A few days earlier.
Wei Lang had both hands in his pockets, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, unlit, as he paced back and forth irritably.
He suddenly kicked the wall.
The foam protective sheet stuck to it had long been scraped into tatters, bits of white fluff falling from time to time.
Jiang Gelei cast him a sideways glance. “Are you on your period?”
“Fuck!” Wei Lang snapped. “Forget not getting the box, at least we could’ve taken their goods and made Zhou Zu swallow a loss of several million but we couldn’t even drive their truck away! Total wasted trip and you’re not even annoyed?!”
“How is it a wasted trip?” Jiang Gelei said coolly. “We picked up an idiot who can’t even drive.”
“Is that my fault?!” Wei Lang roared. “The key I got was wrong! What, was I supposed to carry a cargo truck on my back? The key thing is totally Little Bucktooth’s responsibility, he didn’t even bother checking!”
The man Wei Lang called “Little Bucktooth” was built like a rugby player, silent as he drank his martini. In sharp contrast to his massive frame, he had small, glutinous corn like teeth.
“Mammoth being on guard was within the boss’s expectations,” Little Bucktooth said. “After all, that box is practically their god of wealth.”
“They’ll tighten security. Our plan’s dead in the water,” Wei Lang hesitated. “Next… do we just wait for that guy?”
“That’s right.”
“Can that guy even be trusted?” Wei Lang said. “He’s so trusted by Mammoth, important jobs all go to him and the benefits must be huge. Why would he defect to us?”
“That’s for the boss to judge” Jiang Gelei replied calmly. “No point worrying about it.”
“I’m just concerned,” Wei Lang muttered. “Will he really do what the boss said? Can he really handle things properly on Mammoth’s side?
…….
Yuan Que leapt straight up, grabbed the edge of the wall with both hands and flipped himself onto the top in a clean pull up motion.
He extended a hand toward Lu Pei below. “Up.”
“……. ”
Lu Pei made an effortful jump, grabbing both of Yuan Que’s hands, his whole body dangling from Yuan Que’s wrist. Yuan Que lifted him up with one hand as if he were carrying a plastic bag.
Getting down from the wall was much easier. Lu Pei jumped, landing safely into Yuan Que’s open arms.
The first step of the infiltration plan, scaling the wall, was a complete success.
Witnessing the explosion orchestrated by the man from above had left Yuan Que with some lingering aftereffects. His heart had been beating too fast the entire four minutes it took to walk from the alley to the mine.
He had just managed to calm it down with abdominal breathing but when the clumsy man needed his help to climb the wall, the carefully controlled rhythm went haywire again.
“We’re amazing!” Lu Pei said, moved.
“What’s next?” Yuan Que asked.
“Do you know where that box is kept?”
After a brief thought, Yuan Que said, “A safe.”
“Perfect,” Lu Pei said. “Let’s head to Brother Mammoth’s office first. I set a timed bomb to blow up the surveillance room, they’ll be drawn away.”
“Where did you get explosives?” Yuan Que asked.
Without changing expression, Lu Pei said, “I know a local arms dealer.” Who was currently in prison.
Yuan Que realized he needed to revise his impression of the man from above, reduce the “timid and cowardly” part and add “resourceful and calculating.” For this change, Yuan Que gave a fair evaluation: “You’re somewhat smart.”
Who was the one that forced him into activating the final plan in the first place? Lu Pei sneered inwardly, having no desire to be praised by this brute.
As a semi public labor camp, the mine was roughly divided into four areas. The mining zone, which served as the work area, was farthest from the office building. With the lack of leadership among the subordinates and the explosion drawing them away, the two of them reached the office building almost unimpeded.
“Yuan Que, look.”
Lu Pei picked up a crystal ornament from Brother Mammoth’s desk. It had a magnifying effect, like a lens and he held it beside his face.
From the other side, his eye appeared many times larger. The gradient in his iris became vividly clear, not to mention his white lashes as they fluttered.
