Chapter 94 – Reunion…

Tap, tap, tap…

Only a few extremely brief bursts of gunfire rang out. Before the overwhelming mass of Black Thread, the team members did not even manage to see which direction the Black Thread attacking them had come from before they were swallowed by that great cloud of Black Mist.

There were no screams. No wails. By the time the Black Mist dispersed, aside from a few shriveled corpses, including one man who had turned his gun on himself and collapsed to the ground, the rest of the team members had all turned around and surrounded Deputy Director Wang and the assistant beside him.

Throughout the entire process, Deputy Director Wang had been staring at Wang Zhao with an unbearably complicated look of disbelief. Every time a sound came from behind him, his whole body trembled.

When everything fell silent again, he felt as though all the strength had been drained from his body.

“You seem very defeated. Is it because you’ve discovered your son is already dead? Or because of the team members behind you? Or are you regretting it? If you’d been a little calmer and made a few more preparations, perhaps today would have been your day to reap a great harvest,” Wang Zhao said.

Deputy Director Wang’s lips trembled. Before he could speak, the assistant beside him suddenly raised his gun.

Pfft!

A stream of Black Thread drilled straight into the muzzle, then split off a strand that wrapped around the assistant’s wrist before he could pull the trigger.

“No…” Deputy Director Wang tried to reach out and grab him, but he could only watch as the assistant was dragged in front of Wang Zhao in an instant.

Wang Zhao threw the assistant to the ground. With just one foot, he pinned down the assistant’s head.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the struggling assistant immediately stopped moving. He did not even have time to utter a single word.

A large amount of blood slowly spread out from his head.

“Ah…” Deputy Director Wang’s hand was still outstretched. Wang Zhao killed people with such casual ease.

“Why didn’t you beg me to spare him?” Wang Zhao asked curiously.

Deputy Director Wang was silent for quite a while. He slowly forced his trembling body under control, then looked up at Wang Zhao. “What do you want me to do? You killed everyone and left me alive. Surely it wasn’t just to ask me something like that?”

“It seems you’re accepting this faster than I imagined. In that case, I don’t need to go through the routine of breaking you down first and then giving you hope. Incidentally, Wang Zhao was the one who taught me that method. The Wang Zhao I’m talking about is…”

“My son,” Deputy Director Wang interrupted. “I know. Ever since he was little, he liked things like that. He wanted to become a psychologist, but deep down, he was terribly softhearted. I always felt that with a personality like that, he would suffer losses in life and at work, so I had him join the police department. In my heart, I suppose I also wanted him to follow the same path as me. That way, at least we would have something to talk about…”

After muttering to himself for a while, Deputy Director Wang changed the subject. “I’m old. I talk too much. Even though I know you’re a monster, I still ended up wanting to tell you these things without realizing it. Let’s get to the point. You used my son and used the existence of this case to disguise yourself flawlessly. What you’re after must be no small thing, so just say it.”

“It’s very simple. Cooperate with us. Also, put down the walkie-talkie in your hand. You should know you won’t have any chance in front of me. It’s better if you speak with me properly.”

Wang Zhao continued, “You still have a little daughter, don’t you? And a wife. Since I was able to absorb your son without anyone noticing, I can make them quietly become my kin as well. When that time comes, to you, all that will be left of them is a familiar outer skin. You don’t want to see that happen, do you?”

“…Why choose me? You still can’t guarantee that you can infiltrate the real management without being discovered, can you? How many people like me have you coerced?” Deputy Director Wang swayed slightly as he asked.

“That isn’t something you need to know. You chose to come save your son today, which proves you have value as a collaborator. That is why I’m standing here now, giving you this choice,” Wang Zhao said. “So what will you choose?”

“What will I choose…”

Deputy Director Wang murmured. His eyes were filled with pain, but in the midst of that pain, he suddenly let out a low laugh.

The laugh was old and hoarse, yet carried a trace of mockery. “I already made this choice. You son of a bitch! You stepped on him and killed him. Why don’t you take a look at what he’s holding in his other hand?”

Wang Zhao froze. His gaze dropped, and several strands of Black Thread instantly smashed the assistant’s clenched fist apart.

Amid the mangled flesh, a tiny listening device flashing red appeared in the pool of blood.

“I told you, I’m softhearted, but I’m not senile yet! When I left home this morning, my son… he was still my son. But when I spoke to you tonight, I’d already realized it. No matter how well you pretend, you can’t imitate every last detail of a person. When I patted your shoulder, the way you looked at me didn’t change… I knew it then. I knew!”

Wang Zhao lifted his head, his gaze turning abruptly ice-cold.

Deputy Director Wang looked at him with hatred in his eyes, but also with unbearable grief.

When he first guessed the truth, he had refused to give up. He had said one more thing: “Our first time fighting side by side.”

He often said that to Wang Zhao. He still remembered that every time he said it, Wang Zhao would smile a little awkwardly and say, “What era is this? Fathers and sons don’t go into battle together anymore.”

Whatever era it was, fathers still loved their sons.

Deputy Director Wang felt as if from that moment on, his mind had gone blank.

He wanted his son’s death to mean something more, not for him to die as a tool used by others.

At the very least, let him die having done something for humanity. If he was gone, if there were things he could no longer do, then his father would finish them for him.

“My wife and daughter will go down with us too. If they stayed alive, they’d only be living in danger.”

Deputy Director Wang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was ghastly as he collapsed to the floor, leaning his head against the wall beside him and muttering to himself, “Our whole family… we’ll live properly together down there…”

“You did well.” Wang Zhao crushed the listening device under his foot.

This was the first time he had suffered such a major setback, and at the hands of an old human man.

For the first time, he felt there might be some truth to the saying that old age brought cunning.

Facing the person who was no longer his son, Deputy Director Wang had actually shown no flaws at all.

Wang Zhao did not feel particularly angry. A human like this was someone he could kill with a mere lift of his hand.

But just as he sent out a strand of Black Thread, a voice suddenly came from behind him. “Hey.”

The next instant, a burst of terrible pain erupted in his back, and his entire body was sent crashing forward.

A sneak attack?

When had the other party circled around behind him?

Was it while he was talking to Deputy Director Wang?

The instant he hit the ground, Wang Zhao felt that this time, he might actually be a little angry…