Liu Hui stood on the hospital rooftop, having already pinpointed the locations of three snipers. He donned his specialized black cape and hood, leaping from the third floor into the void. Manipulating the cape with both hands, he glided on the night wind, soaring like a black bat towards the snipers' positions. He landed beneath the building housing the marksmen, quickly locating their floor and room.

Liu Hui retrieved a brick from his storage space and hurled it through the sniper's window. In the split second the sniper inside flinched, Liu Hui vaulted in from outside at high speed, firing a steel ball mid-leap that instantly killed the gunman. These snipers were average in skill; he repeated the process, quickly locating the other two nests and dispatching them just as easily. With three snipers eliminated, the greatest threat to the hospital was neutralized.

Zhou Tengyun felt an acute sensitivity; he had sensed distant eyes watching him long ago. Though the black-clad assailants had been repelled for the moment, he had no idea how many enemies remained outside the hospital. If the commanding figure wasn't dealt with, the hospital could face disaster at any moment. Relying on his superior sixth sense, he pinpointed the observer as the operation's commander. He moved rapidly in the direction he sensed, his speed unhindered by sniper fire, soon arriving at the building where the black-clad figures were concentrated.

As Zhou Tengyun was about to quietly scale the drainpipe to the roof, a profound sense of danger erupted in his mind. He instantly recoiled a step, and an arrow embedded itself violently in the concrete floor before him, its tail feathers still trembling. Looking up, Zhou Tengyun saw a dark-clad man aiming a bow at him. He executed a forward roll, dodging a second attack. Then, using the drainpipe for leverage, he made two lightning-fast leaps, landing directly in front of the archer. The dark-clad man gasped, hurling the bow at Zhou Tengyun before drawing a katana from his back and slashing toward him.

Zhou Tengyun evaded the thrown bow, his right hand shooting out with electric speed to grip the wrist of the striking arm. With a powerful wrench, he crushed the wrist, and the katana clattered to the ground. His left hand followed instantly with a heavy punch to the man's chest. The attacker shrieked, spitting up great gouts of blood mixed with fragments of shattered internal organs, and instantly expired.

The scream of the black-clad man alerted the commander on the top floor. Startled, the commander quickly assessed the situation and issued an order: "Sakai, cover the rear. Everyone else, retreat with me."

"So it was you lot causing trouble!" A voice echoed from the air, followed by a figure descending as if flying, landing directly before them—it was Zhou Tengyun.

"Who are you, and why do you have designs on our Han Tang Hospital?" Zhou Tengyun demanded fiercely.

The opposing commander of the black-clad group stared at Zhou Tengyun and muttered a few garbled words. Zhou Tengyun was enraged. Though he couldn't understand the language, the pronunciation confirmed it was Japanese.

"Japanese, then. Since you've come, perhaps you shouldn't leave," Zhou Tengyun sneered. He casually rested his right hand behind him and pulled a black-clad figure from thin air, his hand gripping the man's neck. With a sharp twist, he snapped the man's neck. Zhou Tengyun flung the corpse before the commander.

Witnessing Zhou Tengyun's terrifying power, the commander shouted something sharp in Japanese, and the remaining black-clad figures charged at Zhou Tengyun together. Zhou Tengyun stood unyielding, meeting the charge of two assailants head-on. With a dull thud, the bones of both men fractured, sending them flying away.

The one named Sakai fought with particular ferocity, two katanas flashing coldly as he swung them at Zhou Tengyun. Zhou Tengyun snatched a nearby assailant and used him as a shield. The blades bit into the body, lodging in the corpse. Zhou Tengyun hurled this human shield toward Sakai, who quickly released his swords to dodge. By this time, only the commander, named Sakuragi, remained. Seeing Zhou Tengyun distracted, he secretly pulled a grenade from his robes, pulled the pin, and prepared to throw it. Suddenly, a steel ball struck him precisely in the forehead, blowing his head apart. The immense kinetic energy of the pellet sent his body staggering backward, and as he reeled, the grenade in his hand detonated. He plummeted from the roof as a column of fire, crashing onto the concrete below.

Liu Hui, cloaked in black, stood on the rooftop, watching Zhou Tengyun battle the man named Sakai. Zhou Tengyun lunged forward, seizing Sakai's body, hoisting him above his head, and aiming to smash his head onto the ground. Sakai, terrified, cried out in Mandarin, "Stop, I am a national—" But Zhou Tengyun paid him no mind, slamming Sakai's head against the ground with full force. With a muffled impact, blood splattered as Sakai's skull caved in, instantly extinguishing his life. As Zhou Tengyun released his grip, Sakai’s body collapsed limply.

