The Courier

San Francisco, Pacifica District.

This is a quiet residential area nestled between mountains and the sea, with clean streets and shady trees, a stark contrast to the dilapidated and chaotic scene of the Bayview District. The sea breeze, carrying a salty smell, blows by, rustling the leaves of the tall palm trees along the roadside. In the distance, the gray-blue surface of the Pacific Ocean can be seen, shimmering under the moonlight.

Deep within this tranquil neighborhood, a sizable Spain- style villa stands alone on a hillside. Its white walls gleam softly in the moonlight, while its red terracotta roof outlines an elegant silhouette against the night. The yard is planted with neatly trimmed shrubs and a few lemon trees, their delicate fragrance filling the air. From the outside, it appears to be an ordinary middle-class residence—quiet, respectable, and unassuming.

But at this moment, the scene inside the villa's basement is quite different.

The basement had been converted into a small packaging workshop. The fluorescent lights cast a stark white glow, illuminating the various tools and materials piled on the long table—electronic scales, vacuum sealers, rolls of cling film, large quantities of small resealable bags, and several unopened barrels of industrial alcohol and glucose powder. The air was thick with the pungent smell of chemical reagents, mixed with the aroma of coffee and cigarettes.

Four men are busy at work.

Two people, wearing disposable gloves, sat at a long table, skillfully removing packets of white powder from large packaging bags, weighing them precisely with an electronic scale, and then distributing them into small resealable bags. Two other people, on a nearby workbench, carefully stuffed the repackaged bags into the interlayer of several boxes of already opened imported whiskey bottles, then resealed them with tape to make them appear as if they were original and unopened.

Their movements were skilled and quick, clearly indicating that this wasn't their first time doing this kind of work.

A burly man with a shaved head and a black snake tattooed on his neck was the leader of the four, nicknamed "Viper." He was the number two in "South District Black Snakes," Big Snake's most trusted lieutenant. Tonight's mission was to repackage a batch of high-purity cocaine and mix it into a shipment of smuggled liquor destined for Los Angeles. This shipment was substantial, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and was a key task personally assigned by Big Snake.

"Hurry up, and get to work quickly," Viper urged, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, smoke curling in the pale light. "It has to be all done before dawn; the logistics company's truck will be here to pick it up tomorrow morning."

"Understood, Brother Snake," one of the henchmen replied, quickening his movements.

Just then--

"Ding-dong."

The doorbell rang.

The four people in the basement froze simultaneously.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Viper abruptly spat the cigarette butt from his mouth onto the ground, crushed it out with his toe, and gestured for the other three to be quiet. He strode to the wall, turned off the fluorescent light switch, and the entire basement was instantly plunged into darkness.

Only the light from the upstairs living room shone faintly through the gaps in the staircase.

Viper drew a Glock 17 pistol from his waist, skillfully cocked it, and then silently crept up the stairs to the ground floor. He moved sideways along the wall to the entrance and peered out through the peephole.

Outside, under the streetlights, stood a man in a dark brown FedEx uniform. He wore a baseball cap with the FedEx logo pulled low, obscuring most of his face, revealing only a sharply defined chin with a bit of stubble. He was holding a medium-sized cardboard box, which looked like an ordinary delivery package.

"Who is it?" Viper didn't open the door, but asked in a deep voice through the door panel. His hand gripped the gun handle tightly, his finger on the outside of the trigger guard, ready to fire at any moment.

"FedEx," the man outside answered, his voice carrying a professional indifference, even a hint of laziness. "There's a package that needs your signature."

Viper frowned slightly. They did frequently receive various packages—raw materials, packaging materials, and daily necessities—but these were usually delivered during the day; it was rare for a courier to deliver goods after 9 p. m. Moreover, while the neighborhood was generally safe, there had been cases of criminals impersonating couriers to scout locations and commit robberies.

"Just leave it at the door," Viper called out through the door without opening it.

The deliveryman outside seemed to pause for a moment, then looked down at the package in his hand, before looking up again, his tone slightly troubled. "Uh... sir, this package needs a signature. The sender specifically noted that it must be signed for in person, otherwise we can't fulfill our obligations. Please open the door, sign for it, it'll be quick."

Viper peered through the peephole at the deliveryman. His uniform looked fine, the FedEx logo on his hat was clearly visible, and he held the package naturally. Behind him was a white van painted with the FedEx logo, its engine still running and its taillights glowing red.

It does look... like that at all.

Viper hesitated for a few seconds. Perhaps it was a sample from a supplier, or some important document. He didn't want to delay important matters by being overly cautious. Besides, it was just a deliveryman; he had a gun, and three brothers were inside. What was there to be afraid of?

He took a deep breath, tucked the pistol back into his waistband, covered it with the hem of his T-shirt, then reached out, unlocked the door, and opened it.

"Hurry up, I'm busy." He urged impatiently as he opened the door.

The deliveryman outside the door had his head slightly bowed, his hat brim obscuring the light and making his face impossible to see. He handed over the cardboard box, then pulled an electronic signature pen from his pocket with his other hand. "Please sign here..."

The Viper reached out to take the cardboard box and the pen, its gaze instinctively falling on the delivery slip on the surface of the box.

In that very instant!

That snow-white blade of light, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, tore through the night!

As the deliveryman handed over the cardboard box, his wrist twisted at an extremely concealed and swift angle! A tactical fixed blade, hidden at the bottom of the box and with a matte finish, flashed like a silver lightning bolt across the Viper's throat!

"Laugh--"

A very faint sound, like the tearing of cloth.

