Gao Yi returned to the operating room, crouching down with difficulty to pick up the boss's dropped phone.

The phone was still on, its screen showing an active recording. Gao Yi only wanted to make an urgent call for help. Without hesitation, he exited the recording function, but found himself facing an English-language page.

Below the video submission options was a box marked "OK".

Gao Yi just wanted to make a call quickly. His finger swiped up, revealing a back button, which he pressed to exit the page.

He couldn't call the police or emergency services directly. Given the situation, Gao Yi felt it best to contact the embassy for help.

But he soon discovered he couldn't make any calls.

After dialing, there was no response. The phone emitted no sound, and no matter what he pressed, the device's most basic function - making and receiving calls - didn't work.

The number was definitely correct. Gao Yi had memorized the embassy's 24-hour emergency line.

The phone's owner had just made a call, so the device itself shouldn't be the problem.

Gao Yi switched to the emergency number and dialed again, but with the same result - the call wouldn't go through.

Perhaps there was an issue with the SIM card? Or maybe this phone wasn't meant for making calls at all.

After two failed attempts, Gao Yi, with no time to waste, placed the phone on the ground. He crawled around the room, searching for another phone.

But among the four bodies in the room, only the boss had a phone on him.

There were two more bodies outside, but Gao Yi was seeing stars. He knew he had reached his limit and could pass out or die at any moment.

He had no choice but to retrieve the unusable phone. This time, instead of futilely trying to make a call, he brought up the interface that had been running in the background.

The boss had been communicating earlier. If he wasn't making a phone call, he must have been using a messaging app.

There was no calling function on the page, but when Gao Yi went back one screen, he found several new options.

The page was extremely simple. Though in English, Gao Yi could roughly understand it.

There were four options: Complete, Fail, Help, and SOS.

The bottom option, SOS, was in red - meaning emergency call for help.

Emergency call?

This phone belonged to the boss of an organ trafficking ring. He had just been using it to contact someone. Who would this emergency call summon? Surely not help for a victim like himself?

Yet Gao Yi pressed it without hesitation.

He was facing death anyway. What harm could there be in trying?

If this was a platform, Gao Yi's call for help would reach someone unrelated to the boss he had just killed. That gave him hope of rescue.

If the emergency responders were the boss's accomplices, Gao Yi wouldn't mind taking out a couple more, if he got the chance.

Though regular calls wouldn't connect, just seconds after selecting the emergency option, Gao Yi heard a faint voice from the phone's speaker.

"What can I do for you?"

Gao Yi heard the voice and saw a glimmer of hope, but his English was shaky. He could understand some, but struggled with conversation.

"Help me... save me..." he instinctively said in his native tongue.

After a brief pause, the person on the other end immediately responded in halting but precise Mandarin: "You... uh... need... help, or rescue?"

The words came haltingly, but each one was pronounced perfectly.

"Yes, I've been shot... save me..."

"Alright, I'll locate your position. How much are you willing to... pay? I mean, what bounty?"

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Gao Yi hesitated, then said uncertainly, "I... don't have money."

"Good luck then."

"Wait, I don't have money now... but I will after you save me. I'll pay... 100,000?"

Gao Yi truly didn't understand what these terms meant. He had no idea how much it would cost to save his life, so he threw out a number.

"Okay, 100,000 US dollars. Please hold. I'll find someone willing to help rescue you. Can you move from your current location?"

US dollars? Gao Yi hadn't specified the currency, but now didn't seem the time to correct that detail.

Gao Yi said softly, "I can't move. Hurry, I'm... dying..."

"Understood. The bounty has been posted. To better assist your rescue, can you describe where you've been shot?"

"Chest, lung, lung..."

"Alright. Good luck again. Goodbye."

The operator's Mandarin became more fluent as they spoke, but they had no intention of prolonging the conversation. The call ended abruptly.

Gao Yi didn't know who he had contacted for help, but he now felt it wasn't the boss's associates. It seemed more like a transaction platform, which gave him a glimmer of hope.

He kept the phone, as it could quickly prove his identity as the person who called for help. He placed the gun on the floor, hidden under a doctor's white coat but within easy reach. After doing this, Gao Yi sat down against the operating table.

He closed his eyes and remained motionless.

Gao Yi appeared to be completely dead, but he wasn't just alive - he was conscious.

If the arrivals were saviors, that would be the best outcome. If they were the boss's accomplices, Gao Yi intended to take a few more down with him.

About half an hour later, faint footsteps were heard again. Someone hurried to the door but didn't enter.

