Xie Jia Hua’s body slammed against the wall following the crack of the gunshot! He slumped to the ground, staring down at his chest in shock—a bullet hole was torn through his suit, and a slug remained embedded in the Bulletproof Vest underneath. He could hardly believe his own biological father had opened fire on him. With great effort, he lifted his head to glare at Xie Ying Jie.
Xie Ying Jie approached him with his pistol drawn, his expression cold and indifferent. “Don’t look at me like that. I knew you were wearing a vest; you stopped trusting me long ago. Does your chest hurt? This is the taste of being betrayed and harmed by your closest kin. I’m letting you have a taste of it yourself.”
The point-blank shot had fractured Xie Jia Hua’s ribs. Enduring the agonizing pain, he wheezed, “You betrayed and harmed me long ago… ten years ago when you murdered Jia Qi, and twenty years ago when you committed robbery and homicide… You are unworthy of being a father, and you are unworthy of being a police officer…”
“And you aren’t exactly a good son,” Xie Ying Jie said coldly. “You think I didn’t know about your filthy dealings with Tang Jia Qi and that Lu boy? That kid wears Tang Jia Qi’s spirit tablet around his neck—you gave it to him, didn’t you? You’re a disgusting piece of filth who chases men’s backsides!”
“I love whom I love; it is right and natural… You, on the other hand—even the blood in your marrow is filthy…”
Xie Ying Jie delivered a vicious kick to Xie Jia Hua’s wound! The blow forced a muffled groan from Xie Jia Hua as he collapsed to the floor. Two security guards immediately rushed in, hoisting Xie Jia Hua up by both sides, handcuffing his wrists, and stuffing a cloth gag into his mouth. Xie Ying Jie took a brick phone handed to him by a guard. As he dialed a number, he said, “Don’t worry, I can’t bring myself to kill you. After thirty years, even a dog should have learned to be obedient. I’ll drug your brain into idiocy and take you abroad. From now on, you’ll be my good, obedient son by my side!”
He spoke into the phone: “Throw the Lu boy into the freezer! The He boy too!”
Upon hearing this, Xie Jia Hua suddenly began to struggle and growl violently, throwing his weight desperately against his father! A guard slammed a heavy pistol butt into his head, knocking him unconscious.
The voice on the other end of the line chirped a few inquiries. Xie Ying Jie knit his brows, casting a sinister, icy glare at the slumped Xie Jia Hua, and said, “Withdraw everyone. we leave tonight!” With that, he tossed the phone into the air and raised his hand to fire a single shot, shattering it into pieces!
Xie Ying Jie didn’t even have time to change out of his dressing gown. The group dragged Xie Jia Hua hurriedly downstairs. In the living room, Auntie Liang and Uncle Liang, who had rushed over upon hearing the gunshots, watched them in panicked confusion. “Master! What are you doing!” Auntie Liang screamed. “What did the Young Master do wrong!”
She rushed forward to intervene, but the cold muzzle of a guard’s gun was already pressed against her forehead. She trembled with terror. Uncle Liang, having realized the gravity of the situation, fell to his knees with a heavy thud. He wailed at Xie Ying Jie, “Master! We don’t know anything! We won’t say a word! Please let us go back to the countryside! Or we can go with you! We can still serve you! We…” Bang—!
A flower of blood bloomed on his forehead, and his corpse crashed to the floor! Auntie Liang let out a horrified shriek, but another gunshot followed immediately, and her body fell at Xie Ying Jie’s feet. Xie Ying Jie stepped over her without a trace of emotion and strode toward the door. Several guards opened the door for him and held up umbrellas as the group dragged Xie Jia Hua toward the business van waiting in the courtyard.
However, Xie Ying Jie had only taken a few steps before his body stiffened—a red laser dot from a sniper’s sight appeared on his chest!
In shock, Xie Ying Jie pushed away the guard’s umbrella-holding hand. The torrential rain poured down, soaking his head and face, but it allowed him to see his surroundings clearly: the security personnel outside the courtyard were gone. The entire small yard was surrounded by the Special Duties Unit—the “Flying Tigers”—armed with sniper rifles! Red dots appeared not only on him but on every single person behind him!
The iron gate of the courtyard was pushed open. Behind a ballistic shield, an officer held an umbrella while the blonde-haired, blue-eyed “Number One”—the Commissioner of Police—poked his head out. He raised a megaphone, and his clumsy Cantonese echoed through the yard.
“John! You have nowhere left to run. Surrender!”
