On the Pacific Ocean, two fishing boats that had exchanged signals were in the process of transferring goods. Unbeknownst to them, two modified speedboats with extended fuel tanks were silently approaching from a kilometer away. Further back, about five to six kilometers behind, another speedboat followed the two, perfectly demonstrating the concept of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
The speedboat trailing at the end was noticeably larger and more advanced than the two in front, as it was operated by the death squad sent to monitor Duan Kun.
With a wealthy boss backing them, the death squad had undergone a drastic transformation in both funding and equipment.
"Any signs of unusual activity from the Black Phoenix drones?" Barney asked Gunnar while puffing on a cigar.
"Why do I always have to be the lookout?" Gunnar complained, holding a large smartphone. "Why not ask Sunday about this stuff?"
"Just do it, it's your punishment for hiding the fact that you have a daughter," Christmas teased with a smile. "Look at everyone here, we all know Yin Yang and Barney have kids and wives, but you kept it a secret for so long. If I hadn't seen your daughter on a video call, how long were you planning to keep it under wraps? By the way, looking at you now, are you sure that stunningly beautiful girl is really your daughter?"
"F you, Christmas! One more word and I'll duel you!" Gunnar cursed before seeing Christmas raise his hands in surrender. Gunnar grumbled, "It wasn't intentional. You know how I was before. If I hadn't followed the boss, made money, quit drinking, and stopped all the bad habits, I wouldn't have dared to face Sophia."
"Guys, enough chit-chat. Duan Kun is on the move," Yin Yang reminded them, keeping an eye on his phone.
Gunnar quickly glanced at his large smartphone. "The boss is being way too cautious. I'm still getting used to this new way of getting intel."
"Shut up, Gunnar," Barney snapped, immediately cutting him off. Caution was good for their line of work, and if William found out Gunnar was badmouthing him, Gunnar would be in trouble.
A few minutes later, Bason, the eldest son of the Eight-faced Buddha, was casually chatting with the people receiving the goods. Having grown up in Thailand, Bason had become accustomed to using a Thai name. But before they could talk for two minutes, the distant sound of speedboat engines grew louder.
"Da-da-da!" The distinct sound of gunfire echoed from a few hundred meters away. Before the receivers beside Bason could even react, they were already hit, blood spraying from their bodies as they collapsed to the ground.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack!" Bason ducked into cover as bullets riddled the spot where he had just been standing.
"Dammit, this thing is amazing! After this job, I need to ask that mysterious partner for more of these. If every one of my men had one of these glasses, no one in the underworld would be able to challenge me," Duan Kun said excitedly. He was wearing a single-lens smart glass, holding a long rifle and shooting like he was playing a video game with cheats, picking off everyone on the fishing boat with precise shots.
As the two speedboats closed in on the fishing boat, they split up, each sending out another volley of gunfire. It took less than a minute from the moment the speedboats arrived to the time they had wiped out everyone on the fishing boat. The speed and precision left Duan Kun even more thrilled.
After circling the boat a few times, they found no one left standing. Duan Kun boarded the boat with his men and, after checking around, discovered that Bason had been shot four or five times but was still alive.
"Who… who are you?" Bason asked weakly, staring at Duan Kun.
"Me?" Duan Kun grinned maniacally. "When you meet the King of Hell, tell him Duan Kun sent you." He raised his rifle and emptied the remaining bullets into Bason.
"Take the goods and let's head back! I'm taking you all to party tonight!" Duan Kun shouted.
"Thanks, boss!" his men cheered, raising their guns in celebration.
But Duan Kun's joy was short-lived. Several kilometers away, Barney told Gunnar, "Bason's dead. Destroy those glasses."
"Okay," Gunnar replied. He tapped a few buttons on his large smartphone, and a few kilometers away, Duan Kun suddenly felt the smart glasses heating up on his face. In just a few seconds, his ear and eyelid felt like they were burning, and he quickly yanked the glasses off, throwing them onto the boat's deck.
"Sssss!" A thin stream of smoke began rising from the glasses. "What the hell? Is that bastard trying to silence me?"
"Boss…" one of Duan Kun's men cautiously interjected.
"What?" Duan Kun, still on edge, pointed his gun at the subordinate.
The terrified subordinate quickly raised his hands. "Boss, don't you remember? The guy who delivered the glasses said this was just a trial version. The real ones cost a million dollars each."
"Oh!" Duan Kun recalled. "Damn, that's right. A million dollars for one pair? With that kind of money, I could hire dozens of assassins. Why the hell would I need this piece of junk?"
Though he complained, Duan Kun couldn't help but stare longingly at the now-melted glasses. During the firefight, he'd managed to take out at least seven people with ease, and the thrill of hitting targets with such precision had been even better than bedding a dozen women.
"Bring the goods back!" Duan Kun ordered, deciding that he might secretly purchase a pair of the glasses for himself, just to keep as a trump card in emergencies. Unfortunately, the person who had delivered the glasses would never show up again.
Ten minutes later, Duan Kun's men reported, "Boss, the goods are loaded. We're going to be rich! I've estimated that this shipment is worth at least a billion."
Hearing that they had secured goods worth a billion, Duan Kun's grin grew even wider. "Let's go, head back."
After Duan Kun's speedboats left, the death squad's boat approached Bason's fishing boat. Yin Yang leaped aboard, found Bason, and injected a fingernail-sized tracking device into his body. Then he moved to the bow, tied the tow rope thrown up by Caesar to the fishing boat, and jumped back to the speedboat.
"All set," Yin Yang reported to Barney with a nod.
"Let's move then. The tracking device has a range of 15 kilometers. We'll tow this boat to within 10 kilometers, then wait and see where Bason gets taken. As for Duan Kun, good luck to him," Barney said, cigar still between his teeth.
