Chapter 136: Stabbing to the Point
After taking care of matters at home, Zhang Yi grabbed his gun and left. It was time to settle a lingering issue.
The building was almost empty. Most of the neighbors had gone out to barbecue, leaving only two occupied apartments. Zhang Yi approached the door of one of the remaining occupied apartments, the one where Lin Caining and Fang Yuqing used to live.
He pulled out his handgun and shot the lock twice, then kicked the door open. With a riot shield in his left hand and the gun in his right, he stepped inside.
The room was dark, so Zhang Yi turned on his headlamp, illuminating the entire room. Every corner became as clear as day. Suddenly, a woman with disheveled hair rushed at him with a kitchen knife, screaming.
Unfazed, Zhang Yi raised the riot shield. The weak slash had no impact, and the woman fell to the ground from the recoil. Zhang Yi turned to face her, a mocking smile on his lips.
"Long time no see, Fang Yuqing!" he said, shining the headlamp directly at her face, forcing her to squint. Fang Yuqing, covered in blood and filth, looked like neither a person nor a ghost. The room reeked of rot, bones littering the floor. In one corner lay a half-eaten corpse, its remaining clothes revealing it to be Lin Caining.
"No wonder you’ve survived. You truly are a fake friend," Zhang Yi taunted.
Fang Yuqing shielded her eyes from the light and, recognizing Zhang Yi, let out a cry of despair and rage.
"Those useless fools couldn’t even kill you. They’re worthless!" she screamed, her voice filled with hatred.
Zhang Yi smirked. "You foolish woman, did you think colluding with Wang Qiang and turning Jiang Lei and Li Chengbin against me would kill me?"
"Pathetic. You’re nothing but a pawn, easily manipulated and discarded."
It had been Fang Yuqing who tipped off Wang Qiang, leading to his ambush in the snow. She had also turned Li Chengbin and Jiang Lei against Zhang Yi, orchestrating their attack. Her skill at manipulation was exceptional, but in the end, she had only brought destruction upon herself.
"I hate you, Zhang Yi! All of this is your fault!" Fang Yuqing raged, her voice breaking.
"You chased me for two and a half years but suddenly stopped. How dare you betray me? If you had just persisted a little longer, I would have agreed to marry you! But you abandoned me for that bitch. I hate you both!"
Growing more agitated, she lunged at Zhang Yi. He didn’t even bother using his gun. He simply raised the riot shield and knocked her down.
"What a bitch," he muttered. Dealing with such a delusional woman, Zhang Yi felt no need for further words.
He put away his gun and took out a crowbar, advancing towards Fang Yuqing. Without hesitation, he smashed her wrists and ankles. Her emaciated body offered little resistance; her bones snapped easily under the crowbar’s force, her screams like a twisted symphony.
Fang Yuqing writhed in pain, her defiance crumbling. She began to sob and beg for mercy.
"Zhang Yi, please, don’t kill me. I don’t want to die!"
Ignoring her pleas, Zhang Yi yanked her by the hair and dragged her to the window. He smashed the bars of the balcony window with the crowbar.
Fang Yuqing knew what was coming. He was going to throw her from the eighth floor, ensuring she would either die from the fall or freeze to death in the snow.
Tears and snot streamed down her face as she begged, "Zhang Yi, spare me! I’ll do anything you want!"
Zhang Yi felt a twisted satisfaction hearing her pitiful cries. Memories of his past life surfaced, where her manipulative charm had lured him into a trap, leading to a gruesome fate.
"You deserve this," Zhang Yi said coldly.
He put away the crowbar and pulled out a sharp knife, slicing her clothes with swift, precise motions until she was left shivering and naked. She thought he intended to assault her and stammered, "You can have me, just let me live."
Zhang Yi looked at her skeletal frame and sighed in disappointment. "You’re nothing but skin and bones now. No appeal left."
He had once desired her and chased her for years. Now, the sight of her repulsed him.
Grabbing her thin ankle, he dangled her out the window. Fang Yuqing screamed, struggling like a dying animal. Zhang Yi enjoyed her terror before letting go, sending her plummeting into the snow below.
He watched her fall, seeing her body make a crater in the snow. Zhang Yi sighed, "Am I too kind? Letting her die so quickly seems too merciful."
If he had more time, he would have preferred to slowly torture her. But he had too many targets to deal with and couldn't waste time on her.
"I really am a kind person," Zhang Yi mused, walking away.