"Life is so fragile."
In the dimly lit bar, An Ran stood in a pool of blood, staring at the gruesome scene before him.
It was like the aftermath of a storm, nothing but devastation everywhere.
Broken bodies were scattered haphazardly across the floor, tables, or stuck to the walls, viscera, and flesh melded together.
Not far from the door, faint sounds of retching could be heard.
The young officer's face was pallid, his hand trembling as he held the police tape, nearly snapping it.
"Damn it, who brought the newbie here? Have him puke further away, don't contaminate the scene."
The cop in charge cursed out of habit, but halfway through, he realized and paused, his voice halting, becoming more irritable, "...Fuck it, just let him vomit, it's not like this fucking scene is any use."
Useful? Is the scene really useful?
Even if there were complete evidence and witnesses, which cop would dare go up and handcuff Lei Yaoxing? Braver than the head of police, not afraid for his own life, let alone his whole family?
"Fat son of a bitch! Keep fighting, keep fighting, it's all just dogs biting dogs; eventually, everyone in the family will die!" The corpulent chief spat a wad of betel juice on the floor and turned to leave.
"Sir, aren't we going to examine the scene?" his subordinate asked, confused.
"What's there to see?" the chief replied indifferently with a glance back, "Stand for justice? Posturing is useless, just finish the procedure and call the water truck to wash it all away."
What is there to see? Haven't we seen enough?
Everyone has become completely numb, starting from the day before yesterday, answering calls until now.
These past few days, apart from the streets of Cliff City not having any corpses, which alleys haven't had gang clashes? Which ditch hasn't had a floating body?
It's said that at the mouth of the river where Bei River meets the sea, in the evening, delivery vans from several different gangs line up to throw plastic bags into the river, bustling as if they're at a market.
Could it be because the gangs are struggling financially, unable to afford the disposal fees?
Everyone's eyes are bloodshot.
Completely maddened with murder.
On shore, Spring City Gang, Shenghe, Yi Wu, New Yi Wu, Helian, Yiqi Group, and Tiger Heart Society – dozens of major gangs and countless underlings, all thinking daily of standing out and doing big things; meanwhile, the smugglers and drug traffickers at sea have also started sharpening their knives.
Over the years, Lei Wuye had fostered fourteen foster sons and daughters, and of them, four had already died. Of the current ten, two have cleaned up and left the gang life, with one of those murdered right outside his own home, and the other having fled overnight to Tide City, not knowing if he would escape misfortune.
Among the remaining eight, one was already sent by a truck into the hospital room next to his 'foster father,' barely clinging to life, and there's nothing much left to say between the remaining seven.
Everyone has completely turned against each other, it's either you die or I live.
Only now can everyone be sure that Lei Wuye, the old ghost, is really running out of breath.
Even if he wanted to fish, he wouldn't blow up his own fish pond.
Continuous upheavals have led to a total breakdown of order, chaos reigns, and authority is completely lost.
Now, even if he were to open his eyes and rise from his bed, coming before everyone and saying, "Kids, I'm back!" no one would probably give a damn anymore.
The loyal children from back in the days might just come at him with a butcher knife and ask, "Old dog, why didn't you die sooner?"
With the clear and strict food chain collapsing along with the fall of the 'rotting whale,' it has completely disintegrated.
The remaining beasts are feasting on the rotten remains and blood, eyeing the peak, watching their rivals who are also fiercely climbing, already baring their fangs.
This battle, in the darkness, has only just begun...
"Everyone is so bored."
An Ran gazed at the blood stains on the wall, talking to himself.
He couldn't understand, couldn't figure out.
Why did everyone always senselessly kill each other, a vicious cycle of life and death... though there's nothing wrong with this cycle, isn't there something else to do besides killing?
They don't even share the last name An, and there are so many more meaningful things to do in this world, endless choices in their lives, yet they choose the worst one.
They claim it's for money, yet they sell their lives in the cheapest way possible.
Other than the An Family, everyone speaks of the preciousness of life, yet no one cares about life, neither others' nor their own. In contrast, a place like the An Family, which only survives through murder, keeps warning every family member to be cautious, not to cause disputes unnecessarily.
Weird.
He lowered his head, looking at the fierce faces of the corpses, their expressions on the shattered skulls, grim until death.
How absurd.
"Hello? Supervisor Wen, yes, they're all dead, um, forty-one."
He picked up the phone and reported meticulously, "In addition, there are eleven others involved, waiters, and a few children."
The accidental victims lay at his feet, fear etched across their young faces.
Maybe they had brought money to mimic adults in hunting for pleasures at the bar, or simply to witness the luxurious corruption... yet they ended up entangled in this undue turmoil, violated to death.
How pitiful.
For a moment, mocking laughter seemed to echo from afar.
Across such a great distance, someone cast a cold gaze, chilling him to the bone!
Without any warning, the youth turned. With a piercing howl, a sliver of metal flew from his sleeve, speeding faster than a bullet, surmounting numerous obstacles, slipping through the gap in the door, severing a hanging cable, after grazing the rooftop, it traveled through the gaps of the building.
Finally, it pierced the rusted iron door at the top of a dilapidated building a kilometer away.
The loud crash echoed around, and dust danced in the afternoon sun, swirling from the rooftop.
But within the shadow, there was nothing.
From such a long distance, An Ran silently watched the drifting dust.
After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze.
He turned and left.
Meanwhile, at the Sea Commerce Center in the Nanlu District, the skyscraping office buildings reflected the sunlight, the crystalline light shimmering off the smooth glass facades.