“I’m an alien,” Lu Pei declared.
Yuan Que pressed his palm lightly against his chest, feeling his heartbeat, his expression solemn.
At times too slow, at times too fast, it felt like sinus arrhythmia.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Lu Pei asked.
“No.” Perhaps it was still the aftereffects of the poison.
The safe beneath Brother Mammoth’s desk stood open, completely empty inside.
Lu Pei rested his chin on his hand.
This was a purely mechanical device, there was no possibility of controlling it remotely.
“They took it,” Yuan Que said.
Inside the double layered safe, there was truly nothing at all.
Yet Lu Pei broke into a very satisfied smile.
Yuan Que guessed, “Are you laughing out of anger?”
Lu Pei: “?”
Lu Pei: “You really can’t read the room at all. I’m genuinely happy.”
“Who took it?” Yuan Que asked.
Lu Pei only stared at him with a smile, saying nothing.
“Let’s go to the parking lot.”
A few minutes later, the two arrived at the parking lot, the very place where a chaotic car chase had just unfolded. Now only a few vehicles remained. Aside from the trucks, almost all the cars had gone out in pursuit of them.
Beside the guard booth, Old Wei lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious, his lips deathly pale.
He had collapsed face down, clearly having passed out again for some unknown reason after being struck by Yuan Que’s elbow.
Stepping over Old Wei, Lu Pei entered the guard booth. From the bottles and jars on the desk to the small fan on the ceiling, he carefully examined everything.
The car keys were on the table. He grabbed the keyring.
………
“An explosion?!”
“Damn, my ears are about to go deaf!”
“Where did it blow up?”
“The mine, the mining area!”
The sudden massive explosion sent the underlings, now without their boss, into a frenzy, buzzing like bees in disarray.
Although a few tried to take charge, there was no true second in command among them. They could only direct their own subordinates to handle specific tasks.
The situation remained utter chaos.
Another thunderous “BOOM!”
“The surveillance room’s been blown up too!!” someone shouted.
How many bombs were there? Where was the enemy hiding? The clueless underlings were plunged into endless confusion and anxiety.
“You Rulan, Boss Chong wants you to contact Boss Zu.”
“Got it,” You Rulan said. “I’ll go right away.”
You Rulan strode quickly to the parking lot. He first checked on Old Wei, confirming that he was indeed unconscious, before reaching under the desk in the guard booth, where a wooden box was hidden.
The item was still there.
You Rulan let out a breath of relief and walked leisurely toward the car he usually drove.
Open the door, close the door, sit down, fasten the seatbelt, before the buckle could even click into place, a sound came first,
“Click.”
A handgun pressed against his temple.
You Rulan’s neck stiffened.
Slowly, very slowly, he lifted his head. Then, in the reflection of the rearview mirror, he saw Lu Pei’s smiling eyes.
“Hi,” Lu Pei said. “Care to chat?”
You Rulan: “…I don’t think I really have the right to refuse, do I?”
“You could resist for a bit. That’s part of the usual process.”
“You dyed your hair before coming out?” You Rulan asked.
“How does it look?”
“Lighter colors suit you better.”
“I feel like black looks more fashionable,” Lu Pei said. “Alright, no more small talk. I think talking to you doesn’t require too much effort, so let’s get straight to the point. How long have you been secretly working for Fengshan?”
“How could you think that?” You Rulan replied.
“Because you’ve left a lot of holes.”
“For example?”
“For example, you switched Old Wei’s medication, causing his condition to flare up,” Lu Pei said. “For example, you took the item from the safe and deliberately left the door open, afraid they wouldn’t connect its disappearance to me and Yuan Que. It’s too deliberate.”
With each word he spoke, You Rulan’s back stiffened a little more.
All of a sudden, he recalled that day in the cafeteria, when Lu Pei had raised an eyebrow at him, amusement flickering in his eyes and countered, Keep your distance, from you?
