Chapter 116: Life and Value
“Life really is fragile.”
In the dim bar, An Ran stood in a pool of blood, staring at the horrific scene before him. It was like a storm had passed through, leaving devastation everywhere.
Scattered, shattered corpses were flung across the floor, the tables, even stuck to the walls. Organs and flesh were mixed together in a nauseating mess. Not far outside the door, faint sounds of vomiting could be heard. A young police officer’s face was deathly pale. The hand holding the cordon tape was trembling so badly it looked like it would snap at any moment.
“Damn it, who brought a rookie here? Get him to puke somewhere else, don’t contaminate the scene.”
The officer in charge of the scene instinctively cursed out loud, but halfway through he suddenly realized something. His voice cut off, and his irritation grew even worse.
“...Forget it, let him puke. This damn scene is already completely useless anyway.”
Scene? What scene? Even if there really were perfect witnesses and physical evidence, what cop would dare walk up and slap handcuffs on Lei Yaoxing? Who has more guts than the police commissioner? If you’re not afraid of dying, are you not afraid your whole family will die too?
The overweight police chief spat a mouthful of betel nut juice onto the ground and turned to leave. “Motherfucker! Let them fight then! They’re all dogs biting dogs, anyway. One day their whole damn families will be wiped out!”
“Sir, are we not going to inspect the scene anymore?” a subordinate asked blankly.
The chief turned back and gave a cold glance at the officer. “What’s there to look at? You want to uphold justice? What’s the point of pretending? Just wrap it up and call the street washer to clean this mess up!”
What was there to look at? Hadn’t they seen enough already?
Since the day before yesterday, from the moment they started responding to calls, everyone had already become completely numb. These past few days, apart from the streets of Cliff City, there wasn’t a single alley that didn’t have gang fights. Not a single ditch without a floating corpse.
It was said that vans from several gangs would line up one after another at nightfall to dump black plastic bags by the riverbank where the North River flowed into the sea. The area was so lively it looked like a market during the day.
Could it be that the gangs were doing badly and couldn’t even afford that little garbage disposal fee? Everyone had killed until their eyes were bloodshot. They had completely gone mad with slaughter.
On the shore, the Spring City Gang, United Victory, Martial Brotherhood, New Martial Brotherhood, Peace Alliance, Brotherhood League, and Tigerheart Society, dozens of large gangs and societies, along with countless underlings, spent every day thinking about making a name for themselves and pulling off big moves. Meanwhile, the smugglers and drug traffickers out at sea had also begun sharpening their knives at one another.
Over the years, among the fourteen godsons and goddaughters that Lei Wuye had taken in, four had died long ago. Of the remaining ten, two had cleaned themselves up and gone ashore, no longer involved in gang affairs. One of them was later hacked to death at his own doorstep, while another had fled overnight to Tide City; whether he survived was unknown.
Of the remaining eight, one had already been sent by a dump truck into the hospital room next to his adoptive father, barely clinging to life. As for the other seven, there was nothing left to say. Everyone had completely turned against each other, leaving only a struggle of life and death in their wake.
Only now did everyone finally confirm that the old geezer Lei Wuye was truly on his last breath. Even if you wanted to fish, you wouldn’t blow up your own pond to do it.
After all the upheaval, order had completely collapsed, the world was in chaos, and authority had been utterly lost. Even if Lei Wuye opened his eyes, crawled out of bed, and stood before everyone saying, “Children, I’m back,” probably no one would give a damn anymore. The once filial children who used to fawn at his knees might instead walk up with cleavers and ask him, “Old geezer, why didn’t you die sooner?”
The once clear and rigid food chain, upon the fall of that stinking leviathan, had completely shattered. The remaining beasts feasted on the rotting carcasses and blood, staring at the highest point and at the rivals climbing beside them, already baring their claws. This underground war had only just begun.
An Ran stared at the bloodstains on the wall and murmured to himself, “Everyone is so boring.”
He couldn’t understand it. He couldn’t figure it out.
