Lu Guang Ming lay curled on the ground, his body smeared with blood. His hands were bound behind his back, and a tourniquet had been tied around his injured leg. His entire body was mottled with bruises and welts from beatings; his eyes were half-open, half-closed, as though he had already lost consciousness.
A basin of water was splashed over his face with a crash. His breathing was faint, yet he still did not respond. One of the killers bent down and suddenly snapped his previously dislocated arm back into place! The wrenching agony of twisted sinew and bone forced Lu Guang Ming to open his eyes wide and scream, “Ah—! Ah—!”
The killer immediately brought a brick phone close to his face. Xie Ying Jie’s cold, sinister voice rang out.
“Where is my money?”
Lu Guang Ming’s voice shifted from groans into a weak, low laugh.
“Ha… hahaha…”
“Where is my money?!” Xie Ying Jie roared. The killer followed up with a vicious slap across Lu Guang Ming’s face!
Lu Guang Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood and gasped a few breaths before saying, “The Shopkeeper lost five hundred million in one go. Such stupidity—no one would believe it even if you told them, right? Hahaha! You’ve worked your whole life for nothing—now you don’t even have money for a coffin. You hired so many killers—can you even afford to pay them?”
He grinned at the killer in front of him. “Hey, your Boss can’t even pay wages anymore. Why are you still risking your life here?”
Another fierce slap came down! Lu Guang Ming’s vision went black as he collapsed to the ground. Amid the ringing in his ears, he vaguely heard Xie Ying Jie shout in fury:
“Drag that kid surnamed He over here!”
Not long after, several killers dragged He Chu San in from the adjacent room.
His hands were bound, and like Lu Guang Ming, his body was covered in bruises from beatings. Blood stained his white shirt in patches. The bullet graze on his shoulder had not been treated; torn flesh had clotted into darkened blood. His eyes were tightly shut, his face flushed—he was already running a fever from infection.
The killer grabbed him by the collar and threw him in front of Lu Guang Ming. A basin of water was poured over him, forcing him awake.
He Chu San weakly lifted his eyelids. His unfocused pupils reflected Lu Guang Ming’s blood- and sweat-covered face.
“You’re friends, aren’t you?” came the icy voice from the phone. “So many of your colleagues died today—can you bear to watch him die in front of you too?”
Lu Guang Ming suddenly sprang up. “No!!”
But he was immediately pinned to the ground by two killers! He could only watch helplessly as a pair of handcuffs were looped around He Chu San’s throat and slowly tightened.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Let him go!”
He Chu San was thrown to the ground, coughing violently as he curled up. Lu Guang Ming continued, “Your account has been frozen by the ICAC under confidential grounds! To unfreeze it, an application must be submitted—and it requires Chief Investigator Xu’s signature! He has already been killed by you!”
“You’ve followed Chief Investigator Xu for so many years—imitating his signature shouldn’t be difficult, should it, Investigator Lu?” Xie Ying Jie said coldly.
Lu Guang Ming stared in shock at the pen and application form handed to him—it had been prepared in advance! And even with Chief Investigator Xu’s signature, the ICAC’s official seal and a strict approval process would still be required. For Xie Ying Jie to do this, there must be an insider within the ICAC helping him!
So much had happened today, yet Xie Ying Jie showed no urgency to flee—could it be that all evidence and witnesses had already been “dealt with”?
Lu Guang Ming’s thoughts churned; his face turned deathly pale. The killer unlocked his handcuffs. With trembling hands, he picked up the pen.
At that moment, He Chu San, lying nearby, rasped hoarsely, “Xiao Lu! Don’t! Even if you sign, he still won’t let us go! Once you give the money back, everyone’s sacrifice will have been for nothing!”
“Consultant He,” Xie Ying Jie sneered over the phone, “if you hadn’t spoken, I would’ve forgotten how sharp your tongue is! You spout big words without even blinking—you’ve got real villain potential! Why work with the ICAC? You should’ve gone to the Golden Triangle! Ruin his throat for me!!”
The killers immediately seized He Chu San. They brought over a kettle of boiling water and poured it straight down his throat!
Scalding white steam rose as He Chu San let out a heart-rending cry of agony!
“I’ll write! I’ll write!! Don’t touch him!!” Lu Guang Ming roared.
He Chu San was kicked to the ground, curling up as he coughed up blood. The pain left his mind in a haze; his throat burned as though engulfed in flames—he could no longer produce a sound.
Lu Guang Ming finished filling out the application. The killers dragged both of them into the adjacent room. The door slammed shut, plunging them into deep darkness.
Xie Ying Jie hung up the phone.
