Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
“No way!”
The man by the bed suddenly raised his head.
He Andong looked him in the eye, his gaze as calm and cool as a tiger’s.
The man’s Adam’s apple trembled. He said, “Dong, you said before we wouldn’t leave Jin behind…”
“And you all promised to listen to all my instructions.”
The man looked up. The veins in his neck were popping out.
“Listen to you? Listen to you tell us to abandon our brother? We put our lives in your hands! This is how you treat your own brothers?”
He Andong suddenly drew his gun and pointed it at the man’s forehead. His eyes were blood red.
Gao Cheng stepped forward in surprise.
“If I, He Andong, wanted to abandon my brothers, I wouldn’t have come back! I’ll say this one last time, go!”
“Dong, no.”
“Shoot me! Kill me so you can swallow up my share too!”
“You shut the f*ck up!”
“Now our money is gone, our lives are gone, what’s left? Just a few scraps of paper!”
The man shouted at the top of his lungs and swept all of the briefcases off the table. Shiny gold Hong Kong dollars scattered across the ground, along with two pieces of rice paper with gold foil illustrations.
“I said, shut the f*ck up!”
Gao Cheng was fuming, too.
Crack.
Compared to the sounds of people shouting in rage, this crisp sound was almost unnoticeable. However, it caused a chill to creep into He Andong’s heart…
Long, slender fingers moved silently without warning. In a quick, fluid motion, they grabbed a surgical knife and stabbed it into the neck of Gao Cheng.
The situation had changed!
A spurt of blood shot out like an arrow, dyeing the cracked concrete walls red.
He Andong turned around blankly.
Gao Cheng’s face was painted in disbelief. His already dwindling body temperature was quickly flowing away with the blood that streamed from him. Behind him was the pale and skinny face of that man.
“Dong… Brother Dong.”
For a second, He Andong was in a daze.
Just what kind of person did I bring back?
Li Yan’s left thumb had been forcefully broken by his own hand, looking deformed. Around his wrist was a messy bundle of rope. The surgical knife in his right hand was mostly extracted from Gao Cheng’s neck as he hid himself behind the body.
He Andong instinctively raised his hand.
The man by the bed also drew his gun from his waist in a flash, his eyes bloodshot.
“Cheng!”
“If I pull out the knife, he’ll die immediately.”
“If you pull it out, you’ll die!”
“Step back!”
The four of them were standing in a triangle. The blood flowed from Li Yan’s wrist and dripped onto the ground covered in bank notes. It was a rather ironic sight.
He Andong tried to charge Li Yan, but Li Yan dragged Gao Cheng back by the neck, the surgical knife in his hand going deeper again.
Specks of dust danced, illuminated under the dim light. The men were breathing heavier and heavier.
“Who are you?”
“If you let him go, I’ll let you go.”
“Are you joking with me?”
Li Yan stepped back slowly. The other two shifted to the side, one going left and the other going right, like two predators circling on their prey.
“Let go of Cheng!”
“Move again and I’ll pull out the knife.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Shoot me then.”
The banter went back and forth between them, each of them speaking faster and faster. He Andong thought of raising his hand to shoot a few times, but every time Li Yan would suddenly stop and twist the knife in Gao Cheng’s neck.
“Throw down your guns and I’ll let him go.”
“In your dreams.”
“When the police come we’re all dead, so we might as well go down together.”
“Do it then!”
“Do it!”
“DO IT!”
Each roar was louder than the next. With every step Li Yan retreated, He Andong raised his pistol higher. Each time He Andong raised his pistol, Li Yan tightened his grip on the knife.
The three of them paced around each other, stepping over the blood and money on the floor. As they moved, the table was knocked over, scattering the various surgical equipment with loud clinking sounds.
On the bed, Jin gripped on to the sheets, his bloodless face looking worse by the minute.
He Andong’s gaze was cold, so cold it was impossible to tell whether or not he would shoot Li Yan through Gao Cheng at any moment. But the look in Li Yan’s eyes was obscure and unreadable, as though clouded by a layer of dust, or rather like an old, deep well.
They were like two pythons fighting over prey, uneasy in each other’s presence, but also unable to let go of the feast in front of them.
