Old Ding went down

On a rainy night.

A heavyset figure stumbled into the City Gate Duty Room.

The captain, who knew Old Ding, stared in horror at him, covered in blood.

"Brother, brother, let me out of the city. One million. How about it?"

Driven into a corner, Old Ding dropped straight to his knees as soon as he entered.

He would certainly die inside the city, but outside, he might still have a slim chance.

Squad Leader furtively looked Old Ding over, then stepped forward and shut the door.

"Old Ding, what happened?" Squad Leader asked, though he already knew.

"Fuck, let me out..."

Old Ding pulled out a bank card and slapped it on the desk. "Can you do it or not? If not, pretend I was never here."

Squad Leader eyed the bank card greedily, rubbing his hands before pocketing it.

Seeing him take the money, Old Ding breathed a sigh of relief.

But Squad Leader grinned sleazily. "Old Ding, we're brothers. I can't just watch you die. Truth is, over a hundred people are waiting outside the city for you to come out."

With that, Squad Leader switched on the camera feed outside the city gate.

In the rain, a dense mass of more than a hundred umbrellas hid the crowd.

But the weapons in their hands were still clearly visible.

Over a hundred people stood in orderly ranks outside the gate, waiting for Old Ding to emerge.

"If they don't beat the shit out of you when you leave, it'll only be because you've already emptied your bowels," Squad Leader said with a snicker. "Let me show you a way out."

With that, Squad Leader pointed outside the duty room.

Two cars slowly approached through the darkness.

Snap.

A young man with instant-noodle hair walked to the door of the lead car and opened an umbrella.

Dressed entirely in black, with a strip of white cloth tied around his left arm, Old Ninth stepped out.

Hi Dog held the umbrella for Old Ninth, standing imposingly behind him.

Realizing he had been sold out, Old Ding turned furiously toward Squad Leader. "You fucking sold me out."

"Brother, I need money. If someone else sold you out, you'd be dead. With me, you get to keep your life. Don't worry. If you do die, I'll take good care of your wife."

"You mother..."

Old Ding's heart sank into despair. His last hope of escaping the city had shattered.

Bang, bang, bang.

Earthworm stepped forward with an umbrella over his shoulder and knocked on the duty room door.

"Brother Nine wants you." Earthworm stared coldly at Old Ding as though he were already dead. "Try running, if you like."

Footsteps splashed through the rain.

Dozens of Squad Leader's teammates rushed into the rain and surrounded the duty room, sealing it tight.

Old Ding stared dumbfounded at Squad Leader, who rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Brother, business has rules. If you run, they won't pay me. Sorry, sorry."

Water splashed.

The city defense personnel outside parted to clear a path.

With a cold expression, one hand in his pocket and a cigarette between his teeth, Old Ninth slowly approached.

The murderous look in Old Ninth's eyes chilled Old Ding to the bone.

He knew what the man was capable of. Even back on Red Three Street, Old Ninth had been notorious for his madness and ruthlessness. Being cut into a thousand pieces would be getting off lightly in his hands.

Thud.

Old Ninth waved a hand, and Hi Dog tossed a bag of cash into the duty room.

"Put these on and come with me."

Old Ninth gave the special handcuffs in his hand another shake.

These special handcuffs were issued only to the Police Bureau. Once an Awakened put them on, they were no different from an ordinary person.

Old Ding laughed in fury at Old Ninth and cursed, "Fuck your mother! Even a tiger gets bullied by dogs when it's down. You lowlife bastards don't get to kill me!"

With nowhere left to turn, Old Ding steeled himself and decided to fight for his life.

If he fell into Flower Boss's hands, he might be finished with a single slash. But if Old Ninth caught him, Old Ding didn't dare imagine how these boys would torture him.

Just the day before, he had been a powerful figure who could call the shots. Now everyone had abandoned him.

Old Ninth raised an eyebrow slightly. "Quit acting tough. I didn't come into the city to kill you. Shall we talk?"

"Don't throw our offer back in our faces. Brother Tiger has already invited your wife and kid over for tea. If you don't cooperate, we'll bury you and your wife in separate places," Hi Dog added.

Old Ding felt his blood turn cold.

After a lifetime of evil, even his wife and daughter were going to meet a terrible end.

He knew he was doomed, but he couldn't accept dragging his family down with him.

Helplessness washed over him, and Old Ding looked despairingly at Squad Leader.

