Klo Scrap Station was Raccoon Cat's turf. If Han Xiao could face his pursuers there, he might also be able to deal with the threat Raccoon Cat posed. Han Xiao put down his work and called out to Lü Qian. When she turned around, he said, "I'd like to take a day off."
"Sure." Lü Qian blinked, then suddenly asked, "Is everything all right?"
Han Xiao was taken aback. "Why do you ask?"
Lü Qian was perceptive. Han Xiao was usually lazy and listless, his dead fish eyes making him look as though his mind was always wandering. But his bearing had changed in an instant just now, and Lü Qian had caught it. She found it hard to describe how he had seemed in that moment. It was as if he had suddenly become... a little dangerous?
"If you're having trouble with anything, I'll help you find a way," Lü Qian said seriously.
Han Xiao stared into Lü Qian's bright eyes for a long time. His gaze made her a little uncomfortable, and she turned her face slightly away, reaching up to smooth the hair at her temple. "It's rude to stare at someone like that, you know," she teased.
Han Xiao looked away. "I won't be back for dinner tonight."
Lü Qian was a little disappointed. "I was going to let you try my latest dish: kelp stewed with pepper and pineapple, baked with pork ribs and served with cilantro."
Han Xiao shuddered. Damn, what kind of dark cuisine is that?
Getting the day off went smoothly. Han Xiao returned to his room, found a backpack and packed the mechanical arm inside. He wrapped the First-Generation Ranger in a dust cloth, put it on a handcart, and headed for the scrap station.
"Boss, is that kid the target?"
A man in sunglasses was secretly tailing Han Xiao. Whenever Han Xiao turned a corner or looked back, the man immediately used his surroundings, the crowd, public phone booths, or newsstands to hide himself. He had clearly received professional training. He wore a miniature earpiece and was communicating with his accomplices in an old car two streets away. Five masked men sat inside the car. They were the pursuers who had set their sights on Han Xiao.
They were mercenaries who also worked as bounty hunters, operating under the name Stinging Bee Squad. They had completed several jobs and had a good reputation on the Dark Net. They had "happened" to discover Han Xiao's whereabouts.
The Stinging Bee Squad realized this was a chance to claim the prize for themselves. The money was secondary. If they could earn the Germinal Organization's favor, they would have found a backer.
"That kid is worth a million? He looks like an ordinary guy. This won't be hard at all."
The squad's second-in-command, a long-haired man, curled his lip, his tone a mix of skepticism and contempt.
Kaili, the captain, was checking his guns. Hearing this, he said gravely, "This is Stardragon's capital. We have to move fast. Once we kill the target, we pull out immediately."
"The target has set out."
A pitch-black jeep with no license plate followed Han Xiao from a distance. Inside was a Thirteenth Bureau field team. Its captain, Li Hui, was in charge of the operation, while Feng Jun served as an adviser. Eight field agents wore full combat uniforms and were equipped with tranquilizer rounds.
Just as Han Xiao had expected, the Stinging Bee Squad pursuing him really was the Thirteenth Bureau's final test, carried out through someone else. The agents' mission was to secretly observe Han Xiao's performance and, if necessary, step in to eliminate the mercenaries and "invite" Han Xiao to the bureau as a guest.
The Stinging Bee Squad had been selected as a pawn, with limited destructive power. Once the bureau was done using them, it would clean up the loose ends.
Feng Jun switched the feed and said, "Han Xiao's route is taking him to Klo Scrap Station in the Seventh District. The Stinging Bee Squad is following the target. If the fight happens at the scrap station, the economic damage will be minimized."
The Thirteenth Bureau knew everything about Raccoon Cat's power, backers, and all the rest. If they wanted, they could make him vanish at any time. A national intelligence agency had that kind of confidence.
In ordinary people's eyes, Raccoon Cat was someone not to be trifled with. But he was no match for a state agency.
The setting sun cast a golden glow over West Capital's forest of high-rises.
At Klo Scrap Station, Raccoon Cat was surprised to see Han Xiao. Han Xiao normally came in the morning and left exactly two hours later, never staying a moment longer. What was different today?
"I came to your turf to look for some materials," Han Xiao said, brushing the matter off.
Raccoon Cat suspected nothing and made a token offer to eat together. He had expected the man of few words, Mechanic Han, to decline, but to his surprise, Han Xiao immediately nodded and agreed, as if he had been waiting for the invitation. Raccoon Cat was stunned for a moment before he recovered.
Han Xiao took off his mask. It was the first time Raccoon Cat had seen his face, and he found it somewhat familiar, but gave it no further thought.
Although there was a bounty on Han Xiao on the Dark Net, that was a struggle on another level, and ordinary factions knew nothing about his background. Raccoon Cat's influence was confined to his little patch of the Seventh District in West Capital. He rarely visited the Dark Net and had little recollection of Germinal's bounty. It was like a police wanted notice: most people forgot it as soon as they saw it.
