From a distance, Jian Yao could see that Fang Qing and An Yan had parked their car outside the cabin. The other police officers had not arrived yet.
Luo Lang had really driven fast.
She smiled at Luo Lang and said, “Thanks, Luo Dage. Just stop here. It would be better if you don’t get involved from here onwards.”
Luo Lang said, “Ok.” However, he did not move.
Jian Yao pulled out her gun and got out of the car. She was in no hurry to advance as it seemed like Fang Qing and An Yan had already entered the cabin. She decided to observe from the outside for a while, and provide support if necessary.
With her senses on high alert, she moved in slowly.
One foot stepped lightly on the grass patch outside the cabin.
Luo Lang finally set the car in motion, but his eyes were still on her.
Looking at her slim, straight back.
In an instant, before Jian Yao could even react, a huge explosion occurred and waves of flame burst forth from the cabin, completely engulfing it, before rushing towards her like a sinister monster from the depths of the night.
The huge wave pounced on her ruthlessly and flung her three, four metres away. Her entire body, inside and out, felt as if someone had pounded her with a huge hammer. Her head hit the grass and her ears were buzzing. Her brain had seemingly short-circuited.
However, she immediately lifted up her head, fresh blood dribbling out of the corner of her mouth.
She saw two other figures lying on the grass some distance away, as if the huge, exploding wave of flame had picked them up and tossed them, like rubbish, onto the grass. Those figures were so familiar. Jian Yao opened her mouth to shout, but nothing came out except a hoarse croak that even she could not hear. Not hesitating for a second, she lurched her way upright and ran towards them.
They lay on the grass.
They were utterly unrecognisable. Their bodies were covered in blood and their eyes were closed. She could not tell if they were dead or alive.
Jian Yao burst into tears as she looked at the figures who had been her close colleagues and partners, just lying there. A deep sense of grief clawed at her viciously. She half stumbled, half crawled to their side, and called out, sobbing, “Fang Qing . . . An Yan . . .” But they did not move, and she did not hear anything.
She first picked up An Yan, who was closer to her, and wanted to drag him away. Someone grabbed her tightly from behind, trying to pull her away from the scene. Jian Yao whipped her head around apprehensively and saw Luo Lang’s anxious and concerned features. He kept yelling something.
Jian Yao shoved at him, but was unable to dislodge him. His voice finally penetrated the buzzing in her ears.
“Jian Yao! Go! Run! It’s dangerous here! Go now! Don’t stay here! Follow me! Go!”
Jian Yao cried out once again, “No! I want to save them, I can’t leave them here! Luo Lang, call for backup quickly! Call Jinyan, call Jinyan!” Her tears rolled down her face, but the expression on Luo Lang’s face was even more determined than hers. He grabbed her with one move and pulled her away.
However, a figure.
The figure of a stranger stopped in front of them.
Behind them, the fire was still burning, and the grass was in complete disorder. Luo Lang held on to Jian Yao and looked up. Jian Yao also sensed that the person in front of them had evil intentions.
He wore a hoodie and a cap, and his head was lowered. In the darkness, it was impossible to make out his face clearly, but he was very tall, and some blonde hair had strayed outside the cap.
He laughed, and said, “Hey! I finally meet you, Jenny.”
Luo Lang and Jian Yao both trembled in unison.
At this time.
Luo Lang felt a sharp pain in his back and he instantly felt chilled to the bone. However, it was already too late and a knife pierced his back. He staggered and clung on to Jian Yao’s shoulder, but could not stop himself from letting go. Aghast, Jian Yao looked behind. Another man had already slung his arm across Luo Lang’s neck and was holding him firmly. He pulled out the blood-stained dagger and held it to Luo Lang’s neck.
The same black hoodie; the face similarly concealed by shadows.
Blue veins were popping out all over Luo Lang’s forehead and blood was pouring out from his right side. He frantically grabbed the man’s arm in an attempt to struggle free. However, the man was taller than him, and was clearly more vicious. Without moving a muscle, he kept his hold on Luo Lang, and uttered a low, sharp laugh.
They were being attacked from both front and rear*, with nowhere and no one to turn to for help*.
*T/N 腹背受敌 (fu bei shou di) – lit. 腹 = stomach, 背 = back, 敌 = enemy; 孑然一身 (zi ran yi sheng) – all alone in the world.
Jian Yao turned and aimed at that person’s head. She was trembling, yet coldly said, “Let him go! Otherwise, I will shoot!”
