Chapter 198 The Clown

Chu Yuxuan knew that Lao Wu's personality was similar to his own; they both kept their troubles to themselves. Thus, he didn't press him further and said, "It's not your fault. The terrain here is complex, with winding alleys. They used the night to sneak in, so it wasn't easy to detect them. Ah, and it's my oversight; I didn't anticipate the mantis catching the cicada with the sparrow behind. … You go back to the car and use the drones to find them! Xiaoqing, stay with Lao San and be careful. We'll split up to chase them!"

With that, the brothers went their separate ways.

Lao Wu felt a pang of guilt as he hurried back to the car, overwhelmed with self-reproach. He had made several calls from the car earlier, all of which went unanswered. His unsettled state had led to the current disaster. Not only had the clues been silenced, but his own elder brother had also narrowly escaped harm. Such mistakes were absolutely unacceptable.

Back at the car, Lao Wu adjusted his emotions and launched all three drones. In no time, the drones covered the entire shantytown. However, due to the dense night and complex alleys, it took some time before he spotted a single assassin.

"Lao San, follow my drone; there's one near you!"

"Found another one. Lao Si, he's directly in front of you, behind three courtyards. Go over and chase him!"

"D*mn it! I know which direction they're heading. There's a van at the southwest entrance of the shantytown; it should be theirs. They're all heading in that direction!"

The brothers hurried towards the alley entrance upon hearing this.

A few minutes later, as they neared the alley entrance, Lao Si suddenly warned Chu Yuxuan, "There's a narrow dead end to the left with someone hiding there!" The alley was flanked by two abandoned two-story houses, with the end blocked by a five-meter-high brick wall.

Chu Yuxuan stopped abruptly, and at that moment, a flash of gunfire appeared in the alley, followed by a gunshot. The bullet whizzed past Chu Yuxuan.

Chu Yuxuan chose not to exchange fire with the assassin in the alley. He fired two random shots and then leaped into the adjacent courtyard. Following Lao Wu's guidance, he stealthily approached the assassin. They were only separated by a wall. Chu Yuxuan took advantage of the assassin's unawareness, suddenly climbing over the wall. He intended to capture the assassin alive, but the assassin, being very alert, raised his gun as soon as he sensed Chu Yuxuan's presence, aiming directly at his head. In a desperate situation, Chu Yuxuan had no choice but to kill him with a single shot.

"Good job, Lao Wu!" Chu Yuxuan said, dropping into the narrow dead end.

Before Lao Wu could respond to the praise, he warned, "There's an assassin at the alley entrance on your right!" Chu Yuxuan crouched down, aiming his gun at the alley entrance, waiting for the right moment.

At that moment, a strange sound came from the alley entrance—a creepy laughter occasionally accompanied by a peculiar "gurgling" sound from the throat.

Chu Yuxuan was all too familiar with this sound. In an instant, he felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss. His body stiffened and began to tremble violently!

"He's coming closer! Big Brother, he's completely unguarded and probably doesn't know you're inside … but he seems quite relaxed. You…"

Lao Wu's voice in Chu Yuxuan's ear became faint, soon replaced by the sound of crashing waves and the cheerful cries of seagulls. The next moment, a figure appeared at the entrance of the alley. The figure stopped, continuing to emit eerie laughter, seemingly unconcerned that Chu Yuxuan might shoot him. At that moment, Chu Yuxuan's breathing was erratic, sweat beaded on his forehead, and the gun in his hand felt impossibly heavy. He could barely lift it, and eventually, it fell to the ground.

"Young Master Chu, we meet again, hahahaha…"

The figure at the alley entrance took out a phone, and a faint light illuminated his face—it was a clown mask. Beneath the mask were eyes that glinted with a predatory and perverse gleam.

"I've missed you so much over the years! Hahahaha…"

The clown advanced, turning on the flashlight on his phone to shine on Chu Yuxuan. As he approached step by step, Chu Yuxuan, trembling, sat up and used his hands to push against the ground, inching backward as if seeing a ghost. He pressed himself against the wall, shrinking into the corner, shaking violently. His eyes were red, and he kept muttering, "The character for 'king' with one stroke removed is 'earth'... is 'work'... please don't come closer... I beg you... I know I was wrong!"

The narrow dead end felt like a nightmare's shipping container. Memories flickered through his mind like slides. Lao Wu, sensing something was wrong, quickly alerted the brothers and sped towards the scene in a frenzy.

"Oh, my dear child, you seem to miss me too, hahahaha…"

The clown stood before Chu Yuxuan, pressing the phone to his face. The intense light gradually made Chu Yuxuan's eyes glaze over, and his pupils dilated. "My dear child, are you eager to play a game with me? Hmm?" The clown said excitedly and mockingly, his breath quickening. He eagerly pulled a scalpel from his pocket. "Tell me quickly, 'king' minus one stroke, what is it? Hahahaha…"

"It's 'earth'…"

"And if you remove another stroke?"

"Remove another stroke?"

Chu Yuxuan, trembling and as pale as a ghost, said in fear, "I was wrong, I was wrong. It wasn't 'up', it's 'ten'!"

The clown cackled with a "gurgling" laugh, pressing the scalpel against Chu Yuxuan's chest and said mockingly, "Then, are you ready to accept your punishment? Hmm? Hahahaha…"

The inhuman psychopath laughed maniacally as he plunged the scalpel into Chu Yuxuan's chest, cutting deeply, and then slowly dragged it down, twisting his wrist as if to carve out a piece of flesh.

"Ah!"

Chu Yuxuan screamed in agony but showed no sign of resistance, unable to even look at the clown!