Why did everyone always end up killing each other for no reason, fighting to the death? Even if killing each other wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, wasn’t there anything else they could do?
Clearly they weren’t from the An family, and clearly there were so many more meaningful things they could do in this world. Their lives could have had infinite choices, yet they insisted on picking the worst one. Clearly, it was all for money, yet they had sold their own lives for the lowest price possible.
Everyone outside the An family kept saying that life was the most precious thing, yet no one actually cared about life, neither other people’s nor their own. In contrast, the An family, where one survived only by killing, kept warning every member that action had to be taken with caution, and no conflict should be started unless absolutely necessary.
It was strange.
An Ran lowered his head and looked at the vicious faces of the corpses, the shattered skulls frozen in expressions of extreme ferocity even in death.
How ridiculous.
He picked up the phone. “Hello? Ms. Wen? Yes, they’re all dead. Mm, forty-one of them. In addition, eleven unrelated people were caught up in it, including waiters and a few minors.”
The victims of this completely senseless disaster were lying at his feet, looking about his age, their youthful faces filled with terror. They might have brought money to the bar to try and pick up girls like the adults, or simply wanted a taste of the decadent nightlife. In the end, they were dragged into this entirely unnecessary storm and crushed to death.
How pitiful.
It was as if a mocking laugh echoed from somewhere far away. From an immense distance, someone cast a cold gaze. Just for a moment, it made An Ran feel a chill run through his entire body.
Without any warning, the boy turned around. A shrill cry erupted as a piece of metal shot out from his sleeve, moving faster than a bullet. It tore through multiple obstacles, passed through a gap in the door, cut through a blocking antenna, skimmed over rooftops, and threaded through the cracks between buildings.
Finally, it pierced the top of an abandoned building a kilometer away and embedded itself into a rusted iron door. A loud crash occurred as dust rose from the rooftop, dancing in the sunlight of the afternoon. But there was nothing among the shadows.
From such a vast distance, An Ran silently stared at those drifting wisps of dust. After a long while, he withdrew his gaze.
Then he turned and left.
***
At the same time, at the Maritime Commerce Center in the South Ridge District...
Towering skyscrapers reflected the sunlight, and the smooth glass curtain walls shimmered with a crystalline glow.
At F21 of United Victory Investment...
In the afternoon, the busy financial firm was filled with people rushing back and forth, handing in documents and reports. Their voices were soft, every word carefully measured, carrying the refined air of elite professionals.
Everyone took pride in their investment results and their judgment. Very few cared about where exactly the funds circulating through those accounts and spreadsheets actually came from.
In the reception room, a phone call had just ended.
Wen Wen looked at the middle-aged man sitting across from her on the sofa. “Did you hear that? This is what you people have done. In just the past few days, there have already been nearly ten large-scale conflicts that I know of. Just today alone, over forty innocent people have died because of your involvement. And now this again. Is this how United Victory does business?”
Across the table, the suited middle-aged man wearing a manager’s badge instantly changed expression.
“Ms. Wen, that’s going too far,” Zhou Cheng said, shaking his head firmly. “I’ve heard about the White Pact Gang incident, but you can’t just pin everything on United Victory, can you?”
“Everyone knows Lei Yaoxing and Chen Xingzhou are mortal enemies. The White Pact Gang, those scraps feeding off Chen Xingzhou’s leftovers, are all dead. If it wasn’t you guys who did it, then are you saying Chen Xingzhou killed his own people?” Wen Wen asked coldly.
Zhou Cheng smiled faintly. “That’s hard to say. Maybe they just fell out over the spoils and turned on each other. After all, Chen Xingzhou is barely keeping his head above water right now. It’s not strange for people to want to jump ship. Ms. Wen, you might as well ask them directly.”
Wen Wen stared straight at that fake smile. “What’s the point of sending some underling to say that? Bring Lei Yaoxing to me and say it himself. Someone has to give me an explanation.”
