LBOT-4

The night view of Sydney shone brightly from the window. The scenery that was unfamiliar to him when he first came here was now as comfortable as his own home.

There was no such thing as a home for him, so if he remain anywhere long enough, it becomes his home.

After recalling the old memories for a moment, Xiao Zhan took out a cigarette and lit it.

Kim Joon appeared and handed him one of two bottles of beer from the refrigerator.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I wondered if I could come back here.”

Kim Joon’s brow furrowed.

“What a bad luck.”

Xiao Zhan smiled and took a sip of the beer.

He had to go outside in the afternoon the next day. He needed to tidy up his hair, get a new pair of glasses, and dress modestly.

He planned to eat at a usual restaurant where he ate frequently.

“Are you returning to China for the first time in five years?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you feel?”

“Well…”

Kim Joon did not ask any further questions.

He knew how much of a terrible childhood Xiao Zhan had in China.

Both his parents were criminals and he said they engaged in drug-related work. While his peers were studying at school, Xiao Zhan was used to deliver drugs.

Being beaten after being hungry was common, and he didn’t even have a chance to dream in the first place.

After his parents died, Xiao Zhan was left alone at the age of ten and fostered by Kim Joon’s father.

Kim Joon, who was 12 years old at the time, watched after Xiao Zhan as if he were a younger brother, but the two eventually became criminals because what they saw and learned was stealing.

“What should you do when you get the money?”

“I’m thinking about getting a hair transplant. What do you think?”

Xiao Zhan burst out laughing.

Kim Joon had previously come from elsewhere to apply hair growth medicine, but this went wrong, and hair grew on his palms, forcing him to use a razor on his palms for a while.

He later read in the manual that after application, he should wash his hands thoroughly with water.

“Give up. If there was a way to change it, none of the famous people would be bald?”

Kim Joon was aware of it as well, so he couldn’t deny it.

“Then what are you going to do? Are you really going to buy an island?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Xiao Zhan hesitated for a while, pressing the tip of the beer bottle to his lips.

“Should I donate the money?”

“Donation?”

“Like Warren Buffett.”

“That’s great. He’s the best at investing and you’re the best at killings, so in a way, you two have something in common.”

Kim Joon was serious, but Xiao Zhan smiled bitterly.

Warren Buffett would be furious if he learned that he was compared to a butcher who kills people.

Many people have always admired that person, yet the only time he has been regarded was when he has killed someone.

Kim Joon picked up his beer bottle.

“For you who will be greater than Warren Buffett.”

Xiao Zhan laughed and bumped his bottle.

“For five million dollars and your new hair.”

====

Wang Yibo closed his eyes and raised his arm to press the stop button when the loud alarm went off.

The time was 7 a.m.

He got up and rubbed his face to wake him up.

He drank alcohol with politicians until late yesterday, and the hangover did not go away even after he slept and woke up.

He wanted to go back to bed, but he couldn’t because he had an appointment in the morning.

After putting on a robe in a nude state, he went out into the living room.

When Bowen noticed him, he got up from the sofa.

“You’re here, sir.”

“You came early.”

His voice cracked from exhaustion and he walked to one side of the bar and opened the refrigerator.

It was stocked with beer and disposable bottled water. He took a bottle of water, twisted the cover off, and drank it to relieve his thirst.

“What time did you say the flight?”

“It’s half-past ten.”

He’d be on time if he washed up and left right now. He took off his robe and went into the bathroom to shower with cold water after discarding the empty bottled water in the trash can.

He closed his eyes and stood under the water few moments to regain his composure.

After wiping off the water, he went out to dry his hair, applied skin toner and picked out a shirt.

He put on a blue shirt, a watch, and a tie that matched, and stood in front of the mirror.

He smiled warmly as he fastened his cufflinks, as though his partner was standing directly in front of him.

“Welcome to China.”

He then shifted his gaze left and right to examine his own features. “Hmm, handsome.”

He took his jacket and headed outside with a satisfied smile on his face.

Li Bowen was waiting for him.

“Let’s go.”

The two went through the long hallway on the second floor to the central staircase.

Every movement was recorded on CCTV installed throughout the house.

It was placed four years ago after he was attacked, and it has a night vision feature that detects activity even in the dark.

At that time, only five people died in Wang Yibo’s home.

Two of them were guards, while the other three were intruders. He had kept one of the intruders alive and tortured him severely to find out who had ordered him.

A member of the National Assembly was found dead in a car the next year.

