Lu Pei abruptly woke from his half dreaming state, the book in his hand slipping and falling to the floor with a soft thud.
Outside the window, streetlights filtered through the ginkgo leaves, casting a faint golden layer across the room’s floor, mottled with pale shadows of the leaves.
Ignoring the fallen book, Lu Pei grabbed his phone from the bedside and called Yuan Que.
“Beep… beep…”
“Beep… beep…”
The seconds ticked by during the dialing, climbing higher and higher but the call still hadn’t been answered. Unease churned within him.
While waiting, Lu Pei thought Yuan Que had neither motive nor reason to kill Lu Xun. When they met, there hadn’t even been any conflict.
He had been too sleepy earlier to distinguish whether what he saw had been a nightmare or reality.
The interface changed. The call connected.
“Yuan Que.” Lu Pei spoke, deliberately adopting a light, casual tone. “Why aren’t you back yet? I’ve been waiting so long I’m about to fall asleep.”
“It’ll be late,” Yuan Que said. “Go to sleep.”
“Didn’t you say the mission was simple? Did something unexpected happen?”
“Handling something else.”
A bad premonition crawled up his spine. Keeping himself steady, Lu Pei asked, “What is it?”
From the other end of the phone came Weilang’s voice, loud and cheerful. “Hehe! Yuan Que and I are going to Sunny Day Hospital to see Lu Xun!”
Lu Pei: “……”
“Yuan Que, are you really going just to see Lu Xun?”
Silence fell on the other end. Yuan Que didn’t speak. Weilang’s cheerful humming drifted faintly through the line.
…Haha. The nightmare had come true. Yuan Que was already on his way to kill his brother.
After spending so much time together, Lu Pei understood him well. Yuan Que was stubborn like a Shiba Inu, empty headed like a balloon and when provoked, he charged like a maddened bull. Without restraint, he was practically a public hazard.
Lu Pei quickly changed into his outdoor clothes, careful not to agitate him. “Did you misunderstand something? Lu Xun is on our side.”
“……”
“You should at least hear me explain everything clearly. Where are you? I’ll come find you now.”
“No need.”
“Then you come find me. We’ll go together. I’m at the entrance.” Lu Pei pushed open the rolling shutter door, making sure the rattling sound carried through the phone. “It’s so cold, so cold. Yuan Que, come pick me up.”
“……”
“Yuan Que, come pick me up,” Lu Pei said again.
There was a brief silence. Lu Pei could hear his breathing grow slightly heavier, as though he were locked in a difficult internal struggle.
“Go back,” Yuan Que said. He paused, then, as if worried Lu Pei might be upset, added compensation for his refusal. “Tomorrow, I’ll buy chestnuts. From West Street. The ones you said taste better.”
The call ended.
Lu Pei: “……” Damn it!!!
Who cares about chestnuts? At this rate, he’d be attending his brother’s funeral!
Furious and panicked, Lu Pei hurried toward the tavern. Yuan Que’s phone was unreachable, so he called Weilang instead. The moment it connected, he spoke rapidly, “Weilang, are you with Yuan Que, ” but the call was cut off as well.
Both phones were now turned off.
He rushed to the tavern. At this hour, business was at its peak and a live band was playing soft, languid blues jazz.
The patrons raised their glasses and drank amidst the mellow, rounded notes of the music. Behind the bar, Jiang Gelei sat alone, sipping vodka.
Lu Pei asked her for a car, then added, “Have you ever been to Sunny Day Hospital?”
“You should ask Qiuge about that,” Jiang Gelei said. “He works in the hospital’s pharmacy department.”
What a coincidence.
“Is he here tonight?” Lu Pei asked.
“No. He said he’s resting.”
She gave him Lin Qiuge’s number and asked, “What are you going to the hospital for?”
Lu Pei’s thoughts raced. Some of Lu Xun’s and Wen Tiannan’s objectives overlapped. If he laid everything out to Jiang Gelei now, he could probably gain considerable support.
