Block 0009: The District of Chaos

"Lux, is there something wrong?" Hou Rui asked suspiciously.

"I want to go with you," Lux replied firmly, her doll-like face framed by fiery red hair.

"Why? Splitting up would be better for the mission," Hou Rui said as he stood up, already planning to choose a quiet route with few people to enter the residential district ahead.

"I have retinitis pigmentosa. My vision gets very poor at night; I can't act alone," Lux explained, immediately rising to follow Hou Rui, looking for all the world like a lost fawn.

"All right, let's go," Hou Rui conceded, not having time to argue further. He rolled his eyes helplessly and turned around, only to spot a gleaming set of white teeth in the darkness—Jelly was waiting for him too.

Without the energy to complain, Hou Rui waved his hand to signal Jelly to follow, then quickly headed toward the residential area.

Low, chaotic dwellings, puddles of dirty water and litter everywhere, crowds of people with numb expressions—a quick glance told Hou Rui this was definitely a slum, the sort of place tourist guides and officials would never recommend. But right now, it was precisely the best choice. The three of them passed through several rows of houses and finally stopped in the shadow of a corner that barely counted as part of the commercial street.

"Hou, how do you plan to get money?" Jelly, whose skin was a natural camouflage, disappeared into the shadows with ease. If he stayed silent, nobody would ever find him.

"Quiet. Let's observe first," Hou Rui snapped, his eyes sweeping over the sparsely populated street.

Soon it was deep into the night. Some Vietnamese residents who had been sitting outside their doorways for the cool air started heading inside to sleep. The shops along the street began to close.

Suddenly, the peaceful night was shattered by the screech of tires against asphalt. A jeep with high beams and forty-five motorcycles careened down the street, their riders shouting and hurling beer cans at pedestrians. In no time, the remaining residents were chased indoors.

Once the gang parked, they split into small groups to enter the shops. Not far from Hou Rui, two of them went into a fruit store. Hou Rui watched as a shirtless blond repeatedly shoved the elderly shopkeeper until the old man reluctantly handed over some bills. Still unsatisfied, the blond smacked the man’s hand away and grabbed the cash box himself, then left the store laughing loudly.

Standing under the fruit store’s sign, the arrogant blond was the perfect target for Hou Rui’s plan to get money. He looked at Jelly and Lux, then pointed at the gang. Both immediately nodded their understanding.

After the gang finished looting the street and noisily departed, Hou Rui and his companions followed, tracking their raucous voices through three streets until they reached a bar glowing with neon signs. Once the entire gang entered the bar, Hou Rui led his two tagalongs to the back door.

In a narrow alley, Hou Rui found a small door hidden in the darkness. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then pressed his ear to the door to listen. Convinced by the muffled music inside, he tried the handle.

Unfortunately, the handle wouldn’t budge. As Hou Rui prepared to try again, Jelly stepped in. Pulling Hou Rui aside, the burly man gripped the handle and yanked hard. The handle still didn’t move—but the entire door came off the frame.

Ignoring Jelly’s disdainful look, Hou Rui entered the bar first. As Lux passed Jelly, she glanced at his powerful arms, then at her own slender thighs, said nothing, and slipped inside.

Just as Hou Rui had expected, the back entrance led to the restroom, then a short corridor to the bar counter, and another to the office. Hou Rui signaled Lux to check out the bar area while he and Jelly stood guard at the office door, wary of anyone suddenly appearing.

Soon, Lux returned quietly. "Most of that group is at the bar, drinking and chatting with girls."

"I’d guess there aren’t many people in the office. Let’s move quickly," Hou Rui said as Jelly pushed open the door, already inside. "Where’s the restroom? Do you know?"

Hou Rui quickly pulled Lux inside as well. The office was small, with only four people: the blond thug from the street, a tall, thin man in a black T-shirt, and two young women bundling cash. All were stunned when they saw Jelly, who looked like a black iron tower. When they noticed Hou Rui and Lux, they finally reacted, shouting a stream of Vietnamese.

"Hey! Hello, I’m a tourist, American. Oh! So much money," Jelly joked as he walked forward. Sensing something was wrong, the blond stepped up, but before he could act, Jelly landed a punch that sent him to sleep.

The tall man rushed to the desk drawer, likely reaching for something, but Lux, who had been silent since entering, sprang at him like a leopard. She kicked off a chair, leaping through the air to deliver a flying kick to the tall man's back, smashing him against the wall.

