"The one you're seeking revenge on is already dead, why do this? This is South Korea, and there are innocent civilians downstairs." Lin Zheling's expression was complicated.
Not far behind him lay a pool of rotting flesh. Just over half an hour ago, the owner of this rotten flesh had patted his shoulder and promised him the honor he deserved.
On the other side lay a body bleeding from all seven orifices. Just minutes earlier, this person had thrown themselves recklessly onto a grenade about to explode, saving their captain.
If Zhang Mingjun hadn't been clutching a remote control capable of instantly killing tens of thousands of people, Lin Zheling would have had a hard time distinguishing the true villain among those present today.
"Innocent? Perhaps, but so what? My hands are already stained with the blood of innocent people."
Zhang Mingjun's smile grew increasingly manic as he pulled from his pocket the electronic bank key worth $1 billion—no, now worth $1.1 billion.
"Every penny in here is dirty, but so what? Money is money."
He held the remote in one hand and the electronic key in the other. "Hey, FBI, kill that idiot next to you and leave me alone. All this money is yours, okay?"
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out. Without a second thought, Jack pulled out his FK7.5 and fired a single shot, stunning Lin Zheling.
"Ah!" Zhang Mingjun screamed as the bullet ripped off the fingers of his right hand, along with the electronic key.
"You said every penny in here is dirty, so I'm sorry, I'm a mysophobe," Jack said with a righteous air.
"Are you crazy?" Zhang Mingjun, unconcerned with the wound on his right hand, glared at the FBI agent with disbelief. "Do you know what you've done? This is... this is..."
Jack ignored him, tilting his head slightly and asking over the comms channel, "Has everything been resolved?"
Anna's reply came immediately, "Kim Cheol-soo has been confirmed killed. Dr. Goosby has defused the bomb and is bringing the 'VX' downstairs."
"So, you do it, or do I?" Jack glanced at Lin Zheling beside him.
Although Zhang Mingjun, standing across from him, couldn't hear Anna's reply, he sensed something was amiss. Before Lin Zheling could grit his teeth and raise his gun, he frantically pressed the remote.
However, the two men standing across from him simply stared at him, their expressions unmoved, and they made no effort to stop him.
Zhang Mingjun was completely panicked at this moment, repeatedly pressing the button on the top of the remote, his expression growing increasingly frantic. "What did you do? What on earth did you do?"
He yelled, feigning madness, but then he slammed the remote at the two men and sprinted towards the elevator, still hanging outside the building.
Jack's FK7.5 and Lin Zheling's MDX508 opened fire simultaneously. Zhang Mingjun, barely completing his jump, was blasted into a hornet's nest in mid-air. One hand stretched out helplessly, and then, pulled by gravity, he plummeted to the ground.
The blaring fire alarms had faded, and the sprinkler system had ceased. The acrid smoke mixed with the thick stench of blood filled his nostrils, making him want to vomit.
Jack stepped on broken glass, braving the howling high-rise wind as he walked forward. He looked down. Fire trucks and onlookers had gathered below.
From his height, even the fire truck sirens were barely audible, but the sudden fall of the body had clearly caused quite a stir.
"Ding!" The elevator door, blasted into a hornet's nest, slowly opened again, but still empty.
"Safe, all done!" Jack shouted, his voice rising.
After a rustling noise, Ma Xidao leaped from the elevator, landing with an unsettling thud that shook the entire elevator car.
Jiang Zhentai jumped down next. Seeing the horrific scene before him, he covered his mouth and retched.
He was no rookie officer who had seen corpses before, but the more than ten bodies in the hall, all from gunshot wounds and explosions, and the sprinkler system dousing them, leaving the floor covered in blood, made the scene feel like a slaughterhouse.
"Is it all over?" Even the stoic Ma Xidao didn't intend to step onto the blood-soaked carpet in the center, stopping at a distance.
"It's over." Jack shook his Armani suit, now riddled with bullet holes, and sheathed his sidearm.
Although both looked dusty and bedraggled, Lin Zheling was the most disheveled, with scrapes on his waist and shoulders.
"Sorry, I just acted on impulse." Jack picked up the still-smoking electronic key from the ground.
Lin Zheling shrugged nonchalantly, imitating someone's American manner. "My country is now free of hunger. Besides, this money, like that guy said, is too dirty, at least for us."
"Is this what they call an O. Henry ending?" Ma Xidao's eyes tinged with regret. After all, that was over a billion dollars.
An O. Henry ending, also known as the O. Henry style, refers to the ending of an article, script, or novel that deviates from the usual plot logic. It's surprising, but upon closer reflection, it makes sense.
In short, it's unexpected yet expected.
Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on him, Ma Xidao shrugged. "My latest blind date really likes art films."
—
The FBI, represented by Jack, had finally avenged its defeat, bringing the bombing and prisoner robbery in Manhattan over two months ago to a successful conclusion.
The country to the north of the peninsula had purged its traitors and secretly covered up some scandals. Lin Zheling submitted a recording as evidence.
South Korea had also thwarted a terrorist attack that could have caused significant casualties, which was also cause for celebration.
As for individuals, Ma Xidao and Jiang Zhentai became heroes of the South Korean police, with the TV station even showing them walking out of the hotel together in slow motion.
The rest of the group was kept secret. The idea of the FBI and North Korean police working together in Seoul was a lie.
Having agreed to meet in Las Vegas a month later with the two rising stars of the South Korean police force, Jack flew to Los Angeles the day after returning to New York.
He hurried to the Wolf brothers' ranch, where the brothers, having been notified in advance, were already waiting.
Taking Chris and Braxton with him, who were confused, Jack found the girl still busy in the secret computer room beneath the farm.
"Justin, why did you secretly tell me to destroy that electronic key?" Although he had some suspicions, the matter was of such importance that Jack had to verify it himself.
Justin answered him with a small USB flash drive in his hand. "Because I copied it remotely, the one billion eighty-six million dollars is now ours."
(End of chapter)