Zhou Yuan held her breath as she felt a cold hand grip her wrist—Lin Man. Her mother's fingers trembled slightly, but her grip was firm, as if silently saying, "Don't be afraid."
Old K quietly took out his dagger and moved slowly along the wall. Zhou Yuan saw his silhouette tense in the darkness, like a beast ready to pounce.
The footsteps of the pursuers were getting closer and closer, and the flashlight beam was almost shining into the corner where they were hiding.
"Bang!"
A gunshot suddenly came from the other end of the passage, and the pursuers immediately changed direction and rushed towards the source of the sound.
Old K sneered, "Diverting the tiger away from its mountain range." He turned on the flashlight again, "Let's go, now's the time!"
After five hundred meters, the passage indeed split into two paths.
The passage to the right is wider, with a rusty sign nailed to the wall, and the word "pier" can be vaguely recognized; while the passage to the left is narrow and low, and the entrance is full of collapsed rubble, like a route that has long been abandoned.
Old K was about to lead them to the right when Zhou Ziqian suddenly said, "Wait..."
He pointed weakly to the left. "Where does that road... lead to?"
Old K frowned: "The old dock has been abandoned for a long time. Now it is guarded by the Shen family."
Zhou Ziqian sneered, "Then go this way."
"Are you crazy?" Old K lowered his voice. "That's a dead end!"
"The Shen family has set up a tight net around the docks," Zhou Ziqian gasped, "but the old dock... has things my father left behind."
Lin Man looked at his son suddenly: "What is it?"
Zhou Ziqian didn't answer, but just struggled to take out a key from his pocket - exactly the same as the "key to cabinet No. 17" mentioned on the note Zhou Yuan found in the teddy bear.
Old K's expression changed: "Zhou Hui still has a backup plan?"
Zhou Ziqian nodded: "The only way to get it is to go to the old dock..."
In the distance, the footsteps of the pursuers approached again, mixed with the murmur of a walkie-talkie: "Team 3 reporting, blood has been found at the East Sector drain!"
There is no time to hesitate.
Old K cursed and pulled Zhou Ziqian up: "Lead the way!"
The left turn was more difficult than expected.
The pipes at the top had been in disrepair for years, and debris occasionally fell. Zhou Yuan had to bend over to move forward, the teddy bear stuffed in her backpack, the chip pressed against her back like a hot iron.
Suddenly, Zhou Ziqian's legs went weak and he fell into the sewage.
Lin Man hurriedly tried to pull him away, but he pushed her away: "Mom...you guys go first..."
"Shut up!" Lin Man's eyes were red as she dragged her son up. "Let's die together!"
Old K suddenly stopped and said, "There's a traffic jam ahead."
The flashlight shone forward - the passage was completely blocked by a large area of collapsed concrete, leaving only a narrow gap at the top, barely enough for one person to crawl through.
"I'll go in and explore the way first." Old K bit the dagger in his mouth and climbed up the protruding steel bars.
Zhou Yuan watched nervously as his figure disappeared into the gap. A few minutes later, a hemp rope hung down from the gap.
"Come up!" Old K's voice came from the other end, "It's safe here!"
Lin Man pushed Zhou Ziqian up first, and then Zhou Yuan.
When Zhou Yuan struggled to crawl through the gap, the sharp steel bar cut her palm, leaving a bloody wound, but she gritted her teeth and said nothing.
At the other end of the gap was a spacious basement filled with rusting oil drums and shipping containers.
In the corner, an old generator hummed, powering a few dim light bulbs.
"This is..." Zhou Yuan was stunned.
Old K whistled: "Zhou Hui's 'safe house'."
In the center of the basement stood a rusty metal cabinet numbered "17".
Zhou Ziqian used the key to open the cabinet door, and inside were neatly arranged US dollars, passports, and - a pair of car keys.
"The car is in the warehouse on the north side of the dock," Zhou Ziqian smiled weakly. "Fill up the gas and it's ready to go."
Lin Man picked up the passport with trembling hands and opened the first page - the photo was of her, but the name was "Li Wanting".
Zhou Yuan also got her own fake passport with her birthplace listed as "Vancouver, Canada."
Old K checked the pistol and ammunition, and suddenly frowned: "No."
"What's wrong?" Zhou Yuan asked.
Old K pointed to the bottom layer of the cabinet - there was a secret compartment there, which had been pried open and was empty.
"One thing is missing," Old K said grimly, "Zhou Hui's 'black account book'."
Zhou Ziqian looked up suddenly: "What black account book?"
"The ledger records all of the Shen family's underground transactions," Old K sneered. "Your father said before he died that it was the only evidence that could bring down the Shen family."
The basement door was suddenly kicked open!
"Don't move!" Five men in black rushed in with guns. "Put your hands up!"
Old K's reaction was astonishingly fast - he overturned the oil barrel and the bullet hit the metal barrel, sparks flying.
Zhou Yuan was thrown to the ground by Lin Man and heard Zhou Ziqian shouting in the chaos: "Run! Run out the back door!"
In the darkness, a hand grabbed Zhou Yuan's arm.
It’s Zhou Ziqian.
"Remember," he said, pressing the car keys into his sister's hand, his voice so soft it was barely audible, "go to Bangkok...find the Temple of the Emerald Buddha..."
Then he gave her a strong push and turned to rush towards the man in black.
"Zi Qian!!" Lin Man's scream was drowned out by the gunshot.
Old K dragged them towards the back door. Zhou Yuan looked back for the last time - Zhou Ziqian was standing next to the generator, holding something crackling in his hand.
——It’s a grenade.
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