A Clash from Afar

The voice on the other end of the phone had a unique, slow, and elegant tone, with a slight upward inflection at the end, as if savoring something interesting. Even though he'd only heard it once, K immediately recognized it— Xie Yunchuan. The "Elegant Butcher" in the organ factory, wearing a white coat and humming opera while performing heinous surgeries.

His internal alarm bells went off instantly, but K's face and voice betrayed not a trace of anything amiss. He didn't even ask "Who are you?" or show surprise like most people would. He simply held the phone firmly to his ear, and after the other person's teasing "Missed me?", he asked directly in his usual calm, even slightly impatient tone:

"What's up?"

There were no pleasantries, no probing, just straight to the point, as if I were receiving a trivial sales call.

Xie Yunchuan on the other end of the phone seemed to be taken aback for a moment, then let out a low, pleasant chuckle, as if K's reaction was exactly what he wanted.

"You've got guts." Xie Yunchuan's voice remained calm and unhurried, revealing little anger, but rather an air of admiration. "You dared to set fire to my factory."

He paused, a hint of almost boastful pride creeping into his voice. "Seven minutes. A full seven minutes. I broke my personal best to crawl out of that emergency tunnel, which was full of blood and bits of flesh. I was so close, just a tiny bit more, to be left there with my 'masterpieces' to await the arrival of the police."

He was telling the story of an exciting adventure rather than a near-death experience.

"So," Xie Yunchuan changed the subject, his tone more curious than angry, "I really want to know, K, how did you do that? My factory is extremely well-hidden, with signal jamming and physical barriers around it, making conventional tracking methods completely ineffective. How did you pinpoint the location so accurately and anonymously deliver the coordinates right under the noses of the police?"

Finally, the question reached its core. K's lips curled upwards almost imperceptibly, forming a fleeting, cold arc. He didn't hide anything, even giving the answer in a tone almost like "technical sharing":

"It's very simple. I put a miniature satellite locator into Wei Guangyuan's rectum." He spoke as casually as if he were saying, "I put the documents in the drawer," before the surgery. "Your jammer's coverage is mainly for surface-mounted and conventional electronic device implants. Its shielding effect is greatly reduced against deep-seated signals, especially those from non-metallic, modified-encapsulation sources. You shouldn't have skimped on those advanced jammers."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

A few seconds later, a few clear, slow clapping sounds came through the receiver.

"Brilliant." Xie Yunchuan's voice rang out again, this time with undisguised admiration, even a hint of the joy of finding a kindred Zhiyin. "Truly a brilliant lesson. Using the human body itself as a signal carrier and cover, reverse-engineering my surgical procedures... Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I'll learn from this lesson; the tuition was well paid."

He seemed completely unconcerned about the tragic fate of Wei Guangyuan, his important partner and "goods supplier" (whose organs were harvested by him), nor about the factory's huge losses. Instead, he was immersed in admiring K's "methods".

"But K," Xie Yunchuan's curiosity deepened, and his tone became more probing, "I'm more curious about your motives. Why did you report me? Going to such lengths, infiltrating near my factory, risking everything to install a tracking device, just to hand me over to the police? Judging from your style—ruthless, efficient, and unscrupulous—you're nothing like those police officers bound by rules and regulations, or those idiots with an excessive sense of justice. Who exactly are you? Why are you targeting me?"

K listened to the question, his gaze indifferent as he stared at the mottled wall across the corridor. Why? Did he need a reason? Perhaps there was, like seeking justice for innocent victims like Monkey Sister? Or eliminating a potential dangerous cancer like Xie Yunchuan? But these weren't enough to fully explain his behavior. Deeper, perhaps, was a cold intuition of like repels like, and... the absolute necessity of carrying out his boss's orders.

However, he was too lazy to explain so much to Xie Yunchuan. He simply gave a reply in that infuriatingly calm tone that sounded extremely casual and even perfunctory:

"I don't like you anymore."

He paused, then added, his tone carrying a clear hint of sarcasm:

"You're involved in organ smuggling, acting like a performance artist, playing music and commenting on the 'materials,' so pretentious. Who else but you should die?"

These words struck at the core of Xie Yunchuan's distorted "aesthetics." On the other end of the phone, Xie Yunchuan was silent for a moment again. But unexpectedly, he wasn't angry. Instead, he seemed to have heard an extremely funny joke and chuckled softly, his laughter sounding somewhat distorted on the phone.

"Hahaha... Interesting, very interesting. K, you're even more interesting than I imagined." Xie Yunchuan laughed, then his tone suddenly turned deep, like a venomous snake slowly flicking its tongue, "You're very clever, and your methods are ruthless enough. But clever people... are often most prone to making fatal mistakes when they think they're safe."

His voice was low, carrying a playful yet certain tone, like a cat Rat.

"The worst thing you can do is continue using this phone and this SIM card."

K's eyes suddenly narrowed.

Xie Yunchuan continued unhurriedly, "And how do you know that when my men caught that unfortunate 'technician' (referring to the one K knocked out and disguised) outside the abandoned factory, didn't they take the opportunity to do something subtle? For example, perhaps implanted a fun 'little gift' into the spare phone they found on him? Even though the factory was burned down, some pre-planned backup plans... always need time to be activated and located."

His tone carried a hint of regret, yet also a touch of pride. "I originally just casually placed a piece here, but I didn't expect it to come in handy so quickly. It seems we really are destined to meet."

"I think," Xie Yunchuan's voice came through the radio waves, clear and imposing, "We should be meeting soon. This time, it's my turn to teach you a lesson about... what truly means 'leaving no trace'."

Faced with this blatant, technologically-based threat of tracking and a declaration of intent to meet, K remained completely unfazed. He didn't even check his phone or consider how to deal with the tracking; he simply paused for two seconds, then spoke clearly and calmly into the microphone, uttering two words that were utterly out of character for his usual aloofness, yet at that moment sounded remarkably powerful and contemptuous:

"Sand wall."

After saying that, he didn't give Xie Yunchuan any chance to react at all, and pressed the red hang-up button decisively and forcefully with his thumb.

"Beep--Beep--Beep--"

A busy signal rang out, cutting off any threats, recruitment attempts, or other nonsense that Xie Yunchuan might have yet to utter.

K took the phone away from his ear, the screen went dark, revealing his expressionless face. He glanced down at the ordinary smartphone, his eyes cold.

Was Xie Yunchuan's threat real? Possibly. After all, he was a powerful figure who could run a transnational organ trafficking network, and he had technical personnel under his command. In that chaotic situation, it wasn't impossible for him to tamper with the seized phones. Using SIM cards or pre-installed software for remote location tracking and eavesdropping is a common tactic.

"Meet?" K put his phone back in his pocket, the cold smile returning to his lips, this time tinged with disdain.