However, how would it be possible to subdue these two opponents who were clearly experienced criminals? At this point, the first person rushed towards Jian Yao like a black cheetah. Jian Yao gritted her teeth, turned sharply and shot the ground next to his feet. That person laughed with obvious delight, seized Jian Yao’s hand and ruthlessly broke it.
The gun dropped out of Jian Yao’s hand; her wrist was dislocated. She emitted a pained gasp, but, without the slightest hesitation, she jabbed the elbow of her other arm into the pit of that person’s stomach.
Fang Qing had taught her that move.
The person lying on the ground had taught her that move.
Jian Yao’s opponent was more skilled than she was. He didn’t even avoid her blow, but simply absorbed the impact. He was also furious. With a swift move, he clamped Jian Yao’s body against his own and chopped at the back of her neck ferociously with the edge of his hand. Jian Yao screamed and fainted into his arms.
That person massaged his stomach and chuckled, then picked up Jian Yao and addressed the other person in rapid English. “Kill all of them, throw them into the fire, and deal with the scene. Then come look for me.”
The other person laughingly said, “Ok.”
Carrying Jian Yao, the first person got into a black car parked in the rice field. The car vanished into the night in a cloud of dust.
WIth eyes wide open, Luo Lang watched everything from beginning to end. He watched them hurting Jian Yao, watched them abducting her, watched her disappear into the distance.
In the darkness of night he lowered his head, and shed a single tear. The dagger at his neck seemed unimportant now. He was grieving, and at a loss about what to do. His girl, the little girl he had finally met, had been so badly hurt.
The man behind him was still laughing. He said, softly, “Hey, how do you think I should kill you? Which part should I cut off first?”
“I beg you . . .” Luo Lang’s voice was hoarse, frightened and helpless. “I beg you, let me go. . . I won’t say anything, I have a lot of money, I’ll give it all to you . . . If you only let me go, I’ll give you whatever you want . . .”
The man laughed uproariously, seemingly because Luo Lang’s timidity and plea for mercy had piqued his interest.
“Do you know . . .” that man whispered into Luo Lang’s ear, “I really like your kind of spineless coward, so obedient, so fun to play with.” He suddenly released Luo Lang and kicked him in the side. Luo Lang fell to the ground.
That man snorted in amusement. “I’ll kill those two first, then I’ll slowly play with you.”
Luo Lang sat on the ground without moving. He was very clear that this man intended to torture him to death.
Isn’t this the pleasure of all psychopaths?
Ha . . . . Ha . . .
Hahahahahaha . . . .
The man first walked to An Yan’s side. One hand lifted up An Yan’s seriously injured body, as fragile as tissue paper, and the other hand raised the dagger. It was as if he was deciding where to start.
At this time.
A strong force pummelled him from the rear.
The man was caught off guard, shocked. Luo Lang punched the back of the man’s head with such power and savagery that the man almost lost consciousness in that instant.
The man slumped to the ground. In his blurred vision, he could see Luo Lang stepping across the grass, stepping across the people on the ground, stepping past the fire, walking towards him with a face that was clouded over.
With such skill, and with such an expression, how could he only be a refined, well-mannered lawyer who was used to living in comfort?
That man struggled to get up, but how could Luo Lang permit this? He grabbed the man’s head, then slowly and forcefully slammed his head into the ground. “Peng . . . peng . . . peng . . .” He continued until the man’s head was a bloody mess, and he was in such pain that death was preferable to this.
After Luo Lang had done this over twenty times, he finally let go. The man had never encountered such a strong opponent in his entire life. Lying on the grass with his face a mask of blood, gasping out his dying breath, he nevertheless smiled slowly.
“So cool . . .” he said. “Who the hell . . . are you really?”
Luo Lang’s face reflected the dancing flames, but was totally devoid of expression. He had already calmed down.
“The person who kills you,” he said coldly.
The expression of the man on the ground stiffened momentarily.
Luo Lang picked the dagger off the ground, then lifted the man’s head. With one slash, he swiftly and accurately severed the carotid arteries.
The man’s windpipe squeaked, “Ee . . . ee”, and the blood spurted out like a fountain. Luo Lang watched quietly and continued to lift up the man’s head, not caring that the blood was spurting all over the ground, all over their bodies.
