“Tianlei...”
Lu Shuangrou let out a heart-wrenching cry, as if it had been torn from the depths of her soul. It was filled with boundless grief, as though she were pouring out every ounce of sorrow in her heart.
Her cry echoed through the silent room, making everyone’s heart clench.
“Big Brother...” Yang Luo cried out in unbearable grief, his voice filled with deep reluctance to part with Xia Tianlei and profound sorrow.
Lu Shuangrou sat on the floor as if her soul had left her body, holding Xia Tianlei tightly. She gently and slowly caressed his face, moving so softly, as if afraid of disturbing him. Her eyes were full of hope, as though she still imagined Xia Tianlei opening his eyes again and looking at her tenderly, just as he always had.
Yang Luo felt utterly helpless. Faced with this sudden, devastating blow, it was as if a huge boulder were crushing his chest, leaving him unable to breathe. For a moment, he had no idea how to comfort Lu Shuangrou.
At that moment, time itself seemed to stand still in the room. The entire world seemed to mourn Xia Tianlei’s passing.
Suddenly, Yang Luo sprang to his feet and rushed to the wall in a few strides. The sorrow and fury in his heart, like a long-suppressed volcano, erupted in an instant. He slammed his fist into the wall, as if trying to pour all his pain and rage into that single blow.
“Boom!”
With a deafening crash, Yang Luo’s tremendous strength punched a deep hole in the wall. His right hand was covered in blood, his skin split, and bone seemed faintly visible, yet he felt no pain at all. The grief and fury in his heart had long since overwhelmed his physical pain.
Yang Luo’s eyes blazed as he strode over to the unconscious assailant. He bent down and struck the man’s chest forcefully. The assailant, who had been unconscious, slowly came to.
Yang Luo was desperate to find out who the assailant was, what deep grudge he had against Xia Tianlei, and why he had killed him so ruthlessly.
“Who are you? What deep grudge do you have against police officer Xia? Why did you kill him?” Yang Luo’s voice was low and cold, as if it had come from the depths of hell, carrying a chill that made one’s blood run cold.
The assailant’s tendons in his hands and feet had been severed, and he was extremely weak. After a long while, he finally managed to speak, his voice faint and feeble. “A-as an assassin, do you... do you think I’d tell you?” His words came in broken fragments, but his tone held a trace of stubbornness.
So he was an assassin. That made it all the more important to pry the identity of his employer out of him. Yang Luo gave a cold laugh, his expression full of disdain and resolve. “Whether you want to or not, you’re going to tell me.”
The assailant struggled to force out a defiant smile, twisted and hideous. “Don’t think you’ll get... a single bit of information out of me, unless... unless I’m dead.”
“Fine. Let’s see if you’re still so tough in a moment.”
Yang Luo’s gaze turned stern. Without hesitation, he struck several acupoints on the assailant’s chest in quick succession.
Just a few seconds later, the veins on the assailant’s forehead bulged, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down like rain. Then he could no longer endure the piercing pain and began screaming. In less than ten seconds, foam poured from his mouth, and he passed out.
Yang Luo pinched the assailant’s philtrum hard. Under the pressure, the man slowly regained consciousness.
“Come on, let’s continue.” Yang Luo’s voice held no emotion, as if he were a merciless judge.
Yang Luo gave the assailant no chance to speak. He struck several more acupoints on his body.
The assailant had cruelly murdered Xia Tianlei, and Yang Luo hated him to the utmost. Even if he confessed right away, Yang Luo would still make him suffer agonies beyond what an ordinary person could endure, to soothe the rage burning like a raging fire in his heart.
“Aaah...”
The assailant instantly let out a hellish scream, sharp and harrowing, like a wail from the underworld. He wanted to struggle, thrash his head, smash it against the wall, and roll around, but he couldn’t muster the slightest strength. All he could do was let his body convulse violently. At that moment, he likely didn’t even have the strength to bite his tongue and kill himself.
However, this time the assailant lasted even less time. He passed out again in under five seconds.
Yang Luo immediately brought the assailant around again. His face was now as pale as paper, his lips purplish, and he looked like a corpse, utterly lifeless.
