SA 19.2

Zhong Qinglin slumped beside the railing, his recent frantic escape having stripped him of any remnants of his former authority. With his hair in disarray and a pallid complexion, no matter how glorious his past, now he was just an old man desperate to survive.

Faint lights flickered in the dark sky, growing brighter as the helicopter drew closer. The crowd erupted in cheers, their voices cutting through the tension like a release of pent-up relief. Zhong Qinglin’s face twisted, his expression an uneasy blend of joy and fear, as if the weight of his emotions was too much to bear.

The helicopter descended with precision, its rotors slicing through the night air, sending gusts of wind across the rooftop. As it landed, the deafening sound of the engine began to quiet, leaving only the heavy anticipation hanging in the air.

Zhong Qinglin stepped forward quickly, his movements filled with urgency and hope. He was just about to speak when he suddenly froze in his tracks.

The cabin door opened, and Chen Chen stepped out with an unhurried stride, his calm demeanor contrasting sharply with the tension surrounding him.

“Uncle Zhong, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?” he asked with a smile that seemed warm on the surface but carried an undercurrent of something far more sinister. “After everything we’ve been through, how could I let you face trouble alone?”

The rooftop fell into a stunned silence as the crowd watched in disbelief. No one could fathom how Chen Chen had found them, much less intercepted them so perfectly.

In that moment, his smiling face carried an aura that was both commanding and demonic, an image that sent a chill through everyone present.

“What… what do you want…” Zhong Qinglin took a step back, “I’ve lost everything. What more do you want from me?! Let me go, I’m an old man at the end of his days, why must you—”

“Uncle Zhong,” Chen Chen sighed deeply, “Where did all your ruthless tactics go? Thirteen years ago, if you had been a bit more ruthless, Chen Chen might not exist in this world anymore.”

“I know you blame me for killing your mother, but that’s all in the past..”

“It’s not because you killed my mother that you deserve to die!” Chen Chen said sharply. “Back then, if you had been quick about it, I might not have wanted your life. But you didn’t even let me be a man, and now you expect me to spare you?!”

Zhong Qinglin’s mouth fell open in astonishment. He couldn’t believe that all of this was the result of seeds sown thirteen years ago!

Chen Chen straightened up, once again appearing like the refined gentleman he was. He spoke indifferently, “I don’t want others to know about this. Watanabe, take action.”

In a flash, Watanabe, who had been standing with Zhong Qinglin and the others, suddenly turned and drew his gun. Before the stunned crowd could react, he opened fire.

The first bullet tore through the leader’s chest, sending a geyser of blood spraying a foot into the air. The other two, gripped by fear, turned to flee, but before their hands could reach the door, two sharp gunshots echoed. Dark red blood splattered across the door, smeared grotesquely by a lifeless hand sliding down its surface.

The last three men standing by Zhong Qinglin were dead.

“You… you’re all in this together!” Zhong Qinglin stammered, his words trailing off as disbelief clouded his face.

“Only now you realize? Boss Zhong, from the very start of this game, you were destined to lose. But I didn’t want it to be too simple,” Chen Chen said as he approached Watanabe, his tone calm yet cutting. “All that talk about support from the Yamashita group was nothing more than a ploy to deceive you. Watanabe has been my man from the beginning. Uncle Zhong, you’ve been playing right into my hands.”

“You… you…” Zhong Qinglin trembled with rage, his breath catching in his throat. He bent over, gasping for air, his face turning ashen as anger and humiliation consumed him.

Watanabe smirked and clapped Chen Chen on the shoulder. “Old man, as your Chinese saying goes, ‘All warfare is based on deception.’ How could you have trusted me so easily?”

Chen Chen smiled faintly, gently removing Watanabe’s hand from his shoulder as he stepped back. His voice was soft but sharp. “Watanabe, you Japanese also have a saying, ‘Never show your back to your enemy.’”

Watanabe spun around instinctively, reaching for his gun. But before he could react, the cold barrel of the silver “Arctic Fox” was already pressed firmly against his forehead.

“Chen Chen, you!!”

“I told you, I didn’t want anyone to know about this, including you.” His smile twisted devilishly as his finger gently squeezed the trigger.

A high-explosive round at such close range would blow off half a skull, and the tremendous pressure caused a mix of blood and brain matter to spray ten meters away!

Zhong Qinglin fell back into a pool of blood, completely petrified. He truly couldn’t believe that this demonic figure before him was the same always genteel nobleman. This man was a hundred times more ruthless than his father or even himself in his earlier days.

Chen Chen slowly approached the despairing old man, crouched in front of him, and said softly, “Still thinking of escaping, Uncle? This building is surrounded by my men, and you, you don’t even have a single ally left. What will you do?”

“Just kill me… please, I won’t run anymore…” At this point, Zhong Qinglin only wished for a quick death, knowing that being left alive could be far more cruel than death itself.

Chen Chen smiled faintly, pulling out a cellphone from his inner pocket and dialing a number, “What are you saying? Don’t you want to live and see your son in America? Or perhaps, speak to him?”

Zhong Qinglin’s complexion shifted from pale to a deep, purplish red. He had sent his only son to America long ago as a contingency plan, never expecting Chen Chen’s ruthless and far-reaching influence to extend so far. His hands trembled as he took the phone, his heart sinking at the desperate cries coming through the speaker.

“Let me go—save me! Dad!” The voice on the phone screamed with heartbreaking intensity, both familiar and strangely distant.

Chen Chen snatched the phone and tossed it aside carelessly. “Don’t look at me like that. This is all because your son couldn’t keep his act together. Messing around with drugs in the U.S. landed him in prison, where those psychopathic killers will treat him just like that man treated me all those years ago.”

“Chen Chen! You beast! I’ll fight you!” Zhong Qinglin lunged forward, but his words were cut short when the cold barrel of a silver pistol pressed firmly against his lower jaw.

“If I shoot from here, have you ever wondered how high your blood would spurt? It would be quite the spectacle, wouldn’t it?” Chen Chen’s voice was calm, almost amused, as Zhong Qinglin’s face shifted from red to blue, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

“Heh… after all these years of struggle, I’d hate for you to die too soon.” Chen Chen slowly lowered the gun, letting the barrel tap against Zhong Qinglin’s left ankle a few times as if seeking permission. “This shouldn’t be too much trouble, right?”

With a loud bang, Zhong Qinglin screamed in agony, nearly leaping from the pain as blood gushed from his ankle. His trousers darkened instantly, revealing the full extent of his terror as he wet himself in fear.

Chen Chen frowned, “Scared into wetting yourself so easily?” Before finishing his sentence, he flipped his wrist and fired another shot into Zhong Qinglin’s right ankle, then muttered to himself, “Don’t worry, I’ve been practicing my shooting for ten years, I’m not taking your life…”

As he spoke, a sudden burst of gunfire tore through the night, breaking its stillness. The man in front of him froze, life draining from his eyes as he crumpled to the ground, seven bullet holes riddling his chest.

Exactly seven shots. The same as what had happened to Xiao Jie.

His hands trembled uncontrollably, his entire arm swelling with veins bulging from sheer pain and shock.

But he could no longer utter a single word.

Blood slowly pooled beneath him, inching toward Chen Chen’s feet until it formed a dark, ominous puddle.