Liu Hui stood silently on the parapet, observing Zhou Tengyun. The man Zhou Tengyun was tonight was shocking; he seemed like a legendary God of Slaughter descended, showing absolute ruthlessness to his enemies. Perhaps the murder of his wife and daughter had awakened a killing instinct, making him appear brutal when dealing with foes. Tonight also revealed that Zhou Tengyun’s strength had reached a terrifying level; killing was as simple as breathing for him. Liu Hui felt a pang of reflection: Had he been right to turn the formerly honest, simple "Third Brother" into this terrifying God of Slaughter?

Zhou Tengyun turned, looking at Liu Hui, and spoke slowly, "You are the Boss, aren't you? I can feel it. The snipers over there were probably taken out by you?"

Liu Hui pulled down his hood and nodded to Zhou Tengyun. "It's me, Third Brother. You astonished me today. With your current strength, you should be able to take revenge now."

"I am powerful now, but no matter how strong, it won't bring back my wife and daughter. If I had been this strong back then, my family wouldn't have been destroyed," Zhou Tengyun stated flatly.

Liu Hui walked over and clapped Zhou Tengyun on the shoulder. "Third Brother, you still have a long road ahead, a new life awaiting. Don't dwell on the past. Cherish what you have now; don't wait until you lose it to understand its value."

"Can someone like me truly have a new life? Tonight, seeing the enemy made me go mad, wishing to slaughter them all in the cruelest ways possible. I never imagined I could be like this. Perhaps hell is where I belong."

"Third Brother, don't be so bleak. Let’s go back first. There are still enemies outside the hospital, and Second Brother is still inside." Liu Hui replaced his hood and jumped down from the roof.

Zhou Tengyun stood still for a moment, surveying the carnage, then he too jumped from the roof and returned to the hospital.

Liu Hui found Sakai's body at the base of the building; it had been burned to ash. He prodded the remains with a branch, retrieved the steel ball he had shot into the man’s head, and pocketed it. He then collected the steel balls from the bodies of the three snipers. To conceal his involvement, he deliberately damaged the fatal wounds on all the bodies to mask the true cause of death. Though he had been forced to act tonight, he still didn't wish to reveal his identity.

Liu Hui returned to the hospital, carefully skirting the security cameras. In a hidden corner, he changed out of his cape and hood and emerged, instructing the security guards to remain vigilant and cautious.

The guards hadn't noticed when Liu Hui arrived, quickly grouping to protect him. Zhou Tengyun and Wu Yuanjia were directing guards in moving the wrecked dump truck. Two guards then drove a hospital vehicle outside the range of the signal jammer to call the police for assistance and to contact Huang Hua-li at the training center, instructing him to secure the villa.

Liu Hui, Mei Peng, and Zhou Tengyun sat together in the office. Mei Peng was still visibly shaken and distracted.

"Third Brother, where do you think these black-clad men came from?" Liu Hui asked.

"Judging by their attire, the katanas they carried, and the ninjas that appeared—I even spoke with them on the roof—I can confirm they are Japanese. Although, the last one spoke Chinese," Zhou Tengyun mused.

"Japanese? When did I cross the Japanese? Most of the black-clad group retreated, but they left some injured outside. We'll find out who sent them with an investigation," Liu Hui said, puzzled by the sudden Japanese connection.

"Boss, do you think it could be..." Mei Peng interjected, making an upward gesture with his hand. "It’s too much of a coincidence, isn't it? The Ninth Special Operations team just left outside, and then they attack us?"

Liu Hui fell silent, his mind unsettled, unsure how to proceed.

Suddenly, Liu Hui's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Wu Yuanjia.

"Captain Wu, is the signal jammer resolved? Can we make calls now?"

"Boss, we found and disabled the jammer; calls are functional now. Our outbound security team has reported to the police and contacted Captain Huang at the suburban training center. The police are en route, expected in three to five minutes. I’m at the hospital entrance now, but all the injured black-clad men inside have committed suicide by poison." Wu Yuanjia reported the situation in detail.

"Ah, all committed suicide?" Liu Hui was stunned.

"Boss, that sounds like the Japanese way of doing things," Zhou Tengyun observed.

"Right. The police will be here soon. Let's leave the hospital. It wouldn't be good for us to be on the scene; let Captain Wu and his team handle it!" Liu Hui decided.

Mei Peng and Zhou Tengyun nodded in agreement. Zhou Tengyun then personally drove Liu Hui and Mei Peng away from the hospital quietly.

Thanks to reader Yueya Kaixin Guo for the tip!

Some issues have arisen at Qianyu Company, affecting my writing schedule, so I can only manage one update today. Please understand!

Also, Qianyu is heading out soon, so I won't be able to give extra praise to friends tonight. I hope you don't mind!

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