The Chip Was Hidden in...

Number One planted his left foot and lunged in front of Sing Sing, thrusting the five fingers of his left hand three times in quick succession.

He aimed straight for Sing Sing's heart, throat, and the spot between his eyebrows.

Sing Sing retreated with the attack, tossing the severed arm under his armpit to the floor.

He raised his left hand, three throwing knives appearing in his palm.

With a soft thud.

The first knife lodged in the center of Number One's forehead, while the other two pierced his eyes.

His charging body went rigid in an instant, shutting down.

Number One raised his left hand to pull out the knives, but Sing Sing had already darted in front of him.

"Don't pull them out. They look good there—nice and symmetrical!"

The Pig Butchering Knife was raised high and brought down in a single stroke from head to toe.

Number One's body split down the middle, the two halves crashing to the ground and crushing a section of flooring.

Wires, bundles of composite muscle, and reinforced skeletal parts scattered in all directions, while an unidentified green liquid seeped through the cracks.

"Is he... dead?"

Sing Sing crouched down and prodded the tissue still twitching in Number One's chest with the tip of his knife.

"If he isn't dead after that, I'd suggest Stryker switch careers and sell health supplements."

"I've even thought up a slogan for him: 'Still moving after being split in two, and it won't cause internal heat.'"

The corner of Polaris's eye twitched. She wanted to laugh, but felt it would be inappropriate to laugh out loud in a situation like this.

So she held it in. Well, she tried.

Sing Sing turned his head.

"Comrade Lorna, what are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing because your mental state is frighteningly stable."

"Of course."

Sing Sing stood up and brushed the dust off his white suit.

"Back when I sold pork at the market, I had to deal with thirty aunties haggling every day."

"Every one of them said things were hard at home and asked me to throw in a couple of ribs. Now that was a mental attack."

Soft Serve quietly interjected.

"You just cut him up."

"Yeah."

"Aren't you scared?"

Sing Sing thought for a moment.

"I am."

Soft Serve breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally acting a little more normal.

The next second, Sing Sing crouched down and detached Number One's other leg.

"Scared of wasting it. I could take this material back and sell it... I mean, study it."

This man was beyond saving.

Sing Sing took out his phone and snapped several photos of Number One's remains.

Having made a record, he turned to Polaris.

"By the way, that guy said you had a tracking chip in you. Do you remember where it is?"

"They drugged me when I was captured. When I woke up, my whole body hurt. I can't remember."

"You can't remember something that important?"

"I was strapped to an operating table at the time. Did you expect me to write a post-surgery review?"

"All right, all right, don't get worked up."

Sing Sing raised both hands.

"When you get emotional, every water pipe in the building is in danger."

"Keep talking nonsense and I'll twist your belt buckle into an earring!"

Sing Sing covered his waist.

"Calm down. This belt buckle is one of the most expensive accessories I own. I bought it at the wholesale market, and the owner said it had Italian blood."

Soft Serve raised her hand with a question.

"Italian blood?"

Sing Sing nodded solemnly.

"The owner's surname is Li, and his nickname is Da Li."

Polaris really was starting to wonder why she had gone with this man.

But the problem was, this man had just split Number One in two and really did have the ability to get her out of the United States. It left her with complicated feelings.

Sing Sing walked a circle around her.

"Shouldn't you be able to sense the tracker yourself?"

"I'm in pretty bad shape right now."

"All right, then I'll do it."

Sing Sing reached out and grabbed Lorna's wrist.

Polaris's body stiffened.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't move. I'll circulate my qi through you and help you find the foreign object."

"Be serious."

"I'm famous for being serious."

Sing Sing placed two fingers on her wrist, and a warm current of qi slipped into Lorna's body.

Lorna's shoulders tensed. The sensation was strange but painless, with a slight tingling numbness.

It traveled up from her wrist, through her arm and around her shoulders and back, then continued downward.

"Can you hurry up?"

"Don't rush me."

Sing Sing kept his mouth shut, uncharacteristically refraining from wisecracks.

Stryker's tracking chip might have been made with diamagnetic material. Otherwise, Lorna would have sensed it long ago.

Being diamagnetic didn't mean it didn't exist. If there was an extra hard lump in the human body, a sweep of qi would detect the anomaly.

The qi probed downward along her spine, and Polaris's body trembled.

"Stop!"

Sing Sing opened his eyes, a complicated expression on his face.

Lorna's heart sank.

"Where is it?"

Sing Sing coughed.

"Well, the location..."

"Just tell me!"

"On the right."

"The right side of what?"

"Toward the back..."

Sing Sing steeled himself and added,

"Your right buttock."

The room fell silent for three seconds.

Polaris's face went from white to red, then from red to black.

Sing Sing spoke seriously.

"To get it out now, you'll need to take off your pants."

A crisp smack rang out as a hand slapped Sing Sing across the face.

Sing Sing looked thoroughly aggrieved.

"That's medical advice."

"Say that again?"

"I'm sorry. My wording wasn't precise. I should have called it exposing the affected area locally. You can keep your dignity."

Polaris raised her hand, and the broken stand of a nearby desk lamp flew up, its pointed end aimed at Sing Sing.

"I'll make sure you keep your dignity forever right now!"

Soft Serve hurried over to stop her.

"Don't be impulsive! If we don't take the chip out, Stryker will send more people!"

Sing Sing covered his face and muttered under his breath.

"Don't hit the face! I make a living with this face!"

Polaris was furious.

"You make a living with your face?"

"Yeah. Lots of aunties at the market only bought my pork because they thought I looked melancholy."

Soft Serve nearly burst out laughing.

Polaris was so angry that both her hands trembled, but she still had her wits about her. She knew the chip had to come out.

Stryker had already pinpointed her location, and with Number One dead, there would only be major trouble ahead.

Soft Serve suddenly raised her hand.

"I have an idea."

Both of them looked at her at the same time.

"Cover her with a cloth and cut a small hole just where the chip is. Sister Lorna can lie face down with only that little bit exposed."

Sing Sing clapped his hands.

"Great idea!"

Polaris turned and glared at him.

Sing Sing said solemnly,

"I mean, this plan fully embodies humane care and medical protocol. It protects the patient's privacy and deserves a place in the work unit's emergency handbook."

"If you dare peek, I'll weld every zipper on you shut."

Sing Sing turned around and stood facing the wall.

"I swear, I, Ling Ling Qi, have roamed the jianghu for years relying on my personal charm and professional skills. I would never take advantage of a female comrade."

Soft Serve spoke up faintly.

"You just said her legs were suited for working at heights."

"That was for work!"

Two minutes later, Soft Serve rummaged through the bedroom and found an old bedsheet.

Sing Sing pinched one corner.

"How long has it been since this sheet was washed?"

Soft Serve blushed.

"I haven't had money to go to the laundromat lately."

Sing Sing's expression softened.

"It's fine. You're living frugally. Once you join the work unit, the dorm has a washing machine. If you do well, I'll put in a request for a dryer."

Soft Serve froze, hugging the sheet without another word.

Polaris stood in the bedroom doorway, her expression dark.

"If either of you laughs, I'll remember it for the rest of my life."

Sing Sing raised his hand.

"I won't laugh."

Soft Serve nodded in agreement.

"I won't laugh."

Three seconds later, Sing Sing added,

"Unless I can't help it."

"Stephen Chow!"

"I was wrong!"

A few minutes later, the sheet was laid flat and the small hole cut.

Polaris lay face down on the couch, her body completely covered by the cloth, with only a small patch of skin exposed at a certain spot on her right side.

Soft Serve stood to the side, her face flushed red.