Chapter Fifty: The Red Wolf

The cold rain, like the merciless tears of the heavens, pounded against the dilapidated, rusty iron roof of an abandoned foundry on the edge of London's East End, producing a dense and oppressive sound.

The factory grounds were empty and cluttered, with mountains of discarded molds and rusty machine tools casting eerie shadows in the dim light. The air was thick with the damp, cold scent of rust, machine oil, and rain. This was a forgotten corner of the world, an ideal graveyard for shady deals.

Xiya stood quietly in the center of the factory, on a relatively open space. Rainwater soaked his fiery red hair, which clung to his angular face.

He was soaked to the bone, his black combat uniform clinging to his body, outlining his taut, ready-to-go muscles. He didn't use an umbrella, as if trying to blend into the cold rain.

It was past midnight, and nearly half an hour had passed since the time he had agreed upon with the people sent by Xu Yue to meet him.

No one came.

An ominous premonition, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around his heart.

The evidence he had obtained regarding "Dian Kui" and the truth of abandonment—those fragile photographic negatives developed with special secret writing chemicals, recording BXX's core secrets and the Kui couple's ruthless orders—was now lying quietly in his inner pocket, yet it burned his skin like a branding iron.

Xu Yue would never break her promise without a reason. The only possibility is that the rendezvous route was cut off, or... this is a trap in itself.

He abruptly looked up, his red eyes sharp as a hawk's in the rain, scanning every shadow that might conceal danger. The sound of the rain interfered with his hearing, but his bestial instincts, honed over years on the brink of death, were sounding a piercing alarm.

It was too quiet; there was nothing but the sound of rain. This deathly silence was the greatest anomaly in itself.

Just then, a gust of wind swept by, swirling up a tattered piece of tarpaulin paper from the ground. Almost simultaneously, out of the corner of his eye, Xi Ya caught a fleeting, unnatural reflection on the control panel of an abandoned vehicle high above—the reflection of a sniper scope!

Without hesitation or shouting, pure instinct drove his body to lunge backward!

"Bang--!"

A sharp gunshot rang out, almost drowned out by the sound of the rain! Where he had been standing, a small crater from the explosion of cement debris was now clearly visible! The bullet had grazed his ear, and the scorching blast had burned his skin.

A sniper! A top-tier one! Xiya's heart sank. The opponent had chosen this rainy day to minimize his hearing and sense of smell! He rolled away, taking cover behind a massive, abandoned punch press, his heart pounding. The opponent hadn't hit his target; they must have another trick up their sleeve.

Sure enough, the gunshot seemed to be a signal. Two figures emerged like ghosts from behind the mountains of discarded molds piled up on both sides of the factory.

The one on the left was petite, yet her movements were as swift as a ghost. Her long, dark blue hair clung to her pale cheeks in the rain, and her large amber eyes, though small in the dim light, narrowed to pinpoints, flashing with an inhuman, frenzied killing intent.

She held a modified pistol with a long, slender barrel, wisps of smoke rising from its muzzle. It was Hei Yuanying. Her very existence was like a hazy nightmare, precise and deadly.

The one on the right appears even more bizarre. He is thin, wearing a faded black work jacket, and a thick mask covering his face, revealing only a pair of empty, unfocused black eyes that are now burning with a twisted excitement.

He held no gun, his hands hanging casually at his sides, yet each step he took carried an indescribable sense of oppression, as if he were one with the surrounding shadows. He was Hei Yuankong.

He wasn't like a killer; he was more like a hysterical patient taking a walk in his own backyard. But the invisible, spiritual pollution he exuded was even more chilling.

“Brother… found it…” Hei Yuanying’s voice carried a strange, childlike excitement, like a child discovering a new toy, but her eyes were as cold as a viper’s forked tongue. “The red-haired one… is very valuable…”

Hei Yuankong did not respond to his sister's words. He simply used his empty eyes to "lock" on the direction where Xiya was hiding, as if they could penetrate thick steel.

He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something, or perhaps savoring the fear of his prey before its death. From beneath his mask came a very soft whisper, a sound that was both a cough and a sneer.

With his back against the cold steel machinery, rain dripped down his jawline. He knew he was surrounded, facing two top assassins known for their cunning and deadly prowess.

