A month later.
A rainy night.
Thunder rumbled, and whenever lightning flashed, it brought the only illumination to this villa on the outskirts.
The lawn outside the villa was strewn with bodies. Most of their limbs were twisted and bent at grotesque angles.
Some lay motionless on the ground. More were in unbearable pain, yet kept their eyes tightly shut and their lips pressed together, their jaw muscles bulging and bodies trembling slightly as hot tears spilling from the corners of their eyes were instantly washed away by the rain.
Beyond the lawn, the villa's front door stood open, a deep footprint stamped into the solid wooden door.
The scene inside was no better than outside.
Bodies lay scattered from the entrance all the way to the living room and staircase.
A series of thuds suddenly rang out as a figure rolled down from the second floor and landed right on top of someone.
The person beneath had been lying still, but now raised both hands and shoved the other aside. Seeing that the one who had rolled down was already unconscious, he jumped in fright and hurriedly closed his eyes.
Upstairs fell silent once more.
Thunder roared, the rain intensified, and raindrops crackled against the windows.
Bedroom.
With a snap, the lights came on, driving away the darkness.
A man was curled up barefoot beside the bed, wrapped in a bathrobe. His wet hair was still covered in foam. He looked to be in his thirties, with fair skin and a high nose bridge.
Hong Fei stood in the doorway, dressed in a plain black outfit without any markings or decoration. A brightly colored Great Sage mask covered his face, making him look almost cute at first glance. He stood as straight as a spear, traces of blood on the knuckles of his hands, while streaks of crimson light churned in his dark brown eyes behind the mask.
The moment Hong Fei took a step forward, the man by the bed widened his eyes, his pupils shrinking. He scrambled backward on hands and feet, shouting, "Don't kill me! I'll give you whatever you want! I have money, cash, gold! My merchandise is all in the warehouse—I can give it all to you!"
With a bang, the back of his head struck the wall, and pain immediately twisted his face. Yet he had no time to cry out, continuing to beg without pause.
"I really have money! There are hundreds of thousands of dollars in my house, and more than ten pounds of gold!"
Seeing that Hong Fei remained unmoved, he hurriedly got to his feet, turned around, threw the pillows and bedding off the bed, then swiftly lifted the mattress.
At once, glittering gold and green stacks of U.S. dollars came into view.
He pointed at the valuables with both hands. "Look, I wasn't lying! You can have all of this! If it isn't enough, I have more! I can go get it! However much you want, I'll give it to you!"
Hong Fei stopped, his gaze involuntarily falling upon the gold.
Though it was not worth as much as the Afghanistan operation, rows of gold spread out beneath the bed glittered brilliantly under the lights. It was certainly eye-catching.
At that moment, the man in the bathrobe abruptly thrust his right hand into a lush potted plant beside the bed. When he pulled it back out, a pistol was already in his hand.
A savage, delighted smile appeared on his face. The black muzzle aimed at Hong Fei, his index finger settling on the trigger.
Hong Fei instantly snapped back to his senses and turned his head. Facing the gun, intense crimson light surged from the depths of his dark brown eyes.
The instant his eyes turned deep red, the sound of thunder and rain vanished from his ears.
In the black-and-white world, the opponent's pull of the trigger unfolded with extreme slowness. Hong Fei even had time to glance at the man's smug smile and triumphant eyes.
A spark burst from the dark gun barrel. The golden bullet spun as it flew out, instantly tearing through the air, followed by an almost imperceptible ripple.
Hong Fei pivoted his foot and tilted his body to one side.
He watched the bullet graze past his cheek, its tremendous kinetic force tearing a tiny crack into the mask.
Before the man could pull the trigger again, Hong Fei kicked off the ground in rapid succession. His speed suddenly surged, an afterimage flashing through the room as he arrived before the man in the blink of an eye.
His fingers came together, his palm becoming a blade that struck the man's throat amid a piercing howl of wind.
