No. 91 A Poem of War
I sat on a small chair in a lavishly decorated room, calmly observing the group of men huddled around a table, their brows furrowed as they scrutinized the documents I had provided.
After a long silence, one of the men tossed the papers aside with a dismissive snort.
“Hmph, I thought it was something important. Turns out it’s just a bunch of kids playing gangster.”
He stood up, towering over me, his gaze condescending. “You’re Yi Yao, right? You’ve got guts, kid. Do you even know where you are?”
I glanced around the room, its ostentatious decor screaming “nouveau riche.” “The meeting room of the Upper Capital City branch of ‘Zero,’ Yixian Province’s largest assassination organization, established in 1993.”
He raised an eyebrow, taking a drag from his cigarette. “You know we’re assassins, yet you’re not afraid?”
I smiled politely. “Bullets cost money.”
“Who said anything about bullets?”
He pulled out a switchblade, pressing the tip against my throat. “I don’t believe a middle school student could infiltrate our headquarters alone. Where are your accomplices?”
A large hand gently pushed the blade away.
“Shang,” the owner of the hand said, his voice a low growl, “we’ve scanned the area. She’s alone. Unless her people are better than us.”
“Tch.”
The man called Shang sheathed his knife, his voice laced with frustration. “I just don’t get it. How can she be so calm in front of us? When I was sixteen, I was still serving coffee to those snobby bastards.”
“I remember…”
The man in the suit, who seemed to be the leader, set down the documents he had been reading. “We received a contract on you once.”
I nodded. “That’s correct.”
“We failed.”
“That’s correct.”
“We lost several of our best men.”
“That’s correct.”
Eaten by a tiger, no less. And you let your target escape. That’s probably a first for Zero.
“You’re not afraid of retribution?”
“If you truly wanted me dead, I’d be dead already, wouldn’t I?”
A professional assassination organization wouldn’t be swayed by personal grudges.
A failed mission was a failure, nothing more. They would punish the operatives involved, not the target. And targeting a sixteen-year-old girl because of a failed mission would be a disgrace, a stain on their reputation.
That was the difference between them and ordinary gangsters. Hua She and his friends might act impulsively, driven by misguided loyalty. Assassins, however, were motivated by profit and efficiency.
“You’d be surprised,” the man in the suit said, his voice smooth and dangerous. “My loyal men might decide to avenge their fallen brothers. Without my knowledge, of course.”
“Loyalty isn’t earned through emotions,” I said, my voice steady. “It’s bought.”
“Oh?”
He smiled, intrigued. “Tell me, why are you here? Considering your age and your courage, we’ll grant you three minutes. And we promise not to harm you.”
“It’s simple.”
I picked up the document he had discarded. “Upper Capital City is a powder keg right now. The underworld is in chaos, the authorities are corrupt. But this fragile balance won’t last forever. According to my intel, the group across the river is planning a large-scale attack on our city.”
“An attack?”
He frowned. “What kind of attack?”
“They intend to destroy it.”
His hand trembled, spilling tea from his cup.
“Are you kidding me? You think we’re idiots? Those pathetic losers across the river have already been crushed by the authorities,” Shang scoffed, slamming his fist on the table. “Hei Gou, stop wasting our time with this child. Throw her out.”
“Hold on.” The man in the suit waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s hear her out. I like this girl.”
“I’ve investigated them thoroughly.” I pulled out a stack of neatly organized documents from my folder and handed them to him. “They call themselves the Gathering Hall. Most of them are descendants of the victims from the old city. They have four branches: Dark, Shadow, Glory, and Fierce. But they present themselves as a single entity, ‘Shadow.’ The group that was recently taken down by the special task force was just a small fraction of their true strength. They’re still out there.”
His curiosity piqued, he set down his teacup and took the documents.
“This…”
He scanned the pages, his eyes widening in surprise. “You even managed to get this information?”
