betray
Gangu, Maca Town.
Sigon knelt in the dimly lit shrine chamber, surrounded by thick incense smoke. Three sticks of thick incense were slowly inserted into the incense burner. Sigon's cloudy eyes were fixed on the grotesque snake-headed Buddha statue. The only sounds in the room were the soft rustling of incense ash falling and the breathing of his bodyguard.
"Any news about Blaise?"
The person below replied, "We haven't been able to make contact yet. Should we send someone to Taran to look for them?"
“No need. If he wanted to run away, no one could find him. He’s probably off gallivanting off to Lanman again.” Xigong lowered his eyes, his voice tinged with confusion. “How could the Natawa family produce such a good-for-nothing?”
Xigong shook the incense in his hand and asked, "How's it going at the factory?"
"The new drug is being manufactured by working overtime, but because Chachai is on assignment abroad and not overseeing it, the process is a bit slow, but it should be completed within the specified time."
Sigon lowered his voice: "Should?"
The person answering bowed unconsciously: "I'm sorry, sir, we will definitely supervise the completion of the new drug production within the stipulated time."
"What's the latest news from Pom La Song?"
"Not yet. But General Zowin just called and said he would like to invite you and Blaise to Taran to watch a boxing match in three days."
Xigong frowned slightly: "It's the deadline for the new drug, and he's certainly pushing us hard. But why did he bypass Ponlasong and call directly this time?"
“Well… I heard,” the speaker hesitated, forcing Sigon to turn and glance at him. That glance prompted the man to blurt out, “I heard the head of Green Contract’s branch invested in Pomlason. The money was transferred under the name of an international charitable foundation. Because of this, Taran News interviewed Pomlason yesterday. So…”
Sigon chuckled. "So, Zowin is wary. Even though Ponglasong is destined never to enter politics, he's still worried that this incredibly wealthy cash cow might one day turn against him. What he's even more worried about is that Ponglasong is too deeply tied to me and is using me as a stepping stone. That's all the fool he has."
"Old sir..."
"What, you're afraid to listen to what I have to say?" Xigong lowered his eyes and smiled without any restraint. "What are you afraid of, talking like family behind closed doors? I'm not Zowen, who has to be wary of his own people. Unless, the person standing next to me still believes in another master, so they don't even dare to listen to a word of our own?"
As he spoke, Xigong's voice became somewhat subtle: "I've recently started to feel that there might be an ungrateful wretch in my life. Ah Hu, do you think this little wolf cub could be you?"
The person called "Tiger" was so frightened by this lighthearted remark that his knees buckled and he immediately knelt on the ground.
Hearing the resounding kowtows behind him, Xigong expressionlessly began to light the incense. Just as he was about to touch the ashes, a piercing whistle tore through the silence, and a bullet shot out from the shadows of a shelf deep within the warehouse, heading straight for Xigong's back.
"Clang—!"
The massive roller shutter iron door leading from the shrine to the outer warehouse was suddenly pulled open from the outside, revealing a travel-worn figure standing in the doorway. It was Blaise, who had just returned and hadn't even had time to take off the bag in his hand.
The gunshot and the sound of the door opening almost overlapped. Just as Sigon was about to be hit, Blaze grabbed Sigon's shoulder and pulled him away.
The bullet grazed Sigon's arm and Blaise's clothes before embedding itself in the wall behind the shrine, sending shards of stone flying.
Siegon stumbled and fell over from Blaise's immense strength, knocking over the incense burner and scattering incense ash all over the ground.
The room erupted into chaos. The previously relaxed guards frantically drew their guns, and the people stationed outside rushed in in a disorderly manner. In an instant, the scene was in complete disarray.
Xigong propped himself up, touched his ear, and found his hand covered in warm, scarlet blood.
Blaise looked around.
Chatchai, Nonai, and Hesai were not there, which meant that the person who fired the shot had obviously scouted their whereabouts beforehand.
Looking at the blood on his fingertip, Sigon's cloudy eyes showed no fear, but rather a chilling smile slowly spread across them: "The dog in the kennel finally couldn't resist biting its master?" He looked up at Blaise, his eyes darting around, "Who let you come back?"
Blaise did not answer, but immediately checked Sigon's nape to see if there were any other injuries.
That level of concern was almost like a knee-jerk reaction; no one could act that way.
There was a sound from the roof beams, and Blaze looked up, his gaze precisely locking onto a moving dark figure.
Blaze's selfish return to Gan Valley did indeed violate his orders, but it was precisely because of his return that his life was saved. Xigong swallowed back the rebuke he was about to utter: "Kid, go, capture this biting ingrate alive for me."
