Midnight, 11:00 P.M.A white Mazda slowly rolled along into the Lishui Binjiang residential area. Most of the residents were already in bed at this hour, but a few homes had their lights on. Distant sounds of gay chatter and laughter from young men and women could be heard now and then, breaking the lull of the night.
He Ruanliang driving alone, in a pleasant mood, humming along to the tune of the music playing in the vehicle. He glanced over at the bags of powdery substance on the pa.s.senger seat. A thin smile flashed across his thick face as he recalled his intimate evening. At this time, he had not realized yet, that his handphone had been nicked.
"This thing sure is great!"
Ever since he got into selling meth, he had not had any problems with finding sweet, young girls to take advantage of. The hospital recruited several batches of young nurses annually; among them, there were many single girls, young and delicate… and those meeting these criteria would be subjected to his philandering ways. One could say that he had single-handedly pruned down the flower of the nursing corp!
If he failed to seduce these fair damsels, either by favors rendered or coercion, he would simply resort to using a more backhanded option. He"d only need to spike their drinks during the hospital"s social events, and gradually they"d become dependent on the drug without their knowledge. Usually, within a matter of two months, they will become toys in his hands. It was indeed that simple because no matter how strong-willed the victims were, they couldn"t possibly deal with the horrific symptoms of withdrawal when the urge kicked in.
"A beautiful scenery is no match for a dream, as gra.s.ses are scented in the dream…"
He Ruanliang swayed his body as he drove along, feeling uninhibited and elated with living the good life. Of late, he"d hardly gone back home; he didn"t miss seeing the aged face of his wife, or that ugly old hag, as he"d called her.
Soon, the white Mazda arrived at its destination. It slowed down as it made its way into the underground parking garage…
Being an up-market residential area of Jiangcheng, the residents of Lishui Binjiang were from the wealthy upper crust. The parking garage was filled with expensive luxury cars that cost hundreds of thousands. He Ruanliang"s white Mazda seemed out of place in this "pond of big fishes," but that would change soon, he thought to himself.
He Ruanliang was looking around for his handphone after he had parked his car, but it was nowhere to be found. He stepped out of the car, stuck half of his body back in with his b.u.t.t sticking out, and searched thoroughly again inside the vehicle, but still found nothing.
He carefully retraced his activities that evening, and suddenly remembered that someone had b.u.mped into him while he was casually moving about in the bar. He recalled, even yelling at the stranger for walking into him. He only realized now that his phone might have been taken by that pocket picker then.
"Sh*t!!"
His pleasant mood immediately vanished in a puff. He Ruanliang yelled loudly in sheer frustration, kicking the tire of his car. He cursed the thief roundly, "Son of a b*tch, don"t let me see you again! If I see you again, I"ll kill you!"
He slammed the car door and pressed on his keys to lock his car.
Click. Click. Click.
Just then, the lights inside the underground car park went off, one by one. Before he could even take another breath, the entire car park was in total darkness.
Immediately, the emergency lights at the exits switched on automatically and glowed, allowing him to make his way around in the darkness.
Yet the darkness was all-pervasive, with the few exit lights appearing like insignificant support actors in a two-bit stage production. The unsteady glow they emitted made it feel like they could be snuffed out at any time.
In the darkness, an eerie air seemed to permeate across the vast, expansive parking area.
Gulp!
He Ruanliang gulped again before getting some of his nerves back. He then cursed once more, this time in annoyance, "The electricity in this garage is having problems again, the service provider is really G.o.d*amn garbage, if I don"t send a complaint to management tomorrow, I"m giving up my family name!"
He did not carry the composure of a hospital director right now, tossing away the façade, and revealing his true ugly nature.
"He Ruanliang!"
A voice suddenly rang out in the quiet darkness, echoing across the vast emptiness. That cold voice carried no emotions, it was cold and dark, seeming to have come from the underworld!
"W-who are you?"
He Ruanliang jumped up in horror, turning his head towards the direction of the voice.
In the dim light, he could make out a person wearing a grey coat, black pants, and white converse shoes slowly walked towards him. He played with a knife in their right hand, casually twirling it as the blade reflected in the dim glow.
A murderous intent!
His hair stood on end, and a cold sweat broke as he felt an overpowering sense of danger coming from the approaching figure.
Was he going to be murdered? He Ruanliang suddenly felt the temperature drop to a freezing point as he shook uncontrollably in fear.
He called out to the approaching man in a shaking voice: "Who…who are you? What are you planning on doing?"
He couldn"t make out the person"s face, still cloaked by the darkness.
The figure in the grey coat remained silent, but he now picked up his pace. Breaking through the darkness he charged, he came like a hungry wolf chasing down its prey.
In fear, He Ruanliang lost his composure, rooted to where he stood and unable to find the courage to defend himself. The swift figure appeared before him like a phantom.
Bang!
With a mighty leap, the figure bounded towards He Ruanliang, twisting around midair, and just as he landed on his feet, his knife hand swept in an arch, plunging the blade deep into He Ruanliang"s left shoulder. In his mind, he pictured a great grey wolf, leaping through the darkness and sinking its foul fangs deep into his flesh. Would he succ.u.mb to this mortal wound?
Gas.h.!.+
Fresh, bright red blood poured out of his wound, as an excruciating pain shot across his entire left side. The shock sent bright flashes of light to his head, and momentarily he was blinded. Even before he could react, the force of his attacker"s momentum threw him back a long way, cras.h.i.+ng into the ground.
Disorientated, He Ruanliang remained on the ground where he fell, the blade lodged in his shoulder. Crying in pain as he watched his a.s.sailant step slowly towards him. As the man came closer, He Ruanliang looked up, shaking. He tried to make out the man, then with eyes wide in fear and disbelief, his jaw dropped open as he recognized the face: "It …it"s you!"
Xiao Luo stood there, staring at He Ruanliang coldly without a word, his grim face did not hide his intentions.
He now kneeled next to the p.r.o.ne figure, then grabbed the handle of the protruding knife. He Ruanliang gasped, trying to plead for his life. Xiao Luo stared directly into his eyes as he slowly rotated the blade, first clockwise, then counterclockwise.
"Arrgh!"
The pain shot through He Ruanliang, and it was excruciating and unbearable pain. He kicked around, trying to break away. Xiao Luo grabbed his other hand as He Ruanliang attempted to get to the knife and pull it out. His left arm was frozen entirely from the pain, he could not feel his arm any longer, just the burning pain of his flesh being ripped to shreds.
As Xiao Luo paused, He Ruanliang, begged for his life, "Don"t kill me, I…I can give you a lot of money, I can also give your Luo Workshop a lot of business…"
He never imagined that the owner of the Luo Workshop could be such a cold-hearted a.s.sa.s.sin. Had he known, he would never have laid even a finger on Sun Yu.
Xiao Luo leaned close to his thick, sweaty face, and slowly spoke into his ears, "I only want to skin you alive right now!"
He spoke softly, but every word conveyed his intention that this night would end with a horrible death for He Ruanliang.
He Ruanliang felt his soul leave him that very moment. His face was pale with terror, and grasping at the last strand of hope, he attempted to speak as calmly as he could, "I…I"m part of the Dragon Gang, if you kill me, you"ll be facing the wrath of our gang. You will no longer have a place in Jiangcheng…"
"The Dragon Gang again!"
Xiao Luo laughed. A cold, cynical laugh.