Chapter 00118: Life and Value
# Life and Value
Chapter 118
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 118: Life and Value
"Life is really fragile."
In the dimly lit bar, Xiao An stood amidst pools of blood, staring blankly at the horrific scene before him.
It was as if a storm had passed through, leaving chaos in its wake.
Scattered across the floor, tables, and even on the walls were dismembered bodies, remnants of flesh and innards mixing grotesquely.
Not far outside the door, the sound of someone retching could be heard.
A young officer stood pale, his hand trembling as it clutched the police tape, almost ready to snap.
“Damn it! Who brought a rookie here? Get away and don’t contaminate the scene!” The chief, responsible for the site, habitually cursed, but then paused mid-sentence, his voice faltering as annoyance seeped into his tone. “... Forget it, go ahead and vomit. This godforsaken scene is useless anyway.”
A useful scene?
What good was a scene?
Even if there were witnesses or physical evidence, which police officer would dare to slap handcuffs on Lei Yaoxing? Which one had the courage greater than the chief of police? If they weren’t afraid for themselves, how could they not fear for their families?
“Damn you! Go ahead and fight, it’s all just dogs biting dogs. One day, your whole family will be dead!” The beefy chief spat out betel nut juice onto the ground before turning to leave.
“Chief, aren’t we going to investigate the scene?” one subordinate asked, bewildered.
“What’s the point in looking?” The chief shot a disinterested glance back. “To bring justice? What’s the use of pretending to be serious? Just finish the procedures and call for a truck to clean up!”
What was there to see?
Haven’t they seen enough already?
Since the day before yesterday when they first got the call, every officer had become utterly numb to the carnage.
In the last few days, the streets of Yacheng had no corpses, but how many dark alleys weren’t filled with gang fights? Which ditch didn’t have a floating body?
It was said that in the estuary where the Bei River met the sea, at night, vans from different gangs lined up at the riverbank to dump plastic bags, bustling as if it were a market day.
Was it because the gangs were struggling and couldn’t afford the trash disposal fees?
Everyone had gone mad with bloodlust.
Truly mad.
On the shores, various gangs and associations like the Quancheng Gang, Shenghe, Yiwu, Xinyiwu, and Yiqi, as well as numerous thugs, were all scheming to rise to power, while smugglers and drug dealers at sea sharpened their knives.
Over the years, Lei Wuye had accumulated fourteen adopted children, but four of them were already dead.
Among the remaining ten, two had cleaned themselves up and left the gang life behind, only for one to be brutally murdered at his doorstep and the other to flee to Chaohai City, unsure of what awaited them.
Of the remaining eight, one was on his deathbed in a hospital neighboring his adoptive father’s, while the other seven had long since turned against each other, with only survival left on their minds.
Everyone had turned against one another, it was kill or be killed.
Now, at last, everyone dared to believe that Lei Wuye, this old ghost, was truly at death’s door.
Even if he wanted to fish, he wouldn’t blow up his own fishing pond, would he?
After so much turmoil, order had collapsed, chaos reigned, and authority had crumbled.
Now, even if he were to wake up from his sickbed and stagger before everyone, shouting, “Kids, I’m back!” he’d probably find no one bothered to care.
The dutiful children he once enjoyed in his lap might just bring a watermelon knife over and ask, “Old dog, why the hell haven’t you died sooner?”
The once-clear and strict food chain had completely fallen apart with the drop of the stench-ridden whale.
The surviving beasts feasted on the rancid corpses and pooled blood, eyeing the highest peak while glancing at their equally ambitious rivals as they began to show their fangs.
This battle in the dark had only just begun…
“Everyone seems so bored.”
An Ran stared at the bloodstains on the wall, murmuring to himself.
He didn’t understand, couldn’t fathom.
Why did everyone always kill each other without reason, fighting to the death? It wasn’t as if fighting was inherently bad, but couldn’t they do something else besides kill?
Clearly, none of them bore the surname An, and there were countless more meaningful things to accomplish in this world.
Their lives could have infinite possibilities, yet they chose the worst path.
They claimed they were in it for the money but ended up selling their lives in the cheapest way possible.
Except for the An family, everyone spoke about how precious life was, yet no one cared about life—neither their own nor others’.
Instead, the An family, which survived by murder, kept warning every member, “Only strike when necessary; do not provoke conflict without cause.”
How strange.
He lowered his gaze, observing the fierce faces of the corpses and the expressions frozen in death, contorted in agony.
So ridiculous.
“Hello? Sister Wen, yes, they’re all dead, hmm, forty-one.”
He answered the phone and reported carefully, “Additionally, there were eleven more involved, waitstaff, and some children.”
The innocent victims lay at his feet, looking about the same age as him.
Fear was plastered all over their youthful faces.
Perhaps they had come out with money to imitate the adults at the bar, or maybe they simply wanted to experience the glamour of a bar... only to get caught up in an uncalled-for turmoil and were trampled to death.
So pitiful.
In that instant, it was as though mocking laughter echoed from afar.
From a distant place, cold eyes were cast upon him, and in an instant, he felt a chill run down his spine!
Without warning, the youth turned.
A shrill howl erupted as a piece of iron was hurled from his sleeve, racing with a speed beyond bullets, overcoming many obstacles, piercing through the doorway, and cutting off the antenna that blocked his way, gliding over the roof before ultimately penetrating the top of a decrepit building a kilometer away.
It embedded itself in a rusty iron gate.
With a resounding crash, dust rose from the rooftop, dancing in the sunlight that beat down from the afternoon sky.
Yet in the shadows, there was nothing there.
At such a great distance, Xiao An silently stared at a few dancing particles of dust.
After a long while, he retracted his gaze.