He felt no fear, only a desperate, utter rage and destructive urge. Zhong Si's death, Qian Xu Wu Yun's betrayal, the truth about Xu Yue's background—all the suppressed grief and anger transformed into a primal urge to kill.

"BXX's dogs... here to pick up something?" Sia's voice was hoarse, filled with undisguised contempt and murderous intent, coming from behind the cover. "Then come and try, see if your teeth are tough enough!"

His answer was Hei Yuanying's elusive, dance-like figure and the renewed spewing of fire! She wasn't shooting; she was performing a death act, her footsteps light as she traversed puddles and pipes. Gunshots rang out from unbelievable angles, bullets like venomous bees, darting in every direction Xi Ya might move! Her marksmanship possessed a natural, almost artistic precision, completely unaffected by the rain.

With astonishing reaction speed and combat instincts, Xiya moved, rolled, and dodged at high speed through the gaps in the abandoned machine tools. Bullets continuously struck the steel, scattering blinding sparks and leaving deep bullet holes.

He tried to close the distance and use his close-quarters combat skills to deal with the most threatening sniper, but Hei Yuanying's movements were too unpredictable, always managing to disappear like smoke just as he was about to touch her.

Even more terrifying was Hei Yuankong. He never directly participated in the attack, but wandered around the edge of the battlefield like a ghost. But his very existence was a tremendous mental pressure.

His empty eyes seemed to see through all your tactical intentions; his occasional, cryptic whispers or chuckles, punctuated by the intermittent sounds of gunfire and rain, penetrated your eardrums with a disturbing, almost mentally polluting effect.

He might kick an empty iron bucket at will, making a loud noise that would disrupt his judgment; or he might suddenly appear in an unexpected location, forcing West Asia to be on guard even though he doesn't attack.

The siblings' teamwork was flawless. The sister was the sharp fang, responsible for the deadly attacks; the brother was the invisible spiderweb, using an eerie aura and mental pressure to restrict the prey's movements and create panic. Their fighting style completely subverted all the routines familiar to Xiya, filled with unpredictable madness and deadly elegance.

With a "ripping" sound, a grazing bullet sliced ​​a deep, bone-revealing gash into Xiya's arm, blood gushing out instantly and mixing with the rain. The intense pain made him groan, slowing his movements slightly.

"Hehe... I hit you..." Hei Yuanying laughed innocently, but her eyes became even more excited, and her attacks became even more fierce.

Xiya's eyes were bloodshot; he knew he couldn't let this continue. He exerted all his strength, smashing aside a metal cabinet blocking his path, and charged towards Hei Yuanying like a raging lion! He wanted to tear this death god, fluttering like a butterfly, to shreds in the most savage and direct way!

However, just as he was about to pounce on Hei Yuanying, Hei Yuankong, who had been observing from the sidelines, moved. He didn't step forward to block, nor did he use his weapon; he simply raised his hand, pointed in the direction from which Xiya was charging, and clearly uttered a few words in a hoarse voice, as if his vocal cords were damaged:

"You can't protect anyone... just like you can't protect your brother..."

These words, like the most vicious curse, precisely pierced the most vulnerable and bloodied scar in Xiya's heart! Yanni's face before his death, Zhong Si's huddled figure in the low-temperature warehouse, exploded in his mind like a nightmare! His momentum suddenly faltered, his heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an icy hand, almost stopping its beating!

It was that moment of stillness!

"Bang!"

Hei Yuanying's gun muzzle spewed deadly flames. The bullet accurately struck Xi Ya in the right chest near the shoulder, the enormous impact sending him flying backward, crashing heavily into a pile of rusty metal parts with a dull thud.

"Ugh—!" Sia let out a painful roar as blood gushed from his wound, quickly staining the water beneath him. He tried to struggle to his feet, but his right side was almost numb, his lungs burned, and every breath was filled with blood.

Like a victorious sprite, Hei Yuanying landed lightly a short distance away, tilting her head to look at her dying prey. A trace of confusion flashed in her amber eyes, as if she were recalling why she had killed him.

Hei Yuankong slowly walked over, step by step, his empty eyes falling on the inner pocket that Xi Ya's bloodstained hand was pressing tightly against—there, the crucial evidence was hidden.

"Hand over the stuff..." Hei Yuankong's voice was completely calm, as if stating a given fact.