When Yang Luo’s figure appeared before his eyes again, the assailant’s gaze was filled with fear and despair. To him, Yang Luo was the embodiment of the devil, a grim reaper come to claim his soul.
Before Yang Luo could speak, the assailant summoned all his strength and stammered, “I... I’ll talk. P-please... let me go.”
In the end, the assailant couldn’t withstand this inhuman torture and chose to surrender.
“You’d better not lie to me. Otherwise, I’ll make you feel as if a thousand arrows are piercing your heart.” Yang Luo’s voice was bone-chillingly cold, like a bitter winter wind, making the assailant shudder.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is profound and extensive; it can save lives, but it can also kill. The traditional chinese medical arts offer countless ways to make someone wish they were dead. What Yang Luo was using now was merely the most ordinary method of extracting a confession. He had methods a hundred times more effective than this, and even a man of iron probably couldn’t endure them for ten seconds. There was likely no one in the world who could withstand that kind of torture.
The assailant could barely speak normally, so Yang Luo leaned over and lightly struck his body. The pain immediately eased considerably.
Yang Luo let the assailant rest for a while before asking, “Go on. Who hired you?”
“Azure Dragon Gang Leader Lü Jianxiong.”
“The Azure Dragon Gang? Lü Jianxiong?” Yang Luo furrowed his brow slightly as he repeated the two names.
“The Azure Dragon Gang is Taiwan’s largest gang...”
It turned out that a year earlier, Xia Tianlei had cracked a major arms and drug smuggling case and personally arrested Lü Jianqiang, the ringleader. He was the younger brother of Lü Jianxiong, leader of Taiwan’s Azure Dragon Gang.
After Lü Jianqiang was sentenced to death, Lü Jianxiong had held a grudge ever since, vowing to kill Xia Tianlei and avenge his brother. Over the past year, Lü Jianxiong had repeatedly sent people to the mainland to gather information about Xia Tianlei. He had also hired the renowned top assassin in Taiwan—the man now before them—for the exorbitant sum of five million yuan.
Yang Luo could tell the assailant wasn’t lying. Faced with pain like a thousand arrows piercing his heart, the man wouldn’t dare lie.
Once the assailant had finished confessing, Yang Luo knocked him unconscious with a punch. A powerful killing intent surged within him, and he murmured to himself, “The Azure Dragon Gang. Lü Jianxiong. Fine. I’ll pay you a visit and make you disappear from this world.”
Yang Luo’s eyes were filled with resolve, as if he had already made up his mind.
Meanwhile, Lu Shuangrou was immersed in overwhelming grief over Xia Tianlei’s death, as if her soul had been wrenched from her. She hadn’t heard a word of Yang Luo’s conversation with the assailant. Otherwise, given her kind nature, she would certainly have stopped Yang Luo from seeking revenge, because she knew that hatred would only bring more pain and tragedy.
Just then, police cars and ambulances pulled up silently outside the residential complex. The police and Special Police officers then climbed out of their vehicles in full gear, and a tense, solemn atmosphere settled over the scene.
It turned out that a resident in the building across the way had witnessed Xia Tianlei’s fierce fight with the assailant. The resident had immediately called the police without hesitation and reported that both sides had used firearms.
After investigating, the police quickly determined that the fight had taken place in Xia Tianlei’s home. The higher-ups took the matter extremely seriously. After all, Xia Tianlei was the Top Leader of the police force, and his safety was of great importance. They immediately dispatched a large number of officers, along with the Special Police, to ensure nothing went wrong and that the situation at the scene would be brought under control.
Seeing so many police officers arrive, the Security Guard who had tried to stop Yang Luo hurried forward and asked them anxiously, “Officers, are you here to arrest the assailant?”
“How do you know?” asked a dashing female Special Police officer. If Yang Luo had been there, he would have recognized her at a glance: Zhou Xiulin, the woman he had clashed with at the Traffic Police Brigade.
As Deputy Director of the Special Police Brigade, Zhou Xiulin had been assigned by her superiors to lead the response to this incident. Officials from the Police Bureau had also come along to assist.
