LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 7: Chapter 6
Zhongshan Road, in a random hotel, Zhong Hai City, May 30, 2024, 01:00 AM
Yang Ji stood motionless in the gloom, a lurking shadow outside the hotel window. Hands tightly gripped around her silenced rifle, her stance was that of a predator biding her time. Nothing on the bustling street beneath her feet was worthy of her attention. Her eyes were fixed on the Dragon Phoenix Restaurant, the source of the impending storm. His job: to protect Rose, who besides being her client, was someone who had gotten too close to her emotional walls. Rose had hired Yang Ji for a seemingly simple mission: to watch over and ensure her protection at a meeting that promised to be fraught with betrayal and bloodshed between mafia leaders. The implicit promise of danger was the terrain in which Yang Ji flourished, with her relentless resolve: to accomplish the task even if every drop of blood spilled was necessary.
Rose entered the restaurant with a determination that threatened to fill the air with the scent of her authority. Dressed in a purple qipao embroidered with white roses, her figure radiated charm and danger. The VIP area, austere and opulent at the same time, was occupied by somber faces: Takemura, the Japanese man whose patience seemed to hang by a thread; Lou Guxin, hardened by years of barbarism; and the Yi brothers, two lethal shadows moving in synchrony. From his vantage point, Yang Ji did not lose sight of the atmosphere that was loaded like a gun ready to fire.
The conversation at the table was slow-burning ice, but an unexpected turn shattered any attempt at diplomacy. Takemura, his ego bruised by Rose's firmness, slammed the table with a crash that was an echo of his broken patience. His hands, quick and lethal, unholstered a gun, pointing it straight at her. It was the moment Yang Ji had anticipated with deadly calm. His finger rested on the trigger barely a whisper before he pressed. The shot was clean, the silencer muffling the roar of the bullet that pierced Takemura's skull with precision. The Japanese man collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut, while a crimson pool spread beneath his head. From above, Yang Ji remained a cold and lethal shadow, his breathing as controlled as his movements.
There was no room for remorse. Takemura's death was the spark that lit the inferno. Warriors emerged like swarms, cogs in the mafia machine protecting their own. The restaurant was transformed into a brutal scene of chaos and gunpowder. Yang Ji acted without flinching, every move calculated, every shot finding a deadly target. His silenced rifle sang an elegy for each man who fell. One of Takemura's bodyguards tried to shoot, but his skull exploded in a grotesque flower of blood when Yang Ji's bullet hit between his eyes. Another, more reckless, tried to approach Rose in the confusion, but ended up drowning in his own blood after a fatal shot to the neck.
Amidst the chaos, Rose displayed the mettle that had brought her to the top. Although she was not a born fighter, her gold-trimmed revolver flashed sporadically, enough to remind her enemies that she was not defenseless. Rose's subordinates, organized in an improvised defensive circle, fought fiercely to protect her. But no human shield was enough against the sea of enemies. It was Yang Ji from above who made the difference. Each bullet he fired was a deadly poem. The Yi brothers advanced through the shadows, confident of their dominance, but four consecutive shots were enough to change the course of events. The first of the brothers fell like a defeated colossus, while the second barely had time to realize his fate before a bullet claimed him.
Lou Guxin's men fought until it was clear that defeat was inevitable. Guxin himself, seeing that the chaos was not in his favor, tried to slip away. However, he did not get far. A bullet that Yang Ji fired with merciless precision hit him in the back, sealing his fate for good. The restaurant, which just a few minutes ago was a vicious negotiating arena, was now a mausoleum of bodies and blood, a macabre testament to Yang Ji's effectiveness.
Rose emerged from behind her cover, her eyes searching Yang Ji's. That brief exchange of eyes was enough to confirm that they were both still standing. Then, the sound of calm returned, broken only by gasps and the echo of the chaos that had ceased. To Yang Ji, it was a job done. But she knew that between her and Rose, silences spoke as much as words.
Later, as Yang Ji gathered her gear and planned her retreat, her phone rang with the sound of an encrypted call. It was Rose. When she answered, her client's voice was firm, but tinged with a vulnerability she rarely let on. "Thank you, Yang Ji," she said at first, and though professionalism predominated in her tone, what she added next unleashed an internal storm in Yang Ji. "Maybe one day I can treat you… to something more." The implication was clear. Yang Ji, true to her professionalism, responded in a neutral tone as her pulse quickened. Internally, she was fighting an attraction she had tried to suppress ever since she met Rose. But giving in to such emotions was not in her code.
Before she could process any further, the wailing of sirens in the distance cut short any prospect of a prolonged conversation. Yang Ji cut the call and activated her escape plan with her trademark precision. She deftly packed her rifle and other weapons into her black briefcase, fixed and adjusted her impeccable blonde wig, and adjusted her austere burgundy suit. Every movement was calculated to replace lethality with a façade of professionalism and kindness. As she left the hotel room, she passed the receptionist, whose eyes reflected fear at the recent commotion. Yang Ji, unfazed, offered her a reassuring smile as she paid cash for her stay.
Outside the hotel, her black 1967 Cadillac Eldorado awaited her, a reflection of her own character: imposing, classic and relentless. With her weapons stowed in the trunk, she started the engine just as the police drove past, oblivious to her existence. The music of Guns N' Roses filled the interior of the car as it glided down the dark avenue.
As she drove, her mind wandered, replaying the scene she had left behind. It was another flawless success, another mission perfectly accomplished, but also another reminder of the price she paid for living this life. Every shot fired, every life taken, was a weight added to her soul. Yet this was the fate she had chosen, and she embraced it with the same cold determination she had pulled the trigger with that night.