A Warning in the Car
The car doors closed, completely shutting out the absurd, humiliating, and bloody scene at the parking lot entrance. Outside the car window, the gray Seattle sky and wet streets began to rush past, the streetlights casting long, fragmented shadows on the damp pavement.
Inside the car, however, it was a completely different scene. The spacious SUV rear seats were soft and comfortable, the air conditioning system silently delivered pleasant warm air, and the car air freshener emitted a faint scent of cedar, attempting to dispel the subtle tension and hostility brought in from outside. But the atmosphere was not entirely relaxed.
Lü Yi sat to Lin Feng's left, her body still slightly excited from the "game" they had just played, the afterglow of adrenaline lingering.
He was toying with the Glock 19 he had taken from Delong, his fingers tracing the worn blued steel, checking the trigger pull, and even bringing it to his nose to smell the faint mixture of gun oil and gunpowder residue. His face wore an expression of childlike pride and curiosity, like someone who had just received a new toy.
"Tsk, this old black guy's equipment is well-maintained, just a bit old." Lü Yi muttered, trying to aim, the muzzle of the gun inadvertently sweeping across the back of the driver's head in the front seat.
The "Blood Spear" mercenary driving the car glanced in the rearview mirror, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, but he didn't say anything, only adjusting his driving posture to be even more stable.
Just then, K, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned slightly to the side and reached his arm back at a seemingly casual but actually precise angle.
Lü Yi felt a numbness in his wrist, and his fingers involuntarily loosened, allowing the Glock to magically fall into K's palm. The movement was so fast that Lü Yi didn't even see how he did it.
"Huh?" Lü Yi was taken aback, instinctively trying to snatch it back. "What? I haven't had enough fun yet!"
K ignored his protests, didn't even turn around, and simply picked up the Glock, tossed it to the mercenary in charge of weapons and equipment, who was sitting between the driver and passenger seats, without even looking at it.
Without turning his head, the mercenary swiftly caught the pistol, then produced a small, sealed bag from somewhere, deftly placed the pistol inside, sealed it, and stuffed it into an inconspicuous black tool bag at his feet. The entire process was swift and efficient, taking no more than three seconds.
"You..." Lü Yi was a little dissatisfied, but when facing K, he always unconsciously restrained his reckless attitude a bit.
K slowly turned around, his gaze calmly meeting Lü Yi's in the rearview mirror. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable calmness. "If you like guns, once we're settled, I'll get you a few 'clean' ones. You can play with them however you like, take them apart and put them back together, do whatever you want."
Lü Yi curled her lip. "That's different, this is spoils of war!"
"Landmines?" K's voice was devoid of emotion, as if stating a simple fact. "These guns of unknown origin are trouble, not landmines."
He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts in a way that Lü Yi could understand. "When you got it, it was covered in that black guy's fingerprints, sweat, even skin flakes. God knows what he did with this gun before—robbery? Drug trafficking? Murder? Maybe the police are investigating a shooting, and the ballistic database just happens to have traces of this firing pin. Now you're holding it, and you get pulled over for a routine check by patrol officers on the street, or someday in the future we encounter a more troublesome search, and this gun is found..."
K looked into Lü Yi's eyes through the mirror. "So, there's a high probability that all the things this gun did before, all the crimes, will be attributed to you. Fingerprints? Your DNA? They might be stained with yours. The gun is found in your possession, caught red-handed. How do you plan to explain this to the police? Say you 'won' it from some street thugs?"
Lü Yi listened, his initial displeasure gradually gave way to a belated realization. He scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Damn, there's such a saying? So complicated?"
"It's not trouble," K corrected, "It's risk. Unnecessary risk. Here, especially when we've just landed and haven't fully established ourselves, any unnecessary risk is foolish." His tone remained calm, but every word carried weight.
Lü Yi remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescing to K's decision. Although he was audacious, he wasn't stupid, especially when it came to the frustrating situation of potentially being "framed" and arrested. He pursed his lips, shifting his gaze from K to the mercenary sitting diagonally in front of him, who was holding an MP5 submachine gun and remained as silent as a rock.
The mercenary sat upright, maintaining a high level of alertness even in the moving vehicle. His MP5 rested horizontally on his lap, his fingers lightly touching the outside of the protective shield, the muzzle pointing towards the underside of the vehicle. The black barrel of the gun gleamed with a cold, matte sheen in the dim light inside the car.
