Xia Lei walked into the lobby of the military hospital to find Long Bing waiting for him.

“I see you’re driving a new car. Just bought it?” asked Long Bing casually.

“It’s inconvenient to be without a car in Jingdu so I bought one,” said Xia Lei, “You can also see that the new car has no license plate. It’s difficult to get one in Jingdu - please help me.”

The corner of Long Bing’s mouth turned up in a small smile. “You sure know how to find things for me to do. Sure, I’ll help you settle this on account of you teaching me Wing Chun.”

Xia Lei laughed. “Thanks. Where’s Danny?”

“Follow me,” said Long Bing.

Xia Lei followed Long Bing to a special ward on the top floor of the hospital. The corridors were guarded by Long Bing’s men and even the hospital’s doctors and nurses needed permission before they could touch Danny.

“Doctors have removed one of Danny’s kidneys. The shot you fired at his thigh blasted away his leg muscles so he can only walk with one leg in the future,” said Long Bing to Xia Lei in the ward doorway.

He did not feel cruel at that time but Xia Lei felt himself cruel now when he heard Long Bing’s words. A top killer had lost a kidney and a leg - he did survive but these disabilities were worse than death to someone like Danny. And this was all because of Xia Lei.

However, he thought of Lu Sheng, who was still lying in a hospital bed, and Xia Xue, who had almost been kidnapped by Danny, and the uneasiness in his heart disappeared.

Some people in this world were not worth having sympathy for and Danny was this type of person. Gu Ding-Shan and his children were these sort of people too.

Long Bing seemed to have sensed Xia Lei’s thoughts and she patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t think too much about it. I didn’t feel good either when I first shot someone to death. You’ll get used to it gradually.”

Xia Lei smiled wryly. “It’s your job. I’m different from you.”

“There’s nothing different. You are also a consultant for Bureau 101. You know what Boss Shi said about you?”

“What did he say?” Xia Lei was curious.

“He said you are a natural-born killer. People like you should become lead snipers for Bureau 101,” said Long Bing, “He also told me to ask you if you had any interest…”

Xia Lei quickly cut her short. “Let’s go in and see Danny.”

He had agreed to be a consultant for Bureau 101 because he needed a safety net. He was now a billionaire but he had not got himself a wife nor continued the Xia family line yet, so what did he have to be a lead sniper for?

The doors to the ward opened and Danny watched woodenly as Xia Lei and Long Bing walked in. His body was covered in bandages and several lines of tubes ran from his body. The much-diminished man had nothing of a killer’s air any longer - he looked like an unfortunate soul who’d met with a car accident.

Hate flashed in Danny’s eyes at the sight of Xia Lei and he made to lift his hand. However, his hands were chained to the metal rails on the sides of the bed and he could not lift them.

Xia Lei put on a friendly act and went to his bedside. “Feeling better, Danny?”

“Get out.” A sound gurgled from Danny’s throat. His hate and dislike for Xia Lei had reached the absolute maximum.

Long Bing reached out to knock on Danny’s injured leg. “Think before you speak or you’ll suffer!” she said coldly.

“You can try.” Danny was not the least bit afraid; he was tough.

Long Bing raised her hand again but Xia Lei grabbed her hand. “Let me talk to him.”

Long Bing snorted and put her hand down.

“Let’s talk, Danny.” Xia Lei sat on a chair next to the bed and looked straight at Danny.

Danny was dismissive. “Don’t waste time and saliva. I’ll tell you nothing. You can let the court sentence me to death. You can just kill me directly. I don’t care.”

Xia Lei laughed. “I know you’re an orphan and that Gu Ding-Shan adopted you, then had you trained to be a cold-blooded killer. I believe Gu Ding-Shan has more than one adopted child like you. He’s using all of you as attack-dogs. He’s never treated you as his son. Why are you still so loyal?”

Danny closed his eyes. He could not stop Xia Lei from talking to him but he could choose not to see Xia Lei’s hate-inducing face.

Xia Lei continued, “Danny, does Gu Ding-Shan know of your loyalty?”

“I don’t know any Gu Ding-Shan.” Danny did not even bother opening his eyes.

“Haha, I’m not a judge. There won’t be any consequences if you admit to being related to Gu Ding-Shan. What I want to tell you is if Gu Ding-Shan knows you’re alive and in our hands, what do you think he’ll do?”

Danny kept his mouth shut.

“He will kill you,” said Xia Lei. “Cooperate with us. Be our witness.”

“Haha…” Danny opened his eyes but they were full of ridicule. “You think you can persuade me? I said don’t waste your time and saliva. Get out!”

Xia Lei was not angry at all. “Looks like you’re a very dedicated and loyal man. I am impressed by your loyalty to Gu Ding-Shan. However, I’ve used your name to provide the media with several bits of information on Gu Ding-Shan’s illegal activities. These bits of information will be published tomorrow in print and online. I wonder what Gu Ding-Shan will think when he reads it?”

