"This notebook contains evidence of corruption among officials from every province in the country. Every single transaction is over a million. For some long-term power officials, the total amount is no less than tens of millions. Even his superior, the head of the National Procuratorate General, is included. People's Congress representatives, police chiefs, tax directors, water conservancy directors, bank presidents... they are all corrupt." 13 closed the notebook, which was as thick as the "Five Thousand Years of History" book.
Xiao Wu was speechless.
"It must have taken your father a considerable amount of time to gather this information." 13's face was calm. "But later on, he probably got scared himself. This notebook has become China's 'black ledger'... no." 13 shook his head. "It's a 'black hole'. If it were made public, there would be only one result..."
"Civil unrest!" Xiao Wu said, trembling.
"Due to dissatisfaction with the government's execution, and fueled by provocations from some foreign interests, 'civil unrest' is inevitable." 13 stood up from the ground.
"For their own 'financial future', they even sent assassins to silence people!" Xiao Wu clenched her fists.
"No." 13 looked at Xiao Wu, whose face had turned a little pale. "It probably wasn't them who sent him. If it were them, they wouldn't ask you for any notebook. Their first reaction would be to kill you. And judging by the fact that you've lived for two years, it's likely no one in the country knew your father had collected these things yet."
"Then who could it be?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.
13 walked to the window and smiled as he looked downstairs. The stranger, face full of anger, met 13's gaze.
"You're really slow. Don't alert anyone else. I'll wait for you on the rooftop." 13 mouthed the words.
"Who wants to kill me?" Xiao Wu asked again, thinking 13 hadn't heard her.
"It's simple. Just ask him directly, and we'll understand." 13 turned back from the window and said.
"No matter what happens, don't go up to the rooftop." 13 gripped Xiao Wu's shoulders. His tone was ordinary, but to Xiao Wu, it sounded exceptionally gentle. "Wait for me here. I'll end everything."
"Will you die?" Tears unconsciously streamed down Xiao Wu's face. Remembering the gun in that man's hand, Xiao Wu hugged 13 tightly. She regretted finding 13, making him face such danger too. It was originally her own business, but she had dragged someone else into sharing it with her. If he blamed her, maybe she would feel a little better. But he wouldn't; instead, he gently took on everything.
She had truly fallen in love with this man named Zhang Jie...
Whether he was 13 or not? Whether he was the Sniper King? It no longer mattered...
"Trust me." 13 looked firmly at Xiao Wu. "It'll be fine."
With that, he left the room and headed towards the rooftop, leaving behind a girl with tear-filled eyes, collapsing weakly onto the floor.
"Who's waiting for whom? You really are slow." When 13 pushed open the rooftop door, the man was already standing there.
"Sorry, had some personal matters to attend to." He naturally locked the door from the outside.
Observing the surroundings, it was a rectangular platform of about one hundred square meters. The cement floor underfoot was somewhat worn, indicating the building had some age. What was most peculiar was the presence of clotheslines everywhere, hung with drying clothes and bedsheets.
"It doesn't matter. You're going to die soon anyway, so a little more lingering is fine." The assassin slowly took off his suit jacket and placed it aside. His white shirt looked almost ready to burst from his muscles. The pistol in his holster had a silencer attached.
"Do you have the ability to kill me?" 13's eyes showed only emptiness. He also took off his jacket; his body, similarly clad in a white shirt, appeared rather thin.
"My name is Peter, a colonel in the US foreign secret forces. In my fifteen years of service, I've killed thirteen national leaders and sixty-seven national-level security agents. Half of them died by my own hands. I enjoy the sound of breaking enemies' bones." Peter clenched his fists in front of him, thick veins pulsing with power.
"My name is Zhang Jie, a street performer. I recently killed someone who seemed to be a gang boss. I like a quiet life." 13 smiled.
"You didn't have to die, but you interfered with my mission and kept playing tricks on me..." As he spoke, he himself felt embarrassed.
"Is this your mission?" 13 dangled the notebook back and forth in his hand.
"Good. Just hand it over, and I'll consider not killing you." Peter seemed very nervous about that thing.
"I want to know what you want it for. This is China's secret. What does it have to do with America?" 13 put the notebook behind his back.
"Do you think I'll tell you?" Peter looked at 13.
"Do you think I'll give it to you?" 13 also looked at Peter.
"It's simple. Either I kill you and take the book, or you beat me and find out what you want to know." Peter's finger twitched.
"Do you use a gun?" 13 asked. Peter answered with action. In an almost invisibly fast motion, the gun was already pointing forward. But 13's reaction was faster. The moment Peter's finger twitched, 13 had already started moving. They were only five meters apart. An upward block deflected the muzzle. Three crisp shots rang out beside 13's ear.
Peter looked at 13, who had closed his eyes while pushing the gun away, with astonishment. It had taken him at most one second to draw, chamber, and aim. But 13 had rushed to him in just one second. Such explosive power shamed even himself, with his years of military experience.
"Indeed a soldier. Choosing the most direct method of killing is correct." 13 showed some appreciation. At least his opponent wasn't blindly confident.
