Dongxiang sheathed his katana as the students dispersed and Zi Han walked up to him, accompanied by Zhen Lee.“What was that all about?” he asked. “Are you serious about fighting monsters?”“I am, Supreme Dragon,” Dongxiang replied with a bow. “What is it that’s gotten you so riled up so suddenly?” Zi Han looked at him curiously, wondering why he had started teaching about the Yaoguai when they already had their hands full dealing with a rival gang.Dongxiang looked up and replied in a grim voice, “I can feel the slumbering powers being awakened in Argos. The Huli Jing sighting is a dark omen. It is a prelude of things to come.”Zi Han’s face turned dead serious as he realized Dongxiang hadn’t started talking about the monsters on a whim. He moved closer and asked, “You haven’t really spotted any Yaoguai, have you?”Dongxiang shook his head. “No, Master. But I can feel a great disturbance in our world. The upper realms are in a state of turmoil, and whenever the balance is disturbed,

Zi Han’s intent was clear from the very beginning. He wasn’t ready to lose sight of the cleaning trucks even for a minute. Getting onto the Keyes Bridge was now his top priority, no matter the risk.“All our cargo trucks are in Zhuxin right now. They will take at least half an hour to reach our location,” Zhen Lee replied. “I can try calling a pickup truck from our closest garage, but it will still take a few minutes, boss.”“We don’t have the time. Those cleaning trucks will get away if we just sit here and wait!” Zi Han retorted and quickly looked out the window. He soon spotted what he was looking for. It was a dump truck carrying stacks of sheet metal parked near the old steel mill.Zi Han looked at Zhen Lee and gestured toward the steel mill. “There is our truck. Turn our cars around. It’s time for plan B.”On Zhen Lee’s orders, the two SUVs turned around and took the first left from the intersection. But Zi Han and Zhen Lee got down as soon as they reached the main road.“Take t

Zhen Lee moved like a silent ghost, blending into the shadows with effortless ease while the rest of the team followed from a distance.The electrically operated automatic garage door was shut tight, and the motion sensors on the ground prevented it from opening unless it detected a heavy pickup truck or cargo van at the entrance.But Zhen Lee had already spotted the fuse box behind the building. He quickly shot the lock and pulled out the rectangular fuse block jammed in the middle.Immediately, the power went out, causing all electrical devices to shut down. “It’s done, boss. The power is out!” he reported, regrouping with the team.Zi Han pulled down his night vision goggles and adjusted the focus. The others quickly followed suit and pulled out their guns.“We need to keep it quiet. I don’t want them to know who hit them before it’s too late.”The men nodded and equipped their suppressor attachments.Zhen Lee took point and hoisted the garage shutter with one hand, lifting it just

While the shooters waiting at the petrol station prepared to ambush the last cleaning truck and finish off the cleaning crew, Zi Han supervised the tactical cleansing going on inside the Sparkle and Shine office.Zhen Lee and his henchman moved up the second-floor corridor and entered the sales and research department. It was a room cluttered with cubicles containing old computers and stacks of ancient paper files that had probably never been touched in a dozen years.Amidst the maze of cubicles, two men stood in the open, smoking cigarettes and discussing about their recent hits.“I just can’t understand why that old fart doesn’t kill these guys himself?” one of them asked casually, puffing out a cloud of grey smoke. “It’s not like he lacks the muscle.”“It’s probably because he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty. I mean, I certainly would not want to kill my own men. It could send the wrong message and even cause a mutiny among the Sand Scorpions if they knew,” his companion replied

After sweeping the Sparkle and Shine office once more, Zi Han’s men collected all the old files and tokens they could find and loaded them into the SUVs. Since the forensic expert had escaped and the janitor lay dead in the maintenance room, there was no way for them to obtain a direct confession, linking the cleaning crew to Emir Wangshu. However, Zi Han still hoped the papers they had collected would contain at least some evidence that would help them incriminate the Sand Scorpion leader and reveal his dirty secrets.Although Zi Han was unhappy with how things ended, Zhen Lee viewed the mission as an absolute success since all the hitmen had been taken down and they hadn’t lost a single Black Dragon.“I think everything is taken care of now. The cleaning crew is dead, and Emir has no one else to do his dirty work,” he said, looking at the Sparkle and Shine building. “We should bring out their bodies and put them on display just to send a message to Emir.”But Zi Han was firmly again