I took a few deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down. But I couldn't stop the rush of blood to my head. Finally, I couldn't help but slap myself hard across the face and shout at my reflection in the mirror, "Calm down! Calm down!!"
Dixiro, standing nearby, was stunned. He couldn't understand why I would suddenly do something so crazy.
Under my intimidating gaze, Xiluo didn't dare to ask any more questions. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I quickly walked out and led Xiluo hurriedly to the parking lot.
...Hmph...Being seen by someone?!
At this point, I was able to control myself a little, and all sorts of thoughts immediately began to race through my mind...
First of all, why would Hansen call me?
More importantly... since Hansen could say something like that... "Someone saw what you were doing in the alley..."
So, one thing is clearly certain... what we did in the alley. Hansen himself knew it too!
Damn it!
When we got to our car in the parking lot, I punched the car door hard, denting it in the process.
I was extremely anxious!
How could anyone know! How could Hansen know?! No one should have seen it!! No one could have seen it!! There was only me and Ciro in the alley!! I even checked carefully, everyone on the ground was dead!
Therefore, it's impossible that there were any survivors who managed to escape the net!
How could anyone have found out?!
The situation left me no choice but to remain composed! Because I deeply understood that this matter was an absolute, absolutely crucial secret that must never be revealed under any circumstances!
If this gets out, Xiluo and I will be completely finished! It will be a catastrophe!!!
Once I got into the car, I could feel my fingers trembling... not from fear, but from tension and anxiety!
Ciro was terrified by my appearance. He hesitated for a moment, then didn't ask me anything further, simply starting the car...
Just as he stepped on the gas, I turned to look at Xiluo with a wry smile and said softly, "Xiluo... someone knows the cause of Eighth Master's death!"
Squeak!!
Bang!!!
Startled, Xiluo accidentally slammed on the gas pedal. Our car lurched forward and crashed into a pillar! Fortunately, the speed was not high and the distance was short; although the car jolted violently, only the front of the car was dented.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the carriage froze!
Xiluo stared blankly at him, his neck slowly turning as we looked at each other... The carriage was so quiet you could almost hear your own heartbeat...
After a long silence, Xiluo opened his mouth, and I could tell he seemed to be trying to force a smile, but ultimately he couldn't. His voice was also very bitter: "It seems there's no escaping it, there's no escaping it after all... Fifth Brother, I did it... I'll take the blame for this alone. I killed the person, so this is on my head! I might as well die, but I absolutely cannot let you be implicated!"
Snap!
I answered him with a slap!
"Carry it! How can you carry it?!" All my pent-up emotions suddenly exploded! Like a madman, I gripped his shoulders tightly and roared, "How dare you say such nonsense again! You think you can carry it all by yourself? There were only the two of us there. Do you think you could carry it all by yourself? Do you think you could hide it?! Do you think you can save me with your life?! Xiluo! You little bastard!" My chest heaved with anger as I stared at him intently. "What do you take me for? You did this for me!! What the hell are you talking about! Sell you out? If I were to do something like selling you out to save myself... would you, Xiluo, still call me 'Brother Xiaowu'?!
In a fit of rage, I grabbed Xiluo's shoulders with both hands, using so much force that Xiluo's face contorted in pain, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter, revealing an undisguised emotion of gratitude!
I let out a long breath, forcefully released my grip, and still stared into his eyes. I gritted my teeth and slowly said, "This wasn't something you did alone! It's the work of both of us! So, if something goes wrong, we brothers will shoulder the burden together! If neither of us can handle it, then it's no big deal if we both lose our lives!"
"But……"
"No buts!" I interrupted him decisively. "We're brothers for life, your life is my life! There's no use saying anything now! The question of who lives and who dies is all nonsense! Now we need to find out exactly how the information was leaked! Then we need to find a way to resolve it... If it really comes to the point of no return..." A trace of despair flashed in my eyes: "At worst, we'll just die together. We won't be lonely going to the underworld together."
Although I said that, I was determined in my heart that if things really couldn't be salvaged, I would do everything I could to save Xiluo's life!
That damn Hansen called and told me this shocking news, but he didn't finish his sentence, just a few words, and then suddenly disappeared! I'm completely confused! I have no clue what's going on!
Xiluo and I waited in the car for a while, each of us smoking a cigarette, trying to recall every detail of what happened in the alley that day, but we still couldn't find a breakthrough!
That's human nature; the more unfathomable and unknown something is, the more it arouses fear and anxiety within us!