"You flatter me. Continue." Peter adjusted the gun's aim, preparing to shoot again. 13 grabbed his wrist, twisted forcefully, and the gun fell. Before it hit the ground, Peter launched a simple, powerful straight kick towards 13's chest. Sidestepping, 13 released the wrist, smiled, spun around once, and his right fist, whistling through the air, struck Peter's face. The force was immense. Peter fell heavily to the ground, landing alongside the gun.
13 sighed, picked up the gun from the ground, removed a screw with one hand, and the complete pistol fell apart into pieces.
"Cough... cough..." Peter stood up trembling, spitting out four teeth. He still looked dazed.
"Your physique is quite good." 13 was praising him, but to others, it sounded like contempt.
"Who... are you? I absolutely don't believe the street performer story..." Peter swayed and grabbed a nearby wooden post (used for securing clotheslines), thick as a bowl, for support.
"That's not important. You lost. You should tell me what you know." 13 put his hands behind his back.
"Tell your mother!" Peter furiously lifted the wooden post and swung it wildly at 13.
13 jumped back to dodge. Each strike hit the ground. The worn cement floor shattered upon impact. The loud noise woke up everyone in the building. People crowded towards the rooftop, but the door was locked from the outside. Xiao Wu was also drawn to the door by the noise.
"What's going on? Such a commotion, are they demolishing the building?!" The auntie, draped in a sweater, rushed over.
"Don't know who's on the rooftop. The door is locked from the outside," a student said.
Xiao Wu's heart leaped into her throat. She was worried about 13's safety.
"I have the key there. Who can get it?" Before the auntie finished speaking, Xiao Wu had already dashed towards the first-floor management office.
"Don't waste your energy." 13 dodged another blow. "With your abilities, even if I don't use my hands, you won't last two minutes."
"Damn it, what kind of monster are you?" Peter stood by the door, gasping for breath. The intense exertion was draining his stamina rapidly.
A crisp sound came; the door was opened. 13 inwardly cursed. It was Xiao Wu who opened the door.
Peter sneered, threw the wooden post at 13 to stop his advance, turned around, and grabbed Xiao Wu, holding her hostage. A knife pulled from behind him was pressed against her snow-white neck.
"Don't come closer, or I'll kill her," Peter yelled frantically.
The others at the doorway (the onlookers) were petrified.
"Do you think this will save you from dying?" 13 scoffed.
Peter calmed down, made a diagonal slash, and blood flowed from Xiao Wu's shoulder.
Xiao Wu's mind went blank. She only felt her sleeve getting wet as if by water. Turning her head, she saw blood dripping from her fingers onto the ground. Xiao Wu's pupils contracted violently.
13 looked sternly at Xiao Wu and said, "Don't be afraid!"
Xiao Wu held back the tears welling up in her eyes.
"I will save you. You will be fine." 13's tone was firm.
"Looks like you're not completely cold-blooded after all." Peter smiled despicably, kicking the open door shut again with his foot.
"You are disgracing your identity as a soldier!" 13 was getting angry.
"Cut the crap." Peter shouted, "You damn monster calling me out? Two demands: give me the notebook and let me leave."
"Impossible. Although I don't care what happens to the country, I personally have some private grievances with America's Annie. Whatever America wants to do, I must make her unhappy." 13 took a step forward.
"I told you not to come closer." Peter slashed again. Xiao Wu bit her lip, enduring the pain. She desperately held back her tears. Because he said, "Don't be afraid."
13's heart trembled with the knife. It had been a long time since he felt this way, the feeling of anger. A desire to kill.
He remembered the last time, also on a rooftop, facing Elf, his heart had trembled too. He killed Angel, killed the love he had just begun to understand. Now Peter was hurting his friend, an ordinary friend. 13 had only just begun to understand what friendship meant. Not support on the battlefield, not help during missions. This was just ordinary life. A friend would worry about you over small things, would show helplessness when you ripped them off for a meal, would help you when you needed it.
"Caring for the other person, being able to share their pain, being happy for their happiness, and unhappy for their unhappiness. When the other person is hurt, protect them immediately; when the other person encounters difficulties, help them with all your might..." This was Xiao Wu's definition of a friend. If that was correct...
"When the other person is hurt, protect them immediately..." 13 muttered softly, but Xiao Wu heard him.
Peter was afraid. 13's expression had completely changed, radiating an aura of inviolability...
Reacting purely on instinct, Peter's pupils dilated, and he stabbed the knife towards Xiao Wu's throat. Xiao Wu truly felt no fear anymore. 13 would protect her. 13 still considered her a friend.
The knife was sharp, even cutting through the air. But it couldn't harm Xiao Wu.
The knife stopped right before Xiao Wu's carotid artery. Peter didn't want to stop. But 13's left hand firmly gripped the blade. Blood dripped onto Xiao Wu's shoulder, drop by drop. If 13's speed just now was incredible, now it was beyond human comprehension.
A sentence appeared in 13's mind...
"'Wing' activated..."