The person who fired the shot was clearly very familiar with the terrain. Even after being discovered, he did not panic. He fought and retreated, heading straight for the rear of the warehouse.
Blaze's eyes narrowed, and he used a huge metal tank next to him for leverage, leaping into the air, grabbing the rusty ventilation duct with both hands, and flipping onto it.
From this vantage point, the view opens up dramatically.
A figure burst through a dusty high window, nimbly flipped out, and without pausing, sprinted toward the open-air storage area filled with containers and goods.
On the ventilation duct, Blaze quickly followed the duct, aimed, and fired a shot.
A bullet grazed the forklift with a sharp whistling sound, and a dark figure leaped onto the loading platform with a light and agile movements, appearing to be of medium height and not very heavy.
Blaze holstered his gun and chased after them into the rainforest.
The rainforest's humus layer swallowed the sound of footsteps.
Blaze followed the trail, but the footprints abruptly ended in the dim light. In the rainforest at night, only the sounds of plants and animals could be heard; human movement was impossible to conceal. Blaze's ears twitched, and he whirled around at the faint sound, only to see a strong fishing line suddenly dart towards him. The man who had fired the shot emerged from behind a banyan tree, grabbed both ends of the line, looped it around Blaze's throat, and pulled hard backward.
Blaze reacted incredibly quickly, dodging the fishing line and locking the man's elbow strike with an armbar. Both men's guns were knocked from their waists, leaving them only able to engage in close combat. The opponent was likely a short but agile man; strangely, this man seemed very familiar with Blaze's movements, failing to catch him several times.
In the midst of close combat, the two lost their footing and fell into the Chira River. The murky water carried them against the rocks, and Blaze seized the opportunity to grab his opponent's ankle. Taking advantage of the size difference, he delivered an elbow strike to the man's throat and swiftly ripped off the man's hood.
The silent stillness seemed to stretch on endlessly under the cold moonlight.
Standing in the waist-deep river in front of him was a tall woman with a wound on her face.
“Blaze, you really are… a good dog.” Nona spat out a mouthful of blood, her usual playful and teasing demeanor completely gone, replaced by a cold, sharp killing intent on her wounded face. “Just a little bit more, so very little bit more. Milo actually let you come back, how could he bear to let you come back? Well, even if he likes you a lot, you’re still a member of the Natawa family, you can tell who you’re willing to guard the house for. Looks like you’re not stupid after all.”
Blaise was still in shock.
Their hair, covered in seaweed, dripped muddy water, and searchlights shone from afar.
They were Xigong's guards.
Without thinking, Blaise grabbed Nonay by the back of the neck and pushed her underwater, then he dived in himself.
The sound of footsteps grew closer and then faded away.
With a splash, the two men struggled to breathe at the surface. They exchanged a glance, memories of their shared childhood training resurfacing amidst the agony of deep-sea diving and holding their breath. To fight now would have felt like self-destruction. Neither of them continued fighting, and they waded ashore one after the other.
Blaise stared at Nonay for a long time, then gestured: Whom have you sided with?
Nona tilted her head slightly, her face full of disdain.
Blaise gestured again: You are a traitor.
Seeing Blaze's actions, Nona's contempt deepened: "Traitor? Do you know what betrayal is? It's betrayal to have your own child become a dog for the person who killed you. Blaze, from the moment you were born, you betrayed Suma. You don't deserve to be her child at all."
A flash of anger crossed Blaise's face.
"Did Xigong tell you that Suma was tricked into coming to Lanman by Tate Dale, which is why she willingly degenerated into having an illegitimate child with him, ultimately ending up with a serious illness and dying by injecting herself with drugs? No, that's not true at all. In this Gan Valley, the truly capable person is her; she is the one who truly has ambition and political aspirations!"
"You're being held in Xigong's hands, so she can't go back easily. She can only use the name of Tate Dale's mistress to keep a low profile. The year you were sent to Wanyang, the time you met Theo Green was not unexpected at all; it was all arranged by Xigong. He decided then that if he could use you to bring Suma back, he would spare Suma's life; if you couldn't keep her in check, he would kill Suma."
Nona sneered and decided to say what was on her mind: "When Xigong sent me to Wudong Port to monitor you, I was the one who arranged the bombing at the funeral parlor. I wanted you to resist his orders. The more mistakes you made, the more you resisted him, the more you resembled Suma, and the less he would tolerate you. Then Milo appeared, and you can't imagine how happy I was. He was a perfect tool to drive a wedge between you and Xigong, so I was willing to help him again and again."
