Ning Zhuo and Jin Xueshen had matters to discuss.
Shan Feibai sneaked a piece of strawberry-flavored bubblegum and ran outside to get some fresh air.
Who would have thought that as soon as he stepped out, he’d run into Yu Shujian, who was coming to see Ning Zhuo.
Seeing Shan Feibai, Yu Shujian subconsciously stood up straighter and defensively rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger.
He still wasn’t very used to dealing with Shan Feibai.
Shan Feibai took the initiative to strike up a conversation: “Looking for Ning-ge?”
Yu Shujian pressed his lips into a thin line and raised the communicator in his hand: “Looking for Ning-ge. He’s called seven or eight times already.”
Before he even finished speaking, the communicator flashed a red light again, blinking rapidly on and off, matching the urgent mood of the person on the other end of the line.
Shan Feibai stretched out a hand toward Yu Shujian, waving it up and down to gesture for him to hand the communicator over.
Yu Shujian took a step back, clearly hesitating.
With a hint of his innate flippancy, Shan Feibai winked at him: “I’m technically your partner too, the second boss. Give me some face, ah.”
Yu Shujian hugged the communicator, refusing to hand it over.
While the two were at a stalemate, Ning Zhuo leaned half his body out of the room and gave Yu Shujian a short, powerful order: “Give it to him.”
Yu Shujian’s body immediately responded, handing the communicator straight over, though his mind was still in a state of confusion: “…Ah?”
Ning Zhuo didn’t give Yu Shujian any further instructions. After issuing the order, he closed the door again.
The little wolf, now backed by someone, smugly shrugged his shoulders at Yu Shujian.
…Yu Shujian instinctively balled his fists.
However, as Yu Shujian stared at the clothes Shan Feibai was wearing, they looked more and more familiar.
That soft, slightly pilled white loungewear vest he had on looked a bit like Ning-ge’s…
Yu Shujian recalled the tight black vest Ning Zhuo had just been wearing, which perfectly pinched his slender waistline.
…He didn’t remember Ning Zhuo owning such a cute outfit.
As soon as a certain thought crossed his mind, Yu Shujian’s shoulders twitched as if he’d been electrocuted.
He shook his head vigorously, thinking he must be going crazy.
Over there, Shan Feibai had already connected the call.
A familiar and furious voice came from the other end: “Ning, what exactly are you guys doing?”
Shan Feibai said cheerfully: “Doing a mission.”
Charlemagne paused, slightly suppressing his anger: “Tell Ning Zhuo to answer the phone!”
Shan Feibai replied briskly: “I’m his man. Telling me is the same thing.”
Hearing this, Yu Shujian’s scalp tingled again, and he looked at Shan Feibai in disbelief.
Shan Feibai, however, remained calm and composed. As he talked on the phone, he casually used the back of his fingers to brush a speck of dust off Yu Shujian’s right shoulder.
Yu Shujian stepped back several paces, raising a hand to protect his shoulder in an alert and bewildered manner.
…Like a loyal big wolfhound whose head had suddenly been patted by the next-door neighbor.
Charlemagne was about to go mad with rage: “Is this the explanation you’re giving me?”
“Yeah,” Shan Feibai retorted righteously. “So is the guy dead or not?”
Charlemagne was tongue-tied.
Motobu Takeshi was indeed dead.
Less than an hour after Charlemagne transferred the massive fee, he died.
The cause of death was that Motobu Ryo couldn’t bear to see his son living like that, and directly killed him on the hospital bed.
In other words, with or without those five million, Motobu Takeshi was going to die today anyway!
In Silver Hammer City, money was a person’s life.
Charlemagne had first been terrified by the horrifying facts described by his wife, and then became extremely anxious about whether Motobu Takeshi would expose his wife, thereby implicating him.
In his desperation, he turned to Ning Zhuo and parted with those five million as if cutting off his own flesh.
That was his retirement fund, his coffin money!
Almost all his liquid assets had been poured into smoothing over this matter!
As a result, Charlemagne was left with only an empty shell of a position.
If there was even the slightest rustle of trouble, he would instantly fall to a state worse than Motobu Ryo’s—Motobu Ryo at least wasn’t in the police force and didn’t have as many enemies!
But in the end, Motobu Takeshi died just like that, as lightly and easily as passing gas.
