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Chapter 102: Chapter 100 Murderer and Monster
Outside the car window.
The crowd flows like a stream, and the neon signs flash non-stop.
The North Corner Night Market under the nightfall becomes colorful and vibrant once more.
Several yellow-haired young men in odd attire stand on the street corner, smoking and shouting loudly, looking rather imposing.
They are hoodlums from the Three Wolves Gang.
Watching their striking silhouettes, Fang Cheng mutters to himself:
"Sorry, I’ll have to let you carry the can."
He rushed to Lingang District today, checking out various places.
His initial intention was to find an opportunity to take care of Sang Biao, that scum, beforehand if possible.
As it turned out, he stumbled upon members of the Three Wolves Gang and the Red Tiger Gang meeting in a sauna to talk about business.
Seizing this rare opportunity, Fang Cheng fanned the flames, adding fuel to the fire, and simply finished off Sang Biao openly.
Hence.
The man with the tattooed arms who recognized his face became an inside agent bought by the Three Wolves Gang, a turncoat.
Fang Cheng himself underwent a transformation and became a top hired assassin for the Three Wolves Gang.
There are rightful claims for grievances, and rightful owners for debts.
What actions the Red Tiger Gang takes hereafter, I believe they will make a wise choice.
If they manage to get the bad dogs to bite each other, I can watch the play comfortably.
"Sir, shall I stop here?"
Amidst these drifting thoughts, the taxi had traversed the narrow streets, stopping by the flowerbeds in front of the tubular building.
Hearing the driver, Fang Cheng immediately responds, "Yes."
He then pays the fare, shoulders his bag, and steps out of the car.
His current appearance is that of an utterly ordinary office worker.
No one would ever guess.
That just half an hour earlier, he had slit a person’s throat and killed someone with his bare hands.
Looking up, he eyes the intermittently lit and shadowy tubular building, listening to the familiar cacophony around him.
Fang Cheng quickly enters the building.
Then, he climbs the dimly lit stairs, which lack several bulbs, all the way up to the ninth floor.
As he pulls the keys from his bag and looks towards his front door,
He spots a tiny figure squatting at the door.
The temperature has dropped a bit in the evening, and the girl has curled up, hugging her knees, her breath forming white clouds in the air.
"Wen Xin, what are you doing squatting here?"
Hearing Fang Cheng’s voice,
The girl instantly brightens up, lifting her head and cheerfully calling out:
"Brother Fang Cheng!"
Seeing her still wearing the woollen dress from her birthday, which now seems a bit dirty,
Fang Cheng can’t help but frown:
"Where’s your mom? Did she go out and leave you again?"
Wen Xin shakes her head, then picks up a small paper box she had placed on the ground, handing it to him with both hands.
"What’s this?"
Fang Cheng looks on with surprise.
"Guess."
Wen Xin purses her lips, seemingly struggling to contain her smile.
Fang Cheng sniffs with his nose, clearly detecting the scent of cream and essence.
Instantly understanding what it is, he still pretends not to know and curiously asks her:
"Is it an apple?"
"No, it’s not."
"Then it’s an orange."
"Wrong again."
"I know, there must be a little mouse hiding inside."
Fang Cheng finally feigns a sudden realization, saying with a very certain tone.
Wen Xin can’t help but giggle: "How could it be a little mouse?"
Then, she couldn’t wait to reveal the answer:
"It’s a cake I learned to make with Sister Zhou! I succeeded for the first time today, so I wanted to give it to you specially."
Fang Cheng doesn’t take it immediately but first opens the door:
"It’s cold outside; let’s talk inside."
The lights turn on, reflecting the clean floor of the living room and the neatly arranged furniture.
"Brother Fang Cheng, your house is really clean."
Wen Xin looks around curiously.
Seeing her hesitate to step inside, Fang Cheng offers a pair of women’s slippers with a smile.
Wen Xin walks into the room and places the paper box she was holding onto the table.
Then, she carefully opens the box to reveal a mini cream cake inside.
The cake is uniquely made, with breadcrumbs and sugar frosting sprinkled on top.
Seeing Wen Xin looking expectantly at him, Fang Cheng picks up the fork and takes a bite.
After tasting it subtly and meticulously, he compliments:
"It’s delicious, almost as good as what they sell in the cake shops."
Upon hearing this, Wen Xin’s eyes shine like crescent moons.
She holds her cheeks in her hands, staring intently at Fang Cheng, seemingly happier than if she were eating the cake herself.
Fang Cheng responds with a smile, looking genuinely delighted by the girl’s small gesture.
When he notices that Wen Xin’s fingers are as smooth as new, he remembers the frostbite cream he had bought previously.
Due to the hectic past few days, he had forgotten about it.
So, he asks: "Wen Xin, how did the frostbite on your hands heal so quickly?"
"I don’t really know."
Wen Xin blinks her eyes, looking at her hands:
"I just wished in my heart for the chilblains to heal quickly, so I could do more work, and then they really did disappear."
Listening to her childishly frank explanation, Fang Cheng can’t help but laugh:
"That’s incredible? It seems like you have a special power."
"Yes."
Wen Xin nods earnestly: "Sister Zhou also praised me for being adept and quick to learn. She said that she wants to invite me to help when she opens her store!"
The two of them sit at the table, chatting casually for a while.
Wen Xin suddenly remembered something, immediately got up to say goodbye, and rushed to the door to put on her shoes.