“Good morning, sir.”

The resident employees all lowered their heads at the same time as he walked down the steps.

“Good morning.”

He came out after hearing an elderly woman wearing an apron greet from the back kitchen.

She was the housekeeper, who did housework and Wang Yibo had known her since he was barely able to walk.

“Sir, you’re here.”

“Mrs. Please don’t prepare breakfast. I’m going to the airport right away.”

“Then I’ll make something simple for you to eat.”

“It’s okay. Never mind.”

“I heard that a guest is coming today…”

“Yes, he will stay here for a while. Please take good care of him, Mrs.”

“Yes. I will.”

Wang Yibo headed out with Li Bowen after giving her a gentle smile.

The car had parked in front of the gate appeared in front of him as he proceeded through the open grass.

Yibo, who was sitting in the back seat, leaned on it. A hangover that did not go away completely plagued his stomach again.

As he frowned his brow, Bowen who was seated in front noticed it and looked back.

“Are you all right, Sir?”

He nodded once.

The car started and the park came into view as they drove out of the neighborhood.

Although it was early, there were quite a few people out for a walk. They were out on an outing with their family, dressed in casual clothing and enjoying the spring sun.

He just passed the park and found a flower shop and stopped the car.

Li Bowen turned around to see what was happening.

“Go and buy some flowers.”

“You say flowers, Sir?”

“I should prepare a bouquet of flowers for the guests coming from far away.”

Li Bowen got off the car without more questions and proceeded to the flower shop.

He has bought a bouquet of roses after a few talks with the owner. Bowen appeared to be an average man on his way to meet his lover, carrying a bouquet of roses.

Yibo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes as the car continued its ride.

The surging exhaustion and hangover were forcing him to sleep. He thought it would just be for a few minutes, but when he awoke, he was already on his way to the airport.

Ah, he twisted his neck left and right and checked the time. He arrived on time.

The car drove for ten more minutes and stopped in front of the airport.

Bowen presented the flowers to Yibo as he exited the car.

The aroma of roses was overwhelming. The only time he touched flowers was when someone had died and something to celebrate.

There weren’t many people in the airport when they arrived.

He awaited him in front of the gate, holding a bouquet of roses in one hand and a paper with the Chinese characters ‘Mo Xuanyu’ written on it.

A sign indicated that a flight from Singapore had arrived, and people began to pour out.

Yibo examines the people leaving with their luggage intently, and a tall figure stands out in the distance.

He was dressed in a green striped shirt with spherical silver-rimmed glasses, yet his shoulders were slightly bowed and his eyes looking around were quite young and naive.

A man who appeared to be a guard next to him was carrying his luggage.

“That’s him, right?”

Bowen, who was also observing, took a picture from his arms and checked it.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Yibo took the bouquet of roses and stepped forward, standing in front of him, without hesitation. Looking closely, he wasn’t that tall. A little over 180 centimeters.

The other person raised his head and established eye contact as he looked down at his height, which was shorter than his.

Surprisingly, the inside of the circular spectacles revealed the bigger eyes. His eyes were red and watery.

“My name is Wang Yibo. Welcome to China.”

He handed out the rose bouquet and noticed the guard standing next to him. The guard nodded.

A bouquet of roses was presented to Mo Xuanyu, or Xiao Zhan, who was disguised as Mo Xuanyu.

Yibo immediately held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Xiao Zhan hesitantly held his hand.

“Nice to meet you.” Zhan smiled awkwardly after saying hello in Chinese.

Wang Yibo’s hands were cold and it was similar to the feeling of touching a snake.

Zhan felt like he’d been holding his hand for too long, so he tried to release it, but he couldn’t.

As Xiao Zhan’s expression hardened, the guard from Singapore noticed something strange and stepped forward.

[Don’t be rude.]

Bowen who was behind Yibo sent a warning to the Singapore guard with a look of warning not to step in.

Yibo smiled and let go as his hands relaxed. But his hand didn’t just fall off. He rubbed Xiao Zhan’s palm with his fingertips as if he were caressing him.

“I apologize for holding your hand for so long. Please follow me. The car is in front.”

As Wang Yibo and Li Bowen turned and walked ahead, Xiao Zhan, who was left behind, let out a deep sigh without realizing it.

Damn it. A cold sweat trickled down on his back.

He didn’t know why, but Wang Yibo seemed to have confirmed his calluses by rubbing his palm a while ago.

…No way.

The hand holding the bouquet became tense.

