The bustling breakfast diner, Su Xiao was chewing on half a fried dough stick, opposite him sat Ma Fatty and a skinny, dark-skinned man.
The man seed like he just escaped from Africa, hastily chewing his food before swallowing with a gulp, nearly choking as his eyes rolled back.
This was Ma Fatty’s brother, nicknad Black Skin; his real na was never disclosed, only Ma Fatty knew it.
Black Skin was the owner of the shop next to the Flower, Bird, Fish and Worm Shop. Apart from firearms and other hot weapons, he could get any other weapons, like crossbows, controlled knives, electric sticks, etc. As he would say, how do you make money without breaking the law?
Black Skin was a smart man, though he dealt in illegal trade, he wouldn’t engage in business that would cost his head.
"Su Xiao, you’re back and didn’t even let know."
Although Black Skin was thin and small, he spoke with a robust voice.
"I haven’t been back for long."
Su Xiao called over a server to pay the bill. The three didn’t leave imdiately but each lit a cigarette for so idle chat.
"So tell , what’s so urgent that you needed here?"
Black Skin took an ashtray from the next table, where a young couple sat.
"About that murder case in the city, how much do you know?"
"Not much. Just know five people died, including so big shot. And the perpetrator was a professional killer. Just so happens my brother perford a ritual for the victim’s family. The wounds on the victims were strange, like... how to put it."
Black Skin nudged Ma Fatty beside him. Although Ma Fatty was Black Skin’s older brother, Black Skin was the linchpin for the two brothers.
"Uh..." Ma Fatty thought for a mont, "The wounds on those dead are all round, the size of a fist, like a chunk of flesh was gouged out alive. Oh my, it’s disgusting."
Ma Fatty shook his head, feeling a bit nauseous at the thought of those wounds.
"Round? Like a chunk of flesh was gouged out..."
Su Xiao took out his phone, searched for so photos, and held the phone in front of Ma Fatty.
"Holy shit!"
Ma Fatty recoiled instinctively upon seeing the picture on the phone, his stomach churning.
"Like this?"
"More or less, just take it away, it’s disgusting as hell. I just finished breakfast and you’re showing this."
Unlike the trembling mass of flesh that was Ma Fatty, Black Skin was noticeably more composed, although his stomach was also uncomfortable.
"I say, you don’t have so peculiar fetish, do you? How do you have such photos on your phone?"
Black Skin took a heavy drag on his cigarette to suppress the discomfort in his stomach.
"It was required for a job I used to do, you know, ’part-ti job’."
Su Xiao stirred the half bowl of porridge with his chopsticks, seemingly deep in thought.
"Heizi, Fatty, you two head back first. I have so things to take care of."
Of course, Su Xiao wouldn’t involve Ma Fatty and Black Skin in this; they were his friends.
"If you need any handy tools, give a call. I can get so firepower. I know so Russians; they exclusively sell firepower."
Black Skin referred to firearms when he said ’firepower’.
"Yeah, I might be leaving for a couple of days, so please watch over the Dog Star People at the shop. No need to prepare als for it; it’ll order takeout itself."
"No problem."
Black Skin agreed readily, though he couldn’t fathom how a Dog Star Person could place an order.
Su Xiao left Bubu Wang at the jewelry store because carrying a ’Siberian Husky’ was too conspicuous.
"Do you need... any help?"
Ma Fatty was a little reluctant to leave, but Black Skin gave him a swift kick on his plump behind.
"Hurry up and go, don’t be a burden to Su Xiao."
"Hey, I was just..."
Black Skin pulled Ma Fatty out of the diner. Despite Ma Fatty’s good intentions, Black Skin saw it as adding chaos. Black Skin understood the ways of assassins; they led a world of bloodshed, where disputes were life and death, not sothing they could get involved with.
After the Ma brothers left, Su Xiao dialed a number, and hung up after a few seconds; the number was already disconnected.
"The wound made by ’Scorpion Mouth’? Seems like it’s you, Hai Dong."
Su Xiao’s mind conjured up an image of a smiling face, wearing canvas gloves, a welder’s hat, often saying: ’Su Xiao, see how sensible your son is? You should be his godfather.’
"Hai Dong, with your skills, how could you have done sothing this sloppy? Or could it be soone else trying to sar you?"
Su Xiao leaned back in his chair, pondered for a mont, and then got up to leave. The young couple at the table next gave him an odd look, as if they were witnessing an overaged youth caught in his middle school syndro. However, they were unaware that so things were far removed from their world, to a point they wouldn’t easily believe in.
Walking down the bustling streets, Su Xiao found himself feeling a bit lost. He hadn’t engaged with that "gray world" belonging to assassins or outlaws for so ti, and his previous information channels had nearly vanished.
As for contacting other killers, aside from his relationship with Hai Dong, other assassins would maintain self-preservation, unwilling to divulge even basic information. As the saying goes, it’s better to avoid trouble; people in the gray world walk a tightrope, so they are even more cautious.
After hesitating for a long ti, Su Xiao dialed a number.
"Hello."
A female voice ca through the phone.
"This is Su Xiao."
After a few seconds of silence on the phone, a storm of curses followed.
"Bastard, animal, scum, get lost!!!"
The phone call was cut off, and Su Xiao laughed a bit. This woman’s forr boyfriend died at his hands, so her reaction wasn’t surprising.
Even so, Su Xiao believed that this woman wouldn’t mind such things, as her nature was fickle. Who knows how many boyfriends she had? As for her background, she was known as Maggie Calamy, fluent in twelve languages, an informant with three hobbies: n, money, and collecting intel.
A few minutes later, the phone rang with no number displayed.
"Go ahead, what... do you want?"
Maggie Calamy’s voice was a bit.
"To kill you."
Su Xiao’s tone turned unfriendly.
"Got it, you always have issues."
In a mansion of so country, Maggie Calamy got up from the bed.
"Are you kidding ?"
"Get out."
"What?"
"Get out!"
Maggie Calamy took a lady’s handgun from under the pillow and pointed it at the head of a handso blonde-haired, blue-eyed man.
"Okay, okay."
The handso man raised his hands, and after Maggie Calamy moved the gun away, he hurried to get dressed.
"Bullshit."
The handso man muttered with a face full of discontent as he walked towards the door.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. The handso man’s body shuddered and stumbled forward a few steps.
Bang, bang, bang...
A few more shots, and the handso man fell into a pool of blood, his body twitching sporadically.
"Help..."
Bang.
A headshot left the handso man lifeless. As Su Xiao would put it, Maggie Calamy was like a poisonous spider.
"Where were we?"
Maggie Calamy tossed the gun aside, as if nothing had happened.
"Buying a piece of information."
"Looks like business has co. Go ahead."
Maggie Calamy’s Chinese was not only fluent but also smooth and natural.
"About Sea Scorpion recently."
"Sea Scorpion... that psycho who likes to stab people with weird weapons?"
"That’s my friend. Dare say that again and I’ll chop you up and feed you to the fish."
On the other end, Su Xiao’s lips curled up.
Maggie Calamy’s smile faded away.
"Sorry, as for Sea Scorpion’s intel... two million US dollars."
"Ar you kidding ?"
Su Xiao spat out accented English, making Maggie Calamy laugh.
"Not joking around, he’s got himself into big trouble."
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