26. Collecting a Debt

The two men’s pupils constricted as they whipped their heads around to look at the glass of wine that had appeared out of nowhere.

A woman in a black tactical suit stood there holding the glass.

She wore a black tactical mask that covered her face completely, leaving only her eyes visible. Seeing the two men staring at her, her eyes curved into crescents. She raised the glass and asked in a soft, gentle voice, "Care for a drink?"

Wang Hongzhi and Gu Tingzheng felt a chill race up their spines, and beads of cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

"Who... who are you? How did you get in here?"

Wang Hongzhi glanced nervously toward the door. The bodyguard who had been guarding the entrance was now lying on the floor, his fate unknown. A slender man stood in the doorway, also completely wrapped in black, his face hidden in the shadows.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Benefactor," Qiao Yuyan said. She set down her glass and pulled a handgun from her waist, toying with it in her hand. "We’re just here to collect money."

Wang Hongzhi looked at the metallic glint of the gun in her hand, his lips trembling. "What money? How much do you want? Is a million enough?"

"A million?" Qiao Yuyan laughed heartily, pressing the muzzle of the gun against Wang Hongzhi’s forehead. "Are you trying to brush off a beggar?"

Before she could finish, she turned sideways without warning and kicked Gu Tingzheng, who had been sitting silently to the side.

Caught off guard, Gu Tingzheng crashed to the floor in a heap, groaning in pain.

An Chen, who had been guarding the door, strolled in, tossing a mechanical device in his hand. He smiled and asked, "Are you looking for this?"

"You... you people..." Seeing their villa’s alarm system dismantled and their bodyguard easily subdued, their last shred of hope vanished. Only then did they truly panic.

Wang Hongzhi turned deathly pale, not daring to utter another word.

"100 million isn't enough? Don't push your luck!" Gu Tingzheng, having seen a bit of the world, gritted his teeth and squeezed out the words despite his fear.

"Of course it's not enough. Your original offer was 2 million—in dollars." Qiao Yuyan leaned down and tapped his face with the gun barrel, reminding him with a light chuckle.

Hearing the price, Wang Hongzhi’s eyes widened. He stared fixedly at Qiao Yuyan, gasping, "You... you are..."

"Oh, look at my memory," Qiao Yuyan said, as if just realizing it. She tapped her forehead, her tone full of apology. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the lead bounty hunter for GSC that you requested—Fable."

"Impossible!" Gu Tingzheng blurted out. "How can Fable be a woman?"

To obtain that file, they had spent a fortune and hired several teams, all of whom had returned empty-handed. It was only after painstaking efforts and extensive inquiries that they learned of GSC's legendary lead bounty hunter and requested his services. They never imagined this notorious figure would be a woman.

Qiao Yuyan swung her right hand sharply, and the butt of the gun slammed into Gu Tingzheng’s head. His scalp split open instantly, and blood began to stream down his cheeks.

She leaned down, her gaze icy. "What? Do you look down on women?"

Gu Tingzheng covered his head with his hands, his palms slick with warm, sticky blood. Burning with rage, his eyes bloodshot, he hissed, "This is Xia Country. You’re bold enough to commit murder?"

"Hmm? Who said I wouldn't?" The dark muzzle of the gun pointed straight at the center of Gu Tingzheng’s forehead. Qiao Yuyan flicked the safety off with a gentle movement of her finger and smiled sweetly. "Do you want a bullet to the brain or a shot through the heart? I can accommodate you either way."

Looking at the gun barrel mere inches away, Gu Tingzheng’s lips trembled, but he still blustered, "I don't believe this is a real gun. The border control in Xia Country is too strict; there’s no way you could have brought a gun into the country."

Qiao Yuyan, tired of the back-and-forth, pulled the trigger. The bullet whistled past his ear.

Gu Tingzheng felt a surge of heat in his ear. Before he could react, he saw the mangled, bloody remains of his own earlobe, and a pungent scent of blood filled the air.

He rolled his eyes back and fainted dead away.

"And here I thought you had some guts," Qiao Yuyan scoffed. She flicked her wrist, spinning the gun on her finger, and turned to the deathly pale Wang Hongzhi. "Now it’s just you. Tell me, are you going to pay the balance or not?"

