Right on Target (TARGET)
Su Heting dashed through the streets and made a detour into the Jade Pool halfway. Ignoring the bowing lead robot, he pushed aside the curtain and headed straight for his private booth.
The lead robot hurried after Su Heting, scanning guest data: "Please wait a moment..."
Su Heting swiped open the booth door with his tail, stepped inside, and opened the storage locker he usually used, retrieving the pistol he had hidden there.
The lead robot followed him in: "Sir!"
Su Heting ejected the magazine—it was empty: "Call Sen over."
Sen was the owner of the Jade Pool, with connections as vast as his roster of beauties. Su Heting kept his gun here for two reasons: first, it was discreet, as the place only catered to Hybrids and he had a monthly rental locker; second, because of Sen, who could procure military-grade weapons right under Xingtian’s nose.
The lead robot said, "I'm sorry, the boss is currently—"
"Call. Sen. Here. Now!" Su Heting suddenly raised the pistol, aiming it at the lead robot with the "X" in his right eye glaringly clear. "Immediately!"
Even with the magazine lying nearby, the lead robot couldn’t determine whether the gun was loaded—it couldn’t process such complex information. But it knew a "gun" was dangerous and understood commands.
Perhaps Sen had left special instructions regarding Su Heting, as the robot didn’t trigger an automatic alarm. Instead, it raised its hands and chirped cheerfully, "Understood! Contacting the boss now. Please remain calm and do not fire! Allow me to recite the first rule of the Black Market: prohibited—"
Su Heting ignored it, pulling out his phone with one hand and sending a text.
"He actually hung up on me," Wei Zhixin spread his legs and leaned forward to look at the beauty on the floor. "Seems he really considers you a good friend. How touching."
The beauty trembled all over, gasping from the pain—Wei Zhixin had just crushed two of her fingers under his foot. She licked her dry lips as sweat dripped down her face. "I told you, that little bastard—"
Wei Zhixin stepped on her left hand as his gloved fingers lightly covered his nose as if repulsed by her scent. "Filthy whore."
The beauty shrieked, her hair soaked with sweat. She didn’t hold back her tears—crying only proved her pain receptors worked, not that she feared Wei Zhixin.
Wei Zhixin paid no attention to her screams. He picked up his wine glass, his earlier anger gone as he spoke as if making small talk. "Does it hurt? Endure it. No need to make such a racket. Shh, shh—quiet! Let’s have a little chat."
The beauty buried her face, covered in sweat and tears.
"Why did you choose to call yourself 'Beauty'?" Wei Zhixin sounded genuinely curious, though he didn’t lift his foot and kept grinding his leather shoe into her knuckles until she writhed in agony. "You’re over forty, past your prime—what part of you is 'beautiful'? How about I rename you? From now on, you’ll be 'Auntie.' Auntie, my apologies—I didn’t mean to disturb you. I heard you’ve been searching for your daughter? Must be exhausting. I sympathize with people like you. But, you see, Su Heting is all alone in the Black Market, no family to speak of. So I had no choice but to target his friends."
Wei Zhixin finished his wine and raised the glass, signaling Viper to pour him another.
Jiali's entire arm was convulsing and her eyes stinging from sweat as more tears streamed down. Tilting her face slightly, she forced out a stiff, uglier-than-crying smile: "In your twenties, Wei Zhixin, and still your daddy’s little lapdog—fucking hell—" A scream tore from her throat as pain wracked her, her fingers twisting grotesquely under Wei Zhixin’s foot. Yet she gritted through it to finish: "Fuck! Fuck you, Wei Shithead! Stop meddling in my business! Go lick your dad’s balls!"
Wei Zhixin pressed down harder, savoring her screams as he drained his glass again. His pallid face darkened as some barb of hers struck a nerve.
The cavernous hall echoed with Jiali’s shrieks, chilling to the bone. Axiu sat leaning against the sofa, engrossed in stacking blocks. His delicate features betrayed no emotion, as if this were all routine, utterly unremarkable.