After a few minutes of the blood flowing, the man looked dead. Holding the man, Luo Lang stood up and walked to the furiously burning wooden cabin, and threw him into the flames.
After that, he looked down and glanced at Fang Qing and An Yan on the ground. In the distance, he could hear police sirens drawing closer.
He ran quickly to his own car. In the vast depths of the night, amidst the brilliance of the flames, he started the car and drove in the direction that the man who had abducted Jian Yao had gone. He floored the accelerator and shot forward like a hurricane.
——
15 minutes earlier.
Bo Jinyan stopped his car at the entrance of the animation park.
According to the surveillance cameras, Fu Ziyu’s car had arrived here.
The animation park was large, but it was not impossible to track him. At any time, he could access the surveillance camera network, look for car tracks, and check the remote areas which were far away from the usual flow of human traffic.
Very soon, Bo Jinyan arrived outside a building.
From the outside, it looked like a warehouse. A plain, grey facade, without any decoration, and with few windows. The door of the warehouse was shut, but when Bo Jinyan pushed against it gently, it moved.
He didn’t enter immediately, but retreated to one side and called headquarters.
“I want a team sent to Zone B of the animation industry park.”
The person on the other end of the line quickly replied, “Sorry, Professor Bo, all the members of your team are in pursuit of Ke Qian. Other teams are out on other assignments. I will transfer people over as soon as I can, but it will take at least half an hour.”
After hanging up, Bo Jinyan stood at the entrance of the warehouse for a while.
It had already been more than 2 hours since Fu Ziyu’s disappearance. Another minute of inaction would mean another minute of danger.
For Ziyu.
For the closest friend he had ever had, Ziyu.
Bo Jinyan looked up at the deep black sky, where the faint glimmer of starlight quietly and gently shone on his head.
He pulled out his gun, pushed open the door and edged in sideways.
The door slowly closed behind him.
. . . . . . .
Jian Yao, Bo Jinyan, Fang Qing, An Yan, Fu Ziyu . . .
Haven’t I warned you before?
You definitely must not go to the animation park.
Don’t go.
Because, justice is so fragile; because it is always exposed to the sunlight.
And evil is always hiding in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity, hiding in those warped and suffering hearts.
A little carelessness, and it will come for you, opening its bloody mouth.
From a distance, Jian Yao could see that Fang Qing and An Yan had parked their car outside the cabin. The other police officers had not arrived yet.
Luo Lang had really driven fast.
She smiled at Luo Lang and said, “Thanks, Luo Dage. Just stop here. It would be better if you don’t get involved from here onwards.”
Luo Lang said, “Ok.” However, he did not move.
Jian Yao pulled out her gun and got out of the car. She was in no hurry to advance as it seemed like Fang Qing and An Yan had already entered the cabin. She decided to observe from the outside for a while, and provide support if necessary.
With her senses on high alert, she moved in slowly.
One foot stepped lightly on the grass patch outside the cabin.
Luo Lang finally set the car in motion, but his eyes were still on her.
Looking at her slim, straight back.
In an instant, before Jian Yao could even react, a huge explosion occurred and waves of flame burst forth from the cabin, completely engulfing it, before rushing towards her like a sinister monster from the depths of the night.
The huge wave pounced on her ruthlessly and flung her three, four metres away. Her entire body, inside and out, felt as if someone had pounded her with a huge hammer. Her head hit the grass and her ears were buzzing. Her brain had seemingly short-circuited.
However, she immediately lifted up her head, fresh blood dribbling out of the corner of her mouth.
She saw two other figures lying on the grass some distance away, as if the huge, exploding wave of flame had picked them up and tossed them, like rubbish, onto the grass. Those figures were so familiar. Jian Yao opened her mouth to shout, but nothing came out except a hoarse croak that even she could not hear. Not hesitating for a second, she lurched her way upright and ran towards them.
They lay on the grass.
They were utterly unrecognisable. Their bodies were covered in blood and their eyes were closed. She could not tell if they were dead or alive.
Jian Yao burst into tears as she looked at the figures who had been her close colleagues and partners, just lying there. A deep sense of grief clawed at her viciously. She half stumbled, half crawled to their side, and called out, sobbing, “Fang Qing . . . An Yan . . .” But they did not move, and she did not hear anything.
She first picked up An Yan, who was closer to her, and wanted to drag him away. Someone grabbed her tightly from behind, trying to pull her away from the scene. Jian Yao whipped her head around apprehensively and saw Luo Lang’s anxious and concerned features. He kept yelling something.
