The words in the room had barely fallen when a sharp smack echoed, followed by Xidi’s enraged roar: “Wastrel, get out!”

Scarface, the muscular man, slapped across the face, glared venomously at Xidi. Yet, he knew that the man before him was someone even Hua Shanfei dared not offend. He swallowed the bitter humiliation, using Hua Shanfei’s prior remark as cover to back away, clutching his face, all the while cursing loudly: “Bai Fenming! Where the hell are you?”

He gave the shack door a kick as he left, putting so much force into it that he seemed to treat the unfortunate slab of wood as Xidi’s face. The ill-fated door sprang open violently, slammed against the wall, and then rebounded, swinging back and forth with a high-pitched creak. Meanwhile, Fang Senyan was pressed flat against the wall just to the right of the doorway, as silent as a phantom drifting through the deep night. His face was devoid of expression, but his eyes burned with a wildfire of predatory light. His right hand gripped the knife tightly, blood dripping steadily from the blade, pooling below into a shocking patch of crimson.

When Scarface stepped out, his heart was brimming with fury. He moved from the bright interior into the gloom outside, his eyes naturally needing time to adjust. Then he saw Bai Fenming lying motionless in the mud and water, his life hanging in the balance. A sharp jolt of pure terror seized his heart, and his slow-to-react brain stuttered, pausing in a temporary blank.

It was at that precise moment a shadow materialized behind him, swift and spectral. A hand clamped over Scarface’s mouth, then quickly swept across his throat! A flash of cold steel cut through the air, and Scarface instantly let loose a piercing, agonizing shriek. A gush of scarlet blood sprayed visibly from his neck, mingling with the torrential rain in a scene of utter desolation.

But despite the grievous throat injury, Scarface did not die silently as depicted in films. He screamed with all the strength left in his dying body, driven by a primal instinct for survival. He thrashed wildly, his elbow unintentionally striking Fang Senyan squarely in the face!

“Damn it…” The searing pain across Fang Senyan’s nose brought an immediate flood of tears and snot, forcing him to cover his face to ease the agony. Before this, Fang Senyan had only engaged in minor scuffles while working on the boats; he had never actually killed a man. He had tried to imitate the silent, swift dispatch he’d seen onscreen, but in the haste of the moment, he hadn't fully considered the reality—even slitting a chicken's throat usually resulted in several minutes of frantic struggle before death, let alone a human being?

Furthermore, Fang Senyan’s slash to the throat was slightly off in both force and placement. Strictly speaking, it had only inflicted a severe wound. Had Scarface been a well-trained special operative, he might have immediately counterattacked and killed Fang Senyan. Fortunately, he was merely a vicious thug. The injury to his vital area had saturated him entirely in terror. Thus, even as he shrieked desperately for help, he thrashed wildly in the muddy water, trying to escape the nightmare location.

Clutching his nose, Fang Senyan scrambled up from the ground in disarray. He paid no mind to the escaping Scarface, instead whirling around, grabbing the knife, and lunging toward the inner room. He breathed heavily, his heart seized and suspended in his chest. For him, all previous efforts were aimed at gaining control of Xidi. Only by holding the young master's life in his grasp could he bargain with Hua Shanfei to save the life of Fourth Uncle.

What greeted Fang Senyan was blinding firelight and a deafening roar!

Scarface’s agonizing screams had clearly alerted Xidi inside. Though arrogant and overbearing, the young man was indeed the son of a gang boss. While firearms control was stringent in mainland China, this location, situated near the Sino-Vietnamese border, was far more lax. As soon as Xidi sensed trouble, he instantly drew a Type 54 pistol he carried for protection and braced himself. The moment Fang Senyan charged in, Xidi aimed and squeezed the trigger!

The instant Fang Senyan saw the gaping black muzzle, his entire body stiffened involuntarily; his mind went utterly blank. Though perceptive, decisive, and experienced in many ways, he was, after all, a sailor, not a battle-hardened special soldier. Yet, as the bullet struck his abdomen, Fang Senyan felt no pain, only a sensation like a heavy punch to the gut. Then, fear drained away like floodwater. Fang Senyan’s eyes flashed crimson, and he roared. In that desperate moment between life and death, adrenaline flooded his system. He forgot the pain, forgot the fear, forgot everything. The only thought in his mind was that this man must not be allowed to pull the trigger again!