After observing for a while, someone finally walked into the blood-soaked operating room.

Gao Yi watched through barely-open eyes. A white man had entered.

After entering the operating room, the white man first surveyed the scene, noting the bodies on the floor before his gaze settled on Gao Yi, slumped against the operating table.

Gao Yi was naked, the bullet wound on the left side of his chest clearly visible, the phone obvious in his hand.

A shot to the heart area should have been fatal, and he certainly looked dead.

But dead men don't call for help.

The white man's face was puzzled, but he walked directly to Gao Yi without hesitation. He first pulled the phone from Gao Yi's hand, then pressed his right hand against Gao Yi's neck.

As he bent to examine Gao Yi's gunshot wound, the white man suddenly kicked out, revealing the gun hidden under the edge of the white coat.

"Hiding a gun, still thinking of fighting... Huh?"

After a surprised exclamation, the white man suddenly called out loudly, "He's not dead yet. Come in!"

Two Southeast Asian men who had been guarding the door immediately entered. One of them frowned at Gao Yi and said, "Is this the target we're supposed to rescue? But he's already dead."

"No, he's not dead yet."

"How can someone survive a shot to the heart?"

"Then it's not a shot to the heart."

The Southeast Asian man also pressed his hand to Gao Yi's neck for a moment, then said in surprise, "He really isn't dead."

Confirming Gao Yi was still alive, the Southeast Asian man said in a low voice, "He's not dead yet, but the chances of survival are slim. We can't collect payment for a dead man. Let's abandon this job, we won't get the bounty."

Hearing this, Gao Yi could be certain.

The website was indeed a transaction platform, and these men had truly come to rescue him.

Gao Yi opened his eyes slightly and whispered in an extremely weak voice, "Save me... will pay..."

Both men stepped back, clearly startled. The Southeast Asian man cursed quietly in Thai, while the white man exclaimed in extreme surprise:

"He can still speak!"

Gao Yi struggled to lift his eyelids again and managed to say with great difficulty, "Save me... will pay..."

The white man was both shocked and delighted. He immediately asked, "Did you kill all these people? You took them out after being shot?"

Given the current situation, what was the point in denying it?

Gao Yi responded weakly, "Yes."

The white man seemed to make up his mind. He said urgently, "I can save you, but your medical expenses will be extra, not included in the bounty!"

Gao Yi no longer had the strength to nod. He could only whisper, "Okay."

"Deal!"

When he heard the word "deal", Gao Yi finally let go of the breath he'd been holding.

He could no longer maintain consciousness. His head slumped to the side as he finally passed out.

The white man quickly lifted Gao Yi's eyelids and felt for a pulse on his neck, needing to confirm whether Gao Yi had fainted or died.

Confirming a faint pulse, the white man immediately said, "Save him. I'll advance the medical expenses. I'll also advance you $20,000. If he dies, you still get the $20,000. If he lives, I'll pay you the full $40,000. You won't lose either way."

The armed man replied without hesitation, "Alright. The only question is, do you have the money?"

The white man exhaled, unconsciously rubbing his nose. He said firmly, "Yes!"

The Southeast Asian man nodded and called out loudly, "Come in, get him to the car. Emergency treatment, take him to the hospital!"

Two more Southeast Asian men entered the room. They slung their guns over their shoulders and quickly carried Gao Yi out.

The white man didn't rush to leave. He began carefully examining the bodies. With each corpse he inspected, he grew more excited.

While the white man was excited, the Southeast Asian man looked worried. He said quietly, "We should leave quickly. Don't cause trouble."

The white man confidently replied, "Don't worry. This place is remote. No one will come for a while. Want to earn some extra money?"

The Southeast Asian man looked at the white man warily. "Extra money?"

"This is a waste disposal site. These dead men are cleaners. The dark web will pay to destroy this scene. Are you interested in earning that money? If you are, I'll contact them about the job."

"If it's just destroying the scene, of course we can do that."

The white man immediately took out his phone. The page he opened was almost identical to what Gao Yi had seen, but with a few additional options.

After tapping the phone a couple of times and entering a page, he dialed the online customer service voice call.

Soon, the white man said quietly, "I'm reporting a waste disposal site that may cause an information leak. All the cleaners are dead. I can handle removing the evidence now. How much is the dark web willing to pay?"

"Twenty thousand US dollars, to be paid after evaluating the results."

"Alright, thank you."

The white man hung up and said to the Southeast Asian man, "Four thousand dollars. Two thousand each. We just need to bring some gasoline and burn this place down. Isn't that easy money?"