Chapter Thirty-Three: Retribution

Thirty hours later, Wei Hua regained consciousness in the hospital. The three women and Sakura Kinoshita were all by his bedside; when they saw him awake, they hurriedly summoned the doctor. After a thorough examination, the doctor declared that Wei Hua could be discharged. Celine, Jessie, Mary, and Sakura Kinoshita were dissatisfied with the doctor’s conclusion, feeling he was being careless, but only Wei Hua knew that there was nothing wrong with his body. During his thirty-hour coma, he had already understood the reason for his condition.

His unconsciousness this time was due to a deep integration between the biological computer and himself. Over the past few years, Wei Hua had been continuously absorbing electrical energy; the main body of the biological computer was now sixty percent repaired, and many functions that had been unavailable before were now operational. Deep integration was one such function. After this process, all the data stored by the biological computer would be etched into the memory region of Wei Hua’s cerebral cortex—permanently unforgettable. From that moment on, the biological computer was Wei Hua, but Wei Hua was not wholly the biological computer, for he still possessed emotions. Now, whenever Wei Hua needed information, he could simply recall it, without having to dream or virtually visit the information repository. Moreover, his memory and computational abilities had reached new heights, fully comparable to a lightbrain.

Back at the apartment, Konosuke Kinoshita and Sato Eimon had come to visit Wei Hua as well. The small living room was crowded. Wei Hua asked the three women to take Sakura Kinoshita to their bedroom for a chat, then stayed behind with Konosuke Kinoshita and Sato Eimon to discuss the recent shooting incident. Once the women had left, Konosuke Kinoshita said to Wei Hua:

“Wei, the police have concluded that this was the work of a professional hitman! The intended target was most likely you, as the backgrounds of the three ladies are quite simple and they have no known enemies, so the hitman couldn’t have been after them. That leaves you. Considering your recent conflict with Inuzuka Heijiro of the Black Dragon Society, we suspect the hitman was sent by them. However, Inuzuka Heijiro has since left, as has Onokura of the Yamaguchi-gumi. We don’t know their current whereabouts, so even if we wanted revenge, we can’t find them!”

“It’s not so simple. The hitman was probably sent by Inuzuka Heijiro, but I doubt he’s really from the Black Dragon Society. They wouldn’t have dispatched a killer so quickly. I think the Yamaguchi-gumi may also be involved, so we must proceed with caution. There’s a saying in China: ‘A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years.’ Inuzuka Heijiro and Onokura may have evaded us today, but I don’t believe they can hide forever—especially Onokura, who oversees all Yamaguchi-gumi operations in America. He can’t stay hidden forever. I’ll handle this matter myself; there’s no need for you two to trouble yourselves over it,” Wei Hua told Konosuke Kinoshita and Sato Eimon.

After leaving the hospital, Wei Hua resumed his previous routine: morning exercise, studying in the library, afternoons at the company, and secretly absorbing electrical energy at night. Since the deep integration with the biological computer, Wei Hua felt as if he had been reborn, a new man entirely. His mental power—or spiritual consciousness—had made significant progress. Now, his mental influence extended ten meters, and his mastery of the “Soul Capturing Technique” had greatly improved. Ordinary people were completely defenseless against it; even if commanded to commit suicide under its control, a person would obey without hesitation.

Outwardly, Wei Hua appeared unconcerned about the recent assassination attempt, but inwardly, he burned with fury. Inuzuka Heijiro and Onokura, those two damn Japanese, were truly despicable. He hadn’t even settled old scores with them, and now they wanted to take his life. He could not swallow this insult and was waiting for the right opportunity. Still a student, he could not take leave just for revenge, as that would leave traces for the police. He needed to plan a flawless act of retribution.

Before Wei Hua could devise his revenge, the hitman returned. Having failed his mission the first time, he came back to finish the job, but he did not anticipate that Wei Hua was now a very different man than he had been just days before. As the hitman tailed Wei Hua, Wei Hua sensed him—ever since his deep integration with the biological computer, his awareness of his surroundings was vastly heightened. Wei Hua did not act rashly upon discovering the hitman, but went about his day as usual and returned to the apartment. The hitman lay in wait outside.

In the dead of night, Wei Hua slipped out of the apartment in secret. The hitman was watching the apartment through binoculars. Wei Hua crept up behind him and delivered a gentle blow to the back of his neck, causing the hitman to slump unconscious. Wei Hua tied him up, stuffed him into the trunk of the hitman’s own car, and drove off. He took the car out to the countryside, pulled the hitman from the trunk, and began to interrogate him using the Soul Capturing Technique. Wei Hua intended to use this hitman for a small act of revenge as interest; the main retribution he would deliver personally.

Wei Hua’s interrogation of the hitman lasted three days, after which he had uncovered the entire plot. The suspicions of Wei Hua, Konosuke Kinoshita, and Sato Eimon had been correct: the hitman was indeed hired by Onokura and Inuzuka Heijiro, with the latter providing the funds and the former finding the professional assassin. Three days later, a shooting occurred at a major market in New York City. Two people were killed, and four wounded; the gunman surrendered to police upon their arrival.

After the hitman’s arrest, the murder plot orchestrated by Inuzuka Heijiro and Onokura was exposed to the public. The Yamaguchi-gumi, that Japanese syndicate, was now revealed to the American populace. Major radio and television networks rushed to report on the Yamaguchi-gumi, and their true face was laid bare before the American people, who responded with outrage. Pressured by the public, the US government took action against the Yamaguchi-gumi. Onokura, the head of their American operations, found himself wanted by the authorities and fled back to Japan in panic. The Yamaguchi-gumi’s influence in the US suffered a crushing blow, as they were attacked not only by the American government but also by the united forces of the various Mafia families—since the Japanese had encroached on the Mafia’s interests. Wei Hua’s revenge had succeeded, but he had also made enemies of the Black Dragon Society and the Yamaguchi-gumi, two of Japan’s most violent syndicates, and would have to be constantly on guard against their retaliation.