Right on Target (TARGET)
The detection system at the door of the detention room remained silent, indicating that the visitor held a special status that far surpassing the authority of the Chief, granting them unimpeded access throughout the facility.
The person stopped at the door and knocked.
The Chief spoke solemnly, "Come in."
The door to the detention room swung open.
Wei Da was dressed in an old T-shirt and sneakers. His right pant leg was empty, so he leaned on a crutch. His hair was cropped short, his expression stern, and his eyes sharp like a falcon's. Even before stepping inside, his gaze locked onto Su Heting.
The Chief exclaimed, "Boss Wei!"
Wei Da walked straight past her and said, "Get out."
The Chief remained composed. "Interrogations require three people present. That's Xingtian's rule."
Wei Da lifted his crutch, pushed aside a chair, and offered no reply.
Only then did the Chief notice the sound of footsteps—the hallway was filled with people, all of Wei Da's men.
The armed team, led by Monk, had been completely disarmed and were "resting" at the far end of the corridor. The detention facility had already been taken over by Wei Da, and the Chief hadn't even received any notice.
So fast.
Frowning in silence, she tucked her lighter back into her pocket and walked out of the detention room.
Tall and wearing high heels, she held her own against the sea of black-suited, sunglasses-wearing men. She left the door open and said, "This place is still under Xingtian's jurisdiction, Boss Wei. Don't you think your men are being a bit rude?"
A gun barrel pressed against the Chief's back. The sunglasses-wearing man holding it said, "Shut up. The boss told you to leave, so get moving."
Monk and the armed team abruptly stood up in unison. The Chief turned her head, fixing her gaze on the man with the gun. She raised a hand toward Monk and the others, signaling them to stand down.
The man jabbed the gun against her head and cursed, "What, you deaf, bitch?"
A young man beside Monk snapped, "Damn it! What did you just—"
Before he could finish, the butt of a rifle struck him from behind.
Monk and the armed team had never suffered such humiliation. They operated in the Black Market year-round but had never been assigned to escort high-ranking bosses, so their knowledge of such figures was limited to hearsay. Seeing the Chief disrespected like this ignited their fury, and they glared at the sunglasses-wearing man.
The Chief, however, was different. She knew Wei Da's rise to power better than Monk and the others, understood his temperament, and knew that defiance would only bring harm to her people.
Her silver hair was slightly disheveled, but it didn't shake her composure. She casually pushed the gun barrel aside and said lightly, "Hah... no need for weapons among friends. Mind stepping aside so I can pass?"
The sunglasses-wearing man took a step back.
"Thanks," the Chief said without glancing at him. She walked past them, head held high and led the armed team to the other end of the hallway and into a seldom-used meeting room.
Su Heting heard the commotion outside. He was amused to see the armed team humiliated, but he had to admit—Wei Da's presence was far more imposing than his son's.
Wei Da sat down and placed his crutch to the side. His posture was rigid as a steel needle, and his gaze at Su Heting felt just as sharp.
Su Heting wondered what his first words would be.
Right then, Wei Da spoke: "I received your gift, Mr. Su. Quite the present—worth rushing here overnight to thank you in person."
Su Heting twitched his nose, sensing the stimulation signals stirring within him. He replied, "You're welcome. If you liked it, I can always send another."
Wei Da braced his hands on his knees while still locking eyes with Su Heting across the table.
His gaze bore no trace of grief, unlike someone who had just lost a son. After a long pause, he said, "Send another? You’ve already killed my son—who else do you want to kill, Mr. Su? You’re being unreasonable. Zhixin didn’t kill your parents or your friends. He was just playing games with you, but you took it seriously."
Su Heting, taller than Wei Da, leaned forward from the shadows with an almost oppressive presence: "Then you should reflect, Boss Wei. You should have taught Wei Zhixin that some games don’t last long, and he should’ve been prepared to pay the price."
Wei Da said, "You will repent here."
Su Heting scoffed arrogantly, "Ha—?"
Wei Da stared at him and repeated, "You will repent here."
Su Heting replied, "Keep dreaming. That’d be more convenient."
Wei Da said, "I knew you’d say that. But killing is never a good thing. Don’t you feel any remorse for those who died?"
Su Heting countered, "Good question. Do you? We’re two of a kind."
Wei Da raised his hands and pressed them together on the table. There was a ruthless air about him, like a man with nothing to lose—because that’s exactly what he was. "You’re too arrogant, Su Heting. I gave you a chance to repent out of respect for Fuma, but your reaction is disappointing. I shouldn’t have expected anything from you. In the end, you’re just a Black Panther, and Black Panthers are all fucking lunatics. What you owe me can never be repaid. I’ve been magnanimous, letting it go. But what did you do? You killed my son."
The sunglasses-wearing men at the door filed in, flanking Su Heting and pressing him onto the table. Unable to lift his head, Su Heting felt the cold barrel of a gun against the back of his skull. He had no memory and didn’t know what grudge Wei Da held against the Black Panthers.