Had he already guessed it back then?
What a terrifying person. You Rulan felt a chill crawl over his scalp.
He had always considered his infiltration skills quite decent. Even Brother Mammoth had barely noticed anything yet this newcomer, Ruby Francis, had seen right through him.
Keeping his tone as relaxed as possible, You Rulan asked, “What are you trying to say?”
Hidden beneath his clothing, his left hand moved toward the small knife at his waistband. He was confident he could fight Lu Pei but before his fingers could touch the handle, he suddenly felt a tangible killing intent pressing against his back.
Adjusting the angle of his neck, his eyes shifted sideways. In the reflection, he saw a pair of powerful, sinewy arms, the wrist bones carrying a youthful sharpness.
Damn it. Yuan Que was here too.
You Rulan’s restless hand stilled obediently.
“First of all,” Lu Pei said, “even though the entire organization believes it, the one who framed us must know that the two of us are not traitors.”
You Rulan remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
“I have nowhere to go. Neither does Yuan Que,” Lu Pei paused. “But you, you have somewhere to go.”
You Rulan seemed to guess what he was about to say and clicked his tongue inwardly.
The current situation seemed much better than he had imagined.
Sure enough, Lu Pei’s next sentence was: “Take us to defect to Wen Tiannan. Buy one, get one free.”
“Take the box and hand it over to him, it’ll serve as our token of allegiance.”
“…,” You Rulan pondered for a moment, then said, “I can take you to meet Wen Tiannan but I can’t guarantee they’ll accept you.”
“That’s enough.” Lu Pei withdrew the gun. “Drive.”
He really did put the gun away just like that, handing over complete control of the steering wheel to You Rulan. He even left the box with him, stepping into the back seat to sit side by side with Yuan Que.
You Rulan was puzzled. He had expected Lu Pei to at least take the box, the most important item, as leverage or to remain in the passenger seat to keep an eye on him.
Instead, he simply moved to the back seat. It was either a sign of considerable trust or absolute confidence that the situation would not slip beyond his control.
Because Lu Pei’s posture was so relaxed, completely letting his guard down the moment the deal was struck, it only made You Rulan more suspicious. He wondered if there was some other hidden plan, glancing back from time to time.
However, Lu Pei sat in the back simply out of habit. The driver’s seat belonged to the driver, the passenger seat to the bodyguard, he usually rested in the back with his eyes closed.
After continuous, intense stimulation, once the adrenaline faded, a delayed wave of exhaustion set in.
Before long, resting his head against the jostling edge of the car window, Lu Pei truly fell asleep.
He slept so deeply he was completely unaware of anything, while the other two in the car both secretly watched him.
Even in this situation, the man from above dared to sleep. Yuan Que thought calmly. His vigilance is limited, he’s not very smart at all.
Yuan Que wouldn’t suddenly smack me, would he? You Rulan also tried to think calmly.
He was overthinking it. Yuan Que’s full attention was fixed on the man from above, leaving him no time to bother with the slick tongued driver in the front seat.
Because You Rulan wasn’t fully focused on driving, a child riding a bicycle suddenly darted out from a fork in the road ahead. Unable to avoid it in advance, he had no choice but to jerk the steering wheel sharply, sending the car swerving violently.
Lu Pei wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Carried by inertia, he tipped sideways and fell headfirst onto Yuan Que’s lap.
The sudden movement woke him but finding a “pillow” beneath his head, he felt comfortable enough to fall right back asleep without hesitation.
Caught off guard by the unexpected “attack” Yuan Que’s entire body tensed.
Yet the man resting on his lap showed no intention of moving away, remaining completely still.
He stayed still and for some reason, Yuan Que did not dare move either. At the same time, his tachycardia suddenly flared up again.
To his surprise, Yuan Que realized that this condition was strongly correlated with surface Dweller.