“Alright. Today I, He Andong, concede. I’ll count to three, and the two of us will throw down our guns and you’ll let go of Cheng. How about that?”
“Alright.”
Li Yan agreed immediately.
“One!”
Li Yan toes inched forward slightly, like little hooks.
“Two!”
The man by the bed glanced at Li Yan, then at He Andong, and then back at Li Yan, his expression nervous.
“Three!”
The man gritted his teeth and threw away his Type 54. He Andong rushed towards Li Yan, throwing his pistol forward.
That’s right. He threw it forward…
Doubling over, he did a forward roll, moving as though he had practiced the motion countless times. By the time the pistol landed on the ground, He Andong had already reached it. Quick as lightning, he grabbed the gun!
Raise! Aim!
In front of him was Gao Cheng, stumbling after being pushed by Li Yan. His gun was aimed right at the now hostage-less Li Yan!
Gao Cheng’s eyes were already lifeless. The blood from his neck spurted out like a fountain.
Li Yan had pulled out the knife!
“You!” He Andong roared. His finger cocked the trigger.
A flash of silver stabbed into his wrist. Recoiling in pain, the pistol dropped to the ground!
It was a broken piece of surgical knife. When the table was knocked over during their standoff, Li Yan had secretly kept it under his foot.
Li Yan kicked off and charged forward like a ravenous tiger. He sent the gun flying with a sweep. He kicked He Andong’s throat with his right foot and sent him flying backwards, spewing blood into the air. Then he leapt like a tiger towards the other man who was bending over to reach for his gun.
A vicious roundhouse kick cracked against his abdomen! The moment Li Yan’s right foot landed on the ground, he performed a sweep, causing the man writhing in pain to fall to his knees. Li Yan’s left arm shot out like a snake, wrapping around his head and pulling it back as he drew a bloody gash across the man’s neck. Blood gushed out.
Thud.
Li Yan let go of his limp body. He turned around, expressionless, and charged towards He Andong. The knife in his hand was covered in fresh blood.
Suddenly, Li Yan felt something around his waist. Jin, who had been lying on the bed, had wrapped his arms around Li Yan.
“Dong, run!”
It all felt like a nightmare. This tall, thin man that Dong captured had suddenly transformed from a man into a demon, turning the cramped little clinic into some sort of hell.
Without any thought, Li Yan turned around and performed a backhand stab aimed at Jin’s temple. Blood stained the whole of Li Yan’s sleeve.
Even as Jin was dead, his arms were still wrapped tight around Li Yan.
In the meantime, He Andong crawled to his feet but did not flee. He was going for the pistol!
“F*ck!”
Li Yan saw red, but his left hand was not fully functional. He stabbed again and again into Jin’s head, soaking the bed almost entirely with blood.
He Andong’s mouth dripped with blood. He rushed towards the Type 54 in front of him like a beast, not caring about anything else.
I’ll rest when I die!
Both of their eyes filled with vicious bloodlust. Everything they saw was colored red.
Got it!
“AHHHHH!”
He Andong turned around and raised his gun, but Li Yan was already in front of him, with his surgical knife coming straight down!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
…
“Let me repeat once more: this gang of mainland thugs is ruthless. If any of them try to resist or escape, fire immediately, and, if necessary, go for the kill. Is that understood?”
Oppressive black riot shields pressed ahead. The large tactical unit surrounded the entire apartment, advancing bit by bit. Fifty-six-year-old Li Yaoguang followed the two officers from the tactical unit, charging in through the door with MP5K submachine guns in their hands.
Blood and dollar bills littered the floor. There were four corpses lying around, and a tall and skinny man was looking at Li Yaoguang. His smart suit and face were covered in blood and his hand was outstretched, reaching over to shut He Andong’s eyes…
“Hands on your head! Stand up slowly!”
Li Yaoguang roared.
Li Yan, who had been doubled over, slowly stood up as instructed. A gradually settling black ripple swam in front of his eyes.
“Current activation of ‘A Strong Impression’ has lasted nine minutes and forty-three seconds. No insights available on the target’s weaknesses. Five Yanfu Points have been expended.”
“You have removed your lock on the target.”
“The target is deceased.”