We agreed on the twelve zodiac animals, but you've transformed into the Monkey King?

The black Ford crashed into the muddy cobblestones of the French Concession, creating a splash of murky water.

The windshield wipers screeched and squeaked as they desperately pried at the windshield, but they couldn't get rid of the greasy layer of rainwater no matter what they did.

Wen Xiao sat in the passenger seat. A muddy oilcloth bag rested on her lap.

The oilcloth bundle was half-open, with Zhao the Bald's confession bearing his bloody handprint on top and the yellowed account book below.

White background with black lettering and red clay stamp.

From the unloading slips at the docks to the commissions taken by the French police, and then to Zhang Sulin's private coffers, this venomous snake, deeply entrenched and predatory in Shanghai, was strangled at its vital point by these two things.

Wen Xiao knocked two 555 cigarettes out of the silver cigarette case, took one for himself, and handed the other to the driver's seat.

Meng Huai held the steering wheel with one hand, turned his head, and lit a cigarette with Wen Xiao's famous match.

"Hiss—" Meng Huai took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"Turn left at the next intersection and head straight for Hankou Road." Wen Xiao extinguished the match and threw half a wooden stick out the window. "I haven't been a detective for long, and I don't know all my subordinates yet."

Meng Huai didn't say anything. He simply pressed the clutch down sharply and pushed the gear lever all the way down with his right hand.

Wen Xiao leaned back in his chair, turned his head, and sized up the young policeman by the dim streetlights outside the window.

"A policeman in the French Concession earns eight silver dollars a month, and during holidays he collects bribes from nearby shops. It's a job that's just enough to make a living." Wen Xiao, with a cigarette between his fingers, asked doubtfully, "Why would you risk your life for eight silver dollars?"

The only sounds were the roar of the engine and the clatter of raindrops hitting the roof.

Meng Huai stared at the rain curtain split by the car headlights ahead, without saying a word.

He subconsciously raised his left hand and touched the inner pocket of his left breast pocket through his dark blue uniform. There was a stack of waste paper tucked inside.

"Detective."

Meng Huai rested his hand, which was holding a cigarette, on the half-rolled-down car window, letting the cold rain pour in.

"I started carrying heavy loads in Shiliupu when I was twelve, and at fifteen I fought with beggars in the garbage dump for half a stale bun. I used to think that this world was a cesspool. Whoever could climb up by stepping on other people's heads, whoever could make money, was the boss. I wanted to be the boss too."

He didn't slow down in front of a puddle, and the wheels ran over it, splashing mud and water all over half of the windshield.

"But tonight, seeing that cowardly Zhao the Bald's face covered in snot and tears..."

Meng Huai stubbed out the cigarette butt, which was almost burned to the sponge tip, and flicked it into the rainy night. He looked at the stubborn mud stain on the windshield and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"I just suddenly felt that wearing this black leather coat for too long makes my bones smell like swill. Even if I climbed to the top of this cesspool, I'd just be a big maggot."

He turned his head and glanced at Wen Xiao.

"I, Meng Huai, am a rough man, I don't understand any grand principles." He turned around and stepped on the gas pedal to the floor. "I just suddenly wanted to do something clean. Even if I get riddled with bullets today, at least in my next life, the King of Hell won't complain that my hands are too dirty."

Wen Xiao leaned back in the passenger seat, swaying slightly with the violent jolting of the car, but didn't reply.

Outside the car window, the gray building of the Shenbao building was already faintly visible through the rain, like a silent fortress, quietly lurking in the stormy night.

Wen Xiao lowered his head and, using the dim light that occasionally swept into the carriage from outside the window, reopened the account book that Zhao the Bald had dug out from under the floor tiles.

The name of Hongzui District is repeated over and over again.

It's on the first page, on the third page, and the last page shows the latest large-scale withdrawals, with the settlement location still being Hongzui District.

Hongzui District... a gathering place for Japanese-style shops...

A sense of crisis shot up my spine and into the back of my head.

"The Black Dragon Society's leader is furious, and high-ranking 'Shadow Group' assassins have been dispatched... They will skin you alive like a lamb..."

Matsuda's dying curse in the underground vault struck Wen Xiao like a thunderbolt, cleaving through the fog of confusion.

Wen Xiao's breath hitched, and the knuckles of her fingers gripping the account book turned white instantly.

He then realized that he had overlooked a detail: how could Zhang Sulin only ally with the Anhui clique warlords to deal with him?

This most cunning and venomous snake in the Far East's metropolis. Did he really just want to kill workers by provoking Gong Hexiang's laborers with a few low-brow newspaper articles and then having Lu Yongxiang's military police set up Maxim machine guns on the streets of Nanshi?

No, it was to force him out of the French Concession.

Zhang Sulin knew all too well that as long as Wen Xiao remained holed up in the French Concession, no matter how hot the warlord's gun barrels were, they couldn't burn through the boundary marker erected by the foreigners.

The whole city was cursing Wen Xiao as a traitor.

Everyone knew that his only way to break the deadlock was to go to the Shenbao office.

"Meng Huai! Slam on the brakes!"

Wen Xiao slammed the account book shut and screamed almost hysterically.

"squeak--!!!"

Although Meng Huai didn't understand why, out of absolute obedience to Wen Xiao, he slammed his right foot down on the brake pedal!

The heavy Ford sedan screeched as its tires screech on the wet, slippery cobblestones, skidding violently and lurching sideways forward.

"Bang!"

A muffled gunshot suddenly rang out in the rain.

A large-caliber sniper bullet, like a ghost in the night, pierced the windshield with perfect accuracy, grazed Wen Xiao's nose, and entered the back seat of the car, tearing a huge gash in the leather seat with a "thud"!

If Meng Huai hadn't slammed on the brakes, causing the car to swerve, that bullet would have already blown Wen Xiao's skull off.

"Stay hidden! There's an assassin!"

Wen Xiao grabbed Meng Huai by the back of the head and pressed him under the center console. At the same time, the dark golden vertical pupils deep in his eyes suddenly lit up.

In the surrounding rain, two ghostly shadows, blending seamlessly into the night, appeared out of nowhere. A chilling killing intent instantly locked onto the black Ford parked in the middle of Hankou Road.

Wen Xiao glanced at the loss of control rate; it was 48%. "Battle" was already a poison that only served to quench thirst. Once it got out of control, Meng Huai would also die here.

"Fiery Eyes, open!" Wen Xiao roared inwardly.

On the retina, the pitch-black rain curtain was instantly dismantled by the data stream.

High-risk target detected: Black Dragon Society "Shadow Group" assassin

[Sniper: 400 meters directly ahead, on the roof of the Shenbao building. Weakness: Visibility obstructed by rain; each aim and bolt pull requires 1.5 seconds.]

[Melee Target 1: Under the water tower on the right. Ninja Tools: Kusarigama (chain sickle) + shortened shotgun.]

[Close-range target two: Directly in front of the vehicle. Ninja tools: Samurai sword + revolver.]

Only three?

Wen Xiao frowned, but before he could think further, the red light on the roof of the Shenbao building, 400 meters away, burst forth with a deadly brightness once again!

With another loud bang, the second sniper bullet from the direction of the Shenbao Hall was fired!

Wen Xiao immediately crouched down; the sniper bullet barely grazed his scalp before tearing the back of the car seat apart once more.