In the ward, Shentu Wei-Ye pondered for some time before he let out a sigh. “Wang Fang, do you all really want...”

Wang Fang cut him short. “Grandfather, don’t be soft-hearted. This is for the Shentu clan. Do you want to see your unfilial granddaughter hand over such a large family-owned corporation to an outsider? You know how capable that punk is. Wait till his child is born and we Shentu will have nothing.”

“Ai...” Shentu Wei-Ye waved his hand. “Forget it, I’m old. I don’t want to bother about certain things anymore. You go make your fuss; I want to rest.”

“Grandfather, relax and go to sleep. It’ll all be settled in the morning. I’ll go give Tian-Feng a call.” Wang Fang took her mobile phone out of her handbag and walked to the washroom.

“It’s for our Shentu clan... our Shentu clan... This is not wrong,” Shentu Wei-Ye mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes and went to sleep afterwards, looking at ease.

In the washroom, Wang Fang made a call to Shentu Tian-Feng. “Son, that bitch and that punk are here. They’re staying at the hotel on the island... That bitch brought only Xia Lei, I didn’t see any bodyguards... Is the person you hired reliable? I keep having this feeling of unease for some reason... Okay, okay... I won’t interfere, I’ll stay in the ward with your grandfather...”

She was completely unaware that every word she said was being caught by the listening device above the door and transmitted to another room on the island.

Shentu Tian-Yin sat quietly by the bed. She was in low spirits and tears welled in her eyes. What saddened her so was not Wang Fang but Shentu Wei-Ye. They were just guessing before but the conversation between Wang Fang and Shentu Wei-Ye confirmed it - he knew, he approved and he was not uneasy about it.

Xia Lei opened a rucksack and took out two bulletproof vests. He put one next to Shentu Tian-Yin’s hand. “Put it on. Wear it under your clothes, then put a jacket over it so it won’t be discovered.”

Fu Chuan-Fu had prepared the bulletproof vests too. They were not vests off the market but high-tech, high-end goods which were thin and not visible at all under clothing and jacket.

Xia Lei changed out of his suit and shirt and put the bulletproof vest on for his innermost layer.

Shentu Tian-Yin hesitated and removed her jacket and T-shirt, leaving her in just a purple bra. She did as Xia Lei did and put on the vest but her chest was too big and she could not pull the velcro in place on her back. “Help me,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed.

Xia Lei had just finished putting on his suit and he walked over. He took a look at her situation and pulled at the velcro.

“Ah...” Shentu Tian-Yin let out a cry. Her snowy breasts, pushed high, were temporarily squashed and the groove between them deepened to a hard-to-penetrate slit.

Xia Lei nimbly fastened the velcro and smiled as he said, “Done.”

Shentu Tian-Yin rolled her eyes at him. “You’re not gentle because they’re not yours, huh?”

Xia Lei was speechless.

Of course they weren’t his - if it were Liang Si-Yao, however, she’d let him grope her breasts or something.

“Whatever. Go about your business, I don’t need help anymore.” Shentu Tian-Yin started putting on her T-shirt and jacket.

Xia Lei then let out the breath he’d been holding, feeling like a criminal who’d been granted amnesty. He quickly busied himself with other things, taking out a bunch of stuff from the rucksack. There were things like pinhole cameras, rope, tranquilizer gun and so on. He installed the pinhole cameras in all four corners of the room and put the rope under the bed. Then, he inserted the tranquilizer gun in his belt. There was also two silver-coloured cases on his belt - his customised weapons, the titanium alloy mecha gloves.

Xia Lei still felt nervous even with all this equipment and preparation. This wasn’t a game of Counter Strike but a real life and death fight. The killers Shentu Tian-Feng hired would definitely not be chopper-wielding people but carry guns. Even more difficult was that he had to find a way to catch the killer and not finish the killer off.

“Will the killer come?” Shentu Tian-Yin was nervous too.

“This is the best opportunity for your Second Uncle to make his move. They have no other chances after we leave the island tomorrow, so the killer will surely come tonight,” said Xia Lei.

“What do we do now?”

“We wait,” said Xia Lei, “Remember, back to the wall. Do not show yourself in the windows and stay away from them. I’m going to switch the lights off now.”

“What for?”

“To make it look like we’ve gone to bed.” Xia Lei went to the door and switched off the lights. The room was plunged in darkness.

The doors and windows were tightly shut and even the curtains were shut but a tablet computer in Xia Lei’s hand displayed the situation outside the room and around the entire villa. At this moment, Jin Da-Hu and Jin Zhen-Huan were in their hiding places on the left and right of the villa. They would move immediately once the killer appeared and close in on the killer to capture him with Xia Lei.