But that would expose his identity, possibly attracting suspicion from enemies on the surface. It wouldn’t be good for Yuan Que either, no boss would like an uncontrollable ticking bomb.
Lu Pei blinked and said, “Weilang and the others went to see Lu Xun and wouldn’t take me. I’m going too.”
Jiang Gelei didn’t question it. She smirked. “So you’re a fan too.”
“He sneaks off and won’t even answer my calls. Try calling him,” Lu Pei said.
She couldn’t get through either. Taking advantage of that, Lu Pei asked if she could track where their car was.
The underground’s positioning technology lacked precision. After checking the map, Jiang Gelei gave him a rough answer. “An unmanned parking lot southeast of the hospital.”
“Got it.”
Lu Pei hadn’t driven in a long time and was worried about getting lost. Fortunately, the roads were nearly empty at this hour. The ten kilometer trip took only fifteen minutes. As he drove, he contacted Lin Qiug.
“Qiuge, can you help me get into Sunny Day Hospital?”
“What are you trying to do?”
“A secret mission from the boss. Don’t ask.”
Lin Qiuge grew nervous. “Where are you trying to go?”
“The VIP building.” Lu Pei checked the map. “And the pharmacy department and administrative building nearby.”
“The pharmacy department is impossible!” Lin Qiuge refused immediately, then added, “You won’t pass the verification. You’ll be detected.”
While on the call, Lu Pei multitasked. He quickly found Weilang’s car, climbed onto the hood and shone a flashlight inside. Pressing his eyes to the window, he identified the gun holster inside.
From the model, Yuan Que had brought a lightweight sniper rifle with an effective range of about a thousand meters. There were no suitable high rise vantage points within that distance near the hospital, meaning the two of them had already infiltrated the building.
At the entrance of the parking lot stood a two story booth with a staircase beside it. Lu Pei climbed up to gain a height advantage and observe the hospital.
At the main entrance, reporters crowded tightly together, their cameras and equipment all aimed at covering Lu Xun’s situation.
They packed layer upon layer, blocking even late night patients from entering. Several security guards were shouting hoarsely as they tried to maintain order.
“Move aside!” one guard yelled. “Don’t interfere with people seeking treatment! Can you bear the consequences if something happens?! Move! All media are prohibited from entering!”
There was even a checkpoint set up at the entrance to catch reporters trying to sneak in disguised as patients.
“So troublesome…” Lu Pei muttered.
With security this strict, entering through normal channels was impossible. The hospital walls were high, he couldn’t climb them alone.
His thoughts tangled in frustration. Deep down, he believed Lu Xun would be fine but Yuan Que was unpredictable. Who knew how badly things might spiral between them? Yet he couldn’t even get into the hospital. If he delayed any longer, it would truly be too late.
He stood up and let the cold wind hit him full on for half a minute, cooling his overheated mind.
“Qiuge” Lu Pei said suddenly, “where are you right now?”
“At home.”
“You’re lying.”
“I….. ” Lin Qiuge hesitated for half a second, then replied with forced confidence, “How am I lying? I’m at my own home!”
“Is that so?” Lu Pei said leisurely. “Then why didn’t you come to the tavern today?”
“Could it be because Sunny Day Hospital is the underground district’s first pilot site for Seracibin and you’re too absorbed in the pharmacy department to leave?”
Lu Pei was gambling.
And he won.
Lin Qiuge, who had just been loudly denying it, suddenly fell silent.
Just as Lu Pei had first thought, he wasn’t good at hiding his thoughts, a straightforward person who devoted all his mental energy to research.
In that case, everything became simple.
“Come out now and take me into the hospital,” Lu Pei said.
“I…. I can’t…” Lin Qiuge hesitated.
Lu Pei quoted Huang Mao’s classic line: “Mr. Lin Qiuge, you wouldn’t want the boss to know that you…”
“Don’t! Please don’t!”
“I know you have a way.”
“I… I do,” Lin Qiuge admitted weakly. “But I prepared it for myself…”
“Get me in and the Seracibin you want, I’ll help you get it.” Lu Pei pressed further. “Medical grade Seracibin is extremely diluted. It’s nothing compared to the raw solution Zhou Zu smuggles. You know that, right? Next time, I’ll find a way to get you a few milliliters of the raw solution.”
