17 Chapter 16: Death by Boiling...

(40 minutes before the call to Falicia...)

Grim and Miss Xuãn were talking happily when she noticed that they had both finished the tea and decided to brew some more water.

"I'll be right back with a fresh batch..."

"Take your time Miss Xuãn, there is no rush," Grim said casually.

Meanwhile, in the stairwell, 4 men were walking up the stairs. All of Chinese descent, approached the top floor and stopped at the beginning of the hall.

One of them took out a pistol with a silencer and then pocketed it to his waist, he looked at the three others and said,

"Fan-zhou, your with me, the boss wants to bring Cheng's loved one in for failing his mission. It's a quick in and out, if anything happens and we're not back in two minutes come in after us."

"And make sure you're cousin that's in the car is ready to leave immediately before the police arrive."

They nodded and all of them got ready, meanwhile Grim who was waiting for Miss Xuãn in the living room suddenly

felt on edge, but he didn't know why.

That was when he heard footsteps in the hallway and heard some unfamiliar voices.

Though not clear as they were whispering he could pick out a few words, suddenly the nonchalant look he previously had disappeared, and he immediately stood up and walked to the kitchen.

Miss Xuãn wondered what happened seeing Grim stand up suddenly but before she could ask, Grim picked her up and said." Miss Xuãn I need you to be quiet and not come out or make a sound until I tell you to."

"Grim what going on, what's gotten into you so suddenly" Miss Xuãn asked worriedly as he entered the washing closet and placed Miss Xuãn inside.

"I don't know what's going on, but some bad people have come for you, no matter what don't come out."

"Grim..."

"Please...please miss Xuãn."

Xuãn looked into Grim's eyes, this was the first time she'd ever seen this scary but worried look on his face, and she reluctantly nodded.

Grim immediately had a blank stare the moment he closed the closet door.

He looked around the apartment, checking out the layout before hiding inside the kitchen.

.....

Meanwhile, outside, the two men Fang-Zhou and the leader Kim knocked on the door, hard.

They waited for an answer but no one responded. They knocked a second time but again, no reply.

They looked at each other before Kim spoke out."Hello Miss Xuãn, are you in? It's me Kim, Cheng's friend, he left something behind and wanted me to come pick it up."

What followed was again, silence, so he looked at his companion and nodded. Fang-Zhou took out his gun and shot the door handle before breaking through the door.

The two looked around guns drawn but saw no one, though Kim immediately noticed two cups of tea, they were mostly empty but he could still see the steam coming off them.

"She's still here. Look for her, I'll stay at the door just in case she tries to escape or call for help."

Fang Zhou nodded and started looking around.

Kim spoke out again. "Miss Xuãn are you in, there is no need to hide, that is unless you want Little Cheng to be hurt because of you."

He said mockingly while Fang-Zhou entered the kitchen and surveyed the area, unaware of Grim's presence.

The sound of the kettle whistling on the stove added to the tense atmosphere.

.....

As Fang Zhou was searching the kitchen he couldn't find anything and turned around but that's when the door behind him slammed open.

Cupping his palms Grim smashed them on both sides of Fang-Zhous ears causing him immediate pain and nausea, but Grim didn't give him time to think as with a swift kick to his shin he shattered both tibia and fibula, bringing Fang-Zhou down to his knees.

Gahhhh!!!

Fang-zhou pumped on Adrenalin now looked at Grim with anger and tried to shoot him, but Grim grabbed his hair yanked it back and grabbed the arm that had the gun.

Crack!!!

He held his wrist tight and kneed his elbow, twisting it in a way that it wasn't meant to bend.

Fang-zouh screamed alerting Kim, who took out his gun and rushed to wherever Fang-Zhou was.

Meanwhile still in the kitchen as he was screaming, Grim turned to the boiling kettle and grabbed it, seeing the kettle Fang-zhou shook his head in horror, and looked into Grim's eyes, begging him not to do what he was about to do.

But Grim didn't care, they tried hurting someone precious to him, he was always taught to show no mercy to enemies that's how he survived all these years.

And that never changed with his new undead life either.

He then poured the scalding hot water on Fang-zhou's face and he screached holding his face that now felt like the sun had burnt it.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Meanwhile, Grim saw a shadow in the corner and lifted Fang-Zhou up.

Kim shot at Grim but he used Fang-zhou's body as a shield and he died in two shots.

Grim then threw his body to the side and rushed to Kim who soon reacted and continued to shoot, one hitting his heart and the other at his temple.

Grim immediately collapsed to the ground and stopped moving.

"..."

Kim tried to calm his heart and looked at Fang-zhou and then at Grim who was now supposedly dead.

He had no idea who Grim was or why he was here but he wasn't happy, he had lost one of his men. Glaring at Grim he shot Grim a few, more times to get his frustration out.

Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!

"Miss Kim, you're friends dead now, and it's your fault, I'll give you five seconds to come out, if you're not out on the count of one you're son..."

"Gahhhh!!!!"

Kim stopped his threat as someone punched him in the face knocking out two of his teeth.

He looked up and saw Grim perfectly fine, as the bullets were expelling and falling from his body.

And in mere seconds all of his previous injuries had healed.

"W-what the hell are you." He shouted in disbelief thinking that he had killed Grim, but now he was standing there, like he hadn't just been shot dead.

Grim ignored him and cracked his neck.

Kim pointed his gun but no bullets came out.

"Dammit..."

As he was panicking Grim ran to him ready to kick him but Kim was quick and rolled back before getting into a fighting position.

The clash was intense, with Grim employing his MMA skills against Kim's karate techniques.

In a dirty move, Grim hooked his fingers in Kim's mouth, violently throwing him against the wall.

Kim then slumped to the ground, unconscious.

The commotion attracted two more of Kim's men, who entered the apartment, guns drawn.

Grim, quick on his feet, ducked for cover and then dashed into another room, evading their line of sight.

The men split up – one to check on their fallen comrades and the other to hunt down Grim.

The apartment had turned into a battleground, with Grim skillfully navigating through the chaos.

His actions were not just about self-preservation; they were about safeguarding Miss Xuãn, who remained hidden in the washing closet, unaware of the extent of the danger just outside.

Grim, now facing two more armed men, knew he had to end this quickly.

He prepared himself for another round of combat, his mind racing to find a way to neutralize the threat without further endangering Miss Xuãn.