Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 163 - 149 What Is Just One Step Away

Chapter 163: Chapter 149 What Is Just One Step Away

The night was thick, and the lights in the nursing home’s building were blazing.

In the corridor on the third floor, the fourth brother had his underling tie up Zhao Kai’s hands and feet, and then he led him towards the staircase.

Throughout the entire sequence, no one came out to check, even though several people on that floor had been awakened.

The fourth brother had no intention of making any extraneous moves, his only target was retaliation against Zhao Kai. As long as others didn’t cross his gun’s path, he wouldn’t go out of his way to kill anyone.

Wu Li listened to the noises outside from within the room, hearing the sound of a body being dragged.

"Two people are dragging one person away," Wu Li judged in his mind.

He approached the door, opened the already shattered wooden door, peered outside quickly, and indeed saw a man facing him, both hands dragging what seemed to be an unconscious Zhao Kai, with another person ahead, both of them armed with guns.

"About five meters, if I burst out suddenly, I could instantly reach Zhao Kai’s side, take down one, but there would still be another person. The corridor is too narrow, no room to change direction, no place to hide..."

Wu Li’s thoughts spun rapidly, judging whether he could resolve the situation by attacking now, and concluded: If there were only one person, he was confident he could pounce that five-meter distance with a "Tiger Form" and take down the enemy. However, with two people, two guns—even if he killed one, the other would have enough time to shoot. In the narrow corridor, even if he could react, he couldn’t hide.

"If they just wanted to kill, one shot to end Zhao Kai’s life would suffice; there’s no need to drag Zhao Kai around. So, Zhao Kai’s life shouldn’t be in danger for the time being, I still have a chance!"

Wu Li made up his mind and listened intently to the noises outside.

From the beginning to the end, he never thought about staying out of the matter.

After waiting a few seconds and hearing the sound of the other party starting to descend the stairs, Wu Li peeked out and saw that the corridor was empty of their presence.

He looked left and right, stepped out of the room, and quickly headed towards the staircase.

At this moment, the door to a room in the middle of the corridor suddenly opened; it was the director from the "Seeking Martial Arts" program team.

"Wu Li, what are you doing?" he whispered to stop Wu Li.

Through the peephole in the door, he had seen the two people outside with guns and Zhao Kai being dragged on the ground, immediately guessing that this must be drug dealers coming for revenge, so frightened that he hardly dared to breathe.

Even after hearing the sound of the other party heading downstairs, the director didn’t dare to open the door until he saw Wu Li passing by his room.

"Get in here!" The director waved at Wu Li, his face filled with urgency.

Wu Li shook his head: "I’ll go have a look."

"Have you lost your mind? They’ve got guns!" The director looked incredulous, and also quite irritated.

The "Seeking Martial Arts" program owes its success almost entirely to Wu Li; it’s no exaggeration to say that whether the director could get a promotion, a raise, and reach the pinnacle of his life in his later years depended entirely on Wu Li. That’s why when he saw Wu Li passing by, he immediately opened the door and called out—had it been anyone else, he certainly wouldn’t have.

"The police have been alerted, Master Wu, please don’t be rash."

Another door nearby opened, and a staff member from the program team spoke in a low voice.

All the program team members were staying on the third floor.

"We’re in the suburbs, help won’t arrive in time, stay hidden," Wu Li explained briefly, said no more, and, without turning his head, rushed towards the staircase.

"Wu Li!" the director called after him in a low voice, but Wu Li did not respond.

The director watched Wu Li’s retreating back with mixed feelings.

Earlier that night at the dinner table, Zhao Kai had said so much, and along with him, everyone from the program team had been deeply moved, and had felt a genuine respect for someone like Zhao Kai. But when real danger approached, he was not brave enough to step forward.

Neither the ability nor the courage was there.

"Wu brother, why do you practice martial arts?"

The director recalled Zhao Kai’s question to Wu Li at the dinner table.

At the time, Wu Li had answered, "I practice martial arts so that in certain situations, I can take one step forward, just one step."

The others present at the time, except for Zhao Kai who seemed contemplative, had not really understood Wu Li’s words, and Wu Li had not elaborated further.

Only now, as the director watched Wu Li’s disappearing back, did he truly understand what it meant to "take one step forward."

"Just one step? He’s risking his life for this step..." the director murmured to himself.

Then, gritting his teeth, he too stepped out of his room, but instead of following Wu Li, he knocked on the door of the photographer next door.

...

The fourth brother and his underling brought Zhao Kai to the lobby on the first floor, asked the underling to turn on the lights, and then tossed Zhao Kai onto the ground.

"You stay here, shoot anyone who comes down!" the fourth brother instructed his underling.

The person in the room opposite Zhao Kai earlier was somewhat strange—capable of kicking through a wooden door and letting out such a loud roar—clearly not an ordinary person.

The other party had hidden in the room and had not come out, and he did not want to risk sending the underling in to probe; if another incident occurred and they were left shorthanded, it was just easier to move to the first-floor lobby instead.

There was only one staircase for this building; as long as that was guarded, delaying for a while was not a problem.

"That room opposite 307 just now might also contain a cop, keep a close watch," the fourth brother told his underling.

The underling, startled, nodded vigorously: "Understood!"

Then he turned to stare intently in the direction of the staircase.