Han Xiao had worn the mask to keep his identity secret, but there was no need anymore. The Thirteenth Bureau would not stand by and let his identity be exposed; they would help him deal with Raccoon Cat.
A banquet had been laid out in the scrap yard's rest area. The two sat down and chatted casually.
"How were the guns I made last time?"
"The Type 73 Wasp is a good gun with a reputation everyone vouches for. Even the military uses it. Other arms dealers charge six or seven thousand per gun, so you've saved me a lot of money."
Raccoon Cat sounded quite pleased. He took out a cigar, clipped the end, lit it, and took a deep puff. "And the weapons you make are far better quality than their secondhand goods," he praised.
Han Xiao made no comment.
Standard products from a production line had guaranteed quality, but the manufacturing process could not account for the minute differences between individual guns, which came from slight variations in the materials themselves. A skilled mechanic making a gun by hand could make fine adjustments and improvements to suit each gun's details, giving it a touch more life than a mass-produced product. Experts who regularly used guns could feel the difference. If it had to be put into words, it was like how a tailored suit was more refined.
Raccoon Cat noticed the bulging backpack and handcart Han Xiao had kept beside him and asked curiously, "What's in there?"
"Some parts."
Seeing that Han Xiao was unwilling to say more, Raccoon Cat did not press him.
After they had chatted for a while, the sky outside grew darker.
The encroaching night gradually swallowed the sky's golden afterglow. At the boundary between dusk and night, orange-red faded into blue-violet, and the last trace of sunlight tinted the sky a dim gray.
A subordinate suddenly ran in and said, "Boss, someone wants to see you."
"No. Can't you see I'm entertaining an honored guest?"
Raccoon Cat frowned.
The subordinate hurriedly whispered a few words in his ear. Raccoon Cat's eyes flickered, and he gave Han Xiao a meaningful look before putting on a smile. "Excuse me for a moment."
With that, Raccoon Cat rose and left the table.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
Half an hour earlier.
"Cousin, I finally made it all the way to West Capital. I was counting on you to show me the good life, so you can't abandon me!"
Ma Jie followed a yellow-haired young man, chattering incessantly. He had come to West Capital to seek refuge with his cousin and hoped to live a good life, but his cousin seemed to look down on him and had sent him to work as a cleaner. How could Ma Jie be satisfied with that? He pestered the young man, hoping to play the family card. He did not dare go too far, though, for fear his cousin would drive him away, so he was exceedingly obsequious.
The yellow-haired young man was thoroughly annoyed. "How many times have I told you? Don't call me cousin when we're out in public!"
Ma Jie forced a smile. "It was my fault. I'll slap my own mouth." As he spoke, he gave himself two sharp slaps across the face.
"Look at you, groveling like that." The young man's face was full of contempt. "I only let you guard the gate on my turf because we're related. Do you know how many wanderers are eating moldy food? And you still have the nerve to be picky! I'm going to deliver the tribute to a big shot. Don't follow me!"
"A big shot?" Ma Jie's eyes lit up, and he shamelessly asked, "Who is it?"
"The boss of the Seventh District, my direct superior, Mr. Raccoon Cat!" Seeing the blank look on Ma Jie's face, the young man said proudly, "Apart from the First District, each of the other seven districts has a boss who controls the district's drugs and prostitution and holds a whole gray-market industry chain in his hands. Think how high his status must be!"
As they spoke, they reached the gates of Klo Scrap Station. Ma Jie kept shamelessly following, and the yellow-haired young man was about to lose his temper again.
Seeing this, Ma Jie did not dare follow any farther. He was about to leave when he happened to turn his head and saw Raccoon Cat welcoming Han Xiao inside. He immediately froze.
"Isn't that the kid I met when I was sneaking across the border?"
One of Raccoon Cat's direct subordinates walked over and frowned. "Don't loiter here."
In the blink of an eye, the yellow-haired young man put on a timid, ingratiating smile, as if he had suddenly shrunk a head shorter. "I work for Boss Raccoon Cat too. I'm here to deliver the tribute today."
Ma Jie pointed at Han Xiao's retreating figure and asked, "Who's that?"
The yellow-haired young man wanted nothing more than to slap Ma Jie a few times. "Who said you could speak here?" he snapped.
But Raccoon Cat's subordinate stopped him and answered, "That's the boss's honored guest."
Raccoon Cat's honored guest? Ma Jie was startled. Then he felt it was unfair, and waves of jealousy and embarrassment welled up inside him. He had worked himself to the bone seeking refuge with a relative, yet he had not received even a hundredth of the treatment Han did. What right did that ungrateful kid have to be doing better than him?
The scenes of his earlier boasting resurfaced in his mind, leaving Ma Jie thoroughly embarrassed.
"You know Mechanic Han?"
Ma Jie answered awkwardly, "I wouldn't say I know him. We just exchanged a few words when we were sneaking across the border."
Raccoon Cat's subordinate's eyes lit up.
"Come with me. The boss wants to see you!"
The yellow-haired young man and Ma Jie were dumbfounded.