So, Fang Senyan clutched his wounded abdomen with his left hand but immediately hurled the knife in his right hand forward with tremendous force! Xidi cared little for the lives of others, but he was extremely protective of his own safety. Seeing the gleaming blade fly toward him, he abandoned the idea of firing another shot, desperately dodging to the side. By the time he tried to aim again, the blood-soaked Fang Senyan was already charging forward with open arms, his eyes seeming to blaze with intense heat. He launched himself forward, tightly wrapping his arms around Xidi’s waist and slamming him down onto the floor!

The two wrestled at close range, their ragged breathing and gasps clearly audible. Xidi could smell the acrid stench mingling the blood and fish odor on Fang Senyan. He had never been forced into such a desperate, beast-like struggle before and was panicked. Consequently, he made the most common mistake of a novice: in a grappling match where he had no advantage, he tried to aim and shoot his opponent.

How could Fang Senyan allow that? Gasping heavily, he clamped down on Xidi’s wrist, straining to deflect the muzzle away. Xidi, in turn, fought fiercely to point the gun directly at Fang Senyan’s head. Logically, Fang Senyan should have had the advantage in strength, but having already been shot in the stomach, the intense exertion meant the wound was bleeding continuously, inevitably causing weakness. Thus, the gun muzzle slowly began to angle toward Fang Senyan’s head.

Just as a cruel smirk touched Xidi’s face, a vicious look flared in Fang Senyan’s eyes. He suddenly released his grip. Xidi, who had been applying maximum downward pressure to the gun, was completely unprepared for this move. His gun hand naturally jerked downward severely, and Fang Senyan seized the opportunity: he opened his mouth and bit down hard on Xidi’s hand!

The crushing force of the human bite is astonishing. A healthy adult male can exert a biting force of over 500G per square centimeter; even a child can crush certain bones in pigs or cattle. Fang Senyan, fighting for his life, showed no mercy. Xidi let out an indescribably sharp scream, and the pistol clattered onto the floor. Under the torment of the excruciating pain, he swung a fist, striking Fang Senyan hard on the back of the head. Fang Senyan spun dizzily and involuntarily released his bite, rolling away.

Xidi clutched his right hand, sucking in air through the agony, while Fang Senyan knelt on the ground, shaking his head to clear the vertigo. They only managed a few seconds of panting before springing up almost simultaneously. Fang Senyan snatched the fish-slaughtering knife stuck in the nearby sofa, while Xidi unhesitatingly bent to retrieve the fallen Type 54 pistol. At this moment, both men chose the weapons most readily available.

In this split second of life or death, neither could afford to think deeply; hesitation meant certain death! At this close range of less than three meters, the knife-wielding Fang Senyan undoubtedly held a massive advantage. He wrenched the fish knife from the sofa and, clutching his bullet wound, slashed violently across. At that moment, Xidi had only just raised his gun and had no time to aim!

Undoubtedly, this was a situation where the brave succeeded when paths converged. Xidi’s character determined his fate. In the favorable position he’d held earlier, he had chosen to evade the incoming blade Fang Senyan threw. Now, facing the blood-soaked Fang Senyan and once again intimidated by the ferocious momentum, he involuntarily stumbled a step backward. Fang Senyan’s eyes were now blazing with wild fire. He strode forward, driving the knife in a powerful thrust toward Xidi.

To live fully, one must die without regret!

Xidi could no longer dodge this thrust. The sharp blade effortlessly pierced his abdomen, even punching through to his back, demonstrating the sheer force of Fang Senyan’s strike. The agony of perforated organs drove Xidi into a final, deathly frenzy, and he raised his hand, struggling to aim at Fang Senyan. Sensing the lethal threat, Fang Senyan swung the knife down without hesitation. Flesh and blood flew as Xidi shrieked hideously, but the sound quickly faded. When Fang Senyan finally calmed down from the killing frenzy, Xidi was a mangled corpse.

Fang Senyan leaned heavily against the nearby coffee table, gasping violently. These last few minutes had utterly drained him; his arms felt weak and sore. In his initial plan, he hadn't anticipated confronting Xidi while he was already alerted, nor had he expected the young man to be armed with a firearm. Thus, in the close-quarters combat, he hadn't been able to hold back at all. Any slight misstep could have resulted in him being the one lying dead on the floor. Realizing this, a cold ruthlessness entered Fang Senyan's gaze: he knew perfectly well that only by surviving could he save Fourth Uncle. If rescue proved impossible, dragging a few others down with him would be an acceptable alternative.

(To be continued. For the latest chapters, please visit: .)