Charlemagne felt like he had paid money to hire Ning Zhuo just to make a fool out of him.
Ning Zhuo had to give him an explanation!
He acted like a beast that had a large chunk of meat torn off it, coming to settle scores with Ning Zhuo while covered in blood: “Did he die by your hands?!”
Shan Feibai narrowed his eyes, smiling like a big boy: “What you’re saying is very profound. Do you want him dead or not? Since the ultimate goal was his death, does it really matter whose hands he died by?”
Charlemagne choked on his own anger: “You—”
But he wasn’t a complete fool either.
Pausing for a moment, he asked suspiciously: “Could Motobu Ryo… have been sent by you guys?”
Shan Feibai laughed: “It’s best for someone in the upper city like you not to inquire about lower city affairs. It won’t do you any good.”
There was a long silence on the other end, accompanied only by the sound of rapid, uneven breathing.
Shan Feibai blew a perfect, large bubble. With a pop, the sweet, soft bubblegum stuck to his lips.
He licked his lips, revealing his sharp, lively little canine teeth: “Is there anything else? Do you need me to dial an ambulance for you?”
“‘Haina’ and ‘Panqiao’ are always dedicated to serving you.”
The communication was unilaterally hung up.
The old man was probably afraid of getting a cerebral hemorrhage.
Shan Feibai handed the communicator back to Yu Shujian.
Yu Shujian took it and walked away without looking back, striding quickly all the way back to his dorm.
Yu Shujian was a man of few words, but he was also a herd animal. He always liked to soak up the atmosphere of a crowd, even if it meant being an invisible, transparent person amidst the bustle.
Therefore, when he plunged headlong into the large dormitory, he attracted the attention of the dozen or so “Haina” mercenaries present.
“Yu-ge, what’s wrong?” one of them asked while cracking melon seeds. “Barging in like that doesn’t seem like you.”
Yu Shujian leaned against the door, evening out his rapid breathing, and whispered: “We might be getting a second sister-in-law.”
As soon as these words came out, the dozen large men in the room stood up with a clamor.
“Really?”
“Holy shit, Ning-ge?”
“Who is it?”
Yu Shujian swallowed hard and said with difficulty: “Shan Feibai.”
Everyone present froze in unison.
A few seconds later, a chorus of boos erupted in the room.
A burly man lay back on his bed, clasping his hands behind his bald head: “Old Yu, I’d say you’re having a nightmare, right? Even in my dreams, I wouldn’t dare let Ning-ge sleep with me. Does that kid Shan Feibai even deserve it?”
Someone beside him laughed at him: “Fuck, A-Bei, aren’t you completely straight?”
The bald man said without hesitation: “Straight is straight, but that’s Ning-ge.”
Amidst the cheerful laughter, Yu Shujian also began to doubt his own judgment.
Could it be that his reconnaissance skills had deteriorated recently?
…
Inside Ning Zhuo’s room.
After hearing Ning Zhuo’s idea, Jin Xueshen glared at him in disbelief: “…When did you become such a hooligan?”
Ning Zhuo answered his question with another: “Are you going to do it or not?”
Jin Xueshen: “Why wouldn’t I? But… will he cooperate?”
Ning Zhuo: “Before today, no; after today, he will.”
This method was truly too underhanded; it didn’t seem like Ning Zhuo’s style, but more like that guy surnamed Shan’s.
Jin Xueshen thought of what Yu Shifei had said and muttered to himself: “Is it really true that one blanket can’t cover two different kinds of people?”
Ning Zhuo frowned: “…What are you saying?”
Jin Xueshen turned his face away: “Nothing.”
He stood up, kicked his stool aside, and walked toward the door.
Ning Zhuo watched him go and then stood up as well.
To his surprise, after taking just a few steps, Jin Xueshen turned back aggressively.
Ning Zhuo was slightly taken aback by his intense movement: “What are you doing…”
Jin Xueshen threw himself forward and hugged him tightly, his ten fingers gripping the vest on his back fiercely, and said in a muffled voice: “…Thank you, Ning Zhuo.”
Ning Zhuo was caught off guard by the hug. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he feigned calmness: “You’re welcome.”
After the hug, Jin Xueshen withdrew from the embrace as if nothing had happened: “I’m leaving.”