The audio and video footage, plus the captured killer would serve as evidence that Shentu Tian-Yin could use to put Shentu Yi’s whole family in prison.

This plan looked simple but it was practical.

What came next was the waiting.

Nothing happened and about two in the morning, Shentu Tian-Yin lay herself flat on the bed from her sitting position at the head of the bed. “Lei, why don’t you lie down too?”

“Go take a nap if you’re sleepy. I’ll wake you if there’s anything,” said Xia Lei.

“How can I fall asleep? Come here and lie down with me. Talk to me.” Shentu Tian-Yin’s voice was lazy.

It was dark in the room but that was no obstacle to Xia Lei. He saw Shentu Tian-Yin clearly with his left eye. Her sleeping posture was relaxed and her beautiful legs were bent slightly, extending out from under her skirt. He also saw the black lace underwear higher up and the obvious outline of her mature shape. These were all tempting sights and he did not dare climb on the bed with her.

“Uh... I have to watch the door,” said Xia Lei.

Shentu Tian-Yin pursed her lips. “Which stage have you and Miss Liang reached?”

Xia Lei was speechless.

At that moment, Jin Da-Hu’s voice came from the mini-headset. “Mr Xia, someone’s approaching.”

Almost at the same time, Jin Zhen-Huan, who was on the other end also said, “Mr Xia, someone’s here too.”

Xia Lei tensed up immediately. “How many are there?”

“I have two here,” came Jin Da-Hu’s voice.

“I have two here too,” said Jin Zhen-Huan.

Xia Lei was silent for a few seconds. “How many can you take on?”

“Two.” Jin Da-Hu and Jin ZHen-Huan answered at almost the same time.

“Good, proceed with the plan. Let them in,” said Xia Lei.

When the brothers said they could take on two, Xia Lei guessed immediately that the people who’d come were not ordinary people. Four killers coming at once was also outside his calculations. However, the situation was now one where he had an arrow drawn on the bow and no other way out than to release it.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Shentu Tian-Yin could not lie on the bed any longer and she got to her feet to nervously feel her way to Xia Lei’s side. “There are four people. Can you guys take them on?” She had a mini-headset in her ear too and could hear the Jin brothers talking.

Xia Lei held onto her softness and pulled her to the bed, saying as he walked, “Hide under the bed. Don’t come out whatever happens, got it?”

Shentu Tian-Yin had no objections and she nodded, then lay on the ground and crawled under the bed. She was just bait in the plan, not a fighter; she had no combat power. She could be killed off with one move if she were exposed to the killers when the fighting began.

Xia Lei looked at the tablet computer in his hand after Shentu Tian-Yin hid herself. Four people had appeared on the screen - two in a group, three men, one woman. All four were wearing black hoods but Xia Lei recognised the woman from her figure. She was the bomb-placing female assassin who’d appeared on the pier.

Xia Lei turned to walk to the door and Shentu Tian-Yin suddenly grabbed his trouser-leg.

“What is it?” asked Xia Lei softly.

“Be careful.” Shentu Tian-Yin cautioned him, then let go of his trouser-leg.

“I know.” Xia Lei made a small sound of acknowledgement then went behind the door to stand with his back to the wall. When he was in position, he took out the tranquilizer gun and got one mecha glove out. He opened it and put it on his left hand.

At that moment, Jin Da-Hu’s voice came from the headset, “Mr Xia, the one man and one woman team has entered the villa. They have a key. The woman has a handgun and the man has a submachine gun. Both have silencers on.”

Jin Zhen-Huan also spoke. “The other two men climbed the wall. They have grappling hooks and are using submachine weapons.”

Xia Lei could see all these clearly on the tablet computer. He’d actually used his left eye to see through the wall and look directly at the killers climbing the wall when Jin Zhen-Huan was reporting it to him. The two killers were sturdily-built and dark-skinned, probably from the South Asian region. They grasped the rope and climbed up. They were not quick but they were steady and made no sound. There were also Uzi submachine guns on their backs with silencers on.

Xia Lei considered his options and made his decision. “You take those two on the wall. I’ll deal with the two who’ve entered.”

“Roger.” Jin Da-Hu and Jin Zhen-Huan replied together.

Xia Lei switched off the tablet computer and the room lost its light source. However, he could see more clearly now. The female killer and her colleague used their key to enter the villa and went swiftly to the second floor to approach the door quietly. Outside the window, the other two killers had also climbed to the second floor window and were slowly retrieving the Uzi submachine guns from over their shoulders. They did not enter, however, and just waited.

Xia Lei knew what they were waiting for. Once the female killer broke through the door, they would break the windows and shoot to kill at all the targets in the room!

A pincer attack from inside and out - it seemed these four killers had a thorough plan too.