The courtroom was silent.
Not the respectful kind of silence that came from awe, but the kind of suffocating stillness that settled after someone had been gutted cleanly and didn't yet realize they were dead.
The judge's gavel slammed down.
"Case dismissed."
Hao Kai allowed himself the smallest of smiles as he slid his pen back into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Across the aisle, his client, a wealthy real estate developer with a reputation blacker than spilled ink exhaled sharply, relief flashing across his pudgy face. The man turned to Hao Kai, gratitude shining in his greasy eyes.
"Lawyer Hao" he whispered, leaning forward as though confessing a sin, "I knew hiring you was the best decision I ever made!"
Hao Kai didn't respond. He didn't need to.
Because the bastard was guilty as hell.
When the opposing counsel stormed out of the courtroom, muttering curses under her breath, Hao Kai calmly gathered his documents and walked out with the unhurried grace of a predator who'd just eaten. Outside, the mid-afternoon sun was bright, the air heavy with exhaust fumes and the metallic tang of victory.
His phone buzzed. He glanced down.
[Bank Alert: 10,000,000 CNY deposited.]
A low whistle escaped him despite himself.
Worth it.
No matter how filthy the client, no matter how rotten the truth, ten million was ten million. Hao Kai had never been in this business for justice. He was in it for survival. And survival, in his world, had a price tag.
By the time he reached the underground parking lot, he'd already taken off his tie, tossing it carelessly into his battered leather briefcase. His reflection in the rearview mirror looked like a man half his age, sharp black suit, pale, clean-cut features, and dark, observant eyes that missed nothing. But his car told a different story. A five-year-old secondhand sedan with a sticking door handle and a dent in the left fender. But it was cheap.
Some lawyers bought Maseratis after winning big cases. Hao Kai bought silence, security, and enough black coffee to drown in. And occasionally… food.
The drive to his favorite street stall took twenty minutes, the hum of traffic lulling him into a rare state of calm. The city pulsed with life as pedestrians weaved between vehicles, neon signs flickering even in daylight, vendors shouting out their prices with voices hoarse from habit. When he finally turned onto the narrow alley lined with plastic chairs and makeshift canopies, the scent of soy, grilled garlic, and chili oil hit him like a warm embrace.
"Auntie Lin" Hao Kai greeted as he approached the small stall nestled between a repair shop and a cluttered bookstore. "The usual."
Auntie Lin, a plump woman in her late fifties with deep smile , looked up from her steaming wok and addresses him with familiarity.
"Lawyer Hao, you came early today" she said, already scooping spicy beef noodles into a paper bowl. "Must've won another one, eh?"
Hao Kai smiled faintly. "You know me."
"Your poor opponents" she sighed theatrically, slapping chopsticks onto the counter. "Always walking into the lion's den."
He chuckled softly and reached for his wallet but paused slightly.
He felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck.
He stealthily, scanning the alley without moving his head. People milled about as usual. A couple sharing skewers at a plastic table, a delivery boy balancing tea trays, a teenager scrolling on his phone. Nothing out of place. But instincts honed from years of living on the edge told him otherwise.
He was being watched.
Hao Kai leaned slightly closer to the counter. "Auntie Lin, pack it up today. I'll take it to go."
She blinked, surprised, but didn't question him. "Alright, alright" she muttered, quickly bagging his noodles and skewers. "But don't skip dinner just because of work!"
He paid, thanked her, and walked briskly back toward where he'd parked, his footsteps echoed faintly against the cracked pavement, the buzz of the alley fading behind him.
That feeling didn't leave. If anything, it grew stronger.
He slid into his car and locked the doors immediately, starting the engine with a low rumble. For a moment, he sat there, fingers drumming lightly against the steering wheel, debating his options.
Call someone? He didn't have anyone.
Report it? Ridiculous. Paranoia wasn't a crime.
In the end, he chose the one thing he always relied on. Control.
If anyone was following him, they wouldn't follow him home. Not easily. The one thing be had not skimmed upon was his place of residence.
His community was secure and heavily guarded with surveillance cameras on every corner and roving patrols at night. Money spent well. All he needed to do now was make it back.
He exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders loosening.. and then the world exploded.
A horn blared.
A flash of headlights.
A wall of steel.
Pain.
The screech of twisting metal drowned out every coherent thought as the force of impact hurled him sideways. Glass shattered, cold shards cutting into his face and arms. His seatbelt yanked him back violently, ribs protesting under the sudden pressure. His head slammed against the window, white sparks bursting behind his eyes.
Somewhere in the chaos, his car spun. He wasn't sure if he screamed. Maybe he didn't. Maybe he'd forgotten how.
Then there was silence.
A deep, ringing silence broken only by the soft hiss of a ruptured radiator and hum of passing pedestrians.
Blood dripped into his eyes, warm and sticky. His breath came ragged, each inhale sharp and shallow. The steering wheel was bent inward, pinning him awkwardly, and one of his legs was trapped beneath the crushed dashboard. The taste of rush filled his mouth as his teeth cut into his tongue.
Through the cracked windshield, he caught a glimpse of movement. A shadowed figure stood several meters away, framed by the blinking hazard lights of a black SUV. The stranger didn't approach. Didn't speak. Just watched the car with unnerving stillness.
Hao Kai noticed the man rasing one hand to his ear. Making a call? And then he were gone. Just like that.
As if he'd never been there.
Hao Kai forced himself to move, fumbling blindly for his phone with blood-slick fingers. The device slipped twice before he finally managed to pull it free. The screen was cracked, but somehow still worked. He dialed emergency services with trembling hands, the ringing in his ears drowning out the dial tone.
"Help" he rasped when the line connected, his voice barely audible. "Accident… federal main road…"
The operator said something, but his vision was already fading at the edges, dark shadows creeping inward. He fought to stay conscious, clinging stubbornly to awareness, but the exhaustion was too much.
The last thing he remembered before the darkness swallowed him was the flashing notification on his phone screen:
[Bank Alert: Withdrawal of 10,000,000 CNY processed.]
And then everything went black.