The torrential rain lashed violently against Xia Liu Yi’s face. He lay sprawled atop Xie Ying Jie, struggling to push himself upright. Xie Ying Jie’s head lolled to one side, utterly motionless.
Grabbing him by the collar, Xia Liu Yi saw that a gaping hole had been torn open in his skull. Dark, viscous blood poured out in streams, mingling with the rainwater.
Shaking the corpse like a madman, Xia Liu Yi roared in utter despair, “Where is He Chu San?! Speak!! Speak!!”
Suddenly—
Xie Ying Jie’s eyes snapped open. Both pupil and sclera had turned pitch-black like blood. His stiffened flesh twisted into a grotesque, terrifying grin, and from his throat came a ghastly, grating laughter—
“He-he-he-he—!”
The blood pooled on the ground surged upward like waves, rising high before engulfing his corpse entirely!
Xia Liu Yi spun around in panic—only to find himself suddenly immersed in a boundless sea of black blood. Heaven and earth echoed with Xie Ying Jie’s shrill, horrifying laughter.
Upon the churning surface floated countless severed heads, each pair of blood-dark eyes staring wide open at him. He saw Inspector Hua, Fat Seven, Golden Maitreya, Uncle Yuan… every single person he had ever killed.
He also saw Azure Dragon and Xiao Man. Their eyes were shut, their faces smeared with blood.
At last, one final head rolled toward him upon the waves—
It was He Chu San. His face pale, his expression gentle and innocent as ever, smiling shyly at him—yet from all seven orifices flowed black blood.
……
A cold raindrop fell upon Xia Liu Yi’s head, jolting him awake.
His entire body stiffened, as though released from a trance. Though he had broken free of the illusion, the despair and terror still surged through his chest like waves of black blood.
The two patrolling guards had already passed by the alley, unaware of anything. Xia Liu Yi stood alone in the shadows, lowering his gaze to his trembling hands.
—If you kill me, you will never find him.
—If you want to save someone, you must trade your own life for his. Can you do it? Are you willing?
……
The night grew colder. The rain poured heavier and heavier. Water rushed along the streets, washing away all traces of filth. A small roadside tree snapped under the wind and collapsed across the pavement.
Inside the villa’s living room, the doorbell rang. A guard signaled to the maid, who hurried to open the door.
Standing outside in a raincoat was Xie Jia Hua. He pulled back his hood and greeted, “Auntie Liang.”
“Young Master? Come in quickly! Why are you here so late? The rain is pouring outside!” she said anxiously, helping him remove his raincoat and handing him a towel.
But two guards stepped forward to search him. She protested, “Hey! What are you doing? This is our Young Master!”
“They know,” Xie Jia Hua said calmly. “I heard them report outside. Daddy ordered the search.”
Auntie Liang fell silent in surprise. As he cooperated with the search, Xie Jia Hua asked, “You’re still not resting this late? Where is Uncle Liang?”
“I was packing things, and Old Liang is packing in the room too…” she murmured. “Master suddenly told us to return to the countryside tomorrow…” She fell quiet under the guards’ watchful gaze.
The guards moved to inspect his briefcase, but Xie Jia Hua pulled it back. Opening it himself, he showed them its contents—only documents lay within. Satisfied, they gestured for him to proceed.
Xie Jia Hua went straight upstairs, entering his father’s study on the second floor.
Xie Ying Jie was waiting inside, dressed in a robe, reading glasses perched upon his nose. He held a photograph frame, studying it carefully, his demeanor calm and serene.
Closing the door, Xie Jia Hua approached the desk. “Father.”
Without lifting his head, Xie Ying Jie asked evenly, “Does that slap I gave you earlier still hurt?”
“No.”
“With so many watching, I had to uphold the order and dignity of the police force. I have always been strict with you, to spur you on—to make you someone useful. Can you understand that?”
“I cannot.”
Xie Ying Jie paused briefly, then sighed, his expression unchanged. “Since you were young, you’ve always called me Daddy. I know you came back secretly some time ago—you even called me Daddy in front of Old Liang and Auntie Liang. Yet now, before me, you refuse.”
“When I don’t see you, I can still remember some good things from the past. But facing you now… I simply cannot say it.”
“Such a sharp tongue. You’ve always been like this.”
He set the photograph down—it showed a black-and-white image of a young couple holding a small child, all three smiling brightly in happiness.
Removing his glasses, he looked up. His hair, still damp from a recent wash, revealed strands of newly grown white at the temples. The flesh around his eyes and mouth sagged—he had indeed grown old. Yet the cold sharpness in his gaze had only deepened, even beneath the mask of gentleness.
