Plan

"Completely eliminate Unit 701?"

Yang Chu didn't answer Xu Xi's question right away. Instead, he stared at Xu Xi and said, "Aren't you curious about the secret I'm hiding?"

"No need."

Meeting Yang Chu's gaze, Xu Xi shook his head. "Everyone has a past. I'm telling you all this because you're already on Unit 701's kill list. There's no point hiding anything from you now."

"What about your female student?" Yang Chu asked, suddenly teasing him.

"She had no other choice."

Xu Xi fell silent for a moment, then said, "I'll take care of her."

Seeing Xu Xi say this, Yang Chu smiled. "All right. I agree."

Yang Chu was actually indifferent to Unit 701. But Xu Xi was right: a terrifying organization had set its sights on him. If possible, it was best to put an end to things once and for all.

"So when do you want to make your move?" Yang Chu asked Xu Xi.

"We can't find them right now." Xu Xi shook his head. "Unit 701's people are all professionally trained. If they conceal their tracks, no one else will be able to find them. But I've already had Ruolan pass a message to their captain, Xiong Ju. He'll come looking for me."

"Then I'll wait to hear from you."

Yang Chu nodded, then suddenly added, "By the way, a lot of drug lords on Hong Kong Island have been taken out lately. If I'm not mistaken, it was the people from Unit 701 you mentioned."

"Drug lords taken out?"

Xu Xi seemed to realize something. He turned to the workbench and rummaged through several old newspapers.

"...According to this newspaper, on July 13, a strange case of someone jumping to his death occurred at a nightclub in Sai Kung. The nightclub's owner, Fang Jide, jumped to his death..."

"...On July 15, a massacre took place at a food-processing plant in Tsuen Wan. More than ten people were brutally murdered. Tsuen Wan police said the victims had complicated social backgrounds and that revenge could not be ruled out..."

"On July 20, a fat man was having tea at a teahouse in Sha Tin when someone poisoned him. He died on the spot. The man's full name was Zhou Wentong, and he was reportedly a senior member of a gang..."

Xu Xi had marked each of the recent murder reports that had appeared in the newspapers.

"Old Ghost De, Dao You Cheng, Fatty Tong... I'd looked into these people before. They were all drug lords on Hong Kong Island, just as you said."

Xu Xi suddenly looked up at Yang Chu. "I didn't think there was anything suspicious about their deaths before. After all, they were scum. But now it seems Unit 701 was behind every one of them. I think I know what Unit 701 is trying to do."

"Oh?" Yang Chu listened to Xu Xi's analysis with interest, waiting for him to continue.

"They're probably trying to take over the entire drug market on Hong Kong Island."

Xu Xi found a map of Hong Kong Island and some other documents on a nearby workbench. "Hong Kong Island is East Asia's most open free market. It has plenty of channels connecting the Golden Triangle's production centers to the sales markets in Japan and South Korea, as well as to Europe, the Americas, and South America. Ever since Unit 701 fled from the north, its biggest problems have been a lack of capital and a place where it can establish a lasting foothold."

Yang Chu wasn't particularly interested in what Xu Xi was saying. He remembered something else and said, "The time I crossed paths with Unit 701 was when they'd sent people to deal with a drug lord's underlings. Oh, and one of them was an ethnic Mongolian man who used a small knife to cut off someone's face."

"They were trying to disguise themselves and impersonate other people. Of the many skills Unit 701 trained in, disguise was one. The ethnic Mongolian man you mentioned must have been Arslan. He's an expert wrestler and a skilled skinner."

As he looked through the newspaper reports, Xu Xi continued, "Unit 701 isn't an ordinary military unit. Its methods aren't what most people would expect. When its members escaped, they also took a lot of advanced technology that was still in the experimental stage back in the Soviet era. If they're planning to take over the drug market on Hong Kong Island, there must be plenty of clues I've overlooked. And taking over the market probably isn't the whole of their plan."

After hearing Xu Xi out, Yang Chu had a clearer understanding of Unit 701. It wasn't an army in the conventional sense. Its members were soldiers and assassins, and likely spies and secret agents as well.

Watching Xu Xi study everything with complete focus, Yang Chu said nothing more. To him, this was the real Xu Xi: sharp-minded, analytical, and possessing a true nature usually hidden behind his shy smile.

He picked up a few newspapers and leafed through them. In some of their small side columns, he found a familiar name.

Black Mask.

There was no doubt these were all papers Xu Xi had collected himself.

He skimmed through them and realized that Black Mask wasn't a name Xu Xi had come up with. It was what several newspapers called him.

Glancing at the dates, Yang Chu saw that the oldest article was from three years ago. He read it quickly. It said that after the demolition of Kowloon Walled City, the police had arrested a large number of people suspected of various crimes, but many others had still slipped away, harming public safety on Hong Kong Island.

Even then, a mysterious masked man had appeared in the streets and alleys at midnight, going after various criminals.

Yang Chu thought that was a more plausible account. A modified soldier who had once held on to his beliefs and hadn't fallen into depravity would keep fighting for justice in the darkness in his own way.

"Take your time looking into it. I'm heading out. Let me know if you hear anything."

After looking through the newspapers, Yang Chu said goodbye to Xu Xi and left.

He didn't bother thinking more deeply about Unit 701's plans. After everything he'd been through, he understood himself a little better: deep thought consumed a tremendous amount of energy, and even the amount he ate now sometimes didn't seem enough.

Leaving Xu Xi's secret hideout, Yang Chu crossed the abandoned old industrial district in Kwun Tong and headed back along Wang Chiu Road.

It was already a little past one in the afternoon. Near the intersection of Boundary Street and Wang Chiu Road, Yang Chu stopped at a small restaurant and had lunch.

After that meal of fried noodles with Xu Xi, he'd started keeping a tighter rein on what he spent on food. He no longer bought food that was all show and no substance. After all, taste didn't matter much to him. As long as he got enough calories and nutrition, that was all he needed.

Two dishes, a soup, and seven large bowls of rice: 150 Hong Kong dollars.

After paying the bill, Yang Chu didn't head back to Po On Road Public Library in Sham Shui Po to read, nor did he return to Fish Head Xu's home. He worked out the distance and realized he wasn't far from Fu Shan Road. He figured he might as well drop by the film set to see Fish Head Xu.

Xiahou Wu had called that morning to say there'd be a fight that evening. The invitation was naturally for Yang Chu, but since Xiahou Wu had gotten Fish Head Xu's number from him last time, Yang Chu thought he should let Fish Head Xu know.

Besides, it wasn't that far out of his way. There was no harm in taking a look.

He walked as usual, not quickly, keeping his stride almost exactly the same with every step and engaging as many of the muscles involved in walking as possible.

Yang Chu had deliberately developed this way of walking based on his own condition and his understanding of the body's muscles and bones. He'd adjusted it again and again over time. The same went for his heartbeat, breathing, and internal metabolic processes.

That was why Xu Xi had said that Yang Chu's heartbeat, breathing, and gait were different every time they met.

After a little over half an hour, Yang Chu reached the hillside on Fu Shan Road, where buildings crowded together.

Before he even entered the lot, Yang Chu could see the No Face crew loading equipment and props into several small trucks. It looked as if they were about to head out to shoot on location.