The Startling Shot  

Wenjay, with Zeeshow hoisted over his shoulder, hurriedly descended the stairs, three steps at a time, and placed him in the back seat of the car. Mingyoo was already seated in the passenger seat, buckling his seatbelt as he instructed, "Head to 5 South Street, Maplewood Town."

Wenjay quickly started the car and asked, "Wasn't Jian taken to the hospital?"

Mingyoo replied, "The situation at the scene is complicated. The perpetrator is still holding hostages, and Highyang's team is in control. We need to get this kid over there as quickly as possible."

Wenjay felt a mix of emotions. Even though Jian had led a group to beat him up the previous night, the thought of him dying like this was somewhat unsettling. He floored the accelerator, speeding towards Maplewood Town.

Halfway there, Wenjay suddenly felt a violent tremor in the air, like an earthquake. His head spun, and he slowed down. He heard a noise from the back seat and looked in the rearview mirror to see Zeeshow waking up and slowly sitting up.

He seemed a bit dizzy, holding onto the car door and shaking his head. He looked around in confusion and asked, "Where are we going?"

Mingyoo, watching him in the rearview mirror, replied, "5 South Street, Maplewood Town."

"My home?" Zeeshow seemed surprised. "Are you taking me home?"

Mingyoo tossed him a bottle of water and said, "Yes."

Zeeshow took a sip of water and casually asked, "Aren't you going to interrogate me anymore? I thought you were going to arrest me..." His face suddenly changed, and he grabbed the back of Mingyoo's seat, asking, "What happened? Is something wrong at my house?"

Mingyoo remained silent, and Zeeshow lunged at him, grabbing his arm. His grip was so tight that his nails turned white. "Did he show up? Did he go to my house?"

Mingyoo still didn't answer, but Zeeshow seemed to understand. "Who did he kill? My uncle? My cousin? Or..." He couldn't bring himself to finish the last guess.

Mingyoo slowly pried his hand off and said, "Sit tight. We're almost there."

Zeeshow's face slowly turned pale, and he slumped back in the seat, slowly closing his eyes.

Maplewood Town was close to Maplewood Farm, and with Wenjay's aggressive driving, they arrived at South Street in just a few minutes and turned into a narrow dead-end alley.

At the end of the alley was an old red gate, with several police officers standing guard. Mingyoo told Wenjay, "Wait in the car." He then got out of the car, leaning on his cane, and walked over.

After showing his credentials to the police officers at the gate, Mingyoo asked, "What's the situation?"

"We're still at a standoff," one of the officers, probably briefed by Highyang, succinctly explained the situation to Mingyoo. Apparently, this was the ancestral home left by Jian's father. When Jian moved to Xiyuan City with Zeeshow, he rented this place to his younger brother, who had set up a woodworking workshop in the yard and hired a few helpers. Jian and Zeeshow had returned for a funeral recently and were temporarily staying in a side room next to the main hall.

"Early this morning, Jian and his crew caused a ruckus at our police station. Our officers barely managed to send them away, only for us to receive a 110 call from them by noon. They reported that a lunatic had broken into the workshop, taken hostages, and threatened to kill Jian!" The officer, with a frustrated expression, relayed to Mingyoo, "Captain Chan immediately led us to respond. When we arrived, Jian was nowhere to be seen. The madman was wielding a butcher knife, had injured two workers, but luckily, they were only minor injuries. We feared the situation would escalate, so we sent in a negotiator to calm the lunatic and peacefully rescue the hostages."

Mingyoo, seeing the officer's exhausted face, offered him a cigarette. The officer thanked him and continued, "Things were going smoothly, the madman was even starting to calm down, but then Jian suddenly burst out of the basement—he had been hiding in the workshop from the start, fearing the madman would kill him, and took the opportunity to hide in the basement. When he saw the madman being pacified by the negotiator, he tried to make a run for it, but the madman lost control at the sight of him and stabbed him!" He gestured to his own waist, "Here, the paramedics from 110 went in and said he might have hit an organ. It doesn't look good, but there might be a slim chance if he gets emergency treatment within half an hour." He looked at his watch and shook his head, "It's been forty minutes already."

Wenjay watched from a distance as Mingyoo spoke with the police officer. He was momentarily distracted and didn't notice the person in the back seat until he heard the car door. Zeeshow was already running towards the gate.

"Zeeshow!" Wenjay immediately pulled out the keys and followed him, grabbing him before he could rush in, "Don't be impulsive!"

Zeeshow, shorter and thinner, struggled in his grip, "Let me go!" He yelled at Mingyoo, "Where's my dad? Is he the one in trouble? Is he dead? Huh?!"

Mingyoo gave him a cold look and said, "Not yet."

Zeeshow let out a sigh of relief, and his knees gave out. Wenjay quickly caught him. Once Zeeshow had calmed down, Mingyoo told him, "Right now, that lunatic is inside, holding several workers from the woodworking shop hostage. Your dad was stabbed by him, and his condition is unknown."

Zeeshow's face turned as white as a sheet. He slowly steadied himself, shook off Wenjay's hand, and said, "Let me in."