Jian Yao shoved at him, but was unable to dislodge him. His voice finally penetrated the buzzing in her ears.
“Jian Yao! Go! Run! It’s dangerous here! Go now! Don’t stay here! Follow me! Go!”
Jian Yao cried out once again, “No! I want to save them, I can’t leave them here! Luo Lang, call for backup quickly! Call Jinyan, call Jinyan!” Her tears rolled down her face, but the expression on Luo Lang’s face was even more determined than hers. He grabbed her with one move and pulled her away.
However, a figure.
The figure of a stranger stopped in front of them.
Behind them, the fire was still burning, and the grass was in complete disorder. Luo Lang held on to Jian Yao and looked up. Jian Yao also sensed that the person in front of them had evil intentions.
He wore a hoodie and a cap, and his head was lowered. In the darkness, it was impossible to make out his face clearly, but he was very tall, and some blonde hair had strayed outside the cap.
He laughed, and said, “Hey! I finally meet you, Jenny.”
Luo Lang and Jian Yao both trembled in unison.
At this time.
Luo Lang felt a sharp pain in his back and he instantly felt chilled to the bone. However, it was already too late and a knife pierced his back. He staggered and clung on to Jian Yao’s shoulder, but could not stop himself from letting go. Aghast, Jian Yao looked behind. Another man had already slung his arm across Luo Lang’s neck and was holding him firmly. He pulled out the blood-stained dagger and held it to Luo Lang’s neck.
The same black hoodie; the face similarly concealed by shadows.
Blue veins were popping out all over Luo Lang’s forehead and blood was pouring out from his right side. He frantically grabbed the man’s arm in an attempt to struggle free. However, the man was taller than him, and was clearly more vicious. Without moving a muscle, he kept his hold on Luo Lang, and uttered a low, sharp laugh.
They were being attacked from both front and rear*, with nowhere and no one to turn to for help*.
*T/N 腹背受敌 (fu bei shou di) – lit. 腹 = stomach, 背 = back, 敌 = enemy; 孑然一身 (zi ran yi sheng) – all alone in the world.
Jian Yao turned and aimed at that person’s head. She was trembling, yet coldly said, “Let him go! Otherwise, I will shoot!”
However, how would it be possible to subdue these two opponents who were clearly experienced criminals? At this point, the first person rushed towards Jian Yao like a black cheetah. Jian Yao gritted her teeth, turned sharply and shot the ground next to his feet. That person laughed with obvious delight, seized Jian Yao’s hand and ruthlessly broke it.
The gun dropped out of Jian Yao’s hand; her wrist was dislocated. She emitted a pained gasp, but, without the slightest hesitation, she jabbed the elbow of her other arm into the pit of that person’s stomach.
Fang Qing had taught her that move.
The person lying on the ground had taught her that move.
Jian Yao’s opponent was more skilled than she was. He didn’t even avoid her blow, but simply absorbed the impact. He was also furious. With a swift move, he clamped Jian Yao’s body against his own and chopped at the back of her neck ferociously with the edge of his hand. Jian Yao screamed and fainted into his arms.
That person massaged his stomach and chuckled, then picked up Jian Yao and addressed the other person in rapid English. “Kill all of them, throw them into the fire, and deal with the scene. Then come look for me.”
The other person laughingly said, “Ok.”
Carrying Jian Yao, the first person got into a black car parked in the rice field. The car vanished into the night in a cloud of dust.
WIth eyes wide open, Luo Lang watched everything from beginning to end. He watched them hurting Jian Yao, watched them abducting her, watched her disappear into the distance.
In the darkness of night he lowered his head, and shed a single tear. The dagger at his neck seemed unimportant now. He was grieving, and at a loss about what to do. His girl, the little girl he had finally met, had been so badly hurt.
The man behind him was still laughing. He said, softly, “Hey, how do you think I should kill you? Which part should I cut off first?”
“I beg you . . .” Luo Lang’s voice was hoarse, frightened and helpless. “I beg you, let me go. . . I won’t say anything, I have a lot of money, I’ll give it all to you . . . If you only let me go, I’ll give you whatever you want . . .”
The man laughed uproariously, seemingly because Luo Lang’s timidity and plea for mercy had piqued his interest.
“Do you know . . .” that man whispered into Luo Lang’s ear, “I really like your kind of spineless coward, so obedient, so fun to play with.” He suddenly released Luo Lang and kicked him in the side. Luo Lang fell to the ground.
