Chapter Thirty-Five: Gathering Storms, Part Six

"Why did you stop walking?" Chen Hongxu no longer paid attention to the thugs behind him. He shook off the sticky substance on his hand and strode toward Wang Bingcai.

"Chen...Chen...Brother Chen..."

Wang Bingcai had turned around long before, startled by the strange commotion behind him. In the dim moonlight, he could just make out the bodies scattered across the factory floor. He couldn't understand how an ordinary high school student could slaughter his way through as if he were a god of death, unstoppable and terrifying. But there was no time to ponder the question. His legs trembled, his whole body went weak, and he stammered, "This...might be...a...misunderstanding..."

Looking at Wang Bingcai, who could barely speak coherently, Chen Hongxu felt a deep sense of irony. Someone so arrogant and domineering just moments ago now didn't even have the courage to meet his eyes. How fickle fate is...

Although Chen Hongxu had already decided Wang Bingcai would not leave here alive, he wasn't in a hurry. He wanted to flush out the mastermind behind all this.

"A misunderstanding?" Chen Hongxu stopped, a half-smile playing on his lips, and gazed meaningfully at the trembling Wang Bingcai.

Seeing Chen Hongxu halt, Wang Bingcai let out a breath of relief, even as he racked his brains for a way to smooth things over. After all, threats and boasts, once spoken, could never be taken back.

The silence was oppressive. If not for the occasional gust of wind rustling the unkempt weeds around the derelict factory, one might have heard a pin drop.

The thugs, realizing they were out of immediate danger, relaxed a little, but none dared make a move. The carnage had shattered their nerves, and the young man facing away from them seemed almost demonic—no number of men could hope to bring him down.

Wang Bingcai searched desperately for an excuse that would convince even himself, but nothing came. If he couldn't even persuade himself, how could he hope to sway Chen Hongxu?

After a moment, his face twisted in despair, and he suddenly dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly as he begged, "Brother Chen, I was wrong. Please, be merciful..."

Chen Hongxu glanced at the car behind Wang Bingcai. In the passenger seat sat a woman—others might not have seen her clearly in the poor light, but he could. She was beautiful. Her expression as she watched was strange: a mix of tension, indifference, and even a trace of excitement he could not fathom.

Once Wang Bingcai knelt, the woman lost interest in the unfolding drama. She bowed her head and busied herself with something in her hands.

Turning his gaze from her, Chen Hongxu pondered the situation. He looked at Wang Bingcai, whose head was now bloodied from kowtowing, and spoke coldly, "You can't be the mastermind behind this. Or perhaps I should say, you have an accomplice. Someone of your connections couldn't have pulled this off alone."

Wang Bingcai froze, then a look of grim resolve flashed in his eyes. He lifted his head, astonished. "You really want me to say it?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he acted—one hand flung a handful of sand toward Chen Hongxu, while the other reached behind him, likely for a weapon. He must have hesitated earlier after witnessing how Chen Hongxu had dodged the gunfire from the other thugs.

But he was still too slow. While these weapons no longer posed a lethal threat to Chen Hongxu, being hit would still hurt—like being snapped with a rubber band, painful but not deadly. No one in their right mind would willingly endure it, so Chen Hongxu dodged.

With a ghostly flicker, Chen Hongxu reappeared behind Wang Bingcai, one hand grabbing his hair and the other swiftly tapping both his shoulders.

The touch seemed light, but Wang Bingcai grunted in pain as his shoulders visibly caved in—the bones must have snapped.

Chen Hongxu pulled Wang Bingcai's hair back, making him lift his head. "Still want to gamble?"

"If I die for my mistake, so be it. But if I talk, my whole family dies." Wang Bingcai stared at him, his fear gone. He knew there was no escape tonight, so his terror had ebbed away. "Kill me."

Chen Hongxu glanced at the woman, who seemed to have finished whatever she was doing with her phone, then back at Wang Bingcai, whose defiance was no act. He nodded. "As you wish."

He had killed many tonight. Wang Bingcai knew that pleading for mercy—"You can't kill me, there are witnesses," or the like—would be pointless. He wanted to die quickly, fearing that the longer he lived under the threat of death, the weaker his resolve would become and the more likely he was to say something he shouldn't.

He sought death, and Chen Hongxu would grant it. He also knew that the other hidden players would quickly realize who was responsible and, with their resources, would not stop here. If violence failed, they would inevitably try something more subtle.

Chen Hongxu's hand became a blade, slicing lightly across Wang Bingcai's neck. Blood spurted far and wide.

He let go, and as Wang Bingcai's eyes lost their light, Chen Hongxu turned to the stunned thugs. "You have three minutes to disappear. Otherwise, you die."

His voice was calm and quiet, but they were utterly terrified. This young man slaughtered with such chilling composure, as if killing chickens. There was no hesitation, no emotion—clearly this was not his first time. None dared delay; they knew he meant every word.

Chaos immediately erupted.

"Mouse, don’t walk so fast! My leg’s broken, help your brother out!"

"Run, man! Didn’t you hear the reaper say we only have three minutes?"

"What about Tiger’s body?"

"Take it home as an ornament, or dig a hole and bury him—your choice!"

...

Three minutes later, only the JEEP, the corpses, and Chen Hongxu gazing up at the stars remained.

Chen Hongxu was aware someone else was still there. Out of the darkness hobbled the man with the dagger, who looked at him with a complicated expression, then said seriously, "I want to follow you."

"Because you think I can fight?"

The dagger-wielder shook his head. "My name is Liu Yixian. I dare to fight, to kill, to resist. Tonight, my life is yours." He glanced at the car behind Chen Hongxu, then looked down thoughtfully.

"I’ll be going now," he said after a moment, heading for the jeep. With practiced ease, he jimmied open the door and, amidst a woman's shrill screams, drove off into the night.

Chen Hongxu watched the jeep fade into the darkness. He opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. He realized the woman was doomed. He hadn’t expected Liu Yixian to sense his murderous intent toward her—clearly, the man was not useless.

"A pledge of allegiance?" Chen Hongxu chuckled, understanding now why Liu Yixian hadn’t tried to take the fall. It wasn’t fear of death; he simply knew that even if he tried, it would be useless. If he was willing to entrust his life to someone who could be arrested by the police at any time, it meant Liu Yixian was ready to track down the real mastermind and settle the score on his behalf.