The palm blade crushed his Adam's apple, driving his trachea and esophagus forward. From the side, the advancing palm blade nearly touched his cervical spine.
In an instant, the man's eyes bulged, his mouth gaped wide, and after a scarlet line of blood sprayed out, his long tongue dangled limply over his lips.
Hong Fei withdrew his hand and let the body slide down the wall like a lump of mud.
BOOM!
A violent flash of lightning turned heaven and earth bright as day for an instant, followed by thunder exploding through the clouds.
Not long after, Hong Fei came down the stairs carrying a heavy cloth sack. The pattern on its surface looked oddly similar to the bedsheets in the bedroom.
He strode away without avoiding anyone. When he occasionally stepped on someone's fingers or other body parts, they instinctively wanted to scream, only to force it back down at once, their faces quickly flushing red.
Even after the dark figure vanished into the distant forest beyond the villa, none of them dared move.
The estate.
A black motorcycle sped through the rainy night, never slowing on the winding mountain road.
Hearing the engine, Number One hurriedly opened the gate. Seconds later, the motorcycle flashed past him.
It raced down the straight road before coming to a stylish drifting stop before the main house. Water sprayed high from the rear wheel, splashing all over Frank.
Frank could not dodge in time and raised a hand before his face, but the spray found its way through every gap and struck his cheeks.
"Are you crazy? Riding that fast—you'll get yourself killed!"
The motorcycle engine died. Hong Fei dragged the heavy cloth sack behind him and headed into the house.
Once inside, dripping water streaked the gleaming floor behind him. He tossed the sack into an empty spot, took off his helmet with both hands, then pointed at the bag and smiled. "Open it. A pleasant surprise."
Frank refused to step forward. "Don't tell me you kidnapped someone again?"
"Haha, how could that be? It doesn't even look like a person. Go on, take a look."
Only then did Frank move. After untying the sack, the loose, wet bills on top immediately made his brow twitch.
As Hong Fei removed his wet jacket, he said, "Dig through it. There's another surprise underneath."
Frank did as he said and soon caught sight of the gold in the middle.
Compared to cash, people clearly preferred this glittering gold.
Before long, the cash and gold were divided into two portions. Frank stood and said, "I thought you only went to kill someone."
Hong Fei nodded. "Of course. That was the main objective. I told you, this was a pleasant surprise."
"Is he dead?"
"What a pointless question." Hong Fei stepped forward, picked up a gold bar, and weighed it in his hand. "Sleeping with so much gold spread beneath his bed—wasn't he worried it would be uncomfortable?"
Frank shook his head. "I bet he had even more money in his bank accounts. I really thought you would bring him back."
"Hmph, he was just a second-generation black gangster. He wasn't worth bringing back. I left some clues connected to The Hand. The rest is up to you."
The man Hong Fei had killed was the son of a Russian Mafia boss, as well as his designated successor.
The purpose was to deliberately provoke conflict between The Hand and the Mafia.
Frank said, "He arrived just this evening, and you killed him already. Aren't you afraid of disrupting the plan?"
"Plans are dead. From the information, he wasn't as vicious as most Mafia members, but he was always smart. Whether it was school, politics, or gang operations, he excelled at all of it. For a smart gangster like that, you have to snuff him out early. As for whether his father believes The Hand did it, that's beyond our control. With plans, you do what you can and leave the rest to fate."
"You believe in fate?"
"No. I only believe that man can conquer nature!"
Hong Fei stood up and asked, "By the way, how's Bullseye?"
At the mention of Bullseye, Frank's expression immediately turned strange. Uncertainly, he said, "I don't know. He seems close to going insane. How much longer are you going to keep him locked up?"
Hong Fei tossed down the gold bar and stood there in thought for a moment. "A month should be enough. I'll send him away tomorrow."
Thanks to "Autumn Wind Sweeping Away the Clouds" for 500 points, "The World Kissed Me With Pain" for 5,000 points, and "JYOIKAI" for 5,000 points in donations!
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