Chapter 275: Opening, Loss Of Control
Shi Daya’s vigilance was high, and he immediately rolled, grabbed Liancheng’s neck, and pulled her into a corner, her back pressed against the wall, the gun muzzle pressed against Liancheng’s back of the head, dragging her to shield him.
“Don’t move—”
“Don’t move—”
Two voices landed simultaneously. The SWAT officers who broke through the window had colder voices than Shi Daya’s, but with a trailing tremor.
Liancheng’s eyes widened.
The man was fully equipped: tactical hat, mask, black combat suit concealing his broad physique, and he also had a gun in his hand.
The black muzzle was steadily aimed at her. Sharp, eagle-like eyebrows and eyes peered at her from behind the gun.
As if a tsunami had swept up from flat ground, a gale tore through the sky curtain. Time and space suddenly retreated to the alleyway.
The sun showed signs of setting; he was too late.
Xiao Da was captured. Shi Daya shot one bodyguard in the leg, and blood flowed to her feet. The metallic scent of rust and the scorched gunpowder smell were carried by the wind, reddening the skyline of the roof.
Shi Daya grabbed her collar, and a round, cold object pressed against her temple, deeply indenting her skin.
The gunpowder seemed branded onto her skull.
Feng Shien could only surrender. The remaining bodyguards were in a standoff not far away.
The kidnapper came over to ask for instructions, “Brother Ya, what should we do with these people? As agreed, if they resist, we shoot?”
Shi Daya dragged her into the car, “Save some bullets. This woman ran once, and the police are coming soon. There’s no time to waste. Get in the car, we’ll ram through.”
Feng Shien and Xiao Da were the closest. The moment Shi Daya’s gun muzzle loosened, they both leaped up to counterattack.
Feng Shien created a diversion from the front, while Xiao Da attacked from the right. The dagger encircled Shi Daya’s neck. Liancheng heard the whistling wind of bullets near her ears, coming from her accomplices on the east side.
At the same time, Shi Daya leaned back into the car, the dagger and bullet missing their mark.
In a flash, Liancheng glimpsed the alley corner. The orange-red sky was bright. The man’s silhouette emerged from the bizarre chaos. The alleyway was like a winter ice surface suddenly cracking, surging, breaking, collapsing. His accomplices turned towards him, and he moved forward towards his accomplices.
Gunshots erupted chaotically. Shi Daya closed the car door to block, then dragged her out from the other side.
Liancheng couldn’t see, nor could she describe.
At the moment death hung by the gun’s muzzle, fate was as thin as paper. Sparks flashed with every gamble, making the past conspiracies and schemes seem like silent, secure maneuvers in the dark.
She was dragged, stumbling through the winding, intersecting alleyways.
The sounds of scattered footsteps, the insurmountable boundary between life and death; every time she glimpsed daylight, she saw him.
Heart-stopping, desolate, and hazy, unforgettable, all were mashed together and smeared across the evening sky, sinking into the crimson dusk and ice-cold eyes, floating.
“Let me go.” Shi Daya cocked the gun, the firing pin trembling against Liancheng’s scalp. “Otherwise, I’ll kill her.”
Liancheng began to tremble.
Liang Chaosu’s eyes were murderous. Dense bloodshot veins reddened his eyelids. His peripheral vision caught the last two accomplices on the other side, who were also shot dead by the SWAT team that had broken in.
Four or five guns formed a pocket around Shi Daya.
He looked at Liancheng, his gaze fixed on her. “The mainland police have successfully arrested your accomplices, and Lin Xianzi has been rescued. Your inside contact in Hong Kong will no longer help you; instead, they will silence you. If you escape, you’re walking into a death trap.”
Shi Daya trembled more than Liancheng. “Whether it’s a death trap or not, you don’t need to worry about it. But if you don’t let me go, you’re sending her to her death.”
Liang Chaosu’s tone was hard. “You holding her hostage is the mastermind’s attempt to turn the tables. Now that the turn has failed, your mission is unnecessary. The Flying Tigers were requested through my personal connections. Right now, her identity is not as important as mine. Holding her hostage is less effective than holding me hostage.”
“Bullshit,” Shi Daya sneered. “I’m not an idiot. You’re armed and skilled. Of course, a woman is the best hostage.”