That man snorted in amusement. “I’ll kill those two first, then I’ll slowly play with you.”
Luo Lang sat on the ground without moving. He was very clear that this man intended to torture him to death.
Isn’t this the pleasure of all psychopaths?
Ha . . . . Ha . . .
Hahahahahaha . . . .
The man first walked to An Yan’s side. One hand lifted up An Yan’s seriously injured body, as fragile as tissue paper, and the other hand raised the dagger. It was as if he was deciding where to start.
At this time.
A strong force pummelled him from the rear.
The man was caught off guard, shocked. Luo Lang punched the back of the man’s head with such power and savagery that the man almost lost consciousness in that instant.
The man slumped to the ground. In his blurred vision, he could see Luo Lang stepping across the grass, stepping across the people on the ground, stepping past the fire, walking towards him with a face that was clouded over.
With such skill, and with such an expression, how could he only be a refined, well-mannered lawyer who was used to living in comfort?
That man struggled to get up, but how could Luo Lang permit this? He grabbed the man’s head, then slowly and forcefully slammed his head into the ground. “Peng . . . peng . . . peng . . .” He continued until the man’s head was a bloody mess, and he was in such pain that death was preferable to this.
After Luo Lang had done this over twenty times, he finally let go. The man had never encountered such a strong opponent in his entire life. Lying on the grass with his face a mask of blood, gasping out his dying breath, he nevertheless smiled slowly.
“So cool . . .” he said. “Who the hell . . . are you really?”
Luo Lang’s face reflected the dancing flames, but was totally devoid of expression. He had already calmed down.
“The person who kills you,” he said coldly.
The expression of the man on the ground stiffened momentarily.
Luo Lang picked the dagger off the ground, then lifted the man’s head. With one slash, he swiftly and accurately severed the carotid arteries.
The man’s windpipe squeaked, “Ee . . . ee”, and the blood spurted out like a fountain. Luo Lang watched quietly and continued to lift up the man’s head, not caring that the blood was spurting all over the ground, all over their bodies.
After a few minutes of the blood flowing, the man looked dead. Holding the man, Luo Lang stood up and walked to the furiously burning wooden cabin, and threw him into the flames.
After that, he looked down and glanced at Fang Qing and An Yan on the ground. In the distance, he could hear police sirens drawing closer.
He ran quickly to his own car. In the vast depths of the night, amidst the brilliance of the flames, he started the car and drove in the direction that the man who had abducted Jian Yao had gone. He floored the accelerator and shot forward like a hurricane.
——
15 minutes earlier.
Bo Jinyan stopped his car at the entrance of the animation park.
According to the surveillance cameras, Fu Ziyu’s car had arrived here.
The animation park was large, but it was not impossible to track him. At any time, he could access the surveillance camera network, look for car tracks, and check the remote areas which were far away from the usual flow of human traffic.
Very soon, Bo Jinyan arrived outside a building.
From the outside, it looked like a warehouse. A plain, grey facade, without any decoration, and with few windows. The door of the warehouse was shut, but when Bo Jinyan pushed against it gently, it moved.
He didn’t enter immediately, but retreated to one side and called headquarters.
“I want a team sent to Zone B of the animation industry park.”
The person on the other end of the line quickly replied, “Sorry, Professor Bo, all the members of your team are in pursuit of Ke Qian. Other teams are out on other assignments. I will transfer people over as soon as I can, but it will take at least half an hour.”
After hanging up, Bo Jinyan stood at the entrance of the warehouse for a while.
It had already been more than 2 hours since Fu Ziyu’s disappearance. Another minute of inaction would mean another minute of danger.
For Ziyu.
For the closest friend he had ever had, Ziyu.
Bo Jinyan looked up at the deep black sky, where the faint glimmer of starlight quietly and gently shone on his head.
He pulled out his gun, pushed open the door and edged in sideways.
The door slowly closed behind him.
. . . . . . .
Jian Yao, Bo Jinyan, Fang Qing, An Yan, Fu Ziyu . . .
Haven’t I warned you before?
You definitely must not go to the animation park.
Don’t go.
Because, justice is so fragile; because it is always exposed to the sunlight.
And evil is always hiding in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity, hiding in those warped and suffering hearts.
A little carelessness, and it will come for you, opening its bloody mouth.