Xiya lay in the cold rain, feeling her life rapidly slipping away. Her vision began to blur, and she could hear the increasingly close, clear footsteps of death.

He knew he wouldn't leave here alive today. The reinforcements sent by Xu Yue hadn't shown up; either they'd been intercepted, or… this was all part of a plan to use him as bait to lure out an even bigger fish? No, Xu Yue wouldn't… at least not this way…

Despair washed over him like a tidal wave. But within this utter despair, a deeper, almost obsessive thought ignited within him like a final flame—protect Xu Yue! He absolutely could not allow the truth that revealed her past and could potentially destroy her to fall into BXX's hands!

With his last ounce of strength, Xiya's left hand suddenly reached into his inner pocket, not to retrieve the evidence, but to squeeze it hard! Those fragile photographic negatives, which carried enormous secrets, were instantly crushed into a blurry, blood-soaked mass of fragments by his fingers, which held back his last bit of strength!

"You...!" Hei Yuankong's usually calm eyes finally showed a flicker of emotion, annoyance at having his plans disrupted.

"Ha...haha..." Sia coughed up blood, but a twisted, almost manic smile appeared on her face. Her red eyes were fixed on Hei Yuankong as he approached. "If you want it...come and take it yourself...scum..."

Hei Yuankong's lips twitched slightly. Without another word, he raised his hand, revealing a slender, dull dagger that seemed to have been soaking in medicine for years. Hei Yuanying also raised her gun, aiming it at Xiya's head.

However, at this critical moment—

"Whoosh—whoosh—!"

Two sharp whooshing sounds tore through the rain! Two jet-black, non-reflective diamond-shaped darts shot toward the throats of the Hei Yuan siblings at astonishing speed!

Hei Yuankong reacted extremely quickly, parrying the dart aimed at him with his dagger, making a crisp "clang" sound! Hei Yuanying, on the other hand, instinctively turned her head sharply, and the dart grazed her cheek, leaving a bloody mark!

The brother and sister retreated instantly, like startled cats, warily looking in the direction the dart had come from—in the shadow of a broken window on the second floor of the factory.

A blurry figure draped in a dark cloak flashed by, disappearing into the darkness like a true ghost. Was it a reinforcement sent by Xu Yue? Or another force?

This sudden disruption bought Xiya perhaps her last breath.

The Hei siblings exchanged a glance and decided not to pursue the mysterious attacker. Their primary objective remained confirming Xiya's death and destroying the evidence.

Hei Yuankong strode forward, kicked away Xi Ya's hand that was trying to block him, squatted down, and roughly searched his already messy inner pocket, only to find a handful of sticky blood and fragments of photographic paper.

“Destroyed.” Hei Yuankong stood up, his voice icy.

Hei Yuanying blinked her amber eyes, which were beginning to look somewhat lost again, seemingly confused by the bloody scene before her and the "incomplete" nature of her mission. She looked at her brother, then at the barely breathing Xiya on the ground, and whispered, "Brother... can we go home now? The cat... needs to be fed..."

Hei Yuankong didn't answer, but only glanced one last time at Xiya, who lay in a pool of blood, her pupils already beginning to dilate, yet still staring intently at him. His eyes were complex and unfathomable, containing a melancholy for not achieving the mission perfectly, and also a trace of... indescribable, sympathetic coldness. He took his sister's hand and whispered, "Let's go."

Two ghostly figures swiftly disappeared into the shadows of the factory, vanishing into the torrential rain as if they had never existed.

The icy rain relentlessly lashed at Xiya's growing cold body. He lay in the muddy blood and water, his vision blurred as he gazed at the pitch-black night sky beyond the hole in the factory building, devoid of any starlight. The evidence was destroyed. Xuyue... was she safe...?

The intense pain and the chill from blood loss were rapidly consuming his last vestiges of consciousness.

Before sinking completely into eternal darkness, he used his last bit of strength to move his blood-stained lips, uttering a barely audible, sigh-like call:

“Narrative...Moon…”

The sound faded into the rain, and no one answered. Only endless cold and loneliness sank into the long night of death.

Meanwhile, at the distant headquarters of Xuyue, Xuyue was standing in front of a map, deep in thought, when suddenly, without warning, a tearing pain shot through her heart. She clutched her chest and looked out the window in alarm at the torrential rain in the darkness.