“What sin have I committed!” Godwin closed his eyes and shouted, “If I’m going to die, I want to know why!”

Large beads of sweat streamed down his cheeks. After a few seconds, he plucked up the courage to open his eyes.

The dark barrel of the gun still spewed its venomous message towards him, and behind it were Liang Qiuchi’s even more terrifying eyes.

“What sin have you committed?” Liang Qiuchi crouched down, pressing the barrel of the gun directly against Godwin’s chin. “Have you forgotten about Xiang Bei’s death? The people who sacrificed themselves to save you, have you forgotten them?”

“What’s that got to do with me?”

Godwin couldn’t care less about the excruciating pain in his palm. He tried to retreat backward to avoid the icy barrel of the gun, but Liang Qiuchi forced him into a corner.

He could only say, as if throwing caution to the wind, “If you want revenge, go find my uncle. What’s the point of coming to me?”

Liang Qiuchi said coldly: “The Reinis family’s people, no one will escape. Roy Reinis was the first, and now it’s your turn.”

“I’m just an errand boy!” Godwin exclaimed hoarsely, trying to lighten his own culpability. “The hostage plan back then was all Roy’s idea. I just followed his orders!”

Liang Qiuchi’s objective was achieved. He stood up and stepped back a meter, while Wu Yahui pulled out her phone, aiming the camera at Godwin, who was kneeling and begging for mercy. “Tell us everything you know.”

At this critical moment, saving his life was paramount.

Godwin then laid out the entire sequence of events of the hostage incident from eight years ago. However, he shifted all the blame onto the deceased Roy, portraying himself as merely a lackey who followed orders.

“As you all know, even though my surname is Reinis, I have no say in the family. Roy was my uncle’s favorite son. Who would dare refuse his ideas?”

Wu Yahui zoomed in, capturing Godwin’s tear-stained face clearly on the screen.

She suppressed her anger as much as possible and questioned, “Why deliberately create conflicts? Helping Lugo to create negotiation opportunities is treason, and that’s a capital offense!”

“I just told you, didn’t I? Initially, we didn’t expect it to escalate like this. There were some minor frictions between the two sides before, but they were resolved through negotiations, and we let Lugo gain some benefits. And if there’s no conflict, no war, then why would they buy weapons? Just for bird hunting in their free time?” 

“So, for the arms and military business of the Reinis family, you collaborated with Lugo?” Wu Yahui glared at him through gritted teeth. “Those dead people, they were just sacrificial pawns in your exchange of interests, right?”

“We provided compensation and even gave them compensation in private!” Godwin justified himself. In his eyes, human lives were just numbers, the only difference being the size of the numbers.

Wu Yahui was seething with anger.

Mo Xin walked over, patting her shoulder, indicating for her to hand over the phone for him to record.

He asked, “What else do you know about the smuggling business of the Reinis family?”

Godwin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed, “You’re not planning to use this recording to report us again, are you?” He glanced at the silent Liang Qiuchi, “Haven’t you learned your lesson from last time? I advise you not to harbor such thoughts again. I’m not afraid to speak out. There are too many people involved in this chain of interests, you can’t touch them.”

“Who are they?” Mo Xin asked again.

“Are you trying to trick me?” Godwin suddenly felt like he had bargaining power, “The list is long. Are you planning to make them all step down?”

Just as Mo Xin was about to speak, Liang Qiuchi walked over and turned off the video on the phone.

“That’s enough,” Liang Qiuchi didn’t want to hear any more. He had already obtained the footage he wanted, and now he felt nauseated just looking at the man, “Yahui, let him go.”

Wu Yahui went over to pull the knife out of him. Godwin winced in pain, his vision still blurry from the agony, when his palm was pierced again.

“This stab is for my brother,” Wu Yahui pulled out the knife again, and with a thud, she tossed the blood-stained dagger onto the wooden table.