"I need to turn on the lights at home for my mom, she’s getting off work soon."
Seeing this, Fang Cheng, worried that the staircase was too dark and unsafe, personally escorted her to the basement.
Then he went back upstairs, pushed open the door, and returned home.
Looking at the half-eaten cake on the table, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.
He then turned on the TV and continued to slowly eat the cake, bite by bite, while watching the prime-time soap opera.
The ups and downs of life depicted in the TV series always seemed distant and unreal to him before.
Now, however, he found the characters clear and familiar, much like the people around him, or even himself.
Even when he was stepping in the mud, he still planted a seed of hope in the mire.
Hoping that one day, it would bloom into raging beautiful flowers.
Thinking this, Fang Cheng lifted his gaze towards the dark and cold cityscape outside the window.
Murder, to most people, might be something terrifying.
Using a knife to slit the throat of a living person.
Skin and flesh curling back, white bones chillingly stark. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Fresh red blood spouting out with a hissing sound, like a fountain continuously splashing.
When Fang Cheng held the knife handle in his hand, his heart was utterly still.
And when piercing the target’s body, he even felt a vague sense of excitement and pleasure.
Afterward, looking back, something always felt off.
As if he was becoming colder and more bloodthirsty, enamored with the thrill of taking another’s life, slowly descending into the abyss of becoming a murderer.
However—
Now, this abnormal mood suddenly got completely released.
"If I tell Wen Huixi and her daughter that Sang Biao is dead, they would probably be very happy, right?"
Fang Cheng muttered to himself, a few warm shades appearing in his cold gaze.
........
Late at night.
The streets were empty, with only a sparse number of cars passing by.
Under the dim streetlights, an ordinary-looking grey sedan was parked by the roadside.
"Ha—ah, looks like we’re here for nothing tonight."
"Let’s wrap it up early and go to sleep."
Two plainclothes detectives sat in the car, yawning continuously.
They were indeed Zhou Yongnian’s subordinates, Abang and Datou Cong.
Abang said with deep disappointment:
"Alas, I was hoping to make more of an effort, show off, and arrest some gang informants for promotion and a raise."
Datou Cong muttered under his breath:
"Could it be that the informant deceived us? We’ve been watching Wu Shihao’s company all night and not a thing has stirred, not even a ghost’s shadow."
After a few complaints, he couldn’t help but suspect:
"Do you think the chief is taking revenge for his soon-to-be son-in-law, that’s why these past few days we’re just watching the Three Wolves Gang and the Red Tiger Gang?"
"Shush, don’t talk nonsense about that, careful the boss hears you..."
Abang chided him and then explained:
"This operation is personally signed off by the chief; it’s not just our group handling the case."
"The Red Tiger Gang has been expanding too quickly, they’ve become too brazen. The higher-ups are clearly very dissatisfied, so we must do well and seize this opportunity for a meritorious promotion."
"Besides, the Red Tiger Gang has long set its sights on the old city district, and the Three Wolves Gang has always been at odds with them. Trouble has been brewing between the two sides, and now with a catalyst, even if there’s no fight tonight, or tomorrow night, sooner or later it’s bound to happen."
"So are we just going to keep watch all night?"
The two murmured softly, then suddenly both looked to the car window.
The lights in the Wu’s Trading Company chairman’s office, which was previously shrouded in darkness, suddenly turned on.
A figure in a black coat appeared in front of the bay window, seemingly gazing at the night view outside.
Then they raised their right hand, slowly making a throat-slitting gesture.
Clearly, their stakeout had been discovered by the police.
"Damn it, this guy is too arrogant!"
Datou Cong was instantly furious.
Abang, however, remained calm and realized the issue:
"It seems there’s something going on. Get in touch with the others immediately."
Just then, the walkie-talkie suddenly crackled.
Following that, a somewhat panicked and urgent call came through:
"Hello, anyone there, this is Night Owl, requesting emergency backup!"
Night Owl? That’s the code name for the team member watching the Three Wolves Gang.
Abang quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and responded:
"This is Mole, received, where are you located exactly? Over."
"Coordinates, mid-section of Feihong Road, west side villa area."
"How many people are in the shootout?"
"Just one, but he..."
The other side seemed to be experiencing interference, the voice abruptly cut off.
Abang and Datou Cong exchanged glances.
Unexpectedly, they didn’t encounter a gang confrontation. No wonder there was no activity at Wu Shihao’s end.
At that moment, the walkie-talkie began making static sounds, interspersed with gunfire and voices.
It seemed there was a firefight happening and that it was intense.
"Hello, what are you saying... I can’t hear clearly..."
Abang held the walkie-talkie, continuing to shout.
After a while, the voice on the other end suddenly went up an octave and came through somewhat clearer:
"Wow, how is it getting bigger..."
"What the hell is that... bullets can’t kill it... monster... run fast..."
The voice over the walkie-talkie gradually became more panicked.
Then, with a thud, it sounded like the walkie-talkie had fallen to the ground.
Left with only the sound of dead air flowing.
Crap, the Night Owl isn’t gone, right?
The two felt a bad omen, no longer concerned with their stakeout task, they immediately drove off.
En route, the solemn voice of the Major Crimes Unit’s chief, Zhou Yongnian, came through the walkie-talkie:
"All units, listen up, there’s been a change!"
"I have requested assistance from the Special Search Team from the higher-ups, others stay on the perimeter, do not intervene rashly, and pay close attention to safety..."
