Chapter 114: A Once-in-a-Thousand-Years Opportunity

“Find them? Not a chance!”

Wang Chao unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his body, took off his glasses, and slumped into the rattan chair in the single room of the inn. He casually grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the coffee table, twisted the cap open, and guzzled down a large mouthful. Casting a sideways glance at the man in sunglasses sitting opposite him, he said leisurely, “This city covers over 14 million square kilometers with more than 22 million people. Trying to find those two is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Save yourself the trouble—focus on the real business.”

“They ambushed me, hijacked my car and money, and now they’ve tricked your little electric scooter,” the man in sunglasses said, attempting to stop Wang Chao from opening the water bottle. Halfway through reaching out, he withdrew his hand and watched in pain as Wang Chao finished the entire bottle in great gulps. Pressing his dry lips, he said, “How can we just let this go? I have to get our turf back and teach those bastards a lesson about respect!”

“Respect in our line of work? Don’t make me laugh.” Dr. Wang flicked the empty water bottle into the trash can. “Strike first or suffer later—that’s a lesson you don’t need me to teach. This is a good wake-up call for you: stop acting high and mighty and keep your feet on the ground. No matter how skilled you are, one brick can bring you down. Never underestimate anyone. Be cautious, cautious, and cautious. Learn from your mistakes. Even I got conned out of my only ride, but I didn’t make a fuss.”

The man in sunglasses stood up, his voice full of hatred. “A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years. One day, I’ll make those two scumbags pay…” He exhaled deeply. “So, what’s next? That dark-faced woman is back, probably handed everything over to the police. We can’t just sit here and wait to get picked off. Should I tweak the three tasks that man gave me?”

Dr. Wang breathed on his glasses, wiped them with his shirt’s edge, put them back on, and shook his head. “No need to change anything. From what you said, only the forensic doctor Sun Tiantian went back to city A. The others are still in Lv Teng City. Zhang Xiaoman is aiming for a bigger catch… He’s willing to go all out, even using his own daughter as bait. Fine by me—we’ll help him.”

The man in sunglasses tilted his head. “How exactly do we help?”

“The first step is still a bluff, just with a slight adjustment,” Dr. Wang rubbed his sore shoulders. “Make the bluff more solid—kill someone first.”

“Kill? That’s easy—we’re professionals at this,” the man in sunglasses said, placing a price list from the hotel’s TV cabinet onto the coffee table. Clearing his throat, he asked cheerfully, “How many?”

“One,” Dr. Wang stood and walked to the window, his voice icy. “Split into two groups—one larger, one smaller. The larger group goes to the funeral home to find Sun Tiantian; the smaller group goes to the hospital to find Yang Qingqing. The larger group doesn’t have to actually attack, but the smaller group can get their hands dirty.”

“Kill Yang Qingqing?” The man frowned, puzzled. “Why kill her? She’s basically dead already—drank so much concentrated nitric acid she’ll never speak again. Are you afraid of her?”

“Not afraid. It’s just time to use her as a pawn…” Dr. Wang snorted coldly. “I spared her life for this moment. A seemingly useless piece is often the most valuable. Originally, someone else was supposed to do this, but since you’re here, it’s safest to leave it to those who haven’t shown themselves in city A.”

The man in sunglasses looked regretful as he put the price list back. “When and how?”

“How you kill is up to you. As for when… whenever you find her, that’s when you act.”

“Isn’t she in the hospital? Why do we need to find her?”

“Of course, you have to find her. The hospital’s inpatient building has eight floors, each with 40 rooms, and each room has three beds. Do you think you can find her without looking?”

“You didn’t know?”

“I shouldn’t know, so naturally I don’t… Also, Yang Qingqing is guarded by undercover cops. Watch out so you don’t cross their guns.”

“Got it! Then we should send more people to the hospital. Why have more at the funeral home?”

“Centuries ago, emperors didn’t announce their secret executions with fanfare.”

“Got it—feint east, strike west!”

“Don’t ever say that to me again. The last guy who said that not only failed but also disappeared into some gutter to eat mud.”

The man in sunglasses shrugged and snorted lightly. “Not the same. That guy was an amateur; we’re professionals. Prices vary accordingly.”

Dr. Wang touched the syringe in his pocket and said quietly, “I hope you’re professional enough. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with my kind of professionalism…” He pulled out a blueprint, tossing it to the man in sunglasses. “This is the hospital’s internal map. It’ll help you find your target and escape routes.” He glanced out at the desolate wilderness beyond the window. “Next time, find a hotel closer to the city. This place is too remote. Taking a taxi draws too much attention, and public transit means walking over ten miles to the station—too much hassle.”

