Chapter 86: My Mission
"Dad, there's a parent-teacher meeting next Friday afternoon. Can you come back?"
In my daze, I snapped my eyes open. The sharp pain in my neck told me I absolutely could not give up now.
Though the seat was reclining very slowly, by now I was already lying completely flat.
Zhang Hua'nan couldn't exert any force from this angle; all he could do was keep backing away.
After fully reclining the seat, I continued fumbling with my left hand and soon found another button.
Once pressed, this button would slowly slide the entire seat backward.
"What the fuck..." Zhang Hua'nan was being pushed back by my seat, running out of room to move.
I finally escaped the wire's grip. My entire throat throbbed with pain, but this was a life-or-death moment—anything non-lethal was just a flesh wound.
I immediately raised my gun and turned around, but everything was pitch black. My brain hadn't recovered from the oxygen deprivation.
Based on sound and instinct, I aimed straight ahead, ready to take out Zhang Hua'nan.
But then the entire car suddenly shook violently.
It took me a few seconds to realize: this was an earthquake.
I'd lived in Inner Mongolia for over thirty years and never experienced an earthquake.
But this one was unmistakable, making it even harder for me, already dizzy, to keep my balance.
After missing two consecutive shots, Zhang Hua'nan suddenly lunged and grabbed my hand tightly.
I'd fought him before. This con man wasn't particularly strong, but every move he made was vicious.
One hand pinned down my gun while the other reached for my left pinky, grabbed it, and snapped it backward with brutal force.
I didn't see that coming. I yanked my hand back instantly. A second later, my vision finally cleared, only to see Zhang Hua'nan pulling a hammer from somewhere.
Before I could react, the hammer flew toward my head.
In that instant, the world spun. I felt like my soul was being ripped from my body.
I knew this was the precursor to passing out. The next few seconds would be my last chance.
The car started sliding randomly from the violent tremors. Through the window, I could vaguely see the buildings on both sides of the alley collapsing, walls cracking, and even the distant sky splitting apart...
Wait... the sky was cracking?
Before I could process it, Zhang Hua'nan's hammer came down again. I barely dodged it.
I snapped back to focus. I knew that if I didn't kill Zhang Hua'nan here, he would kill Xuānxuān, and later, more people would fall victim to his scams. Even if I had to die here, I was dragging him to hell with me.
I jabbed a finger straight into Zhang Hua'nan's eye. I felt a wet heat as my finger pierced his eyeball.
He let out a wail and released his grip on my gun. I immediately aimed at his chest and fired.
The bullet went clean into his lung. But at the same moment, his hammer swung around again and smashed into my temple.
The next few shots—whether from the violent earthquake or from the blow to my temple—went completely off target. I wanted to fire again, but my sense of balance was utterly destroyed.
Everything went black. I didn't even know where I collapsed.
The hammer seemed to keep falling on my head.
But I couldn't feel anything anymore.
A warm, cool liquid soaked my eyes. I could only hear the thumping sound of my own skull.
Everything was shaking. Everything was breaking.
A deafening roar swept in like a tidal wave—screams, shouts, the crash of colliding cars, the rumble of collapsing buildings—all exploding at once.
No. I still couldn't die.
I had to finish Zhang Hua'nan first, then get out and save people.
I needed to call the station, request backup.
Save them. Save them now.
Every minute wasted during an earthquake was a minute of precious rescue time thrown away.
I had my duty. I couldn't stand by and do nothing.
But would I... even survive?
...
Am I alive right now?
When I opened my eyes, nine strangers sat before me.
This place looked like an interrogation room, but we never used round tables.
Round tables don't create pressure—they feel cozy and intimate. That's why interrogation rooms have square tables, and hotel banquets have round ones.
At first, I thought this was some trick Zhang Hua'nan was pulling... but thinking it over, he and I should both be dead.
I reached up and touched my head. My skull was slightly dented, but there was no bleeding.
I touched my neck and felt a sharp sting.
So the injuries were still there, but I wasn't dead. What was going on?
The neck and skull were both fatal wounds, yet here I was, sitting here perfectly fine. I could see, hear, and even touch my own wounds.
A senior officer once told me that when a person dies, their life flashes before their eyes like a revolving lantern.
But I didn't remember ever seeing these nine people. Every face was strange, all of them looking around just like me.
So this wasn't a flashback. Was it some strange dream?
A minute later, the man in the goat-head mask didn't hesitate to kill someone. And I finally understood my mission.
Even if this was a strange dream, even if this was hell.
My mission wasn't over.
This was where I would continue to repay my debts.
I would crush the wicked and save every innocent person.
This time, I would not hesitate. I would not let myself regret anything.
I was a police officer. Even here, I would do my duty.
I never expected to draw the identity of "The Liar." And then came an impossible choice.
Should I protect the innocent first... or stay alive to personally take down that masked freak?
After a few seconds of inner struggle, I understood.
Never follow the suspect's lead. He wanted us to tear each other apart. But I was going to save everyone.
As long as everyone survived, there was still hope.
But even if I won this game, I could never go back.
I had killed someone.
I couldn't face Xuānxuān anymore. Only the law awaited me.
So my end could only be here.
Life doesn't give second chances. I couldn't change my past.
The only shame was that I didn't have a single cigarette in my pocket. I hadn't even brought the lighter Xuānxuān bought me with her allowance. The days ahead were going to be unbearable.
If I could, I'd really like to smoke one more Winter Worm Summer Grass.
So let me finish what I need to do, then quietly go.
My name is Li Shangwu.
I'm about to start lying.