Within the chamber, darkness reigned.
Master Qiao reclined within, one arm wrapped around his new lover, Little Sammy, the two of them engrossed in a lurid, blood-pumping Category III film. Upon the wall-sized projection screen, a striking beauty—half woman, half machine—stood proudly, metallic breasts gleaming as twin jets of fire erupted forth, incinerating her foes. Flames engulfed the screen, mingled with men’s agonized cries of “Waaah—yaah—!”
“BOOM—!”
The door was violently blasted open from without.
Master Qiao and Little Sammy shrieked in unison, clutching their cushions.
“Waaah—yaah—!”
“What the hell?! Fuck! Who’s that?!” Master Qiao roared as he snapped back to his senses.
The lights flared on.
Two bodyguards rushed in, grabbing hold of him and dragging him toward the door.
“Boss, move! Move! The ICAC are outside—they’re here to take you in for ‘assisting an investigation’!”
“What ‘Lim Kee’? Lim Kee roast goose?! Lim Kee bakery?!”
Elio’s notes: The body guard used 廉记 (Mandarin: lianji, Cantonese: lihm gei) which is slang for the ICAC so the disgusting old man thought it was some Lim Kee’s name.
“The Independent Commission Against Corruption, Boss! They say you’re involved in money laundering and bribery!”
“Damn it! If it were the cops, fine—but I mind my own underworld business, what the hell has that got to do with them?! I’ll go out and kill them all!”
The bodyguards scrambled to restrain him.
“No, Boss! Even the ICAC dare arrest the police—we can’t afford to provoke them!”
Draped in his robe, chest hair bared, Master Qiao still clutched Little Sammy as they were hurried downstairs and shoved toward a hidden passage on the ground floor of the villa. Yet the moment they slipped out the back door—
They froze.
In the alley stood several plainclothes officers of the ICAC, guns raised, credentials displayed.
The man in front began, “Independent Commission—”
“BANG—!”
A bullet tore through his skull, exploding into a spray of blood!
Little Sammy, who had never witnessed death, let out a piercing scream—
“AAAH—!!!”
Gunfire erupted in rapid succession!
Several ICAC officers dropped one after another!
Master Qiao stood dumbstruck. Behind him, his bodyguards hastily drew their guns, aiming at the newcomers—
Three assassins in black shades and masks strode forward from the far end of the alley. Behind them idled an unremarkable van.
“The Shopkeeper sent us to fetch you.”
Master Qiao exhaled in immense relief and gestured for his men to lower their weapons. Dragging Little Sammy along with his retinue, he hurried into the van.
Once seated, his heart still pounding, he muttered,
“You lot even dare kill the ICAC?!”
The last assassin climbed aboard, shut the door, and drew his gun.
“Nothing matters more than the Shopkeeper’s orders.”
“BANG—! BANG—! BANG—!”
Blood exploded across the cabin.
Master Qiao was splattered with Little Sammy’s brain matter. Frozen, he stared at the gun now slowly turning toward him.
“The Shopkeeper thanks you,” the assassin said.
“BANG—!”
The shot struck the seat behind him, bursting stuffing into the air!
This seasoned underworld lord reacted in a flash—ducking low and ramming his head into the attacker! The two tumbled to the floor, the gun discharging wildly into the roof with another thunderous blast!
The two killers in front whipped around, raising their guns—
At that very moment—
“CRASH—!!!”
A sedan slammed head-on into the van!
The two front-seat assassins, unbelted, were hurled halfway through the windshield, blood streaming as they struggled.
Master Qiao and the rear assassin still grappled fiercely—
The car door was yanked open from outside.
“BANG!”
A single shot rang out.
The advisor lunged in, dragging the blood-soaked Master Qiao out.
“Get in the car—now!”
They scrambled into the battered sedan, its hood crumpled inward. The remaining assassins opened fire, chasing after them. The advisor swerved and reversed under a storm of bullets.
Curled in the back seat, Master Qiao wept with gratitude.
“My dear advisor! My treasure! You’re the best! My Sammy—ahh—!!”
“Quit wailing, Boss! There’s a gun under the seat—grab it and help!”
……
Two ICAC vans wound their way along a mountain road.
At this off-peak hour, the road lay desolate—only the occasional bus passed by. In the rear vehicle, the driver watched the road ahead while glancing warily into the rearview mirror.
Xie Ying Jie sat upright in the last row, his expression dark yet composed. Chief Investigator Xu and Lu Guang Ming flanked him on either side.
He tilted his head slightly, glancing out the window—then at Lu Guang Ming, whose body trembled faintly. The enemy who had slain his kin was within arm’s reach—Lu Guang Ming longed to flay his skin, devour his flesh. Only sheer will kept him from lunging forward to strangle him.
“You are Lu Yong’s son,” Xie Ying Jie said calmly.
“So—you knew.” Lu Guang Ming sneered.
“Weren’t you dead?”
“Yes. Just as you wished, wasn’t it?”
In a moment, Xie Ying Jie pieced it together. He nodded.