“No choice…” The man in sunglasses grimaced. “Those two bastards took all our money. We can only afford places like this…” Seeing Dr. Wang turn toward the door, he quickly grabbed his arm. “Wait!”

Dr. Wang stopped and looked back, frowning. “What is it now?”

The man pointed to the mineral water bottle in the trash. “It’s nothing big. You just finished a bottle of water. That water wasn’t ours—it belonged to the inn. Usually, one bottle isn’t a big deal; we’d pay. But as you know, we’re broke right now.”

Dr. Wang rolled his eyes, shrugged off the hand, and smirked. “One bottle of water—stop whining. How much?”

The man awkwardly smiled and held out his palm.

“Five yuan,” Dr. Wang searched his pockets and managed to scrape together five coins, placing them in the man’s hand. “It’s a bit pricey. Outside it’d only cost two yuan…”

The man shook his head and picked up the price list from the TV cabinet. Pointing at the mineral water price, he grimaced. “If it were five yuan, I wouldn’t complain… but it’s fifty.”

Dr. Wang’s eyes bulged, his mouth twitching. “Good heavens! Is this water actually perfume?” He emptied all his pockets, barely gathering thirty yuan, and shoved it into the man’s hand. “Take it as an installment. You won’t be staying here just one day anyway. Pay me the rest in a few days…” He took four coins back from the man’s hand, “And I still have to take the bus… I have to go now or I’ll miss the number 45 bus. Then it’s another hour’s walk to the station.”

The man in sunglasses watched Dr. Wang leave with disdain, spitting lightly on the ground. “Looks like those two bastards aren’t an exception. People in city A have no manners—it’s their custom. Having friends come from afar and not even hosting a proper welcome is one thing, but drinking my water and only paying half the price? No manners, really no manners!”

Just then, his phone rang in his pocket. Snapping back to attention, he pulled it out, glanced at the caller ID, and answered with deference. “Hello… this is Yang Wei. What are your instructions? Hello? Hello? Why aren’t you speaking?”

In the darkness, Wang Chao stood knee-deep in the sewage sludge, raising the phone high above his head and shouting, “I’m in the sewer. Help me figure out a way out, or that old bastard will trap me for sure! Did you hear me?”

Only crackling sounds came from the other end—no response.

Biting his lip, Wang Chao lowered the phone and hung up. Seeing the “No Signal” sign and only thirteen percent battery left, he cursed softly, “Damn it, wasting my battery. Always dropping the ball at critical moments—what a crappy fruit phone…”

He turned on the flashlight app and, under its faint white glow, looked around carefully. With a sigh, he thought for a moment and began retracing his steps.

More than ten minutes later, Wang Chao stood in a patch of yellowish slime, looking up at the manhole covered by a heavy lid. Frowning, he dug his fingers into an indentation on the manhole wall and struggled to climb upward.

Panting, he reached the manhole and pushed hard against the lid, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Damn it, do they have to be this thorough?” His expression darkened. He quickly retreated to the bottom and snorted. Turning, he headed toward a passage beside the manhole on the right. “There are too many manhole covers in this city—I refuse to believe they blocked them all!”

Another ten minutes passed before Wang Chao arrived at a second manhole. Again, he clawed his way up the wall, gripping the indentation with one hand while pushing the lid with the other.

This time, the lid wasn’t weighed down. With all his strength, he pushed it open, letting a sliver of light into the sewer.

His face brightened. He pushed harder with his right hand, clutching the edge of the manhole with his left, inching his body out.

Just as half his head emerged, he exhaled a long breath of foul air, about to pull out fully, when the blare of an electric scooter horn sounded behind him. Straining his neck to look, he saw a red rose electric scooter speeding toward him. His whole body shuddered, swallowing hard, he cursed, “Damn it!”

Bang!

The red rose scooter rolled right over the manhole cover. Wang Chao, who had just surfaced, fell back with a splash into the sludge, blending into the black mud.

Zhu Dachang, gripping the scooter's handlebars, exclaimed in surprise and whispered to Hou San, who sat behind him with an arm around his waist, “San, did I just run over something?”

Hou San glanced at the manhole cover, now back in place, and replied casually, “Nothing. Maybe the lid wasn’t properly secured… You’re probably just too nervous. Relax. While that woman is busy in the shop, let’s take out her main base. This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity—a chance to break her heart forever…”