"The more impulsive Chen Yanbai becomes, the more dangerous Chen Yanxiu will be." He downed the wine in his glass, a faint fishy aroma catching his tongue. "Tell Ye Xiao's men to activate the 'Turtle in the Jar' plan. Once the Shen brothers are inside the factory, we'll retrieve that damned account book... and their lives along with it."
A velvet box was locked in the desk drawer. When it was opened, a broken police badge was revealed. The back of the badge was engraved with "Li Zhengyang 7748"—the real number of Chen Yanxiu's online "Nightingale."
Chen Yanrong traced the worn marks with his fingertips, a sinister smile curling up at the corner of his mouth: "Li Zhengyang, Li Zhengyang, do you think you can get revenge by planting him in the Shen family? Unfortunately, his life will soon be in my hands."
The rusty iron gate of the Western Suburbs Chemical Plant was covered with vines. The dewdrops condensed on the leaves mixed with chemical waste, and when they dripped onto the back of Shen Yanbai's hand, they burned and left fine red spots.
Li Zhou and the members of Anhe were lurking beside the wastewater pool. The factory in the night vision goggles looked like a dormant giant beast. The abandoned reactor had a black hole in its mouth, and the pipes made a whimpering sound in the night wind.
"Acheng, what is the heat source distribution in the main factory?" Li Zhou lowered his voice, and the noise of electricity came from the tactical headset.
"Twelve high-heat sources, irregularly distributed." Ah Cheng's voice was hurried. "There is also a weak heat source in the basement. Vital signs are stable... Wait! Mr. Shen has broken away from the formation and is sneaking in through the east ventilation duct!"
Chen Yanbai lay in the ventilation duct, the dust making his throat itchy.
The rust on the pipe wall scratched the back of his hand, and blood dripped onto the iron sheet below, making a slight "tapping" sound.
He counted the turns in the pipe and felt a familiar cufflink at the third bend - a very thin arrow was engraved on the surface of the mother-of-pearl, pointing to the lower right.
The light in the basement was a pale mercury lamp, which made the shackles on Chen Yanxiu's wrists look like two silver snakes.
He was tied to a rusty steel frame, the collar of his hospital gown was wide open, revealing an old scar on his collarbone - that was left when he blocked the knife for Chen Yanbai three years ago.
Shen Yanrong stood in front of him, playing with a butterfly knife in his hand, the light reflected from the blade swaying in his face.
"Chen Yanxiu, stop pretending." The butterfly knife snapped shut. Chen Yanrong squatted down, cigar smoke blowing in his face. "From the day you sent Chen Yan to the police academy for nothing, I knew you were Nightingale's man. If you hadn't been able to help me transfer the black money, do you think you'd be alive today?"
Chen Yanxiu raised his head, his eyelashes casting spider-web-like shadows in the light. "Uncle San, do you still remember Nightingale? I've kept the cufflink you left behind at the scene of Li Zhengyang's car accident."
Chen Yanrong's face suddenly changed, and he raised his hand to slap.
At this moment, there was a loud "clang" sound from the ventilation duct, and Chen Yanbai jumped down from the duct, with the muzzle of the gun accurately pressed against his temple: "Let him go!"
"Brother!" Chen Yanbai shouted, his eyes sweeping across the marks on Chen Yanxiu's wrist, and his heart felt like it was stabbed by an ice spike.
When he landed, his knee hit the scrap metal and he groaned in pain, but he stared at the guns raised by the men in black.
"Chen Yanbai, you're just in time." Chen Yanrong suddenly laughed, and pressed the butterfly knife against Chen Yanxiu's carotid artery. "Hand over the black account book, and I'll leave you brothers with an intact body."
Chen Yanxiu suddenly coughed, blood foam oozing from the corner of his mouth. Chen Yanbai's pupils suddenly shrank, and he took half a step forward but was stopped by the black muzzle of the gun.
He saw his brother blink and his right eyelid twitch three times quickly - this was the code they used as children, meaning "look at the ceiling."
Several dark shadows suddenly descended from the ceiling vents, their flames weaving a web of light in the darkness. Li Zhou and the Dark River members burst through the roof, their bullets striking the metal sheets, sparks flying, and dust falling like snowflakes.
Chen Yanbai took the opportunity to roll over, grabbed Chen Yanxiu's hand and pulled him behind the steel frame. The broken chains of the shackles made a harsh sound as they dragged on the ground.
"Brother, how are you?" He tore open the tape that sealed Chen Yanxiu's wrist and saw deep blood marks there.
Shen Yanxiu shook his head and pulled out a waterproof capsule from his hospital gown. Inside was half a burnt page of an account book. "The real account book is... ahem... in the safe in Shen Yanrong's office."
The gunfire suddenly intensified, and Shen Yanrong took advantage of the chaos to crawl towards the side door of the basement. Shen Yanbai raised his gun and tried to chase him, but was stopped by Shen Yanxiu: "Don't go! There's a booby trap there!"
Before he could finish his words, there was a sudden loud noise from the side door, and the gust of air knocked the two men to the ground.
Amidst the thick smoke and dust, Chen Yanbai felt someone helping him up. Chen Yanxiu blocked him with his body, his back covered in dust, but he firmly protected the fragments of the account book in his hands.
When Li Zhou and his men rushed over, they saw Chen Yanbai wiping the blood off Chen Yanxiu's face, his movements clumsy but cautious.
"Has the person been caught?" Chen Yanxiu asked, his voice trembling due to blood loss.
Li Zhou pointed at Shen Yanrong who was pinned to the ground. He had been shot in the leg and was still cursing.
Ah Cheng ran over holding an evidence bag, which contained the original account book found in Shen Yanrong's office. The gold-plated words "Shen's" on the cover were already mottled.
Chen Yanbai helped Chen Yanxiu to his feet, the broken chain of the shackle still hanging on his wrist. The night wind poured in through the hole in the roof, making Chen Yanxiu's hospital gown rustle.
He suddenly remembered that many years ago, on a night like this, he hid behind Shen Yanxiu and watched him fend off all the vicious dogs that pounced on him.
"Brother," he whispered, his Adam's apple rolling, "don't play tricks like this again."
Chen Yanxiu said nothing, simply raised his hand and patted him on the back. The gesture was gentle, yet it carried a tremendous weight. The sound of sirens drifted in from the distance, drawing nearer, like the first clap of thunder after a long, rainy night.
Li Zhou looked at the brothers and suddenly felt that the smell of blood in the basement seemed to have faded a little, replaced by a warmth that came from surviving a disaster and had a smell of rust.
As Chen Yanrong was being taken away, he was still screaming, saying he would expose Chen Yanxiu's "undercover identity." Chen Yanbai sneered and watched Li Zhou lock the original account book into an explosion-proof box.
He knew that the real settlement had just begun. The shadow of the Night Owl still loomed over Jiangcheng, and the cancer hidden in the roots of the Shen family needed to be eradicated bit by bit.
"Let's go," Chen Yanxiu gently pushed him, "It's time to go home."
Chen Yanbai hummed, supporting his brother as they walked towards the basement exit. The iron roof of the abandoned factory rattled overhead, as if applauding this protracted standoff.
He looked down at the scar on Chen Yanxiu's wrist, and suddenly remembered that many years ago, in the snow at the Shen family's old house, Chen Yanxiu also held his hand like this, and walked out step by step from the snowstorm that almost buried him.
This time, it was his turn to hold his brother's hand, walk out of the ruins, towards the truth that had yet to be revealed, towards the deepest darkness before dawn.
Because he knew that as long as they were united as brothers, there would be no night they could not escape.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
