Prologue (Part 1)

The moon was shining in the sky. The light seeping through the clouds illuminated many places. There was a lot of traffic of cars on the streets. Everyone was trying to get home from work. The rain was falling slowly, adding to the gloom of the night.

Many lights in a thirty-story building had gone out. Light could still be seen on some floors. Raindrops were falling down the dark glass walls of the building.

Meanwhile, one of the cleaners on the 20th floor of the building dragged a bucket into the toilet. He wore a hat on his head and a uniform appropriate for his work.

He saw one of the security guards washing his hands and face. The janitor started mopping the floor without making a sound.

The taser and pistol in the security guard's waistband were clearly visible. He began to straighten his hair in front of the mirror.

The janitor was getting closer and closer to him. The man who was taking care of himself didn't seem to notice him.

"I don't see anyone coming in there, Huan Wei." A voice came from the tiny earphone in the janitor's ear. It was too small for anyone looking from the outside to see. "Now is the time to act."

Huan Wei bowed his head and continued mopping. He was getting closer and closer.

When the mop touched the security guard's foot, he turned around. "Be careful."

"Sorry," Huan Wei said without looking at him.

"It's okay. Finish your work quickly. If you're still here at this hour, you'll be fired."

The guard started walking towards the exit door. At that moment, another voice came through Huan Wei's earphone.

"I handled the cameras."

As soon as he heard the voice, Huan Wei rushed forward, wrapped his arm around the security guard's neck and snapped his neck in one blow. It was a silent death.

"You have 15 seconds. Get out of sight of the cameras."

Huan Wei started dragging the body. He was taking him to one of the cabins. The cameras were not recording there.

He went into one of the cabins and after he sat him on the toilet, he started to undress. He took off all his clothes. Then he took the clothes off the body and put them on himself.

"Don't forget the card."

"I won't."

He took the blue card hanging around the guard's neck. After putting the man's weapons in his own waistband, he went to the bucket he had set aside.

Out of the bucket came a small sign that read "Out of Service" and a pistol with a silencer hidden in a plastic bag.

He put the pistol in his waistband and hid it. He hung the sign on the door handle of the toilet cabin where he had hidden the body.

"Okay, is the exit safe?" he asked.

"Hold on a second. I'm checking." The voice in the earphone answered. "It's safe. When you get out, turn right and go to the elevator. The uniform you're wearing will take you up to the 26th floor. Then you need to get into the camera room and get full access to the building system for me."

"I can handle it."

Huan Wei came out of the toilet after straightening up. He immediately turned right and headed for the elevators.

There were perhaps dozens of security guards in the building. They were all armed. If he was exposed, it wouldn't be long before they would kill him. So he kept his head down a little bit and stayed away from people. He was sure that not all the guards knew each other, but there was no need to take risks. He was already in a risky enough business.

"Wait, wait, wait!" The voice came through the earphone again. "Ping Peng is in the elevator. Wait for him to leave. Don't let him see you."

Huan Wei changed direction. He approached the glass wall and looked out as if on watch. But his focus was behind him, in the elevators.

Soon the doors opened and several people came out. One of them looked more senior than the others. He had a red armband on his arm.

"Everybody stay alert. Tonight is an important night. I don't want any trouble. Mr. Joe should be here in about an hour. When he arrives, bring him to Mr. Minsheng. He'll meet the boss."

Ping Peng left with his men. Huan Wei also left immediately and got into the elevator. He was alone. He pressed the 26th floor button. The elevator closed its door and started going up.

"Hey, Huan Wei." The voice came through the earphone again. "Why do you want to kill Chung Minsheng? Did he kill your family? Or the girl you love? I turned off the camera and the microphones, you can talk."

Huan Wei took a deep breath. "Ke Ko," he began. "You know I'm not a person who cares much about family values. If Chung Minsheng had killed my parents or the girl I loved, I might not care so much."

"Then what is the reason? You have money, power, everything. Why put yourself in such danger?" Ke Ko asked.

"It was me he killed, even I can't take that much."

The elevator door opened and Huan Wei stepped out. He walked with calm steps. He bowed his head as he passed the patrolling security guards.

Ke Ko was still talking at that moment. "You already killed the man's son, wife and mother. Wasn't that enough?"

Huan Wei stopped for a moment and looked out through the glass wall. The moon had come out from behind the clouds and was shining in all its glory.

He could feel something still burning inside him. The people he had killed were not enough for him. He wanted Chung Minsheng to suffer. That's why he had killed his mother, the woman he loved and his only heir. It still wasn't enough. Every breath the man took bothered him.

Huan Wei had not always been a vile assassin. He used to have a normal job and life. But to get out of debt, he had to get dirty.

Chung Minsheng was a leading figure in this dirty business. Huan Wei had killed for him for a long time. Yet he screwed up on one job.

Chung Minsheng was merciful. Instead of punishing Huan Wei, he sent him on another mission. He just needed to kill someone who had already been caught.

Huan Wei went to the warehouse far from the city and did as he was told. When he opened the black sacks over the faces of the victims, he realized that it was he who had died. Chung Minsheng had punished him by making him kill his own family and the woman he loved. Huan Wei's hope was shattered in an instant and his soul was irretrievably darkened.

There, Huan Wei was shot twice in the chest. Thinking that he was going to die, they left him there. They wanted him to bleed to death in despair. But the anger and hatred in him kept him alive.

Then he met Ke Ko. Ke Ko, a skilled hacker, had been helping him all this time. Since then, he sabotaged Chung Minsheng's every job and killed his loved ones. Still, he could not extinguish the fire inside him.

The young man kept walking and came to the front of the room where the security cameras were being checked. He inserted the card around his neck into the card scanner and the door opened.

When Huan Wei walked in, he saw three security guards. When one of them said, "Hey, you can't enter here," the young man had already pulled out the pistol with a silencer.

Before they could reach for their guns, Huan Wei shot all three in the head. He closed and locked the door as the bodies fell to the floor. He came to the control panel. "I'm in, Ke Ko."

"Okay. Connect your phone to the computer. I'll install a virus."

Huan Wei took out his phone and connected it to the computer with a cable. Soon the loading screens appeared.

"I've installed it." Ke Ko spoke. "I guess this is it."

"What happened?"

Ke Ko laughed. "I've accessed Minsheng's bank accounts through the system. I'm transferring them all to my accounts. You know, Huan Wei, I have to give him something so he won't come after me while I'm in hiding."

At that moment they started banging on the door of the room. "Open the door, Huan Wei! We know you're in there!"

"Ke Ko, you son of a bitch..." Huan Wei spoke angrily.

"I'm sorry, Huan Wei, but you're even more insane than I expected. It was a very likely scenario that after a while you would decide to kill me too. So I betray you before you betray me, I'm sure you understand, hahhahhahahha!"

A loud buzz came from the earphones. Huan Wei immediately took it out of his ear and threw it on the floor. At the same moment, the door opened with a small explosion and dozens of security guards poured in. Some of them even had submachine guns.

They all pointed their guns at him. "Drop your weapon!" they shouted as they approached him. One of them, coming up behind the man, struck him on the knee and forced him to kneel down, forcibly taking his gun from him. Huan Wei knew where this was going.

He drew a dagger hidden in his leg and slit the throat of the man behind him. As his blood stained Huan Wei's face, they shot the young man in the leg.

Huan Wei fell to the ground. Ping Peng was coming in at that moment. "Don't kill him. Mr. Minsheng wants to talk to him."