It was like an addiction— Wen Yuan’s bloodlust grew by the day. At first, it was one job every two weeks, then once a week, and now almost daily.
Watching his targets die in despair became his favorite pastime.
“Mr. Ray, you have to take care of this one immediately. Every second this scum lives is an insult to justice,” Wen Yuan thundered, slamming a newspaper in front of me.
A high school math teacher, accused of sexually assaulting a student and blackmailing her into silence, driving her to suicide.
“Mr. Ray, don’t let this bastard die easy. Make him realize how much he deserves it…”
A caretaker who abused and then burned an elderly woman alive to cover her tracks.
“Mr. Ray, this one has to go tonight. My conscience won’t let me sleep until she’s gone.”
A man who locked his Alzheimer’s-stricken mother on the balcony so he could cheat with his mistress, causing her to fall to her death.
Damn.
This psycho was completely out of control, pushing me to kill at every turn. If this kept up, I’d end up as twisted as he was.
“Mr. Wen, you have so many people under you. Why not have them do it? These targets are just regular folks—any thug could handle it.” I couldn’t hold back and finally called him out.
“You know who I am?” Wen yuan’s eyes flashed with surprise, his manic energy vanishing as he reverted to a polite, eerily calm demeanor. He was terrifying—you never knew which side of him you’d get.
“Yeah. You’re pretty famous, you know?” I said with a mocking tone.
“Then you must know about my past, right?” He sipped from a black teacup. “I was a monster, no punishment would ever be enough. Heaven punished me, gave me time to reflect. I live every moment in guilt and regret. Mr. Ray, do you think I’m still that psychopath? No, you’re wrong. Now I just want to be a good man, to atone for my crimes.”
“Killing is atonement?”
“Killing the innocent isn’t. But killing evil people—that’s a kind of virtue. Tell me honestly, which of my targets didn’t deserve it?” He was deadly serious.
“With your resources, killing them would be as easy as swatting flies. Why hire me?”
“I was a businessman. A good businessman always knows: let the professionals handle it. That’s how you get results. Mr. Ray, you’re the best in the business. Don’t doubt my sincerity. I’ll pay you three, five times your usual rate…”
Damn it!
I could barely restrain myself from stabbing him right there. His self-righteousness, warped values, the way he wielded money to control others.
In his eyes, he was a higher being—everyone else was just an animal.
He just needed an excuse. He was a born sadist.
“Whatever. But after this month, I’m done. Find someone else to be your ‘sword of justice.’” I grabbed the stack of target photos and stormed out.
As I left, I caught a glimpse of Wen Yuan. He looked disappointed, but there was a strange smile on his lips.
The teacher who assaulted his student—I shot him right through the groin.
Wen Yuan’s “death package” was always over the top.
The caretaker who burned the elderly woman—I suffocated her with a plastic bag. Two minutes and she stopped struggling.
Wen Yuan always wanted twenty-four hours of torture. I wasn’t that twisted.
The man who killed his mother—I staged a car crash. He died instantly.
The two-thousand-word “indictment” Wen Yuan gave me? Straight in the trash.
Like a disgruntled employee, I got more and more half-hearted. But to my surprise, Wen Yuan never complained.
He always paid promptly, always praised me, always tried to keep me on for “one more job.”
But my mind was made up. Wen yuan made me sick of this life, and Ye Qing made me want something new.
Hitman Ray—this identity was fading away.
“Mr. Ray, this is the last job.” Wen Yuan handed me a photo, his face calm.
I glanced at it and felt a chill run through me.
Bai Kun, the new chairman of the Wenlian Conglomerate. Rumor had it Wen Yuan’s father brought him back from abroad to run the company. In just two months, he’d restored the company’s reputation and sent the stock soaring. The papers called him Wenlian’s savior. Killing him now would cause a massive uproar.
“This guy offend your sense of justice too?” I asked, thoroughly disgusted.
“No.” Wen Yuan shook his head. “He’s an outstanding young man. The company’s doing better than ever, and will probably reach new heights.”
“Then why kill him?”
“Because I don’t want him to become another me,” Wen Yuan said cryptically. “No matter who sits in that seat, they’ll end up like I did. Mr. Ray, have you heard the old riddle—if you could go back in time, would you kill a child who’d grow up to be a murderer? No one wants to kill a kid, but let him grow and he’ll become a monster. Bai Kun is that kind of person. Please, stop evil in its cradle.”
As he finished, thunder crashed outside, and rain poured down like the end of the world.
Chapter 08
*