"No way!"

The person by the bed jerked his head up.

He Andong locked eyes with the man for a moment, his gaze as indifferent as a tiger's.

The man's Adam's apple bobbed, and he said, "Brother Dong, you've said before that you wouldn't abandon Little Jin..."

"You all promised me as well, that once out, you'd follow my lead."

The man tilted his head back, veins bulging on his neck.

"Follow you? Follow you to the point of leaving our own behind? We entrust our lives to you, and this is how you treat your brothers?"

He Andong's hand shot up, suddenly pressing the muzzle of a gun against the man's forehead, his eyes bloodshot.

Gao Cheng took two startled steps forward.

"If I, He Andong, intended to abandon my brothers, I wouldn't have come back. I'm saying it one last time—leave!"

"Brother Dong, please don't."

"Then shoot, kill me and swallow my share too!"

"Shut the hell up!"

"Now the money's gone, and so are our lives. What's left? Just a few worthless pieces of paper?"

The man shouted hysterically, flipping a leather suitcase from the table onto the floor, scattering golden Hong Kong dollars everywhere, along with two sheets of gold-embossed rice paper that fell alongside the money.

"I told you to shut up."

Gao Cheng was also enraged.

"Click."

Amidst the rising tide of angry shouts, this crisp sound seemed so inconsequential. Yet it sent an inexplicable chill through the enraged He Andong...

With fingers long and joints broad, yet untouched by the mundaneness of life, he fluidly picked up a scalpel from a plate and plunged it into Gao Cheng's neck.

An abrupt turn of events!

A jet of blood sprayed out, staining the cracked wall paint crimson.

He Andong turned his head in a daze.

Gao Cheng's face bore an expression of disbelief, his remaining body heat escaping rapidly with the spurting blood, and behind him stood a gaunt and pale-faced man.

"Dong... Brother Dong."

In the blink of an eye, He Andong felt bewildered.

What kind of person have I brought back?

Li Yan's left thumb was grotesquely dislocated by his own doing, his wrist bound by a tangled mess of hemp rope. The scalpel in his right hand was buried deep in Gao Cheng's neck, his entire body hidden behind Gao Cheng.

Almost reflexively, He Andong raised his hand.

The person by the bed also swiftly drew the handgun from his waist, his eyes bloodshot with veins.

"Cheng Zi!"

"I pull out the knife, and he dies immediately."

"If you pull, you die!"

"Step back!"

The four men positioned themselves in a standoff, blood dripping from Li Yan's wrist onto the scattered banknotes on the floor, a sight dripping with irony.

He Andong feigned a charge, and Li Yan jerked Gao Cheng's neck backward, driving the knife deeper.

Countless dust particles danced in the dim light, the breathing of the men growing heavier.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Who are you?"

"Let him go, and I'll let you leave."

"Fellow, are you joking?"

He slowly shifted his feet, another person sidestepping to join him, the two men moving left and right, inching closer like predators closing in on their prey.

"Release Cheng Zi!"

"Make another move and I draw my blade."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Then shoot."

The exchange between the men grew increasingly rapid. He Andong repeatedly seemed on the verge of firing his gun, but each time Li Yan would abruptly halt, stirring the blade ever so slightly against Gao Cheng's neck.

"Throw away the gun, and I'll release the hostage."

"You're dreaming."

"The police will arrive, and either way, it's death. Might as well be a fight to the finish."

"Do it, then!"

"Do it, then!"

"Do it, then!"

With each shout louder than the last, Li Yan retreated step by step, and with each step, He Andong's gun barrel rose higher. As the gun barrel elevated, the grip on Li Yan's knife tightened accordingly.

The three men paced back and forth on the muddy ground stained with blood and banknotes, knocking over tables in their tug-of-war, causing an array of surgical instruments to clatter and clang.

Little Jin on the bed clutched the sheets tightly, his face bloodless and increasingly ghastly.

He Andong's gaze was icy cold, so detached it was impossible to tell whether he would riddle Li Yan and Gao Cheng with bullets the next instant. Li Yan's eyes, however, were inscrutable, as if covered with a layer of dust or resembling the depth of an ancient well.

They were like two pythons vying for a meal, each wary of the other's formidable presence, yet unable to forsake the gluttonous feast before them.