Mingyoo stared at him for a few seconds, then said, "Alright."

Inside the red gate was a large courtyard. There were several large trees in the yard, and a few police officers were standing under them, nervously watching the main hall directly opposite the gate. Four armed police officers were aiming their guns at a figure standing in the doorway of the hall.

The figure was a tall, muscular young man with a high forehead, wide-set eyes, and a large, flat nose. His face looked as if it had been smashed with a brick, giving off an impression of low intelligence. At his feet lay a middle-aged man covered in blood—it was Jian Wong, his face pale as a ghost, seemingly unconscious. Behind him in the hall, two injured carpenters sat on the floor, along with several terrified hostages. A bulging bag sat on the doorstep, its contents unknown.

"Director Jow." Highyang greeted Mingyoo with a grave expression as he entered. "He brought explosives. They're in that bag. He's threatening to see Zeeshow, or he'll detonate the explosives and blow everyone up."

"Let me go over there." Zeeshow's face was deathly pale, his voice slightly trembling, but his eyes were incredibly determined, even carrying an indescribable murderous intent.

Highyang looked at Mingyoo for confirmation, and Mingyoo nodded.

Zeeshow slowly walked towards the hall, with Highyang, gun in hand, following half a meter behind him on his left. Mingyoo, with his injured leg, couldn't move easily, so Wenjay instinctively took up the position on the right. The others, assuming he was with Mingyoo, didn't stop him.

The lunatic had been mumbling to himself, head down. When he noticed people approaching, he suddenly looked up. His crazed and foolish gaze swept left and right before finally landing on Zeeshow. He gave Zeeshow an indescribable smile, "You, you, it's you..."

Zeeshow stopped at the bottom of the steps, about four or five meters away from the madman. He looked at his unconscious father at the madman's feet and calmly said, "Don't hurt him."

The madman prodded Jian's head with his knife, mumbling, "Dead, die, everyone must die... hehehe."

Jian was jolted awake by the prod. He turned his head and saw Zeeshow at the bottom of the steps. His eyes lit up, but then he looked terrified. He struggled to say, "Zeeshow... run!" He spat out a mouthful of blood before he could finish.

Zeeshow's eyes widened, and he trembled, "Dad..."

"Daddy... daddy..." The madman looked down at Jian, his foolish face slowly twisting into a grotesque expression. With a menacing slowness, he raised the knife, his voice a sinister drawl, "Bad man, always hitting and scolding me... Now, I'll kill you!"

The knife fell, aimed straight at Jian's chest. At the same moment, both Highyang and Mingyoo drew their guns!

Time seemed to freeze. Everyone's movements halted, even the leaves falling from the trees seemed to stop in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, time resumed. The second hand on the clock ticked forward, and Zeeshow's slender body moved. He grabbed the police gun from Highyang's hand, raised it, and aimed it at the lunatic.

His pale finger pulled the trigger, and the high-temperature bullet flew out of the barrel, crossing the five meters between life and death, and hit the madman right between the eyes.

There was a crisp "pop", as light as someone crunching on a snack, yet as heavy as a hammer hitting everyone's eardrums.

Zeeshow held the gun, his long fingers still on the trigger, his red eyes unblinkingly watching the bloody hole in the lunatic's forehead. A strange smile appeared on his beautiful lips, as desolate as a lycoris flower blooming at the gates of hell.

Everyone was stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing. It was as if the scene before them was just an unreal fantasy.

Wenjay shivered, the first to snap out of the shock. His mind was still in a daze, but his body reacted instinctively. He rushed forward, twisting Zeeshow's wrist and snatching the gun from his hand.

In the blink of an eye, everyone seemed to be jolted back to reality by his sudden action—the armed police rushed forward to remove the madman's body and retrieve the bomb remote from his pocket. The bomb disposal team immediately took the bag from the doorstep to inspect the homemade explosives inside. The hostages in the hall screamed and ran out in panic...

Wenjay held the gun, feeling its solid touch in his palm. His mind was blank. Everything had happened so fast, so shockingly, that it exceeded his brain's processing capacity. Even though he had instinctively grabbed the gun from Zeeshow, he had no idea what to do next.

A large, bony hand slowly took the gun from him. Mingyoo gave him a deep look, returned the gun to Highyang, and gave Wenjay's shoulder a firm squeeze, saying softly, "It's over. It's all over."

Feeling the solid pressure on his shoulder, Wenjay let out a long breath, suddenly coming back to his senses, murmuring, "God... how could this happen..."

Before he could finish, Highyang, next to him, jumped up as if struck by lightning. He looked in disbelief at the gun in his hand, then at Zeeshow, and without a word, he kicked Zeeshow to the ground and handcuffed him.

Zeeshow offered no resistance as he was pinned to the ground. His red eyes were fixed on his father, watching as the last bit of light in Jian's eyes dimmed and closed. He quietly closed his own eyes.

Two silent tears rolled down from his long eyelashes and splashed on the ground, leaving two small wet spots.

The road to hell is open from any direction.