Because you have no idea whether what lies ahead is a sheer cliff or a vast plain! It is this "unknown" that triggers the deepest, most primal fear within you!
On the contrary, if people clearly know that there is a bottomless abyss in front of them, many people will not be afraid.
Hansen's phone call was like throwing me into an icy abyss! My heart sank! Anxiety, tension, and a whole host of other negative emotions overwhelmed me, leaving me completely distraught...
Just when we were at a loss for what to do, another phone call came, which immediately pulled me back from the depths of despair... though only halfway.
The phone rang, breaking the deathly silence in the carriage. I glanced at my phone indifferently and saw that it was the police station calling. When I answered, I heard Doug's stern voice.
"Mr. Chen Yang, regarding the premeditated murder case in which you were ambushed on the road, our police have conducted a search and found some new evidence..." He paused deliberately, perhaps wanting to keep the conversation in suspense: "Of course, I shouldn't normally disclose these new clues and evidence to the parties involved, but given our alliance, I think it's necessary to share some valuable intelligence with you."
Hearing that it was another "ambush case," I immediately perked up. I tried to calm my heavy breathing, concealing my emotions as much as possible, and spoke into the phone in the calmest voice possible, as if nothing was wrong: "Hmm, what's up? Any new discoveries?"
"Based on the information you provided, there was a sniper lying in ambush. After surveying the scene and judging the trajectory of the bullets, we searched the surrounding buildings within a certain distance and finally found the hiding place where the sniper ambushed you..."
Doug had just finished speaking when, suddenly, my heart skipped a beat! It felt as if an invisible hand had squeezed my heart hard!
Fortunately, I managed to control myself and didn't scream, but my breathing became much heavier instantly!
Sniper!
That sniper!! It must be him! It's that sniper!!
I did hear what Doug said after that, but I was so upset that I didn't take it to heart.
"We found a room in a five-story building on the right side of that street. The window faced the street, and there were some strange marks left in the room... Hmm, we're now certain that this is where the sniper was hiding, because we found a sniper rifle at the scene... This is very strange. Logically, if the other party had left, they shouldn't have left the weapon there. And what's even stranger is... there were signs of a struggle at the scene. There was blood on the ground... Clearly, someone fought here, and someone was injured!"
Doug rattled off his thoughts, finally arriving at a conclusion: "So, my personal guess is this: during the sniper's operation against you, a third party intervened. Because your testimony didn't mention your people finding the sniper… Of course, I believe you didn't lie in your testimony. So I can assume a third party intervened. While the sniper was firing at you, someone broke into the room and attacked the sniper from behind. A fight broke out in the room, and judging from the scene, the fight must have been very intense! Someone was injured, but judging from the bloodstains, there weren't any signs of severe bleeding. There wasn't much blood at the scene, so I guess no one died. Of course, it's also possible the other party didn't use bloodletting to kill… In short, there are three possibilities: First, the third party killed the sniper. Second, the sniper killed the third party. Third… after the fight, both sides sustained injuries but no one died, and then both left."
Doug had said so much, but I had no patience to listen to him anymore!
My heart was pounding, and then I made my request to Doug: "Doug, I need to go to that scene! I have to, now! Right now!"
Doug seemed a little puzzled, but he quickly and readily agreed: "Sure. The address is XXXXXX..."
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiluo and I immediately drove at breakneck speed towards the location where the accident had occurred. We didn't care about traffic regulations along the way and ran countless red lights.
The ambush site had already been cleared of the street; aside from some blackened ground left by the explosion, everything else had been removed. The debris had also been towed away. We parked on this quiet street. Then, following the address Doug had provided, we quickly found the building, and Ciro and I rushed to the fifth floor…
This was an empty room, only about fifteen square meters in size. No one lived there. Yellow police tape marked the doorway. However, no police officers remained to guard the scene; presumably, they had completed their investigation and taken away all valuable clues.
The two of us stepped over the cordon and into the room.
The room was simply furnished, with only one window facing the street. I stood by the window, glanced at it, and couldn't help but sigh.
really!
From this window, you can see the alleyway across the street in the distance! And the angle is just right, about thirty degrees, so you can see a small part behind the garbage cans—which means we were really in danger hiding behind the garbage alley that day! Because if a sniper in this position could fire calmly, he could still hit us hiding behind the garbage alley.
There was indeed blood on the ground, as well as signs of a struggle.
