Chapter 795 - 743: Are You Sure You Really Want to Go In? (1)
The Audi A8 carrying Boss Zhou led the way, with Qin Fan following in Chang Yuanyi’s unassuming Volkswagen Phaeton. The two cars sped away from the military hospital’s main gate, leaving behind dozens of envious gazes.
This envy was directed at the magnate who had secured an opportunity to get close to Qin Fan. What did it mean to have a chance to board the metaphorical ship that Qin Fan had launched? They all understood. But alas, they had been just a moment too slow, and the opportunity was snatched away before they could even speak.
"Just the fact that Old Jin has worked for Lord Qin is enough to gild his reputation! Damn, that son of a bitch is so lucky! Ah well, we should just be thankful we got out of this unscathed. Alright, let’s all disperse!"
Rising from the ground, one of the magnates rubbed his sore knees. His gaze lingered on the direction the cars had disappeared before he let out a heavy sigh and walked slowly toward his own vehicle.
A spectacle that had captured the entire city’s attention thus came to an end, and it seemed that after today, the Jinling underworld was due for a major reshuffle. And that college student, Li Qiuzhe, was poised for a powerful rise. Jinling’s underworld was about to become a one-man show, where the Li name would reign supreme.
With these thoughts swirling in their minds, the dozens of underworld figures scattered like birds and beasts. Accompanied by the settling dust, peace returned to the area outside the military hospital.
「Inside the Audi A8.」
Boss Zhou sat blankly in the back seat. He suddenly noticed the middle-aged man in the driver’s seat, Old Jin, continually glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
He let out a self-deprecating laugh, his voice hoarse as he said, "Old Jin, is that really necessary? Are you afraid I’ll try to take you down with me? Heh! While I can’t escape this deadly fate, I’m not that desperate. Since Qin Fan didn’t even assign anyone to guard me, he’s obviously not worried about me trying anything. So, just drive. I’m not about to foolishly drag my wife and child into this. Once I see that bastard Hou die alongside me, I’ll have no regrets!"
"Ah, Old Zhou," Old Jin sighed, his voice heavy with emotion. "We’ve fought and struggled through thick and thin all these years. To see you end up like this... it gives a man a sense of kinship in sorrow. Honestly, I never would have guessed it would be you! How could you have been so reckless? And let’s be realistic—even if you had managed to kill Li Qiuzhe, did you really think things could go back to how they were? Impulsiveness is a demon, Old Zhou. You were a fool, a complete fool!"
Even though they had once been bitter rivals, at this moment, all those old grudges seemed like smoke to Old Jin, replaced only by a profound sadness.
"Heh! You’re right. I know. It wasn’t just you; probably no one in all of Jinling expected it was me," Boss Zhou said, spreading his arms wide and closing his hollow eyes. "To be honest, I don’t know why I was so impulsive either. You could say I was goaded into it, but it felt more like I was hypnotized. I can’t even understand why I made such a suicidal choice.
"The moment Ah Shan left to carry out the plan, I regretted it. But it was too late. These past forty-something hours, every second has felt like a year. Forget it. Maybe this is just my fate, a calamity I was destined to face. It’s just like the old saying goes: ’If King Yan wants you dead by the third watch, who can keep you till the fifth?’ It’s just a shame about Ah Shan... silenced by that bastard Hou. I failed Ah Shan. If I had just stopped him back then, that bastard Hou would never have made his move!"
As he finished speaking, he clenched his jaw so tight it ached. In the silence of the car, two streams of clear tears slid from the corners of his tightly shut eyes.
"Old Zhou, rest assured," Old Jin said after a moment, letting out a heavy breath. "I’ll look after your wife and children. I won’t let them be bullied in Jinling."
Although Boss Zhou’s fate had yet to be decided by Qin Fan, could a man marked by the Death God truly escape?
"Old Jin, thank you. I appreciate the thought, but I don’t think I’ll need to trouble you," Boss Zhou said, shaking his head. "I’ll have them leave Huaxia immediately and live abroad. Only then can they live without fear. The money I’ve earned over the years is more than enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives." He held no hope for his own outcome and had already planned for his family’s future.
"Alright. I respect your decision."
As they spoke, Old Jin turned the Audi A8 into a residential community, following Boss Zhou’s directions right up to the front of a villa.
The two cars stopped simultaneously, and the four men stepped out.
Looking at the wide-open front door of the villa, Qin Fan shook his head, his expression unreadable. "Are you sure you really want to go in?" he asked. When his Divine Sense revealed the scene inside the villa, Qin Fan felt a stir of basic human compassion, a flicker of mercy he usually disdained.
"Lord Qin, can you give me this one chance?" Boss Zhou asked, turning back with pleading eyes.
"Suit yourself," Qin Fan said, exhaling softly.
"Thank you!"
With a word of thanks, Boss Zhou clenched his teeth, turned, and strode inside.
"Master Hou! Master Hou!" he shouted, suppressing the explosive hatred that threatened to tear him apart. He steadied his breathing, waiting.
But no response came.
He’s gone?
Boss Zhou’s brows furrowed. At the same time, a wave of profound unease swept over him, and his heart began to hammer in his chest.
"Wang Yan! Wang Yan!" he roared in a panic, his recently stabilized breathing becoming chaotic again.
Still, there was not a single sound from within the villa.
"Xiaoya! Xiaoya!"
As his repeated calls went unanswered, Boss Zhou’s face turned deathly pale. Cold sweat instantly drenched his body. Shouting his daughter’s name, he stumbled frantically up the stairs.
When he saw the master bedroom door hanging open, he didn’t think twice and lunged toward it. But the moment he burst into the room, he felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. In that instant, his world completely collapsed.
A wave of vertigo washed over him, and he crumpled to the floor, unable to bear the sight.
"Wang Yan... Xiaoya... Wang Yan... Xiaoya..." he mumbled, shaking his head madly as if in a nightmare. He began to crawl toward the luxurious bed.
On it, his wife, Wang Yan, and daughter, Xiaoya, lay naked and motionless. Their bodies were covered in bruises and bloody marks. A stocking was wrapped tightly around their necks.
With a desperate effort, Boss Zhou pulled himself up by the bedsheet. He trembled as he reached out to check for breath under their nostrils. The next second, he collapsed again.
There was nothing. Their bodies were already cold.
"No... no, no... Wang Yan, Xiaoya... it can’t be... it can’t be!" Shaking his head like a madman, he struggled to his knees again, his incoherent words slurring together. He looked at the dead, wide-open eyes of his wife and daughter, and a heart-wrenching howl ripped from his throat as he burst into tears.
He gathered his wife’s still, naked body into his arms, hugging her tightly, his own body shaking violently.
"Why... why... why..." he murmured in despair, until the dam of his grief finally burst from his chest.
He shrieked, his face contorted in a mask of hysterical agony as he wept.
"HOU! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU BASTARD, YOU WON’T DIE A GOOD DEATH! YOU WON’T! WHY? WHY? WHY!"