"Do you know how many years Tengbang has been at war? It's been over seventy years since it was founded, and it's still constantly embroiled in conflict. Drug trafficking and human trafficking are more common in Taranli than buying vegetables. Do you think we're different from Tengbang? Yes, we have you, and those batches of brainwashed child soldiers, and the Heavenly Maiden's Tears in Aprinli, which are more valuable than gold. Xigong can get money and weapons. Of course, he's willing to put on a show of peace for you in order to seize power. Anyway, the only one who stood against him, Suma, is dead. The rest are all lackeys like you who blindly obey orders."
"Once Xigong signs an agreement with General Zowin and sells the Heavenly Maiden's Tears, he will definitely relinquish his drug enforcement authority in exchange. Every wildfire is started by a small spark. Xigong will die one day, and then this matter will be a disaster, giving Gan Valley a negative international image and causing it to lose public support. When the Tengbang government changes and a new party comes to power, if General Zowin does not become the new leader, Xigong's policies favoring General Zowin will surely bring us annihilation."
"More importantly, Gan Valley has no future. The new pharmaceutical factory is not open to our own people. Our people only know how to worship Buddha and grow rice. They are illiterate, they don't know why they were born, and they don't know when they will die. Why, why should their lives pay the price for the political ambitions of a Xigong!"
Blaise's chest heaved as he listened; these words felt like countless knives piercing his heart.
Nonai looked at Blaise's expression and just sneered: "Are you trying to say that you never thought of harming the people of Gan Valley? Of course you didn't, because his goal was to make you think nothing. If it were an ambitious person, with the power and ability you have, they would have killed him and taken over long ago, but you didn't. You didn't even have the slightest thought of it."
"How does it feel to know the truth? It hurts, doesn't it? Blaze, you've spent most of your life living in those ridiculous love affairs. You're so ignorant and arrogant. You can't even imagine the pressure that Theo Green carries with him, nor can you imagine the humiliation of having to be your dog even though I hate you all."
Nonai felt the wet fishing line in his pocket, judging the possible angle to strangle Blaze, and said, "Even if you don't kill me today, I will never give up killing Sigon."
Blaise noticed her subtle movements and used sign language: Who is your contact?
Nonai's expression stiffened slightly.
Blaise cut Nonay off in his attempt to evade the question: You have no authority among these people. Even if Sigon dies, they won't support you unless someone vouches for you. And even if you fail, that person will most likely have an alternative.
Seeing Nonai clench his teeth, Blaze closed his eyes slightly. After a moment, he thought of a name: Chatchai?
Nonai remained silent, his eyes flashing, and took a step forward: "You have a choice. You weren't born to be fuel. If you could rebel against Xigong for Theo Green, now you can rebel against him for the future of Gan Valley. You have a choice. Choosing us is choosing Suma."
The sound was like a ghost from the rainforest.
As Nona spoke, the distance between them continued to close. Suddenly, Nona's hand moved, the fishing line taut, and she aimed at Blaise's neck, determined to go all in and risk everything.
Blaze grabbed Nonay's arm, twisted it behind her back, dragged her up, and slammed her head against the tree.
With a "click," the bullet was chambered, and the muzzle was pressed against the back of Nonai's head.
"You're fast. No wonder they all wanted to train you into a killing machine." Nona gasped for breath, her teeth clenched tightly, her voice devoid of fear, filled only with resentment. "If Suma had given birth to me, everything would be different... If I were Suma's child, I could change everything. Life really is so unfair..."
With a loud bang, a gunshot rang out, echoing through the rainforest.
Nonai's ears were ringing, and it took her a long time to hear the sound again before she could see that the bullet had grazed her head and hit the tree trunk.
Blaise released his hold, and Nonai whirled around, pressing his body against the tree trunk.
Even she couldn't understand it now. This person, who in her eyes only knew how to chase after Theo Green, seemed to be shrouded in a shadow, making it impossible for her to see through him easily.
Blaise gestured: From now on, don't show up or contact Chatchai.
Nonai remained silent for a long time before asking, "That's it?"
Blaise adjusted the safety of his gun, walked up to Nona, his massive figure looming over him, and pressed the gun into Nona's hand.
Blaise deliberately slowed his gestures: "I need you to find someone and do something for me. If you lie to me, I will find you, no matter how far away, and kill you."
Looking into those dark eyes, Nonai had no doubt about the authenticity of the threat.
"You believe me?" Nona asked, somewhat incredulously. "You're planning to stand with us?"
Blaise didn't answer that question, and, dragging his soaking wet clothes, disappeared into the rainforest entrance.
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