Rattle! Danny moved his hands violently but the cuffs held him back. Xia Lei’s words had fanned the flames of his anger.

“I know Gu Ding-Shan must have instilled certain things into you and I can’t convince you but it’s all right. We actually came today to record your voice,” said Xia Lei with a smile.

Long Bing took out a recording device from her trouser pocket and said softly. “We will splice and synthesise your voice to make an audio file of your confession. Gu Ding-Shan will receive this audio file. I wonder what he will think when he hears it?”

“Bastards!” screamed Danny angrily, but the rolling pain which followed made him soften again.

“Think long and hard. I know you think your life can be thrown away and you don’t care if you live or die, but I think you must have something or someone you cherish in your life. Are you married? Do you have children?”

Danny’s expression changed but he said nothing.

This small change did not escape Xia Lei’s notice and his left eye twitched. He quickly saw that Danny’s heart rate had increased. Without batting an eyelid, Xia Lei said, “You should have a woman you love deeply, huh? Maybe you two have even have a cute little child?”

“No.” Danny looked firm.

Xia Lei laughed. “Okay, no. I’m just reminding you that Gu Ding-Shan knows you betrayed him. He’ll surely do something to make sure that you won’t wag your tongue. I know how Gu Ding-Shan’s mind works and I believe he will do so because he is unscrupulous. It’s good that you don’t have a woman or a child, or I’m afraid they’ll be in great danger. Okay, rest well. Think also about cooperating with us.”

Danny ignored Xia Lei.

Xia Lei gave Long Bing a look and they left the ward.

Xia Lei waited till they got to the end of the corridor before he said, “This guy must have a woman; maybe even a child.”

“How do you know?” asked Long Bing in surprise.

“When I was talking to him he seemed calm on the surface but he was actually very nervous. His eyes, lips and hands showed signs of nervousness. Didn’t you see it?” said Xia Lei.

He had not actually looked at Danny’s eyes or lips - he had looked at Danny’s heart. Expressions could be faked but the heart rate could not. A person’s heart rate would increase when he or she was nervous. Xia Lei just had to use his X-ray vision to look at a person’s heart if he wanted to know if the person was lying.

However, he could not tell Long Bing something like this.

Long Bing wrinkled her brows. “We have no files on him and he refuses to say anything. Even if there was, it is almost impossible for us to find it.”

“We can’t find it but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t find it. We just need the right people and we’ll find what we need. If we get our hands on the thing Danny is afraid of losing then he will become our witness.”

Long Bing realised what he meant. “You’re talking about the Gu clan?”

“Mm. The information will be published tomorrow. Gu Ding-Shan will definitely suspect that Danny betrayed him. Based on Gu Ding-Shan’s way of doing things, he will not let Danny live. There is no way he can kill Danny with him in our hands. He needs something of Danny’s if he wants him to stay in line,” said Xia Lei.

“That’s true. But what if Danny has no woman and no child?” said Long Bing, “I’ve made moves too big to hide. Boss Shi, or someone else will make trouble for me if I send people from the Bureau to keep watch on the Gu clan. You understand what I mean?”

Xia Lei knew that Long Bing was in an awkward position now. She had arrested Danny and used special connections to get the information on the Gu clan for him, all without Boss Shi’s prior approval. There was actually no plan or project to take down the powerful and corrupt Gu Ding-Shan at present. Would the people on the Gu clan’s side let Long Bing off easily if she sent men to watch the Gu clan?

Xia Lei thought for a bit. “I’ll do it myself.”

“Contact me immediately if something happens. Also remember to be quick. Gu Ding-Shan will act once the shameful things of the Gu clan get exposed tomorrow. I’m afraid that they will use their connections to move Danny to some other place. Our plan will not end well if we lose our control over Danny.”

“I’m going now. What other place does Gu Ding-Shan live in other than North Building?”

“He has many properties listed under his name; over ten in the city alone. He doesn’t like to live in the city though. He has a manor in the suburbs - Baisui Garden, Xiziling. You can find Bausui Garden when you get to Xiziling. It’s very big and famous in the area too,” said Long Bing.

“Got it. I’ll go now.” Xia Lei turned to leave.

Long Bing called him to a stop, “Remember not to do anything foolish.”

Xia Lei turned to look at her and he said with a laugh, “Not worried that I’ll have an accident or something?”

Long Bing spoke disinterestedly, “Three elite killers crumbled in your hands - do I still need to worry about you?”

Xia Lei smiled wryly and went off.

Long Bing watched Xia Lei till he disappeared from her sight. “I have to have a good chat with him once this matter is done. How can it be normal for a punk who walked out of construction sites to easily finish off three elite killers?” she muttered to herself.