Horse dragged Zhao Kai toward the direction of the main door, away from the stairwell entrance.

Even if the person upstairs really rushed down, he would have time to react, and with a hostage in hand and close to the main door, it would be convenient to leave.

Like him, a desperado, before doing anything, always made sure to have an escape plan.

As for the life and death of his underlings, wasn’t bringing them along for the purpose of doing his dirty work and acting as human shields?

Next, he just needed Lao Liu and the man with glasses to bring Zhao Kai’s master over, then he could make his move.

At this moment, the unconscious Zhao Kai slowly regained consciousness, struggled a bit, then looked at Horse who was sitting.

"Who are you?"

Hearing the question, Horse grinned sinisterly, "You don’t recognize me?"

Zhao Kai remained silent.

Horse nodded, took a photo out of his chest pocket, crouched down, and placed the photo in front of Zhao Kai.

"Look, do you recognize him?"

Zhao Kai squinted his eyes, looked at the man in the photo, "I don’t recognize him."

Horse’s expression hardened, he grabbed Zhao Kai’s collar in a single motion, "You dare say you don’t recognize him?"

"This is my own brother! A year ago, it was you who captured him!" he roared.

Zhao Kai struggled and said, "I have captured too many scumbags like you to remember each one, do you think you’re even worthy of my memory?"

Hearing this, Horse was furious and clutched Zhao Kai’s throat tightly, "Don’t worry, after tonight, I guarantee that even if you go to hell, you will remember me well!"

Zhao Kai’s face turned red, his breathing became difficult, but his eyes still displayed disdain.

Horse knew his adversary was a tough nut to crack, neither verbal insults nor torture would make him submit. To deal with such a person, he wanted him to feel pain and despair from within!

"My men are off to tie up your master now, soon you and your master will be reunited." Horse sat back down in his chair and sneered at Zhao Kai.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhao Kai’s expression changed, and his eyes filled with rage, "Beast!"

"Hahaha!" Horse laughed heartily, feeling satisfied that kidnapping the other’s master was the right move. Otherwise, even if he tortured and killed his opponent tonight, it would have been hard to completely relieve his hatred.

Just thinking about Zhao Kai helplessly watching his most respected master being killed soon, with that look of despair, made Horse feel exhilarated and greatly satisfied!

Meanwhile, as Horse was talking to Zhao Kai, Wu Li was sneaking along the walls, quietly making his way to the corner of the first-floor stairs.

He was crouching low to the ground, took out his mobile phone, adjusted the camera, and started to probe out little by little, sticking close to the ground.

The screen of the mobile phone showed the scene: one thug was standing guard at the stairwell with a gun, about five or six steps from the first stair. Zhao Kai and another thug weren’t visible, but their conversation could be heard.

Wu Li noticed that although the guard at the stairwell was always watching in their direction, his attention was clearly diverted by Horse and Zhao Kai’s conversation, his gaze wandering.

Just then, a vibrating sound from a mobile phone was heard, followed by Horse answering a call. Through the sound, Wu Li roughly judged Horse’s location.

"Is it done?"

"What did you say?!"

Horse’s shocked and angry voice came through, and the younger brother guarding the stairwell instinctively turned his head to look over.

Opportunity!

Wu Li’s eyes lit up, he pushed off the ground with all four limbs and sprung forward.

The first floor’s dining area had many tables and chairs for cover, so Wu Li decided not to wait any longer.

He had also heard Horse mention sending people to kidnap Old Master Li. If Old Master Li were just an ordinary old man, it wouldn’t be such a worry, but Old Master Li was a Martial Artist, and with his temperament, he would certainly not go down without a fight. Thus, a conflict was inevitable.

Old Master Li was over seventy years old, and these thugs had guns and the element of surprise on their side. Wu Li couldn’t wait a moment longer; with every second that passed, Old Master Li’s danger increased.

Swish! Wu Li exerted force in all four limbs, and his body sprang forward. With his left hand grabbing the stair railing, he pulled his body forward with great force, and then pushed off with his feet, landing on the stair.

Bang! Like the heavy stamp of a horse’s hoof on the ground, Wu Li leapt over seven steps in one stride and landed on the ground.

Hearing the sound of Wu Li’s Horse Form striking the ground, the younger brother guarding the stairwell immediately turned around and, seeing Wu Li already charging down the stairs, widened his eyes and lifted his gun to shoot.

Wu Li also took the second step, his sneakers squeaking against the wooden floor with a piercing friction sound.

Zip! In the blink of an eye, he covered the five-step distance, raised his hand to parry the other’s arm holding the gun, then threw a punch at the thug’s head.

Tiger Hugging Head!

Bang! The punch landed, Wu Li heard the sound of breaking bones but didn’t stop. He continued to lunge forward, tackling the thug in front, and both of them crashed onto the dining table behind.

The dining table tilted under their weight, and simultaneously, a gunshot rang out. Where Wu Li had just stood, the floor now had a bullet hole.

Wu Li, pinning the thug down, swiftly delivered another punch to the thug’s throat, breaking his windpipe. Then he hunched his body, positioned with all four limbs on the ground, and like a cat, he darted out.

Bang bang bang!

As Wu Li left, gunfire followed in rapid succession, and wood chips flew.

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