Chapter 60: Murder

The sudden appearance of regular troops caught Zhong Yuan somewhat off guard.

Had it been any other underworld faction, Zhong Yuan would have had no trouble fishing in troubled waters. But with regular troops on the scene, should they discover their presence and a firefight break out, it would certainly spell trouble for Zhong Yuan.

However, Lin Zhonghai’s men were already trapped inside that small building, and being caught in the net was merely a matter of time.

At this thought, the urge to retreat stirred within Zhong Yuan. Yet, just as he prepared to take Zhong Da and leave, two figures scaled the opposite wall.

The moment they hit the ground, they headed straight toward the villa.

Zhong Yuan’s brow furrowed at the sight.

Scarcely ten minutes had passed, and Xiaohua was undoubtedly still inside that villa.

If he ran into those two, given Xiaohua’s combat skills, escaping would be practically impossible.

Zhong Da also noticed the direction the two men were heading and gently nudged Zhong Yuan’s arm.

"Call Xiaohua, tell him to ditch the gun, find a bedroom, rough up his forehead a bit, and fake unconsciousness!" Zhong Yuan thought for a moment before speaking in a rapid, hushed voice.

Hearing this, Zhong Da immediately took out his phone, found Xiaohua’s contact, and dialed. While Zhong Yuan shielded the glow of the phone screen with his body, he added one more instruction: "Tell him to make it look as messy as possible."

However, Xiaohua did not answer the call.

The worry on Zhong Da’s face deepened.

"He's not picking up!" he said, dialing again.

Seeing this, Zhong Yuan stopped him. "Stop calling. Let’s go, back to the villa!" With that, he began backing away on all fours.

The two men hugged the wall, crawled backward for several dozen yards, and then slowly rose to their crouched positions. Taking advantage of the cover of night, the driving rain, and the garden foliage, they hurried swiftly toward the villa.

Yet, fast as they were, the other two men were equally swift, despite starting later and taking a detour.

Inside the villa, the fire in the basement was still burning, and thick smoke rolled up the stairwell, filling the upper-level rooms with haze.

Furthermore, to stall Zhong Yuan and the others earlier, Lin Zhonghai’s men had poured gasoline near the stairs and set it ablaze. Although the floors were made of marble, the gasoline had spread, igniting two wooden cabinets near the top of the stairs. Without intervention, the fire would inevitably engulf the house.

Under such circumstances, Xiaohua had few places to hide.

After dragging the unconscious Xiao De into the kitchen, he scouted the room and ultimately decided to take cover right there.

The Chinese-style kitchen had a door on the eastern side; if the fire spread, it would provide a convenient escape route.

Moreover, when outsiders entered and saw the corpses sprawled on the kitchen floor, they would most likely not suspect that anyone else was hiding in here.

Consequently, he squeezed himself into the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink.

Hardly had he settled into his hiding place when the sound of the torrential rain outside seemed to mingle with a different kind of movement. The sound was faint, yet very close.

Xiaohua instantly tensed up, silently adjusting his posture as the muzzle of his gun instinctively shifted toward the cabinet door.

In the confined space, he could distinctly hear the pounding of his own heart.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

In the distance, the sound of gunfire echoed, seeming to synchronize with his own heartbeat.

A fine sheen of sweat crept onto his forehead, trickling down his temple.

Suddenly, a beam of light flickered briefly through the gap at the bottom of the cabinet door.

Xiaohua’s pounding heart skipped a beat.

Then came an even more frantic thumping, as though his heart were about to burst from his chest.

Had anyone been standing opposite him at that moment, they would have seen his face flushed red, his eyes devoid of fear, shining instead with intense focus and sharp alertness!

"There's a live one here!"

The voice rang out abruptly, spoken in Chinese tinged with a domestic regional accent.

Xiaohua froze for a fraction of a second.

Since arriving in Nan Thai, this was the first time he had heard such authentic Chinese from a stranger.

Clearly, the person outside was Chinese—at least the one speaking was.

Before he could fully process it, a familiar voice drifted in from outside: "Don't shoot, I'm Chinese!"

Xiaohua recognized it instantly—it was Zhong Yuan’s voice.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

Someone walked in from outside.

"I killed these people. The live one on the floor was someone I deliberately left behind, intending to interrogate him. But your sudden appearance ruined my plan!" Zhong Yuan stepped into the doorway, raising his hands as he looked at the two Chinese men. He continued, "I’m showing myself for one reason only: I have a man left in this house. I won’t interfere with your operation, but I want to take my man with him!"

The two Chinese men frowned upon hearing this. Zhong Yuan’s appearance was far too suspicious; even if he claimed to be Chinese, he wasn't necessarily trustworthy.

Before they could reply, however, Zhong Yuan called out, "Xiaohua, come out!"

Hearing the commotion, Xiaohua, hidden inside the cabinet, didn't hesitate to make a noise. Then, amidst the astonished gazes of the two Chinese men, he pushed open the cabinet door and slowly crawled out.

At that moment, Zhong Yuan spoke again: "Judging by your gear and operation, you don't look like some civilian outfit. You must have heard of Chen Mingjiang from the embassy. You can contact him to verify my identity. My name is Yu Guang!"

The room was dim, and Zhong Yuan could not clearly make out their expressions, but he saw the two men exchange glances.

Then, one of them spoke: "Brother Jiang is right outside the north wall. What did you just say your name was?"

This time, it was Zhong Yuan’s turn to freeze.

Chen Mingjiang was right outside the north wall?

In other words, this operation by these men was very likely led by Chen Mingjiang?

Although Lin Zhonghai was ethnically Chinese, he was a legitimate citizen of Nan Thai. Yet Chen Mingjiang was Chinese—was he leading these 'regular troops' to raid Lin Zhonghai’s villa?

Zhong Yuan instantly recalled the hostages he had seen earlier!

Now was not the time for deep reflection. Recovering his composure, he said, "My name is Yu Guang."

Hearing this, the man immediately picked up his walkie-talkie and spoke in a low voice: "Brother Jiang, there's a Chinese man here named Yu Guang who says he knows you!"

With that, a slightly raspy voice came through the other end of the walkie-talkie: "Did you say Yu Guang?"

"Yes!"

"Where is he?"

There was a noticeable surge of urgency in Chen Mingjiang’s voice.

"Right here in the villa!"

As soon as those words fell, the walkie-talkie went silent. Then, the phone in Yu Guang's pocket began to vibrate.

He pulled it out and answered without glancing at the screen.

"Mr. Chen, what a coincidence!"

The other end of the line fell silent for a moment before a bitter laugh came through, followed by a stern inquiry: "Yu Guang, why are you here?"

Looking at the two Chinese men standing a couple of meters away, Yu Guang chuckled softly and replied, "Killing people!"