Lü Yi's eyes lit up, and the slight displeasure from before was instantly forgotten, replaced by that eager expression on his face. He leaned forward, patted the mercenary's broad shoulder across the seat, and said in a tone that was somewhat ingratiating (but mostly excited), using broken English mixed with gestures:
Hey, man! Big brother!
The mercenary stiffened slightly, not turning around, but merely glancing at Lü Yi out of the corner of his eye, his gaze filled with wariness and a hint of... helplessness?
Lü Yi didn't care about anything else. Pointing to the MP5 on the other person's lap, he tried his best to describe it with the words he could think of, "That! Your 'B... B35'!" He had obviously given the MP5 a nickname based on its appearance. "Can I... take a look? Just hold it!"
His face was filled with a longing that said, "Can I borrow it and play with it?" His eyes were fixed on the submachine gun, almost gleaming. For a guy who had just outwitted the local gang leader in a near-mad way and whose bones were full of adventurous and violent tendencies, this well-made standard weapon was undoubtedly more attractive than that old Glock.
The mercenary's cheek muscles seemed to twitch slightly. He slowly and with absolute determination shook his head. The movement was small, but the refusal was crystal clear. He even subconsciously pulled the MP5 on his lap closer to his chest, holding it even tighter.
Are you kidding me! He saw perfectly clearly how this seemingly cheerful young man from Great East treated that Wild Dog Gang leader in the parking lot. Cracking his knuckles, kicking him in the groin, playing "Russian roulette" on his head, and finally forcing him to kneel down and call him grandpa... That wasn't just a fight; it was an almost pathological, addictive, and skillful mastery of violence and psychological control! To hand such a deadly weapon to a Madman in a bumpy car? Unless he himself has lost his mind!
The mercenary made up his mind that even if this person was brought by "the boss's boss," and even if it might offend him, he would never give in. Safety first, especially his own safety, and he didn't want this Madman to accidentally wreck the car in a fit of rage.
When Lü Yi saw the other person's tense expression, clutching the gun tightly, she was taken aback for a moment. Then, somewhat sullenly, she leaned back in her seat and muttered a complaint in Chinese that no one could understand, probably thinking that the foreigner was really stingy.
A brief silence returned to the car. Only the deep rumble of the engine and the sound of tires rolling over the wet road could be heard.
Throughout, Lin Feng remained seated on the other side of the leather seat, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly oblivious to the little incident that had just occurred in the car. His breathing was steady, and his expression was calm, like an old monk in deep meditation.
But only he knew that his consciousness had not rested. The city lights and shadows outside the car window transformed into flowing blocks of color in his closed vision, but his mind clearly reviewed everything that had happened since he stepped onto Seattle soil: Lü Yi's provocation at the airport, the customs officials' harassment and theft, the Wild Dog Gang's blockade and crushing counterattack... Every scene flashed by like a film reel, clear and calm.
The Wild Dog Gang, a seemingly low-level street gang, managed to organize a retaliation so quickly near the airport. Their reaction speed and audacity (or perhaps ignorance) are noteworthy. Is this pure recklessness, or is they backed by some powerful force? Will Delong, the leader whose dignity was utterly destroyed by Lü Yi, let this go unpunished? And how will the Wild Dog Gang behind him react?
While the customs official named Dawson's behavior was certainly disgusting, what concerned Lin Feng even more was the potential for systemic corruption and targeted discrimination he represented. It was a small thorn in the side, but when it's in the immigration process, it can be quite unsettling. Perhaps there's an opportunity to remove this thorn.
Most importantly, there's Jonathan Lee, the deputy commissioner of the Seattle Police Department, the de facto second-in-command. He should have received his instructions by now. How to use this conflict with the Wild Dog Gang to create a "legal and compliant" opportunity for Jonathan to intervene, or even strike, against the gang? How to transform the street thugs' provocation into a test and purge of any potential protectors within the police force?
His thoughts, like intricate gears, silently turned and meshed in his mind. Outwardly, he appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but inwardly, he had already begun to weave an invisible net.
The car rounded a bend and entered a relatively quiet tree-lined avenue. In the distance, the skyscrapers of downtown Seattle appeared and disappeared in the rain and mist, their lights just coming on, like giant beasts lurking in the night.
A new battlefield has been laid out.
Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calmly fixed on the dazzling yet unfamiliar lights outside the car window.
The game has only just begun.