"Old friend, today I, He Andong, admit defeat. I'll count to three, we both drop our guns, and you release the hostage. How about it?"

"Fine."

Li Yan agreed without hesitation.

"One!"

Li Yan's toes curled, scraping the ground slightly forward.

"Two!"

The person by the bed shifted their gaze nervously between Li Yan and He Andong.

"Three!"

As soon as He Andong spoke, the person by the bed clenched their teeth and tossed aside their Type 54, and He Andong, aiming at Li Yan, flung his Type 54 pistol forward.

Indeed, he threw it forward...

Crouching low and rolling forward as if he had rehearsed it countless times in his mind, He Andong was already on the move, scooping up the gun almost as soon as it hit the ground. He raised his arm, aimed...

Before him was Gao Cheng, staggering forward after being pushed by Li Yan, and He Andong's gun was now aimed at Li Yan, who had lost his hostage!

Gao Cheng's eyes had lost their luster, blood gushing from his neck like a fountain.

Li Yan had drawn a scalpel!

"You!" He Andong roared as his finger squeezed the trigger.

A flash of silver plunged into his wrist, and in pain, the gun fell to the ground!

It was a broken scalpel blade that Li Yan had stealthily stepped on and broken during their confrontation and the overturning of tables.

Li Yan, like a starving tiger, lunged forward! He kicked the gun away with one foot, and with a powerful kick of his right leg, he struck He Andong's throat, flipping him over, blood spraying from his mouth. He then leaped like a tiger toward another man bending down to retrieve the gun!

The whip-like kick lashed out, striking the man's lower abdomen! As his right leg touched down, he dragged and swept backward, forcing the pained, crumpled figure to kneel on the ground. His left elbow coiled around the man's head like a python, and the scalpel in his hand drew a bloody line across the neck. Blood rushed forth, eager to escape the confines of the flesh.

With a dull thud, Li Yan laid the limp body to rest, turning emotionlessly to approach He Andong, the scalpel in his hand dripping with fresh blood.

Suddenly, Li Yan felt a weight around his waist. Little Jin, who had been on the bed, had wrapped his arms around Li Yan's waist in a tight embrace.

"Brother Dong, run!"

The nightmare unfolded in stark reality. The tall, thin man, taken hostage by Brother Dong, had become a demon in the blink of an eye, turning the cramped clinic into a hellish forge.

Without a second thought, Li Yan turned and swung his arm, driving the scalpel, gripped in reverse, into Little Jin's temple. Blood spattered, staining Li Yan's sleeve.

Even in death, Little Jin's arms remained locked firmly around Li Yan.

He Andong struggled to his feet, not thinking of escape but reaching for the pistol that lay at a distance.

"Damn it!"

Li Yan's eyes reddened with fury. His left hand incapacitated, he stabbed the scalpel repeatedly into Little Jin's head, blood quickly soaking the stretcher.

He Andong, his mouth filled with blood, charged with bestial desperation towards the Type 54 pistol.

It was a fight to the death!

Both men were consumed by a murderous rage, their vision stained red with blood.

He had it!

With a guttural cry, He Andong turned and raised his arm just as Li Yan reached him, the scalpel plunging down towards his face!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

...

"I'll say this one more time: these Big Circle Boys are ruthless. If they dare to resist or flee, shoot on sight. If necessary, kill them then and there. Understood?"

The imposing wall of Riot Shields advanced, the Mobile Squad encircling the entire apartment complex, tightening their grip. Fifty-six-year-old Li Yao Guang, closely followed by two members of the Mobile Police Force, stormed through the door with an MP5K submachine gun at the ready.

Blood and money littered the floor, and four lifeless bodies lay sprawled across the room. A tall, thin man, his suit and face smeared with blood, was reaching out to close He Andong's wide-open eyes as he faced Li Yao Guang...

"Put your hands on your head! Stand up slowly!"

Li Yao Guang bellowed the command.

Li Yan crouched low, and as instructed, slowly rose to his feet, the Black Ripples in his vision gradually calming.

"The A Fleeting Glance status has been active for nine minutes and forty-three seconds, with no critical vulnerabilities identified. Five Yan Fu Points have been expended."

"You have disengaged the target lock."

"The target is deceased."

**********

Feel free to check more free following-up chapters here: https://www.readgates.com/article/7956ef