Viper felt a cold sensation in his throat, followed by a gush of warm liquid! His eyes widened, and he tried to scream, but only a hissing sound escaped his throat. He instinctively reached up to cover his neck, but the moment his fingers touched it, he felt the deep, bone-revealing wound that almost ran across his entire throat!

Blood, like a tap turned on, gushed wildly from between his fingers and from his throat! It instantly stained his T-shirt red, dripping onto the floor with a "drip-drip" sound.

The Viper swayed, the cardboard box in his hand falling to the ground with a dull thud. His eyes widened, filled with disbelief, horror, and bewilderment, staring at the deliveryman who remained head down, seemingly oblivious to what had happened. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something—

But in the end, nothing was said.

His body, like a clay sculpture stripped of its skeleton, slumped backward and crashed heavily onto the entryway floor with a thud. His limbs twitched a few times before becoming completely still. Blood continued to gush from the wound on his neck, spreading rapidly across the floor to form a dark red pool.

The entire process takes no more than three seconds.

The deliveryman, Lü Yi, slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes tinged with excitement and indifference beneath his hat brim. He glanced at the Viper's corpse on the ground, confirming that the man was completely dead, then smoothly wiped the tactical straight knife against the Viper's clothes to remove the blood, before gripping it in reverse and slipping sideways into the villa's gate.

He didn't linger or check the upstairs rooms, but went straight to the door leading to the basement. When the doorbell rang, he had vaguely heard a brief commotion and footsteps coming from the basement, as well as Viper's hurried footsteps as he descended the stairs. His target was in the basement.

He walked to the basement door, which was ajar, letting in a sliver of light. Without hesitation, he kicked the door open!

In the basement, the remaining three henchmen had already heard the strange noises upstairs and were nervously gripping their guns, aiming them towards the stairwell. Seeing the door kicked open and a dark figure flash in, they almost instinctively opened fire simultaneously!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The chaotic gunfire exploded deafeningly in the cramped basement space! Bullets struck the walls and stairs, sending up sprays of cement debris and dust!

But as Lü Yi kicked the door open, he rolled to the side, avoiding the trajectory of the first volley of bullets. During his roll, he steadily raised his silenced pistol.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Two muffled gunshots rang out.

The two henchmen at the very front simultaneously bleeded from their chests, let out a muffled groan, and collapsed backward to the ground!

The remaining henchman—the young man who had been in charge of sealing the boxes—was terrified. He screamed, dropped his gun, and tried to crawl out through the basement ventilation duct! But Lü Yi reacted faster. He knelt on one knee, raised his gun, and aimed—

"Puff!"

A bullet struck the henchman precisely in the back of the head. His body lurched forward, convulsed twice, and then lay still.

The gunfire stopped abruptly.

The basement reeked of gunpowder and blood. Four corpses lay sprawled on the floor. White powder and whiskey bottles were scattered on the table, stained crimson with blood.

Lü Yi stood up and holstered his pistol in its quick-draw holster. He glanced around the basement, and after confirming there were no survivors, he turned and walked out.

He returned to the entrance hall, glanced at the Viper's corpse, and without lingering, walked out of the villa.

A night breeze blew in his face, carrying the salty smell of the sea and the fresh scent of grass and trees, dispelling the blood and gunpowder stench clinging to him. He walked to the FedEx truck parked by the roadside, opened the cargo door, and took out the cardboard box inside.

Upon opening the cardboard box, inside was a neatly folded dark gray long trench coat and a four-liter can of gasoline.

Lü Yi took off his blood-stained FedEx uniform and tossed it into the car, then put on his trench coat. The coat was thick and of excellent quality, perfectly concealing any bloodstains that might be on his lining. He unscrewed the cap of the gasoline can, walked back to the villa, and evenly poured gasoline onto the living room floor, sofa, curtains, and the stairwell leading to the basement.

The pungent smell of gasoline quickly filled the air.

After he finished doing all this, he walked out of the villa and stood on the steps in front of the door. The night wind blew the hem of his trench coat, making it flutter. He took out a crumpled pack of Marlboro from his pocket, pulled one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter. He took a deep drag, and the smoke slowly rose into the night.

He glanced at the quiet, dignified, and unassuming Spain -style villa before him. In a few hours, it would be gone.

He flicked the ash from his cigarette, then casually tossed the still-burning lighter behind him.

The lighter traced a graceful arc through the air before landing inside the villa's gate, on the carpet soaked with gasoline.

"Boom--!!!"

The orange-red flames, like a unleashed beast, instantly engulfed the entire living room! Flames, following the path of the gasoline, rapidly leaped towards the stairs, corridor, and curtains, consuming everything flammable! Intense heat waves mixed with thick smoke billowed from the doorways and windows, causing the glass to crackle and shatter under the intense heat!

Lü Yi stood at the bottom of the steps, feeling the heat wave rushing towards him, watching the rapidly spreading flames that shot into the sky, turning the entire villa and the surrounding night sky a fiery red. He slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and crushed it out with his toe.

Then he turned around, walked to the FedEx truck, opened the door, and got into the driver's seat.

The engine started, and the white truck slowly drove away from the burning neighborhood, merging into the traffic in the night and soon disappearing from sight.

Behind them, flames soared into the sky, illuminating half the heavens in crimson.

In the distance, the faint sound of fire truck sirens could be heard as they approached.

But all of this is no longer relevant to Lü Yi.

He gripped the steering wheel, a satisfied smile playing on his lips, humming an unknown tune as he drove smoothly toward Eagle Creek Ranch.

Tonight's performance has come to a successful close.