Zhao Lei

“Aahhh!!” Zhao Lei’s scream cut through the air as he hunched over, one hand clamped over his stabbed eye.

In the cluttered basement, Li Huowang watched him coldly, without a shred of pity. He picked up the kitchen knife from the floor and blocked the doorway.

Moments ago, while he had been questioning Wang Gang about who had sold them out, Zhao Lei had suddenly attacked him from behind.

There was no need for Wang Gang to say anything more. The facts spoke for themselves. Zhao Lei was the traitor.

When they had gathered at Orange Island, Zhao Lei had been one of the people who received the location. He would have known it in advance.

The truck that had rammed them on the road—that had been Zhao Lei’s doing, plain and simple.

And the other two who never showed up? Zhao Lei probably had a hand in that too. Compared to an enemy, Li Huowang hated a snitch far more.

“Zhao Lei… Zhao Lei… I really didn’t think it’d be you. What did they promise you? You think being their dog gets you anywhere? They still took your powers away, didn’t they?” Chen Hongyu’s voice was thick with wounded fury as she walked over, her bulk blocking Zhao Lei’s retreat like a wall.

Seeing the others close in, Zhao Lei’s expression flickered as he pressed his hand to his injured eye. “You blame me? Why the hell do you blame me?! You wronged me first! I’m just protecting myself!”

“I wronged you?” Li Huowang let out a harsh laugh. “I met you for the first time today. Enlighten me—how exactly did I wrong you?”

“Lies! It’s all lies!” Zhao Lei lowered his blood-smeared hand, staring at the gore in his palm with a tremor, then pressed it back over his eye.

“What lies? What nonsense? Don’t you dare play crazy to dodge responsibility! I can tell real crazy from fake crazy at a glance!” Li Huowang thrust the kitchen knife toward Zhao Lei’s face.

“You don’t understand! We’ve met before! You took what was mine first! If you show no mercy, don’t blame me for returning the favor!” Zhao Lei screamed at Li Huowang, his voice shaking with hysteria.

“Can’t we talk this out?” Wu Qi stepped forward, trying to mediate. “We’ve known each other long enough. No need to make this ugly.”

“Don’t give me that crap! Who do you think you’re fooling?” Zhao Lei’s voice suddenly rose to a roar.

“If it weren’t for the outside enemy, would you all have banded together and buried the hatchet? I could tell you stories about your past filth—but I can’t be bothered! You really think you’re one big, happy family?”

“No one’s saying it, huh? No one wants to show their true colors? Fine! I’ll say it! Qian Fu! Do you have the guts to tell them who drove you to this madness?”

“Wu Qi! Why do you only dare to wander outside, too afraid to go home?”

“And you, Qing Wanglai! You get to be the good guy while everyone else is the villain! You’re the clever one, and the rest of us are just fools who can’t see through you, right?”

Zhao Lei’s words plunged the room into silence. Li Huowang scanned the others’ faces, reading the complex expressions there. He understood now.

Zhao Lei’s accusations probably held some truth. On the surface, these people seemed harmonious, but they clearly carried unresolved baggage with one another.

“When I was in trouble, you all just stood by and watched! Now you blame me for selling you out? Hah! If they had made you an offer in secret, can any of you honestly say you wouldn’t have wavered?”

Li Huowang had heard enough. He stepped forward. “I don’t know what kind of raving nonsense you’re spouting, but even if you’re crazy, you should know this: we are their target. Do you really think surrendering to them would lead to a happy ending?”

Zhao Lei lowered his trembling hand, his bloodshot, ruptured eyeball fixed on Li Huowang. “I had to gamble. I couldn’t trust them, but can I trust any of you? At least they looked like they stood a better chance.”

Li Huowang lowered the knife. He picked up a roll of yellow duct tape and bound Zhao Lei’s hands and feet, pinning him in place.

“Enough. I don’t want to hear your ravings. Let’s talk properly. Who are they? Since they managed to buy you, you must know something about them.”

Zhao Lei laughed quietly. “Fake. It’s all fake. You really don’t know who they are? You’re telling me you don’t know?”

“Listen to me!” Frowning, Li Huowang grabbed Zhao Lei by the collar and lifted him, staring into his pale face. “You’d better play nice! I don’t want to get rough. But if you don’t talk, I have plenty of ways to make you sing.”

“Heh… heh heh…” Zhao Lei chuckled lowly. “You want to know who they are? Don’t worry. You don’t have to interrogate me. They’ll know who you are soon enough.”

A flicker of unease passed through the group at his words—and then came a knock at the door. Three short raps, followed by two long ones.

Hearing the signal, Zhao Lei’s tone turned smug. “You really thought I was useless? I was lying to you. Did you ever wonder why I brought you all to this out-of-the-way basement?”

Bam! The door burst open. Three iron balls rolled in, belching white smoke.

The balls split open, and choking white smoke filled the room instantly. The air turned milky. Coughs erupted everywhere.

“Nana!” Li Huowang lunged toward Yang Na. When he felt a soft body and touched the jade at her ear, he pulled her down, dragging her toward a corner.

“Cough! Give me the taser! Stay in the corner! Cough! Don’t pop your head up!”

“Okay.”

One hand gripping the kitchen knife, the other holding the taser, Li Huowang didn’t attack immediately. He waited, covering his nose, letting the smoke thin.

The moment he could make out shapes, he clenched his teeth and charged at the figures pouring through the door.

Zzzzzt! The taser crackled. The man in front of Li Huowang convulsed violently and collapsed.

Without pausing, Li Huowang pivoted and went for the next target. He had no idea how many enemies there were. He would take down as many as he could.

As the smoke cleared, more and more bodies hit the ground. But when he jammed the taser into another man’s neck, the man didn’t even flinch. He turned and looked at Li Huowang.

The taser was dead.

With a click, the man raised a black crossbow and aimed it at Li Huowang’s leg, ready to fire.

Li Huowang didn’t dodge. Injury for a kill. As the man moved, he raised the kitchen knife, aiming for the throat.

“Huowang! Behind you!” Yang Na’s cry made him twist around. A masked man stood two meters away, a black crossbow aimed squarely at his head.

Just as the man was about to pull the trigger, a sharp gunshot split the air from the left.

BANG!

With a scream, the man’s wrist exploded. The crossbow shattered in his grip.

Li Huowang whipped his head toward the gunfire. Qing Wanglai was standing there, covering his nose, his expression focused. He raised the pistol and fired again.

BANG! BANG! BANG!