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Both were already in their respective hiding spots. Ji Chi turned to look at the person in the blizzard, as if etching his features deep into his bones. It was their first Chinese New Year’s Eve together, and the snow was falling heavily. He thought to himself, he had no regrets dying on this night!

In the midst of the snowstorm, Ji Chi blew a dashing, carefree kiss to Jiang Junlin, unburdened by worldly concerns.

“To die in battle for you, my life is complete.”

Jiang Junlin roared, “Ji Chi!”

Ji Chi got into a car and dashed through the streets. Jiang Junlin, grinding his teeth in frustration, turned and ran in the opposite direction. Ji Chi indeed drew all the attention, allowing Jiang Junlin to hear someone reporting their positions from above.

Perhaps, if Ji Chi were his subordinate, luring the enemy away to ensure his escape would be justified. Every one of his guards had signed a life-and-death pledge, ready to die with their master.

But Ji Chi wasn’t one of them!

Ji Chi was not his subordinate. Jiang Junlin ran through the snowstorm, his rationality on the verge of collapse. Reason told him not to look back; many lives depended on him. His death would lead to the demise of many others, and the underworld network established by the Jiang family would crumble, everything he protected would fall apart.

Looking back wouldn’t save Ji Chi; it would only lead to their joint demise. Faced with a dead end, he shouldn’t turn back!

Wearing only a thin shirt, the cold invaded his flesh and enveloped his soul. Jiang Junlin heard more gunfire and impulsively looked back into the storm, a storm brewing in his eyes.

A sniper, already positioned at the corner, fired a shot hitting a tire. Ji Chi’s car rolled in the snow, crashing into a wall. The roof’s snow was dislodged, nearly burying him.

Five or six men in black approached, kicked open the car window, and dragged Ji Chi out. His head hit the steering wheel, leaving him dazed and disoriented as the world seemed to spin around him.

He heard a man say, “Boss, he’s not in the car. He must have run in another direction… Yes, I understand!”

Meanwhile, Jiang Junlin was engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat with a masked man. Their firearms had fallen to the ground. Jiang Junlin’s back wound had reopened, and a corpse lay in the snow. Outnumbered, he fought ferociously and quickly subdued the masked man, pinning him down with a dagger at his throat. “Don’t move!” Jiang Junlin commanded sternly as he ripped off the man’s mask.

“Master… Master…” Zhang Huan’s voice trembled.

Zhang Huan, the captain of his secret guard, and Zhang Qiang, his cousin, came from a family that had served as close guards to underworld leaders for three generations.

Jiang Junlin’s two guard teams consisted of Zhang Qiang’s team, which provided 24-hour personal protection, and Zhang Huan’s team, which operated in the shadows, revealing themselves only when necessary.

After Ji Chi had imprisoned him, and there was no rescue from his underworld network, Jiang Junlin knew there was a problem with his secret guard team. “Who is it?” Jiang Junlin never asked why; betrayal was betrayal.

“Master… I was just following orders. Please spare me. I’ve served you for ten years, saving you three times.” Zhang Huan, terrified, knew exactly what kind of person Jiang Junlin was from his years of service.

“I’ll ask one more time. Who is it?”

“I don’t know. The leader was Chen Biao,” Zhang Huan confessed. “Six months ago, he ordered the secret guard to report your movements in detail. He only took orders from a ‘minister’, and I don’t know anything else. I’ve told you everything I know, master. Please let me go!”

Jiang Junlin flexed his wrist. “Zhang Huan, you did save me three times, but that was your duty. For your merits, 1 have rewarded you. What’s the first rule of the secret guard?”

Zhang Huan, pressed into the snow, shivered uncontrollably.

“Speak!”

“Traitors die!”

Jiang Junlin’s expression was as cold as the snow. “Here, merits do not offset faults!”

With a swift motion, Jiang Junlin’s dagger pierced Zhang Huan’s carotid artery. Blood splattered over him, staining his face. Rising, Jiang Junlin sheathed his dagger and suddenly heard more gunshots. He turned sharply, looking into the vast, snowy expanse.

Just as Ji Chi caught his breath, he was kicked into the snow. The man in black, his face masked and eyes cold and sharp, stepped on Ji Chi’s chest and demanded in a deep voice, “Where did Jiang Junlin go?”

“You’ll never find out!” Ji Chi spat out a mouthful of blood. The man, enraged, shot near Ji Chi’s foot, but Ji Chi remained unfazed and fearless. “Scum from the gutter, too afraid to show your face, you dare to call yourself Jiang Junlin’s subordinate?”

If they were not his subordinates, they wouldn’t all be hiding their faces.

Chen Biao, furious, kicked Ji Chi over. Already injured and dazed from the car crash, Ji Chi instantly lost consciousness.

“Boss, he’s Black Hawk’s Ji Chi!” one of the men in black reminded.

“I know!” the man scoffed. “Would the master be entangled in such a deadly affair if not for him?”

He reported through his headset, “Minister, we’ve captured Ji Chi, and Jiang Junlin has escaped. Don’t worry, the whole of Paris is a net of heaven and earth; he can’t escape. How should we deal with Ji Chi?”

“Kill him!”

The man nodded, “Yes!” He aimed at Ji Chi, ready to fire, when a cold yet familiar voice echoed through the snowstorm, “Chen Biao, stop!”

Chen Biao stiffened, turning slowly to see Jiang Junlin walking through the snow. Jiang Junlin, in a simple shirt and pants, had no time for a winter coat amidst the imminent danger. His white shirt and face were splattered with blood, resembling a deity of death from hell. Jiang Junlin rarely took lives himself.

Chen Biao had joked before that such gentlemen cherished their feathers, liked to command but not get their hands bloody.

He pulled down his mask, revealing his true face.

“Master, I was also acting under orders.” All the guns were pointed at Jiang Junlin. Chen Biao said solemnly, “I’ve followed you for eight years. But you got entangled with him, without distinguishing between public and private affairs. The underworld network will eventually be destroyed by you. I’m still your loyal subordinate. I just hope the master makes the right choice.”

“This is your reason for betrayal?” Jiang Junlin asked in a deep voice. “Because of Ji Chi?”

“If you kill Ji Chi, none of this would have happened. I’ll still be the head of the action group of the underworld network, and your affairs won’t be held against you. The network will still be under your control,” Chen Biao pointed at the unconscious Ji Chi. “Kill him, and cleanse all your stains.”

“Are you sure you can leave here?”