Chapter 26: Who on Earth Is He?

This was not a battle; it was a one-sided slaughter.

In the hands of the two most elite special operatives, who had long since calculated their firing angles and targets, two silenced P9 submachine guns—each capable of firing over 1,000 rounds per minute—spat continuous flashes of muzzle fire. Within the room, the sound of bodies hitting the floor was rhythmic and unbroken.

Three seconds later, the power was restored. When the lights flickered back on, not one of the ten Dragon Society kingpins remained alive. Every single one of them had a small hole drilled through the center of their forehead by the high-penetration 4.6mm steel-core rounds. Their central nervous systems had been severed instantly, leaving them unable to make even the slightest sound before their bodies collapsed into heaps of sodden meat. The stench of black-red blood, white brain matter, and excrement filled the air, nauseating to behold.

"Clear!" Wuyun reported. He and Lang Tianyu sprinted out of the room, charging toward the security lounge.

Lei Dong slid rapidly down from the fortress wall, his hands steady on his .50 caliber firearm. His pace remained relentless as he surged toward the guards’ quarters.

This was the final stronghold. Aside from the team, there was not a single living soul left in the entire estate. Isolated from the city, the manor was virtually cut off from the world, making it nearly impossible for any sound to reach the outside. Electronic communications had been jammed by Bei Shilong, and the alarm system had been neutralized. Even if the guards inside discovered the intrusion, they would be unable to cause significant trouble. Lei Dong decided to proceed with the plan: a lightning strike on the security lounge where the bodyguards were gathered.

The early summer dawn was heavy with dew, and the air held a damp, earthy scent. The bodyguards, yawning from time to time, had no inkling that their final moments had arrived.

The four team members sprinted at high speed, weaving through the winding gravel paths and dense garden shadows, sweeping through the manor like a gale. Years of grueling training and the unspoken rapport formed over long periods of cooperation allowed them to maintain a perfect combat formation even at full sprint. They moved in mutual support, covering each other’s sectors, ensuring that even if they encountered an ambush, they could instantly form a dense web of overlapping fire to deliver a crushing blow to the enemy.

In less than two minutes, the squad arrived outside the security lounge, establishing their assault positions behind a row of shrubs five meters from the room.

Lei Dong signaled Bei Shilong to verify the communication jam and power control once more.

Bei Shilong tucked his shirt to shield the light from his device, checked the status of the jamming equipment and the estate’s electrical schematic on his terminal, and gave a distant hand signal to Lei Dong: everything was normal.

Lei Dong nodded, signaled for Bei Shilong to get ready, and then pointed to the roof, indicating for Wuyun and Lang Tianyu to initiate the assault from above.

Wuyun and Lang Tianyu nodded and darted forward to the exterior wall of the lounge. With a slight push, their figures vaulted into the air, landing silently on the roof like nimble cats. They hooked their fingers under the eaves, pressing their bodies tight against the wall outside the window, their P9s ready for the breach.

Bei Shilong slipped to the side of the building, quietly opening the distribution box and placing a hand on the main breaker.

The team was in position. Lei Dong blew a soft breath into his throat-mic to alert them, then extended three fingers to begin the countdown.

Three, two, one!

As the last finger curled, he slashed his hand down through the air.

Bei Shilong flipped the switch. The power cut out, and the room plunged into absolute darkness.

With two loud crashes, the windows were kicked in. Wuyun and Lang Tianyu descended from the ceiling mid-air, their silenced P9s unleashing a torrent of fire. The "pfft-pfft-pfft" sounds merged into a single hum as a hail of bullets—over 1,000 rounds per minute—instantly blanketed everyone inside.

Sharp screams filled every corner of the room.

"Get down! Get down!" As a voice rang out, Lei Dong kicked the door open and rushed in. His left-hand .98 pistol gave a soft "pfft," and a blood-red hole appeared in the forehead of the shouting bodyguard, who collapsed backward, never to make another sound. The scene was chaotic, but no movement could escape Lei Dong’s senses. Through his spiritual perception, he tracked four men hiding behind tables and chairs, holding their breath and inching their bodies forward. Two of them were even slowly drawing their weapons from their holsters.

Clearly, these men were veterans with excellent reflexes; they had found cover immediately and survived the first wave of fire. Now, judging that their attackers were few in number, they believed that in the confusion, their moment to counterattack had arrived.

"Good instincts. It's a waste for you to be bodyguards for mob bosses..." A cold sneer curled at the corner of Lei Dong’s mouth. His .98 and .50 pistols spat four tongues of flame, "calling the roll" on the four men attempting to resist.

"Pfft," "pfft," "pfft," "pfft"—four dull thuds rang out. Two skulls were pierced by black holes, while the other two had their heads shattered like overripe watermelons.

Until the very moment their consciousness faded, these four men could not understand how their opponent had pinpointed their locations in the midst of such chaos, nor how his marksmanship could be so precise.

The power returned, and the lights flooded the room. Bodies lay scattered everywhere. Lei Dong frowned. "Wuyun, fix the window. Old Lang and I will clear the battlefield. Old Bei, set the explosives! We finish in twenty minutes. Move!"

***

Twenty minutes later, a black car sped out of the seaside castle, disappearing along the winding road toward the center of Kyoto.

Inside the castle, Wuyun was busy in the security lounge. He carefully sprinkled colorless liquid from small test tubes onto the floor. Before long, a faint, pleasant, fruity fragrance filled the sealed room.

"Back in the day, you used biological and chemical warfare against us. Now, it’s your turn to taste our nerve-paralytic chemical products. Freshly manufactured, smells good, works wonders. Truly an essential medicine for home life, travel, and silencing witnesses..." Wuyun sighed with satisfaction, turned to leave, and gently pulled the door shut behind him.

***

When Fujiyama Ken awoke, he was lying on the tatami mats. The television was on, and the volume was set just right—it was such a familiar feeling. For years, his favorite thing had been to sit on these mats, television on, either deep in thought or issuing orders. That sense of total control had always been so intoxicating.

But now, that feeling of supreme dominance was gone, replaced by waves of dizziness.

Who was that young man with the piercing black eyes? How did he get in? What exactly did he want? And what had become of his formidable security detail?

Fujiyama Ken kept his eyes closed, questions swirling in his mind.

"Since you're awake, open your eyes. Let's have a talk." The clear, calm voice resonated through the room, and Fujiyama Ken’s heart sank.

He had always prided himself on his ironclad control over his emotions and his body. How many rivals had fallen to his perpetually calm, unreadable expression? Just moments ago, his emotions, his body, and even his breathing had shown no change—yet the man before him had known the exact moment he regained consciousness. Who on earth was he?