Xie Ying Jie turned back to look at Xie Jia Hua in consternation. Xie Jia Hua had been jolted awake by the heavy rain and was struggling to lift his head. Xie Ying Jie glared at him with bone-deep hatred before turning to roar at the Commissioner: “Sir! On what charges are you arresting me?! By what authority did you sign the warrant?! Based on those ledger records, audio tapes, and that photograph my son gave you?! Those are all forgeries! A photo only proves I knew those two people in the past—what else does it prove?! My son is insane! His mouth is full of nonsense! He has no evidence! No witnesses!”
“He has!” A cold, piercing voice suddenly rang out from the megaphone. “He has the Dragon Head Ledger of the Xiao Qi Hall spanning twenty years. Inside the hidden lining of that ledger is the original copy of that photograph. This ledger not only records the truth behind the 1974 bank robbery but also the exact amounts every Dragon Head Boss of Xiao Qi Hall has used to bribe you through Inspector Hua, Qiao Chun An and others over the past twenty years. Most importantly, he has me as a star witness. For years, I have dealt with you personally, paying you massive bribes in exchange for your protection to expand the society. In my capacity as the current Dragon Head of Xiao Qi Hall, I identify you as the Old Shopkeeper himself—the man who has manipulated the Hong Kong underworld for years!”
Xie Ying Jie looked toward the source of the voice in shock. Behind the curtain of rain, standing beside the Commissioner, Xia Liu Yi, slowly revealed himself. His gaze, as fierce and sharp as a wolf’s, pierced through the night directly into Xie Ying Jie’s eyes!
Xia Liu Yi stepped out from behind the shield one pace at a time. A pair of handcuffs was locked around his wrists. Though it was he who was bound, an invisible net seemed to tighten around Xie Ying Jie’s throat, constricting further with every one of Xia Liu Yi’s footsteps!
“You can’t escape, Shopkeeper!” Xia Liu Yi shouted. “Tell us He Chu San’s whereabouts! You might still receive leniency!”
Xie Ying Jie laughed as if he had heard a massive joke. “Leniency? Do you take me for a three-year-old child? You think I’m like a stupid, lowly hoodlum like you? I am the Deputy Commissioner of Police!! I decide who lives and who dies! Those who oppose me perish, and those who follow me prosper! I am omnipotent! Hahahaha!!”
He laughed maniacally, his expression suddenly turning vicious! “I will never go to prison! Is this He Chu San so important to you? Important enough that you’d turn yourself in just to help my idiot son? To help him find his Lu Guang Ming? Fine! I’ll make sure you never see them again!”
The hand holding his gun suddenly jerked upward! However, he didn’t aim at Xia Liu Yi; instead, he pressed the muzzle against his own temple! Xia Liu Yi lunged at him instantly! Bang—!
After the shot, Xia Liu Yi opened his eyes as he fell to the ground. Xie Ying Jie lay in the mire, black blood flowing from his head and mingling with the rainwater. Reality and nightmare intertwined horrifyingly; Xia Liu Yi’s heart nearly shattered with terror! He lunged forward, grabbing Xie Ying Jie’s collar, and screamed shrilly: “You aren’t allowed to die!! Where is A’San?! Tell me!! Where is A’San?!”
A weak groan suddenly escaped Xie Ying Jie’s throat. Xia Liu Yi was startled to find that his collision had knocked the shot off course; it had only grazed the top of Xie Ying Jie’s head! He grabbed the gun and pressed it against Xie Ying Jie’s throat, roaring: “Where is A’San?!”
In his state of traumatic chaos, Xie Ying Jie could not answer at all. Xia Liu Yi shifted the muzzle and shot Xie Ying Jie’s arm! Flesh and bone exploded instantly! Xie Ying Jie let out a piercing scream of agony!
“Xia Liu Yi! Stop!” The Commissioner’s warning came through the megaphone. The red laser dots shifted from Xie Ying Jie onto Xia Liu Yi.
But Xia Liu Yi was oblivious. He aimed the gun at Xie Ying Jie’s other arm and roared at the top of his lungs: “WHERE IS A’SAN?!!”
Xie Jia Hua came stumbling from behind, shielding his father with his own body. Xia Liu Yi pressed the gun against Xie Jia Hua’s chest, his eyes bloodshot and crimson—he had completely lost all reason to rage! Xie Jia Hua shook his head frantically, letting out muffled wu-wu sounds as he struggled to spit out the cloth gag. “Calm down! Listen to me! They are at the cold storage plant! At the cold storage plant!”
“WHICH ONE?!!”
“I know! It’s the San Hua Cold Storage Plant! It’s the place where he killed Jia Qi! He wants them to suffer the same pain!”
Xia Liu Yi threw the pistol aside and bolted away! Xie Jia Hua cast one last look at his still-groaning father, his eyes filled with a hopeless sense of sorrow and hatred, before turning to chase after Xia Liu Yi.
Futile Devices Scans 
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