“Manslaughter. I accidentally killed a hostage in one of my missions. The military never conducted an investigation and put me on trial for it, but as a sniper, one mistake is equal to a mistake of a lifetime. I could only ask to be discharged.” Fu Jun Sheng’s expression turned darker as he slowly explained.
Ye Qian stared blankly. He didn’t expect Fu Jun Sheng’s position in the Wolf Fang Special Forces to be that of a sniper. In a military’s special forces, having a sniper was a must have. The possession of a sniper could make or break the victory for a conflict or war. A sniper must never make a mistake, not even once. Ye Qian silently nodded and did not say more.
“You? Which division were you in?” Fu Jun Sheng asked.
Ye Qian looked a little distracted, unsure of what to answer. Compared to the regular army his position was that of uncultivated grass. He smiled faintly and replied, “The army I served was not tied to any country!”
Fu Jun Sheng couldn’t help staring blankly, he looked and Ye Qian, apparently guessing something, but he did not speak any further. He took a deep breath then replied, “After I was discharged I found this job. I went to look for the family of that person I killed. I never expected them to forgive me, but they did. If it weren’t for me their lives wouldn’t be the way it is now.”
“Who did he leave behind?” Ye Qian asked.
“A wife and a son. The son is only six years old, still in kindergarten. It was because of me that she became a widow and that he’s growing up without a father.” Fu Jun Sheng said ashamedly.
Ye Qian wordlessly patted his shoulders, then said, “This wasn’t your fault. You did not miscalculate on purpose right? I really admire her. Since she forgave you, then you should also forgive yourself or else wouldn’t you be failing to live up to her kindness? I think she wouldn’t want you to see you this way, also feeling guilty. Right?”
When speaking about the hostage’s wife and son, Fu Jun Sheng couldn’t help but smile, “She is indeed a very good woman.”
Ye Qian turned to face him, looking as if he had just realized something, but only smiled and did not say more. Fu Jun Sheng had been taking care of this mother and son and must have now grown fond of them. His original feelings of just settling a debt had now become genuine affection.
“This is my place. I live in the fourth floor. Want to come in for a while?” Fu Jun Sheng asked when they arrived at his apartment’s door.
Ye Qian raised his head to look up at the bright light in the room. A woman of about 30 years old was looking out the window with a concerned expression. When her eyes saw Fu Jun Sheng a smile erupted on her face. Could he be that hostage’s wife? Ye Qian wondered.
“There’s no need. You should go in now, she must have been worried about you.” Ye Qian smiled softly as he replied.
Fu Jung Sheng returned the smile and shook his head, “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
*************
Zhao Tian Hao did not expect that on the eve of the World Expo, a time when the whole city was implementing strict security measures, his rival would send an assassins to get him. In the rebuilding of the old city plan, the participating corporations were no less than a hundred, but the ones with real power were only about three or four. Even though he didn’t know who exactly sent that assassin, Zhao Tian Hao would not easily let this slide.
He turned his head to face those people who still hadn’t withdrawn. His heart set with determination. Just a moment ago when he left from the meeting with the civil engineering department of the city, a person advanced towards him with a black gun. Luckily, he had bent down to pick something up from the floor, or else he would have been dead by now.
It was already very late in the night. The small street was very remote, and already near the slums. Private cars and even taxis weren’t passing through. He had no choice but to go home on foot. Yet, those murderers might still be after him, so he must remain alert.
Were these people from Wei Dong Xian of East Ascension Conglomerate or from Du Lian Cheng of the Clear Sky Conglomerate? Zhao Tian Hao’s brows furrowed in thought as he thought about who could be the most likely perpetrators. The Clear Sky Conglomerate was an organised crime syndicate that only made themselves legitimate; they used to engage in criminal business, and only in recent years did they turn to more lawful endeavours. The service industry was predominantly monopolised by the Clear Sky Conglomerate. It was very likely that the assassins was sent by the Clear Sky Conglomerate. The East Ascension Conglomerate’s Wei Dong Xian’s origins were unknown. He had also popped up out of nowhere these past few years, rising from several big construction projects, and was also very familiar with a lot of government officials. Wei Dong Xian’s type was a man with a big smile but with evil intentions. The probability of this attack coming from him was also very high.
This time the profits from the city renovation was particularly generous. With the current financial ability of Tian Ya Conglomerate, Zhao Tian Hao did not have to put himself in danger like this. But Zhao Tian Hao was no pushover, as someone who was able to crawl up to this position from the bustling trade capital Shanghai, it could easily be said that Zhao Tian Hao had remarkable capability. He could withdraw from the bidding of the renovation project, but he was not that type of person. He was not easily provoked.
But when he thought of his own daughter, Zhao Ya, Zhao Tian Hao became a little hesitant. From the looks of it the opponent would not stop until he was dead. If they also decided to harm his daughter then it would be worse. He thought about this while muttering to himself and decided that he must find Zhao Ya a bodyguard.
Tian Ya Conglomerate had its own security department. They were not lacking in outstanding people in that regard. Of course, Zhao Tian Hua wasn’t thinking of Ye Qian and his colleagues who only worked as patrol guards, he was thinking of the specialists, the army veterans. Some of them had graduated from the best military schools.
This time the assassin was unsuccessful. Even though it was thanks to luck, at the time he was with those bodyguards. But now he didn’t know if they were still alive or dead.
When he ran away earlier he had also dropped his cellphone. Zhao Tian Hua could now only rely on himself. If the could only reach Tian Ya Conglomerate, which was like his home, then he would be safe. He believed that the assassins wouldn’t be able to penetrate it. After all, the company had a lot of guards.
Suddenly, Zhao Tian Hua saw that, not far away, a person was running towards him. He was wearing a mask, so his face could not be seen; but Zhao Tian Hua was sure that it was he who had pulled the gun on him at the restaurant door. He did not expect for that man to reach him so fast. It seemed that his bodyguards had been defeated, and he couldn’t help but be extremely aggrieved. Those bodyguards were compensated well by the company, but in the end no amount of money could be exchanged for a person’s life. Those bodyguards were now dead because of him, and Zhao Tian Hua felt extremely guilty.
The assassins was getting closer to him at every step, Zhao Tian Hua’s heart tightened. He wasn’t afraid of death, he just didn’t want to die in such a shady way.
Translated by: korezmi
Edited by: patrick_the_father_of_dragons