Chapter 7

When Li Xiaofeng, clutching the iron ball, roared and charged out, the guards felt somewhat at a loss. Indeed, they had never thought this was an escape attempt; instead, they believed someone had gone completely mad. The plump warden’s face showed a hint of regret, as if to say, "How could such a handsome young man be a lunatic?"

Of course, regret is one thing, but for these old guards, compassion was as insignificant as a sesame seed. So, in the next moment, the warden’s face suddenly turned fierce: "Give this little bastard a good beating! Beat him until his mother doesn’t recognize him!"

The guards immediately responded in unison. In fact, even without the warden’s order, they would have done the same. They would never show mercy to any prisoner who caused them trouble. Li Xiaofeng, in their eyes, was not just troublesome but very troublesome, causing two disturbances on his first day in prison. Who could bear this?

However, even though the guards decided to give Li Xiaofeng a good beating, they didn’t take him seriously. First, Li Xiaofeng himself didn’t seem threatening. He was tall and thin, with no muscle, looking like a well-behaved baby. In short, his appearance was not intimidating. Second, the guards had already beaten him once that morning and believed they understood his fighting ability well, thinking he was just good at talking and had a fighting power of about five.

As the saying goes, a scholar meets soldiers and can’t reason with them. No matter how eloquent you are, in this world, the one with the harder fist is the king. So the guards were completely unprepared for a fight, thinking they could easily deal with Li Xiaofeng. But they forgot the old saying that even a rabbit, when cornered, will bite. Li Xiaofeng was not a rabbit. In terms of real fighting power, even the lowest-level ghost immortal, despite being reincarnated, was not something dozens of ordinary people could handle.

Thus, as soon as the two sides engaged, the guards were immediately in trouble. Even restrained by iron chains and the large iron ball, Li Xiaofeng was incredibly agile. With a swing of the chain and a throw of the ball, he took down a group of them. The guards’ batons hitting him were like striking solid steel plates, and the harder they hit, the greater the recoil. The guards were beaten to the point of crying and screaming, and the warden, a ball of flesh, was kicked to the ground and rolled around like a ball.

From the beginning, the fight was one-sided. The inmates, who had been watching through the iron bars, initially let out cries of surprise. But when Li Xiaofeng threw the last guard, who had tried to sneak up on him from behind, to the ground, the entire prison fell into a dead silence.

How to describe it? Perhaps only the line from "A Chinese Odyssey" by Wu Mengda, "Wife, come out and see God with the Bull Demon King!" could reflect their shock and speechlessness.

Li Xiaofeng shouted to the two people behind him, "Leonardo Grigoryevich, Vasily Semyonovich, what are you waiting for! Come and get the keys, release the comrades, the revolution has just begun!"

Petrovsky and Vasily, flustered, quickly ran out. Petrovsky seemed to want to explain why he hadn’t come to help, but Li Xiaofeng waved his hand and said, "Comrades, time is pressing! No nonsense!"

As the three of them opened the cells one by one, the entire prison seemed to wake from a deep sleep, and a deafening cheer erupted. Everyone tried to make as much noise as possible by banging on the iron doors, windows, and anything else that could produce a loud, piercing sound. At that moment, Li Xiaofeng remembered the night before his graduation, which was so similar to the current situation.

"Comrade Andrei Petrovich, you really surprised me!" Dzerzhinsky’s distinctive hoarse voice interrupted Li Xiaofeng’s thoughts. He asked, "How did you do it?"

Dzerzhinsky seemed to have voiced the thoughts of many. Although many had witnessed Li Xiaofeng’s miracle, it was too dramatic and unbelievable.

The moment to show off had come, and the 2B youth secretly rejoiced. He cleared his throat and, with the calmest, most composed, and most determined voice, said, "The revolutionary ideal has given me infinite fighting spirit. With it, the proletarian revolutionary fighter is invincible!"

Well, his pretentious words were like the advertising slogan for Huiren Kidney Treasure in the future—“He’s good, I’m good.” In short, with his serious expression, the onlookers became confused—were they really saved by this guy?

Just as everyone was deeply confused and couldn’t spit out their frustration, a loud shout pulled them back to reality: "The guards are here! We are surrounded!"

The crowd surged toward the prison gate. In the narrow alley opposite, a dozen armed guards were setting up a Maxim machine gun. Facing this killing machine, even the most optimistic felt hopeless. No one could break through the Maxim’s fire, and they would be riddled with bullets as soon as they stepped out of the prison gate.

The revolutionary spirit, which had been high a moment ago, plummeted to the bottom. A few pessimistic Mensheviks even turned back to their cells, closed the doors, and pretended to be obedient prisoners. Even Dzerzhinsky was frowning, with no solution to the current situation.

