Turning Point

This was definitely a clue left behind for him by Wood Demon!

Should he go inside or not?

Should he just walk right in, or sneak around the perimeter?

Should he open fire the moment he saw Wood Demon, or listen to what he had to say first?

Was this Wood Demon a man or a woman?

With a head full of questions, Hou Rui pressed himself quietly against the main gate of the Amphibian Pavilion. First, he peered through the gap in the doors at a distant light, but the pavilion covered such a vast area that nothing could be distinguished from the entrance. Emboldened, he reached out and gave the door a push.

"Screeech." The heavy iron gate immediately emitted a teeth-setting groan as its rusted hinges turned. The sudden noise startled Hou Rui, causing him to instantly raise his Type 92 pistol, aiming frantically at the surrounding darkness and the distant light.

More than ten seconds passed. Seeing no movement whatsoever within the pavilion, Hou Rui pressed himself as flat as a sheet of paper against the massive iron door and cautiously stepped inside.

With insufficient lighting and most areas plunged into darkness, the Amphibian Pavilion featured transparent exhibition zones lining the walls on both sides from the entrance. Originally, these enclosures housed a wide variety of amphibians, ranging from venomous snakes to frogs. However, since the zoo had relocated, these glass display cases had been completely emptied, leaving only decorative rocks and withered logs casting massive, deep shadows.

Step by step, Hou Rui advanced, carefully scrutinizing every exhibition area he passed. He feared Wood Demon might be lurking in these spots to spy on him, yet at the same time, he secretly hoped Wood Demon was hiding right here so he could resolve the issue once and for all.

"Mr. Mad Dog, do not be afraid. I am not going to hurt you—for now."

The voice of a man suddenly broke the dead silence of the Amphibian Pavilion. The sound was transmitted through the speakers on the ceiling, making it impossible for Hou Rui to pinpoint the speaker's exact location.

Startled by the abrupt voice, Hou Rui instantly dived behind a metal trash can near the wall. Though he gripped his Type 92 tightly, regrettably, the handgun failed to provide him with any sense of security!

"Mr. Mad Dog, please continue forward! I am waiting for you in the tortoise zone. I have even prepared a commemorative gift for our first meeting. Hahaha, I hope you like it."

Another message from the man drifted out of the ceiling speakers.

Could this fellow speaking actually be Wood Demon?

Listening closely to the man's accent, Hou Rui quickly noticed something. Although the guy spoke fairly standard Mandarin, he could not completely conceal his native phonetic habits when pronouncing certain words; his tongue was stiffer than average, making it difficult for him to pronounce retroflex sounds properly. Hou Rui boldly deduced that this fellow was likely a foreigner, very possibly someone from Southeast Asia.

Although the adversary had now indicated the path, Hou Rui did not dare trust him blindly. Instead of moving immediately, he remained hidden in place for another half minute. Then, choosing a more cautious route, he first retreated and slowly circled around toward the so-called tortoise zone. But the moment Hou Rui stepped into the tortoise zone, several high-wattage floodlights installed overhead suddenly flashed on all at once, illuminating the spacious hall before him in glaring clarity.

In the dazzling glare, Hou Rui instantly saw two rectangular, coffin-like glass boxes standing upright on the ground, roughly 178 meters away from him. Suspended by ropes directly above each glass box was a person.

After a brief scan of the faces of the two suspended individuals, Hou Rui's expression froze, and his heart slowly sank. He recognized both of them hanging high in the air: one was Xia Xiaoru, whom he had not seen in a long time, and the other was Ma Siyuan, with whom Hou Rui had attended classes just that afternoon.

"Mr. Mad Dog, surely you recognize this lady and gentleman, don't you?"

The voice echoed from the ceiling speakers once again. This time, Hou Rui could no longer hide. With a dark expression, he slowly straightened up, holding his Type 92 pistol as he stood at the entrance of the tortoise zone, staring fiercely around and scanning the surroundings inch by inch. Still, he could find no trace of the speaker.

"Wood Demon?" Hou Rui suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Hahaha, it is me! Mr. Mad Dog, this is our first time meeting face-to-face, isn't it?"

"Stop acting like a ghost. Have the guts to step out and talk!" Hou Rui said, casting his peripheral vision toward the two people suspended in mid-air. Xia Xiaoru and Ma Siyuan reacted completely differently upon seeing Hou Rui clearly. Having witnessed Hou Rui's prowess before, Xia Xiaoru's face lit up with overwhelming excitement; seeing him was as if she had found her savior.

On the other side, Ma Siyuan wore a dazed expression as he looked at Hou Rui. He still seemed unable to comprehend the situation—why he had been captured and strung up, let alone why Hou Rui had appeared here.

