Rebirth: General, Don't Mess Around!

From the discovery of the situation to the fall of Abei, the whole process took no more than five seconds. Xia Jinyuan, Ye Jian, and White Crane, no matter how fast they reacted, were ultimately separated by a busy street full of pedestrians, making it impossible to draw their pistols in time to stop the shooting by the young boy.

Abei, hit by two bullets, fell to the ground and lay twitching in a pool of blood, blood gushing from his mouth as he apologized to the screaming Mr. Will until, with tears in his eyes, Mr. Will forgave him.

Abei smiled with blood continuously spilling from the corner of his mouth; his lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but his voice was so weak that even Mr. Will, leaning in close, could not make out what he was saying.

Maybe he wanted to share some important intelligence, or perhaps express his weariness of life; but it seemed irretrievable, and in less than a minute, Abei ceased to move.

”Abei! Abei!” Mr. Will cried out heartrendingly, clutching the profusely bleeding Abei. White Crane, who had rushed in, caught the boy who had fired the shots and escaped slick as an eel, chopping the boy’s neck from behind. The boy, his legs kicking in the air trying to struggle free, suddenly felt a severe pain and collapsed limp in White Crane’s hands.

He directly twisted the boy’s collar, holding him up like an eagle clutching a chick and brought him in front of Xia Jinyuan.

Xia Jinyuan looked at the boy, no more than eight or nine, whose actions in shooting were disturbingly expert. His eyes darkened with a thick chill, ”Watch him.”

”Yes,” White Crane nodded and twisted the boy aside.

Ye Jian took responsibility for guarding the surroundings to prevent further surprise shots.

Squatting down, Xia Jinyuan closed Abei’s eyes, which still held too much attachment to the world, ”Mr. Will, we need to move to another location to talk.”

The recent shooting hadn’t caused much of a stir; passersby didn’t even realize they had just witnessed a shooting and that a young life had permanently departed from this world with lingering attachment.

Mr. Will did not leave immediately; he held the still-warm body of Abei, his hands stained with blood, the sticky blood dripping between his fingers as he gazed at Xia Jinyuan, saying, ”Q, let us collaborate.”

His eyes were icy cold, even despairing.

Xia Jinyuan looked back at him and did not immediately choose to trust him because of his words. He coldly observed Mr. Will, who had proposed collaboration, and after a while, his lips twitched coldly into an emotionless smile, ”I’ve always thought we were collaborating, but now, it seems, Mr. Will, that you do not think so.”

”No, you are not wrong; we have been collaborating all along.” Mr. Will lifted Abei, visibly struggling, yet he did not ask Xia Jinyuan for help, only asked him to place Abei’s arm over his shoulder.

Xia Jinyuan helped him, earning a sincere apology from Mr. Will, ”Thank you, Q. I need to take this child home now. If you have time, please accompany me in taking him home.”

”From now on, your wages will be settled daily; I know you charge high rates, but rest assured, I have ample ability to pay.”

Xia Jinyuan’s gaze steadied and he did not follow Mr. Will’s steps; instead, he asked calmly from behind, ”Alice Cheng, she is with Noah now, right?”

This time, Mr. Will did not hide and answered Xia Jinyuan, ”Yes, she’s with Noah. She knows him but pleaded with me to rescue her and her child, who are both in Noah’s hands.”