After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Jiang Yao didn't speak, but silently drank her soup. The usual arrogance of the underworld heiress had completely vanished.

The crystal chandelier above the dining table casts a soft glow. The surface appears calm, but the atmosphere beneath is rapidly heating up.

Jiang Yao took off her fluffy slippers. Her toes, encased in sheer black stockings, gently crept up the cuffs of Zhu Xun Chuan's trousers. The soft, warm touch transmitted through the fabric. She twirled her toes under the table, her eyes fixed intently on the soup bowl in front of her.

Lin Chuxia was not to be outdone. She put down her porcelain bowl and, under the guise of reaching for a tissue in the center of the table, leaned forward. The collar of her white shirt hung down naturally, revealing a tantalizing view.

Her slender, pale fingers seemingly casually brushed against the back of Zhu Xun Chuan's hand, which was resting on the table, with the pad of her index finger even teasingly scratching his palm.

Zhu Xun Chuan put down his chopsticks.

He flipped his left hand across the table and directly grasped Lin Chuxia's restless little hand in his palm, squeezing her soft knuckles.

He slightly raised his right leg under the table, precisely clamping Jiang Yao's restless ankle, and pressed his thumb heavily on her arch.

The two women froze simultaneously, and blushes instantly spread across their faces.

"If you like the soup, drink more." Zhu Xun Chuan's tone was languid, carrying an undeniable aura of authority. "Don't try anything funny down there. It'll make you indigestion."

Lin Chuxia bit her red lips, and instead of pulling her hand away, she rubbed it against Zhu Xunchuan's large palm, muttering softly, "Scumbag, you're so skilled, how many girls have you fooled?"

Jiang Yao's ankle was restrained, and half of her body went limp. She glanced at Zhu Xun Chuan with a playful, reproachful look.

"Go to the master bedroom to sleep after you finish eating." Zhu Xun Chuan loosened the ties between the two of them, picked up his water glass and took a sip. "When you wake up, the sky in Ice City will be clear."

This composure, remaining unmoved even when faced with a collapsing mountain, is the most potent medicine in the world for Jiang Yao and Lin Chuxia.

They stopped making a fuss, obediently finished their duck soup, and walked into the master bedroom, each looking at the other with dislike.

Click.

The master bedroom door was closed.

Zhu Xun Chuan leaned back in his chair, the languidness on his face gradually fading.

He took off his gray apron and tossed it onto the back of the chair. He walked back to the living room, picked up the black fitted trench coat, and put it on. He buttoned it up and put on a pair of black leather gloves.

The encrypted phone vibrates.

"Xiaobai, location." Zhu Xunchuan opened the communication.

"Northern suburbs, No. 17 Changlin Road, an unfinished building." Xiao Bai's cold voice came through. "Thirty-one people in total. All equipped with modified AK-series automatic rifles. I've already planted the explosives in the load-bearing columns."

Zhu Xun Chuan turned off the screen, walked to the entrance, and pushed open the door into the cold wind of the northern night.

……

Four o'clock in the morning. An unfinished building on Changlin Road in the northern suburbs.

A fierce, raging snowstorm swept through the area. These were several high-rise buildings that had been abandoned for years; their gray-white concrete pillars pierced the night sky, creating a desolate and lifeless scene.

Zhu Xun Chuan walked alone, holding a black straight-handled umbrella, through the thick snow, into the lobby of the ground floor of an unfinished building in the very center.

A few dim diesel lamps were lit in the hall, casting flickering light and shadow.

Thirty Maoist mercenaries, clad in military-green extreme cold-weather combat suits, stood in two lines, rifles at the ready, blocking all exits and high points. Without exception, all their guns were pointed at the man with the umbrella who had emerged from the snowy night.

Zhu Xunchuan folded his umbrella and shook off the snow. The hem of his trench coat fluttered in the draft.

He raised his head.

In the center of the hall, on the concrete ruins, sat a burly man nearly two meters tall.

The burly man wore a worn-out suede overcoat and had a thick Goosebah cigar dangling from his mouth. Half of his face was hidden in shadow, and the dark purple scar on his open collar looked particularly menacing under the diesel lamp.

Siberian gray wolf.

"Mr. Zhu. Seeing is believing." Gray Wolf exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and stood up. His massive body exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression. "You crippled Jiang Hai, you crippled Jiang He. You smashed the chessboard I set up in Ice City to pieces. Not bad for you."

Zhu Xun Chuan brushed the snow off his gloves and said calmly, "Crossing the border to snatch food, breaking the rules. You've overstepped your bounds."

The gray wolf burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the empty, unfinished building.

"Rules are made by the living. Ten years ago, Jiang Ting slashed me with a knife, and today I'm taking away his entire Jiang family. This is called an eye for an eye." Gray Wolf walked down from the ruins with heavy steps.

The thirty rifles around them simultaneously pulled back their bolts, the sound of bullets being chambered was crisp and piercing.

Zhu Xun Chuan's gaze swept across the surroundings, his face devoid of any emotional fluctuation. Before he arrived, Xiao Bai had already infiltrated and planted high explosives on the key load-bearing pillars. With just a gesture from him, this building would become everyone's grave in three seconds. But today, he didn't want to overturn the table so easily.

The gray wolf stopped three meters in front of Zhu Xunchuan.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a large-caliber Smith & Wesson M500 revolver. This gun, nicknamed the "hand cannon," was powerful enough to pierce an elephant's skull with a single shot.

"Smack."

Gray Wolf pressed the cylinder button, ejecting five gleaming yellow bullets, leaving only one in the magazine. He gave it a sharp flick, the cylinder making a crisp spinning sound. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he snapped the magazine shut.

Grey Wolf threw the deadly revolver onto the snow between the two men.

"I don't bully the younger generation. We follow the oldest rules of the border." Gray Wolf spat out his cigar, his gaze fixed on Zhu Xun Chuan with a cruel and fanatical intensity. "Russian roulette. One person, one gun. Whoever survives, gets to decide."

In the snow-covered northern suburbs, the temperature inside the lobby of an abandoned, unfinished building was extremely low.

The flickering lights of the diesel lamps illuminated the broken bricks and tiles scattered on the ground.

Zhu Xun Chuan stood still. He bent down and picked up the Smith & Wesson M500 revolver from the snow.

No verbal provocation was needed. He raised the two-kilogram hand cannon and pressed the dark barrel directly against his temple.

The sinister grin that had just appeared on the gray wolf's face hadn't even settled yet.

"Click".

The hammer fell, and the crisp sound of the empty chamber echoed through the hall.

The thirty mercenaries paled instantly, their breath catching in their throats. This kind of weapon, capable of penetrating light armor, meant certain death the moment it fired.

Zhu Xun Chuan remained expressionless and pulled the trigger again with his index finger.

"Click".

The second crisp sound.

The entire room fell silent. He fired two shots without even blinking. This extreme disregard for life and death sent chills down the spines of the group of desperados.

Zhu Xun Chuan casually tossed the hand cannon to the gray wolf on the other side.

"It's your turn."

Gray Wolf caught the gun steadily, his palms sweating.

He had roamed Siberia for thirty years, and even the most valiant generals who had crawled out of mass graves had never seen such an unreasonable madman.