“More than half an hour ago, someone rushed straight into the complex. He was incredibly skilled. We checked all the surveillance cameras in the complex, but somehow couldn’t find any trace of him afterward.” The Security Guard hurriedly recounted what had happened, his expression still tinged with fear and confusion.
“That happened, and you didn’t call the police?” Zhou Xiulin asked sternly, frowning slightly.
The Security Guard hurriedly explained, “We did. A few police officers already came by, and they’re searching the complex now.”
“All right, thank you. You can leave now.”
At that moment, a Special Police officer reported, “Captain Zhou, the witness who called in has already led us to the exact location. Director Xia lives on the ninth floor of Building C, in Unit 903.”
“Good. Notify the officers conducting the search to withdraw at once. We mustn’t alert the suspect.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The situation was urgent, and Zhou Xiulin didn’t dare waste a moment. The station had just called to inform her that Director Xia’s service pistol was still at the station. It was easy to infer that the situation must be extremely dangerous, and every second mattered.
Zhou Xiulin then said to the leader of the Police Force, “Team Leader Zhang, time is of the essence. We need to move at once.”
“Understood, Deputy Director Zhou.” Team Leader Zhang nodded.
“Snipers, take your positions immediately. We’ll follow the plan we drew up in the vehicle and breach the door precisely at midnight.” Zhou Xiulin issued her orders quickly and calmly. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried unquestionable authority.
“Yes.” The sniper immediately sprang into action like a leopard, searching for the best position to provide support at the critical moment.
“Good. Synchronize your watches. Everyone, take your positions. Move.” At Zhou Xiulin’s command, the two squads worked in close coordination and charged toward the ninth floor, where Xia Tianlei lived, like two well-trained leopards. Every face was marked with seriousness and focus.
When they reached the eighth floor, Zhou Xiulin raised a hand to signal a halt. The police and Special Police officers stopped at once, perfectly in sync.
Zhou Xiulin checked the time and gestured again, signaling everyone to slow down and proceed quietly, making as little noise as possible so they wouldn’t alert the suspect.
The two squads continued onward, everyone moving cautiously, as if deliberately keeping even their breathing quiet. Before long, they reached the door of Unit 903 on the ninth floor.
Zhou Xiulin gently pressed her ear against the door and listened intently for any movement inside. Several dozen seconds passed, but she heard nothing—not footsteps, not the sounds of a struggle. The unusual silence struck her as strange, and a trace of unease rose in her heart.
Zhou Xiulin checked the time. With only a few dozen seconds left until midnight, she gestured for everyone to prepare to breach the door.
“10, 9...” Zhou Xiulin mouthed the numbers and counted down with hand signals, determination showing in her eyes.
Everyone’s nerves were taut as they waited for that crucial moment.
“Boom!” With a deafening crash, the door was blasted open. Zhou Xiulin charged in first like a gust of wind, while Special Police officers rappelled down and entered through the balcony as if descending from the heavens. The entire operation was executed seamlessly, demonstrating the highest level of professionalism.
“Don’t move!”
The police and Special Police officers shouted in unison, their voices booming through the living room. With guns in hand, they rushed inside and warily searched for the assailant, while other officers quickly spread out to search every room, leaving no corner unchecked.
Several Special Police officers rushed forward, aiming their guns at Yang Luo, who was standing in the living room, and at the assailant lying helplessly on the floor. They shouted, “Hands on your head! Get down!”
“Damn it, we’re too late. Director Xia has been killed.”
As soon as she entered the house, Zhou Xiulin spotted Xia Tianlei lying lifeless on the floor. Her heart sank, and grief and guilt welled up within her.
She quickly surveyed the scene and spoke into the radio on her left shoulder. “Everyone downstairs, listen up. Get a doctor upstairs immediately. We have an injured person.”
“Report: no one in this room.”
“Report: there’s a child in the room on the right. He’s been knocked unconscious.”
“...”
“Understood.” Zhou Xiulin responded to each report and continued directing the scene in an orderly manner.