He turned and walked away.
Meanwhile, at the South Ridge District Marine Commerce Center, a towering office building reflected sunlight, and the smooth glass façade gleamed brilliantly.
F21, Shenghe Investment.
In the bustling financial company during the afternoon, people rushed back and forth, handing in documents and reports, speaking in hushed tones that displayed their elite sophistication.
Everyone took pride in their investment results and insights, rarely questioning where the funds circulating in those accounts and forms came from.
At this moment, in the reception room, a call ended.
“Did you hear? This is the mess you’ve caused.”
Wen Wen looked at the middle-aged man sitting on the opposite sofa. “In just the last few days, there have been nearly ten major conflicts that I know of. Today alone, more than forty innocent people have already died due to your involvement. And now, you’re causing even more trouble. Is this how Shenghe conducts business?”
Across the table, the middle-aged man in formal attire with a manager name tag turned pale.
“Supervisor Wen, your words are too much.”
Zhou Cheng shook his head firmly. “I’ve heard of the White Ticket Gang’s troubles, but we can’t be blamed for everything!”
Wen Wen asked coldly, “Isn’t it well known that Lei Yaoxing and Chen Xingzhou are sworn enemies? The White Ticket Gang was just picking up Chen Xingzhou’s leftovers; if it wasn’t you, did Chen Xingzhou kill them himself?”
“That’s hard to say.”
Zhou Cheng smiled indifferently. “It could be that they fought amongst themselves over the spoils; after all, Chen Xingzhou is just a mud Buddha crossing the river, unable to protect himself. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone wanted to jump ship. You could ask them yourself, Supervisor Wen.”
“What’s the point of having little henchmen say this? Have Lei Yaoxing come talk to me.” Wen Wen fixed her piercing gaze on his hypocritical smile. “Someone has to give me an explanation, right?”
“Supervisor Wen, guests should be treated with respect. We at Shenghe have done our part in hospitality; please don’t go too far, or misunderstandings will arise.”
Zhou Cheng’s expression turned cold. “This isn’t your Beishu District, Supervisor Wen. You might want to find another place to flex your muscles. Or are you saying the Security Bureau is finally planning to intervene in our affairs?”
Once the words left his mouth, the air fell into a heavy silence.
Wen Wen stared at him without expression.
Veins popped on the back of her hand.
This was why the other side felt fearless; it was something the Director had reiterated countless times.
In this chaotic moment where no one led, Yacheng’s underbelly was bound to undergo a brutal reshuffling, with countless defeated corpses paving the way for the victor's position.
This was a mutual slaughter between the white deer, with no room for the Heavenly Origin to interfere.
A den of snakes and rats.
Things that couldn’t be seen in the light should end in darkness, and no one would care how many died.
If the Security Bureau intervened rashly, it would surely face retaliation from the Wilderness Alliance, which would absolutely not allow this bloody selection of leaders to be tampered with by the Security Bureau.
“Please leave, Supervisor Wen. Let’s leave some dignity between the Security Bureau and the Wilderness Alliance.”
Zhou Cheng masked the ridicule and disdain in his gaze, standing up and adjusting his neatly tailored jacket before walking out slowly. “Brother Xing won’t see you today.”
Wen Wen said nothing.
She didn't even move.
Just taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.
Endure, endure, Wen Wen, you can't let the Director’s kindness and efforts go to waste.
Don't create trouble for yourself; don’t ruin the big picture.
You’re an adult now; don’t explode in anger and turn this into a life-or-death matter…
But more had already died.
More innocent people—the common folks caught in this bloody power struggle, those pregnant women and children crushed by trucks charging at their opponents.
The eyes of the dead in the pools of blood…
Damn it, I can’t take it anymore!
They say a person's nature is hard to change, especially the stubbornness of the Wilderness, even harder to shift, unable to speak without being disobedient… She had paid the price for her own foolish nature more than once.
She regretted it, not just once; she wanted to change, more than once.
But had she actually changed?
Even once?
Forget it, Wen, your life is practically finished!
“Fine, if you insist, then I will leave."
Wen Wen forced a self-deprecating smile, sighed lightly, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a crumpled envelope, placing it on the table.
Zhou Cheng stood frozen in place.
“There’s a resignation letter here. In five minutes, if I don’t see Lei Yaoxing, I will walk out of here, put it in the Director's office, and then head to the Security Bureau’s personnel office to complete my resignation. By five o’clock this afternoon, I’ll have no relations with the Security Bureau whatsoever.”
She tilted her head, lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, narrowing her eyes in satisfaction. “If I hadn't wasted too much time before pummeling my former colleague, I would have first enjoyed a meal with my friends, drink a bit, and celebrate my newfound freedom. Then—”
Wen Wen lifted her gaze, looking at him with resolute words. “I will come back and crush Lei Yaoxing's head right outside his father’s hospital room, then put his cheap adoptive father along for the ride. And before that, I’ll burn each of you trash into ash one by one, including you and your cousin, who’s still on probation! If you don’t want the Security Bureau to handle this, then let me take care of it. The Security Bureau will let you live in this world, but I won’t. Now, before I solve this mess the way you do, I have one last question for you.”
In that moment, from the smile of that tall woman, a sense of judgment emerged, solemn and awe-inspiring, as if looking down upon the mortal realm and delivering judgment.
A pressure greater than stone or iron spread out, a thread after thread, as if the dust from the heavens was falling down to bury Zhou Cheng’s gradually paling face beneath the ground.
Thus, Wen Wen asked coldly:
“—Are you willing to bet Lei Yaoxing’s life against mine?”
The beginning of the month has come, requesting a guaranteed monthly vote.
(This chapter ends)