Friday, dusk.
Lu Shen wore a dark gray hooded trench coat, the brim pulled low, concealing everything above his brow.
The alley was devoid of vagrants, stray cats, or any living creatures.
Lu Shen wasn't surprised; his observations over the past few days had confirmed this... the foot traffic in this alley between six and seven in the evening was zero.
The residents of the Tong Lau had long been accustomed to taking the main street detour; no one wanted to tread on garbage bags and sewage to take this shortcut.
The only exception was Fang Jizhong.
Lu Shen retreated into a thirty-centimeter-deep recess on the east side of the alley wall.
This recess was formed by the misalignment of the outer walls of two Tong Lau buildings... the rainwater pipe above blocked the scant daylight, making the shadow in the recess at least two shades darker than the rest of the alley.
The waiting began.
Six thirty-eight.
Footsteps echoed from the direction of the alley entrance.
The sound of leather soles on concrete, a steady rhythm, with a stride of about sixty-five centimeters... perfectly matching the data Lu Shen had recorded over the past few days.
Fang Jizhong.
He stepped into the alley from the light-shadow boundary at the entrance, his figure gradually becoming clear in the twilight... just over 170 centimeters tall, slightly plump, wearing a pair of old-fashioned gold-rimmed glasses.
A gray short-sleeved shirt tucked into dark blue trousers, the waistband a bit tight, the metal buckle of the belt flashing as he walked.
In his right hand, he carried a white plastic bag, the mouth tied in a knot, containing two servings of rice rolls and a bowl of plain congee.
He passed the broken streetlight, entering the dark area of the alley.
His gaze swept forward as usual... a professional habit, a standard action he performed every time he entered a dimly lit enclosed space.
Everything was normal.
Fang Jizhong continued walking forward.
Three steps.
The sole of his shoe stepped over a small puddle, making a very light splashing sound.
Two steps.
The plastic bag swayed slightly in his hand, the bowl of congee bumping against the edge of the rice roll box, producing a muffled sound.
One step.
His right shoulder was about to align with the edge of the recess.
Lu Shen moved.
He slid silently out of the recess, like a shadow peeling off the wall... Get faster updates on novelping.com.
Lu Shen pressed against Fang Jizhong's back.
His right hand precisely locked onto the junction of Fang Jizhong's jaw and neck... the carotid sinus.
His thumb pressed on the left carotid sinus body, while his index and middle fingers clamped the right side, forming a perfect pincer pressure structure.
Fang Jizhong's body instinctively tensed, his shoulder blades retracting, core tightening, legs attempting to lower his center of gravity.
These reactions were correct, textbook-level counteraction initiation.
If given one second to complete these actions, he could at least break free from the initial control, gaining a window for counterattack or calling for help.
But he didn't have that second.
The moment the carotid sinus was compressed, the edges of Fang Jizhong's vision began to darken, like the snowflakes spreading from the edges to the center of an old TV screen losing signal.
Then, Fang Jizhong's body completely went limp.
Lu Shen held his collar with one hand and supported his armpit with the other, silently guiding the 140-pound body to the ground.
The alley returned to its dead silence, as if nothing had happened.
In the distance, the Cha Chaan Teng owner continued haggling with customers in broken Mandarin, and the sounds of children playing echoed between the Tong Lau buildings.
Lu Shen laid Fang Jizhong flat on the alley ground, his movements gentle and precise, then crouched down, retrieving pre-prepared items from the inside pocket of his trench coat.
A black fine cotton bag... pure cotton material, breathable, preventing suffocation from obstructed breathing.
A medical-grade nylon zip tie... wide version, edges polished, no burrs.
He placed the bag over Fang Jizhong's head, leaving a two-finger gap for slack.
The zip tie bound his wrists... after tightening it, Lu Shen loosened it by two millimeters, probing the gap between the tie and skin with his thumb pad to ensure it wouldn't cut the skin or block the radial artery's blood flow.
He wasn't dealing with an enemy; this was a comrade in arms.
Lu Shen bent down, hoisting Fang Jizhong's body onto his right shoulder in a firefighter's carry.
At the end of the alley, an old wooden cart was parked next to the garbage collection station, covered with a dark blue rain tarp.
Fang Jizhong's body was laid flat on the cart, Lu Shen adjusted his head position to ensure the cervical spine maintained its natural curvature and the airway was completely clear.
Then he covered the body with the rain tarp, tucking the edges into the cart's crevices, letting the excess fabric hang down naturally, concealing the gaps on the cart's sides.
From the outside, it looked like a cart of goods covered by a tarp... vegetables, fruits, or some peddler's leftovers too lazy to haul back to the warehouse after closing.
In the back alleys of Wan Chai, such carts could be seen at least a dozen times every night, attracting no extra attention.
Lu Shen pushed the cart onto the road, moving east along the back alley, neither too fast nor too slow, indistinguishable from a laborer heading home after work. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Soon, the faded sign of "Wangji Dental Clinic" loomed in the dim light, the rust on the iron gate mottled dark red under the residual glow of the streetlamp.
Lu Shen stopped the cart, fished out the paperclip from his pocket, and unlocked the door.
He lifted Fang Jizhong off the cart, sidled into the clinic, and silently closed the iron gate with his heel.
Relying on his memory of the spatial layout, he navigated through the waiting area in complete darkness.
The second treatment room.
An old dental chair stood askew in the center of the room, its faux leather surface cracked, revealing the yellowed sponge inside.
The chair's hinge was loose, but it could still support an adult's weight... Lu Shen had personally tested it last night to confirm it could bear the load.
He placed Fang Jizhong on the dental chair, adjusting his posture... back resting against the chair, head naturally reclining on the headrest, hands bound by the zip tie placed on his abdomen.
This position ensured unobstructed breathing, no pressure on the cervical spine, and when Fang Jizhong regained consciousness, he would immediately realize his situation... controlled, but unharmed.
Lu Shen stepped back two paces, standing at the partition door, leaning against the doorframe.
He adjusted his breathing.
In his mind, he reviewed every step of the operation... alley ambush, target approach, carotid sinus pressure, silent control, transfer, entry.
Every step was within the plan, no deviations, no surprises, no traceable evidence left behind.
He glanced at his watch again; from the alley contact with the target to entering the safe house, the entire process took four minutes and twelve seconds.
No witnesses, no traces, no sound.
Lu Shen leaned against the wall in the darkness, quietly waiting for Fang Jizhong to wake up.
In the darkness, somewhere, there was the sound of water dripping, approximately every seven seconds... possibly a leak from the upstairs tenant's water pipe interface, water seeping down the wall's internal crevices, finally gathering and falling in a corner of the clinic ceiling.
On the dental chair, Fang Jizhong's breathing rhythm suddenly changed.
Accelerating from fourteen times per minute... sixteen, eighteen, twenty.
He was waking up.
Lu Shen straightened up, left the doorframe, and took a step forward.
He stood two meters directly in front of Fang Jizhong, hands naturally hanging at his sides, posture relaxed and calm...
He was waiting for Fang Jizhong to open his eyes.
Then, he would tell this man some things.
Things that could change the fate of two people, even the fate of a nation.