Operation

A waiter with a food cart stood at the room's entrance. After a moment's wait, he knocked again, and this time the door opened.

Shi Shanyan looked at the waiter expressionlessly.

"Sir," the waiter said with a perfect smile, "your order has arrived."

Shi Shanyan said very politely, "What dishes are there?"

"Smoked beef, thick-cut ox tongue," the waiter said, reaching out to lift the cloth on the cart. "And red wine..."

The dagger under the cloth was slender and sharp. The moment the cloth flew off the cart, it stabbed toward Shi Shanyan's throat. Shi Shanyan kicked the cart, which slammed into the waiter's legs, causing the dagger to miss.

The plates on the cart fell to the ground, shattering in the hallway. This seemed to be a signal. Without waiting for the waiter to readjust his stance, Shi Shanyan stepped on the plate shards, spun around, and kicked the waiter hard in the chest. The waiter was kicked back several steps. Before he could even look up, Shi Shanyan kicked him in the chest again. This time, he reacted quickly, cleanly raising his arms to block. But who would have known that Shi Shanyan would backhand grab the bottle of red wine from the cart and smash it over the waiter's head.

The waiter's head was instantly covered in red, making it impossible to tell if it was wine or blood.

But Shi Shanyan didn't continue, because muzzles of guns had suddenly appeared on his left and right. Under the watch of the two guns, Shi Shanyan slowly raised his hands, his right still gripping the broken wine bottle.

"Higher," the man on the left said, aiming his gun and signaling Shi Shanyan to continue. "Squat down!"

Shi Shanyan glanced at the man and actually continued to raise his hands, as if he was out of options.

The man approached Shi Shanyan, trying to put a Restraint Lock on him. He peeked his face out from the side of the door, but before he could look inside, his gun hand was pinned by a push dagger. The man's gun immediately fell to the floor, and then his face was smashed sideways by a punch from Yan Junxun. The man on the right was about to move when Shi Shanyan directly twisted his arm and plunged the broken wine bottle into his eye.

The man clutched his eye and screamed.

Shi Shanyan couldn't stand the noise. He grabbed the man's hair and slammed him into unconsciousness.

"We are very quiet." Yan Junxun didn't turn back. He fired a reverse-grip shot, killing the man on the left. To the bodyguard who had just appeared at the end of the hall, he said, "Listen, a silencer."

The bodyguard crossed his arms. He was a middle-aged uncle, about two meters tall, and had a formidable presence standing in front of the door at the end of the hall. He frowned at the corpse in the hallway and said, "Alright."

The moment he finished speaking, Shi Shanyan suddenly pushed Yan Junxun's head down. A bullet flying from the other end hit the door frame with a "thud," knocking off some dust that fell into their hair.

Yan Junxun and Shi Shanyan exchanged a look and simultaneously ducked, covering their heads.

A high-efficiency silencer!

SN 7-020 chewed his gum, steadying his scope. "Damn, they're fast."

Shi Shanyan pushed Yan Junxun into the room. The gunfire continued. SN 7-020 shot the lock directly, causing it to emit a "didi" sound of damage. The sound of footsteps suddenly emerged from the corner of the hallway; many people were hugging the wall, moving toward them on the carpet.

The clock in the room was still ticking, its second hand's sound blending with the footsteps.

"Four people in the hallway," Yan Junxun wrote quickly on his little blackboard. He had to tilt his head slightly so the writing sound wouldn't cover the footsteps. "Let them in!"

SN 7-020 was limited by the hallway's obstruction and could only shoot in a straight line. There were no mirrors in the hallway, so he couldn't see Shi Shanyan and Yan Junxun's situation inside the room. He had to force them out of the room, otherwise, no matter how good his aim was, he wouldn't be able to hit anyone.

Shi Shanyan pulled over his suit jacket and put it back on.

......

Qi Shi lightened his steps; his leather shoes were freshly polished and very shiny. He loaded his gun. With a soft "click," the thug in the lead had already thrown in a Flashbang Grenade.