Xie Jia Hua looked at him with sorrow, uncertain when he had become this man—or whether he had always been so, unseen until now.
“I didn’t come here to reminisce. Time is short. I came to confirm something: the two car bombing cases today, the ICAC arson case, and the intentional murder at the hospital—are they all connected to you?”
Xie Ying Jie laughed incredulously. “You came here in the middle of the night just to tell jokes?”
Xie Jia Hua took a stack of documents from his briefcase and slammed them onto the desk—financial records tied to Master Qiao and proxy-held companies, along with several cassette tapes.
“Are these jokes too, Father?”
Xie Ying Jie glanced at them. “Where did you find these?”
“Does that matter?! Tell me—are these also jokes?!”
Xie Ying Jie’s gaze turned cold and ruthless. With a sweep of his hand, he brushed the materials aside.
“These accounts and recordings can all be fabricated. You use such things to question your own father—what could be more laughable?”
Xie Jia Hua slammed down two reproduced black-and-white photographs. “Then what about this? Can this be forged too?!”
It was a front-and-back copy of a group photo: a younger Xie Ying Jie with Hao Wei and Golden Maitreya. On the back were the words:
K, Wei, Jie
Sworn Brotherhood, Loyalty Eternal
18.12.1973
He then laid out more files—documents from the 1974 bank robbery case, with Lu Yong, father of Lu Guang Ming, listed among fallen officers. Cases followed one after another—Hao Wei’s car crash, Azure Dragon’s murder, the killings of Fat Seven and Inspector Hua…
Finally, he placed down the file of Tang Jia Qi’s murder case, stamped in bold red: “Unsolved.”
“In the 1973 bank heist, Hao Wei and Golden Maitreya were the robbers—you were their inside man. You killed Lu Yong. Later, over conflicts, you murdered Hao Wei and Azure Dragon. Inspector Hua covered it up under your orders. Tang Jia Qi found that photograph in your study and reported it—but his superior was your mole, who tipped you off, so you silenced him!
“And more than that—you are the infamous Old Shopkeeper of the underworld. Hidden behind Inspector Hua and your proxy, you controlled everything, collecting tribute from every gang in Hong Kong. The ICAC secretly investigated you, gathering key evidence and witnesses—but you murdered them all and had your insider destroy the evidence!
“The hospital killing wasn’t Xia Liu Yi’s doing—it was yours. You tried to silence both him and witness Kevin Wang! Every case today traces back to you—dozens of lives lost because of you! Your crimes are beyond counting—you are the rat lurking in darkness! A monster devoid of humanity!!”
“Shut up!” Xie Ying Jie roared, leaping to his feet.
“What do you understand?! What right do you have to judge me?! All these years, I maintained order in the underworld! I protected Hong Kong’s citizens in my own way! What’s wrong with taking some money in return?!
“Your mother died because we had no money for treatment! We were driven into the streets because we couldn’t pay rent or medical bills! Do you remember how she looked before she died?!
“And you—how do you think you got where you are today?! Money! Power! Me! You became an Inspector so young because I paved the way! I handed those gangsters to you! You’ve offended so many—without me protecting you, you’d have died a hundred times over!”
“You used me to eliminate your enemies! Those who obey you prosper, those who oppose you perish! I was nothing but a tool in your hands—no different from Inspector Hua! I stand here because of my own efforts—and because Jia Qi watches over me from above! And you—you deserve everything that’s coming to you!” Xie Jia Hua shouted.
“The DNA from the bombing victims will match the missing ICAC personnel. The frozen accounts will leave traces—you know you can’t cover this up forever! You’re still in Hong Kong only because you haven’t secured the money yet. Once you do, you’ll flee! But the ICAC Commissioner arrives tomorrow morning—I’ve already sent him all this evidence. By then, your accounts will be frozen, and you’ll be barred from leaving. You have nowhere to run!”
Xie Ying Jie collapsed back into his chair, pale. “I am your father… and this is how you treat me?”
“Because you are my father,” Xie Jia Hua said in anguish, “I came here. Your crimes are unforgivable. Only by surrendering yourself can you hope for leniency. Hong Kong has no death penalty—come turn yourself in with me, Father!”
Lowering his head, Xie Ying Jie sighed softly. “Even now… you still refuse to call me Daddy.”
Xie Jia Hua clenched his teeth, unable to speak.
After a long silence, Xie Ying Jie sighed again. “If that’s the case… then there’s nothing more to say.”
Suddenly—
He drew a pistol from beneath the chair and aimed it at Xie Jia Hua—
Bang—!
Futile Devices Scans 
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