For a fleeting moment, Minamoto Tamako thought of simply shooting Fujimura-kun dead; maybe he would wake up then.
Fortunately, she retained her sanity. The thought only lingered in her mind for a second. Regardless of whether killing Fushimi Roku’s subconscious projection in the second level of the dream could wake him up, Minamoto Tamako’s professional ethics and conscience wouldn’t allow her to do such a thing.
Moreover, Fushimi Roku didn’t know who she was at the moment. Maybe she could bluff her way through, make Fushimi Roku let his guard down first...
Minamoto Tamako hadn’t even had the chance to speak when Liu Daniu stood up first. He had never seen Lawyer Zhou, and assumed this tough guy was sent by the boss. Once again he slapped the table and shouted: "Today I’m going to show you—"
Before he could finish, there was a "splat" sound. Fushimi Roku somehow produced a fruit knife and stabbed it upward into Liu Daniu’s chin. The blade pierced through Liu Daniu’s tongue straight into the palate, tipping his head like a skewer of candied hawthorns.
Liu Daniu let out a horrific, garbled scream mixed with blood. His eyes widened in fear, and his hands struggled to remove the fruit knife, but Fushimi Roku’s hand didn’t budge an inch.
He held Liu Daniu’s head like that, letting blood flow down the handle of the knife until Liu Daniu’s voice gradually faded, his eyes turning white. Only then did he violently yank out the fruit knife, letting Liu Daniu’s body collapse to the ground.
A thick iron scent of blood filled the air.
No one in the chess room spoke. Yi Zetao and Ma Xiang, upon seeing Fushimi Roku for the first time, recognized him as Lawyer Zhou and quickly shrank into a corner, narrowly escaping disaster.
If anyone was to blame, it was Liu Daniu for being too lazy. Usually, when asked to run errands or deliver documents to a lawyer, he would make excuses; yet in such a threatening situation, he dared to stand out. If he didn’t die, who would?
Brother Sun was also stunned. He could see that this guy was different from the little girl behind him; he was genuinely ruthless, killing without hesitation.
Brother Sun had encountered similar people before. They had long grown tired of life, feared death no more, behaving like mad dogs, causing havoc wherever they pleased, killing not only police but also underworld figures, taking out anyone who annoyed them in both the legal and illegal realms; they were pure psychopaths, and there was no satisfaction in even killing them.
When encountering such people, it was best to stay away, not even get involved.
He didn’t want to speak, but seeing his subordinates not daring to make a sound, though ruthless, they didn’t represent a willingness to die; faced with someone sincerely reckless, a chill ran through their hearts. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel~fire~net
What’s more, Liu Daniu’s body was lying on the ground!
Brother Sun had no choice but to speak up himself. Ignoring Minamoto Tamako, who was holding a gun behind him, he straightened up and asked, "Brother, who might you be...?"
"Sun Zong, you’re quite forgetful. I’ve come specifically for you."
Fushimi Roku wiped the fruit knife with Liu Daniu’s body, then opened a briefcase, revealing a business-like demeanor. He took out some documents, placed them on the table, and said, "You previously commissioned me for an intentional injury lawsuit. My suggestion on this side is to plead guilty and seek leniency from the judge..."
Brother Sun swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He turned around to look at the subordinate handling matters, glaring daggers at him as if questioning why he found such a lawyer.
The latter knew that if he didn’t handle this well, he might as well forget mixing in this line, and could only brace himself and step forward, standing in front of Fushimi Roku, replying on behalf of the boss: "We hired you for a not guilty defense. We heard you’re quite skilled at criminal defense..."
"No, actually I’m not skilled." Fushimi Roku placed his hands flat on the table, his seating posture especially upright, like a schoolboy in class, "I’m only skilled at making connections."
Brother Sun was turned into Sun Zong in his mouth, yet he felt no pride, only sensing danger, sitting down honestly opposite Fushimi Roku. The subordinate helped push aside the mahjong, carefully taking the documents, and asked in return, "What does making connections have to do with a not guilty defense..."
Fushimi Roku adjusted his glasses, showing no sign of having just killed someone. At first glance, he looked like a professional lawyer negotiating with a client, "Perhaps Sun Zong hasn’t dealt with many criminal cases..."
The subordinate interrupted, "What kind of joke is this? Back in the day, Brother Sun cut more people than you’ve eaten salt!"
Fushimi Roku countered, "But were they all handled as civil disputes in the end? Otherwise, Sun Zong wouldn’t be sitting here."
The subordinate was really unaware of how things were handled after the slashings, so he looked back at the boss, and after Brother Sun nodded, he said, "Then continue—"
"Sun Zong, can I kill him?" Fushimi Roku interrupted.
The words were too heavy; other subordinates couldn’t pretend they hadn’t seen it, all stepping forward to surround him, backing their brother. Brother Sun couldn’t ignore his subordinates; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to mix in the future either. He only reclined back on the chair, assuming a boss posture, and asked, "If you dare to make a move, there’s no way it ends well."
"What do you mean?" Fushimi Roku asked in return.
"With so many of us, each with a knife, can you withstand it?" the subordinate threatened.
"Is that what Sun Zong means?" Fushimi Roku slowly zipped up the briefcase.
Brother Sun inexplicably had a bad premonition, cold sweat dripping down his back, goosebumps rising on his skin. In the past, whenever he encountered life-threatening situations, this intuition hit him—right now, his intuition was especially strong.
"No, no, let’s talk it out, you’re the expert in legal matters, I won’t interrupt."
After finishing, Brother Sun gave his subordinate a look, signaling him to shut up, then invited Fushimi Roku to continue speaking.