The Flashbang Grenade instantly burst into flames, a "hiss" accompanying the swirling wave of fire.

The thug immediately aimed his gun into the room, but there was no one inside. He then lowered his body and continued moving inward along the wall. He pulled open the curtains, saw the window wide open, and said, "They jumped out!"

Qi Shi stamped out the Flashbang Grenade; the wave of fire disappeared quickly. He walked past the wardrobe and spoke into the Communicator in his ear, "Attention, change positions, they've reached the banq—"

Qi Shi felt a gust of wind at the back of his head. He ducked his head forward sharply, dodging the push dagger from behind. Yan Junxun's swing missed, and his arm was grabbed by Qi Shi. Qi Shi then threw him over his shoulder to the ground. Qi Shi's Restraint Lock was already fastened on Yan Junxun's wrist, the electric current numbing his arm.

Qi Shi tried to drag Yan Junxun up. "Grab him!"

Yan Junxun grabbed Qi Shi with a reverse grip and, gathering strength, flipped him hard to the ground. He bent his arm, locking it around Qi Shi's neck, then tilted his head to dodge a thug's steel rod, slamming Qi Shi into the mirror with him. The mirror shattered instantly. Yan Junxun, twisting against the current of the Restraint Lock, choked Qi Shi until he couldn't breathe.

The thug's raised gun hadn't steadied before it was covered by the curtain. Shi Shanyan fired a shot through the curtain, casually pushed the man out the window, and as the body hit the ground with a "thud," he shot the other person between the eyes in the opposite direction.

The last remaining thug had already fired, but missed. He suddenly felt a heavy impact on the back of his knee and, before he could react, was kicked to the ground from behind by Yan Junxun. Shi Shanyan stomped on the man's head and fired again.

Blood splattered.

Qi Shi reported into his Communicator, "Target—"

Shi Shanyan yanked Qi Shi's hair, held his gun in a reverse grip, and pistol-whipped Qi Shi unconscious. Then he ripped off Qi Shi's Communicator.

"Good evening," Shi Shanyan initiated the greeting. "Stupid dog."

"Oh," SN 7-020 on the other end sounded embarrassed. "Big bro, good even—"

Shi Shanyan threw the Communicator on the ground and stomped it to pieces. He crouched down, leaning in to see what Yan Junxun was doing.

Yan Junxun took off Qi Shi's name tag, flipped it over to inspect it, and then snapped it in half. He scanned the room and pointed to the wardrobe. "Stuff him in there."

Shi Shanyan glanced at the wardrobe, then back at Yan Junxun. He said, "Alright, big bro."

......

Li Hu wasn't resting. He was having a video call while soaking his feet.

"You've been diligently following our agreement," The Clown said, his face pressed against the camera, "right?"

"That's right," Li Hu leaned back on the sofa, a little uncomfortable with The Clown's proximity. He said, "Do you always wear makeup like this?"

"Yeah," The Clown sat back in his seat, his legs dangling and swinging. "I fucking love makeup. My mom doesn't care, so you better not care either."

"It's cool," Li Hu brightened the video feed in the room and stopped looking at The Clown. "But I'm still curious, why go to all this trouble for Yan Junxun? He doesn't seem very cost-effective."

"I said don't fucking mind my business," The Clown craned his neck, pointing at the camera. "I paid you. Just get the person here."

"What about my other merchandise?" Li Hu retorted. "The merchandise from the Stagnation Zone."

"They're on the ship. If you get Yan Junxun onto the ship on time, they will arrive before you on time. If I don't see Yan Junxun by then, I'll blow them up, like this." The Clown pulled a bag of chips from behind his back and squeezed it until it popped.

What a fucking lunatic.

Li Hu cursed in his heart.

"You're cursing at me, aren't you?" The Clown ate his chips. "Stop cursing at me in your head. I know everything."

"I never curse my business partners," Li Hu said, looking at the time. "I have to sleep. I'm too old to stay up late."