“Really?” Lin Qiuge was immediately tempted. “You’ll keep your word?”
“Either trust me,” Lu Pei said, “or go talk to the boss.”
“…Give me ten minutes.”
…………..
Sunny Day Hospital.
Yuan Que advanced stealthily at high speed. Weilang nearly lost him several times but sheer enthusiasm pushed him to his physical limits.
At night, the administrative building beside the VIP ward had its lights off above the fourth floor. They successfully obtained a key and slipped into an office.
From the office window, two floors below, they had a clear view.
“Lu Xun’s room!” Weilang exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the white haired man reclining on the hospital bed. “That’s Lu Xun. I can’t believe I’m seeing him in person.”
Lu Xun’s eyes were covered with a light blocking bandage. A doctor stood beside the bed, asking questions.
“Are you sure?” Yuan Que asked.
“If that’s not Lu Xun, I’ll eat, wait, why are you taking out a gun?”
Yuan Que smoothly rotated the bolt, producing a crisp click in the darkness as he set up his sniper rifle.
Weilang froze. “…?” He slapped a hand over the scope. “Hey, what are you doing?!”
“Move.” Yuan Que said coldly.
In that room, there were only the doctor, Lu Xun and a uniformed guard. There was almost no chance of a mistake.
“You’re not… trying to assassinate Lu Xun, are you?!” Weilang blurted out in disbelief.
Yuan Que’s pitch black eyes slowly turned toward him, his entire face following with the same measured motion, like a jointed puppet rotating at a constant speed.
“Don’t mess around!” Weilang broke out in goosebumps, fear gripping him. “Do you know how serious it would be if Lu Xun were killed?! The boss never gave such an order!!”
“He’s ruining my life,” Yuan Que said calmly. “He deserves to die.”
Weilang couldn’t make sense of the connection. “How is he ruining your life? It’s not like he stole your wife-”
Yuan Que: “……”
From his increasingly dark expression, Weilang read a chilling warning, as if he were saying: Say one more word and I’ll kill you too.
The sensation was almost bone chilling.
“Y…. you still can’t-”
A blur of motion flashed. The rifle butt smashed into Weilang’s head. Instantly, pain exploded at his temple, stars bursting in his vision. Yuan Que’s elbow drove hard into his shoulder socket, forcing him away from the scope.
Everything happened in a split second, pain in his head, shoulder, arms, then a kick struck the back of his knee, making him collapse. Weilang tried to scream but with a sharp crack, his jaw was dislocated.
He fell onto the steps, dizzy and disoriented.
Weilang had no doubt Yuan Que could kill him effortlessly. In fact, he realized this was already Yuan Que holding back. Struggling, he tried to crawl up using one shoulder, his dislocated jaw rendering his words unintelligible.
“Aa… aa…”
Yuan Que ignored him, his focus returning to the target.
Through the scope, the blindfolded Lu Xun turned his head toward the window again, this was the third time Yuan Que had seen it. He clearly possessed strong combat instincts and had undergone counter sniper training.
He said something to the guard, who walked over, shut the window gap and drew the curtains.
The view was gone.
“…Tch.”
Yuan Que lowered the rifle and headed downstairs, preparing to switch tactics.
“Aa… aa… aa!!” Where are you going?!
Yuan Que’s expression remained cold as he descended without looking back.
He simply left Weilang behind.
Clearly, he couldn’t rely on him anymore. After great effort, Weilang pushed himself up and used his good hand to reset his jaw.
With a sharp click, it snapped back into place.
Yet just as Yuan Que was about to disappear from his sight five steps below, he suddenly returned.
His expression was still cold but he was now stepping backward, retreating step by step.
Weilang blinked in confusion.
What was happening?
He turned his head and looked down through the railing.
“What a coincidence, Yuan Que,” Lu Pei stood there with his hands on his hips, sneering. “What are you doing here?”