Ning Zhuo forced himself to shake off the goosebumps, replying hastily: “Mm.”
Jin Xueshen walked out of Ning Zhuo’s room, walking faster and faster. It wasn’t until he turned a corner that he crouched down. His face was burning red, he gritted his teeth, and fumed with impotent rage.
Ahhhhhhh!
What was he doing?!
How could he hug him, fuck! Has he lost his mind?!
Is it too late to go back and silence him?!
Just as Jin Xueshen managed to recover from that bout of toe-curling embarrassment, he looked up and met Yu Shifei’s pure, curious gaze, right at eye level.
…Great.
Fucking hell.
Yu Shifei mimicked his posture and crouched down too: “What’s wrong?”
Jin Xueshen buried his face deep between his knees, attempting to bid farewell to this beautiful world by suffocating himself.
But Yu Shifei misunderstood his intent.
According to his system’s judgment, Jin Xueshen was showing signs of being “sad.”
Thus, Yu Shifei gently hugged Jin Xueshen’s shoulders. Using the gentle attitude reserved for clients programmed into his core, combined with the killer instincts trained into him in “Panqiao,” he asked: “If we kill Ma Yushu, will you feel better? I’ll go with you. I have many ways to make humans feel pain.”
In a single day, Jin Xueshen had experienced a mixture of extreme sorrow and joy, his emotions fluctuating wildly. Now, hearing Yu Shifei ask this, he simply didn’t know how to react.
He said in a muffled voice: “Shut up. I’ll kill you.”
Yu Shifei paused for a moment and began seriously analyzing whether his own death would actually make Jin Xueshen’s mood better.
The conclusion he reached was “No.”
Even though he had a tough mouth, he would definitely feel sad.
Just as Yu Shifei was about to earnestly express the results of his analysis, Jin Xueshen, who was in his arms, said quietly: “Stop analyzing. I don’t want to kill you. That was a metaphor.”
“A metaphor?” Yu Shifei said. “I don’t really understand metaphors.”
Jin Xueshen: “…Idiot.”
Yu Shifei, who never considered himself an idiot: “Is that also a metaphor of some kind?”
Jin Xueshen: “Shut up, don’t move, let me lean on you for a while.”
Yu Shifei obeyed this command: “Okay. Mr. Raven.”
Jin Xueshen: “…Call me Jin Xueshen.”
Yu Shifei: “Okay. Mr. Xueshen.”
“…What about the ‘Jin’?”
“Based on our relationship, I judge that it can be omitted.”
“…Get lost.”
“That conflicts with the previous command. Please advise which one I should follow.”
“…”
“Mr. Xueshen?”
“…Let me lean.”
“Okay. Received.”
…
Motobu Ryo stumbled out of the “White Shield” gates.
It was as if he had aged ten years in a single day.
Looking up at the dark, bruised sky, Motobu Ryo let out a bitter, despondent laugh.
Motobu Takeshi had already been on the verge of death. It was “White Shield” who had tried every possible method to forcibly extend his life using all sorts of equipment.
By killing him, Motobu Ryo had acted understandably given the circumstances, but he had also inadvertently forced the truth out of Motobu Takeshi.
Furthermore, the bombing at the “Columbus” Memorial Concert Hall had triggered a chain reaction.
Countless black market industries had been investigated and raided, and the prisons were so overcrowded they couldn’t even make room for one Motobu Ryo.
In short, even his hopes of spending his twilight years in prison had been ruined.
Penniless, Motobu Ryo stood beneath the sky of Silver Hammer City, greedily breathing in the fresh air of the upper city, which felt both strange and familiar.
He would soon have to return to his lower city, continuing to survive by scavenging garbage.
As he stood there in a daze, a car drove past him.
The window rolled down, revealing an unfamiliar face: “Sir, do you need a ride?”
Motobu Ryo shook his head.
He had no money.
“Get in.”
Following Ning Zhuo’s instructions, Kuang Hexuan tossed out an unregistered ID card worth 500 credits and coolly issued a command: “In one hour, you need to be at a yellow phone booth located southeast of Donglong Street in the Chaoge District. You won’t make it in time if you walk.”
Hearts are flying and love is blossoming in the air~ 💕
I like how homophobia doesn’t seem to be a thing in this future