“A fine performance. You’ve all gone to great lengths. Investigating a Deputy Commissioner requires reporting to the Governor. Without irrefutable evidence, your Boss would never approve—especially since he is in London attending meetings.” He turned to Chief Investigator Xu. “This operation… did not receive his authorization, did it, Chief Investigator Xu?”
Chief Investigator Xu’s face was cold as iron. He did not answer.
Xie Ying Jie let out a low chuckle.
“Heh… no wonder you skulk about like thieves.”
“So what?!” Lu Guang Ming snapped. “Once we have your proxy and freeze your funds, evidence will follow!”
“A’Ming! He’s baiting you!” Chief Investigator Xu warned sharply, unease creeping into his gaze as he glanced outside—the road ahead and behind lay eerily empty.
Xie Ying Jie smiled coldly.
“No need to bait him. This little upstart officer wears his thoughts upon his face.” He looked at Lu Guang Ming. “You hate me, don’t you? For killing your father?”
Lu Guang Ming surged forward, seizing his collar, breath ragged with fury. A spirit-tablet pendant slipped from his neckline.
Xie Ying Jie glanced down.
“Tang Jia Qi? …Ah, I remember. The boy who died in the freezer.”
He met Lu Guang Ming’s eyes at close range—his gaze cold and vicious as blades of ice.
“I saw the photos of his corpse in the case file. Do you know? Many who freeze to death die smiling. Before death, blood rushes to the head, the face flushes red… and as they keep exhaling warm breath, their lips curl into something like a smile… like this…”
Slowly, he drew his lips upward—forming a grotesque, rigid smile.
Lu Guang Ming let out a shattered roar and punched him square in the face!
Chief Investigator Xu hastily unbuckled his seatbelt, rising to intervene!
As Xie Ying Jie dodged, his eyes flicked forward—then suddenly he bent low, clutching his head—
“SCREEECH—!!!”
The front vehicle’s tires burst upon a strip of spikes, veering sideways into the mountain guardrail!
The rear vehicle could not avoid it—crashing into the first, then flipping over its roof due to the downhill momentum!
Metal screamed as both vehicles twisted and deformed!
Inside, the world inverted.
Lu Guang Ming hung suspended by his seatbelt, dazed, as he opened his eyes. His legs were trapped within the crushed side door. Below him, Chief Investigator Xu—unbelted—lay in a mangled, blood-soaked heap.
A faint click sounded nearby.
Xie Ying Jie, face smeared with blood, had unfastened his seatbelt and dropped onto the overturned roof.
Lu Guang Ming groaned hoarsely, reaching for him—but was easily evaded.
“You… don’t go…” he rasped.
Xie Ying Jie crouched before him, raising his gaze. Blood covered his face, rendering him all the more sinister—his eyes burning crimson.
Without a word—
He lifted his cuffed hands and looped the chain around Chief Investigator Xu’s neck.
“No… no…” Lu Guang Ming cried in terror.
“Let him go! Let him go!!”
Expressionless, a drop of blood slid from Xie Ying Jie’s chin, falling upon Chief Investigator Xu’s pale face. Under the tightening chain, that face slowly reddened, distorting—bones creaking under strain.
“No—! Don’t—!!” Lu Guang Ming howled, unfastening his seatbelt and collapsing forward, his legs still trapped above. He clawed desperately toward them, even beating and tearing at his own legs.
“Let go—! LET GO!! AHH—!! AHH—!!!”
“CRACK!”
The sound of a neck breaking.
Only then did Xie Ying Jie release his grip.
In a world turned upside down and drenched in red, Lu Guang Ming saw Chief Investigator Xu’s head fall limp.
A wail of utter despair tore from his throat, tears streaming uncontrollably.
“Ah… ah…” His voice failed, his mind blank.
At that moment, Xie Ying Jie seized both his arms and yanked downward with brutal force—
Agony beyond measure ripped through him as flesh tore apart!
His mouth opened wide in a silent scream—his arms wrenched from their sockets, blood pouring from the torn wounds in his legs.
“THUD!”
He fell onto the overturned roof, a mangled ruin of flesh and blood.
Xie Ying Jie kicked out the rear window, then dragged him out by the arms. A dozen assassins in black shades and masks closed in.
Taking a handkerchief from their leader, Xie Ying Jie wiped the blood from his face. Just as he was about to speak—
Pain shot through his leg.
Looking down, he saw—
Lu Guang Ming, limbs broken and useless, had somehow sprung up and sunk his teeth into his ankle with the last of his strength!
The assassins raised their guns—but Xie Ying Jie gestured for them to stand down.
He bent, delivering a vicious slap.
“SMACK!”
Lu Guang Ming’s bloodshot eyes stared unwaveringly, his jaws locked tight.
“SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!”
Blow after blow echoed.
After more than a dozen brutal strikes, his swollen face slackened—his teeth finally loosening as he collapsed unconscious.
Xie Ying Jie lifted his pant leg—the flesh at his ankle had been torn open, two chunks bitten clean away, leaving a ragged, bloody imprint.
Frowning, he wiped his hands with the handkerchief and tossed it onto Lu Guang Ming’s face.
“Take him. Dispose of the rest.”
“Yes, sir!”
Futile Devices Scans 
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