Zhou Cheng’s expression turned icy. “Ms. Wen, guests should be treated with courtesy. United Victory has already done our duty as host, so please don’t go too far. Otherwise, misunderstandings are bound to arise. This is not North Mount District, Ms. Wen. If you want to show off your authority, you should pick somewhere else. Or is it that the Security Bureau is finally planning to intervene in the Wasteland Assembly?”
The room plunged into complete silence as Wen Wen stared at Zhou Cheng expressionlessly. Veins bulged on the back of her hand.
This was exactly why the other side could act so brazenly, something Tong Shan had repeatedly emphasized over the phone. At this critical moment where there was no clear leader, the underworld of Cliff City was bound to undergo a brutal reshuffling, with the positions of winners built upon the corpses of countless losers. This was infighting among White Deer followers, with no room for Origin followers to interfere.
They were snakes and rats in the same nest. Things that must not be seen in the light should end where no light could reach. No one would care how many died.
If the Security Bureau intervened rashly, it would inevitably face retaliation from the Wasteland Assembly, and the Wasteland Assembly would never allow this bloody selection of power holders to be interfered with.
“Please leave, Ms. Wen. Let’s at least preserve some dignity between the Security Bureau and Wasteland Assembly.” Zhou Cheng hid the ridicule and mockery in his eyes as he stood up. After smoothing out his tailored high-end suit, he calmly added, “Mr. Lei won’t be seeing you today.”
Wen Wen said nothing. She did not even move. She simply took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Endure. Endure. Wen Wen, you cannot betray the director’s painstaking efforts and kindness. Don’t cause trouble for yourself. Think of the bigger picture. You are already an adult, don’t keep resorting to life-and-death conflict at the slightest provocation...
But plenty of people had already ended up dead. Innocent people, ordinary civilians dragged into this bloody struggle. Pregnant women and children crushed beneath trucks driven straight at underworld enemies. Those eyes that refused to close in the pools of blood...
Damn it. She really, truly, could not endure even a single bit.
As the saying went, “one’s nature is hard to change.” This was especially hard for those Ruins stubborn fools. They could not be changed, persuaded, or reasoned with. No matter what was said, they simply refused to listen. She had more than once paid the price for her own stubborn nature. She had regretted it more than once and tried to change herself more than once.
Have I changed? Have I ever changed, at least once? Forget it. I’m fucking done for in this lifetime.
“Alright. If you insist, I’ll leave.” Wen Wen gave a self-mocking laugh and sighed. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a crumpled envelope, and placed it on the table.
Zhou Cheng froze in place.
“Here’s my resignation letter. Five minutes from now, if I still don’t see Lei Yaoxing, I’ll walk out of here, deliver this to the director’s office, and go handle the resignation procedures with the Security Bureau’s HR department. By five o’clock this afternoon the latest, I’ll have nothing to do with the Security Bureau anymore.”
She tilted her head slightly, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled slowly. Her eyes narrowed in satisfaction. “If I don’t waste too much time beating up my former colleagues, I’ll probably go have a meal with my friends first. We’ll drink properly together and celebrate freedom. And then...”
Wen Wen looked up at Zhou Cheng, emphasizing every word as she said, “I’ll come back and crush Lei Yaoxing’s head outside his adoptive father’s hospital room. Then I’ll send that cheap old geezer of a godfather to the same place with him. But before that, I’ll burn every piece of trash like you to ashes, one by one. Including you. And your cousin who’s still on probation.
“If you don’t want the Security Bureau to handle this, then let me do it. The Security Bureau might allow scum like you to keep living in this world, but I won’t. Now, before I use your methods to solve this problem, I’ll ask you one last question.”
As the tall woman smiled, a transcendent and overwhelming presence emerged, solemn and imposing, as if gazing down upon the mortal world and delivering judgment. A terrifying pressure, heavier than stone and iron, spread out layer by layer, like dust falling from the heavens, slowly burying Zhou Cheng’s increasingly pale face into the depths of the earth.
Wen Wen asked coldly, “Do you want to gamble Lei Yaoxing’s life against me?”
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