His assistant, who had just finished taking another call nearby, hurried forward. “Sir, Xia Liu Yi still hasn’t been found, and He Chu San’s family is also missing—”
Smack—!
The assistant was struck hard across the face, slammed against the car window.
This deputy commissioner, known for his usual composure, roared hoarsely, “Go find them!! If you can’t, bring your head back to me!!”
The car stopped by the roadside. The assistant scrambled out and climbed into the security van behind. It quickly turned around and sped off.
The night wind grew stronger, and a light drizzle began to fall. Leaves of towering roadside trees roared like ocean waves—whoosh—whoosh—
Xie Ying Jie’s convoy finally stopped in front of his villa. More than a dozen of his private security personnel were already stationed there.
Surrounded by them, he got out and entered the courtyard. Several others donned raincoats and began patrolling outside.
In the shadows beneath distant trees, in a corner of an alley, Xia Liu Yi slowly revealed himself.
Holsters hung at his shoulders and legs. On his back were his Azure Dragon Twin Blades. His sharp, predatory gaze fixed upon the two patrolling guards approaching ever closer.
Inside the living room, a guard heard the doorbell ring. He activated the video intercom. On the screen appeared the rain-soaked face of a patrol partner outside, hair plastered messily to his forehead.
“What is it?”
“The raincoat got blown away—get two umbrellas.” The voice was distorted by the roaring wind.
The guard frowned. “Aren’t there some in the car?”
“All blown away.”
“Alright, wait.”
The guard shut off the screen and signaled the other three guards inside. They gathered around, drawing their pistols.
The guard nearest the door cautiously opened it—
A thick stench of blood hit them head-on!
Their “companion” stood at the entrance, throat slit wide open, blood still gushing out! Hanging from his blood-soaked chest was a brick phone on speaker. Suddenly, it emitted a harsh vibration:
Bzzzz—!
The guards opened fire instantly! Bullets shot through suppressors, tearing into the corpse! Flesh and blood exploded in bursts like fireworks in the foyer. The final bullet shattered the corpse’s skull, splattering brain matter across the nearest guard’s face!
After the smoke cleared, the riddled body collapsed from the clothes rack to the ground. The broken phone emitted intermittent buzzing sounds.
Outside the door—there was no one. On the street beyond the courtyard gate, several faint silhouettes lay sprawled.
The guards stepped forward cautiously, guns raised, scanning their surroundings.
At that moment, sharp cracks sounded from the living room’s floor-to-ceiling window! Several bullets pierced through the glass and curtains into the room, hitting nothing but leaving spiderweb cracks in the panes.
The fallen phone suddenly roared with the sound of a motorcycle accelerating—VROOOOM—!
Then—
BOOM—CRASH—!!
With a thunderous explosion, a motorcycle soared through the air, smashing through the glass window and crashing into the living room from behind them!
Xia Liu Yi leapt off midair, firing repeatedly—
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Two guards near the door dropped instantly. The other two spun around and fired back. Xia Liu Yi rolled onto the sofa, flipping it over and diving beneath its base. Bullets shredded the heavy European-style sofa, sending wood splinters and stuffing flying!
Pinned down by gunfire, he couldn’t lift his head. From the corner of his eye, he caught their reflections on the television screen. Drawing one of his Azure Dragon Twin Blades, he rolled to the edge of the sofa and slashed fiercely!
The blade flew from his hand, skimming the carpet in a dazzling arc—instantly severing both ankles of a guard!
Blood sprayed as the man collapsed screaming, staring in horror at his severed feet spurting blood. The pain drove him mad as he clawed at his companion’s leg. The other guard, shaken, discarded his empty gun and drew another—
But in that instant, Xia Liu Yi lunged out, shooting him through the head! Another shot granted the wounded man a swift death.
He quickly retrieved the blade and sheathed it on his back—but before he could turn, fresh gunfire erupted behind him.
Seven or eight guards from elsewhere on the first floor had rushed over.
Xia Liu Yi ducked behind a nearby grandfather clock. Bullets struck the brass face with sharp clangs—dang! dang!
He raised his left hand and fired several shots, shattering the massive crystal chandelier above.
BOOM—!
The two-meter-wide chandelier crashed down, plunging the room into darkness. Glass shards scattered everywhere. The guards instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces.
At that moment, Xia Liu Yi put on a pair of goggles, bit open a flare, and threw it out.
Blinding white light exploded across the room.
He drew both guns and strode forward into the hall, firing continuously—
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
When the magazine emptied, he tossed the gun aside, switched hands, and fired again—
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! …”
By the time the white smoke cleared, he was already mounting the staircase.
Behind him, the living room was littered with bodies. The dead and wounded writhed in pools of blood, which seeped into the thick carpet.
Futile Devices Scans 
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