Take His Life

He rubbed his nose and gave a dry laugh without saying anything.

Shi Jiao spoke directly to Jiang Qiao. "There aren't that many rules here. Relax."

Jiang Qiao nodded. "Hello, sis."

"Such a good boy," Shi Jiao praised.

She picked up the insulated box and waved Jiang Qiao over. "You came at just the right time today. Come see the results of my work."

Jiang Qiao looked at the insulated box and slowly walked over.

Just as he braced himself to see a pile of hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, kidneys, or other parts removed from human bodies inside—

He froze.

Inside the insulated box were two fluffy little lion cubs.

"Aren't they adorable? Alice had a difficult birth. I spent the entire morning saving these two little darlings," Shi Jiao said with a smile.

Jiang Qiao was speechless. He looked at Alice, covered on the operating table. "Is she dead?"

Shi Jiao shook her head. "She's anesthetized. She had a C-section and will probably wake up this afternoon. I'll introduce you then."

Jiang Qiao did not particularly want to greet a lioness who had just given birth. "Better let her recover properly. Postpartum care is important. She needs plenty of rest."

Shen Guiyi laughed. "You know quite a lot, huh? Got experience?"

Jiang Qiao denied it at once. "No, no. Wouldn't dare."

Now that he had been assigned to Shi Jiao's place, he could only take a roundabout approach. If he kept making reckless jokes and Shi Junyi found out, he was afraid he would truly be beyond saving.

"Miss, Jiang Qiao hasn't participated before. Do we need to make any arrangements?" Chen Sheng interjected at the right moment, changing the subject.

Shi Jiao said to Chen Sheng, "I know. You can go back. Guiyi will arrange it."

After Chen Sheng left, Shi Jiao checked on Alice, changed out of her surgical gown, and had Shen Guiyi take the cubs to a professional keeper.

Then she brought Jiang Qiao to a room at the end of the corridor.

"Coffee?" Shi Jiao asked.

Jiang Qiao shook his head. He did not like coffee. It was bitter but lacked any kick, nowhere near as satisfying as the scorching bitterness and spice of hard liquor.

Shi Jiao made him a cup of black tea and handed it to him. "I know who you are. You're Jiang Zhenhai's adopted son."

"You know the old man in my family?" Jiang Qiao had not known that. It had never been mentioned in the original story.

Shi Jiao nodded. "Your father did our family a great favor, but never demanded repayment for it. Our families have remained in contact all these years."

Jiang Qiao could hear what Shi Jiao meant. She was simply suspicious of his reasons for coming to the Shi family.

"He never mentioned it to me," Jiang Qiao said honestly.

"You don't lack money. Why did you get close to my brother and come to the Shi family?" Shi Jiao asked bluntly.

Jiang Qiao fell silent. The fact that Shi Jiao could ask this meant she had already known about the first time he had helped Shi Junyi outside the bar.

There were no fools in the Shi family. After considering it, Jiang Qiao decided to tell the truth.

"To be honest, sis, I wanted to pursue him."

Shi Jiao was taken aback before she laughed. "Why make things so hard for yourself? My brother's personality isn't exactly great."

It was far worse than merely not great. The moment he lost his temper, he pulled a gun. He was absolutely terrible.

But Jiang Qiao had been bewitched by his looks.

Jiang Qiao scratched his head. "Eh, he's all right."

"What are you talking about?" Shen Guiyi, who had just delivered the cubs, pushed open the door and interrupted Jiang Qiao and Shi Jiao's conversation.

Shi Jiao looked at her. "Can't you knock first?"

"Why knock? What secretive thing were you two saying behind my back?" Shen Guiyi asked, not showing the slightest awareness of being a subordinate.

Shi Jiao had clearly spoiled her.

Shi Jiao said nothing more and merely told Jiang Qiao, "Help me with something. Once it's done, I'll let you return to my brother."

Jiang Qiao agreed. "Just say the word, sis."

Shi Jiao asked, "Do you know Paramount?"

Jiang Qiao nodded. It was one of the largest entertainment venues in the Binhai Special Zone, offering adult shows, casinos, transgender performances, and all manner of entertainment.

"Ma Wen, the owner of Paramount, embezzled a shipment of mine under the guise of cooperation. He even thought no one would know after killing two of my people who were there to receive it."

Shi Jiao told Jiang Qiao, "I want his life."

Late at night.

A van drove from the immigration pier of the Binhai Special Zone all the way to an extravagantly luxurious private estate in the suburbs.

The van stopped at the gates of the estate, and every window rolled down.

After the license plate was scanned and the driver and every passenger underwent facial recognition, they were allowed through once no abnormalities were found.

As it passed the garden shrubbery and slowed before descending into the underground garage—

A black figure, concealed by the night and taking advantage of the van's slowdown, silently dropped from beneath the vehicle and rolled into the bushes.

Jiang Qiao leaned against a corner and activated his earpiece. "I'm in."

"Not bad. There's a camera at your nine o'clock, with a coverage angle of 105 degrees." Shen Guiyi's voice came through the earpiece.

"Guiyi, this is my first time doing an assassin's job. Whether I make it back alive depends entirely on you." Jiang Qiao chuckled softly.

Shen Guiyi said, "Don't worry. If you die, I'll cover the funeral expenses. I'll make sure you get a prime burial plot."

"Thanks a lot," Jiang Qiao said.

Following Shen Guiyi's remote directions, he carefully and efficiently evaded every surveillance camera, arriving within fifty meters of Ma Wen's main residence.

Four bodyguards stood watch outside the front entrance.

"There are two at the side entrance, two by the stairwell once you enter, more in the hallway, and more outside the bedroom. Security is tight and airtight," Shen Guiyi reported on the state of the residence.

Jiang Qiao snorted. "The places that need ventilation will always let some air through."

He circled around the back of the main residence, climbed the exterior pipes to the second floor, and slipped into an empty room at the end of the hallway.

Ma Wen's room was on the third floor, where security was much tighter than on the second. Guards stood at every entrance and exit, from the hallway to the stairwell. Jiang Qiao could not get around them and enter the third floor directly.

Jiang Qiao cursed under his breath. How many rotten things had that old bastard done to fear death this badly? What a pain in the ass.

He surveyed the room and found a ventilation opening in the bathroom ceiling. He carefully removed the grille, stepped onto the toilet tank, and hauled himself inside with both arms.

"You're in the hallway?" Shen Guiyi watched the small green dot representing Jiang Qiao slowly move through the second-floor corridor on her computer screen.

Jiang Qiao replied, "I'm in the ventilation duct. I'm about to be crushed to death. It'd probably fit you just right."

Shen Guiyi clicked her tongue. "You're really something. You can squeeze through even this gap."

She watched as Jiang Qiao crossed paths with two other small red dots representing enemies near the stairwell leading to the third floor, then moved apart, gradually approaching the spot directly beneath Ma Wen's bedroom.

"Three meters ahead. Find a way up," Shen Guiyi directed.

The ventilation ducts in buildings like this connected every room that required ventilation. Barring anything unexpected, Ma Wen's bedroom would definitely have a bathroom. And if there was a bathroom, the ducts would connect.

Jiang Qiao crawled through the duct with difficulty. He stopped roughly three meters ahead, turned onto his back, and reached above his head. Sure enough, he found an alloy mesh grille.