Wei Da shifted his leg and patted it. "This crippled leg is a gift from the Black Panthers. One winter, 7-001 slaughtered my armed squad at the border of the North-South Alliance. Hundreds of men—all dead. He hunted us for two whole months, and we couldn’t shake him. I escaped by jumping into the snowfields, but at the cost of this leg. After that, I spent the war in hiding, terrified the Black Panthers would find me. Luckily, heaven had eyes—you brought about Doomsday, blew up the old world, and gave me a chance to start over."
Su Heting said, "Then go find 7-001 and settle your debt with him. What’s that got to do with me?"
Wei Da drew a dagger and slammed it into the table. Leaning closer, his eyes brimmed with malice. "Don’t you get it? I’m saying all Black Panthers must die."
Su Heting reasoned, "One thing at a time. I’ll take responsibility for killing your son, but I won’t carry someone else’s burden."
Wei Da sneered, "You Black Panthers turning on each other—no wonder you’re all cold-blooded animals."
Su Heting said, "Can’t speak for the others, but my blood runs hot. By the way, are you really grieving? Hey, you haven’t even cried."
His words sounded childish, as if grief must always be accompanied by tears—only then could it be real.
Wei Da barked, "Cut out his tongue first—shut him up!"
A sunglasses-wearing man gripped Su Heting’s head and pulled out the dagger to force it into his mouth but Su Heting suddenly kicked out, striking the man behind the knee.
Caught off guard, the man hadn’t expected Su Heting to retaliate under such circumstances. His knee buckled in pain, and his upper body slammed onto the table.
Su Heting didn’t look up. With a swift backward hook of his foot, the table tilted sharply and slid toward Wei Da on the opposite side.
The crowded room instantly descended into chaos. Wei Da, with his legs unsteady, nearly toppled as the table slammed into him. Su Heting’s tail flicked like a whip, wrapping around the gun pressed against the back of his head. With a sharp tug, the muzzle jerked sideways, and a bullet bang struck the floor. Su Heting straightened, driving his elbow backward into the sunglasses-wearing man behind him and sending him crashing to the ground.
The man clutched his nose. "The sensor lock—"
Su Heting’s tail lashed again, snatching the gun into his grip. He stepped on the man’s chest and fired without a glance. Blood sprayed, splattering half his body.
The sensor lock was fake!
Wei Da sensed something was wrong. Su Heting whistled, and gunfire erupted in the hallway like firecrackers. The detention room door swung open as a flashbang rolled in, blinding everyone instantly.
Monk, wearing a gas mask, charged in first. He shouted into his earpiece, "The Hybrids are rebelling—the detention center’s in a firefight! Brothers, it’s time to uphold justice!"
As he finished, he unleashed a barrage of bullets down the hallway, spent casings scattering across the floor.
The Chief shed her coat and strode into the detention room. She seized the nearest sunglasses-wearing man by the door and slammed him to the ground before he could react. Her stiletto heel pinned his hand, the sharp tip kicking his gun away.
She picked it up and said, "My apologies, Boss Wei, but this is Xingtian’s detention center. And right now—" She raised the gun and fired two shots that blew the heads off Wei Da’s bodyguards. With a single-handed reload, she didn’t flinch at the click. "—it’s under my management."
She emphasized the word my, as if retaliating against the man’s earlier insult of bitch.
Wei Da, surprisingly unshaken, steadied himself on his cane amid the corpses and stood. "Interesting. You chose to ally with a Hybrid."
Su Heting shrugged. "No choice. I’m valuable to them."
The Chief sighed. "The higher-ups favor systems, but that doesn’t benefit me. You know me, Boss Wei—I’ve always focused on the Punishment Zone. Laugh if you want, but my dream really is to liberate humanity. So this kid here? He’s crucial."
Wei Da took a step forward, then paused. "Planning to silence me?"
The Chief shook her head. "No need. Just stay with us a little longer."
Wei Da scoffed. "The Punishment Zone is a scam by the Main God System. Didn’t you know? All your efforts there are wasted."
"I used to think so too," she said, kicking aside the dead man’s body and gesturing after you. "But this kid? He’s full of surprises. He gave me hope again."
Wei Da walked steadily past her, then suddenly smirked. "Let me remind you—he’s a Black Panther."
The Chief smiled. "Exactly why he can pull it off."
"Those who trust Black Panthers meet bad ends. Remember Fu Chenghui? The man who created them. And look how he ended up." Wei Da turned back, his expression cryptic. "This kid killed my son. He’d lie through his teeth to survive. If he’s fooling you, you’d never know."
The Chief followed Wei Da's gaze and also looked at Su Heting: "No problem. If this kid dares to lie to me, I'll personally blow his head off and hand him over to Boss Wei as an apology."
Wei Da used his cane to push aside the corpse and, just like that, unhurriedly walked into the corridor.
His eyes swept past Monk and past every armed group member present today, yet he didn't utter a single threatening word.
But Monk understood that look—it meant "just wait."
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