Mo Xin put on gloves and approached, grabbing Godwin’s collar, lifting the man who was sitting paralyzed by pain, “Let’s go.”

Godwin’s eyes saw stars, bending over in pain, clutching his bleeding hand. He was shoved into the private compartment of the room by Mo Xin.

In a daze, it seemed like his foot stepped on a thick plastic curtain. Godwin looked closely, instantly screaming in horror.

The floor was entirely covered with this waterproof plastic curtain, and even the walls and the ceiling were protected. He felt like he had walked into a meticulously arranged scene of dismemberment, where even if blood splattered, not a single clue would be left behind.

And he was the lamb awaiting slaughter.

He turned around to run, but Mo Xin stood in the doorway, taking the silenced pistol from Liang Qiuchi.

He thought about jumping out the window, but there were no windows to jump from in this confined space. Moreover, Vincent, dressed in black, stood behind him like the Grim Reaper, watching him intently.

“Let me do it,” Liang Qiuchi held Mo Xin’s shoulder, “I don’t want to dirty your hands.”

“I’ll do it.” Mo Xin insisted, just as he had told Liang Qiuchi in the cemetery. If not for wanting to get this confession, he would have shoved the gun into Godwin’s foul mouth long ago.

Godwin was terrified, backing away and crying out, “You can’t kill me! Don’t kill me! I beg you, please, I beg you!”

He was forced into a corner, kneeling and begging for his life.

“As long as you spare me, I’ll do anything you want. I-I can be a witness, I can help you expose my uncle’s smuggling of weapons and treason, right? If you take the video out, people can say it’s fabricated, how could it be more effective than the words of a living person like me, right…”

Mo Xin walked up to him, shoved the silenced muzzle of the gun into Godwin’s mouth, silencing his endless pleas.

“Save your repentance for hell.”

A muffled gunshot was drowned out by the sound of waves coming from outside the door. The bullet casing dropped onto the waterproof curtain laid on the ground, picked up by Vincent before it could be tainted by Godwin’s filthy blood.

“General, leave this to me. You and Mr. Liang should go first,” Vincent respectfully handed the car keys to Mo Xin, “The car is parked at the alley entrance.”

“We don’t have much time, I’ll stay to help,” Wu Yahui called over two of her subordinates, then said to Liang Qiuchi, “You two go ahead.”

“Thank you Jie.”

Liang Qiuchi embraced Mo Xin’s waist and left with him.

Although the federal government had lifted the curfew, the red light district, as a special area, had poor security and was often patrolled by police.

Liang Qiuchi sat in the passenger seat, directing Mo Xin to weave through various narrow alleys and lanes to avoid detection. Mo Xin couldn’t help but glance at him.

“What’s wrong?” Liang Qiuchi asked somewhat strangely.

Mo Xin returned his gaze and said, “Nothing.”

Liang Qiuchi glanced at the rearview mirror and directed him, “Turn right at the next intersection and bypass the bar street.”

Mo Xin abruptly turned the steering wheel, and Liang Qiuchi leaned over towards him due to inertia, planting a kiss on his cheek. ‘Why does our little General Mo seem a bit unhappy?’’

Mo Xin pushed him back into his seat with one hand, coldly saying, ‘Mr. Liang, you seem quite familiar with this area. Do you often come here for fun?’

‘’Uh, occasionally,’ Liang Qiuchi teased him intentionally. ‘Before, I used to come three or four times a week, but then my family started keeping a closer eye on me, so now it’s only once a week.’’

Mo Xin slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a stop by the roadside.

The white exhaust spewed out from the exhaust pipe, billowing up in the night illuminated by the red taillights, mirroring the mood of the driver at the moment.

Liang Qiuchi chuckled, pinching Mo Xin’s slightly swollen cheek. ‘Our little General Mo, why are you so adorable even when jealous?’’

Mo Xin swatted away his hand, about to start the car when he suddenly glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a police officer walking towards them, carrying a baton.