F21, Shenghe Investment.
In the afternoon, the busy financial firm saw people hurrying back and forth, delivering documents and reports. Their speech was soft and delicate, showing a high-end elite demeanor.
Everyone was proud of their investments and insight, rarely caring about the sources of the funds flowing through the accounts and charts.
At that moment, inside the reception room, the phone was hung up.
"Did you hear that? The good job you guys did."
Wen Wen looked at the middle-aged man sitting across from her on the sofa. "Just in the past few days that I know of, the major conflicts have already surpassed the count of my fingers, and just today, over forty innocent people involved by you have died. Now, this mess; is this how Shenghe operates?"
Across the table, the middle-aged man in a business suit with a manager badge suddenly changed color.
"Supervisor Wen, that remark was too much."
Zhou Cheng shook his head decisively. "I've heard about the White Slip Gang, but it can't be that everything is done by us, right?"
Wen Wen asked coldly, "Now everyone knows that Lei Yaoxing and Chen Xingzhou are irreconcilable enemies, fighting to the death. The White Slip Gang, scavenging off Chen Xingzhou's leftovers, was wiped out; if not you, could it have been Chen Xingzhou hiring someone to kill them?"
"That's hard to say."
Zhou Cheng gave a faint smile. "It might well have been internal strife over uneven distribution of their spoils. After all, Chen Xingzhou is currently a Buddha crossing a river—barely able to save himself. It's not surprising some want to jump ship. Perhaps Supervisor Wen should ask them."
"What's the point of having lackeys say this? Have Lei Yaoxing come and talk to me," Wen Wen stared straight at that insincere smile. "Someone has to explain this to me, right?"
"Supervisor Wen, visitors should be treated with respect, and we at Shenghe have provided hospitality. Please don't overstep, or it will cause misunderstandings."
Zhou Cheng's expression turned cold. "This is not your Northern Mountain District, Supervisor Wen, perhaps you should find another place to throw your weight around.
Or is it that the Security Bureau is finally planning to interfere with Desert Market's affairs?"
Once he said this, only silence was left in the air.
Wen Wen looked at him expressionlessly.
Veins popped on the back of her hand.
This was the reason behind the adversary's confidence—a point stressed over and over again during the call from Tong Shan.
In this leaderless crisis, Cliff City's dark side would surely undergo a bloody reshuffling, establishing the victor's position over the countless losers' skeletons.
It was a fratricidal massacre among White Deer, with no place for Tian Yuan to intervene.
A nest of snakes and rats.
Things that shouldn't see the light should end where they can't be seen, and no one would care how many die.
If the Security Bureau rashly intervenes, it will surely be met with resistance from Desert Market; Desert Market would never allow the Security Bureau to interfere in this bloody power struggle.
"Please leave, Supervisor Wen, for the sake of keeping dignity between the Security Bureau and Desert Market."
Zhou Cheng, masking the mockery and scorn in his eyes, stood up, adjusted his finely tailored coat, and slowly bid farewell, "Today, Brother Xing is not going to meet you."
Wen Wen didn't speak.
She did not even move.
She just took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Endure, endure, Wen Wen, you cannot disappoint the Director's painstaking efforts and kindness; don't cause trouble, don't mess up the big picture, you're an adult now, don't get furious and escalate things under impulsivity…
But there were many others already dead.
Many more innocents, those ordinary people dragged into this bloody competition, pregnant women and children crushed by trucks colliding with their adversaries.
Those eyes in the pools of blood, unshut in death...
Damn it, I can't stand it anymore!
There's a saying that old habits die hard, especially for those obstinate ones from the Ruins, they're unchangeable, immutable, won't listen no matter what... She has paid the price for her foolishness more than once.
She regretted, more than once, wanted to change, more than once.
But did she?
Even once?
Forget it, Wen, your life is screwed!
"Fine, if you insist, I will leave."
Wen Wen gave a self-deprecating smile, sighed lightly, reached into her pocket, and placed a crumpled envelope on the table.
Zhou Cheng was stunned.
"Here's a resignation letter; if I don't see Lei Yaoxing within five minutes, I will walk out of here, place it in the Director's office, and then proceed to the personnel office of the Security Bureau to complete the departure formalities.
By no later than 5 p.m. today, I will have no connection with the Security Bureau."
She tilted her head, lit a White Star, took a deep breath, and leisurely exhaled the smoke, squinting her eyes, "If I haven't been delayed too much by beating up former colleagues, I will first go have dinner with my friends, we'll all have a good drink and celebrate a life of freedom.
Then—"
Wen Wen raised her eyes, looked at him, and told him word by word, "I will come back and crush Lei Yaoxing's filthy head outside his father's hospital room door, and send his cheap godfather down the same road with him.
But before that, I will burn you lot, one by one into ash, including you, your cousin who is still on probation!
If you don't want the Security Bureau to handle this, let me do it; the Security Bureau might let you scum live in this world, but I won't.
Now, before I solve the problem with your methods, I have one last question for you."
In that instant, from that towering woman's smile, Minerva's transcendence emerged, solemn and dignified, as if overlooking the mortal realm, casting judgment.
A terror more potent than stone and iron expanded, thread by thread, as though dust falling from the heavens, ready to bury Zhou Cheng's increasingly pale face below the nine grounds.
Thus, Wen Wen asked indifferently:
"Are you willing to bet Lei Yaoxing's life against mine?"