An acquaintance of Kim Joon and a colleague who would help him tapped him on the back. He nodded at him and asked whether he was all right.

Wang Yibo, who was walking in front of him, turned around and gave him a sidelong glance, indicating that he should follow him.

===

Despite the overwhelming scent of roses, Xiao Zhan’s nerves were focused on Wang Yibo, who sat next to him.

He was perplexed as to why he grimaced as he touched his hand. He didn’t know what he was trying to check.

However, Wang Yibo only looked out throughout the ride and didn’t say much.

In suffocating silence, the car crossed the Bridge. It was difficult to tell if the foggy floating on the sea was fog or dust.

Buildings appeared after crossing over a lengthy bridge.

It was Xiao Zhan’s first visit in five years.

When he stepped on China land, old memories came to mind. It wasn’t a sad or heartbreaking feeling.

Sometimes he would imagine if his parents were still alive, but even if they were, there was no guarantee that life would be better than now.

Even if he had been beaten to death, starved to death, or if he had been lucky enough to survive, he would have become a drug addict.

“Have you ever visited China?”

Wang Yibo, who had only been looking out the window, asked in a sloppy manner.

Xiao Zhan nodded with a smile on his lips.

He needs to make a good first impression and figure out where the safe was hidden. It was more difficult to do that than to kill him.

Killing with improvised weapons may have been carried out right here.

“I’ve been here a few times with my mother. To see my maternal grandfather.”

“I see. You speak Chinese better than I thought.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“We met in Singapore a long time ago. Do you remember?”

Zhan was completely unaware of this information. He had heard that Mo Xuanyu was shrouded in a veil and never appeared outside.

His hands were sweaty and he was hearing a warning sound in his head. Zhan was nervous, but his expression remained calm.

“Is that so? I can’t remember…”

“It was very brief. At the time, you must have been four or five years old.”

Thank God. He hadn’t seen him grow up.

“You grabbed my pants, cried, and begged me.”

“I… did?”

“It was our first meeting, but I don’t know why you did that to me.”

“Haha… You must have been overwhelmed.”

“Yes, so I hit you. My father scolded me because you got a nosebleed.”

The atmosphere became cold in an instant. Just looking at his face, he looks like he regrets not doing more.

Zhan was at a loss for words in embarrassment. He should apologize later. ‘I apologize for bothering you at the time.’ Or maybe he said it just to make him laugh.

As he was thinking about fifty thousand thoughts, Wang Yibo’s phone rang.

Xiao Zhan thought it was good. He wished him to be on the phone all the way to the place.

“Say it.”

However, the wish did not come true. Wang Yibo hung up the phone after saying just one word, “Okay.”

Then he immediately called the man named Bowen who was sitting in front of him.

“Turn the car. Go to the factory.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The car changed lanes and went to the U-turn spot without hesitation. The light changed, and the car reversed its direction.

Was the factory nearby?

“I think we will be arriving home a little late. I have a place to stop by because something happened.”

Then I should stay in this small area with him for a while longer. Zhan smiled unconcernedly.

“It’s all right. And you can speak informally. I’m much younger than you. I’ll follow you like a brother.”

However, Wang Yibo immediately refused.

“No. I don’t want to.”

“Yes… Then do whatever made you comfortable.”

Xiao Zhan turned his head and stared out the window after smiling at him. Bastard. So picky.

He pondered how to go through this after swearing on the inside.

A roadblock appeared shortly after, and the car turned in the other way as before.

Zhan was looking at the scenery outside when he heard a small tick, tick, tick, regular sound.

Looking to the side, Wang Yibo snapped his fingers and tapped on the window with a bored expression on his face. It was a childish thing that didn’t match his appearance.

The number of buildings and cars diminished as the cars drove, and fields began to appear.

There were very few restaurants that he could see from time to time.

Even though it was a great car, when they left the asphalt road and entered the unpaved road, it couldn’t help but shake its body.

Grass the size of a human was overgrown outside the window. It was one of those scenes that you see a lot in horror movies. A killer sprang from the grass, chasing you down with a long scythe.

Just like that 30 minutes had passed.

The car slowed down, and an old warehouse appeared in the distance.

The warehouse made of containers was old and unsightly to be called a factory.

A group of men dressed in black suits had gathered in front of the warehouse.

Most of them were big, and a sense of intimidation emanated from a distance.

The car stopped a little further away from them, then Wang Yibo and Li Bowen, who sat in front, loosened their seat belts almost at the same time.