I smiled faintly. “Naturally. We have our own intelligence network. And I also know that you’re not the one in charge here.”
He looked up, his face a mask of shock.
I walked towards an elderly man sitting in a corner and bowed respectfully. “I propose an alliance. The DK Black Dragon Society, the Jiangnan Association, and Zero. We join forces to cleanse the underworld of Upper Capital City and eliminate the Gathering Hall. What do you say, Jesus?”
This unassuming old man was the true leader of Zero.
He had built his empire on arms dealing, a notorious figure in the Golden Triangle, now living a quiet, unassuming life in Upper Capital City. A relic from a bygone era.
His past exploits were legendary, but I hadn’t had time to delve into his history. Nor was I interested.
My only goal was to secure a safe and happy future for Xiaodie.
If Upper Capital City couldn’t provide that, then I would conquer it and offer it to her as a gift.
“The youth of today…”
He sighed, shaking his head, then slowly rose from his chair. “Yi Yao, is it? I’ll remember that name. If my daughter were still alive, she would be your age.”
Despite his advanced age, his eyes, sharp and piercing like an eagle’s, sent a shiver down my spine.
“We can help you deal with the Gathering Hall, but we need an incentive. I have to answer to my men. And as you know, I’m not the only one in charge. If things go south, we might be forced to abandon this city.”
I nodded. “Money is not a problem. If they can put a price on my head, I can certainly do the same to them.”
He picked up the document he had dropped. “But how do you intend to prove that you have the resources to hire Zero?”
“Have you heard of the Ace of Spades?”
The document slipped from his grasp, his eyes widening. “He’s… alive?”
I simply smiled. “The DK is backed by the Pai family.”
“Hahaha! No wonder… no wonder… I never imagined…” He turned to his men. “Hei Gou, do as she asks.”
“Yes, sir.”
His orders were absolute. Hei Gou, the man in the suit, rushed to his side, his demeanor respectful. “Teacher, be careful…”
The old man paused at the door, his back to me, as if about to say something. He sighed, then disappeared into the hallway.
“Hmph, you’re not just cute, little girl. You’re also quite perceptive,” Shang grumbled, settling down on the floor. “What’s the plan? We’re all ears.”
I exhaled, the tension that had been building within me finally releasing. The plan was working.
“This is just a preliminary meeting. We’ll lie low for a few months, gather more intel on the Gathering Hall, and then strike.”
“More intel?”
Hei Gou almost fell off his chair, gesturing towards the stack of documents. “What is all this then?”
“Intel. Everything from their family members to their current locations and activities.”
“And how much more ‘intel’ do you need? Your network is impressive.”
Of course it’s impressive. I have the best hacker alliance in the country backing me up.
“We need more time. And so do you. Use this time to prepare.”
I left Zero’s headquarters, stepping out into the midday sun.
I didn’t relax until I reached a crowded street, where they couldn’t easily follow me.
My hands were clammy with sweat.
Dealing with those people was exhausting, a constant test of my willpower.
“Hahaha! Yi Yao, you did it! I knew you could!”
Pai Ge materialized beside me, his smug grin infuriating. “Those old fogies didn’t give you too much trouble, did they?”
I flung a playing card at his face. “No. Now go away.”
He had promised to meet me outside Zero’s headquarters, but he had vanished. I had never realized how unreliable he could be.
“Haha, it’s not my fault. There were too many dangerous people there. I couldn’t get close. I had to retreat.”
So you abandoned me because it was too dangerous?
I glared at him. “Buy me a new phone.”
After dinner with Xiaodie the previous night, I had attempted to hack into Zero’s servers, discovering that their leader was an old friend of Pai Ge’s uncle. The deeper I dug, the more unsettling the connections became.
Our original plan was for Pai Ge and me to approach Zero, but he had abandoned me at the last minute, forcing me to handle it alone.
“Okay, okay. iPhone 6 or 7?” he asked, his voice placating.
I shook my head. “Samsung Note 7.”
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