"Don't make me wait too long," The Clown warned Li Hu. "You're not going to betray me, are you?" He chewed his chips loudly. "I'll be waiting for you. Goodbye."

The video call ended there.

Li Hu tossed the Communicator aside and lifted his foot for Lihua, who was massaging him, to wipe.

Lihua was kneeling on the floor, tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked very young and beautiful, but her complexion was poor, with heavy dark circles from constantly staying up late. After wiping Li Hu's feet clean, she asked softly, "Boss, how long will you be resting?"

"Two hours," Li Hu got into bed and put on his eye mask. "Have Qi Shi wait for me at the door."

Lihua agreed, but Li Hu didn't fall asleep because the door sounded. He rolled over, and Lihua immediately got up to check the monitor by the entrance.

On the screen was a man with one hand in his pocket, wearing glasses. He looked at the camera, gave Lihua a polite wave, and said, "Is Boss Li in?"

This floor was full of bodyguards, and the neighbors were all wealthy men Li Hu did business with. Lihua hadn't met many of them, but seeing the man's well-tailored suit and distinguished air, she was afraid he was one of Li Hu's clients.

Lihua opened the door and said softly, "Please wait a moment, sir, I'll announce you."

She had just finished speaking when a gun was pressed to her forehead.

"Thank you," Yan Junxun said, his hand still in his pocket. "I'd like to talk to Boss Li."

"Alright." Lihua raised her hands slightly, backing away as Yan Junxun advanced. Her composure was excellent; she actually managed to stay calm and announce in a normal tone, "Boss, a gentleman would like to speak with you. I've invited him in."

There was no response from inside.

Lihua had already retreated to the entryway. She turned slightly to the side, gesturing for Yan Junxun to enter.

The top floor was decorated in a luxurious style, with crystal chandeliers and golden walls. But Yan Junxun smelled a whiff of smoke, the kind from cheap, street-bought cigarettes. The chandelier suddenly swayed. Without turning back, Yan Junxun fired a blind shot to his left, hitting a bodyguard who was preparing a sneak attack.

"Fuck you!" Li Hu suddenly yelled into his Communicator. "They're already in my fucking room, and you're still negotiating the price with me?" Hidden behind a table, he shouted, "Kill him!"

There were four other bodyguards in the room. One was hiding in the bathroom and fired as soon as he saw Yan Junxun's shadow through the frosted glass. The gunshot exploded by her ear. Lihua screamed, covered her head, and squeezed into a corner to squat down.

Bullets flew wildly around the room, and a vase suddenly exploded.

"Oh..." SN 7-020 moved the Communicator away from his ear. Looking at his tiny light screen, he saw the position marker hadn't moved. He said, "So they split up. You hang in there, I'm coming to back you up."

Before SN 7-020 could finish, his Communicator was shot and destroyed. He shouted "Fuck!", let go of his gun in fright, and was then kicked hard in the back. The kick sent SN 7-020 flying away from his gun, and his neck was suddenly caught in a hold. He gripped the arm around his neck tightly and kicked over a bucket in front of him, but he was already thrown to the ground.

The hairs on SN 7-020's body stood on end. He back-elbowed Shi Shanyan's abdomen, but Shi Shanyan withstood it. The next moment, he was dazed by a blow from Shi Shanyan. Blood seeped from his mouth and nose as he shouted with blurred vision.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fucking stop him!"

Author has something to say:

Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife: Origin: Great Britain. Total length: 29.5 cm. A double-edged fighting weapon favored by spy agencies. There are 3 models in total. Basic characteristics: The blade is thin and narrow, with a gradually tapering shape that concentrates the maximum force of a thrust at the tip. The needle-like point is exceptionally sharp, edged on both sides, with a blade cross-section that is slightly diamond-shaped. The sharp edges can cleanly sever an opponent's blood vessels or cut their throat. The heavier handle helps increase the power of the thrust. The design is suitable for a "fencing grip" and offers high flexibility. —"Global Military Knives"