“Xuanyu, please stay here for a while.”

Zhan nodded his head. “Take care.”

Wang Yibo and Li Bowen got out of the car and walked towards the warehouse.

Judging by the atmosphere, they were not going to fight.

The men who had gathered confirmed that the two had appeared and dispersed in unison on opposite sides.

Zhan’s eyes widened slightly as he watched.

A man was sitting on his knees could be seen as the group was separated.

The man’s face was covered in blood.

Xiao Zhan lowered his head out of curiosity and looked at him carefully.

Wang Yibo’s subordinate, who was in the driver’s seat, looked into the rearview mirror, but he didn’t care.

They all bowed their heads at 90 degrees in unison to greet Wang Yibo as he approached.

With his hands bound behind his back, the man soaked in blood raised his head. He didn’t make a sound, but it seemed like he was pleading for mercy.

However, Wang Yibo didn’t seem to have any intention of having a conversation.

In the blink of an eye, he pulled out a gun from the waist of his subordinate, who was standing nearby and aimed it at the man.

The moment I thought, ‘No way,’

BANG!! I could hear the sound of a gun in the car.

The head of the man sitting on his knees bursts and he falls down. Again,

Bang, Bang, Bang,

After three shots in a row in the chest area, Wang Yibo returned the gun to the owner and pulled out a cigarette.

As soon as he beckoned, the subordinate next to him pulled a dagger from his waist, approached the fallen man, and cut something out.

Wang Yibo walked over to the car after smoking a cigarette and throwing it on the corpse.

Xiao Zhan kept his mouth shut and did not take his eyes off the figure. It was not a skill Yibo would have after only shooting once or twice.

The muzzle was aimed precisely at the heart, and there was no sign of hesitation.

Xiao Zhan sat up straight and pretended not to see anything.

When the back door opened, a mixture of cigarette smoke and gunpowder stung the tip of his nose.

“I’m sorry. It was urgent, so I couldn’t postpone it.”

Yibo was so casual, like someone a few minutes late for an appointment.

Zhan didn’t know what to say. Maybe he should act as if he’s surprised. Although he grew up in a dark place, Mo Xuanyu grew up like a normal person under his grandfather’s protection.

He wondered what would an ordinary 21-year-old say in this situation.

He couldn’t find anything to say, so he stared at him and found blood on Wang Yibo’s right cheek.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“There’s blood on your face…”

Wang Yibo rubbed his chin with the palm of his hand.

Xiao Zhan, who was worried, took out a handkerchief from his pants pocket.

Kim Joon gave it to him before he came to China. A well raised young master should have one of these.

He laughed at him not to be funny, but he never thought that this would be useful. As expected, he sometimes did wise things as a man born in the kingdom of Confucius.

As Xiao Zhan wiped the blood from Wang Yibo’s cheek with a handkerchief, Wang Yibo’s eyes stare intently at him.

Zhan folded the blood-stained handkerchief and tucked it into his pocket, smiling as nicely as he could. That was the end of it. It was now clean.

Then he looked straight ahead.

His men were putting dead bodies in drums and loading them into trucks.

Zhan had a hunch about where it was going. They planned to bury it deep down, where no one could discover it.

It might be either the land or the sea. In the same way, as his parents did.

Still, that guy was lucky. Because he was not thrown alive.

Zhan, who had been thinking about the past, felt the gaze on his cheek and turned his head. Wang Yibo’s gaze remained fixed on his face.

Wang Yibo stared at him so intently that his cheeks sting.

The car did not start, and the situation was very uncomfortable for Xiao Zhan.

“If you have anything to say to me…”

The gaze that had been on his face was now lowered. Zhan felt nervous as he felt his body being scanned.

Perhaps Yibo noticed something because he was wearing a shirt and pants with a big size. His attention fell to the bouquet that had been placed in his lap.

“I think my choice was excellent.”

“Yes?”

“It suits you. The red roses.”

Zhan was perplexed as to what this jerk was talking about. He didn’t know what to say in response to phrases that made him want to puke.

Before he even finished thinking about it, Wang Yibo leans back on the chair and looks forward as if nothing had happened.

Zhan barely relaxed his wrinkled expression and straightened his posture.

The inside of the car was remarkably quiet.

Damn it. Turn on the radio or something.

As the car drove, a dense grassy forest appeared again.

It felt like he was seated next to a man who had passed him by without saying anything when he arrived. He couldn’t even look inside.

====