A crackle of static came from Liang Chaosu’s earpiece. The person in charge said grimly, “Still no angle for a tactical approach. How about letting him come downstairs first?”
Shi Daya couldn’t hear the earpiece, but he could calculate that the police would definitely back down.
“Everyone retreat, get out of the villa’s range. My life isn’t worth much, but this woman is from the Lin family. If we perish together, your superior’s job won’t be stable.”
The SWAT officers raised their guns and steadily retreated towards the doorway. Feng Shien got up a step late; his long-term bindings had impaired circulation, and he stumbled, knocking over a floor lamp.
The lampshade flew off. Shi Daya’s vision blurred. The person he was holding was yanked away with immense force. After all, his life had been spent on the battlefield for over twenty years; he was a few beats slower than the SWAT officers who trained daily.
Explosive gunshots rang out. His body felt torn apart. A pulsing coolness above his head felt like a large gash had opened.
He knew he wouldn’t survive. Shi Daya’s ferocity surged, channeling all his strength from the brink of life and death. He used his last shred of clarity and aimed his gun at Liancheng.
He pulled the trigger.
Bang.
*Splatter*.
Liancheng couldn’t distinguish which sound was louder, but the tearing of flesh and blood was right beside her. Warm, red liquid suddenly bloomed in the air like a flowing flower, splashing onto her head, face, eyelashes, and pupils.
She opened her eyes in vain.
The world was too red, grand and overwhelming, sticky and damp. She struggled to discern if it was Liang Chaosu’s blood, more than what she had stabbed him in the heart with in Iceland, redder than the alleyway sky.
Gurgling, it flowed into a ragged hole.
She forgot herself and reached out to plug it.
But the blood grew hotter, more scalding, and more abundant. That surging vitality that had once terrified her flowed ceaselessly onto her hands.
It was as if it was all being poured, irrigated, onto her, like a form of repayment.
But he had already repaid her with one blow, and Liancheng fell into a deeper level of confusion.
She couldn’t remember the past, lost in the present.
“Don’t die.”
……………………………………
Lin Xianzi returned to Hong Kong after nightfall. The ensuing troubles felt like a basin of scalding water thrown over her head; each was extremely difficult, and each was of utmost importance.
Police, government, inquiries for cooperation, reports and petitions.
She didn’t escape until late at night and arrived at the hospital.
Liang Chaosu had just finished surgery. Shi Daya’s marksmanship wasn’t precise; he aimed for Liancheng’s heart, but Liang Chaosu blocked it. The bullet hit his waist, grazing his left kidney.
The SWAT team handled the scene promptly, and he was sent to the hospital in a timely manner. The surgery was successful, but his heart had been injured recently and had not yet recovered, which could likely cause a chain reaction, making the prognosis dangerous.
Liancheng listened to the doctor explain the condition again, then walked out of the ICU.
Lin Xianzi hugged her tightly. She was cold, soaked with the hospital’s chill, numb, and pale.
She was still in a daze, not having recovered from the terrifying dusk.
“I’m sorry.” Lin Xianzi kissed her forehead and continuously caressed her hair. “Your uncle told me everything. I’m sorry, Mom didn’t protect you well.”
Liancheng gave a mechanical smile, like a polite programmed response to forgive and comfort when relatives express guilt.
“I’m fine, nothing’s wrong. No one expected them to have guns.”
Lin Xianzi held her hand. She herself was warm and strong. Liancheng’s fingers were ice-cold and dangled.
“How are you?” Liancheng asked back, then answered herself, “You’ve lost weight. So much has happened in such a short time, you must be very tired. Please rest.”
Lin Xianzi tightened her fingers and hugged her again, unable to speak.
The elevator behind them dinged open. A crowd of reporters, carrying their cameras and equipment, poured out of the elevator and swarmed towards Liang Wenfei.
“Madam Liang, can you accept an interview? Your sister revealed that your marriage to your brother Liang Chaosu was entirely forced and coerced, is that true?”
“We heard you have a close relationship with the Lin family. Ms. Lin Xianzi is so intimate with you now; why did you acknowledge Lian Yingying back then? Was it a mistake in the paternity test, or were you threatened by Liang Chaosu?”
“And your sister, Ms. Liang Wenfei, was abused during her pregnancy—”