"Mr. Mad Dog, whether I act like a ghost or not is of no importance. But your next answer will directly affect your life and death—and of course, the fate of everyone around you!"

The voice floating down from mid-air felt ethereal, yet the content of his words sent a chill down Hou Rui's spine.

"What do you want to ask? The target for your mission in South Korea was killed by me. I am willing to compensate you for your losses. Doesn't the organization allow me to use money as compensation? Name your price right now!"

Hou Rui tried his best to remain composed as he spoke to the two figures hanging in the air, whose mouths were sealed with duct tape and who could only writhe their bodies back and forth.

After not seeing her for some time, Xia Xiaoru—who used to wear athletic wear as the vice-captain of the school track team—had completely changed. Now she wore a royal blue pantsuit, looking entirely like a white-collar office worker. Just as Hou Rui had once predicted, she had left the past behind and started an entirely new life.

Yet at this moment, suspended high in the air, Xia Xiaoru still appeared just as helpless as she had when Hou Rui first rescued her.

"Mr. Mad Dog, it is wonderful that you are willing to make financial restitution! The mission in Seoul was valued at five million US dollars. Can you pay that right now?"

Five million? Five million US dollars?!

Hou Rui was stunned dumb. He had thought the two million dollar commission he had just acquired was an astronomical figure, but Wood Demon had casually demanded five million right out of the gate. This sum far exceeded all the assets in Hou Rui's Swiss bank account, falling short by a factor of two.

"I... I don't have that much money right now!" With no other choice, Hou Rui had to speak the truth.

"It doesn't matter. We can discuss this matter a bit later. For now, let us talk about the task the organization has entrusted to me!"

"The organization? The organization wants to find me? Why didn't I receive any notice?"

Hou Rui was completely baffled. He had not expected that Wood Demon's appearance this time would also carry orders from the organization.

"Mr. Mad Dog, how long have you been a member of the organization?"

"Less than three years."

"Then do you know how many times you have violated the organization's taboos? Recklessly exposing your marksmanship, hesitating when facing mission targets and interference, arbitrarily coming into conflict with the child of a high-ranking official with real power, piloting an aircraft in front of hundreds of people... And of course, the most serious infraction of all: you have now entered the State Security Bureau's surveillance and inquiry list. Do you really think you can continue living as willfully as this? Would the organization ever allow such a high-risk element to survive?"

Wood Demon's words fell like a thousand-pound hammer, shattering every shred of hope Hou Rui had left! If the organization had truly resolved to eliminate him this time, he was certainly doomed. Even if he managed to miraculously kill Wood Demon today, more formidable and merciless pursuers would inevitably come looking for him next! Having seen the organization's submarines, its safehouses scattered across cities in various countries, and above all, the countless diverse assassins under its command, Hou Rui had zero confidence in his ability to survive.

Within mere seconds, the crushing pressure caused sweat to drench Hou Rui's forehead. He even began to feel short of breath. Yet all of this was merely the psychological strain playing tricks on him; Wood Demon had managed to nearly crush Hou Rui's spirit with just a few simple sentences upon his entrance.

"Is the organization ordering you to come kill me?" asked a desperate Hou Rui, whose fierce, unyielding nature surged back to the surface. He glared fiercely into the surrounding darkness. If Wood Demon answered yes, he was prepared to fight his way out by any means necessary, perhaps fleeing to the ends of the earth with Jin Shanshan and living one day at a time—waiting passively for death was certainly not Hou Rui's style.

"Perhaps!" But Wood Demon's ambiguous reply left Hou Rui unable to gauge the situation.

"Mr. Mad Dog, after a brief observation of mine—and confirmation from several organization members who have executed missions alongside you—you still possess a certain degree of value. Perhaps I should let you off the hook?"

The Wood Demon in the speaker sounded as though he were seriously pondering this possibility. At the same time, however, this served as an even deeper form of torture for Hou Rui. Under such intense pressure, the sheer uncertainty of death alone was enough to cause a cowardly man to collapse.

Yet Hou Rui held firm. Having already prepared himself for a desperate struggle to the bitter end, he simply stood there, staring up at Xia Xiaoru and Ma Siyuan hanging in mid-air, silently waiting for Wood Demon to render his final verdict.

After a few minutes of waiting, Wood Demon finally seemed to have had his fun. He addressed Hou Rui through the loudspeaker: "Very well! I have decided: if Mr. Mad Dog can withstand the test that follows, I will give you another chance to continue serving the organization."

"Spit it out! What do you need me to do?" Hou Rui asked hastily, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. Although he guessed Wood Demon was hardly about to assign him anything pleasant, whatever it was, it beat dropping dead on the spot.