"Comrades!" The 2B youth decisively stepped forward. "It’s just a machine gun, what’s there to be afraid of? Revolutionary fighters are fearless. Let’s all—"

"Go to your death!" A voice in the crowd sneered. "Fool, shut your mouth! You’ve caused us all to suffer!"

This comment received many responses. The hero who had just inspired them with cheers and applause was now met with vicious curses. Revolutionaries, like women on their period, were not known for their stability!

"Shameless coward!" Li Xiaofeng stepped out of the crowd and dragged the person who had mocked him, scolding him mercilessly. "You, a pessimist, dare to call yourself a revolutionary? You, a coward, only submit to the enemy’s batons! Haven’t you heard that it’s better to die for freedom than to live as a slave? If you like to live a miserable life and lick the tsar’s ass, go back to your cell. The revolution doesn’t need you!"

His words were impressive, but their effect was minimal. Even the most idealistic dreamers wouldn’t think they could succeed in the current situation.

The man retorted, "Alright! You are a fearless revolutionary. So, fearless young man, why don’t you lead the charge first? Or are you just all talk?"

Li Xiaofeng was furious. "Of course, I’ll lead the charge. Do you think everyone is as spineless as you?" He extended his hand and ordered, "Give me a weapon!"

Petrovsky was taken aback. "What weapon?"

Li Xiaofeng glared at him and said, "A baton!"

The man who had mocked Li Xiaofeng burst into laughter. "Comrades, did you hear that? This fool wants to fight the enemy’s machine gun with a stick! This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Are you going to go crazy with him?"

Li Xiaofeng struck the man with the baton, spitting, "Shut your dirty mouth. If you’re not brave enough to join the revolution, get out. You, with a machine gun in your hand, would only raise a white flag. I have only a stick, but this stick can easily shatter the darkness that shrouds Russia! If you don’t believe me, just watch!"

With that, Li Xiaofeng strode out of the prison gate. Dzerzhinsky, who had not expected Li Xiaofeng to follow through, reached out but only grabbed air.

Years later, when Dzerzhinsky recalled the scene, he was still deeply moved: "My first impression of Comrade Andrei Petrovich was not very good. His poor speech did nothing to boost morale. Everyone thought he was a fraud, and no one believed he would be the first to charge out. So when he appeared at the gate in a posture that could be called suicidal, not only were we stunned, but the enemy was also taken aback. When he charged with his crude weapon, even the enemy forgot to shoot. It took them three seconds to react, and they started firing wildly at Comrade Andrei Petrovich..."

Recalling this, Dzerzhinsky seemed to fall into a strange mood, as if even he couldn’t believe what he remembered: "Facing the hail of bullets, Comrade Andrei Petrovich advanced calmly. Yes, calmly. He showed no panic, full of confidence, and made no attempt to dodge, as if he was certain he wouldn’t be hit... But I don’t know where this confidence came from. Especially when the Maxim started firing, bullets flew everywhere, and several inmates who were too stunned to move were hit. But in the area of the most concentrated fire, Comrade Andrei Petrovich was unscathed! I don’t want to believe it was a miracle, but even as a complete atheist, I had to admit that if there is a God, Comrade Andrei Petrovich must be his illegitimate son..."

Li Xiaofeng would never admit any connection to God. He wasn’t lucky or favored by the divine; it was all due to his immortal powers. With his current strength, although he couldn’t catch or block bullets with his bare hands, he could interfere with the shooters. So, the enemy’s fire, which seemed fierce, was like the rebels in the Arab Spring, where guns, machine guns, and cannons were mostly just for show. For them, war was a form of pure performance art.

So when Li Xiaofeng, waving the baton, charged at the guards, these performance artists were completely terrified. They forgot their numerical advantage, dropped their weapons, and scattered like animals, as if they had seen demons from hell.

To be honest, the 2B youth was very dissatisfied with the guards’ performance. He had used a lot of immortal power to highlight his heroic image, and now, without an opponent, how could he show his bravery and wisdom? It was quite disappointing.

Of course, the 2B youth would never know that his actions had left a deep impression on Dzerzhinsky. In his memoirs, he wrote: "The uprising at the Peter and Paul Fortress had profound historical significance in the February Revolution. A group of unarmed political prisoners dealt a fatal blow to the reactionary rule under the most difficult conditions, sounding the death knell for the feudal rule of Russia. Future generations widely believed this was the result of collective power. But I must say, this is incorrect. The victory of the uprising should be entirely attributed to the brave Comrade Andrei Petrovich. When no one, including myself, believed in the success of the uprising, it was his fearless courage and extraordinary action that opened the door to victory. Without him, the uprising would have been impossible!"

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