The auditorium at Lung Kong University was packed with noise and conversation. Young students had gathered to wait for the guest lecturer. The man giving them this special lecture today was an honorary professor of Lung Kong University—Xie Ying Jie, the current Deputy Commissioner of Police and a veteran Major Crimes officer who had devoted decades to protecting the public and accumulated numerous distinguished achievements. His lecture was titled Crime and Society.
Backstage, a staff member was helping Xie Ying Jie straighten his uniform, police insignia, and medals. His assistant and several security personnel stood nearby, maintaining strict watch.
A phone with a distinctive ringtone on the assistant’s body began beeping repeatedly. The assistant gave Xie Ying Jie a questioning look—Would you like to take it?—but Xie Ying Jie waved him off.
The host’s enthusiastic voice rang out from the stage. Amid thunderous applause, Xie Ying Jie walked onto the platform. His formal uniform was covered in insignia, his spine straight and his expression solemn. Under his gaze, the audience instinctively fell silent. He accepted the microphone, gave a brief opening, then began discussing the subject of the lecture.
“For a long time, most criminologists believed violent crime occurred primarily among lower socioeconomic classes and was related to economic and social inequality suffered by offenders… Yet other criminologists have also argued that people of higher socioeconomic status commit many kinds of crime as well, crimes that often fail to receive sufficient attention from society…”
…
Inside the dim office, He Chu San stared fixedly at the computer screen as red and green figures battled endlessly. His fingers stroked the ring at his chest with nervous repetition. “Call him again.”
“He won’t answer,” the proxy said.
“Call him!”
The proxy placed the brick phone before him again. Beeeep—! Beeeep—!
He Chu San suddenly seized the keyboard and smashed it violently onto the floor. CRASH—!!
The proxy remained unmoved by his vicious display and merely turned his eyes away. Then He Chu San abruptly climbed onto the desk and grabbed the proxy by the tie. He forcibly dragged the man’s neck close, leaned toward the listening device, and said viciously, “Tell him I’ve staked every cent I own—and every cent my clients own—on this! If another half hour passes and all my money is gone, nobody is going to come out of this unscathed!”
The proxy covered the listening device. “No one threatens him! You’ve crossed the line!”
“He doesn’t want my loyalty—he wants me dead!! You think I didn’t leave myself a way out when I kept the books for Qiao Chun An and for all of you?! If I die, none of you are getting away either!!” He Chu San roared.
The proxy struggled free. “Four o’clock at the latest. He’ll call.”
He Chu San kicked a chair over and swept past him like a gust of wind. The office door slammed with a Bang! Immediately afterward, He Chu San’s roar sounded through the main office. “Get up! I’ll do it myself!!”
…
On the rooftop of the building opposite, Xia Liu Yi, drenched in sweat and yawning beneath his parasol, jolted upright. He rubbed his aching eyes hard and strained to look through the binoculars again.
“Ha… hahaha.” He laughed several times in succession. At last, He Chu San had come out. He was sitting at one of the computers in the main office with a phone wedged against his shoulder.
But Xia Liu Yi’s smile soon disappeared. He saw what appeared to be an argument between He Chu San and several staff members, the atmosphere taut with hostility. One man became extremely agitated, waving his arms and pointing as he cursed He Chu San, only for He Chu San to suddenly twist both of his arms behind his back and pin his entire body facedown over the desk. Several bodyguards in black sunglasses and black masks rushed in from outside the main office and aimed guns at the other staff members. They all sat rigidly in their chairs, no longer daring to move. He Chu San released the man he had been restraining, sat back down at the desk, and continued rapidly operating the computer.
Xia Liu Yi was certain those strangely dressed men were not He Chu San’s bodyguards, but he could not understand why they were there or why they seemed to be maintaining order for He Chu San. He glanced through the binoculars toward the tightly closed general manager’s office and guessed that someone else must still be sitting inside—very possibly the Old Shopkeeper himself. No. That old fox would never come out personally. Could it be the “proxy” A’San had mentioned before?
Xia Liu Yi’s eyelid began twitching violently again, and worry filled him. He pulled out his phone and called Xiao Ma. “Hey. You, A’Nan, and A’Mao get off the island right now. Put on something inconspicuous and come to Wan Chai.”
“Did something happen to Sister-in-law?! Should I tell Black Chicken to bring a few hundred men?!” Xiao Ma shouted excitedly from the other end.
“Nothing happened! Shut your crow’s mouth!” his Boss cursed. “The whole area is covered with their eyes. Bring a few hundred men my ass! Just the three of you come quietly!”
…
Inside Lung Kong University’s auditorium:
“…The more civilized and prosperous a society becomes, and the more equal and just its institutions become, the less frequently criminal behavior will occur. You students are the future pillars of our society. I hope you study diligently, fulfill your respective duties, make full use of your talents, and together build Hong Kong into an even more civilized and just society. Thank you!”