"Let's hope Duan Kun doesn't have a family. These drug lords don't care if their targets are innocent," Gunnar shrugged.
"A scumbag like him? He doesn't have a family. Duan Kun's an orphan. Whether he lives or dies is no longer our concern," Barney replied nonchalantly.
The next morning, heavy rain poured down. Before he could even start work, Su Jianqiu received a call from one of his men, reporting that some fishermen had called the police. While out fishing early in the morning, they had found a boat full of dead bodies. It seemed the Eight-faced Buddha's shipment had been stolen.
When Su Jianqiu arrived at the dock, a large group of uniformed officers in raincoats were processing the scene despite the downpour. "Sir Su, there are ten bodies on the boat—six Thai nationals and four locals. Our preliminary investigation shows they were all killed by gunfire from long rifles, judging by the bullet holes and casings."
As soon as Su Jianqiu saw Bason's body, memories he had avoided for the past five years immediately flooded back. He had met Bason in Thailand. Five years ago, when he, Ma Tianhao, Zhang Ziwei, and their fallen comrade Wang Shunyi had gone undercover to capture the Eight-faced Buddha, Bason and the Buddha's daughter, Mienna, had been their contacts for the deal.
The memory resurfaced suddenly, and with it came Ma Tianhao, the person Su Jianqiu least wanted to see, limping toward him. Su Jianqiu felt like he could hardly breathe. He quickly told one of his men, "Make sure I get a full report," and left without acknowledging Ma Tianhao, driving back to the station.
A few days later, William was strolling through the streets with a beautiful woman by his side when Sunday suddenly reported in his ear, "Sir, the death squad reports that Bason's body has been stolen and is being transported to the Asian gambling city."
"Ah, so it begins," William said, feeling relaxed as he sipped on a cup of local Hong Kong-style milk tea. "Book me a ticket on a cruise to the gambling city. I've heard those cruises are quite unique. Since we're not in a rush, I might as well experience it."
"Understood, Sir."
A few days earlier, as soon as William landed, the client manager from the Swiss National Bank's Hong Kong branch had picked him up. After checking him into a hotel, the manager had left, but a very beautiful, slightly shy young employee had stayed behind. She was only 22 years old, and after their first night together, any initial reservations she had quickly disappeared. During the day, she clung
to William like a woman in her first relationship, taking him shopping, eating local delicacies, and even watching a Cantonese opera. At night, she was so enthusiastic that it took several rounds of "exercise" to tire her out.
Despite the sweetness, goodbyes were inevitable. Once Sunday had booked the cruise tickets, William got into his Ferrari, which he had bought just three days ago, and drove the young woman to the cruise terminal.
After parking the car, William handed her the keys. "This car is yours, a gift for spending two days with me. Goodbye, beautiful."
To be honest, William was quite fond of the girl. She was 22, stunning, and had been a virgin when they met. But after spending a few days together, William could see clearly that her goal was to become Mrs. Devonshire. Since he had no intention of getting married and was wary of women with ulterior motives, he decisively gifted her the car and said goodbye. If the car hadn't been such a hassle to deal with, and if it didn't cost him 90,000 pounds to ship it back to London, he might not have been so generous.
"Will I ever see you again?" the beautiful woman asked, hugging him tightly, reluctant to let go.
Meet again? Not a chance. William hadn't even bothered to remember her name.
After walking into the terminal, William put on a mask and picked up his VIP ticket at the counter. He made his way to the second-floor VIP lounge, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows and watching the tourists coming and going on the first floor with interest.
It seemed that many Hong Kong locals were keen on visiting the Asian gambling city. William wondered if, when some of them lost all their money, the rumors about the hotels giving them a free cruise ticket back would prove true.
Just as he was pondering whether to hit up a casino and earn some extra cash, he spotted a very familiar person entering the terminal with four serious-looking men.
"Well, damn. Isn't that Brother Jing?" William muttered to himself.
Brother Jing wasn't the only familiar face. Judging by the company he kept, it was clear they were up to no good.
Leaving the VIP lounge, William bought a takeaway mocha from a nearby café and leaned on the second-floor railing, watching Brother Jing's group like he was about to enjoy a good show.
It wasn't long before a couple with three bodyguards in black suits hurried into the waiting area. The bald man in Brother Jing's group quickly noticed the couple and immediately alerted the leader. "Boss, is that them?"
The leader glanced at the couple sitting not far from them. "That's them."
After a few moments of silence, the leader, clearly impatient with Brother Jing, coldly said, "Finish them."
As William watched this scene unfold, a smile crept across his face. He recognized the scene—it was from the movie SPL II. "Looks like I know what's going to happen next."
This couple wasn't innocent either. They were involved in the kind of vile activities that made William want to stomp them out himself.
"Heh, I was just talking to Zhang Ziwei a few days ago about the three types of people I hate the most, and now I've run into them back-to-back. Looks like even the heavens can't stand them and want me to deal with them," William chuckled.
"Sunday, have Yin Yang and Christmas come over to keep an eye on these people. After I'm done with the Eight-faced Buddha, they'll probably head to Thailand. I'll deal with them then."
"Understood, Sir. I've sent the orders, but it'll take about 20 minutes for Yin Yang and Christmas to arrive."
"No rush." William reached into his coat, and, hidden by the fabric, pulled out a Black Phoenix drone. He tossed it into the air. "Once they can pick up this drone's signal, transfer control to them. For now, you handle it."
"Understood, Sir."
A few minutes later, the waiting area on the first floor had cleared out. Without turning around, William said, "Do you always take it this easy, Inspector Yang Jinrong?"
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