"I’ll pay, I’ll pay, I’ll pay it right now." Wang Hongzhi, terrified out of his wits, fumbled for his phone, his fingers trembling as he tapped frantically on the screen.

In the next second, the gun butt smashed into his head. Wang Hongzhi’s vision went dark, stars danced before his eyes, and he nearly blacked out.

Qiao Yuyan walked over, kicked him to the ground, and took the phone from his hand. It was open to the emergency services number.

"Trying to pull a fast one on me?" She chuckled softly and raised her tactical boot, grinding it into the wound on Wang Hongzhi’s head.

Wang Hongzhi convulsed in pain, wailing and begging for mercy.

"You really are tired of this beautiful world, aren't you?" Qiao Yuyan removed her foot, squatted down, and grabbed Wang Hongzhi by the hair, forcing him to look up. "Then I’ll grant your wish."

Wang Hongzhi pressed his lips together, remaining silent, his bloodshot eyes glaring at her.

There was a sudden rush of air behind her, but she didn't even turn her head, merely laughing softly, "Did you forget I have a teammate?"

As she spoke, a heavy thud echoed behind her. An Chen walked over, dragging the unconscious Gu Tingzheng.

Just moments ago, Gu Tingzheng had tried to sneak-attack Qiao Yuyan, only to be knocked out by An Chen.

"Alright, Mr. Benefactor," Qiao Yuyan said in a gentle voice. If not for the fact that she was still gripping Wang Hongzhi’s hair, anyone would think she was a very reasonable person.

"Listening to you two talk, it seems you aren't very clear on the rules of the dark web. Let me explain them to you both. We at GSC don't like to cause deaths; the cleanup is too much trouble. So, as long as the balance is paid on time, everyone lives in peace. But if you try to welch on the deal, you pay with items of equal value. Do you understand?"

"I understand, I'll pay the money," Wang Hongzhi said. Blood continued to stream from his head wound, the warmth making him panic. The desire to survive drove him to speak quickly. "Give me two days, and I’ll raise the money."

"You don't have the luxury of bargaining." Qiao Yuyan let go of his hair, and his head hit the table leg.

She raised the gun again, pressing it against his forehead. Her gaze was cold, even as she continued in a soft, whispering tone, "If GSC hasn't received this money by daybreak, I’ll go to your Old Master Wang to collect the debt."

"I’ll go raise the money immediately!" Upon hearing that Fable would go to his grandfather, Wang Hongzhi was terrified.

If his grandfather found out he had stolen the dark web access credentials and caused such a massive disaster that people from the dark web had come knocking, he would surely be disowned. At that point, he would truly have nothing left.

Seeing that he was finally being sensible, Qiao Yuyan put the gun away and sat on the sofa nearby, crossing her legs and watching him make his calls with a calm expression.

It was already 2:00 AM, and most people were fast asleep.

The fair-weather friends Wang Hongzhi usually called "brothers" were grumpy at being woken up, but Wang Hongzhi didn't care. He could only force a smile and beg them with honeyed words.

By the time he finally scraped together 800,000, he looked up to find that, aside from the bloody and unconscious Gu Tingzheng, the room was empty.

The two mysterious bounty hunters had vanished, leaving only a room in shambles and the lingering scent of blood in the air.

Wang Hongzhi sat dejectedly on the floor, filled with regret. Why did he try to save those 2 million dollars? Converted, it was only 18 million in Xia currency—it wasn't as if they couldn't afford it. Why offend these ruthless demons who valued money over lives for such a pittance?

After sitting in a stupor for a while, he forced himself to stand up, crawling over to Gu Tingzheng and shaking him awake.

Gu Tingzheng slowly opened his eyes, held his bruised head, and sat up, looking around. "Did they leave?"

"They left," Wang Hongzhi said, his arrogance gone, replaced by a hollow exhaustion. "I scraped together 800,000. You need to find a way to get the rest. If he goes to the Old Master, do you think Gu Zhixu will find out? If he does, we're both done for."

When Gu Tingzheng heard this, his face turned a sickly shade of gray. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "Fine. I’ll go raise the rest now."