Viper stared at the ice bucket like a statue. His wounds hadn’t healed, but guilt over burdening his boss drove him back on duty with the bandages still wrapped around him. Now, gripping a liquor bottle, he willed himself to tune out Jiali’s cries.
Wei Zhixin suddenly spoke: "You gutter trash never learn to watch your filthy mouths. So full of yourselves, forgetting the New World has its rules." He nudged Jiali’s head upright with his shoe. "Allowing you to lie on my carpet is an honor. You should be thanking me. And yet—listen to yourself."
Jiali’s voice was hoarse as she sneered: "Hah! Wei Zhixin, fuck—you really think you’re some precious baby, huh? ‘Thank you’? Bullshit. What kind of scum raised you? Our ‘filthy mouths’ are made for trash like you. I fuck your dad, I fuck you—got that?" Her expression was pure contempt. "New World rules? What a fucking joke!"
Wei Zhixin’s glass shattered against the floor, shards grazing Jiali’s face. Before she could gasp, her head was slammed into the broken glass.
"You’ll regret this," Wei Zhixin said
Gasping, the metallic tang of blood in her mouth, Jiali turned her neck, grinding her forehead into the glass until it bled. Through the agony, her lips twisted suddenly.
"Good morning," she muttered, inexplicably.
Those words were a trigger. Viper lunged up—but too late.
The floor-to-ceiling window behind Wei Zhixin’s sofa exploded inward with a deafening crash as a storm-laden shockwave hurling furniture across the room. The chandelier plummeted, smashing to pieces.
Axiu’s first instinct was to shield his face—that split-second defense cost him his chance to rise. Before he could lower his arms, a brutal kick sent him flying into an overturned sofa.
Viper yanked Wei Zhixin back, roaring: "Open fire!"
"Open fire!" Two small robots darted chaotically through the hall with trays aloft and weaving gleefully among bodyguards. "Open fire!"
The bombs on their trays detonated on cue. Viper threw himself over Wei Zhixin as searing pain erupted across his back. The blast wasn’t just earth-shaking—it birthed a rolling inferno. Flames engulfed the space and liquor bottles exploding in rapid succession, transforming the hall into a sea of fire.
The ground floor of the exchange was closed during the day, but Wei Zhixin had special privileges. He had reserved the entire floor to await Su Heting’s grand arrival, even stationing dozens of armed bodyguards at the elevator entrance. Who would’ve thought Su Heting wouldn’t even use the front door!
Viper sensed something was wrong. He pressed the earpiece in his ear and called for backup: "Requesting support—the enemy is armed—" A bullet thwacked into Viper’s wrist, making him cry out in pain, but he continued, "Axiu, protect the boss!"
Jiali sprang up from the ground, spinning midair to deliver a kick straight to Viper’s injured wrist, making him curse. Her mechanical leg had a steel exterior—the impact was like being struck by a metal rod, instantly breaking Viper’s hand.
Axiu’s block tower collapsed. He bit his lip.
Su Heting didn’t care about his feelings—he stepped on the blocks and threw a punch straight at Axiu’s face. Axiu’s expression darkened as a flicker of anger surfaced. He tilted his head, his right arm transforming into a steel blade that slashed straight for Su Heting’s head.
"Don’t fight—" Viper gasped in too much pain to continue, "Protect the boss!"
Injured and unarmed, he was no match for the furious Jiali. The moment he spoke, he felt a gust of wind behind his head—Jiali stomped on him, slamming his face into the ground with a thud.
"Even at forty, I’m still your mother." Jiali’s tears hadn’t dried yet. Her fingers were broken, hanging limp at her sides as she leaned down. "Wei Zhixin, say ‘thank you’ to this kick."
Viper’s neck scales rippled as his tail emerged. His spiked tail lashed out like a whip, wrapping around Jiali’s throat. With a roar, he yanked her backward. Jiali grabbed the mechanical tail, using her remaining unbroken fingers to pry it off.