Hearing the officers’ reports, Lu Shuangrou, still lost in grief, suddenly remembered something. She gently laid Xia Tianlei down, got up, and ran toward the room, murmuring, “My son... my son.” Her voice was full of worry and urgency, and though she stumbled, her steps remained determined.
After the Special Police officer shouted, Yang Luo remained motionless, as if he hadn’t heard. One officer shouted again in a stern voice, “Hands on your head! Get down!”
Yang Luo had his back to everyone, facing the wall. They could see only his lonely silhouette, and the Special Police officers instinctively assumed he was the assailant.
However, Zhou Xiulin thought the figure looked familiar, and a trace of doubt arose in her heart.
Yang Luo had sensed the police arriving long before they reached the door. He let out a bitter laugh to himself. Immersed in the overwhelming grief of Xia Tianlei’s death, he didn’t want to care about anything or open the door. It was as if the whole world had nothing to do with him.
Yang Luo slowly turned around, his gaze so cold it made one’s blood run cold, as if it had come from an ice cellar, filled with endless sorrow and fury. The wound on his hand had dried with blood, forming a dark-red scab.
It was him. What was he doing here? No wonder the figure had looked familiar. It was that bastard.
Zhou Xiulin recognized Yang Luo at a glance. Startled, she immediately shouted, “Stop! Lower your guns. He’s one of us.”
Zhou Xiulin’s voice broke the tension. Her words allowed the Special Police officers to breathe a sigh of relief. Yang Luo’s gaze, sharp as an arrow, had put them under immense pressure, as if it could pierce straight through their hearts and make their blood run cold.
“Why are you here? How did your hand get hurt?” Zhou Xiulin couldn’t help asking, her eyes revealing a trace of concern and confusion.
Yang Luo didn’t respond. He silently took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. Through the swirling smoke, his face looked even more haggard and forlorn.
Worried that the police might accidentally hurt Yang Luo, Lu Shuangrou emerged from the room carrying Xia Yu in her arms. As she walked, she said, “Xiao Luo hurt his hand by punching the wall.”
Everyone followed her words and looked toward the wall. When they saw the shocking hole in it, they couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath.
Is he even human? He’s a monster. How much strength would that take? Everyone was astonished, disbelief written all over their faces.
Zhou Xiulin was just as shocked. Although Yang Luo had saved her before, she had never imagined he possessed such astonishing strength. She couldn’t help feeling even more curious about and in awe of him.
Looking at the deceased Xia Tianlei, Zhou Xiulin spoke solemnly to Lu Shuangrou. “Sister-in-law Xia, please accept our condolences. Director Xia was the pride of our police force. He isn’t gone; he will live forever in our hearts. We will follow in his footsteps and continue the fight. Remove your caps. Salute.”
Zhou Xiulin’s voice was solemn and powerful, as if paying Xia Tianlei the highest tribute.
As soon as she finished speaking, all the officers solemnly removed their caps and gave Xia Tianlei their most sincere and respectful salute.
A short while later, medical personnel hurried upstairs carrying first-aid kits and a stretcher. Zhou Xiulin pointed at Yang Luo and said to the doctor, “Doctor, please treat his hand first.”
Why am I so concerned about this bastard? Even Zhou Xiulin herself couldn’t quite understand it, and she muttered to herself.
“Sir, I’ll disinfect the wound first, then apply medicine and bandage it. It may hurt quite a bit, so please bear with it.”
“It’s fine. This little bit of pain is nothing.”
That was true. Yang Luo had suffered countless injuries, great and small. Sometimes he even removed bullets himself without anesthesia. Compared with those experiences, this pain was nothing. But the pain in his heart far surpassed the pain in his body—a sorrow that had sunk deep into his bones.
As expected, Yang Luo didn’t so much as change his expression or blink while the doctor disinfected and treated his wound. The doctor was amazed by his endurance and couldn’t help feeling a measure of respect for him.
Afterward, the assailant was taken to the hospital.
Xia Tianlei had closed his eyes forever, and his death had become a tragic loss. Given the gravity of the incident, Yang Luo and Lu Shuangrou had no choice but to go to the police station and give their statements.