at the inscription on the relief with a somewhat expressionless face.
“Bank, stock market… these are the centers of modern finance…”
He followed behind James, pretending to look around curiously, while actually harboring less-than-honorable thoughts.
“Pity… I haven’t found any lottery or scratch tickets nearby. Otherwise, I could win a small fortune and immediately improve our living conditions…”
The bank’s floor was very smooth, spotless, and there were many people coming and going, mostly well-dressed men and women, and even more salesmen and managers in cheap suits.
“Be careful of them!”
James told Wu Ming, “Those managers and traders will use voices more seductive than the devil’s to recommend their financial products and stocks to you. But in reality, most of them just want your money. If it were really as good as they say, why wouldn’t they quietly go get rich themselves?”
Wu Ming secretly rolled his eyes.
He had to admit that although James’s words were rough, they did have some truth.
Especially when financial regulations were not yet well established, how many stock brokers and financial traders could truly remain impartial and not be tempted to take their clients’ money?
Suddenly, he felt a shiver run through his body.
An intense sense of tension swept over him, making every pore on his body tremble.
“This is… a sudden premonition?”
Even ordinary people might sense some kind of omen before a crisis. In Taoism, it’s called “xinyue lai chao” (sudden premonition), while in the West, it’s known as extrasensory perception, sixth sense, or prophecy.
In fact, the stronger one’s mental power, the more likely one is to receive such premonitions.
Wu Ming’s mind was clear, and his mental power had been cultivated. At this moment, even adults couldn’t match him, and he immediately had a bad feeling.
“It’s him…”
After glancing around, Wu Ming immediately focused his eyes on a tall, thin man in a black trench coat.
His collar was high, covering most of his face, and he wore a hat, looking quite gloomy. More interestingly, Wu Ming detected a trace of supernatural power on him.
“A natural awakening? Or some kind of bloodline? Although it’s a bit too weak…”
Wu Ming slightly activated his mental power and scanned him, immediately turning serious.
Under the man’s trench coat, he clearly sensed a dangerous aura, and its shape…
“Ahh!”
Realizing this, he immediately crouched down, holding his stomach.
“What’s wrong?”
Wu Ming’s acting skills were amazing. At this moment, he manipulated his body to sweat coldly, his little face pale, looking very frightening—at least James believed it completely.
“My stomach hurts so much!”
Wu Ming gasped through clenched teeth, appearing to endure great pain.
“Could it be some kind of sudden illness?”
James immediately abandoned his plan for the day, scooped Wu Ming into his arms, and said, “Hold on, Dad will take you to the hospital right now.”
He gave up his almost-reached position in the bank’s queue, pushed through the crowd, and ran out of the bank.
The line stirred slightly, then returned to normal.
Outside the bank, warm sunlight poured down, and that dangerous feeling suddenly vanished without a trace.
Wu Ming sighed inwardly, helplessly shook his head, and silently muttered to himself, “Power, I need power!”
Right now, he was just a child with slightly stronger mental power. If he really encountered a formidable opponent, he would probably just be offering himself up as meat.
Bang!
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from inside the bank.
The crowd outside fell silent, as if they were dead, then cries and screams erupted.
“My God! Someone actually dares to rob a bank!”
James stared blankly as a crowd of people rushed out of the bank. Through the open door, he could vaguely see someone lying in a pool of blood. His face involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat.
“Quick, step back!”
A faint sound of police sirens came from afar, and James quickly carried Wu Ming to the street outside.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry, I’m just here to take a little something. Would you really want to oppose me for the bank’s money?”
The man in the black trench coat, whom Wu Ming had first noticed, now removed his hat, revealing a face full of scars. His right hand clearly held a single-barrel shotgun, with a red sandalwood handle that had vein-like patterns. The black barrel was still emitting wisps of blue smoke.
“He’s only one man with one gun!”
A security guard shouted loudly, then clutched his chest and fell into a pool of blood.
In the man’s left hand, another single-barrel shotgun magically appeared. He blew the smoke off the muzzle and the shotgun in his right hand disappeared again, as if performing a magic trick.
“He’s Jack the Double Gunner, a B-level wanted criminal of the Kingdom!”
His appearance and peculiar posture immediately made a customer seem to wake from a dream, screaming frantically.
“Set up the police line, disperse the crowd, and establish a quarantine zone!”
Amidst the piercing police sirens, more than ten steam-powered police cars rushed over like the wind. Numerous armed officers jumped out from them.
They set up police tape, isolating the area in front of the bank, before charging into the bank with revolvers.
Bang bang!
Heart-stopping gunshots kept coming. If Wu Ming had the ability to see through walls, he would see that Jack had already filled a thick sack with paper money. Upon seeing the police arrive, he arrogantly smiled, and like a panther, he pounced.
Whoosh!
In mid-air, he rotated his hands, shooting rapidly like a magician, somehow completing the reloading action without anyone noticing. He fired quickly, and the police officers in front of him fell one after another.
The police chief outside was furious, demanding more officers to enter and capture him.
“Even if it’s just a tiny bit of supernatural power, once it’s unleashed, it’s terrifying!”
At this moment, Jack had already rushed out of the bank, allowing Wu Ming to catch his movements. He couldn’t help but think of a term— “gun-fighting”!
This opponent not only had superhuman physical strength but also combined martial arts with marksmanship, forming a unique art of killing.
“Haha… Sorry, gentlemen, but I have to leave now!”
With the firepower of just one person, he managed to suppress dozens of opponents. Finally, he threw the money bag into a car and politely turned back to greet.
“Fool!”
Unexpectedly, Wu Ming seemed to hear the police chief nearby mutter this sentence.
His heart immediately tightened, and then he heard a soft sound— puh!
Jack was sitting in the car, about to leave completely, when suddenly the car window shattered, and a large blood hole appeared on his chest!
“A sniper, and from quite a long distance too!”
Wu Ming’s whole body shivered. He knew that if that bullet had been aimed at him, he probably wouldn’t have been able to stop it at all!
“It seems the power this kingdom possesses is even beyond my imagination…”
He murmured, deeply feeling the astonishing power the massive kingdom could mobilize after industrialization!
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