Axiu didn’t look back. Today, unlike usual, he was aggressive, not waiting for Su Heting to make a move. Su Heting dodged a few times, as if deliberately provoking him as he kicked aside some of the scattered blocks.
Axiu shouted, "You—!"
Su Heting smirked. "Go on, pick them up."
With that, he kicked another block.
Axiu flew into a rage, his steel blade thrusting forward—exactly what Su Heting wanted. Su Heting grabbed the blade with his injured hand and yanked it toward himself before Axiu could twist it. Axiu lost his balance as Su Heting kneed him in the stomach.
The impact nearly made Axiu vomit. Young and untouchable after his modification surgery, he had never been injured before. Now, he staggered in disarray. Su Heting didn’t let him retract the blade—he flipped Axiu over, slamming him onto the ground, then firmly stepped on the steel blade.
Axiu froze, clutching his stomach before suddenly bursting into tears. "Boss!" he wailed.
Su Heting raised his gun, aiming it at Wei Zhixin.
Seeing this, Viper forgot about Jiali, scrambling desperately to block the shot.
But Su Heting didn’t fire. He stood behind the sofa, seemingly amused by Viper’s reaction. "I hear the sound of aircraft engines. Your reinforcements must be arriving."
The shattered floor-to-ceiling windows let in a howling wind, the only sound in the hall the patter of rain.
Viper’s hearing wasn’t as sharp as Su Heting’s, but seeing that Su Heting truly wasn’t shooting, he cautiously eased his breathing. Raising his bleeding hand, he knew when to yield. "We surrender. Sorry, okay? Just—sorry."
Su Heting’s shirt fluttered in the fiery wind with the gloomy sky looming behind him. He lowered his arm, accepting Viper’s apology. "Jiali, go press the elevator."
Jiali scrambled to her feet as her neck flushed red. She spat and backed toward the door.
She knew the situation was dire—even if Viper surrendered, Wei Zhixin and Wei Da wouldn’t let it go. But this fucking problem had no solution!
She jabbed at the elevator button randomly and shouted to Su Heting, “I pressed it!”
Su Heting said, “Go up. Leave.”
Jiali froze, but Viper was the first to ask, “You’re not coming?”
Su Heting kept his eyes fixed on Viper but spoke to Jiali, “Get in the car at the entrance. Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.”
He respected Jiali and rarely used such a commanding tone with her.
She understood his meaning.
Dragging her injured arm, she didn’t hesitate when the elevator doors opened and stepped inside decisively.
Viper’s heart sank, though his face betrayed nothing. He still held up his injured hand. “Mr. Su, I know it’s late to say this, but still—”
A bullet suddenly struck Viper’s shoulder. He let out a cry and curled up like a shrimp.
Su Heting said, “You make mistakes every day with this rotten attitude, but I never once thought of going after your dad.”
“We’re sincere…” Viper forced out polite words through gritted teeth. “We can compensate. Please, Su Heting! I swear, after today, this matter will be over—”
Su Heting fired a shot into Axiu’s left leg.
Viper said, “Don’t you—”
Su Heting fired again, hitting Axiu’s right leg.
Axiu’s legs were now useless as tears of pain streamed down his face. His cries grew louder, reduced to just shouting, “Boss!”
Viper’s breathing quickened. With his one remaining hand, he yanked Wei Zhixin behind him.
Even at this moment, Wei Zhixin didn’t believe Su Heting would actually pull the trigger.
His expression was dark as he raised a hand and pointed at his own head. “Shoot here, and none of you will escape. I’m not afraid to die, but you are. If I die, everyone you know will—”
“Bang!”
Su Heting didn’t stop. Amid the rapid “bang, bang, bang” of gunfire, he emptied the entire clip.
Blood splattered onto Viper’s face. He let out a despairing groan. “You dare…” He didn’t even dare to look back, trembling uncontrollably as he shrieked, “You dare!”
Su Heting said, “Give my regards to Wei Da. This is my gift of fury.”
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