Thunderous applause echoed through the auditorium for a long time. Xie Ying Jie walked down from the stage with a dignified stride. His assistant hurried over, straightening his clothing while presenting him with a brick phone vibrating insistently.
Xie Ying Jie waved for the others not to follow too closely and walked alone onto the outdoor platform. “Speak.”
“…”
“What about He Chu San?”
“…”
“Heh. A child really can’t keep his patience.”
“…”
Listening to the report, he walked several steps forward. Fallen leaves cracked harshly beneath his shoes.
“Enter the market.”
He ended the call. Lung Kong University was built along the mountainside. Beneath the intense afternoon sun, enormous lush green trees filled his vision, all of them lying below his feet.
…
Inside the office, the proxy lowered the brick phone. At that exact moment, He Chu San opened the door and rushed in from the main office. After shutting it behind himself, he looked tensely toward the proxy.
“They’ve entered the market,” the proxy said.
He Chu San lowered his head and let out a hoarse growl. His rigid back relaxed, and he slid down against the door. Where the proxy could not see, his fingers quietly turned the lock even as the growl left his throat.
…
On the rooftop, Xia Liu Yi’s binoculars followed He Chu San into the room. Once He Chu San disappeared from view, Xia Liu Yi anxiously lowered them and instinctively glanced down toward the street. Only then did he notice several strange changes taking place below—
Several people downstairs whom he had previously suspected of being lookouts had mysteriously disappeared; a delivery-looking van had appeared in an alley near He Chu San’s office building; and several men and women in plain clothes, guns concealed at the backs of their waists, slipped into the building through different entrances.
…
Inside the main office, the television broadcasting live stock-market updates suddenly dissolved into static. The screens of dozens of computers began flickering and hissing, changing from constantly shifting market figures into meaningless garbled text. The managers being watched by the bodyguards all looked startled. Kevin rushed to the television and slapped the casing, then called to the two bodyguards by the door, “Come over here and help me take a look!”
One bodyguard approached suspiciously, glanced at the other computers in the office, then craned his neck behind the television—and saw a strip of tape that had been torn open. Kevin instantly raised a sedative syringe with half the tape still stuck to it and plunged it into the back of the man’s neck.
The remaining bodyguards realized something was wrong and all reached for their guns. But the seemingly mild-mannered “managers” sprang from their chairs, nimbly vaulted over the desks, and tackled them. The two sides immediately erupted into a brawl.
Bang—! A gun discharged accidentally and struck the clock hanging on the wall.
…
That faint gunshot jolted Xia Liu Yi. He swung the binoculars toward the office above and saw the main office already engulfed in a chaotic fight—but there was no sign of He Chu San. He threw aside the little parasol, leapt down from the railing, and raced toward the stairs.
…
Inside the dim general manager’s office, the proxy reached for his gun, but He Chu San lunged forward and knocked his hand aside. The two grappled and crashed into the desk. He Chu San used a Taiji grappling hold to seize the proxy’s arm and pin him beneath his body. But the proxy suddenly flicked his wrist, and a small knife sprang from his watch, stabbing straight toward He Chu San. He Chu San rolled aside, only for the proxy to counterattack and force him onto the desk. The computer crashed to the floor in the collision with an explosive sound, spitting out a flash of dazzling light. The proxy instinctively frowned and flinched away. He Chu San seized the chance to grab the desk lamp and smash it down onto his head.
Thump! The proxy, however, was completely fine—the lamp was too small, and its fabric shade did nothing except leave him momentarily dizzy. He raised the knife and stabbed at He Chu San again. He Chu San lifted the lamp toward him and suddenly switched it on. The blinding light made the proxy cover his eyes and slash wildly, and He Chu San kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him flying backward.
The proxy crashed awkwardly against the door and immediately tried to pull it open to escape, only to discover that it had been locked. He hurriedly yanked at it and finally forced the lock open, but in that brief instant He Chu San caught up with him and seized the back of his clothing, throwing him violently across the room.
The proxy fell in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. As he struggled upright, he accidentally dragged open the curtains. Golden sunlight exploded through the entire room. Both men raised their hands against the unbearable glare. Through the gaps between his fingers, the proxy hazily saw the handgun that had fallen earlier. He staggered toward it, but just as his fingers touched the weapon, He Chu San smacked him square in the face with a keyboard.
Smack!
The proxy’s head snapped backward and he fell onto the floor. He Chu San lunged forward, wrapped the mouse cord around his throat, and dragged him violently to one side. The proxy stretched desperately toward the gun. Just as his fingers were about to reach its grip, He Chu San yanked him backward again.
“Kh… kh…” Choking sounds came from his throat, yet he continued struggling desperately toward the gun.
“Kick it away! Don’t make me kill you!” He Chu San shouted into his ear.
“Kh…” His hand continued clawing forward.
“Did you hear me?! Kick it away!”
The proxy’s face had turned scarlet and he was already on the verge of unconsciousness. At last, he kicked the gun into the corner of the room. He Chu San released him, and the proxy’s head lolled sideways as he passed out.
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