You Rulan had expected to be scolded for his reckless driving but in the rearview mirror, he caught sight of Lu Pei sleeping on Yuan Que’s lap. Yuan Que, as always, wore an expression that looked like he wanted to hit someone yet he didn’t move him away.
The scene was… oddly suggestive.
“…,” You Rulan couldn’t help asking, “Are you two… actually a couple?”
“No.” Yuan Que denied.
In that instant, something he had long overlooked but that had indeed happened, something important, flashed through his mind.
The man from above had a husband.
His husband had once come to visit him.
On the visitation application form the guard had shown them, in the “Spouse” column, it was written: “Mr. Francis.”
They were legally recognized spouses, sharing the same surname. They were the ones truly closest to each other.
In that fleeting moment, Yuan Que’s heart rate shifted again, from too fast to too slow.
……
Sinkport Prison.
Far from the surface, the level of oversight was naturally more lax. Lu Xun’s subordinates had devised a more efficient and covert method to pass intelligence to their superior, even planning to occasionally arrange for him to leave prison to handle matters. Given time, it should be achievable.
As for the method of transmitting information, it was actually quite simple. First, they opened channels with the upper leadership of the prison system. Then they offered appropriate bribes to mid level personnel. Finally, they planted a trustworthy subordinate to serve as a prison guard.
After that, this guard would deliver messages on a regular basis.
The broader developments across various departments of the Alliance, major trends in the upper districts, suspicious activities of certain organizations…
By the dim light of a candle, Lu Xun adjusted his glasses and scanned through the documents rapidly.
There wasn’t much of importance. He selected only a few items and gave brief instructions.
The final page contained a report compiled by Duoban regarding Lu Pei’s recent situation.
Compared to the concise, precise wording of the earlier reports, this section was unusually colloquial, its content almost devoid of substance, like someone accidentally typing “What’s for lunch?” in a work group chat.
[M4 explosives, 550 grams, delivered. P satisfied.]
[P used explosives. Mine in upheaval.]
[Dogdan Liszt (Mammoth) deceased. Suspected to have been killed by P.]
[P sent message, refusing your arrangement.]
[P claims to have found a reliable companion and will live and act together with him in the future. Name: Yuan Que. Background investigation as follows: …]
…
Lu Xun carefully examined the copied file on Yuan Que. When his eyes fell on the fierce looking ID photo, he immediately frowned slightly at the aggressiveness of his appearance.
According to the record, this person’s education ended in the first year of primary school. A frequent visitor to juvenile detention. Had killed a Golden Council member… that, at least, was well done… After that, he joined Zhou Zu’s faction, engaging in life on the edge work ever since.
A completely illiterate street thug, ruthless and soaked in blood from countless killings.
Lu Pei should never have associated with someone like that.
Even without knowing the inside story for now, it wasn’t difficult for Lu Xun to guess why Lu Pei had refused his protection arrangements: he had already offended Zhou Zu and was trying to seek shelter with another organization, unwilling to drag his elder brother, imprisoned as he was, into trouble.
But for that reason, to form a partnership with such a dangerous hoodlum was far too reckless, nothing short of playing with fire.
Lu Xun picked up his fountain pen, pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote a letter to Lu Pei.
It was very brief. The general meaning was “Follow my arrangements, don’t act recklessly.” There was a risk that the thug might see the letter, so he didn’t mention him at all.
Lu Xun instinctively moved to sign “Xun” but suddenly remembered that the alias Lu Pei was using here was a girl’s name, Ruby, like the nickname of some princess from ancient times.
Quite something, the way he came up with it.
Lu Xun lowered his head and smiled faintly.
He decided to tease his younger brother in a subtle way, so he added “To Ruby” at the beginning. Then, with a turn of the pen, he casually wrote at the end:
[Your dear,
Mr. Francis]
Author’s note:
Big brother begins the Asura field lunch as an incompetent husband (?), while a certain “official partner” gradually starts down the path of becoming the other woman (…).
But the misunderstanding will be cleared up soon, because I don’t like misunderstandings.