I saw traces of the impact on the walls and the floor. The walls, in particular, which were originally snow-white, were now covered in black marks, presumably from the two men scrambling and bumping into each other during the fight. There was also some splattered blood on the wall and on the floor.
The main entrance was originally a wooden door, but it has been destroyed, with the broken door panels lying to the side... There is also a large stone on the ground.
I closed my eyes and thought for a while...
That day, at the very beginning, the enemy snipers posed a significant threat to us! Because the snipers had a commanding view, and the terrain was extremely advantageous. We were below, lacking cover, and had no effective long-range firepower to retaliate…
But towards the very end of the ambush, the enemy sniper inexplicably went silent… I had wondered about this too. However, since I hadn't personally inspected the sniper's hiding place, I guessed that perhaps because we were hiding behind an alley, the sniper couldn't reach us, so he gave up…
Now it seems that's not the case! Someone intervened and helped me, interfering with the sniper.
Who could it be?
I immediately came up with the answer to that question.
Hansen!
Then I remembered some details that I had overlooked before! Ever since Yang Wei accompanied me to the hospital after my discharge, took me back to the repair shop, and said goodbye before leaving... Hansen didn't stay by Yang Wei's side at all during the whole process!
Then there's no doubt about it. It seems Yang Wei left Hansen behind to do something else! Now it seems most likely that Yang Wei left Hansen here to secretly do some things for me?
Hansen must have been nearby during that ambush. Or perhaps he had been secretly protecting me all along?
I opened my eyes, then walked around the room, pointed to the dilapidated door, and slowly said, "Ciro, look, when the sniper ambushed us here, he must have locked the door and blocked it with this rock."
Then, from this window, you can see a panoramic view of the street, and also the alley where we hid that day.
I remember that day, our car was blown up and lay across the alleyway entrance. The flash and smoke from the explosion obscured the sniper's view, so he couldn't continue firing for a short time… But the flash and smoke always dissipate. So, I think, when…” I hesitated, then slowly said, “when those things happened in the alley, the smoke and flash in front weren't enough to obstruct the sniper's view anymore… So, he must have seen what happened!”
Then I walked to the door and pointed to the broken door panel: "Obviously, someone helped us out... It must have been Hansen! He broke in from the outside. He rushed in and fought with the sniper..."
I tilted my head and thought about it. Now it seems this sniper's skills are probably extraordinary! Hansen's skills must be incredibly impressive! And this sniper actually managed to escape from Hansen's grasp...
Yes, he must have escaped!
Otherwise, Hansen wouldn't have needed to call me to warn me. If Hansen had already killed that guy, there would be nothing to worry about.
I shared my guess with Xiluo, and after thinking about it, Xiluo agreed with my point of view.
but……
I sighed one last time, looked at Xiluo, and slowly said, "And... a sniper with such skill, able to escape from Hansen's attack... I don't think there could be such a master among the Vietnamese. So, this sniper's identity... can only be from Cobra, those professional mercenaries!"
Upon hearing my words, Xiluo's gaze suddenly narrowed!
What should I do now that I'm faced with this situation?
I suddenly remembered a question that had been puzzling me... If the sniper saw what happened during the ambush, why hasn't the other side reacted after all this time? Why haven't they made a fuss about it?
Moreover, just a while ago, when Da Ruan called me to negotiate his brother's life, he didn't use this incident to blackmail me!
But if someone said that this sniper clearly saw something important but didn't reveal the secret, I would never believe it!
So why is the other party remaining silent?
“Because it wouldn’t matter to them,” Xiluo probed. “We’re enemies. Even if they said it, would anyone here believe them?”
I shook my head: "Whether you believe it or not is another matter, but saying it out loud will always cause us a lot of trouble! And... how do you know that others don't believe it?" I chuckled coldly: "After Eighth Master died, it seems that I was the biggest beneficiary... In this situation, if someone deliberately stirs things up in the dark, it is not impossible for waves to be stirred up."
It's not like the Vietnamese style to leave such a big trump card unused!
I'm completely baffled; I've racked my brains trying to figure it out, but I still can't find a solution.
The only way is to find Hansen! Because he was the first to keep an eye on this sniper! Perhaps we can get some information from Hansen...
ring!
Just as Siro and I were speechless, that damn phone rang again!
These phone calls today almost threw me into a panic! God knows what the consequences of these calls will be!
After I answered the call, all I heard was a "hello" from the other end, and I immediately shouted excitedly:
"Hansen! Damn it! You've finally called again! What are you doing? Why did you call me before..."