The latter rebuked him with righteous indignation. "Old Ding, what's that look supposed to mean? I wasn't the one who sold out your wife and daughter. Don't you trust me even that much?"

"Fuck!" Old Ding cursed, throwing caution to the wind. "Come at me with whatever you've got! Don't fucking touch my family!"

"Behave, and I won't touch your family."

Old Ninth tossed down the handcuffs, turned, and walked into the rain.

Old Ding fell silent as he stared at the handcuffs on the floor. Among the dense crowd in the rain were plenty of skilled fighters. Squad Leader had spared no expense to deal with Old Ding, a fourth-awakening fighter.

Seeing no way to escape, Old Ding collapsed to the floor, trembling.

The duty room was eerily quiet. Only the rain and Old Ding's breathing could be heard.

In the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Old Ding put on the handcuffs under dozens of watchful eyes and climbed into Old Ninth's car.

"You're going after Flower Boss?" Old Ding got straight to the point as he climbed in. "I can help you, but... whoever's backing you has to guarantee my family's safety."

Old Ding still believed Mr. Li had arranged all of this, and spoke with a lingering shred of hope.

Old Ninth calmly offered him a cigarette. "If your dirt isn't enough to finish Flower Boss, I'll bury you in East City and your wife in West City."

Old Ding smiled bitterly. At that moment, he had no choice at all.

If Flower Boss didn't die, he probably wouldn't survive.

But Old Ninth still wasn't satisfied, so he did something that shocked the entire city.

Flower Mansion.

White lanterns hung throughout the old-fashioned courtyard, giving it a lifeless, mournful air.

Despite the cold weather, people kept coming to pay their respects.

Every prominent figure in the city was packed into Flower Mansion, and the luxury cars parked outside stretched for hundreds of meters.

Flower Boss sat wearily in the Memorial Hall, his face so dark it looked ready to drip water.

His son was dead, Old Ding had fled, and every possible misfortune seemed to be arriving one after another.

"Guests have arrived!"

"Fuck your mother! You still dare show up?"

"Security!"

"Someone get over here!"

The commotion at the entrance shattered the oppressive atmosphere in the Memorial Hall.

Flower Boss and his two sons frowned and looked around.

Dozens of Hua Family members in mourning clothes surrounded a dozen or so young men dressed in black.

The Hua Family's goons braced as though facing a formidable enemy. As the arrivals slowly entered the Memorial Hall, everyone drew a sharp breath.

"They actually dared to come?"

"Fucking lunatics."

"I told you they had something going for them. Flower Boss went outside the city himself and still couldn't kill those lowlifes."

The funeral guests rose from their seats, eagerly settling in to watch the spectacle.

The newcomers all wore black suits with white strips of cloth tied around their arms, and carried umbrellas.

Their umbrellas were held low. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, revealing their faces.

Leading them were Little White Tiger and Old Ninth.

The young men behind them carried two coffins.

Bang!

The coffins slammed heavily onto the ground.

Old Ninth calmly lit a cigarette. "Where's Flower Boss? Aren't the bereaved coming out to acknowledge our condolences? Don't you know the proper etiquette?"

"No manners. No wonder his son died," Little White Tiger said, spitting.

Thud!

A figure shot out of the Memorial Hall and landed heavily in front of them.

Radiating murderous menace, Flower Boss glared at Little White Tiger. "Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving."

Old Ninth pursed his lips dismissively, then crouched and took a half-burned piece of spirit money from the brazier beside the path to light his cigarette.

"You really don't know your own son, do you? Our Young Master Hua was the fastest shooter in Ice Prefecture. Shouldn't you burn a few big foreign girls for him to enjoy down there? Don't you want grandchildren anymore?"

Little White Tiger wore the same mocking grin. "You look so awful that anyone who didn't know better would think you were the one lying in there. You're acting like today's all about you."

Flower Boss's expression shifted, unable for the moment to work out what these two boys wanted.

He had only just killed Xiao Fei yesterday. He had assumed these two would be hiding in the mountains, yet they had already entered the city.

"Come on." Old Ninth waved a hand.

With an arm around Old Ding, Earthworm swaggered up outside the Memorial Hall.

The two also carried enormous funeral wreaths bearing the words, "A scourge removed, the whole world rejoices."

"We came in a hurry today, so we didn't bring much. These two coffins are for you. I hear you still have two sons?" Old Ninth sneered. "You've got plenty of room here. You can set up another two memorial halls."