Not finished, Lux landed on the desk, grabbed a letter opener, and with a deft arc, drove it into the tall man’s temple.

As the fight broke out, the two young women counting money instinctively prepared to scream, but Hou Rui quickly lunged forward, clamping their necks in his hands and repeating in English, "Don’t struggle. Keep quiet and I won’t hurt you."

The woman on the right was clever, guessing Hou Rui’s meaning and immediately ceasing to resist, signaling her companion to do the same. But not everyone can remain calm in danger: the woman on the left, gripped by Hou Rui, ignored her companion’s signals and struggled harder, leaving scratches on Hou Rui’s arm with her sharp nails.

As Hou Rui was getting flustered, Jelly came over. Practicing his trademark simple-and-direct methods, he gently bumped the two women’s heads together, and the office fell silent.

"Two minutes. Take everything useful," Hou Rui ordered quickly, grabbing a tote bag and stuffing the bills inside, while Jelly and Lux moved efficiently as well. Before long, the three slipped out of the bar, laden with loot.

With money, everything changed. They ran several blocks to a still-open shop, where they stocked up on clothes and supplies. When they emerged, they looked just like tourists, each carrying a big backpack.

"Hou, what’s our next move?" Jelly, now in a floral shirt and shorts, with a huge canvas bag and oversized sunglasses, asked.

Hou Rui looked at the sky. After all this, dawn was not far off. "Let’s head to the rendezvous point, find a place to stay, then focus on weapons and intel."

"Whatever you say," Jelly agreed. Lux went further, linking her arm with Hou Rui’s. To any outsider, they looked like a couple on vacation.

With new clothes, the three could finally stroll openly through the streets. Though dawn had not fully broken, early risers dotted the Vietnamese streets, and the growing tide of motorcycles was truly a spectacle. This time, they finally encountered uniformed Vietnamese military police. But contrary to expectations, in the city center, they carried no firearms—just simple batons.

"Hello! Hi!" Jelly called out to two Vietnamese girls on a passing motorcycle, then turned to Hou Rui and whispered, "Getting weapons from the military police is impossible. We’ll have to find another way."

"What about the black market?" Hou Rui suggested.

"We’d need a reliable intermediary, and we’re short on time," Lux said, her head resting on Hou Rui’s shoulder.

"Let’s regroup first, then figure it out," Hou Rui replied, flagging down a passing tourist tricycle.

When Hou Rui and his companions arrived at the signal tower rendezvous point, the others had also transformed, all looking like tourists with packs of various sizes.

Hou Rui then led everyone to a nearby tourist hotel, managed to get two adjoining suites, and once they had settled inside and sat in a circle, he emptied the cash from his bag: "Twenty-nine million four hundred thousand dong, over a hundred dollars, twenty-seven euros. That’s all we’ve got. What about you?"

The other trainees were dumbfounded as Hou Rui pulled out wads of cash. They had spent all night just scraping together enough clothes, while Hou Rui’s group looked like millionaires.

"One million two hundred thousand dong," the bald man finally produced a small, pitiful stack.

"Four hundred twenty thousand dong," the muscular man had only a few bills.

"Nothing," the bespectacled man could only blink helplessly.

Clearly, the others’ gains were negligible.

Hou Rui stuffed the money back in the bag and tossed it to Lux. "With prices here, thirty million won’t last us more than a few days—let alone buying gear. Any ideas?"

"Either keep hustling for money, or find free weapons," the muscular man suggested.

"Don’t forget we need to gather intelligence, or our mission is doomed," the bald man added.

"We need to be able to defend ourselves first," the bespectacled man insisted.

"Before we’re exposed, weapons aren’t the main problem. The real question is whether we should contact Ding’s team and join forces."

"No, we’re competitors."

"Why not? This isn’t just a team competition anymore."

"Idiot, we’re without identities. The more people, the greater the risk."

"You’re the idiot!"

As tempers flared and no one was willing to back down, Hou Rui didn’t bother to mediate—he couldn’t, anyway. "When I checked in, I told the hotel we’re tourists, but our passports were taken by the guide as soon as we got off the plane. We’re about to ask the US embassy for help, so they let us stay temporarily. I bet the police are on their way. Who’ll deal with them?"

The room instantly fell silent. After a moment, Jelly pursed his lips. "I’ll do it, but it won’t hold them off for long."

"Lux, you should go too. More women is better," the bald man suggested.

Lux nodded quietly. Hou Rui thought for a moment, then pulled a .38 revolver from his bag and handed it to Lux. Just then, there was a knock at the door...